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yet secured a deed of the property.  Something still prevents our worthy Secretary of War from complying with the law of Congress ordering this deed.  We are sure it is not anything which he can well prevent.  I trust if the Commissioner can expedite matters he will do so.  This institution bids fair to accomplish a good work for West Virginia.  The present school, though something primary is well ordered and taught, and excellent material for preachers and teachers is being gathered into the school.

The new school-house at Wilmington, Del. approaches completion.  When finished and occupied it will, I trust, among other good things, serve as a powerful stimulant to the colored people to make better use of their very primary normal school in that place.

The people hardest to convince of their need of education, are the free blacks, who have been accustomed to living in freedom without education.  Many of this class reside in Wilmington.

Great progress has been made in proving the permanence and usefulness of the Howard University during the year.  A worthy Resident has been secured in the person of the noble Chief of this Bureau, and able men have accepted various professorships.  One of our ablest lawyers, [[underlined]] A. G. Reiddle [[/underlined]] and the chief Inspector in the Educational Department of the Bureau, [[underlined]] J. M. Langston, [[/underlined]] have been elected professors in the Law Department, which already has a class of twenty-one talented young men.  The Medical Department also is in possession of many worthy professors, with a few students, who judging from the speech of one of their number on commencement eve, will be an honor to the institution.  The Normal and Preparatory Department has moved up the hill into the fine University Building carrying with it all its students to whom many more have been added.  And in spite of many evil prophecies, that splendid building, and its fellow, the Dormitory building have not tumbled down yet, but the walls with the institution grow stronger every day.  Last year the commencement exercises crowded the little building then used for the Preparatory Department.  This year one of the finest audiences to be gathered in our City filled the large Congregational church on commencement eve.  But Howard University belongs not to my Department - it is a National institution which justly stands in the National Capitol.

School Terms

There is much complaint because the schools in the country become so small before the close of the term at the end of June.  I have found some schools reduced to five or six scholars:  and on examination one day a call had to be made upon old pupils, who had been away at work a month or two, to come in and make up a respectable number.  They were examined without much chance

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to refresh their memories or brush up the knowledge gained during the term.

Where teachers have come from a long distance, at heavy expense, it has seemed best that they should stay a good while;  but there will soon cease to be this cause for long terms, I trust.  I would have for all except the high and normal schools a winter term commencing not earlier than October 1st and continuing not more than nine months in the city, and six in the country;  then a summer term for the country schools beginning about July 1st and continuing three months.

The schools of this summer term can be taught largely by our normal school scholars.  Some eight were out last summer teaching with excellent success, and I have already arranged to send out about forty for this summer term from the Baptist normal schools of this city, and from Lincoln University, Pa., who are supported by the A. Baptist, and the Presby. St. M. Societies, which societies would be able to support many more, and the colored people would be glad to receive the teachers, had not the long winter term drawn so heavily upon the resources of both parties.  The warm weather which is so debilitating in town is hardly felt by these people in their quiet school-houses, generally located in the country among forest trees.  Harvest also is over by the middle of July, when country people have comparative leasure for a month or two.

The fear has sometimes been expressed that students sent out to teach before the end of their course would not return.  I found that notwithstanding [[strikethrough]] earnest [[/strikethrough]] earnest entreaties to remain they invariably came back.  Conscious as they are that their present attainments are sufficient for the present demands of these people they yet know that an education means something far more than the rudimental knowledge they have now acquired.  They only want to do good:  teach themselves by teaching others, and make a little money to carry themselves on through a thorough course of study.

Grade of Schools

You will notice that out of one hundred and sixty-three (163) schools regularly reported for the year, thirty-nine are reported as graded.  Of these seven are Grammar:  fifteen Intermediate, and seventeen Primary.  All the other schools are of mixed grades.  This would generally be the character of schools located in country places where scholars of a variety of attainments must be in the same school.  The tabular report, however, shows very correctly the whole number of scholars in the different studies, in regularly reported schools, the percentage being as follows:

Number in Alphaget | 8 per cent.
" [[ditto for: Number]] who spell and read easy lessons | 52 " " [[dittos for: per cent.]]