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' I f »' . »UR DAY, Augut 15, *787. - . THE [No. XLVIITJ ■pORGIA STATE GAZETTE * * r. - * * m *« ‘ '• * * * \ . ,f # l > |Hf i OR' ■lndependent register. !ff)f REE DO M of the PRESS, and TRIAL by JUR Y, to remain inviolate forever. Conjlitution of Georgia . Ipt/ GUS TA: Printed by JOHN E. SMITH, Printer to the State ; Efays % Articles oj Intelligence , Advertijements , 6?c. w/7/ gratefully received , every kind of Printing performed, give teal pleafurt to every lover of lite , and friend of Georgia, to observe the :hat is paid to the inftrudion of youth in rts of rhis Tiling commonwealth. This source from which we may exped able : and ufeful-citiaens ; — here mull the feeds | >e planted—and virtue is the only cer irk of civil liberty. Yet lam sorry to of oratory and 'the belles lettres so That these are extremely orna- Ithe gentleman, In private life, is evi fhould any objelt that it would be high c for a gentleman ’to be always /pouting y, I answer that it would be as ridiculous be always dancing a minuet; and every [low that a knowledge of this gives him a >mmand of bis limbs ; and yet negled a of elegant phraseology, -of corred pro , and of the proper use of emphasis, a i on which alone depends grace in the tongue, the noblest of all his members, gentleman relied how often he has to impany, .a paragraph of a newspaper, impolition, =and he mull at once fee that competent knowledge of oratory, or at ch of it as refpeds the management of he can never fife above mediocrity in :iety ; let himalfo refled how often he tea letter, whit : h he would not wiih to e the sport of every retailer of criticism ; nly, I fay, make ithofe two refiedious, 11 bt sensible tbat-OHe who is ignorant of d the belles lettres, -though he excel in a 1 cotillon, though lie be a handsome per h he be free from baflifulnefs, though rous, brave, and even a man of under- : :an never have any pretentions to tiie all-accomplijhtd. ir importance, in a popular government •y freeman may Sometime become a re e, no sensible person will pretend to Supposing,” fays a great mailer of eio- . a person to be ever so lincere and zealous of •virtue, and of his country *, without item skill and address in /peaking, lie can /ill, and fee them wronged, without t in his power to prevent or redress the et an artful and eloquent Aatefman har :he House of Commons upon a point of ill copfequence to the public good. He his power to mijlead the judgment of the And he who fees through the delusion, aukward in delivering himfelf, can do towards preventing the ruinous schemes 1 by the other, from being carried into n, but give bis /ingle vote again# ihem, so much as explaining to the house his for so doing. d into these reflexions by having lately Academy in Wilkes county, under the f that excellent meinher of society, Mr. j, and observed Vbe attention that is paid ’e-menuonec! studies therein ; and I hope Academics in this Hate will follow the ample, Mr. Blackboum has inllituted iety, confiding chiefly of his pupils, for He .purpose qf improving them in composition and ■gory; —here let me drop one Temark,—that the Kg' of a society , where boys arc governed by Kjc<zu» laws and regulations, adminillered by •wUrs of their own chufing, eftablifoes in-their Kds the belt idea of a republican form of go fcment, of the neceflity of due subordination to ’ ftwe,—and will be moll likely to produce citi ■ of peaceable, unanimous, and independent fi Ms. The prijtnet) as % member, of zjudicious % • preceptor will check licentioofnefs in the bud, withou foiling the dignity of independence, or damping the ardor 6f genius.-—Mr. Biackbourn’s little society meets once a fortnight the fore part of the day they employ in-Cxamining and cor recting the di/trtation or .euer which each mem ber has composed during the preceding fortnight; and his mann rof reading.or fpcaking of it. And here praise and censure, applied with judgment, as eich is merited, produre a degree of emulation, that is no small flimulus to improvement. In the afternoon they publicly difeufs aqueftion, propoled at their preceding meeting for forenfic disputation ; and after each .member has spoken once, or thrice if he chufes, they decide it by a majority of votes. Their Piefident, who is elected periodically, at the close of their public disputation, and just before the question is put, delivers a charge arising from his opinion of thefubjeft, and-the arguments made ;ufe of during the debate. I happened to be present at the difeuflion of the following question, “ Whether, when militia are “ inadual service, their punifliments for offences « ought to be corporal or pecuniary i n The President’s charge pleased me exceedingly, and the more because itcame'from so young a per son, that I could not have expeXed either foftrong reafeatng , or so good language. After the meet ing I requested a copy of it, which he colleXed from his memory and his own notes, as follows, “ Gentlemen, « The present is one of those questions, upon “ which a decilion, on either fide, will be attended « with great inconveniences; and these inccnve “ niences seem to be so equally balanced, that I “ must confefs I am at a loss which way to deter “ mine. It is said, and with great propriety, “of two evils chufe the leafi but here the chief “ difficulty arises from their beingyo equal* that « ,it appears to me aimoft impossible to fay which « is the least. The gentleme l . on each ft xof this “ question have advanced man y good rea/ons, and fufficiently displayed their ingenuity: And had “ the question been, —Whether, when militia are « Vn aXual service, corporal punifliment be tifed “ in tome cases, and pecuniary in others , or whe “ ther one -of these modes, and which, be used u exclusively in all cases ?—l !bould not hesitate 44 a moment to decide in favor of a due proportion •“ be .ween corporal and pecuniary puniftiments. But unfortunately, the present que “ (lion admits of no alternative, but an exclijive “ adherence to one or the other. 41 Dejertion has aimoft universally been puniflied « with death or a very fever-e corporal puni foment, * to which many would prefer death ; disobedience ■« of orders too, in points of great consequence, « ought perhaps to be corporally puniflied. To the '* prevention of thoje, with some others, p citniary “ puaiiliment would be inadequate. But I can by “ no means agree to the indifcrimipate uft of cor -11 poral punishment for trifling offences . 44 Public corporal punifoment always carries u with it a degree of infamy ; and so great is the “ 2rain too, that the fufferer soon loses all hopes •« of its being wafoed out, and his mind becomes « callous. —Here let us pause !—and for a moment “ reflect on the Jhertfigbtednefs of human wisdom; ** for the means which it has devised as the mod ** certain of reclaiming a criminal, will, if re “ peated, iuevitably render him more abandoned ; « under the influence of this medicine, or rather 44 poifen, his foul becomes as dark as Erebus ! « god i 8 fitted for rapine ! —murder !—and aflaf ftnation ! t« Let it not be supposed, that, bccaufe I have “ pointed out an obvious defeft in human policy, “ I think myfelf capable of forming a better “ fchemc ;r—no, I would only infer that ignominy, “ which is acertain coufequence of pubi.c, corpo “ ral punilhment, ought to be as much avoided ** as good, military discipline will poflibly admit “ of; becaulie it aebajes , and, if fiequent, a uni* “ bilatti that .dignity of mind, which ought to be *• the cbarafltnjiic of freemen. “ And here vie certainly Ihould diftinguilh be* “ tween the armies of a dtfpot, and those of if ret ** people ; a servile fear foul of th t former, “ but of the latter a love of liberty, and an at “ tachment to those privileges which exhibit the “ true dignity of human nature. In th t former ** none of .thele sublime motives exist; nor is it “ necefjary that they Ihould, for either vidtory or “ vanquilhmeut leaves them in the jame situation ; “ jf they conquer, they ft ill remain the Jlaves of a “ tyrant , if they aie (enquired, they only change “ their matter : so that they have no inducement “ to exert themselves but the mean fear ofpunilh ment. Indifcrim.nate, corporal punilhment, then, “ may be well adapted to the discipline of an ar* “ my of jlaves ; for, as Corner iomewhere very “ elegantly exprettes it, •“ Jove fix’d it certain, that whatever day, M Makes man a Jlawi , takes half his % north away. ■** But we expert a greater elevation of thought , “in freemen', their situation too, is very different 5 “ if they conquer they Jlill remain free; but if theft ate conquered in defence of their rights, they “ mutt become ftaves- Am: itia, in a free go* “ \ eminent, is made up generally of such men as M have property, —wi\es, —children, —and every *< tender connexion !—To thrfe the idea of liberty “ mutt be as jnveet, as the idea of slavery is hor~ “ eid! —When we reflect on this, I think there u can be but little ground for the objertion that “ many w ould he too poor to pay a fine; though I “ am sensible tliat a militia is never entirely com “ poled of men of property, yet those who had “ nothing to depend upon but their pay, n ight be “ deprived of it for any length of time, propor* “ tionable to their offence; this might be as severe “ a punilhment to them, as ten times the fuin to “ a richer man. “ From all which I lhall conclude, in a belief 4( that there are feme crimes, which pecuniary pu “ n.fiiment would not be capable of preventing ; I u cannot, therefore, decide in favor of uling thein ■** in all cases. And as corporal punilhment, in 4 ‘ all cases, would have too great a tendency to “ degrade the minds of freemen, neither can I “ decide in ‘their favor ; so that I Ihould wilh the “ present quelfion to remain undecided.” On the question being put, it was decided in favor of corporal punilhmeat, by a majority of mu Aad now I mutt beg the indulgence of the La* dies, in one remark on the education of their sex. • —I am fully rperfnaded that their abilities are, ge nerally fptaking, equal to ours, though formed for different put poles ; sphere is the fublime* aqd theirs the beautiful; I would therefore recommend the aforementioned studies in part to every pretty Miss, who willies to shine with grace and ele gance in a polite circle. Although I would not wilh to fee an orator in petticoats, except on the ttage, nor do I conceive any thing to be more ridiculous than a female pe* dant, yet to be able to read with ease and grace, and to express elegantly, either in familiar writ ing or difeourfe, that fweetneis and delicacy of fectuncat for which the ftx is remarkable,