Oliver Old School to Frederick Douglass, March 19, 1860

OUR CORRESPONDENCE.

HUDSON RIVER INCIDENTS.

MR. EDITOR:—Among the many remarkable events of the present age, there is no one of more interest to us than the great progress which is being made upon the subject of Education. A great historian remarked, 'Give me the education of the people, and I will make the laws.' A new Public School house has just been completed in the city of New York, for District School No. 1—John Peterson, Esq, Principal—at a cost of over $20,000. It is decidedly the finest edifice of the kind of our country, and the colored people of the Empire City may well be proud of this noble monument as a tribute to the genius and ability of the present generation.

The building was thrown open to the public on Monday evening, the 13th inst., when interesting addresses were made by Messers Green, Randall, Harket, Bourne and West, of the Board of Education; Mrs. Oaks Smith, who delivered an original poem; Revs. H. H. Garnet, A. N. Freeman, H. M. Wilson and Mr. Alston; George T. Downing, Esq., of R. I.; J. H. Townsend, of Hudson, and others. There were about three hundred children present, and a large number of parents and friends of education, among whom we noticed Prof. C. L. Reason and R. F. Wake of New York; W. G. Strong, Esq., of Newark, N. J., and many others. Many interesting incidents were related of this school, form the time of its first formation in 1787, to the present; also of incidents connected with the New York Manumission Society, with such men as Alexander Hamilton and Chief Justice John Jay, who were prominent members; of Lafayette, who visited the school when in the country, and the colored youth who wel-

comed him in neat address, which moved the patriot to tears; many incidents that occurred during the days of Charles Andrews who taught this school for many years, and was instrumental in brining forward some of the noblest spirits among us, such as Dr. Jas. McCune Smith, Geroge T. Downing, H. H. Garnet, Alexander Crummell, and a host of others who are proud of having been enrolled among his pupils.

We have had rather a dull winter along the Hudson. The people feel but little interest in the cause of reform. The series of lectures delivered in many of the towns have been well attended, and the subject generally favorable to human progress. As we are to have the quadrennial farce of a Presidential election performed this year; we expect a tirade of fierce denunciation from the so-called Democracy that has not yet been surpassed. I think we shall be able to survive the shock, and will come out of the contest like gold re[fined in] the fire. We are getting to be great politicians in this section; we go for the 'irrepressible conflict' quite strong, not withstanding some of the North-Western Republicans have give us a back seat in the car of freedom.

Union-saving and other humbugs, have too much influence upon the masses and these good old grand-mas—dear bless them!—seem to entirely forget that negroes are hunan beings, much less equal to we white folks. Did you ever see an old woman attempting to turn the tide of the ocean with a broom?—You saw it in the great United States Senate, the other day, when Douglas attempted to reply to Seward's argument by prating about negro equality? The whole truth is, there are few negroes that are the inferiors of such a character as the little Senator from Illinois.

The great meeting of the African Civilization Society at the Cooper Institute was a signal failure. All the great guns of Coloni-

zation cannot galvanize it into fire. It is a dead carcass, and only needs decent interment. Some of the young scions of the great Republic of Liberia seem quite indignant that a correspondent of Frederick Douglass` Paper, over the signature of 'Communipaw,' had made some rather severe strictures upon the African development, and the commerce which is carried between the two countries, as shown by the cargoes of some vessels recently fitted out at the port of New York. I hope those young and high-spirited gentlemen feel better after having relieved themselves of the great burden which s weighted down their spirits. Emigration and Colonization are schemes that we are well posted upon.

I hope to hear from Mr. Douglass through the columns of the paper.

Your, truly,

OLIVER OLD SCHOOL.

HUDSON, March 19, 1860.