fect gentlemen and ladies. Their constant examples before their pupils, the moral as well as literary instruction, which they convey to their schools, are productive of the happiest effects. Pupils are admitted when six years old, and they can be instructed until they are fourteen years old, and all this instruction costs nothing to them, or their parents and guardians.

Among the teachers in the higher department of females, Mrs. Wing and Miss Eustis, are preeminent for their education and polite accomplishments. We mean no disparagement to other teachers, because they are all good, and deserve higher wages than they now obtain.

IMMIGRANTS' FRIEND SOCIETY.

There is also another institution of learning in this city, under the patronage of the immigrants' friend society of the valley of the Mississippi. The object of this society is to educate the children of foreigners in the English language; to instruct them in the scriptures, and the nature of our free institutions. This object commends itself to the understanding of every thinking patriot when he looks at the fact, that the great mass of this foreign population are inaccessible to us, through the medium of our language, because we have otherwise no means of diffusing useful information among them. It is their object also to remove their misapprehensions, and correct their errors. The members of this institution extend the hand of kindness to this portion of our population, and establish schools for the education of their children, so that they may be prepared for the reception of useful knowledge, and become good substantial Americans. Although this society is yet in its infancy, yet it is truly in a flourishing condition. They have one school in Cincinnati numbering two hundred pupils in daily attendance. They have also, a school recently established in Louisville, and one in New Albany, by their general agent the Reverend J. J. Lehmanowsky. He makes it his business to raise funds, and

establish schools, in any town where there is a sufficient foreign population to need them, throughout the whole Mississippi valley. At Cincinnati F. C. F. Salomon, A. M., is the Principal.

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY.

Executive Committee,

Honorable BELLAMY STORER, President; John Myre, Vice President; H. K. Wells, Recording Secretary; Professor C. G. Stowe, Corresponding Secretary; Jacob Guelick, Esq. Curtis M. Doolittle, C. P. Barnes, William Neff, Dr. John Allen, D. W. Tolfard, Otis Aldrich.

Treasurer,

Alfred W. Bentley.

General Agent,

Reverend John J. Lehmanowsky.

The general assembly of the state, have incorporated the above named society and placed their school in Cincinnati, on the same footing with the public common schools, which are supported by the public funds.

We have twenty-two incorporated academies in the state, some of which are flourishing.

COMMON SCHOOLS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE.

Every township is divided into school districts, which are governed by a board of directors, elected by the people. School houses are built by a tax levied on the people, and the public money is paid over to the teachers in proportion to the number of scholars who attend the schools. The system is a wise one, and the funds to support common schools now

amounts to nearly two millions of dollars. A part of this fund is employed by the state, and another part of it is loaned to individuals. The interest of this fund, in both cases, is guaranteed by the state to be punctually paid. By care and good management, this fund may be increased to five millions of dollars within a few years. In many instances, the schools throughout the state are very well conducted, but in other cases they are not managed as they should be. On the whole, though, better school houses every where appear, and the teachers are better ones than we had a few years since. This is encouraging.

STATE OF THE MECHANIC ARTS.

These are improving rapidly. The construction of our canals taught our people the art of cutting stone and laying them; the art of bridge building, and of erecting dams on our streams. Had our canals done us no other benefit, this would have been of great advantage to us. So of the construction of the Cumberland road across this state. The able engineers which the government has sent here, have taught our people how to construct roads.

In the construction of houses of all sorts, our house builders have greatly improved of late years.

In Cincinnati these builders of houses, vie with their eastern instructors, in all that is useful or ornamental in their art. Our cabinet furniture, too, now equals that made in the eastern cities, from whence our mechanics came. The brickmaker, brick layer, house carpenter and joiner, sometimes unite, buy some lots in a new town, and all join and build row after row, of elegant houses and stores. The merchant and mechanic follow them, and fill the houses with goods, families and mechanic tools. The farmers settle around them, and town and country flourish as if by enchantment, where the forest stood a very few years before. Ꮓ

THE OHIO MECHANICS INSTITUTE,

Was established in Cincinnati, in October 1828, for the purpose of aiding, in the diffusion of scientific information, among all classes of the community.

John P. Foote, Esquire and others, got up a public meeting of the citizens, who framed a constitution and adopted it, thus organizing a society. Operations commenced under this constitution, and a course of lectures was delivered. Two classes were established, one in Geometry, and, another in Arithmetic.

In 1829, a class in Mathematics was formed, which has continued to this time. Lectures were delivered, and application was made to the legislature, for an act of incorporation. This was granted on the application of John D. Craig, John P. Foote, Thomas Reilly, Luman Watson, William C. Anderson, David T. Disney, George Graham junior, Calvin Fletcher, Clement Dare, William Greene, Tunis Brewer, Jeffry Seymour, Israel Schooley and Elisha Brigham. The object of the society was the advancement of the best interests of the mechanic, the artisan and manufacturer, by the more general diffusion of useful knowledge, among the aforesaid classes of citizens.

During the three last years, three lectures in each week, have been delivered in the lecture rooms of the Institute.

The library consists of about fifteen hundred Volumes of well selected books, which have been presented to the institution by individuals. The members of the Institute contribute, each, annually, three dollars.

The society have an annual Fair, for the exhibition of such articles as our mechanics and manufacturers may feel disposed to exhibit. The Fair held in May 1838, at the Bazaar, was attended by all the intelligent citizens of Cincinnati. The articles exhibited, did honor to the ingenuity and skill of those who produced them. We saw, and felt proud of the producers and their productions. This institution deserves the patronage of the whole people and we hope will receive it.

The classes in the Institute are established by voluntary

association of young men, who form their own by-laws and adopt a course of mutual instruction; receiving aid from professional teachers, many of whom have been very zealous in promoting the objects of the Institution.

During the summer seasons, courses of lectures in natural philosophy are delivered in the Institute to young ladies. A class of fifty is now attending Doctor Craig's course.

THE STATE OF RELIGION AND THE DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS SECTS.

An experiment is now making which will ascertain whethcr religion can be sustained without the support of the government. Our constitution utterly forbids any preference to be given to any one religious sect. It permits religious societies to be incorporated, so that they can build churches and own the land where they stand; it also recognises any contract entered into by any society with a clergyman for his support and maintenance. But these things are all the government does, unless it be that religious people are protected by law, while they are worshiping their Creator, as it does any other persons while peaceably assembled together for any lawful business. Should any one suppose, however, that our western people are not as religious as those who have an established religion, supported by, and connected with the civil government, he would do them great injustice. Our people believe that religion is a matter between God and his creature, witb which, the civil ruler has no right to interfere. Most of the ministers who are in some sense permanently settled, perform much more labour than ministers do in the eastern states. Doubtless there are conveniences and inconveniences, pleasures and the reverse, connected with the situation of a western, or an eastern minister. Our balances will not weigh these very correctly, so we do not attempt it. Our eastern brethren are wonderfully deceived in one thing respecting us. They often state in their meetings, papers, magazines, &c., that we are destitute of preachers.

According to our population we have two ministers here,