MISSISSIPPI. 



637 



1878, which appropriated a portion of tho 

 I fund to certain high schools, waa de- 

 clared by the Supreme Court of the State to be 

 unconstitutional. The Court said that "no 

 portion of the school fund can be diverted to 

 the support of schools which in their organi- 

 zation and conduct contravene the general 

 scheme prescribed. That is to say, the fund 

 must be applied to such schools only as come 

 within tho uniform system devised ; are under 

 the general supervision of the State Superin- 

 tendent, and the local supervision of tho County 

 Superintendent ; are free from all sectarian re- 

 ligious control, and are open to all children 

 within the ages of five and twenty-one years, 

 though this freedom of admission to all will not 

 preclude the classification of the schools accord- 

 ing to the ages, sex, race, or mental acquire- 

 ments of the pupils, provided only they remain 

 free to all who come within the class to which 

 tho particular school is set apart." 



The Faculty of the University of Mississippi 

 appointed a committee of tho professors " to 

 consider the propriety of uniting with other 

 educational bodies in a memorial to Congress 

 for the appointment of a commission whose 

 duty it shall be to inquire into and report upon 

 the desirability of attempting to simplify the 

 English spelling." In a report made on Feb- 

 ruary llth, the committee state the origin of 

 tho proposed reform agitation, the changes 

 contemplated, and the present strength of its 

 friends. So much as relates to the changes 

 contemplated is briefly set forth in these words : 



1. There are eighteen Roman letters which com- 

 monly represent in English nearly the same element- 

 ary sound* which they represented in Latin : a (fa- 



ther), b, c (k, q), d, e'(met), f, a (go), h, i (pick), 1, 



; ( t. u(fuU). 

 2. Tbo'cousonant sounds represented in Latin by i 



/T 7 \ 7 T./T 7 \ ft ~ 13 ' 



m, n, o (go), p, r, s (so), t, u (full). 



and u are now represented by y and w, and tho so- 

 nants corresponding to f and s are now represented by 

 v and z. 



8. There aro three short vowels unknown to the 

 early Romans which are without proper representa- 

 tives in English, those in fat, not, but. 



4. There are five elementary consonants represented 

 by digraphs : th (thin), th-dh thino, then), sh (she), 

 zh (azure), nz (sing); to which may be added ch 

 (church), g (j). 



It seems best to follow the Latin and other languages 

 written in Roman letters, in the use of a single sign 

 for a short vowel and its long, distinguishing thi-r 

 where groat exactness is required, by a diacritical 

 mark. The alphabet would then have thirty-two let- 

 ters. Twenty-two of these have their common form 

 and power described in 1 and 2. Tho three vowels in 

 fat, not, but, need new letters. For tho consonants 

 now represented by digraphs new letters would bo de- 

 'irable. 



Tho changes recommended are substantially these : 

 Thirty-two letters instead of twenty-six. 2. Of these 

 tfenty-threo are old ones, viz. : a. o, c, d, c, f, g, h, 

 J, 1, m, n, o, p. r, s (so), t, u (full), v, w, y, z. 3. 

 three new vowel-letters for a. 6, u. 4. That k, q, and 

 x bo dropped. 5. That the digraphs now represent- 

 ing single consonants be for the present named and 

 treated as single letters, viz. : th, dh, sh, zh, ng, oh. 

 6. That e and i be distinguished by diacritical marks. 

 This ia the substance as to the new alphabet pro- 

 xed ; but the committee of the Philological Associa- 

 i"i> in 1878, at Saratoga, made the following sugges- 

 tions as to spelling : 



1. Drop all silent letters, especially silent e after a 

 short vowel, as in have, give ; and a in ea when pro- 

 nounced e short, as in head, health. 2. Write f for ph 

 in such words an alphabet, philosopher. 3. When u 

 word ends in a double letter, omit tho last, as in shall, 

 ditf. 4. Change ed final to t where it has tho Hound 

 oft. as in lushed, impressed. 



The alphabet recommended above bv the Philolosfi- 

 cal Association was adopted by tho (spelling Reform 

 Association in 1877 ; and the rules for updung have 

 been since adopted. 



Tho advocates of spelling reform argue thus : 1. 

 The alphabet is redundant, defective, and inconsis- 

 tent. 2. The spelling hinders our people from becom- 

 ing readers, (1) by the length of time it takes to learn, 

 and (2) by the dislike of reading it induces. An aver- 

 ago German learns, they say. in about one third tho 

 time. 8. Civilization and Christianity are both hin- 

 dered by the difficultness. 4. Vast annual expense is 

 incurred by printing silent letters. 5. In most lan- 

 guages changes in written words rapidly correspond to 

 changes in pronunciation. Why not in ours ? 6. The 

 language was made for men, and not men for the lan- 

 gaugc. 7. This system will make it easier for all to read 

 English who read French, German, Latin, Greek t or 

 Anglo-Saxon. 8. It will make the learning of foreign 

 tongues easy. 9. It will settle the school pronunci- 

 ation of Latin and Greek. 10. Several modern lan- 

 guages have had their spelling reformed by the influ- 

 ence of learned academies, or by government; and 

 surely no language needs reform more than ours, and 

 no race are more ready reformers. 



The report to the Faculty concludes with 

 this resolution : 



Rxolved, That the irregular spelling of the English 

 language is a serious hindrance in learning to real and 

 write, and is one cause of the alarming illiteracy in our 

 country; that it occupies much time in our schools 

 which ia needed for other branches of study ; and that 

 it is desirable to request our Legislatures, State and 

 national, to appoint commissioners to investigate this 

 matter, and report what measures, if any, can be taken 

 to simplify our spelling. 



The elections to be held in the State in 1879 

 were for approval or rejection of a constitu- 

 tional amendment, and for the choice of mem- 

 bers of the Legislature, district attorneys, sher- 

 iffs, Chancery and Circuit Court clerks, and 

 county and municipal officers. The constitu- 

 tional amendment proposed was as follows : 



SECTION 6. The political year shall begin on the first 

 Monday in January ; the Legislature shall meet at the 

 seat of government on the first Tuesday after the first 

 Monday in January, A. D. 1882, also on the first Tues- 

 day after the first Monday in January, 1883, and bi- 

 ennially thereafter, unless sooner convened by the 

 Governor. The time and place of meeting may be 

 altered by law. 



SEC. 7. A general election, by ballot, shall be held 

 on tho first Tuesday after the first Monday in Novem- 

 ber, A. D. 1880, and biennially thereafter. All officers 

 who go into office on the first Monday in January, 

 1882, shall be elected at the general election in 1880. 

 All officers who go into office on the first Monday in 

 January, 1880, and all officers who go into office or 

 the first Monday in January, 1882, shall hold their 

 respective offices for three years ; but tho constitution- 

 al terms of their successors shall not be hereby nrt'oct- 

 od. Electors, in all cases, except in cases of treason, 

 felony, and breach of the peace, shall be privileged 

 from arrest during their attendance at elections, and 

 the going to and returning therefrom. 



The objection urged against this amendment 

 was, that it would require the State election 

 to be held on the same day with the Congres- 

 sional elections. If, therefore, the rule of inili- 



