The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. I., No. 4, December, 1834Various
History
The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. I., No. 4, December, 1834
Various
American literature -- 19th century -- Periodicals
The Governor would have shed much more light upon this branch of the
subject, if he had expressed his opinion as to the precise number of
pupils which it was necessary to bring together, in order that they
might "commune with each other in their own peculiar mode;" and which,
according to his view of the subject, is necessary to the existence and
prosperity of all such institutions. That opinion however he has not
indicated; but has left us to infer that as not more than one in
fifteen has ever been induced, according to the experience of other
institutions, to resort to them for instruction, even by the employment
of the most liberal means,--that proportion of the whole number of free
white deaf mutes in Virginia, would not be sufficient to justify the
commencement of such an establishment here. One fifteenth of the whole
number in Virginia, at the last census, would be twenty-eight. That
number, however, will not suffice, and we must wait longer. How long,
it is impossible to tell--inasmuch as from his Excellency's reasoning,
the increase must be very inconsiderable--being not more than at the
rate of sixteen annually for every million of inhabitants; and from
this must be deducted the decrease from natural causes. Let us suppose
then that the annual increase in Virginia is sixteen, and that the
annual decrease is twelve, leaving a yearly increment of four to the
whole number in the state. Now as, according to Governor Tazewell's
views, not more than one in fifteen of the whole number can be induced
to attend a school of instruction, it requires not the aid of Cocker to
demonstrate that several years must elapse before even an additional
pupil can be added to the twenty-eight above stated. Candor compels us
therefore to declare that we think this part of his Excellency's report
very unsound in its reasoning. He seems to have founded his argument
upon the supposition that the deaf and dumb pupils to be educated at
the proposed asylum in Virginia, are to be maintained from their own
resources, or the private liberality of their friends; whereas, the
very object of applying for Legislative aid, is to enable many of these
indigent children of misfortune to obtain instruction at the public
expense. If this was not the ground of the Governor's reasoning, why
does he suppose that not more than one-fifteenth of the whole number of
deaf mutes could be induced to resort to a seminary for instruction?
Does he mean that a larger proportion could not be obtained if the
public expense were proffered for their education and subsistence? If
he does, then we humbly think that his Excellency is most egregiously
mistaken.
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