the portion of the population which it is pro-
posed to educate, the white population, is as
low as 5,000; while in other counties, it
amounts to 50,000. Now, where is the wis-
dom in legislating here and providing five
commissioners for 5,000 white population,
and only the same number for 50,000? Why
not allow that matter to be left to the dis-
cretion of this able man who is to be the
State superintendent? Why not allow his
report to the legislature, of course embracing
all these minor matters, to be acted upon by
the legislature, according as the wants of the
several counties may require? In our county
(Howard,) we have a comparatively small
while population.
Mr, STIRLING. This article authorizes the
State superintendent to prepare and report a
uniform system of public schools, I do not
suppose that authorizes him to report upon
the officers under that system.
Mr. SANDS. Well, I should suppose it
would, if the superintendent is to report a
system for the whole State, will not a legiti-
mate part of that report be that county
commissioners are necessary to the working
of that system? And after considering the
population of the counties, and the neces-
sities of the people, may it not be for him to
report that Baltimore county, with a white
population of fifty thousand, may require ten
school commissioners, while Charles county,
with one-fifth of that population, will need
but two county commissioners? I suggest to
my friends that this is a matter of very grave
consideration, inasmuch as we do not propose,
in this system of public education, that any
volunteer work shall be done. We must fix
the duties of these county commissioners, and
fix their per diem for the discharge of those
duties, if we would have them properly dis-
charged. Then I say, why fix upon one county
with a white population of five thousand, the
same burden of paying five school commis-
sioners, that is fixed upon Baltimore county
with a white population of fifty thousand?
Where is the necessity for that number in
Howard county?
In my opinion the report of the State super-
intendent ought to embrace all these matters
He cannot create officers, but the legislature
must do it, or under this article by default
allow him to do it. But it ought to be his
business to report to the legislature whether
county commissioners were necessary, and if
necessary what number each county would
require. Then it would be for the legislature
to say whether those officers should be created
or not. I think myself that this making a
constitutional provision requiring five school
commissioners to be appointed for each county
irrespective of its population and necessities
is very unwise and not at all economical. .
shall, therefore, be very glad to vote to strike
out these sections, and to leave all these mat-
ters of detail to the State superintendent, and |
to the legislature which is to consider his re-
port.
Mr. EDELEN. I have no disposition what-
ever to prolong this discussion. I never read
this report until this morning when it was
called up. I have listened with some attention
to the arguments upon this subject. And
if there is one thing more than another which
I have gathered from the remarks of gentle-
men and from this report, it is that this pro-
poses to create a general superintendent of
public school education for the cheif ana main
purpose of reporting, in the language of the
section already passed, " a uniform system of
free public school education" to the next
general assembly of Maryland. There his
duties stop, until the legislature steps in and
imposes upon him such duties pertaining to
his office as from time to time may be pre-
scribed by law.
Now, it seems to me that the whole of this
matter is referred to the general superinten-
dent of public instruction. And if we now
attempt by sections two, three and four, to tie
up and restrict him in the work which we
have committed to his charge, we will be
doing with one hand and undoing with the
other. If we put these sections in the consti-
tution, the hands of this State superintendent,
and of the legislature when they come to act
upon his work, will be tied and trammelled.
There must be, if this section two is adopted,
an assistant superintendent of public instruc-
tion in every county of the State, Yet, for
aught we know, this intelligent (officer, for
whom we have provided a salary, in the lan-
guage of gentlemen here, " sufficient to com-
mand the best talent and the best administra-
tive ability in the country," might entertain
the opinion that under his system it was not
desirable to have an assistant superintendent
in each county of the State. Yet by this sec-
tion he would be tied down to that, whether
he thought it necessary or not.
So under this third section we require a
board of public education, and under section
four we provide five school commissioners for
each county. Now I cannot conceive—for
the chairman of this committee has tailed to
enlighten me upon this point—what the du-
ties of this assistant superintendent in each
county are to be, as centra-distinguished from
those to be exercised by the school commis-
sioners of each county. It strikes me that
the whole object and scope of this article
should be that the general superintendent shall
originate some uniform system of public edu-
cation for the State, and, therefore, I think:
that the whole of the machinery, and all the
details of the system should be left to him
and to the general assembly when they come
to act upon his work.
A great deal has been said about this
superintendent travelling all over the State.
The gentleman from Baltimore city (Mr.
Cushing) Bays you 'might want some one in |
