,-^0. ^^Ho, 0^ "V^'^'^'V v^^-\/'' ^V*^'^^*/ ""^^ ) ^^ ''*o „o'* ^ 4 o ^c CffiATIOS DELIVERED AT SALEM, INDIANA. ON THE riFTIETK ANNIVERSARY OF AffiSmi^AH TODBlHrDSH ©ffi, AT THE REQUEST ©F THE COMMITTEE ^P ARRANGEMENTS, APPOINTED FOR THAT PVRPOSB, BY JOHN H. r ARNHAIMC PITBtlSHED AT THE REQUEST OF THE COMMITTEE. PRINTED BY ROBERTS ^ CAMPBELL, KEW-ALBANY, INDIANA. 1826. • ^^\<. \^\% % *-*^* , *^ ; ®®ATa^a FELLOW-CITIZENS, IN celebrating this An^ivkrsarv in the mode that custom haa sanctioneri embHrrassment^ of no l.ule perplexi.3. occur tr him who as the honor ,0 lead v^ur .eflec-ions. Ic i. not the .m os.bl! i 'y ot prenentrng any thing ne^v or original At this lapse of time cL'n '''7'J^ expected. Nor is it the apprehension that your candor and chanty will be withheld from the humble efforts of the spBHker. It ,s that oppression of mind, which sink^ benea'h the wergol and grandeur of the subject I. .9 the diifrdenre which Ifela ts iPcapacity to do justice to a glo,i„u« and immor-al theme It is the d Acuity of selecting and ompre.s.mg into a reasonable cma. pas. a few pertinent reflections, out of the boundless varieiy of sub ..„e .ncl magnificent topics thai crowd on the rwind in recurrine to the a»>,.ici..us .^loroing of American independence, hihy vea.s ago thi« da^, the freemen of this country pulled «lo«n thestandarri of St. George, and hoiked (he Eagle with stripe*- andsta.s ,n its place. Their reas-ms for so d ;mg, vou have just be.iia. I'hey are given to the world with a simplicity and energy tha^ can neter cp.se to extort our admiration. Thev form a necessary part of the exercsen of this dav, and will m all coming time be hail- ed by Americans, as the great preamble of their national esisience How sinking and suLli.-ne the contrast we are this dav called to contemplate! How solemn the appeal to heart-felt and piou. cra- lilude. Fifty years ago— ,he sun ro.e on a handful of brave and deteimmed but dependent colonie— r«-Jay, it shines on twelve m.lUon.^of treemen. comoo^inga powerful, oppulent, harmonious i^mpire. I .Ity years ag„_we were unknown even to Europe save as the remote and sub..ervient appendages of the Eritish Isles— To- tfaz/— we stand m the front rank of a galaxv of Republics, who have conquered their freedom under the auspices and example of '76 — VVeare known, represented and respected, wherever on the globe empire and commerce unite to manence the destinies of mankmd '' Lnjoying with scarcely an mteriuplinn for two generations, the innumarabie blessings which have resulted from this memorable epoch— It IS not without some effort and research that we can fully appreciate the sublime devotion to Liberty, the arduous labors and sacrifices, the unshnr.king constancy and fortitude of the heroes and martjrs, who triumphed, and who fell in ihe cause of their counlrv. 4 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. The light of that morning, which tons nppearseffulgent and uithoat a cloud — to them, was lowering & dubious. The}' bad thrown the gaunt- let at a power whose superiority, physical and moral, threateoed the destruclion of their roost sanguine hopes. They were alone — and ivilhout any rational prospect of aid in the contest. The very iiiea of receiving aid from Europe, was then regarded as illusory — inas- much as all Europe had a direct interest that rebellious colonies should be crushed. Hence, under Providence, their sole reliance to sustain the conflict, was on themselves, God and our Country^ God and Freedom, were among the soul stirring sounds of that day ! To preserve green in our memories this eventful crisi.", to fan the flarne of patriotism by contemplating its purest and noblest ef- forts, and t<> enabie us to traa.smit to those, who come after ns, a just estimate of the founders of our republic, and of the legacy they have bequeathed to u.*, the unaniiiious voice of a free people has Consecrated ihis day to the cMJse and the men of '76 — It is around the sacred <\Uar of Freedom that every American heart this day rallies — Wherever in the wide circuit of t^e globe hjs lot may be ca."l, whether buoyed in his progress by the Atlantic or Pacific wave, whether an Indian or an African sua mantle hi? cheek, whether he furrow the Northern Orean to strike the Greenland whale, or plunge lus harpoon into the scaly monster of tbe Antarctic ^ea^, the 4lh of July commands tlie susjjen^ion of his lahorR; the !"acrefi fire of Amm Patriae burns in his bosom — the star spangled banrier fl emigrants to America, a very large i)ortion were animated hy the prospect of lefnge fiom oppres- sion, add a fixed determination t» secure to themselves and poste- rity the bles-ings of civil and religious freedom — With the fettlers of Nevv-Eiigland generally and of Pennsylvania, commerce and trade weie »PCondary considerations. I'he venerable apostles of re!i forced (hem to depend on themselves, and etTicacious- ly contributed to form and tit 'hem fir self-government. This foi- tunate neglect^ added to a vigorous constitution and genial soil, ia the conr>e 'fa few generations, tixed the growth of their liberties bey nd ihe reach of the liuyal veto; and it is not surprising that ihey sb "uld af erwaids view with distrust tht't paternal solicitude, which, silent and !nacce««ible in ihe period of danger and suffering, sought, in ttte h'lui of theii prosperity, to encumber them with good oihces. The civil policy, institutions and manner? of all Ihe colonie«, were highly popular, anrl, where not trammelled and conlroled by the vjci us interference of Europeafl politicians, they were decidedly republican. In all the northern colonies the rig'its of Primogeni- ture^ that characienstic and darling nf Monarchy, were exploded — This ali.ne breathes the spirit ot genuine Democracy For if any • one [>rincif)le may be regarded as the basis or key of republicanism, it is that fundamental law wh'ch perpetuallv and silentl} employs the be^t affections of the human heart to undermine and demolish the artificial monuments of Pride, Vani'y and Ambition — .A nation of freeholders cannot be other than republican. Hence it is one of the unceasing artifices of legitimacy, to be perpetually erecting dykes and iasm the honor of the British name, willing and anxious to contribute their share, and actually paying more than their pro- portion to the support "f government, simply msiriling hs of philanlhrophy the inhabi- tants of the equator and the poles. To trace the rise and progress of the government, which succeed- ed the imperial jurisdiction of Great-Britain over the Colonies, a government, which has attracted, and which we fondly trust will forever command the respect and admiration of the intelligent part of the world, would be an interesting and grateful task. — The lim- its of the occasion will only authorise us to notice a few prominent circumstances. The transition from colonial dependence to thirteen entire and •distinct sovereignties, presented a most delicate and embarrassing crisis to the patriots of the Revolution. The acknowledgement of cur Independence and the restoration of Peace, had removed- from the Arch of our hasty confederacy the pressure, which alone con- stituted its strength. The enemies of Liberty saw with malignant satisfaction, this noble but temporary edifice tottering to its fall. — ■ Glootn and dismay for a season cast a cloud over the brightest vi- sions of the purest patriots. The Daemon of Jealousy, local, selfish, distracting, stalked through the land, carrying in her train '■'•Gorgons^ Hydras, and Chimeras dire^^ For a time the hopes and fears of our beloved country vibrated with the discordant elements of the day. It almost began to be a question whether the blood of her patriot martyrs had been shed in the cause of a great and glorious Repub- lic, or had been lavishly wasted in the preliminary broils and san- guinary conflicts of local factions. But, in everlasting honor to the good sense of Americans, history has recorded that they frowned into silence and oblivion the enemies of their domestic peace and national union ; '^ United rve stand, Divided rs:e fall,'''' was the watch- word and countersign of the revolutionary struggle — The same glorious appeal to concession and compromise to co operation and ■harmony gave us the Constitution of the United States. The framers of this sacred instrument placed the key stone in the Arch of our Independence, They stamped on the character of the iige the peculiar impress of their own great minds. — They have guaranteed so far as human genius can do it, immortality to free institutions — Prior to this glorious result of philanthropy and patri- otism, it might rationally have been doubted nhethec the Rerolo- AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. i\ i'ioa were to prove a blessing or a curse to Americans. — This Con- stitution forever dispelled that doubt. — It rescued a great and ris?. iflg nation ^rom the soul-sickening apprehension of being cut up into local factions, of being subdivided into petty wrangling provinces, Jt dispelled forever the prevailing popularerror, that a free govern- ment must necessarily be restricted tc^a scanty population and limited space — It gave to the great cause o!" freedom the combined support ef thirtet7i, ol' lzi:eiity-fotir, of an indefinitely expanding number of states, all rallying under the sacred flag of Union. Under its cheering auspices we have risen in less than half a- century, from small beginnings to the rank and influence of the first grade of Powers. Our numbers have been quadrupled — Our wealth and resources increased an hundred fold. Every navigable wafer on the globe has been whitened by our canvass. The spirit of Inter- nal Improvement has caused these vast Western forests to bow to the genius of Civilization. The spot we now occupy, the whole region of the Ohio, the valley of the Mississippi, and Missouri, fifty years ago, all was a howling wilderness. Behold it now studded with farms and villages, teeming with a hardy and industrious population, all animated with the spirit of Li4»erty, worshipping in various formf, but a common spirit, the great Author of their blessings, each under his own vine and fig-free. The genius of Fulton ha? given a refluent tide to our descending waters. The elastic power of steam, withia a few short years, as if by magic, ha? lined our extensive stream* with the busy marts of an active and expanding commerce. Its ef- fect has been to add thou.«ands of miles to our sea coast and tens- of thousands to our coasting trade — Well may the Chief Magistrate of this extensive Republic exclaim, Liberty is Power. But why do I detain you, my ftieods, with the rehearsal of ad- vantages flowing from our institutions, which your own feelings, which the aspect of joy and prosperity here, and a thousand mile* around, impress with ten-fold eloquence on your minds The bless- ings of freedom are stamped on your countenances — they are writ- ten on your hearts. 7'hey swell the general tide of joy and grati- tude, which on this auspicious day rolls with accumulated force from the shores of the Atlantic to the base of the Rocky Moun- tains. How grateful, Fellow-Citizens, is the thought that all these heart cheering results of our free institutions have been witnessed and en- joyed by many, whose hands assisted to rear the noble fabric. Al- though one and another of this illustrious band have fallen under the scythe of time, and nature herself forbids the expectation of seeing their venerable forms much longer among us — it is a high gratifica- tion on this Jubilee of our country's Independence, to know that the distinguished Author of our Declaration still survives; that although pecuniary embarrassments, the result of a long and exclusive devo- tion to h:^ country, have overtaken him in the evening of his days, yet, that he is more than consoled for the misfortune by the proud 12 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. testimonial it has furnished of his public purity, and of the spon*. taneoos sensibility of his admiring and grateful countrymen!* With what exultation and delight do our Mennoriea still linger on the recent visit of the Nation's Guest! Here indeed was a tri- umph oi feeling and principle dear to America, exhilirating to hu- manity! It was an original banquet of the soul, upon which Kings and their vassals gazed, Ifut c^arec/ no^, cou/i/noitaste. Where in the annals of the human race shall we look to gee twelve millions of freemen embracing with open arms a private individual of a fo- reign country? Consecrating by unanimons and universal demon- strations of joy and gratitude the moral enthusiasm of a whole con- tinent? Before this touching and sublime spectacle, the laurels of conquerors, the pomp and splendor of Monarchs. sink into insignifi- cance. Amiable and generous benefactor of our country! accept once more in the sacred retirement oi La Grange, the benedictions of this young and rising State, which you have honored with your presence, and saluted with the kindest expressions of affectionate regard ! In the enjoyment of the grateful feelings of this anniversary, let us not, fellow-citizens, be unmindful of the moral purposes of its in- stitution, nor forget the high responsibilities which have descended to us, as the lineal successors of the founders of this confederated Re- public. To us it belongs, not only by our conduct to vindicate and sustain the characters of these illustrious men, to preserve and trans- mit the glorious inheritance unimpaired, we are bound to amj'lify, improve, and adorn the noble fabric, which their labors erected. Inditference or inaction would as little become u?, as it would have ill become them. The world is in a state of active and unceasing progression. The theatre of human action is constantly expanding, and we are bound to elevate and enlarge our views so as to grasp the wholecircleof our duties. Inheriting by birth, or possessing b} choice, a rich share in the sublime privileges, the ample domains, the high destinies of a great and growing nation, it becomes the most sacred of duties properly to appreciate the obligations which devolve on us as men, as fathers, and as citizens. "As the origmal Founder of "the Roman Empire was said, in the language of poetry, to have "once borne on his shoulders the fame and fortunes of all his posleri. ''ty, so let us never forget that the glory and greatness of all our de- "scendants is in our hands."! If we consult the true happiness and glory of those who are to succeed us, if veneration for our fathers be properly blended with a just self love and affection for our off- spring, if it be our aim to realize those sublime anticipations of the * The exit of the two Ex-Presidents, Jefferson and Adams, the one the Author, the other the most eloquent and able supporter of the Declaration of Independence, on the NationalJubitee, and with- in a few hours of each other — has produced an impression on the public mind profound and universal — consecrating in the hearts of Americans the joint apotheons of these illustrious patriots, t J. Q, Adams. AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, 1^ future destinies of this country, which animated the meo of '76 in the darkest hours of despondency and suffering, we shall place in the first rank of our duties that of providing, by all the facilities whicU public and private patronage can afford, for the moral and intelect- ual culture of our children. We shall I'eel it our duty to make the education of our citizens a public concern , On this vitally interesting and all important subject it will not, I trust be deemed a departure from the legitimate topics of this day, if I solicit your attention for a few moments longer. From the earliest periods of anliqnity, in which the Records of our race present us with the first rude sketches f>[ dee govenment, we find that the education of youth was regaided and claimed as a great public trust — peculiarly belonging to the s^iperintendaoce of government. Nothing can be more just or better founded than this sentiment. It is an opinion by no means peculiai toy/-ce governments. The subject, with its important bearings, is as well understood ia Monarchies as Republics — at Constantinople as at Washington The difference between them is this — that the Agents of De*poti!-m and Oligarchy regard exclusively the physical develjfiement of their subjects and slava^ whilst the functionaries of freedom solicit the moral and intellectual expansion of ihe\t /ello-w-cituens and equals. On this interesting subject it is both grateful and mortifying to know that some of the earliest colonies have left us lessons and ex- amples which cannot be too much admired nor too closel> imitated. It is now nearly two hundred years since the little colony of Plymouth enacted the following law; — ^'Forasmuch as the maintenance of good literature doth much tend to the advancement 0/ the vaeal andjlourishing state of societies and republics, this Court doth therefore order, that in, "whatever township in this governmeut, consisting of Jifiy families or wy:- wards, any meet man s^all be obtained to teach a grammar school, such ioxanship shall allow at least twelve pounds to be raised by rate on all the inhabitants. Twelve pounds, my friends, m those days, in Ply- mouth Colony, were equal to a hundred now, in any part of the United Stales, Similar laws, about the same time, were enacted in the neighboring colonies of i\lassachu«etts and Connecticut, where a system of public instruction was gradually established, which, with numerous enlargements and imf»rovements, continue to this day, the pride and boast of New-England — the slatle ground work of her "— prosperity and happiness. New York, emulating her adjacent sis- ters in this noble work, has displayed a zeal and muniticenre which is beyond all praise. By the last official reports of the State of her free schools we find that nearly half a million of children of both sexes are, in that State, educated at the public expense. Virginia, tmder the auspices of her illustrious Ex-Presidents, is heartily en« gaged in the great cause. South-Carolina has for many years ap- propriated a large portion of her revenue to the support of common schools. Ohio, too, is directing her great and growing resources to the same glorious object. She has obtained the consent of Congress to euch sale of ber school lands as may be ^ulhoriicd by her Legisla- 14 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. ture, ivith (he consent of the tovrnships; and it is understood to be her intention to have (he proceeds of such sales vested in public se- carities and sacredly appropriated to the purposes of education, at designated in her compact with the general government. I enter- tain httle doubt that Indiana uill find it her interest to follow this exam}>le. The leasing sy^i err has been found in both states to bewhol- )y inadequate to the purpose? of a productive fund ; to be wasteful to the land, and, by encouraging an inferior and worthless population, to produce a great preponderance of evil over the benefits derived from it. The opinion is rapidly gaining ground, that the value of these lands, securely vested at simple interest, will yield a better revenue than any sysiem of leasitig that can be resorted to in our country. Fellow-Citizens of Indiana! We are proud and zealous to avow ourselves the advocates of Internal improvement. The magnifi- cent canals, the increasingmanufactures, the vaslinter.ial commerce ofNe»v-York. we contemplale with increasing admiration ; and, as feer enierpiising spirit moves over the waters of Lake Erie into the boundaries of our adjacient sister, continuing the line of excavation which i< shortly to unite the streams of the west with the capacious baibour of her imjierial metropolis, our enthusiasm cannot be re* pressed: we are not satisfied with passive admiration — we would be up hnd doing ourselves! All this is natural and praise-worthy — It is a noble and genferous emulation, which Heaven grant may be diffused co extensively with our Union. But the improvement of our territory by roads and canals, the facilities of transportation and travel, the advantages and choice ofiVIarkets, all excellent, desira ble and attainable as they are — yet what are they in comparison ivith that greatest and noblest of all Internal Improvements the cul- ture and expansion of the Mind? What are they, compared with that knowledge and iatelligence which enable/every patriot citizen riearly to dijicern and steadily to j:ursue the interest of his country? In artificial navigation and all the facilities of internal commerce, Russia and China may challenge the world. — Yet who of us would be a Chinese or a Hussian for the Rent Roll, aye, for they're simple of their thousand canals? Fortunately for Indiana, on this great subject, she has not been left to the tardy lessons of her own isolated experience, iu addi- tion to the examples of Colonies and States, which now form a part of this Union, we have been stimulated by the parental Zealand solicitude of our common country, lo appropriating a thirty-sixth part of our soil for the use of township schools, in addition to two whole townships of land granted for a University, the General Gov- ernment has not left the great subject of popular education to the unassisted efforts of our own citizens. Her generous solicitude for this cardinal interei^thas frequentl y reminded us, not only of its in- trinsic importance, but of our corre.= ponding obligations. Permit tne, however, my friends, in the spirit of candor and mo- desty, to suggest to you my serious apprehensions, that this noble muojljcence will entirely fail of its beneficent effects, unless the spi- ^tA^^^ AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 15 rit anfl intelligence of our citizens are rouaed to prevent if. There is danger of expecting too much from our school lands and conse- quently of doing too little ourselves, Altliough experience thus far ha'^ demonstrated that the avails of the sixteenth section must neces- sarily for years to come be but trifling, there are not a few of our inhabitants who appear disposed to wait in listless inactivity, until, by some miraculous change in the value of property, the proceeds of this solitary section shall not only begin but complete the education of their fauti^jes. VVherever this is the effect of the liberality of Congress, and I hope it is not extensive, this noble bequest, instead of a blessing, will prove the Box of Pandora, pregnant with evils The truth is, Fellow Citizens, the only substantial available fund of all public education, consists in the feelings and minds of the peo- ple. To call these feelings jnto vigorous action, it is only necessa- ry to rouse their attealion, to awaken their intelligence, to enlighten the public mind Correct legislation will follow as a matter of couise. And let the subject be sifted over and over again, let it be canvassed ever so often, whenever the people or their represen- tatives shall enter deliberately on this great work, they will, I feel confident, with great unanimity concur in believing that the only efficacious mode of drawing into action the mental and moral ener- gies of the whole rising generation, and forming their morals and manners is the good old plan adopted at Plymouth, near two hun- dred years ago — viz; the system of free schools supported by equal and moderate taxation — It is this system, my Friends, which in Co- lonial times laid the foundation of a Franklin, the light and glory of his age — which formed the Adamses, the Warrens, the Hancocks, and Quincys, of '76, which has since unfolded the dawning intellect and gigantic powers of a Parsons, a Dexter, a Kent, and a 'Vebster, allof'.vhom and thousands more, equally cultivated, though not equally distinguished, inhaled^lements of literature in the atmos- phere of free schools, where it is the pride aiid glory of more than two millions of people, that not a full grown individual of either sex of sane mind, can be found, who has not learnt to read, write, and cast accounts. These blessings, ladianians, may be jours. To will them, vigorously to will them is to attain them."^ When we reflect, Fellow-Citizens, that knowledge and virtue are the main pillars which sustain the edifice of our liberties — that these noble characteristics of the patriot freeman are in a great de- gree if not wholly the result of education, thai public purity, order, and happiness, have in all countries borne an exact conespondence with the diffusion of light and knowledge, that the dissemination of learning and morals is the happiest as well as most efTectual * It is m our power to enjoy these mestimable privileges at lesa than half the cost cf our Northern Brethren, since the school lands, if judiciously managed, will defray half the expense of a free school system, independent of the fines and penalties which now go to a County Seminary, but which ought to go to common schools. ;^ A 16 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. BQOiIe of preventing and curtailing the pxtension of the criminal code, that the sum allotted to this phiIan(hropic ohject is just so DXKh saved from the ex{)enses of criminal justice — that a tax which secures our persons and property, by purifying the moral atmos- phere of our coiintf}', by rescuing from vice and misery the off- spring of penury and misfortune, and at the same time adds to the number of good citizen-^, is infinitely more acceptable and grateful than one, which pays for the arrest, confinement, trial, and incar- ceration of the miserable felon, who, if his history be known, will in nine cases out of ten, be found to have been some poor, idle, ne- glected, uneducated youth; when in fine we reflect that the system here recommended is among the positive injunctions of our own ex- cellent stale Constitution, that it has received the unqualified sanc- tion of Washington, of Franklin, of Adams, of Jefferson, in fact of every name distinguished in the annals of science, freedom or hu- manity, is it, permit me to ask, too much to expect that it will 'ere long receive the cordial support, the enlightened suffrages of the free and independent citizens of Indiana? Let this system be adopted, and the orator who shall address you from this spot Jifly years hrnce, will under the glorious auspices of that day, speak to you of other things in a different style from the humble individual, now honored by your attention. Exulting in the past and kmdling with the future gloiies of this expanding state, his glowing pencil will spread illumination through the now dark re- cesses of her magniticent forests — He will give you in history ivhat is now only in perspective, the brilliant career, the enduring felici- ty of his beloved Indiana! He will point you to the Franklins, the Henrys, the Clays of this his native soil, born perhaps in the lowest vale of indigence and obscurity, but whose etherial genius and soul thrilling eloqu«nce, were rescued from oblivien and saved to their country and mankind by the influence of Free Schools. — He will exhibit to your admiring gaze the two millions of happy citizens who will then inhabit this delightful region, all enlightened and refined by the beneficent diffusion of learning and morals. After doing justir:e to the philanthropic policy of his native state, he will invite your listening admiration to the combined splendors of this confederate Empire. He will, I tiust in God, tell you of a course of gradual extinguishment, if not of the entire extirpation of Slavery from a land consecrated to freedom. May he also under the auspi- ces of American philanthrophy, proclaim the abolition of private war, rapacity and plunder on the ocean! He will present to your affectionate greeting the nevv states, which will then lengthen and brighten the grand chain of Union. The extended glories of the Star S(»aagled Bannpr will detain you as it were on enchanteeen consumed m the fires of his own self-tormenting smil — the foul vapourings of hungry and unfed oflice-seeUers will be exhaled by the lig'il and sclend.>r of Truth. — Then will the malignant spirit of envy and det- action be exchanged for the just admiration of discriminating posterity, and the present administration of the National Government di-eo- Ihralled and redeemed from prejudice and calumny, be hallowed by the gratitude of the American People. Note. — In consequence of being either mtVapprehended or no apprehended, by several of my Fellow Citizens who beard the pre ceding pages delivered, so far as the subject of Education ib glanc ed at, ,1 cheerfully consented that this hasty production should be published. Unforeseen impediments occuningto prevent the im- mediate publication, an opportunity is afforded me to subjoin a few- supplementary remarks. 1 certainly have been m-)st unfortunate in my comprehension of the meaning of the ConstitxUion of Indiana, if it does not contain a most direct, explicit and unequivocal i;ijunction on the Legislature to establii^h tree Schools. If then 1 read the Constitution cf my own State correctly, is it not a little cxtraordin»rv that resentment and indignation, not to say denunciation^ should be raised against aa individual for advising, ave, for warmly recommendiug bis Fellow- Citizens to carry their own Constitution into effect? I confe-fss I have witnessed the excitement that has recently prevailed in this county on this subject, with on little surprise — 1 cannot say regret, because from this very excitement 1 earnestly hope and firmly be- lieve, that light and truth will be elicited — of couise that good will result. In the mean lime I will indulge the gratificatioo of shewing my Fellow-Citizens, by quotations fiom the Constitutions of our sis'er states, that this noblest pari of the Constitution of Indiana is in per- fect keeping with the characterof the age — that is with repubticanisnif constantly progressive — and being one of the last, is, especially oa this important subject, one of the best Constitutions in the Union. Among the twenty-three Constitutions of the United States, (Rhode Island is still governed by the Charter of Charles the lid,) thirteen of them contain riiiect and explicit provisions for the eo- couragement of popular education. All the states of New-England, with the exception of Rhode-Island, have established free schools bylaw. New York has done the SHme thing on a most ample and libe- ral scale. The Constitution of Pennsylvania, Article 7th, contains the following provision; — "The Legislature shall as soon as conveniently may be, provide by law for the establishment of schools throughout the state in s-uch manner, that the poor may ba taught gratis.'''' The Constitution of North-Carolina, Sec. 41, reads as follows:-— <'Tbat a school or schools shall be eslablished for the convenieirt in- ■ G IS AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. ^traction of youth with sach salaries to the msler., paid by th. pubhc, as may enable them to instruct at low prices, and all u/eful ^1!^ '' '^'^ ^"""^^^^' ^"^ P^^'"^'^^ i" °- - -- Article € Sec. 1. of the Constitution of Mis9ouri, reads as follows- Schoo s and be means of education, shall forever be encouraged in this state, and the General Assembly shall take measures to preserve from waste or damage such land, as have been granted or hereafter a^ay beg ted by the Udited States for the use of schools, within each townsh.p m this state, and shall apply the funds which may ari«e from such lands, m strict conformity to the object of the granf, and .ne school pr more shall be established in each township as soon as practicable and necessary, where the poor shall be taught gratis " Tne consutut.ons of Georgia, Ohio, and Alabama contain provi- «oaswho^^,r,t and meaning fully embrace this great interest.-. But .n no State of the Union have the zeal and solicitude of the fra- ttersofthe constitution been so fully and specifically expressed on h.s subject as ,o that ofkoiANA. After providing for the care of the lands granted by the general government, for the use of schools, and securing the.r exclusive appropriation to this sacred object. Our Cons .tufon Article 9th Sec. 2, contains the following enaction: «/^ shal be the duty of the General Assembly, as soon as circum- stances -..illpermU, to provide by larv for a general system of Education, ascendzng tn a regular gradation from Tou-nship Schools to a State University, wheretn tuition shall be gratis and equally open to all " 1 am laformed by a distinguished member of our State Conven- tion, that ^r this part of our Constitution we are indebted to the pen of John Badollet Esqr. Register of the Land office at Vin- ^-fs'irr^^'^'^rr ""^"'^ '''""''' ^^^^°'"S and integrity, are r V^/rru""^ ""u "'"""' '*" '' ^^"°^"' ^°d ^^ho has from an early g/llatinI ""'^"^ "^'^^^^^ '"'"°'^' friendship of Albert In order t^ obviate future misconstruction or misapprehension, I take this occasion to state that it never has been in my contempla- tion to urge upon the Legislature of our State any system of taxation, whatever, for the support of township schools, which shall not previously have received a foil examination and deliberate sanction from the people. Nothing of this nature can with propriety be in. ferred f.om my observations. It is the people, the sovereign people Jhe^sT/biiJV f' S'"* «f '""desty," 1 have respectfully invited to take' the subject of Education into their serious consideration_beIievin<. that when ,t .s fully canvassed and thoroughly understood, they wilf T' ?v^r "°^"^.'"'t3'';''"^"^ i« instructing their Representatives to carry the provisions of the.r own constitution into effect- «to estab- nnpn T" n'f '^.°°'' "y^""^'" *"'''°" ^*^^" ^« Sratis, and equally open to all " Those who believe that theyouthful season of a Sta e Ike that of an individual, is the seed time to prepare for a rich and luxuriant harvest, will probably be of opinion that the sooner this great work .s commenced the b.tter. J. H. FAKNHAM. Washington County, October 26, 1326. 3 X 3 «'p«o .0 ^ •'•«• .V^ ° ^^.A^ ^^o^ \-?^-^\/ %^^-.o' "^^/^^\/. n.'' '''^ ■0^ 4>°^ 'A ''^ ^ ^^A^ ^J^W^^'^ ^Lk A^ ''a< ' ^ _ . < A. ^ ♦ v^^ , % I'/v- ^0 ^ ^^ «^« ' (heckman gl p' BINDERY INC. |=| f. /^APR 89 j> I #Sl^ N. MANCHES ■ ^0 ^ '