tem adopted in Maine, from what they are under our own. According to the ratio of taxation adopted in Maine, the county of Dutchess would pay a school tax assessed upon the several towns, of 20,370 dollars; under our system the money expended for the common schools of that county, including 2,980 dollars received from the state treasury, amounts to 20,862 dollars: Ontario would be taxed for schools, according to the Maine system, 16,148 dollars, and according to our system, the money expended in that county for the support of schools, amounts to 16,936 dollars.

These counties have a dense population, are wealthy, have no local funds, and are selected as fair specimens for illustration; the one being in the eastern and the other in the western section of the state.*

It has been urged, that the amount distributed from our fund is too small, and that an increase of the fund would of itself raise the standard of the common schools; but an increase of the school monies would be much more likely to decrease the contributions of individuals, than to elevate the standard of the common schools. If a majority of the trustees or inhabitants of a district have fixed their minds upon 10 dollars, as the monthly wages which ought to be paid to a teacher, and if that district receives 30 dollars, it is not improbable that they would employ their teacher for 3 months, which answers the requirements of the statute, and pay him the 30 dollars; and thus their whole duty in relation to the school for that year is discharged. Having fixed their standard at 10 dollars per month for the teacher, if they only receive 15 dollars from the public fund, they would employ the same teacher, and pay the additional 15 dollars out of their own pockets. When the inhabitants of that district should become satisfied that it was for the interest of their children to employ a well qualified teacher for the whole year, at 25 dollars, they would employ such teacher whether the state should one-half or one-tenth of the amount.

pay

The following comparative view shows the amount paid for teachers' wages, including the sum received from the state, under our system; as well as the sum which the same counties would pay by raising an amount equal to 40 cents for each person, according to the system in Maine. The counties are selected from each of the 8 Senate districts in the state.

Our system of common school instruction is founded upon the principle that the state, or the revenue of the school fund, will pay only a share of the expense, and that at least an equal share, as the condition of receiving the state fund, shall be assessed upon the property of the town. In addition to all this, and as a necessary pre-requisite to a participation in the public money, the inhabitants of each district are required to tax themselves for building a schoolhouse and furnishing it with the necessary fuel and appendages.

In order to have a full view of the operations of our system, the trustees of school districts have been required, for the last three years, to return the amount paid for teachers' wages in each district, over and above the sum received from the state treasury, from the town tax, and from the local school fund. Seven hundred and forty-two towns and wards have made returns, which show a,total amount paid by the patrons of the common schools, besides the public money received by the school districts, of 346,807 dollars; which, added to the public money, makes an aggregate of 586,520 dollars, paid for teachers' wages alone, in the common schools of the state.

Thus it will be seen, that where the state, or the revenue of the school fund, pays one dollar for teachers' wages, the inhabitant of the town, by a tax on his own property, pays $1.25 cents, and by voluntary contribution in his district, $3.46 cents, for the same object; and the local fund amounts to an average of 15 cents more.

The foregoing results are given from actual returns, and may be relied upon. They exhibit only the sum paid for teachers' wages, which is less than half the expense incurred for supporting the common schools, as will be seen by the following estimates.

The average between the whole number of districts, and those which have made returns, deducting 22 for New-York, gives 8,824; this number of school-houses, at an average price of 200 dollars each, would show a capital of 1,764,800 dollars; add to this the cost of the school-houses and their appendages in New-York, 163,436 dollars, and it gives a total of 1,928,236 dollars, vested in school-houses, which at an interest of six per cent would be.....

Annual expense of books for 499,434 scholars, at

$115,694 00

249,717 00

88,460 00

$453,871 00

Amount brought forward,..

Amount of public money paid for teachers' wa

ges,

Amount paid in the districts for teachers' wages,

...

besides public money, Estimating in same ratio for 43 towns which have not returned amount over and above public money,

$453,871 00

239,713 00

346,807 00

21,308 00

$1,061,699 00

showing a total amount of one million and sixty-one thousand six hundred and ninety-nine dollars, expended annually for the support of the common schools of the state.

The preceding estimates show that the revenue of the school fund (that is, the amount derived from the State treasury) pays less than one-tenth of the annual expenditures for the support of the common schools; another tenth is raised by a tax upon the property of the towns respectively; and the two-tenths thus made up, (being the item of 239,713 dollars in the foregoing statement,) constitutes what is called the school money, and is the sum received by the commissioners of the towns, for distribution among the several districts. Something less than two-tenths (for school-houses and fuel) is raised by a tax upon the property of the district, in pursuance of a vote of the inhabitants thereof; and the residue, nearly six-tenths, or 617,822 dollars, is paid voluntarily by the parents and guardians of the scholars, for books, and for the balance of their school bills, after the public money has been applied.

The Superintendent begs leave to refer to the last annual report, (document No. 31,) for an abstract of the various kinds of books used in the common schools. It is desirable that the schools should be supplied with elementary books adapted to the capacities of children, and accurate in regard to all the subjects of which they treat. It has been urged, that uniformity in the books used in the schools ought to prevail, and applications have frequently been made to the Legislature, to adopt by statute, particular books for the use of the common schools. The committee on literature in the Assembly, last year, investigated this matter, and the chairman made a report, (document 431, of 1830,) to which the attention of the Legislature is respectfully referred.

No man or set of men could make out a list of class books for the instruction of half a million of scholars, which would give general satisfaction; and there is great reason to believe that the experiment to produce uniformity, would do more harm than it promises to do good. In view of all the difficulties which surround this subject, the Superintendent believes that it is best to leave the selection of class books to the intelligence of the inhabitants of the districts and towns.

In the cities, and in several of the villages, the public money is restricted to a very few schools; and in some of the villages, to a single school; this has been a subject of complaint, and in some cases, the special laws in relation to the distribution of the money have been changed.

Until recently, the public money apportioned to the city of Albany, was paid exclusively to the Lancaster school: this caused some dissatisfaction, and an application was made to the Legislature, and a law was passed, authorising six school districts in the city, and placing the schools upon a footing similar in most respects to those in the country; in one material particular, however, the law varies from the general law; and that is, in not authorising the trustees to rent or build school-houses, and furnish them with necessary fuel and appendages, at the expense of the city. In the report made to the Assembly on this subject, (p. 746, Journals of 1829,) by the Superintendent, it was recommended that the rent of the school-houses should be defrayed by a tax upon the city. This recommendation is renewed at this time, from a belief that such a provision is indispensable to the success of the schools. The city of Troy is taxed for a similar object; and the poorest districts in the country erect their school-houses by a tax upon property: why then should Albany be exempted from this almost universal mode of furnishing school houses?

In the village of Utica, all the school money is paid to one school, and is shared by about one out of thirteen of the children between 5 and 16. It appears by a report made to the Utica Lyceum in October last, that there are 27 private schools in that village, which depend for support entirely upon the number of pupils. The number of scholars instructed in all the schools, is 1,201; which, deducted from the whole number of children between 5 and 16, as reported by the trustees, leaves 548 who do not attend any school:

these facts would seem to show the necessity for some extension of the school accommodations in that village.*

The Lancaster school in Poughkeepsie draws the money for 1,100 children, and instructs 200 scholars. The public money for the whole town is 743 dollars, of which 480 dollars are received by 200 scholars, leaving 263 dollars to be divided among 331 scholars belonging to ten districts; eight of these districts are reported as having paid $738.65 for teachers' wages, besides public money; and the Lancaster school has not, as appears from the report, received any aid from individuals.

In the city of New-York, the public money, amounting to 34,648 dollars, has been distributed among 28 schools, in which 6,321 scholars have been instructed during the year. The paper marked H, is the report of the commissioners of common schools for the city.

By an act passed in 1829, (ch. 265,) it is provided that the corporation of the city of New-York, in addition to the amount heretofore raised for the support of schools in the city, shall annually raise and collect, by tax upon the inhabitants, a sum of money equal to one-eightieth of one per cent of the value of the real and personal property in the city, to be applied exclusively to the purposes of common schools. The avails of this tax have, for the first time, been added to the school money for the past year. The one-eightieth of one per cent on the taxable property of the city, produces 14,071 dollars, and increases the apportionment which is paid annually to the trustees of the public school society, to 29,582 dollars.

The public school society, as will be seen by the statement appended to the paper marked H, has 11 school-houses, which cost

The committee of the Lyceum give the following facts :
The number of schools in the village is

Number of persons employed as teachers and assistants,.
Number of scholars enrolled,...

Do.

Do.

do. in daily attendance,.
do.

Number of males,

Do. females,.

not residents of the village,

29

46

1201

1110

74

633

568

Of these schools, eleven are under the direction of male teachers, and eighteen under the superintendence of females: six of the number may be included under the terms, academy, high schools, or seminaries; all the rest, except two infant schools, may be denominated private schools; one only of the whole number is a public school, in which are enrolled but one hundred and thirty pupils. To the support of this one school is appropriated all the money derived from the state and town treasuries for the support of common schools. From the literary fund of the state, a small appropriation is made to the academy. The other twentyseven are established by individual enterprize, and depend for support entirely upon the number of pupils which they may happen to obtain.

The amount which is paid for the annual rent of rooms and buildings for the accommodation of all the schools collectively, is $2,155.