INTRODUCTION. 13 



men schools. A law was passed in 1811, authorizing the governor to appoint 

 commissioners to devise a system for that purpose. Jedediah Peck, John Murray 

 junior, Samuel Russell, Roger Skinner and Robert Macomb were appointed such 

 commissioners; and in 1812, they submitted to the legislature a report, which 

 was adopted, and is the basis of" the existing system of common schools. 



The fund was increased in 1819, by various appropriations, which raised its 

 productive capital to about $1,200,000. The new constitution, adopted in 1821, 

 not only declared the school fund to be in^^olable, and guaranteed its perpetual 

 application, but added to it all the unappropriated public lands. Forty thousand 

 dollars were added to the fund in 1824 ; and in 1827, other appropriations were 

 made to the amount of about $180,000.* In 1838, an annual apjDropriation of 

 $110,000 was added to the income of the fund, and the principal was also con- 

 siderably augmented. The invested and productive capital of that fund is now 

 $2,036,625. The sum annually distributed from the state treasury in support 

 of common schools, is $261,000. Adding to the principal the unsold lands, 

 valued at $200,000 and principal moneys sufficient to yield an interest equal 

 to the amount annually appropriated from the treasury, beyond the income of the 

 invested and productive capital, the entire capital would be $5,820,000. The 

 whole capital permanently invested for the support of education in colleges, acade- 

 mies and common schools, including all endowments, contributions from the trea- 

 sury, and moneys derived from taxation in the school districts, is $10,500,000.t 



The chief features of the common school sj-stem, are the annual election of 

 commissioners of common schools by the j^eople in the several towns ; the divi- 

 sion of touais by the school commissioners, into school districts ; the election of 

 trustees in such school districts, by the inhabitants thereof; the erection and 

 maintenance of a school house in each district, with funds derived trom the tax 

 levied upon the inhabitants by the trustees, in j^ursuance of a resolution passed 

 at an annual meeting of the inhabitants ; the employment of teachers whose qua- 



♦ Report of A. C. Flagg, superintendent of common schools. t Governor's message, 1842. 



