Solon enacted a number of laws, relating particularly to education. In them he specified both the time, at which youth should receive public lessons, and the character and talents of the masters, who should instruct them. One of the Courts of Justice was to superintend the observance of these regulations.* At Sparta, it is well known that education was every thing. Children were scarcely introduced into the world, when they were subject to a course of discipline, applied equally to the mind and the body. Lycurgus would have his laws engraved on the hearts of the citizens; and, to effect this, he endeavored so to direct the education of youth, that his institutions might be to them, as a law of nature.† "In the rising ages of Rome," says the learned Kennet, "while their primitive integrity and virtue flourished, the training up of youth was a most sacred duty. But, in the looser times of the empire, the shameful negligence of parents and instructors, with its necessary consequence, the corruption and decay of morality and good letters, struck a blow towards dissolving that glorious fabric."‡ The same general principle is distinctly recognized in that constitution, which was divinely bestowed on the Jewish nation: These words, which I command thee this day, saith Moses, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children; and shalt talk of them, when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way; when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.-Dr. APPLETON on the True Sources of National Prosperity. EARLY HOURS AND OFFICIAL CUSTOMS OF FRENCH MINISTERS OF STATE. J. S. BUCKINGHAM, Esquire, (who delivered a series of Lectures on Palestine, in Toronto, about ten years since) gives the following account of the official habits of the Ministers of State in France, in a work entitled, "Autumnal Tour [1847] in France, Piedmont, Italy, Lombardy, the Tyrol, and Bavaria": "I was favored with a special interview, by appointment, with M. Guizot, and found him, as is the case with most of the French Ministers, very early at his bureau. They usually commence their labours at six or seven in the morning, and are busily occupied till eleven, when they breakfast; so that, in those four or five hours, they have transacted the chief business of the day. On a former occasion, I had an appointment with the Minister of Marine, which was fixed at half-past six in the morning, and even at that early hour, I found several Naval Officers in full uniform, waiting their turn of presentation in the ante-room. I understood the routine of most of the Ministerial offices to be this: From six to eight in the morning, deputations or individuals were received, for verbal conference. From eight to ten all letters or written communications were examined, and the answers to to be given to them, noted in outline on the back. From ten to eleven the Minister was alone with his Secretary, and could be seen by no one. At eleven, each Minister repaired to the palace, where they had their dejeaner à la fourchette with the KING, making it subserve the purpose of a Cabinet Council. At noon, they repaired to the Chambers when in session, where they remained till five-returned home to dine at six-and passed the evening with their families or friends. Once in each week, and on different days, each Minister held a public reception, or soireé, at which ladies as well as gentlemen were present; and a great deal of personal communication passed between the Minister and his visitors on topics of public interest, of which he would sometimes make a note in his tablets for reference on the following day; thus mingling, very happily, business and pleasure. The Minister of War held his reception on Monday, the Minister of Finance on Tuesday, the Minister of Public Instruction on Wednesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, the Minister of the Interior on Friday, the Minister of Justice on Saturday; and the KING himself held his reception on Sunday-the hours being usually from eight till eleven-so that all were in bed by midnight. "If this mode of dividing a Minister's time and occupation be contrasted with that observed by the Ministers of England, it will be found to be greatly in favor of the mode observed in France, both for the health and convenience of the Ministers themselves, and accommodation of those requiring interviews with them, and above all, for the freshness and vigor with which they can attend to public business in the early hours of the day, and give the later ones to domestic enjoyment or pleasurable relaxation. "The Stranger-guest, having his name once inscribed in the Secretary's book, for either of these receptions, never needs a subsequent invitation, as, on each public evening, he has only to present himself and leave his card, which is checked with the book as he enters, and he is presented to the Minister accordingly. The freedom, variety, courtesy, brilliancy and liveliness of these reunions, render them the most agreeable resorts in Paris; and the deference shown to talent, whether literary, political or artistic, in preference to mere rank or wealth without this qualification, furnishes a striking contrast to an English party in high life." DISCOVERIES OF A PEACEFUL AGE. We cannot recount all the discoveries of this peaceful age, from a Lucifer match up to a railroad, and from a steam-ship down to a pair of gutta-percha goloshoes. But these discoveries have made the modern labourer a mightier man than an ancient lord. Just look at your lot, and wonder at your wealth. There was your worthy father-when he wanted to be up betimes, he lost half the night listening to the village clock, and starting up at all the hours except the right one; and when at last a trifle late, he jumped out of bed, and got hold of the tinder-box, after ten minutes' practice with flint and steel, heated but not enlightened, through sleet and slush he had to seek his neighbour's door, and borrow a burning brand. But soundly reposing all the night, and by an alarm roused at the appointed minute, you rasp the ready match across the sanded surface, and turn the stop-cock of the magic tube, and in a moment are surrounded by an affluence of the purest light. It was in the Brighton van that your father travelled, that hard season when he visited the coast in search of work, and he never got the better of the long bleak journey. But for your own diversion you took the trip the other day. You went in the morning and returned at night, and it cost you neither cough nor rheumatism, and less money altogether than you would have paid for one night's jolting in the frosty van. When the last letter came from your poor brother in the North-penny stamps were not invented then-and you remember how rueful you felt, as the postman refused to leave the precious packet, for you had not in all the house a shilling and three pence half-penny. And when your uncle broke his leg, and the bungling surgeons set it so badly that it had to be broken and set anew, after all his torture he never got full use of it again. But when you put out your shoulder-blade, you cannot tell how they set it to rights; for all your remembrance is, the doctor holding some fragrant essence to your nostrils, and, when you awoke froi a pleasant trance, the arm was supple, and you yourself all straight and trim. To peace we are indebted for cities lit with gas, and rivers alive with steam. To peace we owe the locomotive and the telegraph, which have made the British towns one capital, and remotest provinces the enclosing park. To peace our thanks are due for food without restriction, and intercourse without expense; for journeys without fatigue, and operations without pain; cheap correspondence and cheap corn; railway cars and chloroform. And to the same bounteous source, or rather to the Giver of peace, and of every perfect gift, we stand beholden for the hundred expedients which now combine to make life longer and more happy.-Rev. Jas. Hamilton, of London, England. SENSE US. WIT.-Prefer solid sense to wit: never study to be diverting, without being useful, let no jest intrude upon good manners, nor say any thing that may offend modesty.-Foster. PRAISE.-Every gratification a man prepares for his neighbour depends somewhat for its good reception on the state of mind of the recipient. On the other hand, every man's car and stomach are always in the right trim to swallow a good dish of praise.-Jean Paul Richter. Miscellaneous. THE GREAT FIRST CAUSE. [JOHN MASON GOODE, author of the Studies of Nature, and a new Translation of the Book of Job, has in four stanzas stated the argument in avor of an intelligent first cause; the wise Contriver of the arrangements of this material world, as strikingly as it could be stated in a whole volume.] THE DAISY. Not worlds on worlds, in phalanx deep, What power, but his who arched the skies Could rear the daisy's curious bud; That, set in silver, gleams within: And fling it with a hand so free, O'er hill and dale and desert sod, That man, where'er he walks, may see, In every step, the stamp of God! THE DAISY.-The word daisy is a thousand times pronounced without adverting to the beauty of its etymology," the eye of day."-T. Campbell. RESPECT DUE FROM THE YOUNG TO THE OLD. From the N. Y. Advocate and Journal. Aside from the word of God there is but, one depository for the oracles of wisdom, and that is in the bosom of the Fathers;-the men upon whose heads the snows of sixty or seventy winters have fallen are frequently led to lament the seemingly hard necessity which compels them to leave the world just as they are becoming prepared, through a long and painful course of discipline, to live in it. True wisdom is not the direct result of reading, or study; but of experience, and of experience alone, although experience is not the result of action disconnected with reflection upon it; for he that acts only sows, but he who reflects upon his actions never reaps. This habit of reflection, so essential to the existence and perpetuity of wisdom, is seldom formed by the young, because they usually view almost everything in prospect. This they are impelled to do by the rush of their feelings, the eagerness of their anticipations, and the locomotive rapidity of their movements. These philosophical facts have led the public mind to the universal adoption of the maxim, "The aged for counsel-the young for action." It is right and proper that the action, after it is well arranged in thought, should be quick in its growth; but counsel, in accordance with the nature and fitness of things, requires the mellowing influence (sometimes) of years to bring it to maturity. When Jehovah means to smite a family, community, or nation, with bewildering blindness, which is always the harbinger of ruin, "he removes, as he did in bygone days from Israel, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, and gives them children to be their princes, and babes to rule over them." We are not at all prepared to subscribe to the notions of Elihu, the son of Barachal, the Buzite, "that great men are not wise, neither do the aged understand judgment:" for the fact is, the very reverse of all this is the truth, almost invariably. King Rehoboam lost the best and fairest portion of his dominions because he forsook the counsel of the OLD MEN which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who were brought up with him. Many other and similar disasters have fallen upon civil and ecclesiastical communities from the same cause. The Fathers should be looked upon as the great connecting link between the past and the present generations; they are the living beacons which skirt the shoals and designate the rocks which beset us in the perilous voyage of our present probationary state; they are the conservatives of the country, and to them in some good degree is committed, under God, the guardianship of the dearest and best interests of the Church. This is as it ought to be; and should the day ever break upon us when a different state of things obtains in our midst, the glory will have departed from us. There is no difference, so far as the practical results are concerned between the removal of the Fathers from among us, and the nullification of their counsel and advice. When "the children behaved themselves proudly against the ANCIENT, and the base against the honorable," in the time of Israel's prosperity, then it was that the voice of doom was heard pealing upon the stupid ears of the reckless and incorrigible, saying, "Israel is ruined, and Judah is fallen." If like causes will produce like effects, have we not reason to tremble for the stability and perpetuity of our religious and civil liberties? Contempt of legitimate authority is the leading sin of our land. Of what advantage is the hard-earned experience of the parents to the children, if they are to be ruled by them from tottering infancy up to the prime of manhood? Aud of what advantage can the experience of our Fathers be to us, if by the clamourings of an ungrateful people they are to be pushed from the fields they fought to win, toiled to clear, and spent their energies to maintain? Who does not know that the passions are full grown ere the summit of our physical altitude is attained; but that the ripeness of the intellect and the grounded strength of our virtuous principles, never lume out in all their commanding and majestic authority, until time furrows the brow with wrinkles, and crowns the head with gray hairs? Honor to whom honor is due, is a maxim of untold excellence; but if it be left without props to uphold it, so feeble, depraved, and wayward is man, it will fall to the ground, and be trampled under foot. Age combined with authority, cool-headed, evenhanded authority, are the props of this golden maxim, and contain in themselves the element of order. When this leaven shall have leavened the whole lump, then shall a practical comment, known and read of all men be seen upon Leviticus xix, 32: "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God; I am the Lord." It was a custom in the east for the subject to rise up before his prince. There is no doubt an allusion to this custom in the passage just quoted-for the man with a hoary head is a king crowned; for we learn from unerring testimony that "the hoary head is a crown to a man if it be found in the way of righteousness." We know it has frequently been said, "Once a man-twice a child." This saying, however, should not be too hastily received; for it will be found in a variety of instances, that those who were men in the zenith of their days have remained such in old age, even down to the writing out of the last paragraph of their history. It was so with Wesley, Young, Burke, Chalmers, and a host of others we might mention. FICTITIOUS READING.. No part of education is of greater importance than the selection of proper books for perusal or study. The effects of dissipation upon the mind, may be less apparent than those which the indulgence of vice produces on the body, but they are no less real. Now, no dissipation can be worse than that induced by the perusal of exciting books of fiction, too often the food of the young mind, just ready to be moulded into a permanent character for life by the formative power of circumstance and experience. These are the proper and legitimate agents for forming the character, but fictitious reading is more powerful than experience, or rather it is a species of experience of itself, but of a monstrous and erroneous nature. If the impressions made by fictitious descriptions, characters and narratives were such as actual life imparts, there would be less cause of complaint, though even in that case the objection would not by any means be removed; but on the contrary they are principally a delusion from beginning to end, a perfect medley of inconsistencies, strung together to excite the curiosity and awaken the sympathy, but leaving behind them an entirely false notion of the real incidents of life. The perusal of such books, like indulging in the use of strong drink, tobacco, opium or any other substance of an intoxicating nature, creates so powerful an appetite for the stimulus, and induces so great a sense of weariness and ennui without it that those who have once got entangled within its influence, find themselves unable to abandon it. It throws its coils around them like the monstrous boa, and death follows its terrible grasp. The intellect unused to any active exertion of its powers, becomes incapable of study or useful reflection and all the faculties of the mind are unstrung. The victim perpetually in an intox icating vision of the fancy, is paralyzed when awake as far as any wholesome exertion is concerned, and enraptured with the syren of falsehood, becomes disgusted with the pursuits of actual life. This is no fiction itself, but the case with thousands, vitiated by the light and frivolous reading with which the press at present teems. The evils above depicted arise from the perusal of books whose sentiments may be strictly moral, but if to this, sensuality and vice be superadded, the poison is in proportion more deadly. Then not content with unspiring visions, so intoxicating that the mind is incapable of fleeing from them and becomes a mere thing of passive ravings, it may incite to actions corrupt and baneful to society, and lay the foundation of a life of vice and crime. The young mind, so susceptible to impressions, so eager for pleasures, should be guarded from these snares. It should be nourished with strong and wholesome food, before its taste is pampered with dainty luxuries, which will only tend to destroy its appetite and relish for good, and render its constitution sickly and enfeebled. -Merchant's and Tradesman's Journal. FREE SCHOOLS IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK. Are the electors of the State of New York, in favour of Free Schools for the people? The legislature sometime since condescended to submit the question to them, and they decided it in favor of free schools by one hundred and fifty thousand votes. The majority seems to have been entirely too large ! There are a number of wise men, some few men of property, and now and then a political agitator, who think that this was not sufficiently decisive; and these have had influence enough at Albany to induce the Legislature to submit the same question to the people over again, at the November election of 1850; expecting, no doubt, that the intelligent electors of this great and pioneer State in the cause of education, will stultify themselves by treading a step backward, and confessing that they were wrong in supposing that the yeomanry of the State of New York would tax themselves to pay for the schooling of other people's children. We have no fears that the State will retrace its steps when it is elearly right, and so well supported; and we hope no mystification can be thrown over the subject, by reason of certain defects in the details of the law establishing and making the schools free to all. A Convention to be held at Syracuse July 10th, will, we trust, be so represented as to bring the best lights of the State on this subject, together, so that from it there will go forth information and influence, which will make the majority two hundred thousand instead of one hundred and fifty thousand at the next November election.-N. Y. Journal of Education. TEACHERS' INSTITUTES. These temporary Normal Schools are of acknowleged and great importance to the public at large, and especially are they of benefit to those young persons, whatever their mental cultivation may be, who intend to adopt Teaching as their future profession. In various parts of the country we observe teachers are coming together as Institutes or as Associations, and in both cases the object is professional improvement.—Ibid. IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING CHILDREN TO OBSERVE. If there is any one habit of mind more desirable than any other, it is that of patient and discriminating observation. This habit must be early formed, in order to become a permanent characteristic of the mind. The first things observed are the objects of nature. To the young mind everything is new, even the most common objects must at first excite wonder and call forth thought; while therefore the objects are invested with a peculiar interest, and the perceptive and inventive faculties are most active, the objects with which the child comes into daily contact should be pointed out, their properties and uses explained, and a direction given the faculties, by which the habit of patient observation may be formed. A stimulus will thus be given to the mind to find out every thing new, and as every thing can be subjected to the test of the senses, it will foster a spirit of confidence in the conclusions to which it arrives, so indispensable to intellectual progress, and highly favorable to the formation of an ingenuous and noble character. The constant habit of observing natural objects, begun in youth, will prepare the mind for observation upon every other subject The pupil will carry this habit with him into every other department of knowledge, and into the common business of life. Life is so short, and so many objects press upon our attention, that any considerable progress cannot be made without this habit. They who have become distinguished in any department, have cultivated it in an eminent degree. They have derived their knowledge from every source. The most trivial occurrence has been carefully noted, and hence they have been constant learners. It is this habit which distinguishes the philosopher from the common mind. Although books may afford important aid, books alone are not sufficient. We must see things in real life, must travel back to the sources of action, and witness principles in the light of their actual development. Poets do not obtain their inspiration from books, but from hills and vales, and warbling strains. The philosopher gathers his wonderful discrimination, not from books alone, but from close observations of the actual, physical, mental, and moral changes which are going on around him. The orator and the legislator obtain theirs from similar observations upon the sources of human action, and the operation of civil government. But the natural sciences are peculiarly fitted to cherish this habit during the whole course of education. The student of nature must be a constant observer. So numerous and complicated are the subjects which will demand his attention, that he will acquire the power of patience and discrimination. These subjects offer the best means for detecting superficial observation, and compel him to exercise care in the conclusions at which he arrives, and hence in after life he will be distinguished for that common sense which is so desirable for the discharge of all our common duties.—Mr. Gray's Lectures before the American Institute of Instruction, on the Importance of the Natural Sciences in a Popular System of Education. EDUCATION AND TEACHING THE FIRST CONCERN OF SOCIETY. Education is, in truth, the first concern of society, and it ought to have the energies of society's best minds. The Athenians, who had glimpses of whatever was most glorious, did in this matter leave mankind a great example. Teaching was the honorable occupation of the greatest men. The brightest minds of Athenian Philosophy were the instructors of Athenian youth; so keenly was the truth felt, that the mature intelligence and moral power, acquired in the struggles of a distinguished life, could perform no higher function than that of rearing up the same precious fruits in the rising minds of the community. Education should be esteemed a liberal and learned profession, and the most honorable of all. The skill to relieve bodily diseases, however comprehensive a knowledge of nature it may require, cannot deserve so high a rank. Nor do the interpretation of law, and the contentions of the courts, however acute the intelligence and extensive the learning they call for deserve, nor would they receive, from an enlightened public opinion, the same estimation. Still less is the trade of war and blood entitled to such honor. Education deserves the foremost rank, and will one day receive it. But, even if it received less than its deserts,-if it was only raised to an equality with the other learned professions,the improvement of society would receive a powerful impulse. It would be looked to not as a temporary resource, but as an occupation for life. Many, with a liking for it, would give way to their enthusiasm, when it did not cost the sacrifice of all other tastes and habits. The science would be earnestly studied by hundreds of minds, and would be carried forward every day with effects to society altogether incalculable. The late John Lalor, Esquire-Prize Essay for the English Central Society of Education. STARTING IN THE WORLD. Many an unwise parent labors hard, and lives sparingly all his life, for the purpose of leaving enough to give his children a start in the world, as it is called. Setting a young man afloat by money left him by his relatives, is like tying bladders under the arms of one who cannot swim; ten chances to one he will lose his bladders, and go to the bottom. Teach him to swim and he will never need the bladders. Give your child a sound education, and you have done enough for him. See to it that his morals are pure, his mind cultivated, and his whole nature made subservient to the laws which govern man, and you have given of what shall be of more value than the wealth of the Indies. JOURNAL OF EDUCATION. TORONTO, JUNE, 1850. PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARIES IN UPPER CANADA. We beg to direct special attention to the practical and valuable communication on the first page of this number, from the pen of R. BELL, Esq., Member of the Legislative Assembly for the united (counties of Lanark and Renfrew. Mr. BELL has done much to advance the interests of education and general knowledge in the county which he represents; and his proposal for setting apart the Tavern License Fund for the establishment of Township Libraries of useful reading, is a conception which must commend itself to the best feelings of every patriotic heart. We feel that it would be superfluous for us to add a word to the concise and forcible remarks which Mr. BELL has made on this most important subject. We hope they will receive the attention which their importance demands from public men and from all parties concerned throughout the province. We will confine ourselves at present to a statement of the measures which the Chief Superintendent of Schools has recommended for procuring and introducing suitable Libraries into the various Townships, Cities, and Towns in Upper Canada. In a communication, addressed to the Provincial Secretary, and dated 14th October, 1848, submitting a Draft of amended School bill, he proposed a section setting apart £2,000 annually for commencing a system of School Libraries-accompanying it with the following remarks, which we copy from the "Correspondence between the Chief Superintendent of Schools and Members of the Government on the subject of the School Law," just printed by order of the House of Assembly : "The Thirteenth Section proposes a small provision for commencing the establishment of Common School Libraries. I propose to do so on the same principle and in the same manner with that which has been so extensively and so successfully adopted in the neighbouring States-except that the regulations for this purpose are there made by the sole authority of the State Superintendent of Schools, whereas I propose that here such regulations shall be sanctioned by the Governor General in Council. "On the importance of such a provision, I need not say a word. On this Section becoming law, I shall soon be prepared to submit a draft of the requisite regulations for carrying it into effect, and also to suggest means by which a selection of suitable books may be made and procured from England and the School Libraries of the States of Massachusetts and NewYork, and submitted to the consideration of the Board of Education, and then the modes of procuring, at the lowest prices, for any part of Upper Canada, the books which the Board may sanction for Common School Libraries." The provision here recommended was partially adopted in the School Bill of last year; and with a view of preparing the way for establishing the contemplated Libraries in the most advantageous manner, the Chief Superintendent addressed, to the Provincial Secretary, in July last, the following letter. The unsettled state of the School law prevented these recommendations from being acted upon at the time; but we hope practical effect may be given to them in the course of the present summer and ensuing autumn. The following letter forms Document No. VIII, in the printed correspondence above referred to :(COPY.) EDUCATION OFFICE, Toronto, 16th July, 1849. SIR,-I have the honor to submit to the favorable consideration of the Governor-General in Council the following remarks and recommendations with a view to the introduction of School Libraries into Upper Canada, as contemplated by each of the Common School Acts which have been sanctioned by the Legislature. There can be but one opinion as to the great importance of introducing into each Township of Upper Canada, as soon as possible, a Township Library with branches for the several School Sections, consisting of a suitable selection of entertaining and instructive books, in the various departments of Biography, Travels, History, (Ancient and Modern) Natural Philosophy and Natural History, Practical Arts, Agriculture, Literature, Political Economy, &c., &c., &c. It is not easy to conceive the vast and salutary influence that would be exerted upon the entire population -the younger portion especially-in furnishing useful occupation for leisure hours, in improving the taste and feelings, in elevating and enlarging the views, in prompting to varied and useful enterprize, that would flow from the introduction of such a fountain of knowledge and enjoyment in each Township in Upper Canada. But in order to commence such a noble and patriotic undertaking two things are necessary. The first is, to obtain, and for the Board of Education to examine and select the proper books. The second is, to render such books easily and cheaply accessible to every part of the Province. As the books are not and cannot be published in this country, they must, for some time at least, be obtained from abroad—from England and the United States. Arrangements must be made for that purpose, as the ordinary agencies of the book-trade are insufficient. When in England in 1833, I made an arrangement with certain Booksellers in London in behalf of the Wesleyan Body in Upper Canada, on the basis of which books have been obtained from that time to this much below the printed wholesale prices. When in Dublin in 1845, I arranged with the National Board to obtain their books for Schools in Upper Canada at cost prices-much below the wholesale prices to the British public; and by means of that arrangement those excellent books are now sold in Upper Canada, about twenty per cent. cheaper than they were three years since. And we now say to each of our Canadian Booksellers, that if he will agree not to sell those books at more than two pence currency for every penny sterling that he pays for them, we will give him a certificate to the National Board in Dublin to obtain them at the reduced prices. By this simple arrangement, private trade is encouraged, at excellent profits, rather than interfered with; and the books are then sold at much lower prices than heretofore. The selling prices of the books are published in the printed Forms and Regulations for Schools, and are uniform in every part of the Province, and known to every Trustee and Teacher. A Canadian House has reprinted an edition of the most of these books (fac similes of the Dublin edition) at even lower prices than the imported editions. Now, I propose the adoption of an extension of the same arrangements to procure books for School Libraries. I propose to make an arrangement with some of the book societies in London (such as the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, &c., &c.,) and the cheap library publishers in London and Edinburgh, for procuring such of their books as may be required for School Libraries in Canada, at the lowest prices. I propose to make the same arrangement with the National Board in Dublin for procuring portions of the series of books which they have lately selected and adopted for School Libraries, that we have heretofore made, in order to procure their school books. And as but few of the books composing the School Libraries in the neighbouring States of New-York and Massachusetts are of an exclusively local and politically objectionable character, and as the greater part of their School Library books are as suitable to the youth of Canada as to those of the United States-many of their books being reprints of English works, and translations from the French and German-I propose to make a similar arrangement with School Library (and perhaps some other) publishers in New-York and Boston, that I have above proposed to make with English publishers. According to this arrangement, I propose to secure, at the cheapest rate possible, to the reading youth and people of Canada, the best popular works which emanate from the British and American press. There will thus be a British and American series, with the prices affixed to each, and directions where and how they may be procured-leaving to local Councils or Committees the option of selecting from either series, or from both, at their discretion. In the catalogue of these Library Books, I think a characteristic notice of each book should be inserted (including two or three sentences, but of course requiring considerable thought, judgment and labour, in the preparation); a catalogue should be furnished to each local Council, and the books generally be also brought to the notice of the public in the columns of the Journal of Education, and personally by the Chief Superintendent during his visits to the various Districts-one of which I had intended to make during the latter part of the current year. Should the plan thus briefly explained be approved of by the GovernorGeneral in Council, I propose to devote the next three or four months to its accomplishment, by going to the United States and England to make the arrangements suggested, and to select and procure specimen books for the School Libraries to lay before the Board of Education for Upper Canada, for their examination and judgment. My own personal expenses will, I think, in all, including difference of exchange, &c., be under £200, and that £250 or £300 will be sufficient to purchase copies of the books required. It is not likely that many Townships will desire, at least for a time, a Library worth half of £300; but the school authorities of several cities and towns will doubtless soon demand a Library of greater value than that sum. The sums mentioned-in all £450 or £500-would, of course be deducted from the first money apportioned for establishing Public School Libraries in Upper Canada. The books thus obtained and approved of by the Board of Education, would be either purchased to increase the Normal School Library, or be disposed of to any of the local Councils or Committees establishing Libraries, as part of their apportionment, and thus the only deduction from the Legislative Grant for School Libraries, would be the amount of my travelling expenses-which would be abundantly compensated by the importance and economical advantages of the arrange. ments which I would be able to effect, and which, in some shape or form, are of course indispensable to the establishment of School Libraries. I look forward to the day when such Libraries will be increased and enriched by Canadian contributions and publications. With these remarks, I submit this important subject to the favorable consideration of the Governor-General in Council; and should the task I have proposed be approved of, I will lose no time in prosecuting it. In the mean time, I would respectfully recommend that JOHN GEORGE HODGINS, Esquire, (Senior Clerk in the Education Office) be authorized by the Governor-General in Council to act as Deputy Superintendent of Schools for Upper Canada during my absence, as I have entire confidence in his integrity, knowledge, and ability. GRAMMAR SCHOOLS OF UPPER CANADA. On the 28th instant the Honorable Inspector-General HINCKS introduced into the Legislative Assembly a Bill "For the better Establishment and Maintenance of Grammar Schools in Upper Canada." According to the provisions of this Bill, the Grammar Schools will be brought under a system which cannot fail to add much to their efficiency and usefulness. Grammar Schools ought not to receive public aid without complying with conditions which are required on the part of the supporters of the humblest Common School. In the State of New-York, the Regents of the University (somewhat similar to our Provincial Council of Public Instruction) exact conditions of every academy receiving State aid, less easy of fulfilment than those involved in the provisions of Mr. HINCKS' Bill. Under the operations of that Bill, in case of its becoming law, the Grammar School Fund will be doubled, and the facilities and benefits of the Grammar Schools will be proportionably extended. Last month we explained the relations which ought to exist in a well directed system of National Education, between the several classes of schools, from the primary, up to the University department of Public instruction, and the vast extent to which existing endowments and grants may be rendered instrumental in diffusing sound education among all the youth of Upper Canada. We may here add, that there should not only be unity and harmony In all parts of an efficient system of Public Instruction, but there should be unity and patriotism of feeling among all classes of public instruc tors. On this point we will restrict ourselves to the following language of the Honorable HORACE MANN, in an address, dated the 15th ult., to the friends of education and of all classes of Teachers in the United States, inviting them to attend a second National Convention for the promotion of Universal education, at Philadelphia, on the 4th Wednesday in August next. Mr. MANN was the Chairman of a similar convention held in the same place in October last; and in that capacity he issues the address from which we extract the following eloquent and impressive remarks: "It proposes to unite ALL Teachers of youth in one co-operative effort. The different periods and degrees of education so meet and flow into each other, that they are hardly susceptible of being theoretically separated. From the first form of the Primary School to the highest class in the University, there is a perfect continuity of progress. No break, no chasm, no change of identity interrupts the course. The succeeding grows from the preceding, as the oak of a hundred years has grown from the geim that cleft the. acorn; or as the bird that soars undazzled towards the meridian sun, has grown from the eaglet just chipping its shell. Hence, the President of a College and the Teacher of a Primary School, though standing far apart, stand in the most intimate relation to each other. Without the labours of the latter, the former would have no material on which his processes could be performed; and without the former, the works of the latter would remain crude and incomplete. They are engaged on different parts of but a single work, and there is the same common interest between them as between the sower of the seed and the gatherer of the harvest. "Heretofore, there has often been something at least of indifference, if not of alienation and repulsion, between those who presided over the commencement of education and those who superintend its close. It is time they should see that their interests are not adverse, but identical; nay, that when pursued in harmony, they are cumulatively beneficent. These parties may create some benefits when acting separately; but when co-operating, they multiply those benefits by a high moral power. The child, whose mind was well developed in the school-room, not only shoots ahead, but speeds farther and farther of all that he could have been without such early developement. His advancement is represented by a kind of compound as well as geometrical series, made up by multiplying time into velocity. When in his turn such a child becomes a parent, he sends better prepared children to the school-room. And out of a larger number of minds, awakened in their youth, and made self-conscious of the existence of their faculties and of the glowing delight of their exercise, all the colleges are sure to lengthen their catalogues; for a child whose mind has been fired by a love of knowledge cannot be kept back from those deeper fountains where his thirst can be slaked. The college draws him irresistibly, and he will break through every barrier,-poverty, discouragement, toil, sickness, all but the unconquerable bar' of death itself,-to reach and enjoy it. The colleges will not only lengthen their catalogues, but illuminate them with brighter names. And a community so trained and advanced, will look back with filial piety to the institutions where their honorable career began, and will love to cherish, honor and elevate them, and all who labor in them. Such action and re-action. It is, therefore, most earnestly hoped that all grades of teachers, from the earliest to the latest, will attest their interest in their sacred profession, and their regard for each other, by their presence at the proposed Convention." EDUCATIONAL MEASURES BEFORE PARLIAMENT. Three measures have been introduced into the Legislature, rela-. tive to Education in Upper Canada; one to amend the Act relative to the Toronto University-providing for the religious instruction and oversight of Students in the University, &c.; a second for the better establishment and maintenance of Grammar Schools; a third in respect to Common Schools. Should these three Bills become law, the system of Education in Upper Canada will be an harmonious whole throughout-founded upon the true constitutional principle of the co-operation of the Government and people in its admiDistration-truly Christian, yet non-sectarian. Under the operations of such a system, we believe the intellectual and moral aspect of Upper Canada will undergo a delightful change, and the public mind will experience a noble elevation, in less than ten years. MR. T. C. KEEFER'S PRIZE ESSAY. THE CANALS OF CANADA: THEIR PROSPECTS AND INFLUENCE. By THOS. C. KEEFER, Civil Engineer, pp. 111. Andrew H. Armour & Co., Toronto. Armour & Ramsay, Montreal. HIS EXCELLENCY LORD ELGIN has, in an enlightened and generous spirit, instituted several prizes for the development of Canadian intellect and the advancement of Canadian interests. In August, 1849, HIS EXCELLENCY offered, through the "President of the Upper Canada Agricultural Association," a Prize of £50 "For the best Treatise on the bearing of the St. Lawrence and Welland Canals on the Interests of Canada as an Agricultural Country." Competitors were to send in their Treatises by the first day of February, 1850. The Council of the Agricultural Association were to select two gentlemen to act as judges, and His Excellency |