try, and so important to the respectability and pleasures of mechanical pursuits? Why should there not be an endowed Provincial School of Arts in Toronto, as well as an endowed University of Literature? Why should there not be an Elementary School of Arts in every District Town in Upper Canada as well as a District Grammar School ? This was one object of the present School Law for Cities and Towns. The official circular transmitting a copy of it to each City and Town Corporation in January last* called their attention to the importance and mode of establishing a Central School in each City and Town adapted to impart a thorough mechanical and commercial education. As no population was ever yet educated, except in crime, by having its schools shut up; so mechanics will never attain the educational advantages and social position which are due to arts and manufactures, without asserting the rights of their order, and the hitherto neglected interests of their trades. And while there is an unmeasured field of improvement and prosperity spread out before us in the landscape of the future, we are not to suppose that there remains nothing for us to achieve in the field of discovery and invention. The steam-engine itself may be but in the infancy of its perfection; the locomotion of the present may be but a snail's speed to the locomotion of the future; and the most admired inventions and machinery of the present age may be thrown aside as useless lumber in comparison of the inventions and machinery of a coming age. The last steampacket from England informs us that Dr. FARADAY has discovered "a hitherto unknown mechanical power connected in a remarkable manner with magnetism ;" and apprizes us at the same time, that progressive science, not content with employing the electric fluid as a messenger of thought, has also adopted it as an instrument of light-a light that cheers the deepest gloom for miles in circumference, and which would, in the darkest night, shed the splendour of two full moons over the city of Toronto-a light which seems almost to challenge the solar rays in the brilliancy of its effulgence as well as in the rapidity of its travels. Unknown principles, and elements, and powers, now mysteriously operating around us, may be to our descendents what the mechanical agencies of air and steam are to us; and the past progress in the arts and sciences may be only the introduction to future advancement. May Canada share largely in the honors and benefits of that advancement; and may the generations of future ages rank many of her mechanic sons with the WATTS and ARKWRIGHTS, the FRANKLINS and FULTONS of past ages! POSTAGE ON THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.-It not being known to the Postmaster at Toronto, that the form of the Journal of Education had been changed so as to subject it to no more than newspaper postage (half-penny each number,) some of the parcels containing the last number were marked at last year's rate of postage-an error which we are assured will not occur again. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS-To the 12th February, inclusive. Rem. for Vol. I, from Supt. Newcastle District (7), Hon. James Ferrier; for Vol. I and II, Hon. Chief Justice Robinson, Rev. F. Pilote, Judge Campbell (Nia. Dis.), Hon. S. B. Harrison, H. Y. Hind, Esq., Hon. Judge Sullivan, G. Duggan, jr., Esq., J. R. Armstrong, Esq., G. B. Spencer, Esq., Supt. Niagara District (5), A. McClen ghan, Esq.; for Vol. II, F. Neale, Esq., A.M., B. Woods, W. H. Wells, Esq., A.M., (Newburyport, Mass.), Supt. C. S. Bytown, J. Corwin, W. Watson, J. Upper, Miss E. Corwin, W. Ramsay, M. McPherson, Rev. T. Cosford, Rev. L. Taylor, Supt. London District, Supt. Johnstown District (for 205 copies), Clerk P. Edw. District (for 104 copies), Clerk Dalhousie District (for 16 M. Cs.), M. L. S. Raymond, Supt. Ottawa District (5), W. Hunter, H. Kropp, W. Meston, J. Paul; Miss Towler, Miss Orr; J. Stewart, F. McNab, J. McKinnon, G. Henry, H. Bowslaugh, A. Nash, W. Plant, S. B. Buckland, J. Elliott, J. Humphreys, O. Olmstead, J. Diamond, W. L. Hutton, J. W. C. Browne, T. Robinson, J. Price, J. T. Pennock, B. Galloway, A. Campbell, D. Reesor, W. R. Graham, Esq., Mr. Higgins, J. Dall, T. Topping, J. Hawkins, J. Willson, Esq., A. S. Holmes, Esq. (3), A. Morse, Esq, Rev. W. H. Poole (5), L. Lewis, Esq. * See Journal of Education, Vol. I, pp. 16-21. A JUUKNAL UF EDU TORONTO, FEBRUARY JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.-On the last pag such opinions of the Canadian press-French as have come under our notice, respecting the tion. We hope the considerable pecuniary l lishing the first volume, (besides the gratuitous may not be required again in the publication of We hope all friends of Education will aid us b in a work objected to by none, and commend Press generally as adapted to promote the edu the Country. In the Annual School Report fo York, presented last month to the Legislature intendent, we find the following paragraph : would earnestly recommend to the Legislature the appropriation of $2,400 to the District Sc ask for no such “appropriation" to sustain the tion; but we should like to see it ordered fo and Clergy of Canada, in addition to the subscr Councils, Trustees, Teachers, &c. " SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE.-The attention of and all persons interested in the erection o earnestly recommended to the article under Architecture, the second part of which will b next number, This admirable document was furnished to each School Section by order of Rhode Island, but the Superintendent of Sch New-York recommends the New-York Legislat School Section in that State with a copy of it. that such an Essay on School Architecture-the and the General Principles to be observed-o various plans of school-houses which will be numbers. MECHANICS AND MANUFACTURES.-We devo of this number to one subject—a subject whic been more than alluded to in our pages-but a any other interwoven with every material int -the source of its wealth, the life of its prospe in the machinery of its progressive civilization refer to the development of the various natu agencies involved in the trades and manufactur as promoted by the appropriate education of manufacturing classes of the population. Th the deepest interest to the statesman, the ec thropist and the agriculturist, as well as the r The early publication of the address on we insert in the present number, was desired o intelligent mechanics and manufacturers bef delivered; and we have felt that due regard which it was designed to promote, required its one number-the course we pursued in publishi Education in connexion with Agriculture and turer. The attention of the Legislature has been ca by a Petition from the Mechanics and Tradesm we hope the Session will not close without so to promote so vital an interest of the country well as its own scholars and agriculturists. Mr. HIND, the able Mathematical Master and Lecturer in Chetry and Natural Philosophy in the Normal School, has favoured with a communication on this subject, and a Synopsis of the rse of Instruction proper for a Provincial School of Practical owledge, or a School of Art and Design. These papers will be erted in our next number. THE SCHOOL RATE-BILL SYSTEM IN THE STATE OF NEW-YORK. YSTEM OF FREE SCHOOLS.-We beg to recommend attention to article, page 27, on this subject, which we have extracted from Annual Report of the Superintendent of Common Schools for State of New-York, laid before the Legislature, January 1849, a copy of which we have received since the publication of the number of this Journal. It cannot but appear singular to every er, that a majority of the Corporation of Toronto should shut e Common Schools under a system which has been voluntarily ed by the Citizens of the principal Cities and Towns in the bouring States. Whether the policy of shutting up the ols against all, or that of opening them to all, has been dictated Ɔre intelligence and patriotism, may be decided by every reader. r space does not permit us to do any more in this number -newed Remarks on the State of Education in the Province nual Report of the Regents of the University on the Condi- nual Report of the Trustees of the State Library. Albany, aual Report of the Superintendent of Common Schools, ual Report of the Executive Committee of the State Normal * See Journal of Education, Vol. I. pp. 36-45. cation (a monthly publication.)G. Bell, London, 1848-9. 2 Nos. each, pp. 44. 9. Journal of the Proceedings of the Municipal Council of the District of Gore. Special and October Sessions, 1848. pp. 131. EVILS OF THE SCHOOL RATE-BILL SYSTEM IN THE [From the Annual School Report of the State Superintendent, laid before the Legislature, 2nd January, 1849.] The mode of supporting a school, under the present system, is as follows: The trustees employ a qualified teacher, for stipulated wages. At the close of his term they gave him an order upon the town superintendent, for such portion of the public money as may have been voted by the district for the term; or in case no vote has been taken, for such portion as they think proper. But in no case can, the trustees legally draw for more money than is due the teacher at the date of the order. If the public money is not sufficient to pay the teacher's wages, the trustees proceed to make out a rate bill for the residue, charging each parent, or guardian, according to the number of days' attendance of his children. Under the present law, the trustees have power to exempt indigent persons, and the amount exempted is a charge upon the district, and may be immediately collected by tax, or added to any tax thereafter levied. After the rate bill is completed, thirty days notice of its completion is given by the trustees, one of whom must be in attendance on a day and place appointed in said notice, once a week for two successive weeks, to receive payment; and during the whole of the said thirty days, any person may pay to either of the trustees, or to the teacher, the sum charged to him upon the rate bill. At the expiration of the thirty days, if all the persons named in the rate bill have not voluntarily paid, the trustees put it, with their warrant, into the hands of the district collector, who has the same authority to collect it, by levy and sale of goods and chattels, as a town collector. The collector is also authorized to collect fees, not only upon the money paid to him, but upon that paid voluntarily to the trustees and teacher, and he is allowed thirty days to make his return to the trustees. A more troublesome or vexatious system could not well be devised. A teacher having performed his contract, is yet obliged, unless the trustees advance the money, to wait thirty, or sixty days for his pay. The first thirty days' delay, under the notice, is no advantage to any one. The time of the trustees is spent uselessly. Is there any other instance upon the statute book in which legislation compels a man to wait sixty days for his wages, after he has completed his work? In the absence of any contract, the wages of the laborer are due and payable, when his work is done. In the case of the teacher, the payment of his wages is postponed for sixty days after his school is closed; for payment from the trustees cannot be enforced, until the time fixed by the law for collection has expired. A slight error in the apportionment of the rates, or in the legal forms of making it, subjects the trustees to a suit by any one of whom a few cents may have been illegally colllected; and unfortunately, there are not wanting, in every town, › persons ready to avail themselves of such errors. The trustees can, if they choose, make out a tax for the amount of exemptions, and the collector is bound to collect it for the trifling fees upon a five or ten dollar tax list. A law has been "passed, authorizing courts to deny costs to a plaintiff in a suit against trustees, and also authorizing boards of supervisors to order a tax to be assessed upon a district, to refund costs and expenses incurred in suits by or against them, on account of the discharge of their official duties. But the law allows them nothing for their responsibility and labor, either in the discharge of their duties, or in the prosecution or defence of suits. Now, a free school system may be devised, that shall relieve trustees from the duty of making out rate bills, or tax lists, in any case, and from all litigation arising therefrom, and which will secure to the teacher his pay when his work is done. It may be made applicable only to the towns, requiring the cities, however, to make their schools free, but leaving them to adopt such an organization as shall be suited to their peculiar wants. improperly witholds their wages, but because the trustees find great difficulty in exercising with fidelity, and at the same time satisfactorily, the power of exemption. While the cupidity of the tax payer is excited, the pride of men of moderate means is aroused, and their sense of independence revolts at being certified and put upon the record as indigent persons. The rate bill system requires every person to pay in proportion to the attendance of his children. How strong, then, is the inducement of many parents to wink at absence and truancy, and how little are they inclined to second, by parental authority, the efforts of the teacher to enforce punctuality and regularity of attendance. The fact that the number of children attending school less than four months, uniformly exceeds the number attending a longer time, furnishes strong evidence for believing that the rate bill system is the principal cause of the irregular attendance of scholars. FREE SCHOOL SYSTEM. [From the Annual Report of the Superintendent of Common Schools for the State of New York, laid before the Legislature, 2nd January, 1849, Letters have been addressed to the Superintendent from various parts of the State, urging him to recommend to the Legislature the free school system, and assuring him that the people are ready to sustain the Legislature. A free school is one whose doors are open to all who choose to enter. In Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, NewHampshire, and Maine, the Common Schools are nearly free, and in several of the cities and large villages of those States, as well as in some of our own, they are entirely so. In Indiana, the question has been recently submitted to the people, and a large majority decided in favor of free schools. Even in South Carolina, the schools are free to the free. I believe it is true, that in every State, county, town or village, where the question has been submitted to the decision of the people, they have been found in favor of the system. The places in which the free schools are maintained, with the population of each in 1845, are as follows : Sustained by the foregoing statistics, it may be safe to presume, that so large a portion of the State having adopted the free system, and being satisfied with its operation, a majority of the other section of the State is prepared to approve it also. When it is said that the people are not prepared for free schools, it is only another form of expressing a belief, that they are opposed to taxation for their support. There is, doubtless, a respectable number of persons in every community, averse to taxation, not only for the support of schools, but for all the purposes of government; still, the Superintendent has an abiding confidence, that a majority of the legal voters, and a majority of the tax payers in this State, would vote to support the schools by taxation. The annual reports of this Department furnish reasons for this belief. The money raised by the supervisors, equal to the amount appropriated from the funds of the State, is cheerfully voted and paid. In addition to this, many towns, at their annual meetings, vote to These sums were raised by the inhabitant and under special laws inserted in the cha lages. It would appear from this, that the to taxation for free schools. It is urged by the opponents of the syster property are taxed to educate their own, as the poor; and that those who are blessed wi children, are also obliged to contribute somet of the indigent. Those who have omitted th fortunate than their neighbors in the possess no reason to complain of the trifling burde imposes upon them. The security of property is one of the government, but how shall that security b stern restraints and crushing force of military The experience of the last year in Euro proven, that there is greater security in the and education of the people, than in an over Europe has been convulsed-cities have be ful and mortal strife-fields have been laid armies-governments have been overthrow lowed revolution-uncertainty and insecurity things, political changes have been effected commotion. The people of the United Sta choice of a chief magistrate involving a chang government. It was accomplished in a day, peaceful acquiescence of the Union. These are the results of the intelligence ar the American people. There is a moral and intellectual power in th of the people, which furnishes more abiding and property than disciplined armies. Property must be taxed to support a soldi not then contribute to a system of protection Crime and pauper the necessity of armies. results of ignorance. The detection and pur and the support of the other, are mainly effec of taxes upon property. Is it not wise, then, to establish a system o and complete, which may in a great measure sion of crime, and avoid the evils of pauperis SCIENCE AND ART. Art is the application of science to useful p the head to conceive,-art the arm to execute. in emblems, as sisters. Science is the elder, to lead art, the younger. Science assumes Th to stumble, and claims that art should follo confessed, that the great romp often gets a finds shorter and more eligible routes in whi glad to travel. Yet they love each other, same, and their journey is ever onward. Απ falls, and the rays of the sun come in upon th Cottages spring up, and flowers blossom. echo to the ring of the anvil and the noise of wild wood stream is dammed and throbs like flutter-wheel for a heart. Together, they They have timed the arrows of light, and ha into rainbows. They have marked out paths and measured its tides. They have stolen secret of her motion, and betrayed the myster is as though they had hung a pendulum to t universe, and registered its motions upon a di FRONT ELEVATION OF A SUPERIOR SCHOOL-HOUSE, WITH VENTILATING APPARATUS IN THE CUPOLA. School Architecture. THE HON. HENRY BARNARD, STATE COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN RHODE ISLAND.) treating of School Architecture, it will be convenient to ent :-I. Common Errors to be avoided. II. General Princi to be observed. III. Plans and directions for erecting and g up school-houses adapted to the varying circumstances of try and city, of a small, and a large number of scholars, of ols of different grades and of different systems of instruction. I. COMMON ERRORS IN SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. nder this head it will be sufficient to enumerate the principal ures of school-houses as they are. hey are, almost universally, badly located, exposed to the noise, and danger of the highway, unattractive, if not positively Isive in their external and internal appearance, and built at the possible expense of material and labor. hey are too small. There is no separate entry for boys and appropriately fitted up; no sufficient space for the convenient ng and necessary movements for the scholars; no platform, , or recitation room for the teacher. hey are badly lighted. The windows are inserted on three or sides of the room, without blinds or curtains to prevent the venience and danger from cross-lights, and the excess of light ig directly on the eyes or reflected from the book, and the dising influence of passing objects and events out of doors. hey are not properly ventilated. The purity of the atmosphere ot preserved by providing for the escape of such portions of the as have become offensive and poisonous by the process of thing, and by the matter which is constantly escaping from ungs in vapor, and from the surface of the body in insensible piration. hey are imperfectly warmed. The rush of cold air through cracks and defects in the doors, windows, floor and plastering ot guarded against. The air which is heated is already impure having been breathed, and made more so by noxious gases ng from the burning of floating particles of vegetable and al matter coming in contact with the hot iron. The heat is equally diffused, so that one portion of a school-room is fretly overheated, while another portion, especially the floor, is cold. 'hey are not furnished with seats and desks, properly made and sted to each other, and arranged in such a manner as to promote comfort and convenience of the scholars, and the easy supervion the part of the teacher. The seats are too high and too , with no suitable support for the back, and especially for the ger children. The desks are too high for the seats, and are either attached to the wall on three sides of the room, so that the faces of the scholars are turned from the teacher, and a portion of them at least are tempted constantly to look out at the windows,or the seats are attached to the wall on opposite sides, and the scholars sit facing each other. The aisles are not so arranged that each scholar can go to and from his seat, change his position, have access to his books, attend to his own business, be seen and approached by the teacher, without incommoding any other. They are not provided with blackboards, maps, clock, thermometer, and other apparatus and fixtures which are indispensable to a well-regulated and instructed school. They are deficient in all of those in and out-door arrangements which help to promote habits of order, and neatness, and cultivate delicacy of manners and refinement of feeling. There are no verdure, trees, shrubbery and flowers for the eye, no scrapers and mats for the feet, no hooks and shelves for cloaks and hats, no well, no sink, basin and towels to secure cleanliness, and no places of retirement for children of either sex, when performing the most private offices of nature. Such are some of the common features of school-houses as we now find them in city and country, which must be avoided in structures of this kind, if duc regard is had to the convenience, health, and successful labor of those who are to occupy them. II. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. 1 LOCATION-STYLE-CONSTRUCTION. The location should be dry, quiet, pleasant, and in every respect healthy. To secure these points and avoid the evils which must inevitably result from a low and damp, or a bleak and unsheltered site, noisy and dirty thoroughfares, or the vicinity of places of idle and dissipated resort, it will sometimes be necessary to select a location a little removed from the territorial centre of the district. If possible it should overlook a delightful country, present a choice of sunshine and shade, of trees and flowers, and be sheltered from the prevailing winds of winter by a hill-top, or a barrier of evergreens. As many of the pleasant influences of nature as possible should be gathered in and around that spot, where the earliest, most lasting, and most controlling associations of a child's mind are formed. In the city or populous village, a rear lot, with access from two or more streets, should be preferred, not only on the ground of economy, but because the convenience and safety of the children in going to and from school, the quiet of the school-room, and the advantage of a more spacious and retired play-ground will be secured. The style of the exterior should exhibit good, architectural proportion, and be calculated to inspire children and the community generally with respect to the object to which it is devoted. It should bear a favorable coinparison, in respect to attractiveness, convenience and durability, with other public edifices, instead of standing in repulsive and disgraceful contrast with them. Every school-house should be a temple, consecrated in prayer to the physical, intellectual, and moral culture of every child in the community, and be associated in every heart with the earliest and strongest impressions of truth, justice, patriotism, and religion. The school-house should be constructed throughout in a workmanlike manner. No public edifice more deserves, or will better repay, the skill, labor, and expense, which may be necessary to attain this object, for here the health, tastes, manners, minds, and morals of each successive generation of children will be, in a great measure, determined for time and eternity. 2. Size. In determining the size of a school-house, due regard must be had to the following particulars :— First-A separate entry, or lobby, for each sex, furnished with scraper, mat, hooks or shelves, sink, basin and towels. A separate entry thus furnished, will prevent much confusion, rudeness, and impropriety, and promote the health, refinement, and orderly habits of children. Second.-A room, or rooms, large enough to allow, 1st, each occupant a suitable quantity of pure air, i. e. at least 150 cubic feet; 2nd, to go to and from his seat without disturbing any one else; 3d, to sit comfortably in his seat, and engage in his various studies with unrestricted freedom of motion; and, 4th, to enable the teacher to approach each scholar in his seat, pass conveniently to any part of the room, supervise the whole school, and conduct the readings and recitation of the several classes properly arranged. Third. One or more rooms for recitation, apparatus, library, and other purposes. 3. LIGHT. Win The arrangements for light should be such as to admit an abundance to every part of the room, and prevent the inconvenience and danger of any excess, glare, or reflection, or of cross-light. A dome, or sky-light, or windows set high, admit and distribute the light most steadily and equally, and with the least interruption from shadows. Light from the north is less variable, and imparts less of cheerfulness and warmth than from other directions. dows should be inserted only on two sides of the room, at least three and a half or four feet from the floor, and should be higher and larger, and fewer in number than is now common. There should be no windows directly back of the teacher, or on the side towards which the scholars face, unless the light is modified by curtains or by ground glass. Every window should be suspended with weights, and furnished with blinds and curtains; and if in a much frequented street, the lower sash should be glazed with ground glass. 4. VENTILATION. Every school-room should be provided with means of ventilation, or of renewing the vital portions of the atmosphere which are constantly absorbed, and of removing impurities which at the same time are generated, by the breathing and insensible perspiration of teacher and pupils, and by burning fires and lights. The importance of some arrangements, to effect a constant supply of pure air in school-rooms, where fires or lights are kept burning, has been strangely overlooked, to the inevitable sacrifice of health, comfort, and all cheerful and successful labor. We practically defeat the beautiful arrangements of our Creator by which the purity of the air would otherwise be preserved by its own constant renewal. We voluntarily stint ourselves in the quantity and quality of an article, which is more necessary to our growth, health and comfort, than food or drink, and which our beneficent Father has furnished pure to our very lips, and so abundantly that we are, or should be if we did not prevent it, literally immersed in it all our lives long. The atmosphere which surrounds our earth to the height of fortyfive miles, is composed mainly of two ingredients, oxygen and nitrogen, with a slight admixture of carbonic acid. The first is called the vital principle, because by forming and purifying the blood it alone sustains life, and supports combustion. But to sustain these processes, there is a constant consumption of this ingredient going on, and, as will be seen by the facts in the case, the formation and accumulation of another ingredient, carbonic acid, which is deadly hostile to animal life and combustion. This gas is sometimes found in wells, and will the candle if lowered into it, and is not an und in such places. It is almost always present the bottom of caverns. Near Naples there tion, called the Grotto del Cane, or the Grot the guides who accompany strangers to the vicinity of Naples, usually take a dog along effects of this gas upon animal life. Being air it flows along the bottom of the cavern not reach as high as the mouth or nostril sooner does a dog venture into it, than the convulsions, gasps and would die if not drag When recovered, the dog shows return to the cavern, than children do to go t experiments almost as cruel are daily and h gas, bad as it is in reference to animal life an agent by which our earth is clothed with the foliage, and flowers, and in their growth a to create or rather to manufacture the oxygen ing creature and burning fire must consume. solved how shall we least mar the beau Providence, and appropriate to our own use a that, which though death to us, is the breath vegetation. pure air. The air which we breathe, if pure, when and nostrils, is composed in every one hundred 78 nitrogen, and one of carbonic acid. Afte merable cells into which the lungs are divided there coming into close contact with the blo are essentially changed, and when breathed ou of air contains 8 per cent. less of oxygen, of carbonic acid. If in this condition (wit it is breathed again, it is deprived of another and loaded with the same amount of carbonic sive act of breathing reduces in this way, a the vital principle of the air, and increases in that which destroys life. But in the mean going on in the lungs with regard to the blood traversing the whole frame, from the heart to ing all along with its heat, and ministering its to the growth and preservation of the body, changed in color, deprived somewhat of its vita impurities. In this condition, for the purp color, its vitality and its purity, it makes the where by means of innumerable little vessels, cate net-work each individual air-cell, every one comes into close contact with the air which ha this air has its due proportion of oxygen, the changes from a dark purple to a bright scar is restored, and its impurities, by the union of air with the carbon of blood, of which these up, are thrown off in the form of carbonic a and purified, it enters the heart to be sent o system on its errand of life and beneficence, t the solid frame work of the body, give tone and and restring all its nerves to vibrate in unis sights and thrilling sounds of nature, and th humanity. But in case the air with which the blood com the thin membranes, that constitute the cells not contain its due proportion of oxygen, viz. then the blood returns to the heart, loaded w impurities which unfit it for the purposes of no and maintenance of the vigorous actions o especially of the brain, and spinal column, th nervous power. If this process be long con the air be but slightly deteriorated, the effects languid and feeble action of the muscles, squalid hue of the skin, the unnatural irrita system, a disinclination to all mental and b tendency to stupor, headache and fainting. pure, i. e. has but little or no oxygen and mu then the imperfect and poisoned blood will act malignant energy on the whole system, and es and convulsions, apoplexy, and death must en |