68 EDUCATION. 



banks of the Alatamaha, as a bulwark against savage incursions 

 and Spanish invasion, brought vrith them that love of learning 

 which characterizes the land of their fathers, and to the honour 

 of their descendants it may be said, they have ever been the 

 fast friends of general education, and of an elevated standard 

 of learning in the State. 



I need not mention the little colony who first penetrated 

 the swamps of our Southern seaboard. All who are familiar 

 with the history of that favoured portion of our State, know 

 with what zeal and energy its first settlers commenced, and 

 with what success, they prosecuted their efforts to establish 

 and to sustain the institutions of learning and religion ; and 

 most honourably have the sons of those noble sires followed 

 in ,the footsteps of their patriotic and pious ancestors ! 



Those who first settled in the county of Wilkes were not 

 less mindful of this important subject. Scarcely had they 

 traced the outlines of their now beautiful village, before pro- 

 vision was made for a permanent institution of learning ; and 

 from that period to this, the cause of education has been one 

 of deep interest to its citizens, and the special care of its muni- 

 cipal authorities. And as we trace the history of our State 

 from almost the landing of Oglethorpe to the acquisition of 

 the last portion of our territory, we find the subject of educa- 

 tion a prominent subject in the estimation of the first settlers 

 of the different portions of the country. Academies have 

 usually been coeval with the organization of the counties ; 

 and in no State in the Union have there probably ever been 

 more or better conducted institutions of the kind, in propor- 

 tion to the population, than in Georgia. And in no State in 

 the Union have the services of teachers of Academies been 

 more liberally rewarded. 



The first constitution of Geoi'gia was adopted the 5th of 

 February, 1777, only a few months after the Declaration of 

 Independence. The 54th section of this constitution declares, 

 " Schools shall be erected in each county, and supported at the 

 general expense of the State." This is an important record 

 in the history of our education. On the 31st of July, 1783, 

 the Legislature appropriated 1000 acres of land to each 

 county for the support of free schools. In 1784, a few months 



