From the Hon. W. L. Marcy, Secretary of State.

WASHINGTON, D. C., Aug. 16, 1855.

It relates to a subject of great interest, and I hope it will be extensively read W. L. MARCY.

From Senator Seward.

AUBURN, N. Y., July 13, 1855.

The scheme of the work seems to have been well devised and well executed, and it is calculated to be very useful. WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

SEE, ON PAGE 24, LETTERS FROM THEODORE SEDGWICK, ESQ., AND THE HON. V. M. RICE, SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.

New Jersey.

From Theo. Frelinghuysen, LL.D., President of Rutger's College. NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J., July 14, 1855.

I am quite satisfied that it is an excellent compendium, and full of instructive matter not contained in other works of the same nature.

I wish it a large patronage, which it fully deserves. It should have a place in all our colleges and academies; and no scholars are too young to learn about the government that under Heaven is their protection.

THEO. FRELINGHUYSEN.

Pennsylvania.

From Rev. John W. Nevin, D. D., President of Marshall College.
CARLISLE, Pa., August 3, 1855.

I have no hesitation in saying, that it appears to me to be a work well planned and happily executed for the purpose it is intended to serve. Of the importance of this purpose itself, it is not necessary for me to speak. No American education can deserve respect, which does not embrace an acquaintance with the structure of our own government, the facts and principles that go to form the Constitution of the United States.

JOHN W. NEVIN.

From the Rev. C. Collins D. D., President of Dickinson College."

CARLISLE, PA., July 16, 1855.

I have examined " Sheppard's Constitutional Text Book" with care; and am free to say that it pleases me better than any work on the subject now before the public. I shall recommend its use by the classes of this Institution. C. COLLINS.

From Hon. George M. Dallas, Ex-Vice President of the United States. PHILADELPHIA, PA., August 8, 1855.

The neat volume on the Constitution, by Mr. Furman Sheppard, of our bar, I have read with very great satisfaction. The author has given to his subject much discriminating care, has arranged its details in an order at once natural, lucid, and systematic, and has clothed his illustrations and comments in language as perspicuous and unaffected as that for which his text is so remarkable. The work appears to be admirably adapted to its purpose-that of planting in youthful minds a distinct and easily-retained apprehension of the organic structure and true range of our government.

I believe nothing to be so important as a universal and accurate knowledge of the Federal Constitution-certainly to our own country, and possibly to every other. It is founded upon a philosophy so forecasting and practical, and, in relation to the moral, social, and political peace and progress of humanity, trial has shown it to be so greatly superior to every other known form of government, that we cannot, without criminal ingratitude or insensate rashness, desire a change. And yet, unless the peculiar principles which weld together the several parts of the Constitution, and give to the Union consistency, harmony, and strength, be clearly understood in all their bearings, we must incur a constant risk of having it gradually sapped or suddenly overthrown. To those who study the Constitution, there will be seen to exist no mystery and no mistake. But, though plain as wisdom and explicit as good faith, it is easily misrepresented to the ignorant and misconstrued by the ill-disposed. Prescribe it as the noblest and most interesting of lessons to the ingenuous intellects and quick memories which throng our republican common schools, give it with the authenticity and direct truth so scrupulously observed by Mr. Sheppard, and you may rest assured that it will be buoyed upward by every succeeding wave of intelligence and veneration, for as many ages as Providence may assign to the freedom, prosperity, and renown of America.

G. M. DALLAS.

From William H. Allen, LL.D., President of Girard College, Philadelphia. GIRARD COLLEGE, Oct. 1, 1855.

Having examined the work with care, I am prepared to recommend it as an excellent book for elementary instruction on the important subject of which it treats. The author's exposition of the Constitution is clear and comprehensive; and he has evidently taken much pains to obtain accurate information ..from authentic sources in regard to the practical administration of all departments of our government. The book is well written and systematically arranged. It will supply a want which has been felt for a long time in schools, and will prove useful to the citizen and politician as well as to the student.

WM. H. ALLEN.

From Hon. R. C. Grier, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

PHILADELPHIA, PA., August 22, 1855.

I have examined Mr. Sheppard's "Constitutional Text Book." It is what it professes to be-a plain, practical, and thorough work on the subject, and "peculiarly calculated as a text-book for schools." As such I would especially recommend it to the attention of teachers of public schools, and others who desire a knowledge of the Constitution of the United States, and the peculiar nature of our government and institutions.

R. C. GRIER.

From the Hon. Ellis Lewis, LL.D., Chief Justice of Pennsylvania.

PHILADELPHIA, PA., July 18, 1855.

I need not speak of the manner in which the work has been presented to the public. No one can look at it without commending the skill, care, and enterprise of the publishers. I have examined it, and fully believe that the mass of valuable information which it contains, and the manner in which the subject is treated, render it a work of incalculable value, not only in schools, but among the people at large.

ELLIS LEWIS.

From Judge Sharswood, the distinguished Legal Writer.

PHILADELPHIA, PA., July 23, 1855. To know how to make a good school-book is a rare ability. It requires a perfect understanding of the subject, together with that practical common sense that knows how to select such parts, and arrange them in a simple manner, which are intelligible and useful to children. Mr. Sheppard has accomplished this admirably well in his "Constitutional Text Book." I have examined it carefully, and consider it in all respects adapted to the end it has in view. I recommend it to those who have the charge of public and other schools.

GEO. SHARSWOOD.

From the President of Pennsylvania College.

GETTYSBURG, PA., July 10, 1855.

I am free to say, that the introduction and study of it into our high-schools, academies, and colleges cannot fail to be followed by great benefit to the public. For reasons which are obvious, it is important, especially now, that the educated youth of the land be deeply imbued with the principles of the Constitution. The commentary upon the text seems to be logical and fair, and the mechanical execution such as to commend it to the eye. So far as my recommendation is worth any thing, it is cheerfully accorded to the work, with the hope it may have an extensive oirculation.

H. L. BAUGHER.

From the Rt. Rev. Bishop Potter, LL.D., of Pennsylvania.

PHILADELPHIA, PA., August 10, 1855.

I have given to Mr. Sheppard's "Constitutional Text Book" such examination as my other engagements and the state of my health would allow; and I am free to say, that strikes me very favourably. In addition to the body of the work, there is an Appendix of great value, and a Comparative Table of the Constitutions of the several States, which I have seen in no other elementary school-book, and which is exceedingly useful.

ALONZO POTTER.

From the Hon. J. K. Kane, Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

PHILADELPHIA, October 6, 1855.

Mr. Sheppard's Book is an admirable one, both in scheme and execution. I have run through it, and on some of the topics have examined it fully, and I feel authorized to commend it, not only to the pupils of our schools, but to all those "children of a larger growth" who have not yet studied carefully the institutions under which we live. J. K. KANE.

SEE, ON PAGE 24, A LETTER FROM JAMES BAYARD, ESQ., AUTHOR OF "A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES."

Delaware.

From Senator Clayton, late Secretary of State.

BUENA VISTA, DELAWARE, Sept. 25, 1855.

Mr. Sheppard has succeeded well in his object of adapting his book to the purpose of elementary instruction. Such a work should be studied in our schools and colleges; and, perhaps, with the exception of the professional jurist, who has always at hand the sources from which the information in the volume is derived, all classes of our citizens might find in it a useful and valuable auxiliary.

JOHN M. CLAYTON.

From the Chief Justice of Delaware.

DOVER, DEL., July 23, 1855.

I have read the work with pleasure, and shall pass it over to my boys to be studied carefully. It is a very proper text-book for schools, and as such I hope it will be generally used; so that those who are to administer the government may not depend on cursory reading or partisan speeches for a knowledge of its principles and structure, but learn them as an essential branch of acade mic education.

SAMUEL M. HARRINGTON.

Maryland.

From the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, late Attorney-General of the

United States.

BALTIMORE, Sept. 11, 1855.

I have read with care and satisfaction, the greater portion of "Sheppard's Constitutional Text Book," and think it exceedingly well fitted for the purpose intended.

I know no work of the kind better adapted to impart to the young, correct political and constitutional knowledge.

Its introduction into our "schools, academies, and colleges," will be a great public benefit. No one can overrate, in forms of government like ours, the value of such knowledge. While it informs us of our rights and obligations, it teaches us the inestimable worth of the institutions under which we live, and the paramount duty of preserving them in all their integrity.

REVERDY JOHNSON.

From Rev. Hector Humphreys, D. D., President of St. John's College. ANNAPOLIS, MD., July 21, 1855.

Mr. Sheppard's work is the most complete of its kind that I have ever seen. It covers the whole ground of the Constitution, and the laws on the several topics. The matter is put in a highly attractive style, and the arrangement is perspicuous and convenient for reference.

HECTOR HUMPHREYS.

Virginia and District of Columbia.

From Hon. Asbury Dickins, Secretary of Senate of the United States. WASHINGTON, D. C., August 17, 1855.

I am satisfied it is a valuable work. I heartily wish you success in disseminating a better knowledge of our admirable Constitution,-the work of wise and patriotic men-under which we have enjoyed so much prosperity, and which more and more it becomes us faithfully to adhere to as the means of preserving union, liberty, and happiness.

ASBURY DICKINS.

From William A. Smith, D.D., President of Randolph Macon College, 1855.

Virginia.

Aug. 27,

I have read "Sheppard's Constitutional Text Book" with pleasure. I think it a useful book, and one which may be used in the schools with great propriety. WM. A. SMITH.