318 [Assembly 



Education thus brought into practical utility, and into "unison 

 with industrial pursuits is productive of immense public advan- 

 tage. When the hands are emploj'ed in their pursuits the edu- 

 cated mind sees wisdom in the forms of the implements and in 

 the revolving wheels discovers defects, plans improvement, and 

 learns that the profoundest of the sciences are embraced in the 

 pursuits of his daily occupation. The experienced laborer be- 

 comes the scientific inventor ot the most useful and intricate 

 machinery. It is from such beginnings, and education derived 

 from such fountains, that skilled labor has its value, 

 and to which tlie public are indebted for the adaptation of the 

 useful sciences to practical purposes ; and for the greater advance 

 and improvement in labor saving machinery — greater within the 

 last one hundred, than during the preceding eighteen hundred 

 years. 



Education and industrial pursuits create wealth, lead to pub- 

 lic peace, to national prosperity, and to individual happiness. 

 The enjoyments and the comforts of life are greatly augmented, 

 and educated man now holds a new grade in the scale of human 

 beings. 



It is time the few should cease to monopolize and reject the 

 many, and that the middle classes of society should have schools 

 provided, and be allowed to partake in the distribution of the 

 public funds. 



A letter of request to the Comptroller of this State, to be in- 

 formed of the number of colleges in the State ; the amount of en- 

 dowments for the last few years for their support, and also, the 

 amount bestowed upon agricultural or mechanic institutions, has 

 obtained the following official certificate : 



