1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



455 



should be considered a place of punishment as 

 well as a place for reform. It will otherwise do 

 little good." If it were judged by the infallible 

 test of Holy Writ, that, "i?7/ their fruits ye shall 

 know them" it would wring the meed of praise 

 from its boldest detractors. At the dedication 

 of this Institution, Horace Mann said, that "if 

 it should be the means of saving a single boy, it 

 would repay the people of the Commonv/ealth for 

 all their care and outlay." On coming out, some 

 one asked Mr. Mann whether he did not overdo 

 the matter a little, and if he really meant that 

 saving one child would be a sufficient remunera- 

 tion. "If it were MY boy, I should think it would," 

 was the quick reply. 



Now, let us see what the institution has done. 

 In the estimation of Mr. Mann, if but one boy is 

 saved, all the cost and care is well expended — 

 but I can show you by irrefragable evidence, that 

 EIGHTY-THREE out of every one hundred of 

 the boys subjected to the discipline of the Insti- 

 tution have been saved ! And while this noble 

 result has been secured, it has been done at a less 

 expense, with a single exception, than by any 

 other similar institution in the country. 



I have been constrained to make these state- 

 ments to my readers that my good name might 

 not suffer in their estimation by the aspersions of 

 the committee, — for, as one of the Trustees, I feel 

 "bound to know what I ought to know," and will 

 not shift upon the Superintendent blame for 

 wrongs imputed to him for official acts Avhich I 

 have authorized. I have been cognizant of his 

 management as Superintendent, and believe it 

 has uniformly been judicious and merciful, and 

 that he has always treated the boys in a fair and 

 honorable manner, and in a truly Christian spirit. 

 I also believe that any investigation by an impar- 

 tial tribunal, however searching it may be, will 

 prove the charges of the committee unfounded. 

 Such investigation I invite, as a member of a 

 branch of the State Government, which, if not 

 co-ordinate with that of the Council, is entitled 

 to fairness and respect. I have acted under a con- 

 stant sense, that 



"He serves hest the Father, who most serves man, 

 And he who wrongs humanitij, wrongs Ueaven." 



Before closing, I desire to say, to each one of 

 you who is in the habit of reading these columns, 

 and under a deep sense of accountability to my 

 final Judge, that, in my belief, there is No just 

 cause, whatever, for a charge of cruelty against 

 the Superintendent, or of any neglect of duty in 

 the Trustees. What the motive is for such accu- 

 sations, is not entirely clear. This is not the first 

 attack, from high places, upon an institution that 

 reflects credit upon the State, and upon humani- 

 ty) — and these attacks have prejudiced the public 

 mind, and embarrassed and injured the discipline 



and prosperity of the Institution more than did 

 the calamitous fire which occurred about a year 

 ago. But, whatever the motive may have been, 

 it seems clear to me, that the Committee, although 

 emanating from the Council Chamber, became the 

 complete dupes of several shrewd, but wicked and 

 designing boys, and had not sufficient penetra- 

 tion to discover it. 



Finally, how are we to stand before the world, 

 as a State, and especially before our Southern 

 brethren, with an institution in our midst, charged 

 with "cruelties" and "barbarities" akin to the in- 

 human atrocities of the Duke of Alva, as de- 

 scribed by Motley, who sent his victims to the 

 executioners by scores, and who was the terror 

 and scourge of an unoffending and unprotected 

 people ? This is the execrable wretch, fiend, the 

 incarnation of all human wickedness and deprav- 

 ity, who affords the committee of the Council a 

 parallel for the conduct of some of the officers of 

 the State government ! The newspapers stated that 

 the report of the Committee was accepted by the 

 Council. That term does not always mean that 

 a measure is adojyfed. But whoever sanctioned 

 the report, is equally guilty with its perpetrators. 



These charges are not only grave in themselves, 

 but they derive important weight in the source 

 from which they come. If they were the hasty 

 assertions of some disappointed politician, or the 

 gloomy lucubrations of some editor, out of office, 

 they would become the wonder of a day, and leave 

 no taint behind. But such is not the fact. They 

 have proceededyrom the Government oftlie State 

 — from the fountain of Mercy and of Justice, 

 where we are taught that the balances hang even, 

 and resentments never come ! The victim of this 

 power is principally a humble individual, and he 

 stands before it appalled with its injustice, bat- 

 tered, and broken, and helpless in the impending 

 ruin which surrounds him. Nothing now can 

 save him but the Public Voice, and to that Voice 

 I confidently appeal for him and for myself. 



Simon Brown. 



Secret of Speed in the Horse. — One great 

 secret of the speed of "Flora Temple" has Ijeen 

 discovered. It has been found by measurement, 

 that her stride — small as the animal herself is — 

 is equal to that of a sixteen-hand horse. She wins 

 by her long, low, locomotive style of going, which 

 works with the saving exactitude of machinery, 

 and wastes no ])ower in imnecessary action, or 

 in what is graphically termed "style." 



The Horticulturist, for August, is filled with 

 capital articles, is handsomely embellished, and is 

 well sustained by the new Editor, Peter B. 

 jNIead, Esq., aided by the skilful and honorable 

 publishers, Messrs. Sa?:to.v 8z Earkeii, 25 Park 

 Row, N. ?. 



