COOPER, PETER. 



OOREA. 



257 



Public School Society, and as one of the com- 

 missioners of the Board of Education. 



Having devoted much careful thought and 

 study to questions of finance and good gov- 

 ernment, Mr. Cooper made his views widely 

 known; and the result was that, when he was 

 in his eighty-sixth year, he was nominated by 

 the National Independent party as their candi- 

 date for President of the United States. But 

 the number of those who agreed with him as 

 to the currency question (commonly called 

 " Greenbackers ") was small. 



Mr. Cooper's career was not marked by brill - 

 iantexploits of genius or intellectual superiority, 

 or by any of those startling performances which 

 attract the admiration of mankind. He was 

 an honest, industrious, faithful business man, 

 ever advancing in prosperous undertakings, and 

 at the same time keenly alive to all matters 

 relating to public interest and public improve- 

 ment. He amassed great wealth, and his aim 

 was to use his large resources for the benefit 

 of his fellow-creatures. Instead of waiting for 

 the time when he could keep his hold on his 

 wealth no longer, he chose to be his own ex- 

 ecutor, and to devote his money to the pur- 

 poses he wished, while he was alive and able 

 to secure their proper carrying out. He had 

 always lamented his lack of liberal education, 

 and the resolve seems early to have fixed itself 

 in his mind to do all in his power to provide 

 advantages and opportunities for culture to the 

 working-classes of his native city. From this 

 impulse arose that institution which has en- 

 deared his name and memory to thousands. He 

 first secured an admirable site at the junction of 

 Third and Fourth avenues, between Seventh 

 and Eighth streets, with full light on all its four 

 sides. From his own plans was erected the 

 imposing structure known as "The Cooper 

 Union for the Advancement of Science and 

 Art." He superintended the rise of this mas- 

 sive building, and spared no expense to render 

 it all that could be desired. On its completion, 

 Mr/Cooper, in April, 1859, executed a deed in 

 fee simple of this property to six trustees, who 

 were empowered to devote all rents and in- 

 come from it " to the instruction and im- 

 provement of the inhabitants of the United 

 States in practical science and art." After 

 due consideration, the trustees fixed upon 

 a. scheme which should " include instruction 

 in branches of knowledge by which men and 

 women earn their daily bread ; in laws of health 

 and improvement of the sanitary conditions of 

 families as well as individuals ; in social and 

 political science, whereby communities and na- 

 tions advance in virtue, wealth, and power ; 

 and finally in matters which affect the eye, the 

 ear, and the imagination, and furnish a basis 

 for recreation to the working- classes." Courses 

 of lectures were established on social and po- 

 litical science, free to all ; also, a free reading- 

 room and collections of works of art and science 

 were provided, and a school for instruction of 

 women in the arts of design, by which they 

 VOL. xxm. 17 A 



may gain an honorable livelihood. Still fur- 

 ther, so soon as funds are in hand, the trustees 

 purpose to establish a polytechnic school. 



According to the last annual report of the 

 Cooper Union, the building cost $630,000 ; and 

 the total expenditures of the trustees on the 

 building and education, from 1859 to 1882 in- 

 clusive, have been $1,603,614.17. In 1861 pu- 

 pils who received certificates numbered 272 ; 

 in 1883 the number reached as high as 955. 

 In 1860 the number of teachers employed was 

 16 ; in 1882 it was 36. In 1860 the number 

 of readers in the reading-room was about 250,- 

 000; in 1882 it was 476,000. In 1860 the ex- 

 penditure was $30,800.71 ; in 1882 the expen- 

 ditures amounted to $54,421.42. The income 

 is chiefly derived from the rents of such parts 

 of the building as are used for business pur- 

 poses, and from an endowment by Mr. Cooper 

 of about $200,000. The founder's children 

 will add to this the sum of $100,000, in ad- 

 dition to the bequest of $100,000 in his will. 



The last days of Peter Cooper were calm and 

 peaceful. He was a devout member of the 

 Unitarian denomination. The last sad offices 

 for the dead were very largely attended, and 

 the manifestations of grief at being called upon 

 to part with one so universally respected and 

 so widely beloved were striking and impres- 

 sive. Shortly before his death was printed a 

 volume entitled "Ideas for a Science of Good 

 Government, in Addresses, Letters, and Arti- 

 cles on a Strictly National Currency, Tariff, 

 and Civil Service. By Hon. Peter Cooper, 

 LL. D." 



CORE! (officially called Chosen), a kingdom 

 of Eastern Asia, occupying the peninsula op- 

 posite the Japanese island of Niphon and bor- 

 dering on the Chinese province of Manchuria. 

 The King of Corea acknowledges the nominal 

 suzerainty of China, but has for ages preserved 

 a practical independence. The country still 

 pays a tribute to China, but the amount has 

 been reduced to a nominal sum. An embassy 

 visits Peking every year with certain prescribed 

 gifts, and receives in return the Chinese calen- 

 dar, which is accepted and employed by the 

 Coreans as a sign of dependence. On the ac- 

 cession of a new King, the Chinese Emperor 

 is notified, and his sanction for the investiture 

 is obtained. 



At different times the country has been over- 

 run by both the Chinese and the Japanese. 

 The suzerainty of China was accepted the last 

 time as a protection against the Japanese, who 

 threatened to subjugate the country, claiming 

 suzerain rights, which were resisted by the 

 Coreans, based upon a conquest in the early 

 part of the Christian era. The object of the 

 Japanese invasions, which were the occasion 

 of accepting vassal relations to China, was to 

 use Corea as a base of military operations 

 against China, and the motive for acknowledg- 

 ing Chinese suzerainty was to avoid the claims 

 of supremacy asserted by Japan. The Japan- 

 ese Government has never renounced its title 



