Lancaster gazette. [volume], March 04, 1828, Image 1

About Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Mass.) 1828-1830

Image provided by: Boston Public Library

                
fcOCAST®® GAIETTH.
OL. L
BLISHED EVERY TUESDAY EVENING, BY
F. & J. ANDREWS,
LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS.
>BMS _Two dollars per annum—or one dollar
eventy five cents if paid in advance. If not
within six months after the expiration of the
two dollars and fifty cents.
ivbrTISEMENTS conspicuously inserted three
s for one dollar per square; less than a
e SEVENTY-FIVE cents,andcontinueda longer
at one shilling an insertion.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
t year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred i
and twenty eight.
ACT ceding to the United States
isdiction over a Tract of Land purchased by
■m in Chelsea, for the erection of a Naval Hos
ai tnercvu.
eit enacted the Senate and House of
resentatives, in General Court assembled,
by the authority of the same, That the
sent of this commonwealth be, and hereby
ranted to the United States, to purchase
hold a tract of land situate in Chelsea, in
Lounty of Suffolk, for a Naval Hospital,
in the following limits, viz: begining at
int at low water mark on the north side
ie nothern channel of Mistic River,where
uches Chelsea Bridge, thence northeas
r along the western side of said Bridge
ligh water mark, thence northeasterly
g the north side of Salem Turnpike road
en rods, to the land of Abel Gardner, from
ice northerly by tile land of said Gardner,
it rods and three links, from thence
heasterly partly by the land of said
dner, partly by the land of the Proprie
of Salem Turnpike and partly by the
of Samuel Chittenden, fifteen rods and
links, from thence southerly by the land
aid Chittenden to the Salem Turnpike,
i thence by the Salem Turnpike to the
of Thomas Williams, from thence
herly by the land of said Williams, to
nd End River, from thence by a line due
tto Mill River, from thence southwes
r along the low water line of said River
s junction with Mistic River, thence
along the northern low water
of the north channel of Mistic River to
dace of beginning ; containing seventy
acres of land, be the same more or less.
lan or map of said described premises
squired to be deposited in the office of
Secretary of State of this Common
-Ith. Provided, That this Common
-Ith shall retain, and does hereby retain,
surrent jurisdiction with the United
es, in and over said land, so far that all
and criminal process, issued under the
ority of this Commonwealth, or any
er thereof, may be executed on any part
lid land, or in any building, which now
r may be hereafter erected: thereon, in
same way and manner as if this consent
not been granted. Provided also, That
irovisions or mis aui sicm-mn
it until the building for said Naval Hos
be erected on said described premises,
iproved by the Governor, Feb. 20,1828.
ACT in addition to the several Acts
givi g 0 r her Remedies in Equity.
c it enacted by the Senate and House of
resentatives in General Court assembled,
by the authority of the same, That when
complaint, bill, or suit in Equity shall be
ling in the Supreme Judicial Court in
County in which any decree, order, or
iction shall have been made or passed,
tall be lawful for any Justice of said
rt, as well in vacation as in term time, to
J all such writs and processes as may be
issary to carry into full effect such de
, order, or injunction.
pproved by the Governor, Jan. 28, 1828.
A PROCLAMATION
FOR
DAY OF FASTING AND PRAYER.
is suited to the sentiments and hab
f a Christian People that occasional
ons should be unitedly observed, in
ible acknowledgement of dependence
i Divine Providence, in humiliation
sin, and in supplication to God for
on and future blessing.
ith the advice arid consent of the
'utive Council, I therefore appoint
URSDAY, the third day of April
> for those solemn services, in Fasting
Prayer, throughout this Common
th—And I recommend to the People,
. with one accord, abstaining from
sement and unnecessary labor, on that
ttiey assemme wretrmen
ors and Teachers, in the Houses de
ted to Public Worship, and offer to
throne of infinite mercy, the incense
earts contrite for the defects and trans
sions of past time, and religiously re
sd upon duty and faithfulness in the
ovement of the future—that they
mend, in their devotions, the Country
its Government, the Commonwealth
its Institutions, the spread of a know
e of the Gospel, the cause of learning,
influence of a sense of moral account
>ty, the laudable pursuits and true in-
Sts of the people, to the favor of hea
’ an d that, individually, they seek
hope of salvation, which comes of the
mess of God, by faith in his Son, and
hence to the law of his revealed Will,
ven at the Council Chamber, in Boston, this
wenty-sixth day of February, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and twentv
®>Rht, and of the Independence of the United
States the fifty-second.
LEVI LINCOLN.
r His Excellency the Governor, with the advice
consent of the Council.
Edward D. Bangs, Secretary,
od save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts !
LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS, TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 4, 1828.
MORAL
MORALITY AND GOOD TASTE.
In an enlightened age you will scarce
ly believe to what a degree good morals de
pend on good taste, and good taste on good
morals. The works of Racine, gradually
becoming more pure, in proportion as the
auther became more religious, at last con
cluded with his Athaliah. Take notice
on the contrary, how the impiety and the
genius of Voltaire discover themselves at
one and the same time in his productions,
by a mixture of delightful and disagreea
ble subjects. Bad taste, when incorrigi
ble, is a perversion of judgement, a natu
ral bias in the ideas; now, as the mind
acts upon the heart, the ways of the latter
can scarcely Fo upright whe n those nf tha
tormer are not so. He who is fond of de
formity at a time when a thousand master
pieces might apprise him of his error and
rectify his taste, is not far from loving
vice, and it is no wonder if he who is in
sensible to beauty should also be blind to
virtue.
Every writer, who refuses to believe in
a God, the author of the universe, and the
judge of man, whose soul he has made im
mortal, in the first place excludes infinity
from his works. He confines his intellect
within a circle of clay, from which it has
then no means of escaping. He sees
nothing that is noble in nature; all her
operations are, in his infatuated opinion,
effected by impure means of corruption
and regeneration. The vast abyss is but
a little bituminous water ; the mountains
are small protuberances of calcareous or
vitrificable rock, and the heavens are but a
petty vault, thrown over us for a moment
by the capricious hand of chance.
Chateaubriand.
BENEFICENCE.
“ In doing good,” says Mr. Burke, “ we
are generally cold, and languid, and slug
gish, and of all things afraid of being too
much in the right.” There is a timidity
attending our incipient actions, not only
in circumstances which never involved us,
but in circumstances which have not in
volved us for a long time. It is hence
that, having long neglected the work of
mercy, we become languid in doing good,
and are afraid of being too mwh in the
right. There is also danger lest, by neg
lecting the culture of benevolent sympa
thies, the seeds of ill-will and injustice,
alas, too generally sown in the human
heart, will spring up and flourish in bane
ful luxuriance.
There are men, however, whose chief
cmpivj tuvin consists nr mnrcnurnc?, ana
who taste a pleasure in acts of humanity
which can be tasted by the humane alone.
Like the faculty of taste, a disposition to
goodness is educed and improved by pro
per exercise. If, therefore, we emulate the
character of the beneficent man, and
would know the luxury of doing good, we
must let no opportunity to be useful es
cape us unused ; but must be ever awake
to the wants of our kind, and have our
ears continually open to the whispers of
distress.
MEANS OF DOING GOOD.
As the capacities of different minds vary,
so ought to vary the means of affecting them.
There are multitudes whose attention is
caught by any thing new or peculiar in its
appearance. Such are tracts with an inter
esting cut to attract the notice of observers.
Such also are cards with valuable instruc
tion imprinted on them; especially if there is
any peculiarity in the form, color, or impres
sion of the paper. Of this kind is the
following, which exhibits a particular meth
od of doing good, and which will probably
be new to many readers.
WHOLESOME ADVICE.
Hear j f Be silent
Be silent I , , . I Understand
Understand f and learn to Remember.
Remember J [do accordingly.
see, judge }
can do, do J
Wealth some j
lost, much Most.
Virtue ’ more (
Soul (all J
'praying, (lose
ISl*™B aims, j impoverish
Bv being unjust, ' 5““ j enneb not '
.lying, J [profit
Whatever abstracts the thought from sen
sual gratifications, whatever teaches us to
look for happiness within ourselves, must
advance in some measure the dignity of our
nature.
Would you judge of the lawfulness or un
lawfulness of pleasures, take this rule: what
ever weakens your reason, impairs the ten
derness of your conscience, obscures your
sense of God, or takes off the relish of spir
itual things—in short, whatever increases
the strength and authority of your body over
your mind—that thing is sin to you, though
it may appear innocent in itself.
When persons loiter on a journey they
are sometimes benighted afterwards:—and
when believers are not diligent in the use of
ordinances, and in the performance of good
works, no wonder if they walk in darkness.
Happiness has been beautifully compared
to the manna in the desert. “He that gath
ered much had nothing over, and he that
gathered little had no lack.” Therefore, to
diminish envy, let us consider not what oth
ers possess, but what they enjoy.
EDUCATION.
INSTRUCTION OF TEACHERS.
The following is the report recently made to the
Legislature, relative to the instruction of teachers
of schools, which has been a subject of investiga- i
tion for two or three of the last sessions. It will ।
be seen that, though the report is not made with ;
reference to the particular contemplated institu
tion which suggested it, the committee express
entire confidence in the project itself; but recom
mend a distribution throughout the State of the
aid which shall be afforded by the Legislature:
The Committee on Education, to whom
was referred that part of the Mesmge of
His Excellency the Governor, delivered at
the June session, which relates to an In
stitution for the instruction of School
Taaohco and to the general subject of
Education, have considered the same, in
obedience to the order of the House. ’
The Committee need not multiply
words for the purpose of indicating the
magnitude and importance of the topics to
which their attention has been directed.
It is known, that the existing systems of
common school education, have within a
few years attracted the particular notice
of this community. Whilst for a long pe
riod the free schools of the Commonwealth
had pursued their regular, stated course
without becoming the object of legislative
interference; and whilst the system itself
out of which they grew, had been made
the theme of praise and commendation,
both at home and abroad; it is not to be
concealed, that the opinion had often been
expressed, that the schools were in a lan
guishing condition, and that the whole
system was in many essential particulars
defective and inefficient. A minute and
careful examination instituted and car
ried through by successive Legislatures,
resulted at last in the enactment of cer
tain provisions, which, in the opinion of
the Committee, have in a high degree
subserved the interests of the public in
this regard, and contributed already very
much to elevate the character of the com
mon schools. These provisions, together
with all pre-existing enactments upon the
subject, were embodied in one general
law at the last winter session. Of the
prominent features of that law, the Com
mittee have expressed an opiniion very
fully in a former report. They feel satis
fied of the correctness of that opinion ;
but they believe that the course of im
provement should not be suffered to stop
at this point, lest what has already been
gained be put in jeopardy. Something
more is wanting—some*!*"*’ ’”Fich shall
me and vigour into the
system, and bring the operations of it con
stantly home to the observation of the
Legislature and of the community. Some
thing too is wanting to insure the results,
which are reasonably to be anticipated
from the enactments just alluded to. The
general regulations in regard to the
schools, the regulations in regard to their
periodical examination, to the selection
of books, and to the duties of the various
committees, are all highly important.
But there are no means yet devised of
warranting to the schools the services of
well qualified instructors. Nor has any
plan as yet been presented to satisfy the
community, that the goverment of the
Commonwealth are, what they surely
ought to be, the substantial and efficient
patrons of these valuable institutions.
The deep and intimate connection of
these institutions with the best interests,
nay, with all the interests of the public ;
and the fact, that all which we hold deir,
even though considered but political}',
rests mainly upon them, should forn a
sufficient reason for establishing and con
stantly maintaining such patronage and
guardianship. The object contenulated
cannot, as is obviously to be seen, bs sud
denly accomplished. The accunulation
of a fund for the purposes in view is indis
pensably necessary. And as no neans of
accumulating such a fund at oice are
known to be accessible, such meins must
be resorted to as shall conduce to this
end by regular and gradual appropria
tions. , /
The establishment of a find should
look to the support of an institution for
the instruction of school tea:hers in each
county in the Commonwealth and to the
distribution, annually, to all .he towns, of
such a sum for the benefit a the schools,
as shall simply operate as m encourage
ment to proportionate effors on the part
of the towns. A fund whica should be so
large as to suffice for the support of the
whole school establishment of the State, as
is the case in Connecticut, would, in the
opinion of the Committee, be rather det
rimental than advantagerus: it would
only serve to draw off from the mass of
the community that animiting interest,
which will ever be found indispensable,
where a resolute feeling ujon the subject
is wished for or expected. Such a result
is in every sense to be diprecated, and
whatever may tend to it even remotely
should be anxiously avoided. A fund
which should admit of the distribution of
SIOOO to any town that should raise
S3OOO, in any manner within itself, or in
.that proportion, would operate as a strong
incentive to high efforts; and if to this
should be added, the farther requisition of
a faithful return to the Legislature annu
ally of the condition of the schools, the
consequences could not be otherwise than
decidedly favourable.
These then are the objects which the
Legislature should have in view, in the
establishment of a literary fund ; and the
principles and purposes of the distribution
of its avails should be fixed by them, and
kept constantly within their control.
That an institution for the instruction of
school teachers is practicable seems hard
ly to admit of doubt. In such an institu
tion the attention of the student would be
directed to a course of reading upon the
general subject and objects of education ;
he would be thoroughly instructed in all
the branches pertaining to his profession
(for such it would certainly become)
but more particularly to that portion of
solid and useful learning which would be
calculated to fit him to communicate the
knowledge required in out common free
schools. With such a course would be
connected the distinguishing advantages
of an experimental school of young per
sons, in which the student would have
practically set before him the kind of man
agement ami discipline which these
schools require. The plan is extremely
simple, and conforms in all respects to
the course pursued in fitting young men
for any other professional business —
happily combining theory and practice
together. '
In another view of this subject, a fund
for both of the objects indicated becomes
deeply important, and indeed indispensa
ble. It is known that the number of
Academies in the Commonweath is very
great, and that of late years the objection
has been forcibly urged against their in
crease, that they have a tendency to in
jure the common schools, by diminishing
the interest taken in the welfare of the
schools in towns where Academies are
established. It is said, and the Commit
tee believe with much truth, that men of
wealth, who are able to educate their
children at these institutons, or at private
schools of a high order, will rarely be dis
posed to exert their influence to obtain
generous or even barely adequate grants
of school money. There is no slight rea
son for the apprehension, that this in in
fluence may oftentimes be exerted a con
trary way. Indeed, even a partial exam
ination, the Committee believe, will be
sufficient to satisfy any one, that such has
heretofore notunfrequently been the case;
in the experience of the past, thoro is a
bundAut confirmation of these views. It
is easy to see that as the country advan
ces in wealth, these causes, adverse to the
interests and well being of the free schools,
must have a still wider and deeper opera
tion, and unless counteracted, may even
tually weaken, if they should not abso
lutely prostrate, the hopes in which the
system originated, and which have thus
far accompanied it. To avoid so unfortu
nate a result, means must be devised to
ensure, if possible, a permanent interest in
this concern on the part of the whole peo
ple. In the opinion of the Committee,
the establishment of the proposed fund
constitutes such a means, and will fully
answer the purpose, by shielding the
common schools against the mischievous
effects which otherwise might follow a too
prodigal increase of Academies and semi
naries of a higher order.
The Committee, therefore, feel it to be
their duty to offer to the consideration of
the Legislature a Bill making provision,
prospectively, for the purposes set forth in
this Report. The fund, it is true, may
not be available for some time to come ;
but the Legislature and the community
cannot fail to see the importance of no
longer delaying the commencement of the
work, and of putting it at once in the
train of successful operation.
The bill accompanying this report provides that
the Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary, and Trea
surer of the Commonwealth, be Commissioners to
manage a fund to be called the Massachusetts Lite
rary Fund—that this fund be appropriated to the
endowment of an Institution for the instruction of
school teachers in each county, and for the aid and
encouragement of common schools, provided that no
appropriation shall exceed the amount raised by in
dividuals or towns in said county—that the money
received from sales of public lands, such portion of
the Massachusetts claim as shall be allowed, and
fifteen per cent, of the taxes on banks hereafter in
corporated, be appropriated as this fund—that the
fund be invested in stocks or other securities in the
name of the Commonwealth, and that an annual
exhibition be made of its condition—and that the
Commissioners have power to accept donations, &c.
for the increase of said fund.
No disposition has yet been made of this report ;
and it is doubtful whether it be acted upon at the
present session.
Andover Seminaries. The catalogue
of the Theological Seminary, for the pre
sent year, contains the names of 108 stu
dents—Licentiates resident 3, Senior class
27, Middle class 38, and Junior class 40.
The Trustees of Phillips Academy pro
pose to erect another building, and establish
a department in which instruction will be
given in the higher branches of an English
education. The late Gov. Phillips, of Boston,
bequeathed to the Academy $15,000 for this
purpose.
POLITICAL.
As most of our readers have probably made them
selves acquainted with the proceedings of the
present Congress, thus far, it is not necessary for
us to go back to the beginning of the Session, or
to attempt to give a summary of the business which
has already been transacted. We commence ab
ruptly, therefore, with the following account of the
proceedings of the 22d ult. which we copy from
the Boston Courier, the readers of which have been
highly favoured during the past winter with suc
cinct, yet comprehensive and interesting accounts
of the congressional proceedings, from the senior
editor, who has resided at Washington during the
session, for that purpose : —
In the House of Representatives this
morning. Mr. Insham, by the direction
of the committee on the rost omce and
Post offered a joint resolution,
conferring on Charles Carroll of Carroll
ton, the only surviving signer of the de
claration of independence, the privilege
of receiving and transmitting letters, pa
pers, and packages, through the mails,
free of postage. Mr. M’Duffie hoped that
the mover of the resolution would state
the reasons which had induced the com
mittee to offer it. Mr. Ingham said, in
in reply, that he knew of no other motive
than a desire to offer a mark of respect to
the venerable man to whom it had refer
ence. Mr. Smith said he had no objec
tion to the object proposed, but as it might
be desirable to pass it with some modifica
tion, he moved it be referred to a commit
tee of the whole House,, and made the
order of the day for to-morrow. This
motion was lost, and the resolution having
been twice read, the question being on its
passage to a third reading, Mr. M’Duffie
said he thought this the worst possible
mode of expressing respect for the gentle
man to whom it referred. Such a mea
sure was not necessary in order to testify
to the people of the United States, or to
the world, our feelings with regard to the
only surviving signer of the declaration of
independence. It could not be acceptable
to that individual himself. It was only
offering a very small, pecuniary privilege
to one of the wealthiest individuals in the
nation. It involved, also, a more danger
ous principle than any other he had ever
known to be brought forward in Congress.
On motion of Mr. Taylor, the resolution
was laid upon the table.
The resolution offered on Thursday, by
Mr. Wilde of Georgia, calling on the Pre
sident of the United States, “to inform
the House whether and what measures
have been taken to preserve inviolate that
part oi the Constitution of the United
States, which declares that no State shall
be formed or erected within the jurisdic
tion of any other State, &c. without the
consent of the Legislature of the State
concerned as well as of Congress,” was
taken up for consideration. Mr. Wilde
very briefly explained his object in moving
the resolution, that it was to ascertain with
what views, and on what principles, cer
tain Indian tribes, with whom the people
of the United States had an anomalous
connection, had been organized into in
dependent and distinct governments, with
in the limits of the States, and under
constitutions formed by white people. On
motion of Mr. Storrs, the resolution was
so modified as to embrace a call for infor
mation respecting the organizations allud
ed to. Mr. Storrs supposed that, although
these Indian governments were indepen
dent of the State jurisdiction, they were
not statements, in the sense of the Con
stitution. After a few remarks by Mr.
Lumpkin and others, the resolution was
laid on the table.
Mr. Chilton offered a resolution propos
ing an inquiry into the expediency of re
ducing the number of Cadets at the West-
Point Academy. Mr. C. said he was not
an enemy to science; but he thought it
his duty to use all the means in his power
to arrest the progress of institutions of an
aristocratical character. He was aware
that many gentlemen did not believe this
to be an aristocratic institution, but he,
nevertheless, was satisfied, from what had
come within his knowledge, that the sons
of the wealthy had a preference over those
of the poor, in obtaining an education at
the expense of the public. He requested
the House to look at the institution of
Capt. Partridge, which had sent forth a
thousand young men, educated as well as
those at West-Point—not at the public ex
pense—but from their own contributions
or those of their friends—all equally well
qualified to enter the army as officers, but
none of which, he believed, had ever re
ceived commissions. Mr. Chilton was
entering, apparently, upon a wide discus
sion of the comparative merits of these
two institutions, when he was obliged to
suspend his remarks, by the expiration of
the time allotted for the consideration of
resolutions.
Several private bills were acted on in
committee of the whole. The House ad
journed before two o’clock,
Mr. Randolph has not made his appear
ance in the house for a fortnight. He
rides out occasionally, and was seen yes
terday, it was reported, on horseback, ac
coutred with the game-bags and other im
plements of the sportsman.
NO. 1.