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Mr. Barrows, of Iowa. We want those young ladies sent West. (Laughter.)

Mr. White. Send handsome representatives here from the West for them, and they shall have them. (Renewed laughter.)

J. D. Philbrick, of Boston. It is well known to some of the members present that several efforts have been made to secure the establishment of a Bureau of Education in connection with the Department of the Interior, at Washington, for the purpose of procuring educational information and statistics, and diffusing them throughout the country. Owing to various obstacles, this measure has been heretofore unsuccessful; but it is believed that the causes that have operated to defeat the measure have now, to a great extent, ceased to exist, and that, if efforts are made at the present time, they will be successful. I propose, therefore, that this body appoint a committee of three, consisting of Hon. Joseph White, of Massachusetts, Henry Barnard, of Connecticut, and E. P. Weston, of Maine, to memorialize Congress on the subject. The motion was carried.

Mr. Colton, of Connecticut, offered the following:

COMPLIMENTARY RESOLUTIONS.

Resolved, That we hereby tender our sincere thanks to the following associations and individuals, who have variously contributed to our comfort and interest during the present meeting, viz.:

1. To the following railroad and steamboat companies, for reducing their fare in our favor:

Boston and Lowell; Boston and Maine; Eastern; Portland, Saco and Portsmouth; Essex; Nashua and Lowell; Worcester and Nashua; Wilton; Stony Brook; Lowell and

Lawrence; Portsmouth and Concord; Salem and Lowell; Concord, Manchester and Lawrence; Manchester and North Ware; Newburyport; Springfield, Hartford and New Haven; Norwich and Worcester; Fairhaven; Hartford, Providence and Fishkill; and Maine Central; Grand Trunk; Kennebec and Portland; York and Cumberland; Androscoggin; and Boston and New Bedford; Taunton Branch; and to the Boston and Portland Steamboat Company.

2. To his Honor, Jacob McLellan, the Mayor of Portland, for the generous welcome, which opened the gates of this beautiful city to our feet, and the doors of this commodious and magnificent hall to our session.

3. To the Trustees of the Society of Natural History, and the managers of the Munjoy's Hill Observatory and the New High School building, for inviting our inspection of these noble temples devoted to science and art, which we congratulate the citizens of Portland for a good beginning in the cause of higher education.

4. To Messrs. Stevens, Taylor, and Wentworth, the special committee of arrangements, to whose efforts, fulfilled and unfulfilled, for our entertainment, we are eminently indebted.

5. To such families as have tendered their private hospitalities, especially to the ladies, whose presence and intelligent enthusiasm, and conscientious devotion to the cause of education, contribute a silent but important share to the success of the Institute.

6. To J. N. Bartlett, Esq., and J. W. Allen, Esq., of Connecticut; to Hon. E. P. Weston, of Maine; and to Hon. J. D. Philbrick, Rev. E. B. Webb, and Prof. P. A. Chadbourne, of Massachusetts, for the interesting lectures which they severally delivered, copies of which we hereby respectfully solicit for publication.

Resolved, That we close these pleasant meetings and leave

these kind hospitalities with regret, but with the hope that this border State of the North may advance with increased wisdom and energy in that upward path of improvement, visible in every department of her civil and social life, and with the firm belief and prayer, that, long ere we shall meet again within her bounds, this civil war may be ended in the way we believe it has been generally conducted by us, and in the only way in which it can be ended in a peace based on the high interests of humanity and justice.

The resolutions were unanimously adopted.

Mr. Weston, in behalf of the citizens of Portland, reciprocated the good feeling and friendly sentiments of the resolutions, and expressed the hope, that, when the other States had had their turn, Maine might have the honor of welcoming the Institute once more within her borders.

Mr. W. E. Sheldon offered the following resolution, which was adopted:

Resolved, That the sincere thanks of the members of this Institute be tendered to Charles Northend, Esq., the retiring President, and to Samuel W. Mason, Esq., who has served the Institute for two years as Recording Secretary, for their unwearied and successful efforts to promote the highest usefulness of the Association.

After remarks by Hon. E. P. Weston, referring to the prosperous session of the Institute, its influence for good on all in attendance, especially upon the people of Maine, inviting the Institute again to visit the Pine Tree State, on motion of Nathan Hedges, of New Jersey, the Institute adjourned sine die, after singing the doxology.

LECTURE I.

EXTREMES IN EDUCATION.

BY EDWARD P. WESTON, SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF MAINE.

GENTLEMEN OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE:

In the discharge of my duties as a Superintendent of Public Instruction, in examining schools, in consulting with teachers and school officers, and otherwise noting the views and methods of Education which obtain currency in the community, my attention is constantly called to the tendency to extremes of opinion and practice in educational affairs.

It is no marvel, to be sure, that in this department of labor and thought, as in all others, men should fall into this error. The tendency to extremes has been common to all subjects and all times. One of England's famous poets, with painful truthfulness to his own experience, sung to his brother man:

"Thou pendulum betwixt a smile and tear."

So in every department of life,

not in the area of surging passions alone, but in every field of opinion and action as well, men are found swinging from

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