EDITOR'S TABLE. 



495 



and at the time of their vacation, we 

 thought one of the most feasible and 

 important educational movements of 

 the time. The plan was comprehen- 

 sive, involving the services of some 

 twenty lecturers who were masters of 

 the several departments of natural his- 

 tory ; and it was received with such 

 favor throughout the country, that it 

 was certain a very large number of 

 students would have collected there 

 to avail themselves of the superior 

 instruction that could have been af- 

 forded. The island, besides, was con- 

 veniently accessible, and the accom- 

 modations offered by the town ample, 

 excellent, and moderate in price. There 

 was, in short, large practical promise in 

 the enterprise. 



But it was not carried out, and in 

 its stead there grew up another school 

 in natural history, under the auspices 

 of Messrs. Agassiz and Anderson, on 

 another island, difficult of access and 

 without accommodations. But few pu- 

 pils could be taken, and the large ex- 

 penses of the experiment, under the 

 peculiar circumstances, had to be de- 

 frayed from without. The necessary 

 funds not being forthcoming, the proj- 

 ect .collapsed, and the school is num- 

 bered among the things that were. 

 Much regret has been expressed at the 

 result ; but we shed few tears over the 

 failure of the Penikese School. Why 

 should money be wasted in sustaining 

 a school in an ill-chosen station that 

 limits its usefulness and entails inordi- 

 nate expense ? We observe that the 

 editor of Nature, in announcing the 

 abandonment of the institution, and 

 explaining the unpleasant controversy 

 that accompanied it between Mr. An- 

 derson, the donor of the island, and the 

 trustees, speaks in a tone of strong re- 

 gret at the result. He thinks it un- 

 fortunate that Mr. Anderson had not 

 contributed a little more money, as, 

 "had he done so, those interested in 

 the success of the school would have 

 had time to set about raising something 



like an endowment fund, and a fine op- 

 portunity would have ieen afforded to 

 the United States Government to show 

 their appreciation of practical scien- 

 tifia teachers and scientific research.'''' 

 The italics here are our own, and the 

 suggestion they convey admirably illus- 

 trates the easy tendency and universal 

 readiness there is to go to Government 

 for help to sustain every thing that can- 

 not be sustained by the appreciation 

 and liberality of the community. A 

 school absurdly located, costly, and re- 

 stricted, is not supported by the pub- 

 lic with all its appreciation of educa- 

 tion and readiness to contribute to it 

 whenever its contributions are wisely 

 expended and so the state is invoked 

 to assume the burden due to bad calcu- 

 lations. We think it is a good deal 

 better that the concern should have 

 been wound up than to have dragged 

 along in a precarious way, or got a 

 subsidy from the Legislature, as it will 

 perhaps cease to be a hindrance to the 

 organization of other schools in better 

 circumstances. 



THE EDUCATION QUESTION AT MONT- 

 PELLIEB. 



There are many indications of a 

 very serious struggle, almost coexten- 

 sive with civilization, between ecclesi- 

 astical authority and the liberal spirit 

 of the age on the subject of education. 

 Religion may not be responsible for it, 

 but religious bodies are involved in it, 

 and it threatens to become a matter of 

 increasing difficulty, notwithstanding 

 our vaunted enlightenment and the suc- 

 cess of free government. The most nu- 

 merous sect of Christendom has its own 

 policy on the subject of education, and 

 clings to it invincibly, though with a wise 

 discretion in the avowal of its claims. 

 The passages given in the following 

 letter are an undisguised statement of 

 the demands of the Romish Church as 

 to its right to educate mankind. 



The following letter from Prof. 



