hundred and fifty whaling vessels have been owned and sailed from New
Bedford. Of these at least two hundred and fifty are known to have been
lost. This means immense losses, for not only did the vessels cost from
fifteen to seventy-five thousand dollars each, but the outfittings and
catches were also partially or wholly lost. At the beginning of this
century it cost somewhere about twelve to fifteen thousand dollars to
fit out a vessel for a good voyage. In 1858 the cost had increased to
about sixty-five thousand dollars, voyages were of longer duration, and
catches had increased only about twofold in value. To-day a good outfit
falls but little, if any, below fifty thousand dollars. The cost of
fitting out the sixty-five vessels that sailed in 1858 was estimated at
one million, nine hundred and fifty thousand dollars.[3] The catch since
1800 is believed to have been at least a quarter of a million of sperm
whales and nearly as many more right whales, the total value being
approximately one hundred and fifty millions of dollars.
[3] This included, besides, $130,000 in advance wages, 13,650 barrels of
flour, 10,400 barrels of beef, 7,150 barrels of pork, 97,500 gallons of
molasses, 78,000 pounds of sugar, 39,000 pounds of rice, 39,000 pounds
of dried apples, 19,500 pounds of cheese, 16,300 pounds of ham, 32,500
pounds of codfish, 18,000 pounds of coffee, 450 whale-boats, 205,000
yards of canvas, etc.
Volumes might be told of the experiences of whalemen, of their contests
with the natives of many an island in the Pacific, of wrecks, of the
bravery with which masters have stood by one another in times of need or
trouble, of the great benefits whaling has been to commerce, of the
discoveries by masters in their searches for new grounds, of the fields
opened for the missionaries, of the men rescued from danger and bondage,
etc., etc.[4]
[4] The world will ever be grateful to whaling for having rescued from
penal servitude John Boyle O'Reilly, the gifted Irishman, who has given
to the world so many beautiful poems.
Up to the time of the war, and perhaps till its close, the history of
New Bedford and the whaling industry was identical. But the discovery of
petroleum, the scarcity of whales, and at the same time the low price of
oil, necessitated an entirely new field for the capital and energy so
long devoted to whaling. For a period of ten years or so the city was
in a transition state, the conservative element contending for a
continuation of the old order of things, while the younger blood
demanded the necessary changes to keep abreast of the times. At one
time it did look as though the conservatives would succeed; but gradually
one industry after another got a foothold. Then the panic of 1872
demonstrated that a man who has money must invest it where he can watch
it, instead of trusting to luck in some wild-cat railroad scheme out
West. By the concentration and investment at home of some of the money
saved from the wreck, the Wamsutta mills have become a corporation with
a capital of three million dollars. The Potomska mills have accumulated
a capital of fifteen hundred thousand, the Grinnell mill has eight
hundred thousand, the Acushnet mill six hundred thousand, the Yarn
mills three hundred thousand. In addition to these cotton mills other
industries have sprung up, so that the total capital represented by the
various corporations is over nine millions of dollars. Banking also
proved profitable. Of the five national banks three have a capital of a
million dollars each, another has six hundred thousand, and the fifth
half a million; making a total capital of four millions, one hundred
thousand. Add to this the surplus funds, premiums on the stock, etc.,
and the amount of money represented by these five national banks falls
little short of ten millions of dollars. The Institution for Savings has
deposits of over ten millions, and, with over three millions of deposits
in the other savings-bank, the seven New Bedford banks represent some
twenty-three millions of dollars.
But New Bedford is not, or never has been, devoted entirely to the
scramble for wealth. Her public schools have been given a place among
the best, their cost last year being one hundred thousand dollars. She
has given to the world many scholarly as well as smart men. During the
war she did her duty bravely, sending eleven hundred more men than her
quota. With all of her business she has not neglected her duties to her
country or to her own citizens. One of the prides of the city is the
Public Library, established under an act of the State Legislature of May
24, 1851, authorizing the incorporation of public libraries. A year and
twelve days afterward the common council appropriated fifteen hundred
dollars for its support. Before the action of the city government the
library had existed a long time as the old Social Library, and before
that time as the Library Society, but when the State authorized the
incorporation of such institutions it immediately entered the wider
field. To-day it has fifty thousand volumes. It has the income of the
Sylvia Ann Rowland fund of fifty thousand dollars, the Charles W. Morgan
fund of one thousand dollars, the George Rowland, Jr. fund of sixteen
hundred dollars, the Oliver Crocker fund of one thousand dollars, and
the James B. Congdon fund of five hundred dollars. Besides the culture
of books, New Bedford has always been blessed by the presence and words
of ministers far above the average in talent and earnestness. The
dispute of the early settlers with the General Court showed that the
people were particular as to the quality of their spiritual food, and
this fastidiousness seems to have been handed down from generation to
generation, judging from the _personnel_ of the men. Dr. Samuel West,
who preached at the Head of the River from 1761 to 1803, was of just
that material to satisfy the spiritual wants of his time. Especially
should his name be honored for the vigor and determination with which he
threw himself, body and soul, into the struggle for independence. Nor
should the names of George L. Prentiss, Moses How, and others be
forgotten. One branch of the parent church, the First Congregational
(Unitarian) Society, which built its present substantial edifice in
1836-7-8, has had a continuity of pastors hardly equalled anywhere for
real spiritual living, thinking, and teaching. Dr. Orville Dewey, who
was settled in 1823, was much beloved by everybody, and in his last
years, at his home in Sheffield, among the Berkshire hills, he won the
hearts of all there by his beauty of character, as he had done here.
While Dr. Dewey was abroad, in 1833, and a year or so following, Ralph
Waldo Emerson supplied the pulpit. The present church was dedicated in
1838, and Rev. Dr. Ephraim Peabody and Rev. J. H. Morison were installed
as pastors. The former remained with the society until 1845, and the
latter until 1844. In 1847 Rev. John Weiss became pastor, remaining
until ill-health compelled him to resign, in 1857. Two years later Rev.
William J. Potter, who is not only the typical preacher but the typical
practitioner of his preaching, was installed, and yet holds the
pastorate. The bell of this church, tradition says, was formerly in a
Spanish convent. Whether this be so or not, its clear, musical tone
gives evidence that it is of high pedigree.
Nothing could more fittingly close this article than a notice of that
monument to the charitable souls of New Bedford, the Union for Good
Works. This is a noble institution, not only because it cares for the
poor, but because it aids them to be self-reliant and self-supporting by
tiding over times of need. It provides sewing or other work for needy
women; it maintains a sales-room for the handiwork of the indigent or
the gentlewoman reduced in circumstances, whether the work be preserves,
needle-work, or anything that is salable; it has a large reception-room
well stocked with the best papers, periodicals, and magazines, books,
all the parlor games, etc.; it provides throughout the winter season a
series of popular entertainments of high order and little cost; in
short, it endeavors to lighten the burdens of those in dependence of
distress, and to make pleasanter the life of those whose existence is a
continuous struggle. It has the spending of about three-quarters of the
income of the one hundred thousand dollars left by James Arnold for the
aid of the worthy poor of the city of New Bedford. Besides that it has
accumulated a fund of about thirty thousand dollars, by donation and
otherwise. This will not be touched, however, until it has reached at
least fifty thousand dollars. It will then provide sufficient income to
meet the expenses of the Union. There are the various branches of work,
the relief committee, the sewing-women's branch, the fruit and flour
committee, the prison committee, the hospitality section, and others.
The Union is the outgrowth of the sermon preached by Rev. William J.
Potter at his tenth anniversary, but it is not sectarian in any sense.
[Illustration]
HENRY BARNARD--THE AMERICAN EDUCATOR.
BY THE LATE HON. JOHN D. PHILBRICK.[5]
The career of Henry Barnard as a promoter of the cause of education has
no precedent and is without a parallel. We think of Page as a great
practical teacher; of Gallaudet as the founder of a new institution;
of Pestalozzi as the originator of a new method of instruction; of
Spurzheim as the expounder of the philosophy of education, and of Horace
Mann as its most eloquent advocate; but Mr. Barnard stands before the
world as the national educator. We know, indeed, that he has held
office, and achieved great success in the administration and improvement
of systems of public instruction in particular States. But these labors,
however important, constitute only a segment, so to speak, in the larger
sphere of his efforts. Declining numerous calls to high and lucrative
posts of local importance and influence, he has accepted the whole
country as the theatre of his operations, without regard to State lines,
and by the extent, variety, and comprehensiveness of his efforts has
earned the title of the American Educator. It is in this view that his
course has been patterned after no example, and admits of no comparison.
But if in his plan, equally beneficent and original, he had no example
to copy, he has furnished one worthy alike of admiration and imitation.
[5] "Massachusetts Teacher," January, 1858.
Mr. Barnard was a native of Hartford, Conn., where his family had lived
from the first settlement of the colony. He was born on the 24th of
January, 1811, in the fine mansion where he now resides. The son of a
wealthy farmer, and living within half a mile of the centre of a
considerable town and the State capital, he was placed in the most
favorable circumstances for early physical and mental development.
His elementary instruction was received at the district school, which,
with all its imperfections, "as it was," he remembers with gratitude,
not indeed on account of the amount of learning acquired in it, but
because it was a common school, "a school of equal rights, where merit,
and not social position, was the acknowledged basis of distinction, and
therefore the fittest seminary to give the schooling essential to the
American citizen."
While pursuing the studies preparatory for college at Monson Mass.,
and at the Hopkins Grammar School in Hartford, his proficiency was
brilliant; and such was his eagerness for knowledge that, in addition to
the prescribed course, he extended his reading among the works of the
best English authors.
Having entered Yale College in 1826, he graduated with honor in 1830.
The five subsequent years were mainly devoted to a thorough professional
training for the practice of the law, the severer study of the legal
text-books being relieved by the daily reading of a portion of the
ancient and modern classics. This course of study was fortunately
interrupted for a few months to take charge of an academy, where he
improved the opportunity to acquire some knowledge of the theory and
practice of teaching. This experience had considerable influence in
determining some of the most important subsequent events of his life.
Before entering on the practice of his profession he spent some time in
Europe, for the twofold purpose of study and travel. Already well fitted
by study and natural taste to profit by the opportunities of foreign
travel, he made further and special preparation by a tour through the
Southern and Western States, and a visit to all the most interesting
localities in New England. "Leaving home like a philosopher, to mend
himself and others," he returned with his mind enriched by observation
not only of nature and art but especially of the social condition and
institutions of the people.
In the first public address which he had occasion to make after his
return he said, "Every man must at once make himself as good and as
useful as he can, and help at the same time to make everybody about him,
and all whom he can reach, better and happier." This was the sentiment
which controlled the motives of his conduct. Fidelity to this truly
grand and worthy aim induced him, not long afterwards, to abandon the
flattering prospects of professional eminence which were opening upon
his vision, to retire from all active participation in political
affairs, after a brief but brilliant career in the Legislature of his
native State, and to devote himself to the great work of educational
reform and improvement. To him the credit is due of originating and
securing the passage, by the Legislative Assembly, while a member, in
1837, of the resolution requiring the Comptroller to obtain from School
Visitors official returns respecting public schools in the several
School Societies, and in 1838, of an "Act to provide for the better
supervision of Common Schools."
This was the first decisive step towards the revival of education in
Connecticut. The Board of Commissioners of Common Schools established by
this act, was immediately organized, and Mr. Barnard accepted the office
of secretary, Mr. Gallaudet, who was first elected on his motion, having
declined. He devoted his energies to the arduous duties of this office
till 1842, when the Board was abolished. These duties as prescribed by
the Board were:--
1st. To ascertain, by personal inspection of the schools, and by
written communications from school officers and others, the actual
condition of the schools.
2d. To prepare an abstract of such information for the use of the
Board and the Legislature, with plans and suggestions for the
better organization and administration of the school system.
3d. To attend and address at least one meeting of such parents,
teachers, and school officers as were disposed to come together on
public notice, in each county, and as many local meetings as other
duties would allow.
4th. To edit and superintend the publication of a journal devoted
exclusively to the promotion of common-school education. And,
5th. To increase in any practicable way the interest and
intelligence of the community in relation to the whole subject of
popular education.
Possessing fine powers of oratory, wielding a ready and able pen,
animated by a generous and indomitable spirit, willing to spend and
be spent in the cause of benevolence and humanity, he had every
qualification for the task but experience. Speaking of his fitness for
carrying out the measures of educational reform and improvement in
Connecticut, and of the results of his efforts, Horace Mann said, in the
"Massachusetts Common School Journal," "It is not extravagant to say
that, if a better man be required, we must wait, at least, until the
next generation, for a better one is not to be found in the present.
This agent entered upon his duties with unbounded zeal. He devoted to
their discharge his time, talents, and means.
"The cold torpidity of the State soon felt the sensations of returning
vitality. Its half-suspended animation began to quicken with a warmer
life. Much and most valuable information was diffused. Many parents
began to appreciate more adequately what it was to be a parent; teachers
were awakened; associations for mutual improvement were formed; system
began to supersede confusion; some salutary laws were enacted; all
things gave favorable augury of a prosperous career, and it may be
further affirmed that the cause was so administered as to give occasion
of offence to no one. The whole movement was kept aloof from political
strife. All religious men had reason to rejoice that a higher tone of
moral and religious feeling was making its way into schools, without
giving occasion of jealousy to the one-sided views of any denomination.
But all these auguries were delusive. In an evil hour the whole fabric
was overthrown."
The four volumes of the "Common School Journal," issued during this
period, and the four reports presented by him to the Legislature, with
other contemporary documents, justify the remarks quoted from Mr. Mann.
The reports have been eagerly read and highly prized by the soundest
educators. Chancellor Kent, in his "Commentaries on American Law"
(edition of 1844), after devoting nearly two pages to an analysis of
his first report, characterizes it as "a bold and startling document,
founded on the most painstaking and critical inquiry, and containing a
minute, accurate, comprehensive, and instructive exhibition of the
practical condition and operation of the common-school system of
education." In referring to his subsequent reports, the same
distinguished jurist speaks of him as "the most able, efficient, and
best-informed officer that could, perhaps, be engaged in the service;"
and of his publications as containing "a digest of the fullest and most
valuable information that is to be obtained on the subject of common
schools, both in Europe and the United States."
It should be stated in this connection, as evidence of the
disinterestedness of his motives, that these labors were performed
without any pecuniary compensation; for although the amount allowed him
out of the treasury of the State, for the service of nearly four years,
was $3,747, this sum he expended back again in promoting the prosperity
and usefulness of the schools.
The year following the abolition of the Board of Commissioners of Common
Schools in Connecticut he spent in visiting every section of the
country, to collect the material for a "History of Public Schools and
the Means of Popular Education in the United States." Just as he was
about to commence this history of education he was invited to go to
Rhode Island, and there achieve a work which is destined to form one of
the most interesting and instructive chapters in the history of
education in America, when it shall be written. Reluctant to accept the
invitation, as it would make it necessary to postpone the work in
contemplation, Gov. Fenner met his objection with the reply, "Better
make history than write it." He accepted the task, and soon organized a
system of agencies which, in four years, brought about an entire
revolution in the condition of the schools in the State. It is not
easy to fully appreciate the difficulties and magnitude of the work
undertaken in Rhode Island. From the foundation of the colony the common
school had been excluded from the care and patronage of the government,
and for more than a century and a half there is not the slightest trace
of any legislation whatever for this great interest.
To compel a citizen to support a school or educate his children was
regarded as a violation of the rights of conscience. Twenty years ago an
old Rhode Islander, well to do in the world, assigned as a reason for
refusing to aid in supporting a district school, "It is a Connecticut
custom, and I don't like it."
The plan of operations adopted was substantially the same as that
pursued in Connecticut. The first great work was to enlighten the
popular mind on the subject of common schools, and create a public
opinion in favor of right action. The next step was to frame and secure
the enactment of an efficient school code, adapted to the wants of the
State, which was accomplished in 1845. Then came the difficult task of
organizing the new system and of carrying out its provisions; in a word,
of bringing into existence in every school district the conditions of a
good school. This process was progressing with a rapidity scarcely ever
realized elsewhere, in the erection of better school-houses, in the
employment of better teachers, in the establishment of school libraries,
and in the increase of the means provided by law for the support of
schools. But before accomplishing all his plans for the improvement of
public education in Rhode Island the state of Mr. Barnard's health
rendered it imperatively necessary for him to resign his office. On his
retirement the Legislature, by a unanimous vote, adopted a resolution,
giving him their thanks for the "able, faithful, and judicious manner"
in which he had for five years fulfilled the duties of his office. The
teachers of the State, through a committee appointed at the several
institutes, presented him a handsome testimonial of their "respect and
friendship, and of their appreciation of his services in the cause of
education, and the interest which he had ever taken in their
professional improvement and individual welfare."[6]
[6] Mr. Mann, in his Report to the Board of Education in Massachusetts,
in 1846, refers to this work as follows: "Within the last year the State
of Rhode Island has entirely renovated her school system. Under the
auspices of that distinguished and able friend of common schools, Henry
Barnard, she is preparing to take her place among the foremost of the
States." In 1856 he speaks of Mr. Barnard's work in Rhode Island "as the
greatest legacy he had left to American Educators; the best working
model of school agitation and legal organization for the schools of the
whole country which had yet been furnished."
Mr. Barnard returned to his old home in Connecticut. He was soon invited
to professorships in two colleges, and to the superintendence of public
schools in three different cities. But a more congenial work in his
own State awaited his restored health. In 1849 an act was passed to
establish a State Normal School, the principal of which should be the
superintendent of common schools. Mr. Barnard was elected to this
office, and accepted on condition that an assistant should be appointed
to take the immediate charge of the Normal School. He soon had the
satisfaction of seeing long-cherished hopes fulfilled. After many
struggles and efforts he saw his own State taking her appropriate place
among the foremost of the educating and educated States.