Massachusetts is therefore justly enti- | machinery of a society constituted as tled to a large share of the credit of hav- that is in which we live. It must be by ing given an impulse to the cause of POP-promulgating among the people the senULAR EDUCATION. The early settlers of timent of the necessity of education--by that section of our country were fully arousing their attention to its value-by sensible of the defects of the English in- demonstrating its beneficial results, as stitutions which they had forsaken. That not only the best check on the increase the schools of learning and religion were of crime, the prevention of pauperism, corrupted, and the fairest hopes over- but also the promoter of public order thrown by licentious behavior in those and private happiness-that we can hope seminaries, was one among the many to have education generally diffused. So causes of their emigration from the Old soon as the people are convinced, we World, and of pledging themselves to shall have the brilliant object which all the education of their children. In the should desire to see effected. To proyear 1668, a document was published by | duce great results, must be the work of order of the government and council of time. The past labors of the people are Massachusetts, and addressed to the el- the best evidences of their devotion to the ders and ministers of every town, in advancement of learning, and give great which paper was set forth an earnest hope that the system of education will desire for the moral and religious instruc- be laid with a broad and deep foundation of the people, and an appeal to those tion, on which the pyramid of the repubto whom the instrument was directed, to lic's glory and security may rise, and reexamine whether the education of youth main an imperishable monument of the in the English language was attended to. benevolence and wisdom of her citizens. From the time of the Winthrops and In connexion, however, with the above, their associates, who labored zealously we most unhesitatingly assert that mere in this field of usefulness, to the present intellectual improvement is not, or should period, New England has devoted her not be, the exclusive or even the primaattention to the promotion of knowledge; ry object of EDUCATION. Moral and reliand in the industry, integrity, and fru-gious principles are infinitely more mogality of her children, now beholds the mentous to the character and interests brilliant results of her perseverance. of the future man than the cultivation of When we consider that the tide of im- the mind alone, whether we look to the migration, which is sweeping before it individual himself, or to the influence the forests of the west, takes its rise in which he will hereafter exercise upon the eastern section of the United States, society. The talented and accomplished and bears upon its bosom the elements scholar may shine in public and social of enrichment that it is composed, in a life-may astonish by the depth of his great degree, of those who have been erudition, charm by the graces of his elenabled to obtain there the rudiments oquence, or dazzle by the coruscations of learning, the first principles of valua- of his wit; but the truly moral and virble information-ought we not to be tuous man-THE MAN OF PRINCIPLE ONLY grateful to those who have toiled and is the centre around which domestic are still doing all that lies in their pow- felicity revolves; he only contributes to er to render the fountain pure and trans- the real and enduring benefit of society, parent? and his own near and dear connexions. Contemplated in this aspect (and few, we think, will refuse thus to contemplate it), the morality which may be learned from any system of religious opinions that professes to take the Bible for its basis, deserves to be estimated far more highly than even the most extensive acquirements and splendid abilities, if uncontrolled by those motives and principles Too much can not be done in arousing public opinion on the subject of the education of children. Let the instruction of a child be considered the paramount duty of a good citizen, and then public sentiment will act much more powerfully to produce the results desired than the staff of the officer of police. Public opinion is the best balance-wheel of the These illustrious worthies of a past age being dead, yet speak to us. We do well to hallow their memories and record their noble deeds. Interesting associations cluster around these great actors in the drama of THE PAST. They belong to the nation; for not the old states merely, but those which sprang into being but yesterday, look upon the glory of the Revolution as a common patrimony. This nation must ever be sensible of the worth of its benefactors, and real merit will soon dissipate the mists of party prejudice. Its effect, like that of a very strong sympathetic feeling running through the people, must be to knit more closely the bonds of national union. It has given freshness to the memory of common efforts in the great national struggle, which must always prove a powerful tie among men who exult in the achievements of a common ancestry. It may have furnished some incense to the vanity imputed to our nation; but this is as dust in the balance compared with the spirit which it indicates and the feelings which it has awakened. Here we may learn useful lessons for the future, from the history of the past. Let us follow these distinguished men to " old age;” when Nature seemed to demand repose, each had retired to the spot from which the public exigencies had first called him-his public labors ended, his work accomplished, his beloved country prosperous and happythere to indulge in the blessed retrospect of a well-spent life, and to await that period which comes to all. Did they pass their time in idleness and indifference? No. The same spirit of active benevolence, which made the meridian of their lives resplendent with glory, continued to shed its lustre upon their evening path. Still intent on DOING GOOD, still devoted to the great cause of human happiness and improvement, none of these illustrious men relaxed in their exertions. They seemed only to concentrate their energy rendering important services to the colonies, and is named in the journals of those times as a brave and heroic character. The materials of his biography are yet extant in public and private documents in the city and state of New York, and ought to be collected and preserved, as important sources of history. as age and increasing infirmity contracted the circle of action-bestowing, without ostentation, their latest efforts upon the state and neighborhood in which they resided. There, with patriarchal simplicity, they lived, the objects of a nation's grateful remembrance and affection-the living records of a nation's history; the charm of an age which they delighted, adorned, and instructed, by their deeds of benevolence, and vivid sketches of times that are past; and, as it were, the embodied spirit of the Revolution itself, in all its purity and force, diffusing its wholesome influence through the generations that have succeeded, rebuking every sinister design, and invigorating every manly and virtuous resolution. We can not set in too strong a light their history. It awakens the public gratitude for their services; it tells their countrymen to be faithful to their principles, and vigilant in preserving those institutions free and unimpaired, to attain which they sacrificed their ease and safety. These eulogies are in fact the people's testimony to the excellence of our form of government. The veneration paid to such men as ADAMs and JEFFERSON is an acknowledgment of the worth of the political principles which they labored to establish. And when the kingdoms of the Old World are tottering to their foundations, what can be more proper or grateful than the sight of a whole people uniting to testify their love for the government under which they live? In other countries, one half of the nation is employed in preventing the other from pulling the political machine to pieces. HERE, ALL ARE UNITED TO upHOLD IT. Of the present distinguished, patriotic, and benevolent citizens of Boston, a long list might be here given, and then not all be mentioned. It has been remarked, and with great truthfulness, that the liberality of her rich men is proverbial from Maine to Missouri, and has secured for that city a name which, we trust, future generations will not only respect, but endeavor to add to its lustre, by imitating such men as the LAWRENCES, DAVID SEARS, the APPLETONS, THOMAS H. PER |