The development of the common schools of Minnesota was tardy. The act of 1851, providing for a state system, created the office of superintendent of public instruction, but attached only a nominal salary to it. Four persons were appointed in as many years, whose duties seem to have been confined to making formal annual reports. From 1856 to 1860 the office was virtually, if not technically, vacant. The legislature of 1860 devolved the duties upon the titular chancellor of the university, the Rev. Edward Duffield Neill, who held it till April 29, 1861, when he resigned to take the chaplaincy of the First Minnesota Infantry, leaving the office to a competitor for that position. In the legislative session of 1862 the school laws were revised and the secretary of state was made _ex-officio_ state superintendent. This absurd arrangement continued for five years, against the advice of the two gentlemen who held the double office. Governor Marshall informed the legislature of 1867 that the children of school age in the state were over a hundred thousand, and that the school fund had grown to nearly a million and a half. Upon his earnest recommendation the office of state superintendent was reëstablished, with a salary more than nominal, but inadequate. He appointed Mark H. Dunnell of Owatonna, a young lawyer who had been successful as a teacher in his native state of Maine. Mr. Dunnell threw himself into his duties with great enthusiasm and industry. He gathered the teachers into “institutes” for pedagogical instruction and raised the standard of qualification for certificates. A state teachers’ association was organized to stimulate pride in the teaching profession and provide for interchange of ideas and experiences. It is notable that Mr. Dunnell as late as 1869 thought it necessary to argue in behalf of a public school system free from religious dogma or discipline. The organization of high schools in the leading towns had already discouraged the proprietors of numerous denominational academies and seminaries desirous of holding the secondary field.