244 SYSTEM OF THESE SCHOOLS. 



Up to 1849, the system adopted in the school districts 

 was nearly as follows: The electors of the district, in 

 public metting, chose three or more school trustees. 

 These trustees employed a teacher, qualified according to 

 their judgment, for a stipulated number of months, and 

 at a fixed rate of salary. If the sum received from the 

 State funds, together with an equal sum raised from the 

 district, was insufficient to pay this salary, the trustees 

 apportioned the remainder as a rate upon those whose 

 children attended school, in proportion to the number of 

 their children so attending, and the number of days they 

 have attended exempting such persons as were too poor 

 to pay, and making their shares a charge on the district. 



Two evils were found to attend this system. It was a 

 difficult and invidious duty to determine, to the general 

 satisfaction, who were too poor to pay their school-rate. 

 It was also found that, to charge the rate in proportion to 

 the number of days at school, though obviously just, 

 acted as a direct premium on withholding the children 

 altogether, or sending them to school only a small part 

 of the year. Hence, of the 775,000 pupils, about 



200,000 were at school less than 2 months. 



200,000 4 ... 



150,000 ... 4 and less than 6 

 100,000 ... 6 and less than 8 

 100,000 ... from 8 to 12 ... 



The latter evil was regarded as a serious disadvantage 

 to the State, in which education is considered necessary 

 to the preservation of liberty. Besides, the examples of 

 Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New 

 Hampshire, and Maine, in which, from the possession of 

 large funds, the schools are nearly free that of Indiana, 

 in which the people had recently decided in favour of free 

 schools that of Wisconsin, which has made provision for 

 a system of free schools and even that of South Carolina 

 in which the schools are/ree to the free these examples 



