amusements of society. These young men prided themselves im dispensing with the services of those about them as much as possible, and would take quite in high dudgeon any speech of condolence, orany allusions to their inferiority.

"In fact blind youth should not be reminded of his inferiority, nor taught to consider himself as inferior to his fellows; it is not only useless but discouraging, and his abilities ought not to be directed to the developement of those of his senses which remain to him. He ought to be made to attend to all his personal wants and comforts, he ought to be left to puzzle and grope out as many things as possible, and to be left rather in perplexity for an hour than receive assistance in the accomplishment of anything which it is morally impossible for him to do. And let me say that they can accomplish many things which to an inattentive observer would seem impossible; it would be hard, for instance, to convince many people that a blind man can by the sound of his voice ascertain whether a table or a sofa had been r moved from a room which he had much frequented; that he can tell pretty correctly the age and size of a person from hearing him speak; or that he will correctly judge the character of another from the intonation of his voice in a conversation; that he can attain as much excellence in mathemetical, geographical, astronomical, and other sciences as many seeing persons, and that he can beCome as good a teacher of mus c, language, mathemetics, and other sciences, yet all this and more, can he do."

The Trust es have endeavored to base their institution upon broad and scientific principles, and have spared no pains to commence aright. They have procured from France one of the most accomplished young men who have been educated at the Paris Institution for the Blind; a young man whose acquirements in the classics, in history, mathematics, and general knowledge, would do credit to any seeing person of his age. He combines also with this the talent of communicating his knowledge to others.

The Trustees earnestly beg the attention of the public to this fact, which they consider of great importance, viz: the superiority of the blind to seeing persons as teachers of the blind; they agree with Dr. Howe that no person can so well understand and overcome the difficulties which a blind child has to encounter in learning, as one who had to encounter & overcome them himself. "I should consider," says he, "a school for the blind without blind teachers as necessarily imperfect."

The Trustees have also procured from Edinburgh a blind mechanic who teaches different kinds of work, which may now be seen at the institution.

They flatter themselves that they have already introduced into their institution some important improvements in the method of teaching the blind; as one instance, they would refer to the map at the end of this pamphlet which is a plan entirely new, and unknown in Europe. There the maps are made

with infinite pains and expense, b yglueing strings onto another map pasted on a board; besides the great expense and necessary clumsiness of which, they do not admit of the divisions and the lettering, which are here introduced. A map of this size would cost at Edinburgh, five dollars, and it would weigh three or four pounds, and not have half as many distinctions as this, which costs less than the one hundredth part of that

sum.

The trustees deem it unnecessary to go into any particular detail of the method of instruction pursued at their institution, the specimens at the end of this pamphlet, the raised letters, the musical notes, &c. indicate that the touch is the sense upon which the blind depend for the acquirement of their knowledge. Their apparatus is as perfect, to say the least, as that of any other institution, and they confidently hope for success in accomplishing the object proposed by educating the blind.

Fully satisfied as the Trustees were themselves of the capacity of this neglected class for receiving an education, they were determined to prove it by experiment before making a call upon the public: on the return, therefore, of their agent from Europe with the blind teachers, they took seven blind persons from different parts of this State, varying in age from six to twenty years. These children taken at random have now been under instruction nearly five months, and can read correctly with their fingers, books printed for their use: they learn arithmetic faster than the generality of seeing children; they acquire more correct and definite notions of geography from their maps than seeing children can, since they are unassisted by the written names; and their progress in music is decidedly great. In regard to manual labor, some of the pupils can already fabricate mocassins and door mats, which are as strong and durable, and as handsome in appearance as those made and sold in our shops.

Finally, the Trustees considered that they have accomplished the most difficult part of the task in putting their institution into actual operation; they have planted the tree-it depends upon a generous public to water it and rear it; and they will only add, that if there be the slightest hesitation in the mind of any one about the propriety of oncouraging the charity-if there be any one who shall entertain the shadow of a doubt of the utility of their Institution, its doors are open, let him come and see for himself.

Presented to the Regents at their annual meeting, on the 8th day of January, 1835, and adopted by them at a subsequent meeting on the 20th of the same month.

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.

Passed 14th March, 1835. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

§1. The Superintendent of Common Schools shall procure and fu nish to each of the school districts in this State, wo copies of the Report of a Committee of the Regents of the University on the education of Common School Teachers, presented to the Regents on the eighth day of January last, for the use of said districts.

Albany, 10th April, 1835. The foregoing is the first section of an Act providing for printing and distributing to the school districts a report therein referred to.

Although the Act does not prescribe the particular manner in which the copies of the report shall be kept for the use of the districts to which they are to be sent, the intention of the Legislature will be best answered by putting them into the hands of the district clerks, who saould circulate them

for the perusal of the inhabitants, that all may be apprized of the provision made by law for the education of common school teachers.

JOHN A. DIX,

Supt. Common Schools.

At the annual meeting of the Regents of the University of the State of New York, held pursuant to the Statute in such case made and provided, at the Senate Chamber in the Capitol, on the 8th day of January, 1835.

Mr. Dix, from the committee appointed at a special meeting of the Regents of the University, on the 22nd day of May last, to prepare and report a plan for the better education of teachers of common schools, submitted a report, which having been read, was in part considered; the final consideration thereof being postponed to the next meeting of the Board.

The following is the report as first submitted to, and finally adopted by, the Regents:

REPORT

Of a Committee of the Regents of the University of the State of New York, on the education of common school teachers, presented to the Regents at their annual meeting at the Capitol, in the city of Albany, on the 8th day of January, 1835.

To the Regents of the University:

"At a meeting of the Regents of the University of the state of New York, held on the 22nd day of May, 1834, a certified copy of an Act of the Legislature entitled ‘An Act concerning the Legislature fund passed May 2d, 1834 was presented to the board and read; and it appearing that the subject matter of the said act related to the application of part of the income of the literature fund to the education of teachers of common schools, under the direction of the Regents of the University, it was thereupon,

Ordered, That it be referred to Messrs. Dix, Buel, and Graham to prepare and report to the Regents at sume future meeting a plan for carrying into practical operation the provisions of the said Act."

In discharging the duty confided to them under the foregoing resolution, the committee have been deeply impressed with the importance of the subject. They are satisfied that it will depend much on the measures which may be adopted by the Regents in pursuance of the authority conferred on them by the act of the 2d May last, whether the leading & acknowledged defect in our common schools, the want of competent teachers, shall be remedied, or whether it shall continue to embarrass, as it long has done the efforts of the Legislature and of individuals to carry out our system of popular institution to the great results which it is capable of producing. In its organization, and in the annual contributions which are made to its support, the liberality of the Legislature and of the people on whom the burden principally fails, is in the highest degree creditable to the state; and if the effects of a large expenditure of money, continued for a series of years, have not been as beneficial as might have been anticipated from the amount of the expenditure, the causes are to be found in some defects of the system, for which an early remedy should be provided.

The committee have already said that the principal defect is the want of competent teachers; and the position is indisputable, that without able and well trained teachers no system of instruction can be considered complete. Much may be accomplished by a judicious choice of the subjects of study, and by plans of instruction divested of every thing which is superfluous; but to carry these plans into successful execution, talents and experience are indispensable, and if they are wanting both time and money are misapplied, and the effort which is put forth falls short of its proper and legitimate effects.

In other countries seminaries for the education of teachers have been deemed an essential part of the system of primary instruction. M. Cousin, in the year 1832, in his report “on the condition of public instruction in some of the provinces of Germany" asserts that "primary instruction is wholly dependent on the primary normal schools," or schools for the education of teachers; and he observes that in France, thirty have been established, "of which twenty are in full operation forming in each department a great focus of illumination for the people."

In Prussia, the system of public instruction had an earlier origin, and results far more extensive and beneficial have been obtained. It is more complete in its organization, and more efficient in its practical operation than any similar system, of which we have any knowledge. In the year 1833 that Kingdom had forty-two seminaries for teachers with more than two thousand students, from eight to nine hundred of