lilt CL In Al [Whole N~umber 255 UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUQATION.. CIRCIJLAIR OF INFORMATION, NO. 2, 1899. CONTRIBUTtONS TO AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL HISTORY, EDITED BY hIERBERT B.- ADAMS. q 7 c-o0 No'. 2 4. IN BY EIDWARD MIAYES, LL. 1D., -Ex-Chancellor of the Uiiiversity-Zf Mi88i88ippi, President of the State HihstoriCal Aosocialion Of Mi88i88ippi. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1899. LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BUREAU OF EDUCATION, Washington, D. C., June 3, 1899. SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith the manuscript of a history of education in the State of Mississippi, to the year 1891, prepared by Edward Mayes, then chancellor of the University of Mississippi, for the use of this Bureau. The preparation of this history has been a work of very great, if not of peculiar, difficulty. It was pioneer work in that State. There were no books from which to obtain the needed information. The material had to be gathered from old newspapers, old catalogues when obtainable, moth-eaten and time-stained minute books, an occasional address etc., eked out with a large correspondence. For this reason it has been impossible to supply a bibliography, as desired. There are no books on the subjects treated to describe, if the well-known journals of the legislature be excepted. Yet, while it is true that the work of the historian of education has been made difficult in that State by the failure of her people to preserve the story of her institutions in the pages of a permanent literature, it would be incorrect and unjust to infer that they have been indifferent to education itself. They have not been indifferent. Their labors in fostering education may not have been wisely directed at all times, but they have denied neither time nor pains nor money. Jefferson College yet remains, whose charter was the first of any sort passed by the Territorial legislature. Elizabeth Female Academy, a college for girls in everything save the name, was established while the State was in its first year. The Franklin Academy, a free town school much like those of the present time, was organized in 1821, while its site was yet an outpost of civilization in the midst of savages. The Holly Springs Female Institute was but one of many such founded when the country was less than five years freed from its Indian occupants. It is not claimed for this history that it is exhaustive. It would be impossible to make it so, because of the loss of all definite knowledge in respect to many once excellent and fruitful schools. Prior to the civil war 158 special charters were granted by the legislature to institutions of learning, and since the war 123. These numbers do not include such as were incorporated under the general laws of the State, nor such as 3 4 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. were content to work without charters. They were called by all namesacademies, high schools, colleges, universities; but all, or nearly all, claimed to give sound instruction in the classics, higher mathematics, philosophy, and the natural sciences, and many in modern languages. With the exception of the State institutions, the chapters of this history are restricted to certain selected schools. Those described are selected either because they were remarkable as pioneers or because of their development into apparently permanent and unusually prosperous institutions, or because they are excellent types of a class. Let it be understood clearly that there are other schools, extinct and existent, quite as good as several of those specially described. The thoughtful reader will observe that the unvarying character of the ante-bellum schools was classical, scientific, literary, artistic. Those called "practical"-the agricultural, the mechanical, the industrial, the normal-all originate subsequent to that period. The Baptists, indeed, endeavored to establish an industrial school in 1836, called the Judson Institute, in Hinds County, but it failed after a very short career. The State institutions for the higher education of the colored people, the Tougaloo University, the State Normal School at Holly Springs, and the Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College, will be found of much interest. I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. T. HARRIS, Commissioner. Hon. E. A. HITCHCOCK, Secretary of the Interior. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Page. Early political and social history of Mississippi........................... 11 CHAPTER II. Educational beginnings: Education under the Spanish regime................................. 22 Early efforts by the Americans under the governor and judges......... 23 Rev. David Ker....................................................... 23 CHAPTER III. Jefferson College........................................... 25 CHAPTER IV. Dead colleges of Mississippi: The Elizabeth Female Academy....................................... 38 The Holly Springs Female Institute................................... 46 The College and Academy at Sharon................................... 51 The College in Jackson, the Brandon College, and Madison College.... 57 Oaklaud College...................................................... 63 CHAPTER V. Chamberlain-Hunt Academy................. 71 Franklin Academy...................................................... 72 CHAPTER VI. Mississippi College................................................. 80 CHAPTER VII. Female colleges ill Mississippi: Oxford Female Academy and Unioa Female College.................... 93 The Port Gibson Female College....................................... 96 The Grenada Collegiate Institute...................................... 97 The Central Female Institute, now Hillman College................... 99 Whitworth Female College......................................... 101 Blue Mountain Female College........................................ 103 CHAPTER VIII. Centenary College.............-.............................. 106 5 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. The University of Mississippi: Page. Founding and endowment............................................. 118 The location and incorporation of the institution...................... 122 A retarding influence and the development of a sentiment.............. 125 The charter.-.......................................................... 128 Third meeting of the trustees......................................... 130 Governor Brown's scheme for auxiliary schools. ---.-........-... — -... 130 Attempt to repeal the charter......................................... 131 First appropriation for buildings; act of 1846-................. —......... 135 Buildings begun...................................................... 135 Organization of faculty............................................... 136 Prohibition of retailing intoxicating drinks in vicinity.. —.......-...... 136 Scheme of education adopted..-...... ---........ ---..-................ 136 The University and religion -..... —.-.......-.............................. 137 The first session opened......-............ -.............. 138 President Holmes leaves; Professor Bledsoe acts.. —..................... 138 President Longstreet ---.....-.. --- —...... ---..-..-..-.-.-. --- —......- 139 First code of by-laws........................................... ---...... 139 Library founded.-....-..................................... 139 The first graduating class -............................................. 140 Agricultural and geological survey.........................-......-... 141 Chemical and philosophical apparatus.-....-............................ 141 The law school; act of 1854........................................... 142 First honorary degrees................................................ 146 Act of 1856 appropriates $100,000...........-.......................... 146 The faculty enlarged.....................................-............. 150 The chancellorship created..........................-........... 151 The University and the coast survey.................... -.-.............. 151 Appropriation extended; act of 1860.-..-............................... 151 The civil war; University Grays.-......-...................... 151 The civil war; exercises suspended -.. ---.......-...... ---.. ----... --- — 152 The legislature resumes the election of trustees..................... ---. 157 The civil war; the geological collections -.............................. 157 The civil war; custody of property; Governor Clark's message....-... 157 The reorganization of 1865............................................ 158 A high school proposed-.......... —..... —.. —........... ---.-. 159 Changes in the faculty.................... --- — -- ------------—..-.....-.. ----. 160 The act of 1867 appropriates $20,000-...... ---—..-....-.......... ---. 160 Further changes in the faculty —.. —.. -............. ----..-....... ---. 161 The special schools. ----...-.................. ---. --- —----- 161 The University and reconstruction....................... —............. 162 A new scheme of organization, 1870. --- ----—.... — --—. --- —. 164 The new charter of 1871..-.. ----.-.-....-, --- —-- --—..... --- ——... —. 166 The University and Alcorn University........-.. —. --- —. —.. ---.. 168 The department of agriculture —...-.. —..... ---.. ----. —. --- —-- —.- 168 Free scholarships...................... ---..................... —. 174 Free tuition.. ---....... —........-....... —..-.... ---. 174 The high school..-.................... —. —.. --- —----—.. --- —.. - 174 Chancellor A. P. Stewart.. ----...... — -----—.-. --- ---—. ----.. --- —- 175 Department diplomas.-....... —... --- —----------—... ---.. --- —-—.... - 177 The Vaiden charity.-. —..-.-... —..-.-..-... —... —. —. --------- 177 The Labauve charity...........-........-.................177 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 7 The University of Mississippi-Continued. Page. Chancellorship abolished; Chairman Mayes...........................178 The reorganization of 1889............................................ 178 Canvass of the State.................................................. 181 Fellowships established..................-........................ 181 Summary of the total enrollment....-...................-.-.. 182 Presiding officers and faculty......................................... 183 Organization.............................-..-............ 187 Postgraduate degrees.................................... 188 Detailed statement of courses..................................... 189 The University property...................-......................... 200 The State appropriations.............................................. 201 Alexander M. Clayton...................................... 202 Jacob Thompson.................................................... 203 Augustus B. Longstreet............................................... 205 F. A. P. Barnard....................................................... 208 John N. Waddel...................................................... 210 Alexander P. Stewart.................................................. 211 Edward Mayes...................................................... 212 CHAPTEI R X. The Agricultural and Geological Survey.................................. 213 Sketch of Prof. E. W. Hilgard.................................. 224 CHAPTER XI. The Agricultural and Mechanical College................................ 227 The Agricultural and Mechanical College established.................. 230 The objects and purposes of the college............................... 232 Departments of instruction........................................... 234 Buildings and grounds................................................ 239 The Agricultural Experiment Station................................. 240 Farmers' Institutes and outside work.................................. 241 Discipline............................................................ 241 Library and reading room............................................. 241 Attendance of students........................................... 242 Faculty............................................................. 242 Sketch of Gen. Stephen D. Lee........................................ 243 CHAPTER XII. The Industrial Institute and College, a State college for girls: The struggle.................................................. 245 The charter......................................................... 247 Property.............................................................. 248 Courses............................................................. 250 Attendance, expenses, etc................................. 252 The faculty........................................................... 254 Prof. Richard W. Jones............................................... 254 CIHA PTER XIII. Millsaps College..-...................................................... 256 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIV. Education of the colored race: Page. Tougaloo University.................................................. 259 State Normal School at Holly Springs................................. 266 Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College......................... 270 CHAPTER XV. The common schools of Mississippi: The common schools before the war.................................... 278 The common schools since the war................................. 282 LIST OF ILL USTRATIOiNS. Page. Chamberlain-Hunt Academy.............................................. 71 Mississippi College, main building.......................................... 80 Union Female College........................................... 93 Whitworth Female College................................................ 101 University of Mississippi: Lyceum, 1............................................................ 118 Lyceum, 2............................................................ 135 Library lbuilding..................................................... 139 Observatory and Hall of Physics...................................... 146 Campus..................................................... 164 Agricultural and Mechanical College...................................... 227 State Industrial Institute and College..................................... 245 Millsaps College: Main Building, erected in 1892........................................ 256 Webster Science Hall, erected in 1896.................................. 257 Library, erected in 1896............................................... 258 Tougaloo University: Beard Hall, girls' dormitory........................................... 259 Strieby Hall, boys' dormitory......................................... 261 State Normal School at Holly Springs...................................... 266 9 I HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Chapter I. ' EARLY POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI. In order to understand fully the early history of education in Mississippi, it is necessary to take a brief view of the State's early political and social history. We shall not linger to trace the wanderings of De Soto, nor those of La Salle and Tonti. '1 hey are familiar to every student of American annals. Nor shall we do more than note that in the year 1699 the French planted, under the command of the Sieur Lemoyne d'Iberville, a colony at Biloxi, the first settlement on what is now soil of Mississippi. In the year 1701 a French fort and magazine were established on Dauphine Island, at the mouth of Mobile Bay. This establishment led, nine years later, to the planting of another colony on the present site of the city of Mobile. Inll 1716 another French fort and colony were fixed at Natchez, and called, in honor of the Comtesse de Pontchartrain, "La ville de Rosalie aux Natchez." In 1729 the Indians extirpated this settlement by a most horrible massacre, and the French seem never to have replanted it. On the 3d of November, 1762, a secret treaty was signed at Paris, by which the King of France transferred to the King of Spain all of the country embraced in the province of Louisiana. But the title of the Spaniard to this vas't and valuable territory was not unchallenged. In the year 1663, a century before the cession mentioned above, Charles II granted to Earl Clarendon and others the territory embraced between the thirty-first and thirty-sixth parallels of north latitude, and established it as a province by the name of Carolina. In 1719, ten years before the Natchez massacre, the division into North and South Carolina was finally completed. In 1732 George II granted a charter for the colony of Georgia, the thirteenth British colony in. America. The territory granted lay within the boundaries of South Carolina, running east and west entirely through that province, and embracing all of the country between the Savannah and the Altamaha rivers, and from the headsprings of those streams due west indefinitely. South Carolina continued to claim and exercise jurisdiction over the territory lying south of the Altamaha and separating the province of Georgia from the then Spanish province of Florida. 11 12 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. In 1763, the next year after the secret cession of Louisiana to Spain by France, by the tripartite treaty of Paris, Great Britain obtained the province of Florida and all that portion of Louisiana lying east of the Mississippi, except the island of New Orleans. The territory thus acquired by her extended westward along the Mexican Gulf to the Mississippi, and embraced parts of the present States of Alabama and Mississippi and part of Louisiana. In the same year George III established by proclamation the provinces of East and West Florida. The northern boundary of West Florida was declared to be a line drawn due east from that part of the Mississippi River which lies in 310 north latitude, along said parallel to the Chattahoochee. By the same proclamation all of the lands lying between the rivers Altamaha and St. Marys were severed from South Carolina and annexed to Georgia. Thus the southern boundary of Georgia was located, and its western boundary fixed at the Mississippi River. But this south Georgian boundary line was not permitted to rest in peace. A commission issued by the King in 1764 to George Johnstone, esq., whereby he was appointed governor of West Florida, names as the north boundary of that province a line drawn due east from the mouth of the Yazoo River; and a similar commission was issued to Peter Chester in 1770. Notwithstanding these commissions, there is not sufficient evidence (so declares the Supreme Court of the United States) that the limits of West Florida were ever in fact extended to the Yazoo line, but their immediate effect was to enable the British governors of that province to contest the jurisdiction of the British governors of Georgia in that quarter, if, inideed, the latter functionaries can be said to have contested the matter. In 1764 Great Britain established Fort Panmure at the old Fort Rosalie. The place was found to be "a mere ruin covered with forest trees and a few old French cannon lying around." A tide of immigration now set in swiftly. The colony of West Florida having been established by the King, as stated above, Pensacola was made the capital of the province. Governor Johnstone brought with him a British regiment of Highlanders, and numerous persons followed in his train to settle in the province. He appointed commandants and sent garrisons to Fort Charlotte at Mobile, to Fort Bute at Manchac, and to Fort Panmure. He appointed civil magistrates and organized a superior court at Pensacola, whose jurisdiction extended over the whole province and which, until the close of the British rule in 1782, administered justice according to the common law of England. The governor had liberal instructions in regard to public lands and was authorized to make grants, without fee or reward, to every retired officer who had served in America against the French and Indians and to any private soldiers disabled in America who should apply. * * x This generous provision on the part of the Crown was the nest egg of our population. It attracted a class of enterprising and intelligent men who, after the peace of 1763, had been drifting about. Immigration rapidly set in, consisting at first of disabled officers and soldiers. EARLY POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY. 13 This was the first stream. A second and even more important stream of immigrants soon followed. The troubles and dissensions between the colonies and the mother country were growing serious. Great diversity of opinion existed among the colonists, and especially in the Carolinas. Many persons, loyal to the Crown, but unwilling to take part against the people among whom they lived, embracing in numerous instances their kindred and even their own houiseholds, souight refuge in West Florida.. I I Many of this class from Georgria and the Carolinas and some from colonies farther north followed the British flag to Pensacola., and thence made their way to the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, to Manchac, Baton Rouge, Natchez, Bayou Pierre, and Walnut Hills,' and also up the Tombigbee River. Special mention should be made of some of the immigrants. In 1772 Richard and Samuel Swayze, of New Jersey, with their families and a number of their kindred and friends, settled on a purchase of 19,000 acres ini AdamDs County, on the Homochitto River, at what is now known as Kingston. Samuel Swayze had been for a number of years a Congregational minister, and most of the adults who came with him were comimunicants. The faithful shepherd, as soon as he had provided a shelter for his wife and children and planted corn for their bread, gathered up his fold and organized his society, undoubtedly the first Protestant pastor and congregation in the Natchez district.I '~ I The Jersey settlement, begun in 1772 by men of intelligence, energy, and high moral character, became prosperous and rich, densely populated, highly cultivated, distinguished for its churche's and schools, its hospitality and refinement, and in the course of years it sent its thrifty colonies into many counties, carrying with theni the characteristics of the parent hive.' Many of the best families in Mississippi and Louisiania are descended in one branch or another from the brothers Swayze. In Dcemer,1773, Gen. Phineas Lyman, an eminent lawyer and statesman of Connecticut, who had served with distinction as a majorgeneral of the royal provincial troops, embarked at Stonington for New Orleans. He was accompanied by his family and a large party of friends, some of whom had along their wives and children. There were also several slaves. In February, 1775, the general having diedl in the meanwhile, the Crown granted 20,000 acres to his family. These lanids, were located on the Big Black and the Bayou Pierre, in the present county of Claiborne, and were occupied by the Lymans and their party. "iAmonig this band -was the Rev. ~Jedediah Smith, who had long been a Congregational minister in Greenville, Mass., and his ten children, from whom descended large and influential families." This immigration was very different from that of the French. These had come, "1for the most part, in public vessels, with free transportation, under special charters, with soldiers to protect them, and with constant succession of ships, year after year, bringing reenforcements and supplies. They devoted themselves to exploration, to hunting and trap. ping, to the establishment of isolated posts,2 and to a fruitless search after silver and gold, starving on a soil capable of supporting 50,7000,000 of people. The French consisted either of the cadets of noble families, 'Claiborne's Mississippi, 102-107. 14 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. who came to seek military distinction, or soldiers of fortune, who followed the profession of arms and were capable of no other vocation; of the civil employees of the company, who were also a nonproducing class; and a few peasants and Acadians, poor, ignorant, and contented with their condition. The priests and the Canadians were the only energetic class. The first were devoted exclusively to the reclamation of the Indians; the latter were satisfied with their fowling pieces and their pirogues. The very women that were sent out by the Government to furnish wives for the colonists, instead of being selected from the farms and villages, had been, for the most part, picked up in the streets of Paris and from the houses of refuge." The only inducement the British authority held out for immigration was a liberal dispensation of land to those that had rendered service to the Crown. No transportation was furnished; few military posts established; no vain search made after metals. Those that came came at their own expense. They crossed the mountains to Pittsburg or to the head waters of the Tennessee, where they often made a crop of corn and wheat the first season, and then built their boats and brought down with them to their point of destination their families, their slaves and stock, and a year's supply of provisions; or they came from Georgia and Carolina, the overland journey on pack horses, through the Creek and Choctaw territories; or by sea from some more northern posts to Pensacola and New Orleans, and then by boats to their respective stations. Nine-tenths of them came to cultivate the soil; they brought intelligence and capital, and they embarked at once into the production of supplies for home consumption, and selected indigo as their crop for exportation. Tobacco was next introduced, and subsequently cotton. All the necessaries of life were in abundance and cheap. The corncrib had no lock upon it. Bacon, beef, butter, and poultry were plentiful. Orchards were on a large scale and the fruit better than at present. It was a common sight to see one hundred beehives in a farmyard, and both buckwheat and clover were then grown especially for the benefit of these epicurean manufacturers. Beeswax and honey were articles of export. The medicinal herbs and roots-rhubarb, ginger, pimento, madder, saffron, hops, the opium poppy, and many others which we now purchase from the apothecary-were grown in the gardens. Many planters tanned their own leather. Shoes were almost always made on the plantation, either by a workman belonging to the place or by a man hired to do the work. Gentlemen and ladies were clad in homespun. Even the bridle reins, girths, and saddlecloths were made at home.' This immigration was further stimulated and increased by the outbreak and pendency of the war between the American colonies and the mother country. The Floridas took no part in the great rebellion. They were the land of loyalty and of peace. Many families of wealth and distinction, and who were either loyal in sentiment or desired to be neutral, sought an asylum in West Florida. Settlements on Bayou Pierre, Big Black, and the Walnut Hills still further multiplied. The majority of those who came were men of intelligence and character. Bad men-outlaws and fugitives from justice-came likewise, but they were outnumbered and restrained by the better class, and there was generally peace and order, and security for property. The landholders were, for the most part, educated men. Many of them had held commissions in the British and provincial army; others had held civil offices under the Crown or the colonies and had been accustomed to the administration of the laws of England, now and for ages past the great security of social order and public Claiborne's Mississippi, pp. 114-115. EARLY POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY. 15 liberty. Such a population is a guaranty against anarchy and mob rule, and though remote from the provincial government at Pensacola and no court of record nearer, the Natchez district was proverbial for its immunity from crimes and criminals. There is no British record of judicial proceedings in the Natchez district; and as there was considerable wealth in land, slaves, cattle, and merchandise, the good order that prevailed must be ascribed to the superior character of the early immigration. The intelligent and cultivated class predominated and gave tone to the community. Natchez, at this period (1776), was but a small village, and the buildings were all on the batture under the bluff-some twenty ordinary frame and log houses. There were four merchants, viz, Hanchett & Newman, Thomas Barber, Captain Blomart (a half-pay British officer), and James Willing, from Philadelphia. Such (in 1778) was the prosperous condition of the Natchez district and of the Province of West Florida generally under the British administration. Plantations rapidly multiplied. The planters established credits in London, Pensacola, and Jamaica, and received their merchandise and negroes direct from those ports. The Atlantic colonies, from which most of the inhabitants had migrated, were then in the crisis of the Revolutionary war. Washington and his army had passed the dreadful winter at Valley Forge, the cities of Philadelphia and New York were in the hands of the enemy, and Carolina and Georgia were wasted and harassed by the British and Tories. But profound peace and good order prevailed in West Florida, and no colony in the British Empire or elsewhere was in a condition more happy and prosperous.' This fortunate condition did not continue. The storm cloud was rising in an unexpected quarter. A change of dynasty impended. The English in West Florida had taken no pains to conciliate the Spanish rulers of Louisiana. They floated by New Orleans with their vessels loaded with British wares, which they disposed of on the river without license, to the ruin of the Spanish merchants, and by superior energy their traders monopolized almost the entire Indian trade. England was at war with France, on account of the part she had taken for the colonies, and Spain having attempted to interpose, and being scornfully rebuked, declared war against England (in the year 1779) on the point of honor.2 Spain waged no war against the American colonies. On the contrary, they combated a common enemy. Had the Natchez district been confessedly territory of Georgia or of Carolina, as those colonies claimed that it was, Spain would probably not have interfered with it. But, as we have already seen, that territory and all other below the celebrated Yazoo line were claimed by the governors of West Florida to form part of that province. Certainly those governors had taken possession, and were ruling it de facto, whether de jure or not; and west Florida, not having thrown off the yoke of the British supremacy, as had the other colonies, was confessedly British territory, and fair game for the Spaniard. Don Bernardo de Galvez was then the civil and military governor of Louisiana, and the ablest and most active man that ever ruled that province. He immediately proposed and set about the conquest of Florida. In the first year (1779) he took forts Bute and Baton Rouge, receiving the surrender of all the British forts in those parts, including Fort Paninure, the posts on the Amite and on Thompsons Creek, and 1 Claiborne's Mississippi, pp. 115,116. 2Ibid., p. 124. 16 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. the entire district of Natchez. In 1780 he took Mobile and the whole country from the Pearl to the Perdido; and in 1781, captured Pensacola and the remainder of the province. Thus ended the British dominion in West Florida, after a period of nineteen years. "Strong garrisons of Spanish infantry, then renowned for their valor and discipline, occupied Pensacola, Mobile, Baton Rouge, Natchez, Nogales (Vicksbnrg), and other points; all under the control of the ablest soldier and administrator of his times." In November, 1782, provisional articles of peace were signed between the United States and His Britannic Majesty. By these articles the southern boundary of the United States was fixed at a line drawn from the Mississippi due east along the thirty-first parallel to the Chattahoochee, and thence to the f lint River junction, and thence to the head of the St. Marys, and thence by that river to the ocean, thereby adopting the north boundary line of the Floridas as fixed by the proclamation of 1763. The same line was expressly confirmed by the definitive treaty of peace made on September 3, 1783; but on the same day a treaty of peace was concluded between Great Britain and Spain, in which the former ceded back to the latter both the Floridas, declaring an entire cession in full right, but without defining the boundaries. Spain was not a party to the treaty between Great Britain and the United States, and, standing upon her own treaty, the Johnstone and Chester commissions, their actual exercise of jurisdiction, and upon the Galvez occupation, Spain refused to surrender to the United States the territory south of the Yazoo line, but, on the contrary, erected forts at Nogales -(the site of the present Vicksburg) and New Madrid, and strengthened the garrisons at Natchez, Baton Rouge, and Manchac. The long controversy with Spain as to the boundary of Florida was ended by the treaty of October 27, 1795, just as it was about to give rise to a war with that power. This treaty agrees that the line which was described in the treaty between Great Britain and the United States as the southern boundary of the United States shall be the line dividing the territories of the United States from east and west Florida. The treaty does not import a cession of territory, but is understood as an admission that the right was originally in the United States. The disturbances and losses incident to the Spanish conquest and occupation naturally and inevitably stopped the American-English immigration to west Florida. But about the year 1790 a third tide set in. These immigrants were people who came chiefly to better their fortunes. "The clemency of the Spanish authorities, the easy terms on which they granted lands, the exemption from taxes and military duties, their interposition to protect the honest debtor from usurers and alien creditors, the unrivaled fertility of the country, and the free access to New Orleans permitted to settlers were powerful inducements to colonization." Moreover, there was a firm conviction that the United EARLY POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY. 17 States had a just claim to the country; that the need of the Mississippi River outlet would soon bring about the assertion of that claim; and that the expatriation would therefore be for a period not long. These immigrants were not a rude people. They brought with them "culture, social position, enterprise, and considerable wealth, and these elements controlled and characterized the community. At no period since has there been better order and fewer crimes. The Spanish authorities had no disposition to be severe, nor did they manifest any desire to be so. The successive commandants at Natchez and the governors-general of Louisiana were accomplished gentlemen, trained to arms, stately but courteous, punctilious, fond of etiquette and pomp, but hospitable, generous, and forbearing. They were Catholics, of course, and such was the religion of the Kingdom and its provinces; and those who emigrated to the country came with a full knowledge of the fact. A large majority of the settlers were Protestants, who enjoyed their faith and the right of private worship. No attempt was made to proselyte or proscribe them, nor was there ever any official interference unless the parties in their zeal, or under indiscreet advisers, became offensively demonstrative. There was, in fact, more religious freedom and toleration for Protestants in the Natchez district than Catholics and dissenters from the ruling denomination enjoyed in either old or New England." Property was secure, debts were promptly collected, and justice impartially administered. After the treaty of 1795 General Wilkinson, under the date of May 20, 1797, in his written instructions to Captain Guion for the occupation of the Natchez district, said: "At Natchez you will find yourself in an extensive, opulent, and polished community, agitated by a variety of political interests and opinions." In 1801 Governor Claiborne writes this to Mr. Madison, then Secretary of State: The river front here (Natchez) is thronged with boats from the West. Great quantities of flour and other produce continually pass. Cotton, the staple of this Territory, has been very productive and remunerative. I have heard it suggested by our business men that the aggregate sales this season will exceed $700,000, a large revenue for a people whose numbers are about 9,000, of all ages and colors. The establishment and development of these settlements along the Mississippi were accompanied by a corresponding movement along the Tombigbee, from Mobile upward. They have a history similar, but not so brilliant. Grants of lands were made to immigrants about Mcintosh's Bluff, Fort St. Stephens (subsequently the Territorial capital of Alabama), and along Bassett's Creek, in the vicinity of the Tombigbee. These lands, however, were not so fertile nor in such extensive bodies as in the region of the Mississippi, and the river was of such inferior importance to the latter stream that the settlements in that region did not increase with the same rapidity as in the latter country, nor attain such a height of prosperity, nor extend themselves 21785-No. 24 - 2 18 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. with the same swiftness. Many of those first stopping on the Tombigbee ultimately removed to the Mississippi.1 A little later Pearl River became the locality of a noteworthy settlement. It was, however, composed mainly of a people essentially different from those in the Natchez district. Most of the settlers were from the poorer districts of Georgia and the Carolinas. True to the instincts of the people from whom they were descended, they sought as nearly as possible just such a country as that from which they came, and were really refugees from a growing civilization consequent upon a denser population and its necessities. They were not agriculturists in a proper sense of the term; true, they cultivated in some degree the soil, but it was not the prime pursuit of these people, nor was the location sought for this purpose. They desired an open, poor, pine country, which forbade a numerous population. Here they reared immense herds of cattle which subsisted exclusively upon the coarse grass and weeds which grew abundantly among the tall, long-leafed pine, and along the small creeks and branches numerous in this section. Through these almost interminable pine forests the deer were abundant and the canebrakes full of bears. They combined the pursuits of hunting and stock minding, and derived support and revenue almost exclusively from these. They were illiterate and careless of the comforts of a better-reared, better-educated, and more intelligent people. They were unable to employ for each family a teacher, and the population was too sparse to collect the children in a neighborhood school. I * * Some of these pioneers remained in the country many years and came to te surrounded with descendants, men and women, the growth of the country, rude, illiterate, and independent. Along the margins of the streams they found small strips of land of better quality than the pine forests afforded. Here they grew sufficient corn for bread and a few of the coarser vegetables, and in blissful ignorance enjoyed life after the manner they loved. The country gave character to the people-both were wild and poor; both were sui generis in appearance and production, and both seeming to fall away from the richer soil and better people of the western portion of the State. Between them and the inhabitants of the river counties there was little communication and less sympathy, and perhaps no country on earth of the same extent presented a wider difference in soil and population, especially by one speaking the same language and professing the same religion.2 We have already seen that in the year 1795 the treaty with Spain fixed the parallel of 310 as the southern boundary of the United States, and, by consequence, of the State of Georgia. It was not known, however, until March 29, 179$8, that the Spanish garrison was withdrawn. On the 7th of April following, Mississippi Territory was created with boundaries, however, very different from those appertaining to the present State, viz, the parallel of 310 on the south, the line drawn due east from the mouth of the Yazoo River on the north, the Mississippi River on the west, and the Chattahoochee on the east. Winthrop Sargent, of Massachusetts, was appointed governor of the new territory, and arrived at Natchez August 6, in the same year. Governor Sargent's administration was unfortunate. The governor was a total stranger to the people. They were a mixed population of various nationalities; but the controlling element was Southern, and it gave tone ' Sparks' Memories of Fifty Years, p. 246. 2 Ibid., pp. 331, 332. EARLY POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY. 19 to society and to public sentiment. The immigrants from the Southern States and a few English and French gentlemen settled among them were opulent, polished, hospitable, and convivial, delighted to have a chief magistrate and an organized government, but greatly disappointed by his saturnine temperament and grim demeanor. The governor had as little fancy for their cavalier deportment and the freedom of their conversation.' His high-toned Federalism, his manifest want of sympathy with the people, nay, antipathy to them; his excess of all conceivable stretch of republican authority verging closely on tyranny, made the people first restive and then turbulent and clamorous for a change. He and the judges commissioned for the Territory had promulgated a code of laws severe and incompatible with the spirit of our institutions. Remonstrances, carefully drawn and eloquent in their indignation, were forwarded to Congress, complaining of those laws and of the governor's arbitrary abuses of executive power. The result of all which was that in 1801 Mississippi Territory was advanced to the second grade of government, which secured to it a legislature to be elected by the people. The first territorial legislature after Winthrop Sargent was removed and William C. C. Claiborne made governor, convened at Natchez on the 1st of December, 1801. It immediately repealed most of the laws passed by Governor Sargent and the judges and enacted a new code. We get here a curious and- interesting side light on the scene from a letter by Governor Claiborne to Secretary Madison, dated February 5, 1802. He says: The people complain that they are ignorant of the laws. The fact is so, but it is not in my power to offer a remedy. The only printer in this Territory (and he is a novice in the profession) has been employed on high wages to print the laws. The work is going on, but from want of type, a good press, and assistant, it can not be completed for several months. I am surprised that printers from the older States do not turn their attention in this direction. I know of no quarter where a wellconducted paper would be more lucrative and of more advantage to society. In the latter part of this same year, 1802, the legislature was again in session, and the printer not lhaving completed the printing of the laws, Edward Turner, a young lawyer, was employed to make a nulmber of manuscript copies, for which he received $36. Well might the historian of Mississippi exclaim, " Economical days! t72 This legislature established the Territorial capital at Washington, Adams County. This village is thus described in 1805: The town of Washington, 6 miles east of Natchez, in a rich, elevated, and picturesque country, was then the seat of government. The land office, the surveyorgeneral's office,, the office of the commissioners of claims, the courts of the United States were all there. In the immediate vicinity was Fort Dearborn and a permanent cantonment of United States troops. The high officials of the Territory made it their residence, and many gentlemen of fortune, attracted by its advantages, went there to reside. There were three large hotels, and the academical department of Jefferson College, inaugurated by Governor Claiborne, was in successful operation. The society was highly cultured and refined. The conflicting land titles had I Claiborne's Missisipi, p. 206. 2Ibid., p. 228. 20 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. drawn a crowd of lawyers, generally young men, of fine attainments and brilliant talents. The medical profession was equally well represented, at the head of which was Dr. Daniel Rawlings, a native of Calvert County, Md., a man of high moral character and exalted patriotism, eminent in his profession, and who, as a vigorous writer and acute reasoner, had no superior and few equals. * ' I It was a gay and fashionable place, compactly built for a mile or more from east to west, every hill in the neighborhood occupied by some gentleman's chateau. The presence of the military had its influence on society; punctilio and ceremony, parades and public entertainments were the features of the place. It was, of course, the haunt of politicians and office hunters; the center of political intrigue; the point to which all persons in pursuit of land or occupation first came. Was famous for its wine parties and dinners, usually enlivened by one or more duels directly afterwards. Such was this now deserted and forlorn-looking village during Territorial organization. In its forums there was more oratory, in its salons more wit and beauty than we have ever witnessed since-all now moldering and forgotten in the desolate graveyard of the ancient capital.' In the year 1802 the controversy between the United States and the State of Georgia over the ownership of the Mississippi country was settled by a cession from that State of all the territory outside of her present limits. In 1803 France sold to the United States all of Louisiana as that French colony then existed. In 1804 all of the country lying between the then Mississippi Territory and Tennessee was annexed to the Territory. In 1812 all of that part of Louisiana lying between the Pearl and the Perdido rivers was also attached to the Territory. Finally, in 1817 Mississippi was admitted into the Union as a sovereign State with its present limits. However, the whole of the State's territory was not, even after that admission, available for settlement. Excepting that portion of the State which lay east of the Tombigbee River and is now included in the counties of Lowudes and Monroe, all of the northern portion of the State, and so far south as the southern boundaries, roughly speaking, of the counties of Hinds, Rankin, Smith, Jasper, etc., was still in the hands of the Chickasaw and the Choctaw Indians. The treaties of Doak's Stand and of Dancing Rabbit Creek, made in October, 1820, and in September, 1830, respectively, with the Choctaws, and that of Pontotoc Creek, made in October, 1832, with the Chickasaws, relieved the situation. The tribes were removed to the West as soon as was possible, and thus in the short space of fifteen years was thrown open for occupation all the vast and fertile territory of central and northern Mississippi. The effect was prompt and marked. Both from the northward in Tennessee and from the southward in Mississippi the tides of immigration had been arrested by the Indian boundaries. They had fretted against the unwelcome barriers. "Natura abhorret vacuum," say the physicists, and so says the heart of the immigrant. The odious barriers being broken down, there was a surge of humanity into the vacant spaces, the suction of which was felt far and near. 1 Claiborne's Mississippi, p. 258. EARLY POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY. 21 No phase of this State's history can be properly understood without a clear view of these facts: In the year 1820 the population of the State, all being in the southern portion and below the southern line of Hinds County, roughly stated, was 75,448. In the year 1830, after the treaty at Doak's Stand and the movement of the Indian lines to about the northern boundary of Holmes County on the north and the eastern boundary of Madison County on the east, the population was 136,621. In 1840, after the two other treaties, it was 297,566. In 1850, or about fifteen years after the two later, and principal, treaties, it was 606.526. That there should be a sudden and long plunge of the center of population northward in a new State, most of whose territory had been but recently thrown open to settlement, is not of itself a singular matter; but as a fact it must be constantly remembered by the reader of this history. Chapter II. EDUCATIONAL BEGINNINGS. EDUCATION UNDER THE SPANISH RlGIME. The Spaniards had no public schools in Natchez and only one or two private tutors. Not only did that Government do nothing for the education of the people, but, on the contrary, its course rather tended to repress any disposition or effort on the part of the people (largely American and Protestant, as we have seen) to do anything for themselves in that direction. So late as 1803 we find the board of trustees of Jefferson College petitioning Congress for aid in their efforts, "attended with peculiar impediments, in a community but lately emerged -from the lethargic influence of an arbitrary government, averse from principle to the general information of its citizens." Yet, barren as this period was of school work, it is here that we must look for one of the most accomplished and interesting characters of our history. This was Sir William Dunbar, youngest son of Sir Archibald Dunbar, of Elgin, one of the most ancient and famous of the earldoms of Scotland, who settled at Natchez in 1792. He had been thoroughly educated at Glasgow, where he evinced such a faculty for mechanics and mathematics that he was induced to repair to London to pursue those studies. From Natchez he maintained a correspondence with Sir William Herschel, President Jefferson, Rittenhouse, and other learned men, and obtained from London a costly telescope and a complete set of instruments for his observatory and laboratory. From this remote country, then regarded as a wilderness, he traced the course of the planets, and made experiments in chemistry, and solved problems in mechanics that were eagerly adopted by the philosophers of Great Britain, and his name became familiar to the academicians of the Continent. Mr. Jefferson solicited his correspondence. At his instance, Mr. Dunbar explored the Ouachita to its sources, geologically one of the most interesting fields in America. His reports of that exploration, on the delta of the Mississippi, and on the sign language of the Indians, a remarkable medium by which the most remote tribes intercommunicate, and his classification of the tribes are among the most valuable contributions to the American Philosophical Society. This useful and virtuous citizen,/the most distinguished scholar in our annals, died at his plantation, The Forest, in 1810, leaving numerous descendants and a fortune to each of them.1 1 Claiborne's Mississippi, p. 201. 22 EDUCATIONAL BEGINNINGS. 23 EARLY EFFORTS BY THE AMERICANS UNDER THE GOVERNOR AND JUDGES. Governor Sargent and the judges did nothing for the cause of education. The country was in a very unsettled state, and the people were too entirely absorbed in the resistance of his aggressions and tyranny to devote much attention to schools. Yet they did not wholly overlook so important an interest. On the 23d of December, 1799, Mr. Sewall presented to Congress a letter from Governor Sargent, inclosing a memorial from the inhabitants of Natchez, praying for legislative aid in the establishment of a seminary; also a petition of John Henderson and others, inhabitants of Natchez, praying the aid and patronage of Congress in the establishment of a regular ministry of the gospel, and schools for the youth.1 About the time of the Spanish evacuation, Warren County was settled by people in culture and means far ahead of the usual class of pioneers. Among them were the Vicks and the 'Cooks, who were Methodists, and exerted a most wholesome influence throughout the county. Their first business, after providing a roof for their families, was the building of churches and schoolhouses.2 Here and in the Natchez district, and especially in the latter locality, were families of means who employed private tutors; some boys were sent to the Eastern and Northern States to be educated; some were sent even to Europe. Yet, while these favorable indications existed, it is also true that the general state of the Territory was, from an educational point of view, deplorable. English schoolmasters were difficult to obtain. Many strangers who undertook to act in that delicate and responsible profession were found to have contracted, in other scenes, habits so vicious as to render their dismissal necessary.3 REV. DAVID KER. The first public female school in the Territory was started in Natchez in the year 1801 by the Rev. David Ker. It will be appropriate to devote a few words to this, the first teacher of reputation in Mississippi. We first hear of this gentleman as connected with the Presbytery of Temple Patrick, in the north of Ireland. Although born in Ireland, he belonged to the historic family of Kers, in Scotland. In 1789, his name appears as a member of Orange Presbytery, North Carolina. In 1790 he was residing in Fayetteville as a minister, and in charge of a classical academy. In 1794 he was elected professor of humanities in the University of North Carolina, and placed in charge of the institution. Resigning in 1796, he removed to Lumberton, where he became a merchant and studied law. He moved in 1800, with General Willis, of Annals of Congress, sixth session, Honse of Representatives. 2Claiborne's Mississippi, pp. 535-536. 3Hall's Mississippi Territory, Salisbury, N. C., 1801. 24 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Lumberton, to Mississippi, where in 1801 he was appointed sheriff of Adams County; and again, clerk of Adams County in 1802, and judge of the superior court in the same year. He was accounted the ablest and best judge on the bench. The governor wrote of him to Mr. Madison, "Mr. Ker's appointment has given much satisfaction to a large majority of the citizens. He is a valuable acquisition to the bench." He was assisted in his school work by his wife and daughters, who were highly finished scholars and very elegant ladies.1 I Claiborne's Mississippi, pp. 231, 238, 242; P. K. Montgomery, in History of Jefferson County; Claiborne Papers, Vol. G. Chapter III. JEFFERSON COLLEGE. On the 13th of May, 1802, Jefferson College was incorporated by the territorial legislature, being named after "Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States, and president of the American Philosophical Society." It is noteworthy that not only was this the first institution of learning established by authority in the State, but also that its charter was the first act of incorporation for any purpose in Mississippi. The institution is still in existence. Chartered eighty-nine years ago (1891), it is believed that it has never yet graduated a student with an academic degree. For all that, its usefulness has been great, and it is now in a flourishing condition, constituting about the only hope of the poor educable youth of its section. Among its students have been the sons of Audubon, the celebrated naturalist, and themselves in later years his efficient assistants; J. F. H. Claiborne, the accomplished legislator and historian, who has done more than any other native Mississippian to rescue from oblivion the names of the heroes and statesmen of this State; B. L. C. Wailes, the eminent geologist; Senator and Governor A. G. Brown, and Jefferson Davis.J Its history presents the strangest complication of good and of ill fortune, and is so finely characteristic of both the vicissitudes and the successes of such institutions that it shall be noted at some length. Although a continuous narrative will take us far ahead of the period of its establishment, it is deemed best to present the history in that shape: Jefferson College had no endowment granted by its charter, but was to be supported by voluntary contributions, to which end the trustees were authorized to receive donations from citizens and others, and to raise a sum of money by lottery. On the 3d of January of the succeeding year (1803) the trustees met at the town of Washington and organized the board by the election of William C. C. Claiborne, governor of the Mississippi Territory, president; William Dunbar, vice-president, and Felix Hughes, secretary. On the 6th of June following, Alexander Montgomery was elected treasurer. Sensible of the difficulty of the task of erecting an institution for public education without public funds, the trustees at their first meeting adopted an address to the public, in which they appealed to the patriotism of their fellow-citizens to supply this want by their private liberality, and depicted in forcible terms the benefits to be derived from the support of the institution and the great advantages of home education. The trustees at the same time petitioned Congress for aid in this first attempt to institute a place of general education for the youth of the Territory, which, by a 'Centennial oration of Gen. Jos. Shields. 25 26 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. law of the legislature, had devolved upon them-an attempt attended with peculiar impediments in a community but lately emerged from the lethargic influence of an arbitrary government, averse from principle to the general information of its citizens, a community which would consequently be tardy in learning the necessity of affording effectual aid to such an object by voluntary contribution. The appeal to the public was productive of very limited aid; that to Congress was promptly and liberally responded to by a grant, on the 3d of March, 1803, of a township of land and some lots of ground in and adjoining the city of Natchez. For a site the board accepted a valuable donation of lands offered by John and James Foster and Randall Gibson, adjoining the town of Washington, the territorial capital. The donations were subsequently extended to about 47 acres. The lottery scheme proved ineffectual, and was abandoned. The lots in the city of Natchez, and an out lot adjoining the same, granted to the college by Congress, were duly located in 1803, and upon these lots were several valuable buildings. Steps were immediately taken by the trustees to render these buildings available, by means of leases, toward supplying a revenue for the college. The trustees, however, were thwarted in this attempt, being met by the claims of an individual and of the city of Natchez to the same property. The active interference of these adverse claimants procured the passage of an act of Congress for suspending the location; and at a succeeding session the 'property so located was regranted to the city, saving, however, the right of the college. * * * While the controversy as to the eventual title was pending, the buildings went to decay and were destroyed. Appeals were made to the public for aid in vain, and finally, on the 21st of December, 1805, a loan from the legislature was prayed for with like result. From this period the trustees were not reassembled until the 12th of April, 1810, a period of more than four years. Toward the close of this interval the Washington Academy had been established and was conducted by the Rev. James Smylie. Temporary frame buildings had been erected, or were in the progress of construction, on the lands of the college by means of subscriptions raised for that purpose. A conference between the boards of the two institutions resulted in a transfer of these buildings and subscriptions to Jefferson College, the latter institution assuming all the contracts and -engagements of the former. Thus, on January 1, 1811, nearly nine years after the date of the clarter, the trustees, on failure of the means for putting the institution into operation on a larger scale, opened it as an humble academy, under the superintendence of Dr. Edwin Reese, assisted by Mr. Samuel Graham. Upon this unpretending organization it continued for many years under the charge of various instructors, generally respectable in character and attainments, in many respects well fitted for the duties of their respective stations, meeting the demands of the neighboring community for a preparatory school, and depending almost wholly upon the avails of the tuition charges. In the meantime the trustees resumed their efforts to render the endowments of the institution available. A suit at law was commenced, about the close of the year 1813, for the recovery of the lots in Natchez. The legislature having granted to the college in the year 1812 all JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 27 escheats for the period of ten years, about $5,000 or $6,000 were realized from that source. But, on the other hand, in two cases, each involving a large property, the college was unsuccessful, and was subjected to heavy expenses by the prosecution of its claims. Under the act of Congress of February 20, 1812, the township of land granted to the college in 1803 was at last located. The land selected was situated on both sides of the Tombigbee River, about 20 miles above St. Stephens, and consequently within the limits of the present State of Alabama. An agent was appointed to lease out a portion of this land and to collect rents from intruders who had settled upon it, but the low rates and liberal credit upon which the Government lands were obtainable at this period, and the impunity with which they were extensively occupied by intruders, afforded but little prospect of realizing much profit for the college from its right of leasing its lands. In December, 1816, the sum of $6,000, payable in four annual installments, was appropriated by the territorial legislature for the employment of a principal of the college. Mr. James McAllister, a Scotchman, then filling a professorship at Bardstown, Ky., and for many years advantageously known in the United States for his profound learning, was accordingly engaged, and attracted to the institution an increased number of students. Mr. McAllister took charge of the institution in June, 1817, and in August following, the litigation with the city of Natchez about the lots within the city limits having been compromised by the payment to the college of $5,000, the trustees contracted for the building of the east wing of the proposed college edifice, preparatory to the anticipated extension of operations. The litigation with the city about the lot adjoining the town continued, and it was destined to continue for many a weary year. About the close of 1818 the Alabama lands began to produce something. Immigration to that new State had become very great, and a demand for cotton lands arose, which enhanced their prices to a rate before unexampled. Leases of the college lands were effected for terms of ninety-nine years; and about $8,000 were realized as the first installment, and the remaining installments, amounting to more than $25,000, payable in two, four, and six years, were counted on with the utmost confidence. The trustees thereupon anticipated the resources of the institution and obtained bank loans aggregating about $9,000. This money, with a further sum of $4,000 lent by the State, was applied toward the completion of the buildings which were in the course of erection. The expectations of the trustees of further revenues from the Alabama lands, however, were in a few years proven to be utterly fallacious. The United States, in 1820, reduced the price of the public lands, and, to extinguish the land debt already outstanding, offered liberal discounts from time to time, and the privilege of relinquishing the lands purchased was accorded. A great depreciation in the values of lands 28 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. ensued, and disposed those who had it in their power to surrender their purchases. In vain the trustees surpassed the liberality of Congress, and offered an abatement of one-half of the amounts due from their debtors. All, with one inconsiderable exception, preferred forfeiting their leases, a measure to which they were the more inclined as the greater portion of the land was found to be utterly worthless. Thus was the chief source of income of the college destroyed with all hope of future revenue from the unhappy location. The institution was consequently burthened with a heavy debt which it had no means of discharging, and which the trustees and a few liberal friends of the institution were soon under the necessity of assuming individually. For years it was harassed by its creditors, and executions even levied upon the college edifice and the "commons" in the city of Natchez. Not only in its finances during this period were the trustees doomed to disappointment. A religious convention of the clergy of all denominations assembled, about the close of the year 1818, at Washington. The institution being under the patronage of no exclusive sect, the religious opinions of Mr. McAllister, then at its head, however unobtrusive and unknown, were chosen for animadversion, and the instition was publicly and bitterly denounced by the convention and an injury done it which the able and indignant response of the trustees was insufficient entirely to repair. Nor did the appointment of a clergyman (the Rev. R. F. N. Smith), who was subsequently associated with Mr. McAllister, find more favor with the public than his coadjutor with the convention. When the funds appropriated for maintaining them in their stations were exhausted, the patronage of the community afforded no adequate support, and their connection with the college was dissolved, Mr. Smith retiring first by the resignation of his professorship. From the retirement of Mr. McAllister, in June, 1821, an academy was generally kept up, under the charge of various instructors, on the same scale and footing as before his appointment. During the session of 1822-23 this institution enjoyed the high, though not then, it is to be feared, fully valued, privilege of having for its drawing master John James Audubon, whose graphic pen and glowing pencil were even then busy with that delineation of the birds and quadrupeds of America which has made his name illustrious throughout the world, and whose soul was then burdened with the gloomy forebodings that so often oppress struggling genius at the very portals of fame.' In the legislature, at the session held in January, 1825, the institution was assailed, and a suit against it for the recovery of the money loaned it many years before was threatened. This measure, however, the majority of that body refused to countenance. In order to give to the college that support which would be due to it as a State institution, the trustees proposed to the legislature, in January, 1826, a modification of their charter, whereby the State should fill the vacancies in the board of trustees as they should occur. The act of January 30, 1826, was accordingly passed, and accepted by the trustees. This right was exercised by the State for a number of years; and, moreover, the governor was long, ex officio, the president of the board. 1 Life of Audubon, by his widow, p. 91. JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 29 In May, 1826, the professor in charge of the college died, and no person of suitable qualifications could be found to accept the situation on any inducements which the board had it in their power to offer. The doors of the institution were necessarily closed for a time, to the discontent of the public, and at the hazard of further alienating the good feelings of the legislature. Under circumstances so imperious, the trustees had no alternative but to terminate the litigation with the city of Natchez, which had been pending since 1813, at any sacrifice. A compromise was accordingly made, by which a public promenade 120 feet in width along the entire city front was reserved to the city; the remainder of the property was to be laid off into lots and sold, and the proceeds of sale to be divided between the city and the college in the proportion of 30 to 70, respectively. Here, again, however, was disappointment. Sales were slow and low priced. The whole of the property was not disposed of until 1836, and then on a credit of three years, the last installment falling due January 1,1839. So late as 1840 less than half of the proceeds of those sales had been realized. But little relief, therefore, was afforded to the exigencies of the institution for the gloomy period beginning in 1826, as shown above. The trustees were consequently under the necessity of obtaining loans at different times, on the personal responsibility of a few of the members, to discharge an execution levied upon the college edifice and to enable them to make some repairs, and to erect a building for the accommodation of a steward, preparatory to the reopening. In the meantime the legislature had under consideration the subject of a general system of education for the State, and at its session in February, 1829, authorized the executive to appoint three agents to inquire into all the means and resources in the State, applicable to the purpose of general education, and to confer with the trustees of Jefferson College and ascertain the condition and purposes of the institution; and whether it was practicable, and on what terms, the trustees would consent to surrender the charter to the State. The conference accordingly took place on the 27th of October, 1829, but the movement came to naught. The trustees declined to surrender their charter, mainly for the reason that to do so would cause either a forfeiture or an escheat of their lands and lots. The prospect of realizing much revenue from the Natchez property being remote, the trustees found it necessary to resort to some other means of conducting the institution. It was believed that a system of education like that pursued at West Point might be advantageously engrafted upon the college course, and would find favor with the public and be productive of much benefit. The experiment was determined upon. An agreement was accordingly entered into for the term of five years with Mr. E. B. Williston and Maj. John Holbrook, the first as president, and the latter in the capacity of superintendent of the scientific and military departments. These gentlemen were practically familiar with the system. They engaged to employ, at their 30 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. own charges, a number of competent professors and instructors, adequate to the operations of the college; to provide good commons, under the direction of an attentive and efficient steward, and to be dependent for remuneration wholly upon the success of their own exertions. The college, under this arrangement, was opened on the first Monday of December, 1829, and 'its success was eminent. For the first time since its establishment, the institution was viewed with pride and grat ification. A large number of students repaired to it. Their attainments were varied and useful; and their progress and deportment afforded much pleasure to their friends. In April, 1832, however, the president, Mr. Williston. from his rapidly declining health found it necessary, greatly to the regret of the trustees, to resign. And in the August following, Major Holbrook, who succeeded him in the presidency, died. In these gentlemen the institution sustained a loss at that time irreparable. In March of that year (1832) an act of Congress was passed for the relief of the college. By it the trustees were authorized to relinquish the Alabama lands, in whole or in part; to locate other lands in the State of Mississippi, either before or after they should have been offered at public sale; to make the location, not as heretofore in one entire township, but in tracts of two sections, and were empowered to sell the lands, in whole or in part, or to transfer the right of location. Under this act the rights of location were all sold, between the 1st of March and the 6th of August, 1833, at the rate of $6.50 per acre, on credit, with 8 per cent interest; but the locations to be made by the purchasers in the various land offices were not effected until August, 1834. Mortgages were then executed upon the lands to secure the purchase money, notes with personal security having been previously given. The last note due for these lands was payable on the 6th of August, 1839; but the payment of the notes was partly retarded by the unparalleled embarrassments of the country during the years 1837 to 1840. The whole debt was, however, regarded as perfectly secure. With a view of providing a regular income to meet some of the current expenses of the institution at an early period, about $50,000 of the notes were discounted and converted into bank stock (which shortly afterwards vanished into airy nothingness). To return now to the year 1832: The passage of the law for the relief of the college became speedily known to the public, and representations as to the highly favorable provisions not only produced very exaggerated notions as to the value of the grant, but also vague opinions were generally afloat that immense sums were poured at once into the coffers of the college, and that the trustees had nothing more to do than rear up immediately a splendid institution. Nor were the trustees themselves, in the first flush of success-to many of them unexpected-quite prepared to temper the ardor which impelled them to the fulfillment of the public expectations by a dispassionate survey of the measures yet to JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 31 be adopted, or to contemplate with patience any delay in the full accomplishment of their wishes. A conscious independence immediately manifested itself in a proposition '" to change the system of education," and to obtain a relinquishment of the lease of Major Holbrook, a measure which contemplated, of course, an immediate, and, in fact, a premature, assumption of all the charges of conducting the institution. It was not long to be disguised, however, that the lands to be located were yet to be surveyed; that the land offices were not yet established; and when, to the period necessary to effect this, the term of credit, which would perhaps be required, upon the sales, was added, an interval would be found quite sufficient for cool deliberation and dispassionate action. It was therefore determined to permit the existing order of things to remain undisturbed. The lamented death of Major Holbrook, however, which soon occurred, terminated the contract with the college and made it necessary to provide a successor. It being ascertained that Capt. Alden Patridge, formerly Superintendent at West Point, was willing to accept the presidency of the college, he was accordingly appointed, Professor Ransom. one of Major Holbrook's assistants, having provisional charge of the institution until his arrival. * * * This arrangement was speedily dissolved. The views of Captain Patridge on slavery and emoluments, the compensation of assistants, * * * the control to be exercised by him, and his residence at the North during a great portion of the year, were all objectionable. He remained only a few months in charge of the college. The trustees then determined to abandon the West Point system, and to employ 3 professors at fixed salaries. Two of the gentlemen appointed arrived and entered upon their duties on the 11th of November, 1833. The number employed was subsequently increased to 4. This arrangement continued for some years, with occasional changes in the professorships as they became necessary, and with such increase of salary as the available means of the institution would allow, One of these gentlemen, Mr. Charles L. Dubuisson, was advanced to the presidency on the 6th of June, 1835, and his salary fixed at $2,000, which was subsequently increased to $3,000. On the 2d of June, 1835, the first appropriation was made for the foundation of a library. The institution had never before been in a condition to devote any of its resources to this object. The small commencement previously made arose from donations chiefly from Congress. The institution had been declining since the year 1833; and its prosperity or utility by no means accorded with the number or ability of the faculty employed, or with the pecuniary means devoted to its support-a circumstance which impressed itself forcibly and painfully upon the notice of the trustees. * * * The session which closed in March, 1838, exhibited a lamentable decline and the reduction of the number of students to 23, only 5 of that number being in the college proper-less than two to each professor. These, for want of employment, had been compelled to volunteer as assistants to the instructor in the preparatory department. At the close of that session, the president determining to resume the profession of the law, in which he had previously engaged, retired from the station he occupied, accompanied by the good wishes of the trustees. The resignation of all the members of the faculty at the same time afforded the board a much desired opportunity of reorganizing the institution. The better to prepare for this, it was determined to await a fuller development of its resources, and to apply the unappropriated and accumulating income in the interval to the erection of commodious and extensive buildings. With this view the operations of the college proper were suspended for one year, during which period, however, the preparatory school was carried on under the charge of an efficient and competent rector. In the erection and repairs of buildings and in inclosing and improving the college grounds to fit them for future operations the board expended about $25,000.1 'Jefferson College pamphlet of 1840. 32 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. In the year 1840 the work of the institution was resumed, an elaborate catalogue and historical sketch having first been published and widely disseminated. The scheme of organization and of instruction then presented was as follows: STUDIES OF THE FRESHMAN YEAR. First session. Cicero's Select Orations, or Livy. Xenophon's Anabasis. Latin prose translation. Roman antiquities. Ancient geography, reviewed. Davies' Algebra. French'grammar and exercises in translation. Second session. The Odes of Horace. Grmca Majora, begun. Roman antiquities. Latin composition, in verse. Mythology. Legendre's Geometry. French grammar and Telemachus. STUDIES OF THE SOPHOMORE YEAR. First session. Horace's Satires. Iliad of Homer. Greek antiquities. Greek prose translation. Greek prosody and metre, with choral scanning. Hackley's Trigonometry, plane and spherical, and navigation. Davies' Surveying. Descriptive geometry. Blair's Rhetoric. French grammar, and Voltaire's Life of Charles XII. Second session. Cicero de Officiis. Graeca Majora. Greek and Latin composition in prose and verse. Greek antiquities. Chronology. Davies' Analytical Geometry. Davies' Differential and Integral Calculus. Rhetoric, continued. Lectures on English Literature. Works of Racine or Corneille. STUDIES OF THE JUNIOR YEAR. First session. Cicero de Oratore, and Horace's Epistles. Alcestis of Euripides. Plato's Phuedo and Crito, from Greaca Majora. Lectures on the Roman language and literature. Mechanics. Electricity, magnetism, and electro-magnetism. Chemistry. Whateley's Logic. Evidences of revealed religion. Montesquieu's Esprit des Lois. Second session. Cicero de Natura Deorum, or Lucretius. Euripides' Medea. (Edipus Tyrannus of Sophocles. Lectures on Greek literature. Mechanics, completed. Whateley's and Campbell's Philosophy of Rhetoric. Kames's Elements of Criticism. Say's Political Economy. Finance. Montesquieu or Montaigne. STUDIES OF THE SENIOR YEAR. First session. Prometheus Vinctus of 2Eschylus; and Demosthenes' select orations. Tacitus. Lectures on Greek literature. Optics. Astronomy. Chemistry, applied to the arts. Political economy, completed. Cousin's Elements of Psychology. Works of Moliere. Second session. Longinus on the Sublime, or Aristotle's Treatise on Rhetoric. Lectures on philology. Mineralogy. Geology. Natural history. Ethics. International and constitutional law. Lectures on modern history and literature, and the fine arts. Works of Boileau. JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 33 The institution was then provided with a very good equipment of philosophical and chemical apparatus, with a mineralogical and geological cabinet of considerable extent and value, and with a library. The library comprised only 1,522 volumes, but a fund of $2,000 per annum was devoted to its increase. The degrees offered were only those of B. A. and M. A.; the latter being offered to "alumni in pursuit of learning, who shall have maintained a good moral character for three years after having received the degree of A. B.," and was honorary. The estate and resources of the college were, at this time, as follows: Real estate, land, and buildings of college............................ $59, 625.74 Library and apparatus................................................. 6, 902.25 Bank stock............................................................ 61,500.00 Cash.................................................................. 7,543.53 Debts due from purchasers of Natchez lots............................. 35, 025.42 Debts due from purchasers of lands..................................... 74, 874.52 Money on loan..........................-.......................... 6, 200.00 Total...-................................................. 251,671.46 The college owedThe city of Natchez..................................... $17, 000.00 The State.............................................. 10,000.00 Miscellaneous, about.................................... 3,000.00 30,000.00 Balance over liabilities, about.................................... 221,671.46 The faculty at this time were Rev. A. Stephens, president; professor of mental and moral philosophy, belles lettres, ancient languages; salary, $3,000. Leonard D. Gale, M. D., professor of natural and experimental philosophy, chemistry, and mineralogy; salary, $2,000. Jacob Ammen, professor of mathematics and civil engineering, and superintendent of the military department; salary, $2,000. ~- -, professor of drawing, painting, and lithography; salary, $2,000. J. A. T. Midderhoff, professor of modern languages and assistant professor of ancient languages; salary, $2,000..-, principal of the preparatory department; salary, $1,000. Rev. William Whielden, assistant in the preparatory department, and librarian; salary, $900. On the 21st of October, 1841, the main building of the college was destroyed by fire. A high wind at the time spread the flames with such rapidity from room to room that it was impossible to save even the library, of which 500 valuable volumes were consumed. The entire loss was estimated at about $30,000. But a damage incomparably greater, because irreparable, was the destruction of all such archives of the Territory of Mississippi as had not been removed to Jackson. The fire did not, however, interrupt the exercises of the institution for more than a week. Studies were resumed in the new building 21785-No. 24 -3 34 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. lately completed. The burnt building, being of brick, was not entirely consumed, and by the following June it was repaired, refitted, and ready for use.' In the year 1845 the college was under the direction of Professors Jacob Ammen, John Rowland, and Orrick Metcalfe, and was enjoying one of its palmy seasons. It was then the center and crowning ornament of a neighborhood of beautiful homes. In that year the annual examinations were, as usual, held in public, and before a large and attentive audience of ladies and gentlemen, and addresses were de. livered by the now venerable Rev. Dr. Joseph B. Stratton, of Natchez.2 In October, 1850, the college passed under the charge of President Ashbel Green, who had been for many years intimately connected with educational movements. Mr. Green was a son of Dr. Ashbel Green, long the president of Princeton College, and for many years officially connected with the workings of the free-school system in Pennsylvania and afterwards with the public schools of Philadelphia, and he united a fiull knowledge upon those subjects with rare personal opportunities and attainments. Associated with him were Capt. J. M. Wells, a graduate of West Point, formerly in the Army of the United States and lately in service in the Mexican War, and Mr. F. B. Wells, late of the United States Navy. There were also a professor of modern languages and a principal of the preparatory school. In April, 1853, the institution was placed under the charge of the Rev. Charles Reighly; an arrangement which terminated at the close of the session of 1856. Mr. Reighly was succeeded by the Rev. E. J. Cornish, under whose administration the college was maintained in a highly flourishing condition until the spring of 1859, when Mr. Cornish, on account of feeble health, was compelled to relinquish his charge, as was then hoped, temporarily. The affairs of the institution were conducted until the close of the term by his able assistants, Henry L. Fouly and J. P. Green. Mr. Cornish did not, however, live to resume his position at the head of the college; and upon receiving news of his death, which occurred at a distant point, trustees, patrons, pupils, and the community at large, alike felt that the institution had incurred a great loss. About this time the institution was freed from a serious incumbrance. In the year 1854 suit was brought on the debt of $10,00C due to the State. Judgment was rendered, but on the 19th of November, 1858, an act of the legislature was passed whereby the State released the debt on payment by the college of the costs of suit. This was done on the 10th of January, 1859, and thus was a troublesome burden disposed of, for the large assets exhibited in the publication made by thetrustees in 1840 had shrunk from various untoward events until but little was left, comparatively, and the college could ill bear to pay a sum so considerable. 'Natchez Free Trader, October 23,1841; October 28,1841; May 24,1842. 2 Address by Dr. Stratton on July 23, 1875, delivered at Jefferson College. JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 35 At the opening of the session of 1859 Prof. J. J. Critchlow was appointed president pro tern. At the same period an application was made to the legislature for aid in the establishment of a normal school department and in placing the school on a military footing. The only response was a loan of 75 stand of arms. During the session of 1860 the legislature passed an act transferring to the college a collection of specimens in natural history and geology, made by Prof. B. L. C. Wailes in connection with the State Agricultural and Geological Survey, and at that time deposited in the State capitol at Jackson. Professor Critchlow continued at the head of the college until the summer of 1861, at which time its financial affairs were so greatly embarrassed by the disorganized state of the country that the board of trustees felt themselves unable to pledge a prompt payment of salaries. Under pressure of this difficulty, the Rev. W. K. Douglass and Prof. J. J. Critchlow were employed as coequals in authority to assume charge of the institution, but under a special agreement that the amounts allowed them as salaries should be considered obligations to be paid only when practicable. This arrangement continued until the close of the session of 1863, when the doors of the institution were closed by the stern pressure of war. During the occupation of the country by the Federal troops the college buildings were seized by the commandant at Ngatchez and used as barracks. At a meeting of the board of trustees, held in January, 1865, a memorial was prepared, which afterwards was forwarded to General Davidson, commanding at Natchez, praying that the college buildings be vacated. The general replied that he no longer had any control in the matter, since the property had been turned over to the bureau of refugees, freedmen, and abandoned lands. On receipt of this reply a similar memorial was presented to that bureau, and in response the property was restored to the trustees in November, 1865. During the seven years following, the literary management of the college was committed to Mr. Jesse Andrews. The arrangement with him terminated at the close of the summer session of 1872. At this time Prof. J. S. Raymond, the present principal, was elected president of the college, and authorized to employ an assistant professor. Tuition was made free, and the educational advantages afforded by the institution extended without charge to all white male pupils from Adams and the adjoining counties. With occasional modifications, this system of free scholarships continued in force until the expiration of the session of 1875, when regular rates of tuition were again imposed. From 1872 to 1879 President Raymond managed the literary department of the college with the aid of only one assistant, but the session of 1879-80 was an unusually prosperous one, the number of students having reached 63, and under circumstances so favorable the trustees 36 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. - authorized the employment of two additional assistants. The faculty was thereupon organized as follows: Professor Raymond, president; Professors James McClure, Matt. C. Harper, and J. E. Blankenshipp.During the following session the number of students reached 81. From 1881 to the present time it has been deemed best to employ only two assistants, and at that time Professor Blankenshipp retired from the faculty. In the summer of 1889 Professor McClure was succeeded by Jackson Reeves, A. B. and B. S., of the University of Mississippi. A remarkable harmony has marked the associate career of these gentlemen, and as a natural result admirable conformity to rule and excellent progress have characterized the entire body of students. This sketch of the most venerable institution in the State, and indeed in the Gulf States, will be concluded by a brief statement of its present (1891) organization. GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS. The college grounds are quite extensive, embracing some 80 acres, tastefully arranged and handsomely adorned with forest and ornamental trees. The buildings are large and commodious, and in fine repair, and to the eye of the stranger present a very handsome and imposing appearance. The two main buildings are built of brick, each three and a half stories high, with a front of 80 feet and a depth of about 50 feet. The recitation rooms, dormitories, reading room, library, etc., are conveniently arranged, admirably warmed, lighted, and ventilated. The study hall and recitation rooms have recently been fitted up with entirely new schoolroom furniture, consisting of the most improved study desks and settees; also with handsome lamps of the most improved style. LIBRARY, APPARATUS, ETC. The college is provided with a well selected library of over 2,000 volumes, a philosophical apparatus, and a mineralogical and geological cabinet. PLAN OF ORGANIZATION. To meet the wants of pupils of different ages and requirements, instruction is given in three departments, viz, primary, intermediate, and high-school departments. The primary department occupies one or two years, the intermediate department two years, and the high school three years. PRIMARY DEPARTMENT. Applicants for admission to this department are received ordinarily under 12 years of age, and must be able to read in any of the primary readers. JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 37 HIGH-SCHOOL DEPARTMENT. SCIENTIFIC COURSE. First year. First term. Second term. Higher arithmetic (Thompson's). Higher arithmetic completed. Algebra begun (Wentworth). Algebra continued. Higher English (Reed and Kellogg). Higher English completed. Physical geography or bookkeeping. Physical geography completed Second year. First term. Second term. Algebra continued. Algebra completed. Geometry begun (Wentworth). Geometry completed. Physiology (Steele or Walker). Physiology completed. Bookkeeping or French. Bookkeeping or French. Third year. First term. Second term. Trigonometry. Surveying. Natural philosophy or French. Natural philosophy or French. Chemistry begun (Steele). Chemistry completed. Rhetoric or English literature. Rhetoric or English literature. Throughout the entire course in the high-school department, regular exercises in reading (Hudson's Classical Reader and English History), as well as in declamation and composition, are required; also daily practice in spelling and composition, until a satisfactory standard has been attained. CLASSICAL COURSE. The classical course, beginning in the second year of the intermediate department, and extending through the three years of the high-school department, embraces, in addition to Latin and Greek, or Latin, French, and higher English, the entire course of mathematics taught in the scientific course, together with rhetoric and English composition. The attendance of pupils averages 50 per annum. The expense of attendance is, to day scholars, $30 per annum; to boarders, $165 per annum. The faculty is now composed of Prof. J. S. Raymond (of Washington and Lee University), now, and for sixteen years past, principal and instructor in Latin, Greek, and English; Prof. Matt. C. Harper, A. B. (of University of Mississippi), instructor in mathematics and assistant in English; Prof. Jackson Reeves, A. B. and B. S. (of University of Mississippi), instructor in natural sciences and assistant in English. Chapter IV. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. THE ELIZABETH FEMALE ACADEMY. This institution was a school celebrated in its day for the thoroughness of its work and for its large measure of success. Although extinct since about 1843, it is still memorable because of several facts. It was not the first school at which girls were received to be incorporated in the territory of Mississippi; it was the first to be incorporated by the State after its admission into the Union. It was the first school designed exclusively for girls to be incorporated by either the Territorial or the State legislatures. It was the first in Mississippi or any Gulf State to aspire to and achieve the dignity of a college in fact, although not in name, and it was the first fruits of Protestant denominational work in all the extreme South, The first Methodist Church of the State was organized in Natchez in 1799. Its first member was Randall Gibson, one of the three men who donated to the Territory the site of Jefferson College. Another member, a Mrs. Elizabeth Roach (afterwards Greenfield), donated to the Mississippi conference the land and buildings long and favorably known as those of the Elizabeth Female Academy. This institution was also situated at Washington, Adams County, one-half mile from the town and near Jefferson College. The donation was made in 1818. In the year following the institution was granted a charter by the legislature, under the auspices of the conference, and under the superintendence of John Menefee, Daniel Rawlings, Alexander Covington, John W. Briant, and Beverley R. Grayson, and their successors. A condition of the donation was that the conference should there maintain a high school for the education of girls. On these terms it was accepted, and in token of gratitude for the gift the institution was called by the Christian name of the donor. The academy began work in November, 1818; Mr. C. Stiles, president; Mrs. Jane B. Sanderson, governess. This Mr. Stiles was a lay member of the Methodist Church from Claiborne County. He died in 1822 and was succeeded by the Rev. James Smiley, a scholarly and experienced teacher, who was also principal of Washington Academy (see Jefferson College). He in turn was followed by the Rev. John C. Burruss, an educated, elegant, and eloquent gentleman. Under Dr. Burruss was engaged as governess Mrs. Caroline DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 39 Matilda Thayer, of New York. The high literary claims and splendid talents of this lady were then well known from her numerous publications, in both prose and verse, and her great experience in teaching gave her a decided advantage in the instruction of youth. She was a granddaughter or grandniece of General Warren, who fell at Bunker Hill, and her only child, worthy of such lineage, while yet a youth, took up arms for Texas and perished at the storming of the Alamo. At that time, in the year 1826, the course of education embraced the English, French, and Latin languages, taught according to the principles then most approved, with scrupulous attention to pronunciation. Also history, composition, elements of chemistry, geography, and astronomy (with use of globes), and arithmetic. The improved mode of instruction recommended by Edgeworth, Pestalozzi, and Condillac, of addressing the understanding without oppressing the memory, was adopted. Tuition, without any discrimination as to branches, was $12 per quarter; with board and furnishings, $50 per quarter.' From 1828 to 1832 the academy was under the presidency of the Rev. Benjamin M. Drake, Mrs. Thayer still governess. With the indulgence of the reader we will now attend a commencement exhibition, doubly interesting because it is the first in Mississippi of which we have a detailed account, and because it is one at the palmy period of the first institution of learning in the State to win any reputation of enduring character. The exhibition took place on the 21st of August, 1829. The eager actors in the animated scene have doubtless all passed away, but their names will meet with loving recognition in many homes of Mississippi. From the Galaxy of September 3, 1829, the following notice is taken: ELIZABETH ACADEMY-WASHINGTON. We were in attendance during both days of the recent examination at this institution, and the least that we can say is that our opinion is in full accordance with the general terms of the report of the committee appointed to inspect the exercises, and which is found in this day's paper. We might, however, be very justly charged with intentional flattery did we speak in "unqualified praise." It is not our practice, under any considerations, and for the obvious reason that it would be inconsistent with candor, not to say with truth. Error is blended with all human concerns; to point it out is, oftentimes, to correct it-it seldom ceases to be a duty. But, to the examination. The indistinctness of articulation, on the part of the pupils, was a serious injury in the exhibition of their acquirements. It was, in part, imputable to the circumstance that the space to be filled with sound was much greater than that in which they had been usually examined. But, in a great measure, it must be attributed to timidity; modesty, however, is the loveliest trait in the female character; and even when a fault it is still a virtue, and readily forgiven. The pronunciation in reading and recitation was generally bad. For instance-we heard Athens pronounced with a short a; angel in the same manner; the first syllable of parent as if written p-a-i-r; patriot and patriotism with a short a; sacrifice with a long a in the first, and a soft c in the last syllable; nothing as nanthing. We noticed also a very general habit of clipping words-an indistinctness of enunciation. The Ariel, Natchez, August 1 and December 19, 1825. 40 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. The compositions, with two or three exceptions were of a lower order than those at a former examination-less originality-less genius both in thought and style. The answers to the questions in political philosophy were occasionally vague and indefinite-sometimes erroneous. For instance, by the class examined in the Constitution of the United States it was said: When the electoral college fail to elect the President he is chosen by Congress; the Senate choose their own officers; the judges of the Federal courts appointed by the President, etc. But these are, in a great degree, excusable as it requires a practical knowledge of the operation of our institutions-of the apparently nice distinctions and balance of orders-before the understanding can draw definitely and with precision the line between the powers that are wielded conjointly by the President and one or both branches of the Legislature, and those that are exercised by the one independently of either of the others. Such were the most prominent faults. The other side of the picture is contemplated with more pleasure. The class in geography answered with singular promptitude and correctness. The solutions upon the blackboard, of questions in mental arithmetic, discovered no less readiness and precision. The recitations were, to say the least of them, interesting. The readings were spirited and correct. Action we could not expect from little girls of 10, 11, or 12 years of age. The proficiency exhibited in natural and mental philosophy and chemistry by the higher classes reflects great credit upon the capacity and industry of the students, as well as the highest encomium upon the government of the institution. If at this stage of the examination we were delighted, when we heard the class in mathematics we were astonished; and certainly it is a matter of astonishment to witness little girls of 12 years of age treat the most abstruse problems of Euclid as mere playthings. Nor were they dependent upon the memory alone; and we will give our reasons for so thinking. During one of the solutions upon the blackboard (we forget which it was) it was suggested that the young lady was in error. "No, ma'am," replied the pupil, with great promptitude and self-possession; "I am correct. The bases of a parallelogram must be equal." The principle is indeed a simple one, but the readiness with which it was adduced in argument, and that, too, under embarrassing circumstances, was to us the most conclusive evidence of an extraordinary discipline of mind. We were particularly pleased with the examination of a junior class in natural philosophy. The members had been taught by oral instruction exclusively. Their answers were given in familiar language, divested of that technical obscurity which has ever formed a serious obstacle at the very threshold of science and philosophy. Children learn to advantage only when they understand what they learn. They must be taught by what they already know; that is, knowledge must be communicated in language which is already familiar to them. The subject, however, is of too much consequence to be discussed in a necessarily brief notice of an examination. In relation to the exercises at the Elizabeth Academy, in common justice we must acknowledge that it has seldom fallen to our lot to enjoy a more unmingled gratification than on this and a similar occasion. The pleasure, however, was not derived exclusively from what we saw and heard. The view was a broader one. We could not but reflect upon the vast sway that the female sex hold in society; that they ever have and ever will, among civilized beings, extend an almost superhuman influence, not only over the external deportment, but over the fundamental principles that govern the actions of man. It would be strange indeed if, under such reflections, we could behold with ordinary feelings so numerous a body of this fair intelligence not only founding in wisdom and virtue their own happiness, but preparing, under the most cheering auspices, to wield the destinies of others. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 41 REPORT.-ELIZABETH FEMALE ACADEMY. [Annual examination.] The undersigned, having been appointed by the trustees of the institution as a board of visitors to inspect the present annual examination, feel pleasure in declaring it one of the most interesting occasions of the kind they have ever witnessed. The examinations were continued during two days, before a very crowded audience, during which time the young ladies were examined minutely on all the different branches of their studies. The most unqualified praise would be no more than justice for the splendid evidence of their close attention and assiduity, as exhibited on this occasion; and we take pleasure in giving it as our opinion that such honorable proof of female literary and scientific acquirements has seldom been exhibited in this or any other country. And while it proves the order and discipline with which science and literature are pursued by the pupils, it proves no less the flourishing condition and the merited patronage the institution enjoys. Nothing reflects more honor upon the present age than the liberality displayed in the education of females, nor can anything evince more clearly the justness with which female education is appreciated in the South than this exhibition and the interest manifested by the large and respectable audience during the whole of the exercises. The literary and scientific character of the governess, Mrs. Thayer, is too well known to admit of commendation from us, but we may be permitted to say it receives additional luster from this evidence of her successful efforts- To rear the tender thought, To teach the young idea how to shoot, To pour the fresh instruction on the mind. The junior classes were examined in the general principles of a common English education, such as reading, writing, arithmetic, English grammar, geography, and history.; the senior classes, in mental arithmetic embracing questions which require the compound rules for their solution, in rhetoric, astronomy with the use of the globes, botany, chemistry, mechanical philosophy, and the French language; the monitorial class, in chemistry, mathematics, intellectual philosophy, political economy, and the Constitution of the United States. Several compositions of the monitorial class, in prose and verse, were read, which were alike honorable for the refined sentiments they contained and the elegant style of expression. Among the most interesting exercises were the recitations of the younger pupils in verse, with the most elegant adaptation of manner and gesture to the sentiment. * I I The exercises were closed with an address to the young ladies by Dr. J. W. Monett. EDWD. TURNER, GEO. POTTS, ROBT. L. WALKER, JAS. P. TURNER, A. B. JOHNSON, HORATIO SMITH, J. F. H. CLAIBORNE, J. W. MONETT, Committee. At this time, as already stated, the connection of Dr. Burruss with the academy had ceased, Rev. Mr. Drake being president and Mrs. Thayer governess. The following report was made by her to the trustees in December, 1829: ELIZABETH FEMALE ACADEMY. [Fourth annual report submitted to the board of trustees.] GENTLEMEN: At the suggestion of a number of your board, the annual report, which it becomes my duty to lay before you at this time, will embrace a succinct 42 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. view of the progress of the institution over which I have had the honor to preside from its commencement to the present date. The irregularity occasioned by admitting pupils at any time during the session renders it difficult to ascertain the precise number who have resided in the academy edifice for any given period. The following results have been obtained by estimating the number at the close of four successive periods of the year, each comprising twelve weeks. The average is obtained by adding the several numbers and dividing their sum by 4. The data from which these estimates are made are found in the register, which has been accurately kept by the president of the academy, from which it appears that the school opened November 12, 1818, under the superintendence of Mr. C. Stiles, president, and Mrs. Jane B. Sanderson, governess. The whole number of pupils admitted from that date to June 15, 1825, is 161. From this period the operations of the school were suspended until June 1, 1826, when it was reopened under an assistant teacher. [The buildings were being repaired.-E. M.] My official relation to the institution commenced at this time, but my arrival was delayed until January 23. From this date the number of pupils admitted is 176, making in all 337. The number of residents in each year is exhibited in the following table: Greatest number ear. residing in Least Average the academy number. number. edifice at any time. 1819................................................................. 28 20 24 1820......................................................... 28 17 22 1821..................................................... 17 13 11 1822................................................................. 13 10 11 1823................................................................. 18 12 15 1824......................................................... 25 18 18 1825....................................................... 182..3...25 1826................................................................ 30 20 25 1827.... —.................... —.............................. 40 25 30 1828................................................................. 45 30 35 1829................................................................. 63 42 54 From this statement it appears that the highest average under my predecessor in office did not equal the lowest for the four years during which I have been honored with your confidence. Another pleasing fact connected with this brief recapitulation of our yearly history is, that during the four years of my residence in the academy edifice only three instances of severe indisposition have occurred, and one of these, which terminated fatally, was of a pulmonary character, and by no means dependent on climate or situation. This single instance of mortality is the only one which has taken place at the academy during the ten years that it has been in operation. During the academical year commencing September 23, 1828, and ending August 22, 1829, not a single instance of indisposition occurred. This simple statement of facts, well known to your board, speaks more decisively than any comment I could make in favor of the healthiness of our location. The course of education, methods of instruction, and system of discipline pursued in the institution are subjects which have been frequently brought before you in my former communications. A brief recurrence to them will therefore be sufficient for our present purpose. The course of study, as marked out in the second article of your by-laws, is as follows: Penmanship; the English, French, and Latin languages; geography; ancient and modern history and belles-lettres; arithmetic, with the elements of mathematical science; astronomy, with the use of the globes; chemistry; natural, moral, and intellectual philosophy; Constitution and Government of the United States; the study of the Bible, and evidences of Christianity. This article of your by-laws was my guide in arranging the plan of study to be pursued by my pupils. You had pointed out the subjects which were to engage our DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 43 attention, but the order in which the several branches were to be taken up, and the limits of those of which only a partial knowledge can be obtained in the short period usually allowed for female education, were left solely to my own discretion. My first object, in assigning the studies of the respective classes, was so to limit my requisitions that the time and means might bear proportion to the end. In accordance with this principle, I have not made the study of the French or Latin languages imperative, and I have limited our course in mathematics to those elementary principles of the science which seem to me absolutely essential to a thorough acquaintance with geometry and astronomy. Our senior pupils study four books of Euclid, plain trigonometry with its application to mensuration, and enough of algebra to be able to apply its principles to practical geometry. In intellectual and moral philosophy, we read Beattie's Moral Science and a part of Paley's Philosophy, and a few have extended this branch of study to Brown's Philosophy. By your regulations, I am required to teach the principles of the Government of the United States. On the subject I have found no book suitable to place in the hands of young ladies. This deficiency has been supplied, to the best of my ability, by familiar lectures, in which I have made "the Federalist" my text book of politics. Arithmetic, geography, and English grammar are pursued to a greater or less extent, by every young lady who enters our institution. In arithmetic, we begin with Colburn's Introduction. The system, of which this work gives the elementary principles, is founded on the maxim that children should be instructed in every science, just as fast as they are able to understand it. In conformity to this principle, the first questions in this invaluable little work are extremely simple, and the pupil is led progressively and by a process so easy and gradual, to the more complex and difficult combinations of numbers, that he finds himself familiar with the subject and enjoys a satisfaction in his study which he could never realize in performing the mechanical operation of cyphering by artificial rules. But we do not confine ourselves to intellectual arithmetic. So soon as some facility in mental calculation is attained, our pupils commence a regular course of instructions on the rules and principles, in which the blackboard is used, that they may learn to arrange their work with the greatest economy of space. Geography and drawing are commenced simultaneously, and our first lessons in the latter consist in drawing the maps of the countries which form the lesson in the former. In a former report I have briefly sketched a method of teaching geography, with the aid of maps, by oral instruction alone. Since the date of that communication I have fortunately obtained Mrs. Willard's " Geography for Beginners," a work which contains the same illustrations which I have been in the habit of using with my junior pupils. It is no slight recommendation of this plan that two persons, having no communication but each endeavoring to apply the principles of sound philosophy to the business of teaching, should have been led to adopt precisely the same methods. Our first exercise in geography consists in drawing, as well as we are able, a map of the academy grounds. We next draw the little village, in the suburbs of which we are located, first laying down a scale of miles and adapting our map to it in size. When this is well understood we proceed to delineate a map of the United States, and repeat the exercise until the whole or any single State may be drawn with accuracy and dispatch, without a copy. In like manner we draw Europe and the remaining divisions of the earth, and in our recitations no map is referred to by the pupil but the one she is able to draw from memory alone. In chemistry our pupils have enjoyed the benefit of a course of lectures and experiments by Dr. William A. King. The course comprised twenty lectures, which were so perspicuously arranged and amply illustrated that the amount of information gained from them was far greater than my best instructions could have afforded for the same time. 44 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. In a former communication I have suggested the propriety of procuring a small apparatus to illustrate the leading facts and principles of chemistry and mechanical philosophy, and you will not, I trust, deem me too importunate if I reiterate my request that this want may be supplied as speedily as your means will allow. Instruction in chemistry and philosophy must necessarily be imperfect when unaided by experiment, and I am encouraged to press this subject upon your attention from the fact that an apparatus, suitable for our purposes, may be obtained at a very small expense. By the politeness of Dr. King I have been enabled to begin a cabinet of natural history and mineralogy, which already contains many valuable specimens. At our annual examination in August six young ladies, having pursued the full course of study, received honorary certificates as graduates. Three of these are still members of the academy, and are assiduously engaged in geometry and algebra and in a general review of their former studies. Our regular-session class is divided into three sections. The first section are occupied with the study of Colburn's Algebra, Playfair's Geometry, Mrs. Willard's History of the United States, Mrs. Bryan's Chemistry and Philosophy, Beattie's Moral Science, and a general review of grammar, geography, and arithmetic. The second section study Murray's Grammar, Colburn's Intellectual Arithmetic and Sequel, Goldsmith's England, Woodbridge and Willard's Geography, Mrs. Bryan's Philosophy and Chemistry, and Fowler's Linear Drawing. The third section pursue the same studies, except chemistry. The junior class is also divided into three sections. The first section study Murray's Grammar, Mrs. Willard's Geography, Colburn's Arithmetic, with exercises on the blackboard, and first lessons in the history of the United States. The second study Colburn's Arithmetic, Mrs. Willard's Geography, American Popular Lessons, and Peter Parley's Tales about America, and receive oral instruction in the elements of English grammar. The third section is composed of small children who are not yet capable of anything higher than spelling, reading, and exercises in intellectual arithmetic. You will perceive that arithmetic forms a prominent exercise in every section; it is, in fact, the sine qua non of our institution, and I am happy in believing that your board agree with me in considering this branch of study as a mental discipline equally important in the education of both sexes. The time has been when the education of females was limited to those branches in which their immediate occupations lie. For those destined by the favor of fortune to move in the higher circles, personal accomplishments, music, dancing, and a superficial acquaintance with the more showy parts of literature w ere deemed sufficient, while those of humble rank were satisfied if their knowledge embraced those domestic occupations in which they were necessarily engaged. Happy for the present age, and happy, too, for posterity, the public sentiment has undergone an important change in favor of female cultivation. Without undervaluing personal accomplishments, or disregarding domestic duties, we are permitted to aspire to the dignity of intellectual beings, and, as was beautifully expressed by a gentleman who addressed us at the close of our examinations, "The whole map of knowledge is spread before the female scholar, and no Gades of the ancients is set up as the limits of discovery." Under these favorable auspices, gentlemen, with our work still enlarging before us, our course is still onward. To you it must afford pleasure to look back upon the difficulties you have encountered, and behold the complete success of your exertions. It was your laudable design to establish a permanent female seminary, where the accomplishments, which please for a day and then cease to be regarded, should be held in subordination to substantial knowledge, and under every difficulty the institution has been sustained by your untiring zeal and perseverance. Without legislative patronage or endowment and supported by the avails of tuition alone, the Elizabeth Female Academy has outlived pecuniary embarrass DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 45 ments, extended her boundaries, and enlarged her accommodations, and now promises to be a lasting monument of the generosity of the foundress and a blessing to many who shall resort hither for instruction when we shall be sleeping in our graves. With high personal regard, I am, gentlemen, your most obedient servant, C. M. THAYER. ELIZABETH FEMALE ACADEMY, December 15, 1829. In 1833 Mr. Drake was succeeded by the Rev. J. P. Thomas as president. Mrs. Thayer had left the year before, and had been followed by Mrs. Susan Brewer, with Miss Rowena Crane as assistant. In 1833, also, the teaching of piano music was introduced, and thenceforward was a part of the branches regularly taught. In 1836, Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Brewer having left, the Rev. Bradford Frazee, of Louisville, Ky., was elected president. He was assisted by a new governess, whose name is now not known, and Mrs. Frazee undertook the departments of art and needlework. In 1838 or 1839 Mr. Frazee relinquished his presidency, taking a school at Emory, in Holmes County, and in 1839 the presidency of the Elizabeth Academy was conferred on the Rev. R. D. Smith, Miss Lucy A. Stillman being principal governess, and Miss Mary B. Currie music teacher. In the Mississippi Free Trader of the 10th of March, 1842, appeared the following notice: ELIZABETH FEMALE ACADEMY. There is probably no subject dearer to the patriot and Christian philanthropist than that of female education. According to his view, both national and individual happiness and prosperity are immediately and inseparably connected with the proper intellectual training and moral culture of the female mind. This conclusion is not the result of a long train of philosophical or logical deductions, but is immediately inferred from the important position that woman holds in the social compact and from the many endearing relations she sustains in life. I was led into these reflections from witnessing the semiannual examination of the pupils of the Elizabeth Female Academy at Washington, Miss., which took place on Thursday and Friday last. This examination did equal credit to the zeal and ability of the several teachers and to the industry and mental resources of the pupils. They showed an extensive and accurate knowledge of the most important branches of mental and physical science, as well as great skill and taste in several of the more strictly ornamental branches of education. A delightful variety was given to the whole examination by the performances of a very fine class in music. I would mention the names of two or three individuals of this class, whose voices and performances called forth the admiration of all who heard them, but for reasons which are obvious I forbear. This institution is admitted by all who know its history to be more ably conducted by its present talented and highly accomplished principal, Mrs. Campbell, and more deserving of patronage than it has been since the administration of Mrs. Thayer. At the close of the examination a very appropriate and elegant address wa1s delivered to the young ladies by Rev. D. C. Page, of Natchez. PHILANTHROPOS. MARCH 7, 1842. 46 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. But the praises of " Philanthropos " were given to the last leap of an expiring flame. There is no further history of Elizabeth Academy. After a course of about twenty-five years, most of its original patrons having died or removed to other parts of the country, and other female schools having been organized at Natchez, Port Gibson, Woodville, and other places, the academy was abandoned, and by the terms of the grant its property reverted to the heirs of the donor.1 THE HOLLY SPRINGS FEMALE INSTITUTE. From its earliest day the educational advantages of the city of Holly Springs were of a high order. This was especially true in regard to schools for girls. They extended unusual facilities for learning, under the guidance of enlightened and experienced teachers. These benefits attracted the residence of families of wealth and refinement, who came from a distance to secure the education of their children. They brought with them a high standard of religious, moral, and intellectual culture, and gave a character of unusual elevation to the place. This was so eminently the case that in a very short time the population was over 4,000 and its real estate was in demand at high prices. In the month of January, 1836 (the same year in which the Chickasaw Cession was organized into counties), a meeting of the citizens of Holly Springs and its vicinity was held for the purpose of electing trustees for the Female Academy of Holly Springs. A. C. McEwen, James Elder, L. D. Henderson, William C. Edmondson, Calvin Squires, J. Walker, John Hardin, and James W. Hill were chosen. At another meeting held shortly afterwards Hill was elected president of the board and McEwen secretary. At this meeting a Miss Moseley was employed to teach during the first session with the rates of tuition fixed at $8, $12, and $15 for the first, second, and third classes, respectively. The academy was located on lot numbered 271, lying south of and fronting on the road to Hernando. The building was a modest but comfortable structure of hewn logs, with clapboard roof, overhung by friendly oak trees. At another meeting of the board, held on the 2d of July, C. Kyle, K. S. Holland, James Davis, and J. M. Blackwell were added to that body, and at an adjourned meeting, held on the 4th, a Mr. Cottrell and his wife were elected to take charge of the academy. They agreed to do so, and fixed on the 1st of January, 1837, for their day of opening, but for some reason, not now known, they abandoned the engagement, and opened about that time a female school near Hudsonville in the same county. Miss Moseley remained in charge through the year 1836. In 1837 a Mr. Baker and his wife were installed as principals. During that year the school seems to have prospered, and some steps were taken 'to provide enlarged and more comfortable accommodations. John A. McKindree, Hon. Parry W. Humphreys, and R. H. Patillo Letters of Rev. J. G. Jones, Prof. J. S. Raymond, and others. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 47 were added to the board, and a committee was appointed to examine sites for the purpose of removing the academy to a better situation. During this year, also, the town of Holly Springs was incorporated. The owners of the land on which it was located made a donation of 50 acres to the city, and this tract sold for enough money to build an excellent court-house and jail and furnish means toward the enlargement and the great improvement of the academy. The sum of $10,500 was appropriated to the last purpose by the police court, and private subscriptions increased the sum to $14,121.59. At this time an unsuccessful effort was made to engage a Mr. Holiaster as principal. Deeming it important to have at the head of the institution "a gentleman of literary abilities and one that has practical experience in conducting a female school," the session of 1838 was postponed until the 1st of February, and meanwhile Colonel Henderson was dispatched on the special mission of finding an acceptable man. The result was that Mr. Thomas Johnson was selected. This was an eventful year for the academy. Notwithstanding the dire financial calamities of the period, there was prosperity through this community. The town increased in population. The frictions and disorders usually incident to new settlements yielded so promptly to the power of a refined and cultured element that they can hardly be said ever to have had a place in the community. The trustees resolved to adjust their plans, not only to the wants of the present but also to the anticipated demands of the future. In March, 1838, Mr. Hill resigned the presidency of the board and was succeeded by Judge Humphreys. Mr. McKindree became treasurer. It was determined to move the academy to a more desirable site. On the 9th of April Mr. Whitfield (lately elected a member of the board), chairman of a special committee, reported the purchase of a 4-acre lot from one W. S. Randolph. A committee was appointed to make building contracts and superintend the work. It was further resolved to lay the corner stone on the 25th of June with masonic honors, and Holly Springs Lodge, No. 35, was invited to perform the ceremony. This programme was duly carried out, and the academy (which at this time was called the Holly Springs Collegiate Institute) was established on grounds amply capacious and beautifully located amidst residences well improved and even in some instances ambitious in style. Streets were laid off about the premises; grass seed and shade trees planted. In order to extend more widely the interest in the institution, Samuel McCorkle, J. E. Palmer, T. N. Loving, and a Mr. Cain were added to the board. Dr. William Hankins testified his interest in the enterprise by the gift of an "elegant electrical machine." Two pianos were purchased. Meanwhile the labors of the faculty progressed. In the year 1838 there were about 80 pupils. The musical department was under the care of Mr. and Mrs. Kenno and was well conducted. 48 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. The institution embraced a primary and a collegiate department. In the primary department were taught orthography, reading, writing, English grammar, geography, history, and arithmetic. The collegiate department was divided into three classes-junior, intermediate, and senior-and the studies were arranged in this order: Junior class.-Elocution, English, Latin or some modern language, natural philosophy (including physics, hydrostatics, hydraulics, pneumatics, acoustics), chemistry, history, arithmetic, composition, vocal music. Intermediate class.-English, rhetoric, Latin or some modern language, physiology, outlines of geology, mineralogy, botany, natural history, algebra, vocal music. Senior class.-English, Latin or some modern language, optics, astronomy, history, natural theology, mental and moral philosophy, criticism, logic, geometry, composing themes, music. The institute was then provided with live teachers in the college, including the president and the two teachers of music and art. There was a sufficient additional force for the primary department. There was an elaborate published constitution and laws. The expenses were fixed as follows for the collegiate year: Tuition in the primary department............................................ $30 Tuition in the college..................................................... 50 Music: Piano or guitar........................................................... 50 Harp. ----.. --- -------..... ------.. --- —--- -- 60 French, Italian, or German.....-............. --- —----........ ---.... 35 Drawing or painting.......-...........................-... --- —-. 30 No salaries were paid by the trustees, but the principal and the teachers depended wholly on earnings. In the Republican of January 12, 1839, President Johnson published an open letter to the people urging the claims of the institute. It contains a good presentation of the advantages of a high education, a fine insistence on the desirability of a home education rather than a foreign one, and it has this passage of interest: Holly Springs four years ago was a cotton plantation; now we number a population of 2,500. Marshall County at the same time was little better than a wilderness, now one of the most populous counties in the State. Our population consists not of adventurers who come to the South for the purpose of regaining a lost fortune, but of substantial men, who brought their fortunes and, better still, their intelligence along with them, who believed they could enjoy in a substantial degree the advantages of cultivating the great staple commodity of the South and at the same time breathe a pure, healthful, invigorating atmosphere, and they were not mistaken. * * i The people of Holly Springs have given such evidence of their convictions on the subject of education that we think the public may rely upon their establishing schools of such a caste as to meet their views, however elevated. They have raised by subscription $30,000 to erect and endow a college for young gentlemen, and have already commenced improvements upon a liberal scale for its accommodations, part of which is already prepared; the balance is in progress. This college is now furnished with a faculty that would do honor to any school. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 49 They nave appropriated $15,000 to erecting and endowing a high order of female school, the principal edifice of which is now in progress and will be finished early next spring. This is a fine edifice of the Tuscan order, 64 feet front, two tall stories upon a basement, with a wing extending back 60 feet. When completed it will be one of the best buildings for the purpose in the Southwest, sufficiently large to accommodate the teacher's family, 140 pupils; board, 60. The schoolroom is well ventilated; the dormitories warm, comfortable, and well aired; the playgrounds are extensive and so retired that, when properly inclosed, they will be free from observation and intrusion. These will be handsomely laid out in promenades, decorated with native trees. Our object is to impart a sound, substantial, liberal education, not masculine, but approximating as near to it as the peculiarities of the female intellect will permit. In May, 1839, a matter of no great consequence in itself led to the severance of Mr. Johnson's connection with the institution.' He was succeeded by the Rev. C. Parish, A. M. The new principal had been engaged in teaching at Holly Springs since the first Monday of January, 1838. He was one of the two teachers in the academic department of the Holly Springs Literary Institute, the germ of the University of Holly Springs. At the time of his election to the presidency of the Female Institute he was professor of ancient languages in that university. In this year, 1839, the institute was granted a charter by the State legislature. The faculty was at this time composed as follows: Rev. C. Parish, A. M., president and professor of natural science, mathematics, languages, and belles lettres; Miss Ruth Beach, assistant teacher; Rufus Beach, esq., and daughter, Eliza, teachers of music; Mrs. E. Langley, teacher in the ornamental branches. The first session, under the reorganization, began on the first Monday in January, 1840. The students registered were 80 in number, and the year's work satisfactory to the patrons. In the summer of 1841 an opposition school appeared. The Rev. C. A. Foster, an Episcopalian clergyman, published, in the Holly Springs Gazette, a card proposing to open a high school for young ladies under the name of The Holly Springs Female Institute. This card excited the ire of the Rev. Mr. Parish. He addressed a series of open letters to the papers on the subject. Of course he could not challenge the right of Mr. Foster to open a rival school; but he made very severe criticism on the name selected for that school. "The Holly Springs Female Institute" was a style that belonged to the school under the writer's charge, etc. Mr. Foster's reply was that the Parish school was named by its charter, and that its name was properly the Holly Springs Female Academy; to which Mr. Parish rejoined that the charter name was a blunder of the legislature, and that "institute" was the true term, on which he insisted. Each man stood on his own judgment, and for a ' The Republican, June 1, 1839. 21785- No. 24 4 50 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. while there were two schools in Holly Springs called the Holly Springs Female Institute; and the geographical discrimination of the eastern and the western parts of the town becomes prominent. Mr. Foster won the battle. Exactly how is not now known; but in January, 1842, Mr. Parish resigned and Mr. Foster was elected to succeed him. AVr. Parish's resignation was received with regret; and the board passed very complimentary resolutions on that occasion. During his presidency several young ladies were graduated with the degree ot M. P. L., presumably meaning mistress of polite literature. Mr. Foster took a lease of the institute for five and a half years. The new faculty consisted of Rev. C. A. Foster, rector and principal; Rev. A. P. Merrill, associate principal; Mrs. A. P. Merrill, preceptress; Miss Martha W. Fraser, assistant tutoress; J. F. Goneke, esq., professor of music; Miss M. Goneke, teacher on pianoforte; Mrs. Sarah B. Thompson, matron. A fine cabinet of minerals had been provided, and a good philosophical apparatus. Part of the institute grounds was laid off for a botanical garden. A library was also provided. Mr. Foster's administration was for a time remarkably successful. The attendance of pupils for 1842 was about 100; that for 1843, 120; and that for 1844, 150. In 1843 Professor Goneke and his daughter were gone, and their places were supplied by a Mr. Morse (late of Jackson) and a Miss Covington. On the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of the last week in December, 1844, there was a public examination, of which a full account remains. The pupils gave numerous experiments and illustrations in practical chemistry; they conversed publicly in French, and read compositions in that tongue; they were quizzed in mental philosophy, in geometry, and in geology; they gave a public concert, etc.; they are said to have acquitted themselves with great credit. In the spring of the year 1845 President Foster resigned. His successor was promptly summoned. It was the Rev. James Weatherby, until then principal of the Oxford Female Academy. Under his charge the institute was successfully conducted from the first. The registration of the year 1845-46 was 120 pupils, and the wishes of its patrons were in all respects fully met.1 The sessions of 1846-47 were also prosperous. At this time among the faculty were Monsieur Yalette, professor of French; George M. Maclean, M. D., professor of chemistry; and Dierck Breuer, professor of music.2 With the opening of the fall term, 1848, the Rev. G. W. Sill, who enjoyed a high reputation, became principal. He remained through a period of eight years. He was followed by the Rev. N. Chevalier, whose connection with the institute was for only two years. His successor, in turn, was J. H. Hackleton, who held the office of president until the civil war swept the institution away. It is but too well Holly Springs Gazette, Juno 27, 1846. Ibid., January 5, 1847. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 51 known that the institute perished during the war at the hands of an incendiary. From the inauguration of the Rev. Mr. Sill onward the institute was at its best. It had tided over the financial breakers of the period from 1837 to 1840. The purposes of the trustees were crowned by the completion of the buildings and the crowding of its halls by bright girls from. all the country round about. Its board of control counted amongst its members some of the most intelligent and influential gentlemen of the State: Judge Parry W. Humphreys, Judge Chalmers, Judge J. W. C. Watson, Hon. J. W. Clapp, A. J. McConnico, and others. It should be remarked, in conclusion, that James W. Hill was president of the board from its organization until the end, except during a short period when that duty was discharged by Judge Humphreys, James Davis, and E. H. Whitfield, successively. Mr. Hill lived in the vicinity of the town; was an energetic and successful planter; took much interest in public affairs, and held those of the institute as dear to himself as his own. So, also, A. C. McEwen was the secretary throughout, except for a short time when James Elder held the office. McEwen was a staunch friend of the institute and had more to do with its finances than any other man. Ile was a person of very positive character, with sound sense, high qualifications for business, and strict integrity.' The institute was destroyed by the war, but its work remained. It contributed largely to the development of the high order of culture in the community, and consequently to the production of yet other fine schools, its natural and direct successors. THE COLLEGE AND ACADEMY AT SHARON. This institution, located at Sharon, in Madison County, was founded by B. W. BMinter, J. W. P. McGimsey, E. F. Divine, Kinsman Divine, William Joiner, and James M. Baker, with perhaps others. The scheme at the first was that of a school under the auspices of the religious dvnominations of the vicinity-a union school; and the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches all took part and had representation in both the trustees and the faculty. Many intelligent persons of the community thought that in this very fact lay the germ of future dissensions and possible disruption.2 The institution was incorporated in 1837. Its plan of organization embraced a college for males and an academy for females, with a preparatory school. The first seems to have been called distinctly the Sharon College and the second the Sharon Female Academy. There were distinct establishments and faculties under one president. By the same legislature which granted the college charter the town of Sharon was incorporated; and, with special reference to these institutions, the mayor and council being authorized to pass all such by-laws ' The Independent South, February 20 and March 6, 1873. 2 House Journal, 1840, p. 321; Mississippi Creole, February 28, 1842. 52 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. as might be necessary to promote education and learning and to prevent retailing liquors, gaming, and the wearing of weapons. The Female Academy was the first in the field for work. Their announcement was made in April, 1837. The trustees had secured the services of Misses J. H. and H. W. Copes, of Maryland, and flattered themselves that the qualifications of those teachers and their experience in the instruction of young ladies, together with the healthful and pleasant location of the institution, would offer the strongest inducements to parents desirous of procuring for their daughters a solid and ornamental education. The course of instruction was arranged into three classes. The preparatory class took orthography, reading, penmanship, arithmetic, English grammar, and geography, with the use of globes. The junior class took astronomy, natural philosophy, moral and mental philosophy, history, chemistry, rhetoric, logic, and political economy. The senior class continued the studies of the junior, with the addition of drawing, oriental, mezzotinto and velvet painting, ornamental needlework, and music. On the 1st of October, 1838, Sharon College was also opened. The preparatory department had been in operation since the first of the year with about 40 pupils. The course of studies in the college was designed to be equal to that in any other college in the United States. Five gentlemen from different States in the Union, all of whom were or had been professors in other institutions, were elected to the faculties. Four of them were clergymen, one Methodist, one Baptist, one Presbyterian, and one Cumberland Presbyterian. This distribution was from a policy adopted in the by-laws, designed, on the one hand, to save the institution from any exclusive sectarian influence, and, on the other, to secure it against irreligion. So far as religious men were elected to fill chairs at Sharon, they were purposely taken from the more numerous sects in the State, so that there should be at no one time more than one permanent professor of one denomination. Yet one of the professors was not a member of any church, a want of religious profession not being a barrier, provided there was good scholarship and good morals. The by-laws forbade professors to employ any influence whatever, direct or indirect, to proselyte students. The faculties were arranged as follows: Rev. Alexander Campbell, a Presbyterian minister, was president of both institutions. He is described as a disciplinarian perhaps unsurpassed, which, blended with his great urbanity of manners, rendered him very efficient in advancing the interests of the institution and of the youth placed under his charge. His salary was fixed at $2,500 per annum. He was brother-in-law to the Misses Copes, who first conducted the female academy. In the college Rev. Richard Beard was professor of ancient languages; William L. Williford, professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, and John F. Little, teacher of the preparatory school. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 53 In the female academy Rev. H. W. Smith was principal; Dr. C. S. Brown, assistant teacher; Mrs. H. W. Smith, instructress in French, Italian, and the ornamental branches; Miss Stratton, assistant; Mr. 0. Brachus, teacher of music. The property consisted of two lots, on one of which the college building stood and on the other the academy. There were some outstanding credits for lots sold and about $20,000 due on subscriptions. There was no library and no apparatus. The attendance of pupils in the college (including preparatory department) for 1839 was 100.1 In the year 1841 Dr. Campbell relinquished his connection with this institution, accepting the presidency of Mississippi College, and Sharon seems to have been placed under the charge of Professor Beard. In January and February, 1842, the Rev. Bradford Frazee published in the Mississippi Creole, of Canton, a long letter, in which he charged substantially, among other things, that the college was deceiving its patrons in giving but a preparatory course under the name and for the pay of a collegiate one. This charge drew forth an elaborate response from Professor Beard, which is given, not for the controversy, but for the exhibit made in it of the class work of the college: SHARON COLLEGE, March '8, 1842. To the public: From an article which appeared in the Mississippi Creole of last week in relation to this institution, I feel compelled to make the following statements with regard to the course and manner of instruction here: First, the course: When I commenced my labors in the department of ancient languages, the Rev. Mr. Campbell, then president of the institution, and myself agreed to recommend to the trustees that the following books should constitute the literary course: Preparatory.-Latin grammar, Liber Primus, Viri Romae, Cesar, Ovid, Virgil, Sallust. Freshman year.-Horace, Juvenal, Cicero de Oratore, Cicero's Orations, Livy, Tacitus. Sophomore year.-Greek grammar, Greek reader, Greek Testament, Graeca Minora, Graeca Majora (first volume). Junior year.-Grweca Majora (second volume), Homer's Iliad. With these were to be connected Mair's Introduction to Latin Syntax; geography, ancient and modern, with the use of the globe; Roman and Grecian antiquities. It was agreed that the following branches, and in the following order, should constitute the mathematical and scientific course: Euclid's elements, algebra, conic sections, calculus, natural philosophy, astronomy, chemistry, botany, belles-lettres, political, mental, and moral philosophy. This course was approved by the trustees. It will be seen that we placed literature before mathematics, mathematics before physics, and these before the elegant, political, mental, and moral sciences. For this arrangement we have the highest authority now in the literary and scientific world. Furthermore, we have the order of nature; we follow the obvious developments of the human mind. It was understood that other professors, should they come in, would have the privilege of revisions and changes in their several departments, if changes were found necessary. 1Campbell's letter to Governor McNutt, House Journal, 1840, p. 321. 54 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. The classical course was supposed to be established. It was not, however, expected that each of the specified authors would be read throughout, but a sufficiency to acquaint the student thoroughly with all peculiarities of syntax, style, and manner. Some of the more difficult authors were to be read throughout. The public will thus see what we wished to do. Now for what we have done: Juvenal and Cicero de Oratore have never been used, because we have not been able to procure them. Grseca Minora has been dropped and Neilson's Greek Exercises adopted in its stead. Viri Romwe has been changed for the Latin reader. Every man of experience will acknowledge that the literary course is no contemptible affair. It is equal to any in the South or West, if not to any in the United States. Soon after we commenced our operations, the freshman class, which was our highest class, requested permission to unite the study of Greek with the study of Latin. I agreed that they might read Latin three days in the week and Greek two. It will be seen that this arrangement was equivalent to two recitations a day, one in Latin and one in Greek. The same amount per week was accomplished in each language which would have been if the class had divided the day between them instead of the week. For the plan I am responsible. My object was to make the course of instruction more thorough. In process of time mathematics were brought down into the sophomore year,. and combined with Latin and Greek. Mathematics, when commenced, were recited every day. The recitations were then equivalent to three recitations a day. I will now make a statement of the order and plan of studies pursued by the sophomore and junior classes of last year as a more practical illustration of our system: The sophomore class in the early part of the year recited on Monday from Woodbridge and Willard's geography with the globe; on Tuesday and Wednesday in Latin; Thursday and Friday in Greek. After geography was completed, the recitation for Monday was from the Greek Testament, and subsequently from Blair's Rhetoric. The other days were still divided between Latin and Greek. The recitations in all were equivalent to three a day. The Latin authors were Livy, Cicero, and Tacitus; the Greek, Xenophon, Herodotus, Thucydides, Isocrates, Demosthenes. At the beginning of the second session Euclid was commenced and recited every day. The recitations were then equivalent to four a day. The junior class at the beginning of the year recited on Monday and Tuesday from Blair's Rhetoric, receiving lectures in the evening. This was succeeded by natural philosophy, and then by chemistry, both attended with lectures. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday the recitations were in Greek. The authors were Plato, Aristotle, and Homer. About the middle of the first session Greek was temporarily laid aside and French was substituted. All the while there were daily recitations in mathematics. After the class had rendered as much attention to French as was thought necessary, it was agreed to defer the balance of the Greek course to the present year and for the time to substitute moral philosophy and logic. Toward the latter part of the year an additional lesson was required in astronomy. Weekly compositions were required of both classes; also weekly exercises in declamation or debate before the instructor. At the close of the year the junior class had completed Latin, modern and ancient geography., Grecian antiquities, rhetoric, natural philosophy, chemistry, moral philosophy, logic, geometry, algebra, and the principal portion of trigonometry, and could read French with some fluency. The balance of the Greek course could have been read in two months, and was deferred by common con_ sent to the present year. I am thus particular that the public may know that we are not tricking our patrons out of their money by charging them for " collegiate instruction" and not giving it. We despise the slander. Our friends may find fault with the quality of our labor, but they can not, in justice, with the quantity. Of the quality I shall say nothing; there are other tribunals. But of the amount I may speak freely. The truth is, we have labored like galley slaves for two years past to keep up this institution. We have done so because we thought it might be a blessing DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 55 to this community. The results of our labors have been before the public. To them we confidently appeal whether the course of instruction in Sharon College has been a system of knavery or not. Our examinations and exhibitions have not been held in a corner. Our fellow-citizens have seen and heard, and they shall decide. RICHARD BEARD. In the early part of the year 1843 the female academy was placed in the hands of the Mississippi conference of the Methodist Church. It was reorganized, and entered on a new era of prosperity, under the new name of the Sharon Female College. No further account -of the " Sharon College" (the boys' school) is found;. and it would seem that since the Methodists were then building up Centenary College at Brandon Springs, not more than 20 miles away, the male branch was discontinued. The following extracts from an advertisement of date September 6, 1843, will show further the history of the female college: SHARON FEMALE COLLEGE, MADISON COUNTY, MISS. This institution, under the patronage of the Mississippi Annual Conference, will commence its regular session on the first Monday of October. Board of instruction.-Rev. E. S. Robinson, A. M., principal and teacher of ancient languages, mathematics, and natural sciences. C. W. F. Muller, esq., (a native of France, and a gentleman of thorough education), professor of music and modern languages. Mrs. J. A. Robinson, chief governess and teacher of botany, history, and ornamental needlework; -, second governess, and teacher of drawing, painting, and vocal music. A preceptress of the preparatory department will be selected by the 1st of October. * * Course of study-Preparatory department.-Orthography, reading, writing, English grammar, geography, arithmetic, mythology, progressive exercises in composition, Bible and its natural history, Latin and Greek grammars, Latin tutors and readers, and vocal music. Course of study-Collegiate department.-Ancient and modern languages, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, mensuration, syntax and English composition, analysis, rhetoric, natural philosophy, chemistry, geology, mineralogy, botany, astronomy, logic, elements of criticism, ancient and modern history, ancient geography, philosophy of niatural history, physiology, mental and moral sciences, introduction to study of Bible, evidences of Christianity, daily use of sacred Scriptures, music, drawing, painting; wax, coral, and ornamental needlework. ' ~ * The last examination closed the first semiannual session of its existence under the patronage of the Mississippi Annual Conference. Its success has equaled the highest expectation of its trustees and patrons, having closed with more than 80 students, and the prospect of large accessions at the opening of the next session. * J. P. THOMAS, President Board of Trustees. SHARON, September 6, 1843. In 1844, the faculty had been increased by the addition of Col. G. D. Mitchell, a distinguished educator from Tennessee, lately principal of the academy at Grenada, as principal of the preparatory department; Miss Almeda Mitchell, second governess and assistant in the preparatory department, and Miss Martha E. Mitchell, teacher of drawing and of painting. 56 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. The college was ably and satisfactorily conducted by President Robinson, and steadily increased its patronage. In the year 1845, however, he resigned, and moved with his family to Jasper County. He was succeeded in the same year by the Rev. Pleasant J. Eckles. This gentleman, aided by his accomplished wife, who had rare ability as a teacher, added much to the reputation of the college, already popular as it was. After remaining several years, he resigned in 1854, and was followed by the Rev. J. W. Shelton. This gentleman, however, retained the presidency but a short time. He resigned and returned to the State of Tennessee, whence he had come; and there, after a few years, he died, universally regretted. His successor at the college was the Rev. Mr. Guard, who, with a competent corps of teachers, had charge of the institution until the year 1861. He was then followed by the Rev. William L. C. Hunnicutt (now president of Centenary College). President Hunnicutt, however, soon enlisted as a chaplain in the Confederate army. He was followed at the college by Rev. Samuel D. Aikin. This gentleman remained several years and did good service. In the year 1867, President Aikin resigned, and moved with his family to Texas. Mr. lHunnicutt was then reelected to succeed him. In the-year 1868, the college suffered a great misfortune in the burning of its boarding house. From this calamity it never recovered, and the loss led eventually to the closing of the school. In October, 1869, President Hunnicutt was succeeded by the Rev. Josiah M. Pugh, formerly of Madison College. President Pugh, in turn, resigned in July, 1870, because of ill health, and Mr. Hunnicutt was elected president for the third time. Again, in 1871, Mr. Hunnicutt was succeeded by Mr. Pugh. In 1872, and under President Pugh, the last graduating class of Sharon Female College received their degrees. They were three in number, Mattie E. Holliday, Mary J. O'Leary, and Emma M. Wiggins. The last named was the valedictorian; and the commencement of that year was said to be the most brilliant in the history of the institution. But it was the last. In July, President Pugh resigned, to accept the presidency of Marvin College, in Texas. He was followed, for a few months, by the Rev. Mr. Moss, from Alabama; and this gentleman was the last principal of the college. The suspension and close of the college was owing to conditions which raise no imputation of blame to anyone. The destruction of property and of values by the civil war, the loss of the boarding house, as related, many removals from a population already sparse and impoverished, the remoteness from railroads-all were contributing causes. There are many cultured and lovely women in Mississippi and the adjacent States who look back with pride to Sharon College and bless the teachers who fitted them by faithful instruction and godly admonition for positions of usefulness and of happiness as well. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 57 THE COLLEGE IN JACKSON, THE BRANDON COLLEGE, AND MADISON COLLEGE. When Dr. Thomas C. Thornton resigned the presidency of Centenary College, in the year 1844,1 he did not abandon his labors in educational fields. On the contrary, he immediately set about the organization of a college in the city of Jackson, of higher grade than any the State had as yet seen. He took the work in history, political economy, intellectual and moral philosophy, and associated with himself five other gentlemen, all men of experience and of more or less reputation in educational circles. The Rev. Norman W. Camp, A. M., was given the chair of classics and rhetoric; Prof. J. M. Pugh (afterwards principal of Sharon Female College and of Madison College), that of mathematics and civil engineering; M. Louis Julienne, a native of France (and for many years after a well-known citizen of Jackson), instructor in French; Dr. James B. C. Thornton, his own brother (and for whom further see the chapter on Centenary College), the chair of natural sciences and also that of medicine; and Hon. Daniel Mayes, formerly professor of law in the Transylvania University, at Lexington, Ky, the chair of law. The college opened on the 15th of January, 1845, for the reception of pupils. The following statement from the Mississippian of date August 13, 1845, will explain its location and the plan. The Eagle Hotel referred to was a large frame building on the site now occupied by the residence of Joseph A. Brown, esq., just north of the capitol grounds. COLLEGE IN JACKSON, MISS. This institution, now in successful operation in this city, opened fur the reception of students, in that commodious building known as the Eagle Hotel, on the 15th of January last, and in connection with it a preparatory school in which those who desire it may have their sons and wards qualified for the common business of life, or prepared to enter college. I * * To meet the wishes of those who send their sons and wards to the preparatory school in this institution, and to have them well prepared to enter college, that department is under the immediate care and instruction of4the president and Professors Camp and Pugh, aided by competent assistants, and they are determined to have the boys in this school so taught that they shall spell, write, and read well. The course of study for the college classes adopted by us, being virtually that of the first colleges of our country, will be the standard for the examinations of college students, and we hope to give satisfaction to those who commit their sons to our instruction, by having them not only well drilled in elementary principles but taught in their course of mathematics especially, with the use of the instruments, surveying, heights, distances, and civil engineering. For the information of persons at a distance, we subjoin the following respecting the principles on which this school is founded and the manner in which it is to be conducted: First. That it is not to be under the government of any particular sect or denomination. Second. That the governor and chief officers of the State, the mayor and aldermen of the city of Jackson are its acknowledged superintendents, visitors, and patrons. Third. That the students attend with the professors at public prayers at some convenient time each day, and divine worship on Sunday, at such church as their parents or guardians direct. 'See Chaplter VIII. 58 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Fourth. The discipline of the school shall be as nearly parental as possible, and be administered on this principle. Fifth. Every student is expected to be at his studies or our recitation rooms from 9 o'clock each day, Saturday and Sunday excepted, to 12 o'clock in the morning, and from 2 to 5 in the afternoon during the winter. In summer, from 8 o'clock to 12 in the morning, and 2 to 5 in the afternoon. During these hours the students will be under our immediate and special oversight and instruction, at other hours only under our general supervision as friends and protectors, being left as much as possible to the care of those with whom they board, the force of moral suasion, and the influence and power of public opinion. Sixth. The students will regularly declaim in public, and thus be trained for public speaking. Seventh. We can have nothing to do with the financial concerns of the students, except to receive the tuition fees. The merchants or persons with whom they board can act as patrons for them, or as agents in this matter for parents; their books, boarding, and clothing can all be had at reasonable prices in Jackson, and parents or guardians must make their arrangements with others, as the professors can not take the time to provide these, nor have any responsibility respecting the expenses of any youth. Eighth. The year is divided into three sessions. The first from the second Monday in January to the 15th of April. The second from the 15th of April to the 15th of July, when there will be a vacation of two months. The third from the 15th of September to the 20th of December-a few days' vacation at Christmas-the second Wednesday in January being commencement day. Every student is liable for tuition fees from the day of admission to the termination of the session. The tuition fees in the literary departments must be paid in advance for each session-that is, one-third of the whole amount for the year at a time. * Ninth. Good board can be obtained in many private families in Jackson at from $10 to $12.50 per month. Tenth. A young man may enter as an irregular student provided he shall pay the same amount of tuition fees as those on a regular course. Eleventh. No student who regularly absents himself from recitations or avoids our annual examinations can retain his standing with us. His recitations and progress in study will be recorded and a transcript thereof be sent when deemed proper to his parent or guardian. Twelfth. Those who learn the modern languages must exhibit the written permission of their parents ot guardians, and must pay an extra charge of $8 per session, and as a recreation and relief from the dullness of study a student will be allowed to learn music, provided his parent or guardian shall order it, and is willing to pay an extra charge for the same, and provided, also, that it does not interfere with his regular recitations. TERMS OF TUITION. For orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, and English grammar, in the junior division of the preparatory school, $8.33 per session or $25 per annum. These, with geography and algebra in the senior division thereof, $11.66 per session or $35 per annum. For the ancient languages, or in the college classes, $15, or $45 per annum. Modern languages and music are extra charges. The tuition fee in the professional classes is $75 for the year, to be paid in advance. A matriculation fee of $5 must be paid by each student when he enters the institution. T. C. THORNTON. N. W. CAMP. DAN. MAYES. JAS. B. C. THORNTON. J. M. PUGH. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 59 The following editorial from the Mississippian of the 6th of August casts some light on this undertaking: COLLEGE IN JACKSON. We shall publish in our next the advertisement of this institution. Two sessions of the present collegiate year have expired, and the third commences next month. From what we learn there is a fair prospect for a fine school. Of this, indeed, there could be no doubt. The uniform genteel deportment of the students, their regular and studious habits, the constant good feeling which has existed between them and the citizens of Jackson, and the reciprocal regret at parting-even during the vacation-all bespeak for the college an increasing patronage. An institution of learning of this grade at the capital of our State must succeed if our citizens will take hold of it and exert themselves as they ought. The school, recitation, and lecture rooms must not be a charge on the professors or students. This, in either case, would materially injure if not break down the school. Until houses are erected for a college and preparatory school, we ought to see that the rents are not a charge on the president and professors. For years Jackson has been as it now is-one of the healthiest cities in the South or Southwest. In proof of this, extensive improvements are going on in almost every part of the city; houses of every description rent well; and among the numerous students here during the two past sessions there has hardly been a case of indisposition, much less of serious illness. Almost the whole city united in giving the students a party at the Mansion House on the evening previous to their departure. Such an array of youth and beauty we have seldom seen. Success to the college in Jackson. We have not been, nor do we intend to be, wanting in the performance of our part. Every man in Hinds County ought to take an interest in it. The whole State is interested in its success-the cause of education is the cause of our country. Attached to the college is a very respectable law class under the instruction of that distinguished jurist and professor, Hon. D. Mayes, and also a class engaged in the study of medicine, with Dr. James B. C. Thornton, the professor of natural sciences. In 1846 this institution was incorporated by the legislature under the general designation of "The College in Jackson." Dr. Thornton's hope was to get the college taken under the patronage of the city and the State, to be subsidized by them, but neither plan succeeded. The very second year revealed the result of the failure. The announcement showed a discontinuance of both the professional schools; and in the literary and classical department only three instructors, viz, T. C. Thornton, J. M. Pugh, and G. D. Mitchell. In fact, matters were even worse, for Colonel Mitchell resigned his connection with the college before any actual service in it, and formed a partnership with a Mrs. Judd to conduct a female academy. After a career of only two years the college was abandoned.1 Yet the college was not wholly without fruit. At the commencement of 1845 the following young gentlemen (some of whom had studied at Centenary College) received degrees: Asa Brundage, Russell W. Howard, Edward H. Hoard, and Nathaniel S. Lane. THE BRANDON COLLEGE. Disappointed in his "College in Jackson," Dr. Thornton still persevered. In the year 1847, accompanied by Professor Pugh, he went to 1MSS. of Hon. A. R. Green and Rev. J. M. Pugh. 60 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Brandon, and there took charge of the Male and Female Academy. There were two commodious two-story buildings-one for each sexerected in the year 1838, and having four and six fireplaces, respectively. The doctor immediately raised the curriculum to the received collegiate standard. A charter was obtained in 1849, under the general statute, by the name of Brandon College. At this institution, during his presidency, were graduated Pinckney T. Bailey, George P. Finlay, Luke W. Finlay, A. J. Ferguson, Jack D. Fore, Benjamin D. Estes, and Theodore C. Chapman. There was also graduated, with the degree of Mistress of Arts, Miss Veturia J. Finlay, who completed the entire course prescribed for young men, and was probably the first young lady in this State to graduate on that plan. In the year 1851 the Brandon College lost the services and influence of Dr. Thornton under circumstances explained under the title Madison College, and was converted into a flourishing school of lower grade. MADISON COLLEGE. In the year 1850 Dr. Thomas C. Thornton, then president of Brandon College, delivered an address at the Sharon Female College. The people were so much pleased that certain gentlemen waited on him for the purpose of securing his services in a college for young men, to be established in Sharon. Mr. James S. Pritchard visited him in Brandon, and after their consultation President Thornton and Professor Pugh determined to "transfer the charter of Brandon College to Sharon, and change the name to Madison College," upon condition that suitable buildings should be erected. To this Mr. Pritchard consented on behalf of the people of Sharon; or, perhaps more precisely, on behalf of himself, William A. Baldwin, Owen WT. Baldwin, and perhaps others. Thus Madison College was organized, the first session beginning in October, 1851. The institution had no endowment. Pursuant to the agreement with Dr. Thornton, the trustees provided at the first, and at the cost of about $1,200, for the college a building formerly used as a hotel, but afterwards a brick building was erected at a cost of $5,000, and the old hotel building sold. In the year 1855 a charter was obtained from the legislature, with liberal provisions as to powers. One of its provisions was to the effect that the buildings were to remain forever the property of the State for educational purposes. The faculty was at first composed of only Dr. Thornton and Professor Pugh, but shortly afterwards it was enlarged, and was composed as follows: Dr. Thornton, president, and professor of moral and intellectual science and sacred literature. Rev. J. M. Pugh, vice-president, and professor of mathematics, natural philosophy, and astronomy. H. W. Pierce, A. M., professor of English literature and assistant professor of moral and intellectual science. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 61 W. L. C. Hunnicutt, A. M., professor of ancient languages. J. C. Pitchford, A. M., principal of the preparatory department. William H. Hartwell, professor of music. PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT. There were two departments, collegiate and preparatory. In the latter, the course of study for the first division embraced orthography, reading and writing, first lessons in arithmetic (Schell), geography (Olney), United States history (Goodrich), mental arithmetic (Enos), English grammar and exercises (Murray), and declamation; while that of the second division embraced Latin grammar (Ruddiman), historia sacra, Caesar's Commentaries (four books; Andrews's edition), Virgil's Bucolics (Cooper or Delphini), Latin exercises (Mair), Greek grammar (Fisk), Grmca Minora, Greek exercises (Fisk), analysis Qf English language (Towns), ancient mythology (Dillaway), ancient and modern history (Goodrich), arithmetic (high school; Dodd); algebra (through simple equations; Dodd), Sallust (Butler and Sturges), composition and declamation. COLLEGIATE DEPARTMENT. Freshman class: Virgil's Eneid (six books; Cooper or Delphini), Cicero's Orations (Johnson), Latin grammar (Ruddiman.; reviewed), Latin exercises (Mair; continued), Excerpta Historica (Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon's Cyropedia and Anabasis; Graeca Majora), Greek Testament (Gospels), Greek grammar (reviewed; Fisk), Greek exercises (continued; Fisk), classical antiquities (Bojesin), arithmetic (reviewed; Dodd), algebra (continued; Dodd), plane geometry (Dodd), (mensuration of planes, solid geometry (Dodd), mensuration of solids (Dodd), maxima and minima of geometry (Dodd), ancient geography (Mitchell), ancient and modern history (2 volumes; Tytler), English grammer and exercises (Murray), philosophy of natural history (Smellie), composition and rhetoric (Quackenbos), declamation. Sophomore class: Horace's Odes and Epodes (Lincoln), Livy (Lincoln), Virgil's Georgics (Cooper or Delphini), Latin and Greek exercises (continued; Fisk), Excerpta Rhetorica (Lysias, Isocrates, and Demosthenes; Graeca Majora), Philosophica et Critica (Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle, and Longinus; Graeca Majora), Greek Testament (Acts), algebra (finished; Dodd), plane trigonometry (Dodd), surveying (theoretical and practical; Dodd), application of algebra to geometry, navigation (Dodd), spherical trigonometry (Dodd), rhetoric (Boyd), zoology (Reese), anatomy, physiology, and hygiene (Cutter), composition and declamation. Junior class: Satires, Epistles and Ars Poetica of Horace (Lincoln), Terence (Andria and Adelphi), Latin prosody and composition (Arnold), Excerpta Heroica et Tragica (Homer, Hesiod, Apollonius Rhodius, Sophocles, and Euripides; Graeca Majora), Greek prosody and composition (Arnold), Greek Testament (Epistles), conic sections, (Coffin), analytical geometry (Coffin), calculus (McCartney), mechanics (Olmsted), mental philosophy (Upham), logic (Hedges), chemistry (Silliman), evidences of Christianity (Paley), natural theology (Paley), original orations. Senior class: Germania and Agricola of Tacitus, Juvenal and Persius (Leverett), Excerpta Bucolica, lyrica et miscellana (Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus; Grmca Majora), Greek Testament (Revelations), natural philosophy (hydrostatics, pneumatics, electricity, magnetism, and optics; Olmsted), astronomy (Olmsted), meteorology (Brocklesby), moral philosophy (Paley), Butler's Analogy (with Tift's analysis), agricultural chemistry (Johnson), geology (Hitchcock), mineralogy (Dana), political economy (Say), American constitutions (Sheppard), original orations and discussions. In addition, the Hebrew and French languages were taught when desired, and also an extended course in sacred literature, embracing 62 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. the Bible in the original languages, if possible, ancient and sacred geography and chronology, Jahn's Archaeology, History of the Jews (Josephus and Robertson), Prideaux's Connection, Horne's Introduction, Hengstenberg's Christology, McEwen on the Types, Paley's Evidences and Natural Theology, Butler's Analogy, Eusebius and Mosheim, D'Aubigne's Reformation, Watson's Institutes, essays on sacred subjects-this being designed for a school of theology for young ministers. The college was provided with a scientific apparatus, which cost about $600; also a small museum, or cabinet, of curiosities, and a library of about 500 volumes. The degrees offered were the A. B., A. M., D. D., and LL. D. A literary society was organized in connection with the curriculum. The expenses of attendance were about $160 per annum. At its most prosperous period, from 1852 to 1859, the annual attendance of pupils was about 150, of whom usually about two-thirds were in the collegiate department. Some patronage was drawn from Louisiana. An interesting fact about this college was that its faculty and trustees regarded it as a continuation of the college at Jackson and of Brandon College; and the youths graduated at those schools were adopted as alumni of Madison College, and so announced in its catalogues, without even any distinction of classification. In an address on Southern Education, delivered at the Madison College commencement, July 18, 1859, the Hon. A. G. Brown, formerly governor and then a member of the United States Senate, said: The colleges, academies, and schools at Corinth, Holly Springs, Columbus, Aberdeen, Macon, Lexington, Grenada, and other places, including Zion Seminary, and Salem High School, have all contributed largely to the general sum of scholastic intelligence. I would not be invidious, and I am sure the venerable president of this college and his learned associates would not accept applause bestowed at the expense of other institutions. It is but just to say that Madison College was founded amid difficulties that would have appalled weaker hearts than those of the brave men who nurtured it in its infancy. Commencing its career in obscurity, without endowment and almost without patronage, it has struggled on, rising by slow degrees, until it has reached a position equal to thatof its more favored sisters. It is but due to its patrons to say they have contributed largely to its success. But the first honor belongs to its president. I know something of the embarrassments which surrounded him when, without money and almost without friends, he undertook the difficult task of founding this college.' His heart was in the work, and without pausing to count the obstacles in his way, like a true soldier, he marked a point of victory, and then marched boldly to that point. The people of this community, the people of Mississippi, the friends of Southern education everywhere, owe him a debt of gratitude which they can never fully repay. The weight of accumulating years fast gathers upon him. In a little while the places that know him now shall know him no more forever. When he passes away no storied urn may receive his ashes, no stately The Senator here probably alludes to the continuous history of the institution. He was the governor and living in Jackson when Dr. Thornton opened the college there, and was one of the trustees of the institution. It is of this period that these expressions could be uqed most appositely. See chapter on Centenary College. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 63 obelisk may rise to mark his resting place, but he will live in the affections of this people, and the children of parents yet unborn will bring the offering of their tender hearts, lay them on a common pile, and thus rear a monument to his memory more enduring than brass and more solid than marble, for he is and has been the friend of Southern education. All honor to President Thornton. He blends in beautiful harmony the double characters of a teacher of youth and a disciple of Christ. In the schoolroom he has taught your children how to live, and in the sacred desk he has taught them how to die. May the evening of his days be gilded with a little of that resplendent glory which awaits him in another and a better world. It would almost seem as if the Senator's tribute were moved by a prevision of coming fate. That was the last commencement the venerable and honored doctor ever saw. On the 22d of March, 1860, he passed away, being then in the sixty-sixth year of his age. A sketch of his life will be found as an addendum to the chapter on Centenary College. When Dr. Thornton died, Professor Pugh became president of the college, but held the office only during a few months. In the December following he resigned to accept the chair of mathematics in Centenary College. Prof. H. W. Pierce succeeded him as president. After the interruption of the civil war, the college was reopened. In 1866, Rev. Harvey W. Johnson was elected president. This gentleman was, in 1867, called to the presidency of Whitworth College (q. v.), and in 1868 was succeeded at Madison by Rev. W. L. C. Hunnicutt. At this time, C. B. Galloway, now bishop in the Methodist Church South, was a professor there. In the year 1870, President Hunnicutt was succeeded by Rev. J. M. Pugh. In 1872 the institution ceased to exist, perishing for want of endowment and patronage. The buildings still stand. By the terms of the charter they are property of the State. They are used for common-school purposes. OAKLAND COLLEGE. Oakland College was located in Claiborne County, 35 miles north of the city of Natchez, and 5 miles east of the Mississippi River. Rodney is the nearest landing. Bruinsburg, 3 miles north, is -the spot where General Grant crossed the river and gained possession of the rear of the city of Vicksburg, and soon that city fell. Oakland is situated in a region of country rendered interesting from many reminiscences of early times. Here was the sceneof some characteristic incidents in the life of Gen. Andrew Jackson. A few miles from the college was the residence of Blennerhassett. Here was the place of the capture of Aaron Burr. In this vicinity was the plantation of the amiable, patriotic, and lamented Gen. Zachary Taylor. This region also derives much interest from the visits and labors of some of the earliest pioneers of Presbyterianism in the Southwest. Rickhow and Smiley and Montgomery * * * here came when the dew of their youth was upon them and laid the foundation of' our [Presbyterian] churches. Here visited and preached Schermerhorn, and S. J. Mills, and Larned, and Bullen, and many others whose praise is in our [Presbyterian] Southern Zion. The eccentric Lorenzo Dow here rode his mule and blew his horn, and attracted crowds of the first settlers, preaching on house tops and haystacks, resembling Peter the Hermit, who once marshaled all Europe under the Crusader's banner.' 1Reminiscences, Sketches and Addresses, Rev. J. R. Hutchinson, 1852. 64 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. The origin of Oakland College may be traced to Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Chamberlain. Jeremiah Chamberlain was born in Gettysburg, Pa., in the year 1795, of pious Presbyterian parents. At an early age he entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle, and received from that institution his degree of Bachelor of Arts. Here he is supposed to have experienced that change which led to his dedication of himself to the ministry. He pursued his theological studies at the seminary at Princeton, where he graduated in the spring of 1817. He was licensed to preach by the, Presbytery of New Brunswick, and accepted a commission from the General Assembly's Board of Domestic Missions in 1817. Choosing the Southwest as the field of his labor, he proceeded, early in 1818, to Mobile, where, it is said, no Protestant minister had ever before preached. In the summer of 1818 he returned to his native State, having accepted a call to the church in Bedford, where he also conducted an academy. In 1822, at the early age of 27, he was elected president of Center College, and removed to Danville, Ky. In December, 1826, he assumed the presidency of the College of Louisiana, at Jackson, but the attempt was made to lay unacceptable restrictions on him in the exercise of his ministerial functions, and in the spring of 1829 he resigned. He then devoted himself, for a short time, to teaching pupils in a private academy established by himself. At this period it was that he was led to reflect upon the importance and practicability of establishing a college which should be under the care and supervision of the Presbyterian Church. The primary motive that directed him to the framing of this project was the hope that, could the opportunity of obtaining an adequate education be furnished upon their own soil, many pious youth in the Southwest would be induced to avail themselves of it, and thus a native ministry be provided for this destitute and neglected field. At that time no college commencement had ever been held, nor had a single scholar ever been graduated, southwest of Tenuessee, nor had a single educated native of Mississippi ever entered the ministry. [Nor was there then] a single college prepared to give a regular collegiate education within the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Territory of Arkansas-containing a population at that time of more than 300,000 souls, and a tract of country of more than 145,000 square miles, embracing the growing city of New Orleans, and other cities, with a soil capable of sustaining a vast population. Efforts had been made by the legislature of Louisiana, with princely liberality, to establish several institutions of learning, all of which had virtually failed. In the State of Mississippi exertions had been made for nearly thirty years * * and yet not one individual was known to have been graduated. The religious community had done nothing. Dr. Chamberlain submitted his plan to the consideration of the Presbytery of Mississippi first at a meeting held in the town of Baton Rouge, La., in April, 1829. It was at once approved of.2 A committee was accordingly appointed, who, after an extensive correspondence continued through several months, called a meeting of the friends of education at Bethel Church, 2 miles from the subsequent location of the college, on the 14th of January, 1830. This meeting was composed of gentlemen from the parishes of East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, and West Feliciana, in Louisiana, and from the counties of Claiborne, Amite, Wilkinson, Adams, Jefferson, 'Reminiscences, Hutchinson. 2Memorial sermon by Dr. Stratton, 1851. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 65 Warren, Hinds, and Madison, in Mississippi, and continued six days The following resolution was presented by Rev. Benjamin Chase, chairman of the committee: Resolved, That it is expedient to establish and endow an institution of learning within our bounds which when complete shall embrace the usual branches of science and literature taught in the colleges of our country, together with a preparatory English and grammar school and theological professorship or seminary. This resolution was sustained by gentlemen from every part of the country represented in the meeting, and after considering it for three days it was unanimously adopted. A subscription was immediately opened to supply the requisite funds. Twelve thousand dollars were contributed for the purchase of a site and the erection of necessary buildings. Committees were appointed to prepare a constitution, to view the various locations which had been spoken of, and to make all necessary arrangements for opening the school. The Presbytery of Mississippi, embracing at that time all the Presbyterian ministers in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas, received the proposed seminary under its care, adopted a constitution, appointed a board of trustees and the president of the college, and fixed the location within 3 miles of Bethel Church, in Claiborne County, Miss. The reason why the college was located in so retired a spot was this: At that time no town or city in the Southwest was deemed sufficiently healthy or sufficiently moral to be the seat of a college. On the 14th of May the school opened with three pupils (" as a mere grammar school," says Dr. Chamberlain') who had accompanied the president, the Rev. Jeremiah Chamberlain, D. D., from Jackson, La., where he had been presiding for some time over the College of Louisiana. On the 2d of July, 1830, the first clearing was begun on the magnificent Oak Ridge, now occupied by the college buildings. Dr. Chamberlain's own "sturdy arm" felled the first tree. At the end of the session, March 28, the school consisted of 65 pupils. The two more advanced formed a sophomore class, and there were five in the freshman class; the remainder were in the English and classical schools. The president instructed the two college classes and the classical school in the languages, and his brother, Mr. John Chamberlain, afterwards professor of chemistry and natural philosophy, instructed the classes in mathematics and in the English school. In the winter of 1831 a charter was received from the legislature of the State. In this charter it is designated as "The Institution of Learning, under the care of the Mississippi Presbytery." In 1833 the first commencement was held, and Mr. James M. Smiley, recent vice-chancellor of the State'of Mississippi, was the first graduate of Oakland College. His classmate, William Montgomery, son of Rev. William Montgomery, one of our oldest [Presbyterian] ministers, who expected to receive his degree at the same time, was removed by death about three weeks before the commencement. This is believed to be the first commencement [at a male college] south of Tennessee, and Judge Smiley is the first native Mississippian who received the degree of A. B. in his own State [in fact, the first man to receive a degree from any institution in this State]. The leading and primary object of.the founders of Oakland College was to raise up in the Southwest a native ministry. An unknown donor contributed $25,000 to endow a theological professorship. In 1837 the presbytery of Mississippi, who at that time controlled the college, elected Rev. Zebulon Butler, D. D., temporary professor until a permanent arrangement could be made. In a short time the Rev. S. Beach Jones, of New Jersey, was elected professor. The theological professorship continued until the year 1841, and many young men, not merely of the Presbyterian, but of other churches, entered the ministry.2 House Journal, 1840, p. 309. 2Reminiscences, Sketches, and Addresses; Hutchinson, pp. 21, 33, 244. 21785-No. 24- 5 66 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. In the year 1839 the college was transferred to the care of the synod of Mississippi; under this management it remained until 1871. To Governor McNutt, Dr. Chamberlain made a report in 1840 in reference to Oakland College from which these extracts are taken: We have 250 acres of land (given by Mr. Robert Cochran, now deceased), and subscriptions to above $100,000, near one-half of which is due in the form of a permanent fund. Our buildings are a president's house, a professor's house, a steward's house, and fifteen cottages for lodging students, calculated to contain from six to eight students each. The first story of a main building, 100 by 65 feet, is now raised, and the house shall be finished three stories high so soon as funds will warrant it. No attempts have been made to procure a library. About 1,000 volumes have been contributed, and about $1,500 for philosophical apparatus. About 3,000 volumes belong to the literary societies belonging to the college. The names of the founders of the college are too numerous to be all given in a letter of this kind. They are from $1 to $20,000. Nothing has been received from the State or any public fund. Besides the board of trustees, who were the principal original contributors, several of whom have given $5,000 and upward, I will mention a few others who have given $5,000 and upwards, viz, Alvarez Fisk, Dr. Stephen Duncan, Dr. John Ker, Dr. Metcalf, Mr. John Routh, Mr. Thomas Henderson, Mr. Alex. Henderson, Mr. Francis Surget, Mr. Alexander Ross, Mrs. Priscilla McGill, and a few others. Those who have given smaller sums have, generally, been not less liberal in proportion to their means. * * * The college consists of an English school, a classical school, and college proper. In the college we have a theological professorship, which is intended to lay the foundation of a theological seminary. Six young men have been licensed to preach the gospel in the Baptist and Presbyterian churches. Young men are nowhere preparing for the Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. The great mass, however, are preparing for planters, physicians, and lawyers. Ever since our commencement in 1830 we have sustained, entirely, from two to twelve indigent young men annually for the various departments of professional life. ' The gentleman who made the magnificent donation of $20,000 alluded to by President Chamberlain was Dr. John Ker, son of the Dr. Ker whose life was noticed in a previous chapter. This liberal and public-spirited son of a noble sire would never consent that his name should be disclosed as the generous donor. Now, however, that death has rendered it impossible to offend his modesty, it has been deemed proper that his generosity should be remembered.2 To take up again the narrative of Professor Hutchinson, of date 1852: Such was the origin of Oakland College, an institution which has aided in the education of nearly 1,000 native youth, and which now has on the roll of its graduates 120 alumni, who are scattered throughout the Southwest, and occupied in the cultivation of the soil or in the learned professions. And the writer believes that there is not on the list of the graduates of Oakland College a single name upon which rests a blemish of dishonor or immorality. And the large number of those educated young men who assemble annually in the groves and halls of their alma mater is a pleasing token of their interest and affection and guaranty of what the institution may hereafter expect from the influence and character of her own sons. The necessary buildings and accommodations for students and teachers have been provided as the wants of the institution have required. There are at this time (1852) about thirty cottages for the occupancy of the pupils, residences for the presi' House Journal, 1840, p. 309. 2 Letter from Dr. Stratton, Dr. Ker's pastor.. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 67 dent and professors, two handsome halls for the literary societies, with libraries attached; a college library of upward of 4,000 volumes; a philosophical, chemical, and astronomical apparatus, which cost nearly $4,000; a main college of brick, 112 by 60 feet, containing a college chapel, prayer hall, lecture rooms, and other requisite accommodations. The institution has never received any aid from the State or General Government. Its funds have been provided entirely from private liberality. And these funds would now be sufficient to sustain the college were it not for some unfortunate investments a few years since in the banks of the State.' On the 5th of September, 1851, Dr. Chamberlain was stabbed and slain by a resident of the vicinity. He died in the fifty-seventh year of his age. On the 18th of December following the Rev. Joseph B. Stratton, now of Natchez, delivered- at the college a discourse on his life and character, from which the following extract is taken: That his character was no ordinary one the history of his achievements sufficiently indicates. His intellectual endowments and acquirements, without being brilliant or profound, were such as qualified him to be a ready and clear-sighted student, and an able and perspicuous instructor. His life was too crowded with extraneous duties to allow him the opportunity to seek the scholastic eminence which otherwise would have been easily accessible to him. It was rather as the man of practical energy, of high-toned loyalty to principle, of self possessed sobriety, of forethought and foresightedness, of fertility of invention and aptness in execution, of firmness tempered by suavity, of strict uprightness and disinterested devotion to whatever his heart and conscience approved; it is rather as the paternal counselor, the warm-hearted friend, the cheerful companion, the sincere and simple preacher with the clear doctrine of Scripture ever on his lip, and the tear of emotion often in his eye, as the comforter in sorrow, and the helping brother to all who asked his sympathy or his aid-it is in such characters as these that Dr. Chamberlain won distinction, and merited all he won. To resume again the broken thread of Professor Hutchinson's narrative, as of the date 1852: Although President Chamberlain thus fell, so cruelly, so suddenly, yet Oakland College did not fall with him. It still lives, and shall live, a monument of his fame, and a blessing to the present and future generations. And as it is the ordainment of Heaven that martyr blood becomes precious seed whence springs undying truth, we doubt not that the great principle in this instance, as in others, will be fully developed. No sooner was Oakland's chief founder and first president cut down than the true and firm friends of the institution began to rally. Precisely one year has elapsed since the sad event occurred, and in that year much has been done to place the college upon a firm and permanent basis. Upward of $60,000 has been contributed to pay its debts and meet its more immediate wants. The name of its first president is to be perpetuated by the investment of a permanent fund, to be called the "Chamberlain Fund," the interest of which is to pay the salary of his successor. Overtures have been made from a distant source to found a professorship of natural science, and from various other sources are cheering indications that this infant seat of learning, which has struggled so long and done so much, will yet become the glory of the South and a rich blessing to the, future generations. The present faculty are: Rev. R. L. Stanton, D. D., president and professor of moral sciences; Rev. J. R. Hutchinson, D. D., professor of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages; T. Newton Wilson, A. M., professor of mathematics; W. Le Roy Broun, A. M., professor of chemistry and natural philosophy; H. B. Underhill, A. M., principal of the preparatory department; James Collier, esq., steward. 'Reminiscences, Hutchinson, p. 21. Ibid., p. 27. 68 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. President Stanton, who was still living in 1883, was unquestionably a man of rare mental acumen and vigor. Dr. Hutchinson, from whose Reminiscences such liberal quotation has been made, was the most conspicuous among the professors. He was called from the pastoral charge of the church in Vicksburg, in 1842, to the chair of ancient languages, and continued in that position until 1854. His natural capacities were good, his scholarship respectable, and in his earlier years he was regarded as a preacher of unusual power. President Stanton was succeeded by the Rev. James Purviance, D.D., who combined with an almost chivalric nobleness of character a sound common sense and a well-cultivated intellect. His influence upon the students was peculiarly happy. From an old catalogue of 1855-56 the following data are gleaned: FACULTY. Rev. James Purviance, D. D., president and professor of mental and moral philosophy, etc. Rev. J. E. C. Doremus, A. M., professor of the Latin and Greek languages and literature. Rev. W. D. Moore, A. M., professor of natural science. Robert Patterson, A. M., professor of mathematics. F. M. Stevens, A. M., principal of the preparatory department. QUALIFICATIONS FOR ADMISSION. Applicants for admission to the freshman class are examined in Casar's Commentaries (four books), Sallust, Virgil, ZEneid (four books), Greek reader, Xenophon's Anabasis (three books), or an equal amount in other Latin and Greek authors; also in Bullion's, Crosby's, Andrews's, and Stoddard's, or Adams's grammars of the Latin and Greek languages, respectively; in Davies' elementary algebra, and three books of Legendre's geometry, and in the usual elementary studies of the preparatory course. Applicants for admission to advanced classes are examined in the previous studies of the college course. PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT. The preparatory department supplies all the usual elementary instruction in two divisions, English and classical; and also furnishes such higher branches as students wishing to pursue only a scientific course may require. STUDIES AND TEXT-BOOKS. English grammar (Bullion), geography (Mitchell), composition, natural philosophy, chemistry, arithmetic, and mathematics of the scientific course (Davies), rhetoric (Jamieson), and declamation. Bullion's Latin lessons, grammar, and reader; Caesar (Bullion), Sallust (Butler and Sturgus), Cicero's Orations, Virgil, Greek reader (Bullion), Xenophon's Anabasis (Owen). LITERARY SOCIETIES. The Belles-Lettres Society and the Adelphic Institute have elegant and commodious halls, and furnish in their exercises and emulations valuable aid to intellectual improvement. THE SOCIETY OF INQUIRY. This society by its exercises and investigations, conducted by the students under the superintendence of the president of the college, gives much interest to the "monthly concert" and affords great incentives to moral improvement. DEAD COLLEGES OF MISSISSIPPI. 69 CABINET. It is a source of high gratification to be able to announce that the extensive and valuable cabinet of minerals, fossils, specimens of natural history, and curiosities, presented to the college by the Rev. B. Chase, of Natchez, will soon be arranged in the room appropriated to its use. APPARATUS AND LIBRARY. The facilities afforded for study and illustration in the department of natural science are such as to give the highest encouragement to students therein. The library of the college, like all libraries, needs additions; yet many rare and valuable books make it respectable. COURSE OF STUDIES. FRESHMAN CLASS. Virgil; Latin composition (Arnold); Roman antiquities. Horace's Odes (Lincoln); prosody. Xenophon's Cyropedia (Owen); Greek composition (Arnold). Homer's Iliad, begun (Owen). Algebra (Davies' Bourdon). Geometry, six books (Legendre). SOPHOMORE CLASS. Rhetoric (Jamieson); history; Jewish antiquities. Constitution of the United States. Horace (Lincoln); Livy (Lincoln); Homer's Iliad (Owen). Xenophon's Memorabilia (Robbins); Grecian antiquities; Greek composition. Botany (Darby and Gray). Geometry completed; trigonometry, plane and spherical (Davies). Mensuration; surveying and navigation (Davies). JUNIOR CLASS. Rhetoric (Blair); logic (Hedge); natural theology (Paley). Evidences of Christianity (Alexander). Tacitus (Tyler); Latin comedy; Thucydides (Owen). (Edypus Tyrannus (Crosby); or Antigone (Woolsey). Natural philosophy (Olmsted). Mechanics (Olmsted); astronomy (Olmsted). Conic sections (Bridge). SENIOR CLASS. Cicero (de Officiis, etc.); Demosthenes on the Crown (Champlin). Greek tragedy (optional). Mental philosophy (Upham); moral philosophy (Alexander). Political economy (Wayland or Say). Astronomy, concluded (Olmsted); inorganic chemistry (Silliman). Geology (lectures); organic chemistry (lectures). Analytical geometry (Loomis). Differential and integral calculus (Loomis). President Purviance was succeeded by the Rev. William L. Breckenridge, who assumed the office in 1860. He brought with him a reputation for personal force, pulpit power, and erudition which was almost 70 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. national. The troubles incident to the war, which so soon followed his accession, made his term of service a short and, to a great extent, a fruitless one. The last president was the Rev. Joseph Calvin, D. D. He was called, after the war ceased, to preside over the institution when it was almost in a state of dissolution. Though young in years, he was said to be one of the ripest scholars of his day. His career was cut short by an early death, and at his decease, the doors of Oakland College were virtually closed. The college remained a synodical institution until the year 1871, when, in consequence of the failure of its resources through the disastrous effect of the recent war and under the overwhelming pressure of debt, the synod resolved to sell the college buildings to the State of Mississippi for the purpose of founding the Alcorn University for colored young men. The funds of all sorts remaining in the hands of the trustees, after the payment of all the debts of the institution, were conveyed by synod to the Presbytery of Mississippi in 1876, upon condition that the Presbytery should establish at some eligible point within its bounds an " institution of liberal Christian learning." The gift was accepted, and in pursuance of the terms upon which it was made, a charter was obtained for the Chamberlain-Hunt Academy. CHAMBERLAIN-HUNT ACADEMY. Chapter V. CHAMBERLAIN-HUNT ACADEMY AND FRANKLIN ACADEMY. CHAMBERLAIN-HUNT ACADEMY. Port Gibson was selected as the seat of this institution. Under this form the enterprise inaugurated forty-seven years before by the Presbytery of Mississippi returned to its care; and in this second stage of its history is giving evidence of a vitality which promises to realize in part, if not completely, all the ends projected by the founders of Oakland College.1 There was considerable competition among the towns of the State to secure for themselves the location of the new school. Port Gibson, a pretty and historic town of about 1,500 inhabitants (now situated on the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railroad), offered the greatest inducements, and was accordingly chosen to be the site. In the year 1877 the new institution was chartered by the legislature under the name of Chamberlain-Hunt, in honor of Dr. Chamberlain, and of one of the most generous and zealous of the founders of Oakland College. This was David Hunt, a planter and a native of New Jersey. "A man farseeing, sagacious, thrifty, and successful, and so dowered with the Midas touch, that with him all things prospered. Oakland was his foster child, and without stint he lavished on her of his great wealth. Coming from her commencements, he was wont to say, as he returned to his home, 12 miles distant, 'Oakland shall not be a failure.' He esteemed her his investments; and her graduates, the proceeds, the dividends of his favorite stock. Save John McDonough and Judah Touro, in his generation he doubtless gave more to education and to humane and philanthropic institutions than any man in the Southwest.1"2 The first session of Chamberlain-Hunt Academy was that of 1879. The buildings are mainly brick; large, commodious, well ventilated, and in good repair. The study hall and recitation room are supplied with patent furniture. A library room, containing about 2,000 volumes, is open to the students at all hours. The endowment is about $40,000. GRADUATION. When a pupil has successfully completed seven of the eleven schools, always including Latin and mathematics, he will be awarded a diploma, with the title of graduate. Expenses per year, for day scholars, are $25; for boarders, $155. 1 Minutes of Mississippi Presbytery, 1882-83, pp. 40-42. 2 Dr. Markham, in the Southern Presbyterian, of July 19, 1888. 71 72 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. COURSE OF STUDY. The whole course is divided into the eleven schools following: English language, mathematics, history, English literature, natural sciences, Latin, Greek, German, French, bookkeeping and Bible history. TEXT-BOOKS USED. PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT. [Candidates for admission to this department must read well in the third book of any of the popular readers, and be able to solve examples under the four fundamental rules of arithmetic.] Swinton's Speller (the Word Primer and the Word Book), Lippincott's Readers, Sanford's Arithmetic, Swinton's History of the United States, Monteith's Primary Geography, Monteith's Manual, Butler's English Grammar. ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT. Spelling.-Westlake's 3,000 Practice Words, Webster's High School Dictionary. History.-Barnes's History of the United States, Swinton's Outlines. Mathematics.-Sanford's Higher Arithmetic, Davies' Elementary Algebra, Ray's Higher Algebra, Brooks' Geometry, Wentworth's Geometry, Ray's Trigonometry and Surveying. Latin.-Smith's Principia, Bingham's Grammar, Caesar, Chase's Virgil and Cicero's Select Orations, Gildersleeve's Grammar and Exercise Book. Greek.-Harkness's Course, with Xenophon's Anabasis and Memorabilia. French.-Keetels's Collegiate Grammar, with notes and original exercises; Keetels's Analytical Reader; Selections from Moliere and Racine. German.-Whitney's Brief Grammar; Grimm's Kinder- und Hausmarchen, edited by W. H. van der Smissen; Whitney's Reader. Natural science.-Steele's Physiology, Physics, Chemistry, and Astronomy; Maury's Physical Geography. English.-Reed and Kellogg's Graded Lessons; Reed and Kellogg's Lessons in Higher English; Hart's Rhetoric. English literature.-Shaw's Manual. Bookkeeping.-Groesbeck's. Faculty.-W. C. Guthrie, A. B. (Washington and Lee University, Virginia), principal; G. Hann, A. M. (Center College, Kentucky); J. M. Allen, A. B. (Washington and Lee University, Virginia); E. R. Leyburn, A. B. (Washington and Lee University, Virginia); Rev. D. A. Planck (instructor in Bible history, Princeton, N. J.). The attendance of pupils is about 120 per annum, quite a number coming from Louisiana. FRANKLIN ACADEMY. All things considered, this is one of the most noteworthy schools in the State. Founded as a chartered institution in 1821, it has enjoyed an unbroken existence of, now, seventy years. It was founded almost in the wilderness, and was by twenty-four years the first free school of note and permanent establishment in the State. Its charter members were William Cocke, William Leech, David Kincaid, Gideon Lincecum, Robert D. Haden, Richard Barry, Thomas Townsend, Silas McBee, and John Deck. FRANKLIN ACADEMY. 73 It is, and was in its origin, one of the sixteenth-section schools. Under its charter the lands of the section set apart for its support were plotted into streets and lots. The lots were leased for terms of ninety-nine years, and constitute now, at the least, two-thirds of the city of Columbus. At that time the county of Monroe, formed of such portion of the Chickasaw Cession of 1816 as lay within the boundaries of Mississippi, was isolated from the residue of the State by intervening lands of the Choctaws. However, that region was comparatively accessible from the fact that General Jackson, on his return from New Orleans, had penetrated it, and opened the road known as the " Military Road." When, therefore, a United States land office was opened at Columbus it, and the excellence of that newly acquired territory, attracted a rapid influx of population. The country was quickly settled and the town grew rapidly in size and consequence. One of the first things done was the establishment of the Franklin Academy, which developed at a very early day into a first-class school. The town itself sprang into notice as an educational center. It attracted a class of citizens more like those of the long-settled communities of the original thirteen States than were the settlers of any other locality in the State except those of Natchez and its vicinity. This standard of citizenship and of educational culture has been steadily maintained. The academy was organized and established unUer its charter, as already stated, in 1821. The fund arising from the leases of the sixteenth section steadily increased from that time until 1837, when it reached its maximum, near $8,000 per annum. During this period the academy was the most prominent school of that country. It was finely located on ample grounds; had distinct male and female departments, with substantial brick buildings for each, and was equipped with full geographical, astronomical, chemical, and philosophical apparatus. Under the guidance and care of a prudent board of trustees and of a competent corps of teachers for each department, an advanced collegiate course was offered to the pupils. In the spring of the year 1836 Prof. Robert Bruce Witter took charge of the male department. He was a teacher of experience and ability, having been for thirteen years devoted to that profession. His assistants were a Mr. Norris and a Mr. Archibald. In the early part of the year 1837 Mrs. M. A. Innes and a Mrs. Morris were at the head of the female department. About September a Mr. Swift was placed in charge. At this time the full corps of teachers for both departments was five, and the attendance ranged from 150 to 250 pupils per session. The teachers were elected every six months, while the trustees themselves were held to a rigorous responsibility by annual election at the hands of the people of the town. The board included always some of the most prominent and influential citizens.1 1 The Southern Argus, February 27, 1838, and June 24, 1837. 74 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Mr. Swift's health was poor, and in June, 1838, he was succeeded by the Rev. H. Ried.1 At this time the great financial convulsion was in progress. The distress consequent upon it culminated in Mississippi in 1839 and 1840. In common with all other interests Franklin Academy suffered severely. A system was inaugurated of forfeiting the leases and of re-leasing the forfeited premises at greatly reduced rates. This was done by a common consent, as it were. It was apologized for and excused by the argument and fact that the most central and valuable lots of the town were leased at from 25 cents up to a few dollars, whereas those on the very border of the sixteenth section were leased at from $50 to $100. This system of forfeiture and re-lease was continued until the income of the academy from that source was reduced to the comparatively small amount of $2,398.56. Meanwhile, and during that period of depression, a sentiment sprung up as to the management of the academy. It was to the effect that the "free school" was intended to benefit the poorer classes, and that those able to educate their children should not crowd out this class, which was largely done by the high curriculum. This point was agitated until a revolution in the management was accomplished, and the grade of the institution reduced from that of a first-class collegiate school to that of a preparatory one. The following extracts, made from a report of the trustees dated July 29, 1839, will illustrate this phase of the academy's history: The increasing number of pupils, which now amounts to more than 300, presents a very serious consideration to the citizens of this township-whether, with the present means, all the children can be educated at this institution should the number exceed the present only 100. And it is more than probable that this event a year or two hence will happen. T6 guard to some extent from the evil effect of thus overburdening the institution with scholars above the means to supply it with teachers, the trustees have been induced to attempt a reorganization of the system of instruction at the next session upon a different plan from that heretofore pursued, under the belief that the one proposed combines greater advantages, both in point of discipline and in affording a larger amount of instruction with the same amount of labor. By reference to the course of study annexed below (which applies to the male department alone-the course for the female department is similar, except that it is not so full in its range of studies) it will be seen that it embraces a very extensive plan of English education, fully equal to that taught in most of the colleges in the United States, excepting the Latin and Greek languages. Those last-named branches are omitted in the regular studies under the belief that the wants of the community do not demand their introduction into the institution. But in order to obviate difficulty or disappointment on this subject, as the academy is public property and intended for the instruction of all, and some parents may wish to give their sons a collegiate education, we have determined, after the first three-years' course in the school proper, that those who may desire it can be taught the Latin and Greek languages. Such, however, will not be able to pursue the studies of the higher classes, nor will they be necessary, for they can acquire them at college. * I * Past experience in conducting the academy has demonstrated the great difficulty, I The Southern Argus, June 26, 1838. FRANKLIN ACADEMY. 75 and we might say almost impossibility, for three teachers to instruct nearly 200 scholars, where each one was of necessity compelled to teach all the various studies to upward of 60 pupils in his separate department. He could not have less than eight classes in his school, and if each had three studies, he would have twenty-four recitations a day. Upon this plan, to conduct the school efficiently it would require twelve teachers instead of the six now employed. We have aimed to correct this evil by not permitting any two of the instructors to teach the same branches. Thus all pursuing the same studies throughout the whole school will be united into one class, who will recite to all the teachers instead of one alone. By this means we expect to reduce the number of classes more than one half, and of course more time can be devoted to instruction and illustration. The male and female departments will be kept entirely distinct, but the same plan of studies will be used by both. The present income of the institution, arising from the leases of the lots, is $5,130.75. * * * We have elected as principal of the male department Mr. James T. Hoskins, and Messrs. J. Woodville Payne and J. H. Tracy assistant teachers; in the female department Miss C. Mathieson as principal, and Mrs. Jordan and Mrs. Blackwood as assistant teachers. SCHOOL PROPER. Fifth year.-History, Tytler's; geometry, Davies' Legendre; trigonometry, Davies'; astronomy; chemistry, Jones's conversational; mental philosophy, Abercrombie and Watts'; composition, and elocution. Sixth year.-History, surveying, engineering; calculus, Davies'; moral philosophy, Paley's; political economy, Wayland's; government, Political Class Book; geology, Hitchcock's; mineralogy, composition, forensic disputations. This reorganization considerably and immediately increased the attendance of pupils at the academy. For the session of 1839-40 there was an enrollment in the two departments of between 400 and 500 pupils; but yet there was dissatisfaction. The change of administration seems to have given offense to some. In July, 1841, a communication appeared in the Argus criticising "the new experiment now being tried in Columbus (at the academy, evidently) of teaching our children to spell before they learn their alphabet." "Indeed," says the writer, "I am informed that in a few sessions they will know more than their trammeled sires have acquired in a lifetime." The argument, lengthily and elegantly presented, is the same old conservative one-opposition to novelties, the need for a progressive development, etc. "The opponents of the old system contend that too much attention is paid to words to the neglect of ideas. We reply that too much attention can not be paid to words. Hence we are in favor of the ancient languages, because they give the habit of a nice discrimination in the use of words, and thus afford copiousness of expression. Words suggest ideas, and are not only the vehicle of our thoughts, but the very body in which they appear to ourselves. We think in propositions, and in proportion to the propriety and definitions of our words will be those of our ideas." The institution was, in fact, entering on a sea of troubles. Besides the friction almost inseparable from the conduct of public schools on a basis of popular suffrage, there was the special and very serious obstacle 76 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. of a collapsing treasury. The paralyzing influence of debt became perceptible. The following editorial extract from the Argus of January 4, 1842, will be useful here: The male department has been under the charge of Mr. J. J. W. Payne, as principal, and Mr. S. Norris, assistant, and the female department under the charge of Mr. McLean and lady. One hundred pupils have been connected with the male department of this institution during the past session. The following are the classes in this department: Three Latin classes-text-books, Virgil, Casar, and Historma Sacrae; one Greek class-text-book, Jacobs' Greek Reader; three English grammar classes; two classes in mental arithmetic; three classes in Smiley's Arithmetic; geography class; natural philosophy class; two reading and spelling classes; two history classes. The number of pupils in the female department during the past session was 95; number examined, 83; in spelling and definition, 10; in English grammar and parsing, 18; in algebra, 3; geometry, 3; rhetoric, 3; natural philosophy, 18; botany, 4; geology, 2; history, 3; mythology, 1; two geography classes; Latin grammar, 6; Historme Sacrfe, 2; Virgil, 2; Caesar, 1, and many in arithmetic in various stages of advancement. This institution for several years past has been encumbered with a heavy indebtedness, which has to a great degree paralyzed its efficiency. * * i Since, however, the present instructors and former and present board of trustees have had charge of the institution the indebtedness has been gradually lessened; * * and the institution may now be considered equal to any in the country. In future the whole school will be divided into classes, and the number of branches which are to be studied by any pupil at the same time is not to exceed two. This arrangement will remedy one of the most threatening defects of the present fashionable mode of instruction. At a meeting of the citizens of Columbus convened at the Franklin Academy on the night of the 4th of March, 1842, the Rev. James A. Lyon was called to the chair, and Sterling H. Lester was appointed secretary. Mr. James Whitfield explained the object of the meeting to be to take into consideration the proper method of using and appropriating the school fund arising from the lease of the sixteenth section of this township to the purposes contemplated by Congress in the donation of the sixteenth section of every township for the purpose of education; and also to agree upon a ticket for the election of trustees favorable to the views that may be agreed upon by this meeting. The meeting was then addressed, at the call of sundry persons, by Messrs. Topp, Bibb, and Dr. Winter. The latter gentleman, after a few preliminary remarks, read the following plan for the management of the Franklin Academy and the appropriation of the school fund belonging to this township, to wit: "First. The Franklin Academy to be continued in operation. 'Second. That every citizen of the township shall have the privilege of sending his children to this institution. " Third. That citizens residing in the township 2 miles from the Franklin Academy, or having an impassable natural barrier between them and the Franklin Ac.ademy, shall have paid to them their proportion of the fund arising from the lease of the sixteenth section, by presenting a certificate of the neighboring teacher that the children or child have been to school the length of time specified in the certificate, and have been engaged in studying the branches which are taught free of charge in the Franklin Academy. "Fourth. That the students of the Franklin Academy shall be divided into five classes and be taught the following branches: "First class. Reading, writing, and arithmetic. " Second class. English grammar, rhetoric, geography, chemistry, natural, moral, FRANKLIN ACADEMY. 77 and mental philosophy, history, and composition, with their correlative and kindred sciences. "Third class. Mathematics, astronomy, civil engineering, law of nations, belleslettres, and elocution, with their correlative and kindred sciences. "Fourth class. French, Spanish, German, and Italian languages. "Fifth class. Ancient languages. "Fifth. The first class-reading, writing, and arithmetic-to be taught free of charge to the children of citizens residing in this township, and as many of the other classes as the public funds will pay for-observing the order of second, third, fourth, and fifth classes entirely if the fund be sufficient, and so of the third, fourth, and fifth classes successively. "Sixth. No teacher to have charge of more than 30 regular students, provided the public fund prove sufficient to employ a proper number of teachers to instruct all the students in the first class without increasing the number to more than 30. "Seventh. Students not to engage in the study of more than two sciences at the same time, and to continue them until they are well learned or changed by the direction of the teacher. "Eighth. No child to be absent on days of general examination, and if absent without a satisfactory excuse to be subject to suspension for not less than one nor more than three months. "We should, if the public fund shall be increased by any means so as to authorize such a measure, be in favor of renting or purchasing some building conveniently situated and setting it apart for the exclusive accommodation of the female children, retaining the present buildings for the males." After this plan was read, Dr. Lipscomb being called on, addressed the meeting upon the propriety of discontinuing the Franklin Academy, renting out the buildings, and distributing the lease fund to all the children in the township in an equal proportion. Dr. Owen was then called, and addressed the chair in favor of the union of the lease funds, for the support of the Franklin Academy, and in reply to the arguments from the opposition. At the conclusion of Dr. Owen's address, S. H. Lester introduced a resolution to induce the meeting to come to some definite action upon the subject; whereupon Colonel Graves made a motion to amend, which being agreed to by Mr. Lester, Colonel Graves proceeded to make some very forcible and relevant remarks upon the whole subject as discussed, and the various means by which the Franklin Academy might, in time, be increased to a college equal to William and Mary of Virginia. He was followed by Messrs Mitchell, 0. P. Brown, and Colonel Holderness, who made some inquiries and remarks of explanation. The resolution as amended was then read by Mr. Lester, to the following purport: "Resolved, That this meeting will support for trustees such men as will sustain the Franklin Academy and observe in their administration the improvements introduced by Dr. Winter, so far as is practicable at the present time, and who will continue the whole of the lease fund in its support, except so much of said fund as shall be apportioned to the use of the children of this township living 2J miles from the Franklin Academy." The question was then put by the chair upon the adoption of this resolution as amended, and decided in the affirmative by a unanimous vote, except one or two voices. On motion, the following gentlemen, to wit, Whitfield, Winter, Fields, Owen, Graves, Bartee, and Lester were appointed a committee to agree upon a ticket for trustees who would carry into effect the views of this meeting. JAMES A. LYON, Chairman, S. H. LESTER, Secretary. 78 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. The committee met at 9 o'clock on the next day and nominated the following gentlemen to compose the Franklin Academy ticket, viz, John S. Topp, R. M. Taliaferro, James Whitfield, James H. Tate, and P. B. Wade. The election on the same day resulted in the success of the entire ticket.' The modified plan was immediately put into operation; without, however, any change in the teachers. The first class was free; the second, third, and fourth classes were required to pay tuition fees of $4, $8, and $12, respectively, per session of four months.2 Such were the forming processes through which this school passed. Space is wanting in which to follow the history step by step. Suffice it to say, that under the modified plan just given more attention was paid to elementary education and less to the higher, until aS an incidental result there were established the celebrated Columbus Female Institute and the Odd Fellows' High Male School. The academy continued under this character of management until the destruction by fire of the Odd Fellows' school building, when it again began to attract strongly the public attention, and gradually reattained its former high grade, and that grade it now maintains. From the organization of Franklin Academy, in 1821, to the present time (1891), its doors have been open and its forms filled for a period of nine months in each year. In the winter of 1875-76, and by the white legislature, a change was made in the charter, by which a branch of the academy was created for the use and benefit of the colored people of the township. For the accommodation of that branch the buildings used by a school established under the auspices of the Freedman's Bureau were purchased. This branch has also been uniformly kept open for nine months in each year, thus largely exceeding the period required by the general law. Since the adoption of the constitution of 1869, in which there is provision for public schools, the revenue of the academy has been increased by its pro rata of the State school funds, its annual receipts from this source being about $1,800, the amount varying with the receipts from liquor licenses throughout the State. From the county school tax under the general law of the State the academy derives as its pro rata about $10,000 per annum. For several years past this income has not been wholly expended, and the accumulated surplus of about $12,000 is now being used in the erection of an additional school building of brick, three stories high, with fine architectural proportions and with all the conditions of improved sanitation. This building is now just completed, and there is a promised addition to the already liberal curriculum of the Franklin Academy, a department of physical culture and industrial training. It is a public school, and the directors are chosen by popular election every two years; and in a community of even advanced intelligence, such as Columbus is, much is still needed to instruct the masses as to the importance of scientific physical culture 1 Southern Argus, March 29, 1842. 2 Ibid.1 July 6, 1842. FRANKLIN ACADEMY. 79 and industrial training in any school. Thanks, however, to the agitation of the subject by some better informed citizens, these needs will soon receive recognition, and the already great usefulness of the academy will be further increased. The school is under the presidency of Prof. Pope Barrow, a graduate of Randolph-Macon. The aggregate attendance per annum of both branches is about 800 pupils. Chapter VI. MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE. The Hampstead Academy was, incorporated in 1826. It was to be located at Mount Salus (now Clinton), in Hinds County. F. G. Hopkins was president of the school; Gideon Fitz was president of the trustees. Here is found the scion from which grew what is now one of the most useful and flourishing colleges of the State. The village in which it is situated is 10 miles west of Jackson, and on the railroad to Vicksburg. In that day it was of far greater importance than now. The first United States land office located in the State was established in Clinton, and many of the most prominent men of the State had residences there. The school at the first was the outcome of private enterprise; donations were made by individual subscribers. When incorporated it was not in existence. Its active work began in January, 1827. On the 5th of February of that year an act of the legislature was passed by which the name of the institution was changed to " The Mississippi Academy," and to it was donated for a term of five years from the 25th of February, 1825, the rents of such portions as had then been leased of the 36 sections of land granted by Congress in 1819 for the aid of an institution of learning. In April, 1827, the trustees published this announcement: MISSISSIPPI ACADEMY. Notice is hereby given that Mr. F. G. Hopkins has opened a school in the abovementioned institution under the control and influence of the trustees. Mr. Hopkins, having taught school last year in this neighborhood, is known to be a young gentleman of moral, genteel deportment, well qualified as a teacher, and particularly attentive to the morals and manners of his students, and to the promotion of their literary pursuits. The school has been in operation about three months and now contains upward of 30 students. One assistant is employed, and others will be procured should the number of students require. Both male and female students are admitted, and a lady will be employed to take the particular control of the females as soon as the prospects of the school will authorize it. The house is so constructed that the males and females can have rooms entirely unconnected when it shall be necessary. The edifice now erected will probably be completed this year, and when finished will accommodate from 150 to 200 students. It is pleasantly situated on a delightful eminence, near Mount Salus. The neighborhood has hitherto been remarkably healthy, and it abounds in springs affording water of the best quality. The course of education and the principles of discipline are such as have been established in the best seminaries of our country, both being conducted according to 80 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE-MAIN BUILDING, CLINTON. MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE. 81 the enlightened views of the present day. In the English department will be taught the rudiments of common education, together with the English grammar, geography, the use of the globes, the projection of maps, and history. In the classical, the Latin and Greek languages, the various branches of mathematics, with their practical application, natural philosophy and astronomy, chemistry and rhetoric. Young gentlemen who contemplate taking a collegiate course of education may here be prepared to enter, or take an advanced standing, in any of the colleges of our country; and in conducting their preparatory studies a particular regard will be had to the course pursued in the colleges at which they design graduating. Price of tuition per quarter, $7.50 for an English student and $10 for a classical one, payable at the end of each quarter; the quarter to consist of twelve weeks. * GIDEON FITZ, President of the Trustees. Under such conditions did the Mississippi Academy get under way. It had been fortunate in securing some State patronage. Naturally enough, that success excited in the patrons and friends of the institution higher aspirations than had before been entertained. There yet remains a letter which shows the existence, long before its present excellent connection was formed, of a strong effort to get this academy established as the State University. The writer was a gentleman of prominence in that day, a lawyer and a partner in practice of Governor Poindexter. It is hardly necessary to state who John A. Quitman was; afterwards general, chancellor, and governor. The letter is as follows: MOUNT SALUS, April 11, 1828. DEAR SIR: The trustees of the Mississippi Academy have adopted a course which I believe was suggested by yourself to some of them during last winter, of appealing to the liberality of the citizens of our State for such assistance in the way of donations as will enable them, in aid of their present means, to give to this institution a capacity and standing worthy of the name which it bears-at which the Mississippians may in a short time find a home market for the attainment of the most liberal education. We can not expect by private funds only, in this small State, to furnish everything that would become necessary for the establishment and accomplishment of an academy or college of the first order. But our object is to lay the foundation of such a school, and to advance it as far as practicable from such resources, and then to yield it up in its attractive dress entirely to the State. Our State possesses a valuable parcel of lands, granted by the General Government for the use of "a seminary of learning," which were judiciously located by Governor Leake, and which would, if devoted to one institution, as designed by the act of Congress, yield an ample fund for its liberal endowment. Some efforts have been made in our legislature (but so far without success) to partition the proceeds of these lands among the several counties, and thereby effectually squander them, as the 3 per cent fund has already been. The power of the legislature under the phraseology of the grant of the General Government to make such distribution was all that prevented its being made. Provided the trustees of this academy could speedily advance it to a promising condition, I think the legislature would be willing to accept a donation of the academy's improvements and property, and that as a child of the State it would stand a fair chance to inherit those school lands. This is the state of things to which all the trustees look anxiously, and our chief object is to place the academy in a dress the most attractive and acceptable to the State. I am informed that an address of the trustees, appended to a subscription paper, has been forwarded to you which will show our present prospects. Terms have been proposed, and partly acceded to, to engage Miss Johnston, of Port Gibson, as a female teacher at the academy. 21785 —~o. 24 — 6 82 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. The trustees entertain a high sense of your friendly disposition toward this school, and you will lay them under increased obligations by your friendly exertions in obtaining such engagements under the subscription forwarded you as the liberality of your friends may incline them to make. I think Captain Cook, who displays great liberality and patriotism in these matters, -would say something for our academy in the Ariel, as to its situation, advantages, present prospects, etc., if furnished with such facts as you will be able to supply him with. Such a notice would have a happy effect. Let me hear from you. Your friend, ISAAC CALDWELL. Capt. JOHN A. QUITMAN, Natchez. (Indorsed:) No answer; a personal interview intervened.' The generous ambition disclosed by this letter was not destined to be crowned with the highest success. Yet still it met a measure of success. In the annual message to the next legislature Governor Brandon says: The Mississippi Academy during the past year has been in a most flourishing condition. From 80 to 100 students have rewarded the labors of their professors and the liberality of those who have patronized the institution. A small pecuniary assistance would place it in a position to insure future prosperity.2 Thereupon the legislature passed an act whereby the sum of $5,000 was loaned to the academy, to be expended in the erection and completion of the necessary buildings.3 At this time the college was under the control of Daniel Comfort as its president, a man of great mind and strong heart, a scholar and a gentleman in every sense of the word. He so impressed on his pupils a sense of affectionate reverence that the sentiment followed them through life. In an address delivered at Madison College, thirty years later, Governor A. G. Brown took occasion to pay an eloquent and moving tribute to his memory. To the legislature of 1830, a committee of the trustees of the academy, presented a communication dated February 2, 1830. The legislature is thanked for the loan of $5,000, as well as for the donation of the seminary land rents; and a framed list of names of donors to the academy, is presented. The situation is then described. The academic edifice (erected chiefly by individual munificence) was completed. It contained four handsome rooms, was 39 by 50 feet, and of two stories. Seats and tables were furnished for two of the rooms; but instruments, books, maps, etc., had not been obtained. The brick work of a neat one-story house, 24 by 40 feet, intended for a female department, was completed; and the body of the teachers' house, two stories high, 32 by 36 feet, also of brick, was nearly completed.4 The next step taken was to obtain on December 30, 1830, an amendment to the charter of the institution whereby its name and grade were Claiborne Papers. 2 House Journal, 1829, pp. 14, 15. 3 Acts of 1829, p. 54. 4 House Journal, 1830, p. 194. MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE. 83 changed to that of' Mississippi College." The implication of the name, however, did not exist. It was not adopted as a State institution. It was under a board of management nominated by the citizens of the town. The following account of a commencement in June, 1832, will be interesting: MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE. Male departnent. —The examination of the pupils of this institution closed on Friday, the 15th instant. On Monday (forenoon), Thursday, and Friday the students in.this department were rigidly examined in their various studies. The young gentlemen in the classics distinguished themselves in a manner highly creditable; such was the spirit of emulation among them that it would be difficult to distinguish anyone in particular. The oratorical society exhibited on Tuesday and Thursday nights. This society elicited the most unbounded applause, and promises a high degree of usefulness and to become a valuable auxiliary in the school. The composition (original) was elegant, and the elocution superior. Female department.-This department is divided into four classes, and the studies of each class prescribed. The first class is distinguished by a red badge; second class, pink; third class, blue; fourth class, white. On Monday forenoon those studying music were examined, and it would be ungenerous to withhold the meed of the praise; their performance met the admiration of a large and respectable audience. On Tuesday and Wednesday the young ladies were examined by classes. Each class, stimulated by a laudable emulation to excel, afforded a triumphant refutation of their supposed incapacity of high scientific attainments. On Wednesday morning two young ladies graduated. The ceremony of graduating and conferring the degrees was truly imposing, and excited the most lively interest. After conferring the degrees the young ladies were presented with a gold medal, with suitable inscriptions, and a diploma. The president delivered a valedictory address, pointing out in a clear and comprehensive manner the duty and delicate case of females, and concluded by pathetically admonishing them never to lose sight of the high destiny which awaits the female of a refined and virtuous education.' The institution was organized, in 1834, in two departments, a male and a female. Each was entirely distinct from the other, being provided with separate buildings, as has been shown, and liad its own faculty. In 1835 and 1836 the male academy was in the hands of I. N. Shepherd and E. W. F. Sloane. The school was thriving. The teachers claimed their course of study to be as extensive as that pursued at any Northern institution of similar grade, and sought to give their scholars a thorough knowledge of the branches studied. It was their custom to deliver public lectures on chemistry and natural philosophy every Friday evening, and the lectures were illustrated by experiments made in the presence of the audience.2 At the same period the female department was in the hands of Mrs. Caroline M. Thayer as principal, and an associate, a Miss Parker. Mrs. Thayer was a distinguished authoress, from New York originally. From the Constitutional Flag. 2 Clinton Gazette, November 28, 1835; January 4, 1836. 84 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. She had served for several years as superintendent at the Elizabeth Female Academy with great credit for herself and success for the institution. There was, however, no head, no common president. The board of trustees, Robert H1. Buckner, president, were in treaty with gentlemen of high reputation and attainments, hoping to secure an acceptable one. In October, 1836, those negotiations resulted in the making of Prof. E. N. Elliott, A. M., of the Indiana University, president. There was then a complete change of faculties. In the male department, President Elliott took the professorship of mental and moral sciences, with J. W. Maxwell as professor of languages and literature, and D. M. Elliott as professor of mathematics and natural sciences. In the female department, Mrs. Thayer having left, Professors Henry Strong and George P. Strong, and Mrs. Sarah K, P. Failes were made associate principals, with three assistants, and instruction was promised in every branch of science, polite literature, and ornamental education-Latin and Greek being classed under the last head, along with music, drawing, embroidery, etc.' During this period the college seems to have achieved some reputation. It is noticed, together with Jefferson College- and Oakland College, in the Mississippi and Louisiana Almanac for 1837, published at Natchez. But it was in financial trouble. The expenses amounted to $6,000 per term; its gross earnings were less than $580. And, while $8,000 was subscribed, only $2,000 was in fact available. The institution became so much in debt to President Elliott and his associates that in November, 1837, they resigned. The trustees then tried to arrange with the trustees of the sixteenth section school fund a union to establish a "respectable school in Clinton,l" but no good result was reached.2 Toward the end of the year 1839 Prof. George P. Strong gave up the charge of the female department. Both departments were then placed under the charge of Prof. H. Dwight, A. M. (lately from the college of Louisiana), and his wife, assisted by Miss H. Potter, an experienced teacher of instrumental music. The trustees, finding that they could not enlist the sympathies of the people nor open their purses to the extent deemed desirable, and perhaps discouraged by such frequent changes in the faculty, determined to establish the college as a denominational institution. It was thought that the confidence of the people of the State would be more certainly commanded if that were done. The Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Church was at that time projecting a college, and overtures were made to that body in 1811 to accept the Mississippi College, with all its improvements and apparatus, ' Clinton Gazette, April 22, 1837; April 10, 1838, March 19, 1839; February 19, 1840. Woodville Republican, March 4, 1837. Natchez Free Trader, December, 1837. 2Rowe's History of Mississippi College, pp. 7, 8. MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE. 85 and a bonus of $20,000. The offer was declined by a vote of one majority of the locating committee in favor of another proposition, which came from Brandon Springs. Had this one vote gone the other way this institution would now be the Centenary College of the Methodists. After this miscarriage the college was, in 1842, placed under the control of the Clinton Presbytery. It was then given a new start, with a strong faculty. Rev. Alexander Campbell, formerly president of Sharon Academy, was president; Rev. Robert McLain, professor of mathematics and natural philosophy; Edward Pickett, M. D., professor of chemistry; iRev. C. Parish (formerly president of the Holly Springs Female Institute), professor of ancient languages; -U. W. Moffit, principal of the preparatory department. The female department was under the superintendence of the president, assisted by Miss H. E. Gillespie. Under the new management the institution made more solid advancement. It became necessary to talk in the board meetings of the form of diplomas to be used in time to come. The honorary degree of D. D. was conferred on Rev. A. Newton, Rev. A. Converse, and Rev. Elias Converse, of Philadelphia. A theological professorship was added and Dr. Newton called to fill it.' At the commencement held on the 30th and 31st of July, 1845, Mr. M. A. Foute, of Jackson, received the degree of bachelor of arts, and is therefore entitled to the honor of being the first male graduate of Mississippi College. At this time (1845-46) the female department had passed into the hands of Dr. Newton, who was an educator of great experience. He was assisted by John P. Mapes, late a professor in the male department, and by Miss Eliza Warren, who was a lady of high literary attainments arid of much experience in teaching. She had been educated in Europe, and was a linguist and musician. In 1846 Rev. P. Cotton was president of the college, and he seemed to inspire the hopes of success to such a degree that the trustees became individually responsible for large sums of money, when, to their dismay, he offered his resignation, having been tempted by a better offer elsewhere. The board immediately selected Rev. C. Parish, who became president in 1848. ~ * * There was yet no endowment and the president received his pay from the tuition and $200 besides. The affairs of the college began again to decline and an exhibit of their condition was made, showing that there was an indebtedness of $782.33 and no money to pay it, and but little patronage. In this state of things, believing that its failure was due in a great degree to its denominational character, the board asked the Clinton Presbytery to release them frcm any and all obligations in the matter, which was done in July 27, 1850.t This severance of the relation between the presbytery and the college was immediately followed by a resolution of the board tendering the institution to the Clinton community, unencumbered by any claims of the board, and agreeing to elect as their successors any persons who should be nominated by the community. Thereupon 4a public meeting of the citizens was called to meet at the Presbyterian Church in Clinton to suggest measures for building up a literary institution at 1 History of Mississippi College, pamphlet by A. V. Rowe. 86 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. this place. Resolutions appointing a nominating committee and committee for liquidating indebtedness were made, and one to procure a quitclaim from the presbytery. A new board was organized, which immediately began to canvass for president and teachers. The presidency was offered to Rev. William Cary Crane" (later for many years rector of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Jackson), "the professorships of language to Rev. I. Comfort, and of mathematics to Rev. C. Parish. The last was the only one who showed a willingness to accept." However, nothing came of these negotiations; but a better fate awaited a negotiation begun in August, through the Rev. T. Ford, which resulted, in the following November, in a transfer of the entire buildings, grounds, and apparatus of the college to the Mississippi Baptist State Convention, on the condition that the property should be used for school or college purposes. In the late fall of 1850 the school opened its first session under the auspices of the convention. It was without endowment; grounds and buildings much out of repair, and a history by no means inspiring. The trustees, however, had faith in what they were undertaking, and with high hopes pledged themselves individually for claims to the amount of $1,700, and contributed between $500 and $1,000 for the purchase of additional apparatus. It was deemed right to make only such advances as the institution itself made a demand for, and with this idea Mr. I. N. Urner was made principal of the preparatory department. The first session began with one teacher and closed with three. There were enrolled during this session 84 students. The Baptist State convention met in 1851 at Aberdeen, and resolved to raise $100,000 endowment; and W. M. Farrar was employed as agent [to canvass for that purpose] for the college for the ensuing year. The session of 1851-52 opened with nearly as many students as the previous session had closed with. There were students prepared for college classes, but the trustees said it would be derogatory to a denomination numbering 30,000 to call an institution a college which had not a dollar of available endowment.1 In November, 1852, the sunm of $20,430 had been subscribed toward the endowment, and Rev. E. C. Eager was then appointed agent. The following session, that of 1852-53, was marked by the issuance of the first catalogue, and its roll of students numbered 92. I. N. Urner was promoted to be principal and lecturer on physicial science; J. M. Ellis was teacher of ancient languages; Sim. S. Granberry, principal of the preparatory depai tment; and H. S. Bradford, teacher of mathematics. In the following session, 1853-54, college classes were organized. The buildings then were what are known as the middle building, the preparatory department, and the brick house destroyed by fire in 1877. The apparatus on hand was worth $2,000. In June, 1854, Mr. C. C. Granberry graduated-the first under the Baptist management. The undergraduate college classes consisted of 2 juniors, 5 sophomores, and 9 freshmen. In the fall of 1855, at a meeting of the convention at Clinton, it was resolved that " the Mississippi College has reached a point when its success and future prosperity imperiously demand the immediate appointment of a suitable president." But the appointment was not 1History of Mississippi College, pamphlet by A. V. Rowe. MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE. 87 made in fact, Mr. Urner being enrolled as performing the duties of president pro tempore. In 1858 the subscription to the endowment had reached $102,800 principal and $21,917.91 interest, of which $34,994.76 principal and $13,439.40 interest had been paid in. Three hundred and fifty names were on the roll that made up the amount, and the subscribers lived in different portions of the State. It was necessary to employ agents to collect the subscriptions; and from that necessity and failure to collect interest there was an annual loss to the college of $2,500. At this time a special subscription for the purpose of erecting a college chapel, to be used as a church, was started. The building was contracted for and was completed in 1860; the total final cost being about $30,000. In that year, also, Mr. Urn er was formally made president, and the session of 1860-61 witnessed an attendance of 11 candidates for graduation, and 217 students of lower classes. In the spring of 1861 some of the students and three of the teachers, under the command of one of the trustees, formed a military company, called the "Mississippi College Rifles," and joined the Confederate army. The trustees, however, resolved to continue the school in spite of the war. At the session of 1861-62 there were about 40 students. Two graduated in February. "No catalogue was issued. The history of the college teachings during the war would be little more than that of an ordinary town school, with the single exception that the teacher wore the dignified title of president and professor of moral and intellectural philosophy and evidences of Christianity. The buildings had been yielded to the demands of war, and were used as hospitals for sick and wounded soldiers. The town of Clinton suffered much from the Federal army. Many houses were destroyed, and it was with difficulty that President Urner, aided by President Hillman, of Central Female Institute, preserved the college buildings from the general ruin which overtook the town, and the special threatened destruction which was made against the college buildings."' The buildings, library, and apparatus were all preserved, however, without any material injury. But the results of the war annihilated the endowment fund. Nor that only. The subscriptions had been mostly in the shape of the purchase of scholarships; and, while only 78 of the 185 scholarships had been paid for in full, yet the owners of the 78 were exercising their rights when they needed to do so. At the sessison of 1865-66 twothirds of the students came on scholarships, and thus only one-third of the expenses were met. There was further trouble. About $7,000 was owed on unpaid salaries, and for five years this debt constituted a most embarrassing and menacing incumbrance. It was finally paid in 1872. In September, 1867, Dr. Walter Hillman, a graduate of Brown University, and who has been mentioned already, was elected president. Beginning with one assistant and 11 students, and with a total enrollment for the session of 29, it was a gloomy prospect. 1 Circular letter of President Webb, 1887. 88 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. The session of 1868-69 showed an attendance somewhat larger, with the freshman and sophomore classes organized. In the next, that of 1869-70, the faculty was enlarged, including the president, one professor, the principal of the preparatory department, and two undergraduate instructors; and there were 101 students, of whom 20 were in college classes. In 1870 a plan was conceived of associating with the Mississippi convention the Arkansas and Louisiana conventions in the support of the college, with the hope of building up a grand university that should reflect honor upon the three States. Resolutions warmly approving the project were passed by the Arkansas convention, but that of Louisiana was rather indifferent. Nothing seems to have come from the movement, except that it attracted some patronage to the college from those States. The idea seems to have been finally abandoned in 1879. In 1872 the convention resolved to engage in raising another endowment of $100,000, and this work was committed to M. T. Martin, professor of mathematics in the college. He succeeded, in about twelve months, in obtaining subscriptions to the amount of $37,000, which amount was increased to $40,000 by a recovery of some lost bonds. But the financial crash of 1873 rendered these subscriptions almost worthless. The money pledged could not be paid. In 1872 President Hillman resigned and the present incumbent, Rev. W. S. Webb, D. D., a graduate of Madison University, was elected. A change was made also in the course of study, by which the college was divided into six schools, in each of which a certificate of graduation might be obtained, but a full diploma only on completion of the entire course. In 1873 and 1874 the surrender of many of the old scholarships which had embarrassed the institution by reducing its tuition receipts, was secured, and this was quite a relief. But the times did not improve. By the year 1876 "a considerable debt to the faculty had been contracted, the subscriptions were still unpaid and most of them uncollectible, and thus ruin seemed inevitable. Just here," says President Webb, "our history reads like a romance. It was dire reality, however, and stern prose to those who made it. The faculty came to the rescue of the college and saved it. They proposed to dismiss one of their number, those remaining to do the work of all, and with their diminished force to carry on the college for what they could get-salary or no salary. They were all poor men and dependent upon their salaries for the support of their families. But they believed it could be done and were willing to attempt it. Since that time they have receipted for their salaries at the end of each year, whether they received them or not.'1 In the year 1891 a third effort was made to raise an endowment fund, and the sum of $60,000 was secured for that purpose. Circular letter of President Webb, 1887. MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE. 89 The convention furnishes, from year to year, a contribution to the running expenses of the college. The following financial statement, made in 1890, will give an idea of the financial workings of the institution: RECEIPTS. From tuition........................................................... $5, 496. 78 From rents.......................................................... 587.30 From contributions.................................................. 1, 775.73 Total............................................7, 859.81 EXPENDITURES. Salaries of teachers..................................................... 8, 000.00 Incidental expenses..................................................... 975.00 Total.......................................................... 8,975.00 Deficit............................................................ 1,115.19 PLAN OF ORGANIZATION. In this institution, except the preparatory department, there is no regular curriculum. Degrees are conferred when the prescribed studies have been mastered, not when the fixed course has been passed over. The organization, for the present, consists of a preparatory department and the following nine schools, viz: A school of mental and moral science, a school of Latin, a school of Greek, a school of mathematics, a school of natural sciences, a school of English, a school of modern languages, a commercial school, and a military school. PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT. Prof. 0. M. Johnston, principal; R. H. Hudnall, assistant. This department consists of a primary school of two years and a grammar school of four years. A student who completes the studies of this department will be thoroughly prepared to enter the higher schools of the college or the freshman class of any college or university in the country. COLLEGIATE DEPARTMENT. 1. SCHOOL OF MENTAL AND MORAL SCIENCE. President W. S. Webb, D. D. One year (and the last year of the course): Mental philosophy, logic, in the first term; moral science, political economy, in the second term. 2. SCHOOL OF GREEK. Prof. S. C. Mitchell. Junior: Homer, Herodotus, Demosthenes, progressive exercises, Hadley's grammar, Liddell and Scott's lexicon, Intermediate: -Euripides, Sophocles, Plato, original exercises, Kuhner's large grammar, Smith's History of Greece. Senior: JEschylus, Sophocles, Thucydides, Aristotle, Goodwin's Moods and Tenses, Brown's Classical Literature. ' Proceedings Fifty-second Session Mississippi Baptist Convention, p. 58. 90 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. GRADUATE COURSE. This class is designed for those graduates in Greek who wish to pursue a course of reading in such authors as are, either from their form or subjects, less suited for the reg-ular school. It comprises, therefore, a more extended course of studies, and also a brief course of lectures ou philology, comparative grammar, and the science of language. Text-books: Aristophanes, Aristotle, Plato, New Testament, Mulfler's Science of Language. 3. SCHOOL OF LATIN. Prof. A. -J. Aven, A. B. and A. Mi. (Tfnivers-ity of Mississippi). Junior: Gildersleeve's Grammar, Latin composition (Allen and Greenough), Cicero's Orations (Chase and Stuart), Virgil (Chase and Stuart), Cicero de Senectute and de Amicitia, (Chase and Stuart), history (Liddell's Rome), Andrew's Preund'is, or Lid.deli's Lexicon. Intermediate: Gildersleeve's Grammar, Latin composition, Livy, Horace, tCicero ad Diversos, Agfri cola and Germania of Tacitus. Senior: M2advig's Grammar, original exercises, Cicero de Officiis, Tusculan Dispu.tatious, Juvenal (Gildersleeve's), Annals of Tacitus, Browne's Literature. GRADUATE COURSE. Original exercises, critical reading of Ars Poetica, Persons, Quintilian, Tacitus, lectures on philology and prosody. 4. SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS. Prof. J..G Deupree, A. ML. In addition to two preparatory years, this school comprises four years in the collegiate department, as follows: First year: Wentworth's Complete Algebra, ten months. Second year: Wentworth's Geometry, plan and solid, six mouths; Wentworth's Trigonometry, plane and spherical, four months. Third year: Wentworth's Surveying and Navigation, four months; Went worth's Analytical Geometry, sixK mouths. Fourth year: Olney's Calculus, five months; Loomis's Treatise on Astronomy, five months. 5. SCHOOL OF NATURAL SCIENCE. Prof. James F. Sellers, B. A. (University of Mississippi). This school embraces a course of four years, one of which is considered preparatory. The following is the schedule of studies: First year: Maury's Physical Geography. Second year: Human anatomy (Cutter), geology (Dana); Ref., Lyell's Principles. Third year: Chemistry. Fourth year: Physics or mechanics. All these studies are taught by lectures as well as text-books. The means of illustration are ample ia all departments, consisting of maps, charts, and plates; collections of human bones, dried preparations of the different parts and organs of the human body, microscopic sections and skeletons and alcoholic preparations; 'a large collection of mineral andIgeological specimens. Numerous experiments in chemistry are performed and geological excursions are often made in the surrounding coin try. The laboratory is extensive, and well stocked with all the material necessary for time, -use of this department. GRADUATE COURSE. General chemistry, analytical chemistry, qualitative and quantitative; mineralogy and metallurgy. MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE. 91 6. SCHOOL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND) LITEIATURE. Prof. Richard M. Leavell, B. A. and M. A. (University of Mississippi). Junior: Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Reader (March), History of English Language (Lounsbury), Supplee's Trench on Words. Intermediate: Anglo-Saxon continued (Harrison's Beowulf), Carpenter's English of the Fourteenth Century, Shaw's New English Literature. Senior: Hale's Longer English Poems; Hudson's Life, Art, and Character of Shakespeare; Hudson's and Rolfe's Select Plays; prose selections from Bacon, Milton, Addison, De Quincy, Carlyle, etc. 7. SCHOOL OF MODERN LANGUAGE. Professors Aven and Deupree. German.-Junior class: Otto's Grammar and Reader, history of Germany. Senior class: Selections from Goethe, Schiller, Schlegel, and current Germanl periodicals; Whitney's Grammar, Evans's Literature (in German), Grieb's or Adler's Dictionary. French.-Junior class: Otto's Grammar and Reader, Tel6maque. Senior class: Picciola, selections from Scribe, Racine, Corneille, Moliicre, and modern works; Deayere's Grammar, French literature, Spiers and Surrenne's Lexicon. 8. SCHOOL OF GENERAL HISTORY AND OF HISTORICAL BIBLE STUDY. Professor Mitchell. 9. COMMERCIAL SCHOOL. Prof. 0. M. Johnston, B. A. (Mississippi College). The course of study embraces, in brief, theoretical and practical bookkeeping, commercial arithmetic, spelling, essentials of English, business writing, business correspondence, business law for business men. Time to complete the course.-By entering at the opening of the session the commercial course can be finished by the close of the first half-session, since the whole afternoon will be devoted to work in this department. STENOGRAPHY AND TYPEWRITING. Facilities are provided for instruction in these two important branches of business education. 9. MILITARY SCHOOL. The object of this school is to secure a proper development of the physical system, to promote habits of promptness, regularity, and obedience, and to encourage economy in dress. About one hour each day, when the weather is suitable, is devoted to drill. As in other schools, entrance is voluntary, but no student, having entered, can leave it except upon certificate of disability issued by the surgeon of the company. Arms are furnished by the State. Uniforms are furnished at New York prices, with freight added. During the present session suits have cost $16.50. DEGREES. Any student completing the first six schools of the college, as now organized, will be entitled to the degree of A. B.; those completing the schools of moral science, mathematics, natural sciences, English, and Latin will receive the degree of B. S.; those completing the schools of moral science, Greek, Latin, English, and chemistry of the natural science school, will be entitled to the degree of B L. Those completing one school will be entitled to a certificate setting forth their special attainments. 92 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Those who have taken the degree of A. B. will be entitled to that of A. M., in course, when they have pursued a course of study, either in the college or after they have left the institution, which shall be adjudged by the faculty as being equal to two years of college work. APPARATUS, ETC. The extensive apparatus and libraries and other appliances formerly belonging to the college were all preserved during the war. To these valuable additions have been made, and others will be made each year to meet the necessities that may arise. Besides the cabinet of geology and mineralogy belonging to the college, the students have the use of a cabinet formerly belonging to the professor of geology, now the property of Dr. Hillman. The college library and those of the two literary societies contain about 6,000 volumes. In 1889 Dr. Robert Kells bequeathed a sum of money to the college for the purpose of erecting a brick cottage as a memorial of his wife and himself, the rents to be used in educating at the institution a candidate for the ministry. The chancery court has fixed the amount to be devoted to this purpose from Dr. Kells's estate at $8,000. THE ATTENDANCE AND EXPENSES. The patronage of the institution for the eight years last passed (1891) has averaged 227 students. In that period the largest attendance of any one year was that of 1882-83, being 244; the smallest, that of 1883-84 and 1885-86, being 210 each. No statement can be made of the relative numbers in the preparatory and collegiate departments. The institution is organized into schools, as stated, and each school includes both classes of students; so that records are not kept on the basis of a classification into preparatory and collegiate members. I Expenses of attendance vary from $130 per year, the lowest estimate for primary students, to $220, the highest estimate for college students. Chemistry, French and German, and typewriting are extras. I Dr. Webb's letter of October 13, 1888. UNION FEMALE COLLEGE. Chapter VII. FEMALE COLLEGES IN MISSISSIPPI. OXFORD FEMALE ACADEMY AND UNION FEMALE COLLEGE. The Oxford Female Academy was incorporated in 1838, two years after the organization of the Chickasaw cession into counties, and was the second institution of learning chartered within that extensive and fertile territory, the Hernando Academy being the first. The academy was ably conducted for sixteen years by several principals, first in order among whom was Miss Charlotte. Paine, a northern lady, who was formerly teacher of botany and physics in the Holly Springs Female Institute. Her first session closed December 3, 1839, with 34 students. On this occasion she delivered to her pupils a closing address, which is still extant, and is of remarkable elegance and force. Miss Paine was succeeded by the Rev. James Weatherby, A. M., who had a corps of three assistants, including the two teachers of ornamental work and of music. The literary school was divided into three departments, the primary, the middle, and the advanced. The following was the course of study for the advanced department: Comstock's Natural Philosophy; Comstock's Chemistry; Lincoln's Botany; Playfair's Euclid; Day's Algebra; Newman's Rhetoric; Alexander's Evidences; Goodrich's Ecclesiastical History; History of England; History of France; Abercrombie's Intellectual Powers: Abercrombie's Moral Feelings; Watts on the Mind; Burrett's Geography of the Heavens; logic; Roman and Grecian antiquities; political economy; composition. In 1842, as shown by an old catalogue, there were 84 pupils, drawn from three States, and from seven counties in Mississippi. The building was a two-story brick structure, presenting very much the appearance of an ordinary dwelling house. The institute was furnished with " a complete philosophical, chemical, and astronomical apparatus, and globes," and a library was forming. Some interest may be found in the following programme of an exhibition of the musical department under a Miss Murphy, from Philadelphia. The item is taken from an old copy of the Dollar Democrat. The special interest which attaches to this occasion is mainly to be found in the fact that the territory -had been delivered from the savages only eight years before: OXFORD FEMALE INSTITUTE-ORDER OF EXERCISES. At the exhibition of the classes in vocal and instrumental music, to be given in the court-house of Oxford, Thursday evening, December 22, 1842. 93 94 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Exercises to commence at half past 6 o'clock p. m. Part 1. Welcome to school —... —.... -......_. —.. —.-................._.. Class. Overture, Caliph de Bagdad. ---.. ----..-.... —. —. ----......... Piano. I remember.....-.-. --- —---------- -------—...... ---- -. Solo. Rory O'More ---........ --- —----------.. --- —--------....... Piano. Hail! all hail. --- ——...-... —......* --- -------------. ---..... Class. Di tanti palpiti. —.. —......... --- --------.........-.. Piano. One day while working at my plough.................... Duet. Tivolian waltz.-............- -- -......... Piano. The sweet birds are singing... --- —--...-. —. —.- —...-......-....... Class. Hunter's chorus ---—.. ----.. ----....-... ----. ---- ------------...-. Piano. Yankee Doodle, var - -—..... —...................... Piano. There's no home like my own............ ---.. -—. —.-.............. Solo. Children go.... --- —---------. --- —------. — ---.....- - -------. ---...-. Class. Cinderella waltz.....-..... --- —------—...-.. ----. ---- —......-. Piano. A B C -----—.. ---- --- -------....- ----. —. —.- ---. --- —--------------- - Duet. United States march.....-...... --- ——... --- —--.. —..... — Piano. Combination waltz.- -....- ----------- ------- -..........-... Piano. Ave Sanctissima.. --- —..- ---.........- -------.-.......... ---....-. Duet. Rejoice, rejoice.. —.- - -..-..-.-..-........... —.. Class. Non, Piu, Mesta... --- ------- ----.. -—... ---...-. ----. —. ----. Piano. Wreath --- —--------- --------------------------.......................... Trio. Part 2. Away to school...-........-........... ---........ ----. Class. Madam Sontag's waltz.-... --- ---- ----..-... ---.. ----. Piano. Long, long ago.................. --- —-..... ----....... Solo. Combination waltz.-.......................-.... ----.. —....... Piano. Tea and turn out..-.......-........ --- —----------... —. Duet. The sail................-.-....-.. -—......................... —. Class. Beethoven's waltz.-......... --- ----. ---. —...- --------------. --- —-.. Piano. Cracovian maid ----------—.... --- —. ----. ----...... —. —. —... ---. ---. Solo. Swiss herdsman, var...................... --- —. --- —---- ---- ----.. Piano. The mountain horn..-.... --- —--------. —. —. —. ----. --- —------------ Class. Fall of Paris. —.-.......-...... --- —-...-..-.. —.-. ----. ---.. --- —. ---. Piano. I have come from the happy land - - - -........................................ Solo. Come, brothers, arouse ----.. ----.... --- ——... --- —-----. Piano. A little farm well tilled... ---....-..... —. ---... --- ——... —. Trio. The nightingale.......-... —.. ----. ----. --- —... —. --- —-.. --- —----- Piano. Ship-a-hoy - ----------.... --- —------........ ---.. Class. The chase..........-......... --- —----—. ----. --- ——. — Round. I see them on their winding way --—....-..-.. --- —---------... --- —-. Class. Parting songr.-...-..-.......-....-............. Class. Hunter's chorus, var-................ ----.............. — Piano. In January, 1844, Dr. Weatherby was succeeded by S. Leak Slack, of Cincinnati, as principal. Mr. Slack was assisted by his wife, Mrs. E. J. Slack, music and drawing; Miss Ann C. Smith, in advanced department; Miss E. D. Ware, in primary department; Rev. W. H. Wilkins, steward; and Mrs. E. C. Wilkins, governess. Professor Slack, after a short period, was followed by a Mr. Collins, from Vermont. In 1854, not because of any weakness in the school (for it continued FEMALE COLLEGES IN MISSISSIPPI. 95 to prosper), but because of a laudable desire to rise even higher in the scale of usefulness, and moved by an impression very prevalent in the State at that period that a denominational connection was the only sure road to the achievement of a great career, an arrangement was made whereby the Female Academy was turned over to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and reincorporated by the name of "The Union Female College," under the auspices of that denomination. Under this name and management the college is still (1891) a working institution of high order. Its presidents have been Rev. Dr. S. G. Burney, afterwards professor of the English language and literature in the University of Mississippi, and now principal of the department of theology at Camberland University; Rev. Dr. C. HI. Bell, now of St. Louis, Mo.; Prof. R. J. Guthrie, A. B. (University of Mississippi); Rev. J. S. Howard; Prof. W. I. Davis, and Prof. HI. N. Robertson. This college, although the Fayette Academy was established earlier, enjoys the distinction of being the oldest female school in the State of unbroken history, and one of the oldest in the South. During the past half century hundreds of educated young women have gone from its halls to disseminate the principles of Christianity and morality. Its first class of alumnse, under its charter of 1854, graduated in 1856 and was six in number, and the twenty-nine classes (the war causing a suspension of five years) show a total of 231. The average attendance is about 150 pupils. Young boys are now admitted as day scholars. There are seven members of the faculty. The literary course embraces a preparatory and a collegiate department, the latter composed of the usual four years. For those who desire to qualify themselves to teach and have not time to take the regular collegiate course, a short course covering two years is offered; the first devoted to literary study, the second to strictly normal study. There is also a school of fine art and one of vocal and instrumental music. Expenses for day scholars range from $20 to $50 per annum; for boarders, $164. Music, art, and French are extras. The college is supplied with chemical and philosophical apparatus, and a collection of minerals and fossils sufficient to illustrate the natural and physical sciences. The library contains 400 volumes. The college campus of 10 acres contains several hundred native forest trees and affords ample ground for exercise and amusement. The main building is a large three-story brick; the music hall is a two-story brick, being the old academic edifice, venerable by a half century's use, and the two are connected by a corridor. The buildings and grounds are valued at $50,000 and there is no debt. While the institution is under the care of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and is conducted on a Christian basis, no sectarian test is made in selecting teachers, and it is patronized by all denominations.1 ' Laws of 1838, p. 75; ibid., 1854, p. 371; U. F. Col.'Catalogue of 1884; ibid., 1888. 96 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. THE PORT GIBSON FEMALE COLLEGE. This institution is located at the town of Port Gibson, the county seat of Claiborne County, on the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Eailway. It was established in September, 1843, by the following gentlemen as proprietors: James H. Maury, Benjamin G. Humphreys, Elias Bridgers, Joseph Davenport, John S. Chambliss, Peter C. Chambliss, D. G. Humphreys, D. S. Humphreys, E. S. Jefferies, N. Jefferies, Samuel Cobun, H. T. Ellett, and G. W. Humphreys. The institution was opened for the reception of students in April, 1844. It was fortunately exonerated from all need to (ldo pioneer work. The way had been effectually prepared for it by a series of fine schools, the town of Port Gibson being one of the oldest inll the State. The Madison Academy, under the charge of Henry C. Cox, was incorporated by the territorial legislature in 1809, and ran a successful career for a number of years. The Clinton Academy was incorporated in 1826, changed its name in 1829 to the Port Gibson Academy, and worked more or less successfully until about the year 1843. The earlier faculties are now unknown, but the principals in and about 1835 were E. A. and S. Royce; from 1838 to 1840, a Mr. Smith, graduate of Brown University, and his wife; and thenceforward, Prof. George P. Strong and his wife, late from Mississippi College. Mann Butler's Academy, also, a school of collegiate grade, had been in operation from 1836 to 1841, the principal being a teacher of experience in some of the best Kentucky schools. When the academy the subject of this chapter was founded, thlerefore, the material for it had been already prepared. Nor even then did it stand without a rival; a Mr. A. P. Merrill was conducting a female institute of high grade in the town, and held his ground. When the proprietors organized the academy they placed Mr. John Harvie, A. M., in charge. He was assisted by his wife, Mrs. Mary A. Harvie, and by Mr. W. L. Whitney, A. M., Miss Mary J. Smyth and Miss Marcia Howe, and by Mr. L. G. Hartge as professor of music. The usual higher classes in the English branches and the classics were provided for, besides instruction in modern languages, natural philosophy, chemistry, and music. An extensive apparatus for illustration of the studies in natural philosophy and chemistry was supplied. The academy buildings and premises donated by the founders were valued at $15.000. The management of President Harvie was successful. Unfortunately the records of this institution were for a long period imperfectly kept, and it has proven impossible to obtain information as precise as is desired. On the 1st of February, 1854, a charter was granted by the legislature, under the name of the Port Gibson Collegiate Academy. In the year 1859 the Rev. Benjamin Jones, a minister of the Methodist Church South, was president, and again in 1871. FEMALE COLLEGES IN MISSISSIPPI. 97 In 1869 the institution was taken under the patronage of the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Church, and the property conveyed to that body. The Rev. John A. B. Jones was president during the seven years, 1875 to 1881. He was followed by the Rev. Thomas C. Bradford for the six years, 1882 to 1887. In 1888 the Rev. Edwin H. Mounger was chosen president, and the college is still under his charge (1891). From its foundation until this day the college has been in successful operation. The turmoil and disasters of the late war, even, did not cause any suspension; and it can thus claim the longest uninterrupted career of any female school in the State-one of forty-seven years. The degrees conferred are those of Mistress of English Literature (M. E. L.), A. B., and M. A. The attendance has ranged from 60 (the lowest) to 125 (the highest), about one-third being boarders. The school has been freely patronized by Alabama and Louisiana, with occasional students from other States. The expenses are $170 per annum for boarders; $45 for collegiate day scholars. Music and art are extras. The equipment consists of a full square of the town, inclosed. There are two large brick buildings, two stories high, with necessary outbuildings, all valued at $20,000. The faculty consists of Rev. E. H. Mounger, president, and professor of mathematics, mental and moral science, French, and Latin; Miss M. E. Compton, lady principal, and teacher of mathematics; Miss Belle M. Pierson, teacher of Latin, literature, elocution, and calisthenics; Miss A. M. C. Pearce, principal, and teacher of theory, solfege, and technique in music; Miss Mary G. Dailey, instrumental music; Miss Ruth J. Drake, assistant instrumental music; Miss Mary G. Dailey, drawing, painting in oil and water colors, embroidery, etc.; Miss M. J. Austin, manager and principal of primary department. THE GRENADA COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE. This excellent college, exclusively for females, is located in the city and county of Grenada. It was established in the year 1882, but its history begins long anterior to that date. In the year 1851 the present county of Grenada was not in existence and its territory was mainly embraced in Yalobusha, Carroll, and Choctaw counties. The Yalobusha Baptist Association was then an active denominational organization, whose circle included all of Yalobusha County, with parts of Carroll and Choctaw. That association founded a school of high grade, under the name of "The Yalobusha Baptist Female Institute." For its accommodation they erected, at a cost of $30,000, the present edifice. There was no endowment. What money they commanded came from the voluntary and varying contributions of the people. 21785-No. 24 7 98 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. At that time the Rev. Dr. W. S. Webb, now president of Mississippi College, was teaching school in Grenada, and he was elected to preside over the institute. He accepted, and his school was moved into the new building in September, 1851. Dr. Webb managed the school acceptably and quite successfully for six years, commanding a large patronage from the surrounding country. At the expiration of that period he was unanimously reelected for a term of three years, but, for personal reasons, declined to accept. Dr. Webb was, therefore, in 1857, succeed3d by Mr. George Granberry. At this period the institute was considered by those interested in it the largest and best equipped, female school in the State. It continued to prosper under the management of President Granberry until the outbreaking of the civil war, when it met the common fate-suspension. During that period the building was used as a hospital. In the general wreck, after the war terminated, the property passed out of the hands of the Baptists. It seems that they had not fully paid for the building, and the creditor procuring a sale, the property was purchased by one George W. Ragsdale, who overhauled it, repaired it thoroughly, and leased it in 1867 to a Mrs. Holcombe. This lady opened, in the property, a high-grade school, under the name of The Emma Mercer Institute. After several years she failed, and was succeeded by Prof. R. A. Irwin. At this period, and in the autumn of 1873, the county superintendent of public education said in his annual report to the State superintendent: The Emma Mercer Institute [is] an institution of considerable renown as a female seminary, under the management of Prof. R. A. Irwin, a gentleman of high moral character, a fine scholar, and a thorough educator, being assisted by his wife, a most estimable lady, who exercises a maternal supervision over the young ladies intrusted to their care; and with the above are associated three lady teachers of superior qualifications, making five in all, all of whom combined insure the advancement and best interest in every respect of the highest type of mental and moral training. The number of young ladies in attendance averages about 80. About this period the Episcopalians were negotiating for the purchase of the property at the price of $18,000, but some question arose as to the safety of the title, and the negotiation was abandoned. Shortly afterwards an execution for some $7,000 or $8,000 against the owner was levied on the property. At the sale which followed in 1875 purchase was made by a joint stock company organized for that purpose among the citizens. The company changed the name of the institution to "The Grenada Female College." The Rev. D. D. Moore, of Tennessee, was elected its first president. For some reason his administration did not succeed. In the early part of the year 1878 the Rev. J. H. Armstrong was elected president; but before opening the school he fell a victim to the dreadful scourge of yellow fever which visited the town in the summer of that year. In 1879 Dr. N. T. Scruggs took charge, and with others taught a local school. He was followed by the Rev. Dr. T. C. Weir, a Methodist FEMALE COLLEGES IN MISSISSIPPI. 99 minister and an educator of long experience, who, however, remained only one year. The school failed to accomplish much good. In the year 1882, however, the property was purchased at a price hardly more than nominal for the North Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Church South. The Rev. Thomas J. Newell, a member of that conference, was elected president, and has remained in that office until this time (1891). A charter of incorporation was obtained in 1884, under the name of The Grenada Collegiate Institute. There is no endowment, and the institution has no income except its earnings. DEGREES. Upon those who shall have completed, to the satisfaction of the faculty, the collegiate course, excepting ancient and miodern languages, the degree of M. E. L. will be conferred. The completion of the English course, with Latin and one modern language, entitles one to the degree of A. M. EXAMINATIONS. Examinations of each class are held at the middle and close of each term. These examinations, except for the lower classes, are both oral and written. To each question is assigned a numerical value. The sum of these values is 100. If, upon compounding the term standing with the grade of the examination, the average is 80 per cent the pupil passes to the next class; if not, the work must be done again. The expense of attendance is $170 per annum, music and painting being extras. The summary of pupils for 1887-88, showing also the distribution of their works, was as follows: Primary, 56; academic, class 1. 11; academic, class 2, 22; freshmen, 46; sophomores, 32; juniors, 14; seniors, 1; irregular, 1; total, 184. Music pupils, 54; art pupils, 25; elocution, 28. Faculty.-Rev. Thomas J. Newell, A. M., president and professor of natural and moral sciences; Miss Ludie Williams, M. E. L., professor of mathematics and history; Miss Mary V. Duval, M. E. L., professor of English language and literature; Miss Mary Lou Bledsoe, M. A., professor of Latin and modern languages; Mrs. Kate F. Payne, M. E. L., teacher of preparatory school; Mrs. Beulah Kimbrough, assistant teacher; Mrs. L. A. Payne, music teacher; Miss Sallie Goodloe, music teacher; Mrs. Lizzie Fant, art and elocution.1 THE CENTRAL FEMALE INSTITUTE, NOW HILLMAN COLLEGE. This institution is located at Clinton, in Hinds County. It was founded in the year 1853, under the auspices of the Baptist Church (which relation it still sustains), and completed at the commencement in June, 1890, its thirty-sixth year of uninterrupted work, not having suspended its labors even during the stress of the civil war. "A school building intended to cost $60,000 was begun a short time before the war, but was never finished. The property in use before 'Authorities for this chapter are MSS. of Dr. Webb, Mr. Levin Lake, Dr, Newell, and catalogue of Grenada Collegiate Institute. 100 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. that time was worth about $4,000. That now used consists of two large dormitory buildings, with assembly room and recitation rooms in other buildings, detached. The institute was incorporated in 1853, and its first president was Prof. William Duncan. Established at Clinton, already the site of Mississippi College, and fostered by the Baptist Church, its success was assured from the beginning. The aggregate attendance of pupils from the foundation to the summer of 1889 was about 4,080, being an average of about 120 per annum. The largest patronage of one year was that of 169, for 1859; the smallest was about 60, for 1865. The registration for the session of 1888-89 was about 125. The pupils came largely from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, as well as from Mississippi; and occasionally from other States. About one-half usually are boarders. THE COURSE OF STUDY. The plan of instruction embraces a literary, a musical, an ornamental, and an industrial department. The literary department is immediately in charge of the president. and includes a primary, a preparatory, and a collegiate course. Tlhe primary and preparatory courses are designed to lead up to the collegiate course, and embrace the usual studies. The collegiate course includes three distinct lines of study, each leading to graduation. The first or full course embraces all of the prescribed English branches, together with the Latin and Greek, or Latin and French languages, or Latin and German. The second course includes, with the English branches, one ancient or one modern language. The third course consists of the English branches alone. THE LIBRARY. The president's private library, which contains about 1,500 volumes, including many valuable books of reference, is accessible to the pupl)ils. The library of the Lesbian Society, which contains a large number of volumes of choice standard works, is accessible to all who choose to join the society. Large additions are made to it yearly. THE MUSEUM. There is a museum which contains an extensive and well-selected collection of specimens in geology, mineralogy, natural history, including fossils, shells, and algh. It is, of course, a great aid in the educational work. The expense of attendance is about $250 per annum. THE FACULTY. Rev. Walter Hillman, LL. D., president and professor of mental and moral philosophy, and of the Latin and French languages; Emil Menger, professor of vocal and instrumental music, and of German; Miss N i & -5 - & U - --- 77A,;,_:,W.&,y) WHITWORTH FEMALE COLLEGE. FEMALE COLLEGES IN MISSISSIPPI. 101 Cora E. Caldwell, teacher of elocution, English literature, Latin, and mathematics; Mrs. Carrie A. Butt and Miss Mollie A. Granberry, English branches; Miss Fannie T. Leigh, English branches and assistant in music; Miss Alice L. Yeaton, German, French, painting, and drawing. At the commencement of 1891, the name of this institution was changed to Hillman College. WHITWORTH FEMALE COLLEGE. This institution is located at Brookhaven, in Lincoln County. It was founded in the year 1859, mainly through the generosity of the Rev. M. J. Whitworth, a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, who at that time resided 2 miles from the town. The original frame building (that now known as the " Old College") was'erected at a cost of about $15,000. The institution was incorpo. rated under the general law of the State on the 1st of February, 1860, and opened in the spring following, under the presidency of the Rev. J. P. Lee, who had come to this State from Canada. The college met with an encouraging patronage from the outset. It continued in successful operation under the management of President Lee until the close of its second session, in June, 1861. At this time the civil war was imminent, and Mr. Lee, yielding to the solicitations of his friends, resigned the presidency and returned to his former home in Canada. After an interval the college was reopened in April, 1862, with the Rev. G. L. Crosby as president. It had a fair measure of prosperity until the close of the term in June. In July, however, Mr. Crosby died. The college buildings were occupied by the Confederate authorities until the end of that year as a hospital. During the year 1864 a school was conducted in the building, but the college was not formally reorganized until 1865. In January of that year, the Rev. George F. Thompson, a minister of the Methodist Church South, was elected to the presidency. Under his administration, which lasted until 1867, the success of the school was but moderate. In April, 1867, the board of trustees elected to the presidency the Rev. Harvey F. Johnson, a member of the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and at that time president of Madison College, at Sharon, Miss. It was a most fortunate choice. The success of the college under his administration has been fitly termed phenomenal. On taking charge he found the property greatly in need of repairs and encumbered with a debt of $2,800, the settlement of which he assumed as a personal obligation. So rapidly did the school increase in patronage and public favor, that additional buildings were demanded, and the old chapel, now called Calisthenic Hall, and the music and art halls were built at the personal charge of the president, amounting to about $8,500. In 1878, the patronage of the college continuing to increase, called for larger and more permanent buildings, and in August of that year ground was broken for Margaret Hall, named by the board of trustees in honor of Mrs. Margaret 102 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. E. Johnson, the wife of the president, who, by her motherly care of the.young ladies, night and day for fourteen years, contributed so very largely to the growth and prosperity of the college. This building, 144 feet by 48 feet, built of the best brick, two stories high, heated with steam, is well furnished as a dormitory. In June, 1879, this building, worth $15,000, was donated to the Mississippi Conference by the president, who built it at his own cost and on his own ground. At the same time Col. W. L. Nugent gave $1,QOO and Maj. R. W. Millsaps $2,000 on the building. The corner stone of the institute was laid June 19, 1883. This structure was finished in October, 1884, and is 144 feet by 68 feet, two stories high, and furnishes ample room for all school purposes, including art hall, music rooms, recitation rooms, and chapel. There are in all forty-five rooms, heated with steam and furnished in approved modern style, special reference being had to light and ventilation. At a meeting of the board of trustees in June, 1884, this building, worth $20,QOO (some say $30,000), with the ground on which it stands, all being the private property of Dr. Johnson, was given by him to the Mississippi Conference. At the same time a donation of $1,000 was made by Maj. R. W. Millsaps. The site of a proposed center building is now occupied by a low, onestory frame cottage, after a most charming Southern style, which is used as a residence by the president. On the 4th of August, 1886, Dr. Johnson died. His decease was justly regarded as a great calamity to Whitworth College. The board of trustees, however, forthwith cast about for his successor, and selected Prof. Lewis T. Fitzhugh, then and for several years before a professor in the University of Mississippi. This also was a wise selection. Professor Fitzhugh was a lay member of the Methodist Church, and had many years' experience as a teacher. His appointment went far to cause a suspension of the popular judgment that in the death of Dr. Johnson the college had virtually perished. His vigorous and wise management has restored full confidence in the future of the institution; and it is now (1891) as prosperous as ever it was. It may be well to say here that in 1867 the college opened with 57 pupils, of whom 5 were boarders; while for several years past the number of pupils had ranged from 179 to 291, of whom from 100 to 180 had been boarders.1 LIBRARY AND READING ROOM. The college library is yet small, containing only about 600 volumes, but among these are valuable scientific, philological, historical, and literary works. Constant additions, however, are being made to it, and a reading room has been opened in connection therewith, well supplied with the best reviews, magazines, and newspapers of the country. APPARATUS, CHARTS, ETC. The college is well supplied with apparatus, which is constantly used, consisting, in part, of' air pumps, electrical machines, condensers, lenses, galvanic batteries, gasometers, compound blow pipes, and tellurian; also Pelton's Outline Maps, globes, physiological charts, anatomical preparations-representing the whole process of the circulation of the blood, the digestive organs, the nervous system, the respiratory organs, etc. For the three sessions last passed and passing the attendance has been as follows: 1886-87, boarders, 85; music pupils, 83; total matriculates, 162; 1887-88, boarders, 99; music pupils, 121; total matriculates, 179; 1888-89, boarders, 165; music pupils, 200; total matriculates, 235. FEMALE COLLEGES IN MISSISSIPPI. 103 CABINET. The collection of minerals and fossils is gradually increasing. There are specimens from California, Utah, Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Mississippimany of them rare and valuable.' THE FACULTY. Lewis T. Fitzhugh, A. M., president, and professor of ancient languages and English; Rev. William B. Murrah, D. D., vice-president and professor of metaphysics, natural sciences, English literature, and Christian evidences; R. S. Ricketts, A. M., professor of mathematics; Miss Marion Brown, mathematics, physiology, botany, and modern languages; Mrs. M. E. Shelburne, elocution, history, and reading; Miss Allie Dashiel, typewriting and stenography; Miss Belle Piker, English, history, and geography; Miss Willie Galloway, English. Music department: Prof. William Hennings, director and teacher in piano, voice, harmony and theory, and chorus singing; Miss L. May Alden, piano, violin, harmony and theory; Mme. Dayny Rolland, piano, voice, and theory; Mrs. W. B. Murrah, voice; Mrs. A. C. McNair, piano; Mrs. R. Willoughby, piano and voice. Art department: Miss E. Mulford. BLUE MOUNTAIN FEMALE COLLEGE. This is a celebrated school located in Tippah County, in the village of Blue Mountain, on the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad. It was founded by private enterprise alone and, although a chartered institution, is private property. After the close of the late war Gen. M. P. Lowrey, a prominent and influential member of the Baptist Church, conceived the idea of establishing in north Mississippi a boarding school for girls. The idea did not take shape at once. In the year 1869, however, he purchased for that purpose an attractively situated country home, 6 miles southwest of Ripley, the county seat, and known as " the Brougher place." No sooner had he announced his intention than several of the large towns of the State began to bid for the location of the school, some of them offering large inducements. General Lowrey, however, had his own idea, and would not relinquish the plan of founding " a home school in the country." The school was opened in September, 1873-General Lowrey, principal; Miss Modena Lowrey as lady principal, and Miss Maggie Lowrey as assistant. There was a frame building for school purposes, another for the boarding house (the whole worth about $3,000), a library worth about $300, and one piano. Fifty students were enrolled during the first session, of whom 27 were boarders. - The curriculum at this time was not extensive, but the teachers aimed at thorough work. From this humble but hopeful beginning the school has steadily grown in popularity and usefulness. The second and third sessions 1Catalogue of 1890. 104 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. showed a flattering increase of patronage. In 1S76 Miss Modena Lowrey was married to the Rev. W. E. Berry, A. M.; and that gentleman purchased a half interest in the school, becoming professor of Greek and Latin at the opening of the fourth session. In 1877 the institution was chartered under the name of "Blue Mountain Female College." Drawn by its attractions, a village had gathered about the college, which also was incorporated as the town of Blue Mountain. In 1878, the yellow-fever epidemic, which so terribly scourged many portions of the State, greatly interfered with the boarding patronage, all travel having been suspended under the rigid quarantines. The usual ten months' session was held, notwithstanding. From that time to the present (1891) each year's boarding patronage has been an increase over that of the years preceding. In the year 1885 a great calamity befell the college. It had reached, then, a patronage of 150 pupils, with 82 boarders. On the 27th of February, General Lowrey, with a party of his teachers and students, started to New Orleans for the purpose of visiting the World's Exposition. While in the depot at Middleton, Tenn., purchasing tickets, he fell suddenly to the floor, dead. His eldest son, the Rev. W. T. Lowrey, A. M., who was then in charge of a church in Kentucky, was at once chosen to fill the vacant presidency. This gentleman had just completed his course of lectures at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. He entered immediately on the discharge of his duties, and the school moved forward with still increasing prosperity. In 1889 the sixteenth annual session closed with an enrollment of 220 students, of whom 157 were boarders. The pupils came from almost every section of Mississippi and from several of the surrounding States. Since the proprietors are Baptists, they are most liberally patronized by that denomination, yet they have enjoyed a liberal share of the patronage of other churches. The school property has been extended, enlarged, and improved. The remodeled building is a large frame structure, with brick basement. It contains an attractive study hall, with capacity for 150 pupils; also a preparatory hall, with capacity for 50 pupils, and twentytwo other rooms used for recitations, art, mutsic, elocution, library, etc. There are also four large boarding houses, the property of the college. In beauty and heathfulness the location of the institution is perhaps not surpassed in the State. It is on the slope of a large hill known as Blue Mountain, from the side of which burst forth springs of pure freestone water. The campus of 20 acres, and the spring and mountain lots of 50 acres, overgrown with grass, cedars, and deciduous forest trees, present a charming whole and afford abundant space for recreation in the open air. The entire property is now valued at $25,000, and the owners are improving it every year. FEMALE COLLEGES IN MISSISSIPPI. 105 In the summer of 1889 Prof. B. G. Lowrey, a brother of the principal, purchased an interest in the college and became associated with the former owners as one of the proprietors and managers. He graduated at Mississippi College in 1887, taught school one year, and then went to Tulane University for a course in the English language and literature. DEGREES. Pupils who complete the regular course are given the degree of A. B.; those who complete that course, omitting the Latin, are given the degree of mistress of the English language; one who completes the regular course, with the addition Qf either Greek or modern languages, is given the degree of M. A. The library contains about 600 volumes of carefully selected works, is well supplied with current periodicals, and a competent librarian is employed. There is a small laboratory, supplied with a limited chemical and philosophical apparatus. The collection of geological specimens, maps, charts, globes, etc., is good. THE FACULTY. Rev. W. T. Lowrey, A. M., president and professor of mental and moral philosophy and evidences of Christianity; Rev. W. E. Berry, A. M., professor of higher mathematics; Mrs. Modena L. Berry, lady principal and teacher of English; Miss Mabel Hutchins, English literature and mathematics; Mrs. Theodosia S. Lowrey, assistant in mathematics and natural science; Miss Fannie Thornhill, teacher of Latin; Miss Mary Lee Booth, natural sciences and French; Miss Lilian Tate, principal of primary department; Prof. F. D. Baars, principal of music department and teacher of German; Miss Linnie L. Ray, assistant in music; Mrs. Pattie Lowrey, assistant in music; Miss Lucy Dunaway, vocal teacher; Miss Jennie Jarman, elocution; Miss Etta Berry, art; Miss Maggie Buchanan, assistant in art; Mrs. Drusilla Haynie, dressmaking; Miss Dora Harris, stenography and typewriting. Chapter VIII. THE CENTENARY COLLEGE. This institution, now and for many years past located at Jackson, La., originated in Mississippi. It is a denominational college, belonging to the Mississippi and Louisiana conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. The origin of the college is fully shown in the following extract from the minutes of a convention of ministers and lay members of the Mississippi Annual Conference, commenced at Jackson, Miss., according to previous appointment, on Wednesday, the 7th of August. 1839: The convention was organized by calling the Rev. John Lane to the chair, and the Rev. Samuel L. L. Scott was appointed secretary. The convention was composed of the following members, viz: Rev. John Lane, Rev. Benjamin M. Drake, Rev. John G. Jones, Rev. Green M. Rogers, Rev. Samuel L. L. Scott, Rev. Enoch N. Talley, Rev. Thomas Owen, Rev. Reuben B. Rickets, Rev. William G. Gold, Rev. Bradford Frazee, Rev. S. W. Hawkins, Rev. Elias R. Porter, Rev. Horace M. Booth, Hon. John L. Irwin, Hon. Frederick W. Huling, Hon. John W. King;, Maj. W. J. Austin, Maj. David Gorden, Mr. Alexander C. McGruder, Mr. W. B. Pitman, Mr. Joshua E. Heard, Mr. George Finucane, Mr. H. H. Smith, and Mr. W. Blaike. Whereas the usages of the church, both ancient and modern, and even Divine appointments, indicate to us the propriety of celebrating great and interesting events; and as the 25th day of next October will be the centenary of Methodism; and as the Providence of God has been so distinctly manifested in blessings to the church and the world in the rise and unexampled success of the Methodist societies in Europe and America, in their efforts to spread spiritual holiness over the earth, and as the Wesleyan Methodists in England have engaged with entire unanimity in the celebration of that day, and have with unexampled liberality presented to the Lord a thank-offering of their substance; and whereas the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church have commenced a similar course in this country, and as many of the annual conferences have already made the necessary arrangements fox a suitable celebration of said day: Therefore Resolved, That we unite with our brethren in Europe and America in the celebration of the day. On motion, Resolved, That Reuben B. Rickets, Thomas Owen, and Benjamin M. Drake be appointed a committee to devise and report the order of the religious exercises of the day. On motion, Resolved, That John G. Jones, Samuel L. L. Scott, and Enoch N. Talley be appointed a committee to draft a suitable form of subscription to be presented for the purpose of raising centenary funds. On motion, Resolved, That Benjamin M. Drake, John Lane, Green M. Rogers, John L. Irwin, and John W. King be appointed a committee to inquire into the objects and apportionment of the centenary funds. On motion convention adjourned to meet at sunrise to-morrow. 106 THE CENTENARY COLLEGE. 107 August 8.-Convention met according to adjournment. The committee on the order of divine service reported as follows, which report was adopted: "The committee to whom was referred the duty of directing the order of divine -service in the Methodist Episcopal Church throughout the Mississippi Conference during the day of the centennial celebration, ask leave to report the following resolutions: "Resolved, That the order of service recommended by the Mississippi Annual Conferenceoat its last session be observed at each district meeting, to wit: Prayer meeting, beginning at sunrise; at 10 o'clock reading of essays, to be followed by a missionary sermon, and conclude with love feast at early candle lighting. "Resolved, That in each circuit and station in this conference, wherever circumstances will admit, the following religious exercises be observed: Prayer meeting at sunrise-love feast beginning at 9 o'clock-preaching or other appropriate services to begin at 11 o'clock, and evening services to be adapted to the circumstances of each congregation, as Divine Providence and a special reference to the honor of God and the advancement of the interests of htis church may seem to direct. "Resolved, That all of our service be characterized by a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving to Almighty God for the institution of His church, and the peculiar manifestations of His divine favor to us as a people, and to the world through our instrumentality in all our trials, persecutions, and vicissitudes during the lapse of a hundred years, and that the day be celebrated throughout as the jubilee of Methodism, and be spent in acts of solemn devotion and demonstrations of joy and songs of praise, and that all the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church be requested to let all their slaves participate with us as far as practicable. "Resolved finally, That the Friday before the 25th day of October next be observed by all the members of our church as a day of fasting and prayer for the blessing of God, to attend the centennial celebration of Methodism, and that the next centenary may be ushered in with circumstances auspicious of future glory and usefulness to the church, and tokens of a continuation of the divine favor that has attended us through every vicissitude during the past century." The committee on form of subscription, etc., reporte4 as follows, which report was adopted: I "The committee appointed to prepare a form of subscription and to devise ways for efficient operation in our centenary collections, etc., have felt the difficulty of fixing upon the best plan, and with diffidence submit the following as the result of their deliberations: " In view of the extensive and salutary influence exerted by Christianity through the instrumentality of the Methodist Episcopal Church upon society in general, and upon many of ourselves and families in particular, and in approbation of the efforts now making suitably to celebrate the centenary of Methodism, we, the undersigned, subscribe the sums annexed to our names to the Methodist Episcopal Church within the bounds of the Mississippi Annual Conference, which sums we promise to pay to,or either of them, stewards of the Methodist Episcopal Church and their successors in office, as follows: All sums under $25 to be paid at the time of subscribing or before the 25th of October next; all sums of over $25 and under $50 in one year from the date of subscription; all sums over $50 and not more than $100 in two annual installments from date of subscription; all sums of $500 and under $1,000 in four annual installments from date of subscription, and all sums of $1,000 and upward in five annual installments from date of subscription. "For the more efficient direction of our fiscal operations, your committee would respectfully present the following resolutions for the adoption of the convention: "Resolved, That the preacher in charge be required as soon as practicable to bring the subject of the centenary collections before every society and congregation in his circuit or station and give them all an opportunity of subscribing. 108 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. "lResolved, That all moneys collected for the centenary be deposited in the hands of the recording steward of each circuit and station, to be sent by him to the next annual conference. "Resolved, That the names of all donors and subscribers, with the amount donated or subscribed by them severally, be preserved by the stewards, to whom the money is paid or subscribed and recorded in a book prepared for that purpose, and that these books be placed at the disposal of the annual conference." The committee on appropriations reported as follows, which report was adopted: "Resolved, That the amount which may be collected on the centenary subscriptions shall be divided as follows, to wit: One-tenth to the cause of missions; twotenths to aid the preachers' fund society; seven-tenths for the establishment of a college to be under the direction of the Mississippi Conference, to be located as near the center of the conference as practicable. Two-sevenths of the amount set apart for said college shall be reserved as a special fund for the education of the children of traveling preachers, under the direction of the conference; except the literary fund raised in the Holly Springs district, which fund may be applied to the support of the University of Holly Springs. "Resolved, That the Mississippi Conference be requested to publish a volume which shall contain a selection from the essays which shall be read on the centenary, the names of all the subscribers and the amounts subscribed and to be sold for the benefit of the preachers' fund society." On motion, Resolved, That the secretary furnish eacn presiding elder or his representative with a copy of the form of subscription, who shall communicate the same to the preachers within the bounds of their respective districts. On motion, Resolred, That the presiding elders of the Vicksburg, Brandon, and Sharon districts be required to look out in their respective districts a suitable location for the conference college, receive propositions, and report at the next annual conference. On motion, Resolved, That the respectful thanks of this convention are hereby tendered to the kind friends of Jackson for their hospitality and kindness to the members of the same. JOHN LANE, Chairman. SAMUEL L. L. SCOTT, Secretary. JACKSON, August 8, 1839. Immediately on the publication of the foregoing action a friendly and very commendable rivalry arose between the towns of the central portion of the State for the location of the institution. Hinds County, however, it seemed to be admitted on all sides, was to enjoy the honor of having the college within its limits; the real question appeared to be that between the two towns of Raymond and Clinton.1 The annual conference met at Natchez in December. No site was selected. The Rev. C. K. Marshall' was appointed canvassing agent for the college, and Messrs. Green M. Rogers, John Lane, Thomas Owen, John G. Jones, and Benjamin M. Drake were appointed a committee to select a site and put the institution into operation, the location within the limits of any incorporated town being expressly forbidden.2 Subscriptions were rapidly made in aid of the new enterprise. They took the shape of purchases of perpetual free scholarships, at from 1 The Times (of Raymond), November 29, 1839. 2 Ibid., December 20, 1839. THE CENTENARY COLLEGE. 109 $700 to $1,000 each. In a few months they5 amounted to $76,000, besides some donations of lands. Most of the subscriptions, however, were payable in installments, and many of them were never paid. In 1841 the committee located the college in Clinton. Meanwhile a strong movement had been inaugurated to procure the adoption of a site at Brandon Springs. These "springs" were in Rankin County, about 7 miles northeast of Brandon. They were medicinal waters, and a company had been formed, which had erected extensive improvements, with a view to the development of a large summer resort-a scheme then very common in this State. The experiment had not succeeded, and it was determined to offer the property to the college at the price of $30,000. This was done, and on terms so very favorable that a reconsideration of the location was determined upon, and when the committee met in Clinton later in the year for that purpose the result was very doubtful. Two members of the committee were citizens of Clinton. That community had been since 1826 trying to build up the Mississippi College, with varying success. It was now proposed to turn over that establishment to the Methodists, with a bonus of $20,000, for the Centenary Institution. On the meeting of the committee the two members who lived in Clinton, thinking that the tide was against them and that it would be good tactics to stay away and thereby break the quorum, absented themselves. The remainder of the committee, however, proceeded in their absence, and the removal to Brandon Springs was carried by a majority of one vote over Clinton. Had the absentees attended, the result would have been reversed and the Mississippi College have been adopted, with the probable result that the Centenary College would now be in Clinton instead of Jackson, La., and the further possibility that the Mississippi College, as now constituted, might never have been.1 The college opened in November, 1841. The following prospectus was published in reference to it: CENTENARY COLLEGE. The trustees of the Centenary College have been induced by important considerations, and such as they believe will be approved by the friends, patrons, and subscribers who have aided and are assisting in the establishment of this institution, to change its location from Clinton to the mineral springs 7 miles northeast from Brandon, in Rankin County. After a careful and extensive.investigation of the various claims of the several sites urged upon their attention, they are of opinion that more advantages combine at the present location than at any other. There are good wells and springs of the best freestone water, running streams, cisterns, besides the sulphur spring, furnishing an abundant supply of water at all seasons for every purpose. They have every reason to believe the location highly favorable to health, and its remoteness from every source of corruption, haunts of idleness, and occasions of diversions from the business of study commends the place in the highest degree to the favorable notice of the friends of education. For natural beauty no place in the State can surpass it, and the plan of the improvements is almost unrivaled. The order and style of the buildings were projected MS. of Rev. J. G. Jones; Vicksburg Sentinel, November 23, 1841. 110 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. upon a scale of taste and magnificence, at a cost of about $200,000, and will furnish accommodation immediately for nearly 500 students, with residences for the faculty, lecture rooms, recitation rooms, steward's hall, laboratory, etc. The vast importance of such an institution to the general interests of Southern education, hitherto too much neglected-the advantages to be derived from training our youths where they may imbibe the views of their fellow-citizens by being constantly identified with them, and become imbued with the spirit of these interests which they are destined to sustain and control-the uncongeniality in the climate, politics, and institutions of the North and Northwest; the evils resulting from estrangement from home, parental control and affection with their moral and religious influences and early associations; the great probabilities of their receiving a superior education here; besides keeping at home and saving annually to the State and to the immediate patrons of such schools thousands of dollars, with many other reasons, powerfully appeal to the citizens of the community at large in behalf of the present enterprise. The trustees have spared no pains to place in this institution a faculty fully competent to promote the best interests of the pupils who shall be placed under their charge. The Rev. T. C. Thorniton, A. M., the president, is eminently qualified by scholarship and experience for the office he fills, and comes to the institutin with the highest commendations of his abilities to discharge the duties entrusted to him. He will also fill the professorship of "moral and intellectual science and sacred literature." No professor having been elected to the chair of "ancient languages,' the president will fill that vacancy until the board shall be able to procure a teacher. [N. W. Magruder was elected to that chair in the same year.] James B. Dodd, A. M., fills the chair of "mathematics." The trustees doubt not but this accomplished gentleman will ably sustain the responsibilities of this department. The chair of "natural science" will be filled by James B. C. Thornton, M.D., a gentleman uniting various and important qualifications for teaching those scienceslong devoted to the profession of medicine, and a zealous and devoted student of the secrets of nature. As early as the patronage and endowments of the college will justify, arrangements will be made to increase the number of professorships and furnish all the necessary chemical, astronomical, and philosopical apparatus desirable for the complete practical illustration of the natural sciences. The trustees believe that with the aid already pledged, and that which a generous and enlightened community are prepared to give, they will be able to make the Centenary College one of the first institutions of learning in the Southwest. The institution is divided into two departments-the collegiate department and preparatory department. There will be two sessions in each year of five months each; the first beginning hereafter on the first Monday of October and March, the last closing on the last Thursday in July. Charges, collegiate department. Tuition, per session, in advance............ ---....... —. $25.00 Entrance fee. —.............................................. --- —--------- 5.00 Boarding, etc. Boarding, per month, including food, fuel, lights, and attendance -......... $12. 00 Washing, per month....... —....................... --- —--—. --- —.....- -- 1.50 Total. ---.. --.. ----. --- —----... --- -----—... — ----------- 13.50 Bedding must be furnished by each boarder and may be had on the premises; if found by the steward an additional charge will be made per month of. 1.50 Washing fixtures for room always found by the student. THE CENTENARY COLLEGE. 111 When a student finds his own lights a deduction will be made. Bedsteads, chairs, tables, washstands, etc., furnished by the institution. The board to be paid each session in advance to a patron; in case of necessary removal the money to be refunded for time not occupied. Students are only expected to pay from the time of entering; as there is choice of rooms, students had better come as soon as practicable. Selections are now making, at moderate rates, whatever parents or guardians may order for the lodging of the boarders at the place. These are the only necessary expenses-the only incidental expenses will be for books, clothes, and pocket money. It may be deemed advisable to adopt a uniform dress for the students. This would remove the temptation of extravagant dressing, be highly economical, and go far to destroy those distinctions which engender and cherish pride on the one hand and inflict mortification on the other. Preparatory department.-This department is attached to the college and under the immediate control of the president. It is designed for the instruction of those students who are not sufficiently advanced to enter the collegiate department and for educating those who do not intend to take a complete course. The Rev. E. S. Robertson, A. M., formerly a teacher in the Jefferson College, is the principal of this department, and will be aided by Mr. Robert D. H'owe, A. B., recently an associate principal in the classical academy in Vicksburg and extensively known as an intelligent scholar and successful teacher. Sessions.-The sessions of this department. will correspond with those of the collegiate department. Expenses, tuition per session, in advance................................... $18.00 Prinmary high class -........................................ —.. 15.00 Primary low class -............................................. 12.00 Incidental expenses......................................-....50 Boarding.-Rev. R. D. Smith, proprietor. It is the mutual determination of the steward and trustees that no just cause of complaint shall be permitted to exist in this department. By order of the board. J. LANE, President. OCTOBER 30, 1841. The college opened well. The opening day was a charming one. The faculty were present and the spectators were assembled by thousands. The president, however, was absent. A connection missed had thrown him off time, and the inaugural address, the great feature of the occasion, was to have been delivered by him. Waiting some time in the hope that Dr. Thornton might arrive by private conveyance, the trustees finally despaired, and they pressed into service for an extemporaneous address the agent, the Rev. C. K. Marshall. The occasion and the emergency were just such as were calculated to excite the peculiar powers of that gifted man, and the mishap was more than redeemed by an oration of extraordinary brilliancy. The attendance of pupils amounted to 60 in the first month.' At the session of the State legislature for this winter (1841-42) an attempt was made to obtain a charter for the college. A bill for that purpose passed both branches of that body, but the governor vetoed it on the very remarkable grounds that the tendency of such an institution was to unite church and state and because of the dangers of I Woodville Republican, December 4, 1841. 112 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. denominational influence in the State. Needless to say this step created a profound sensation throughout the State, not only among the Methodists, but also amongst other denominations.' On the 30th of April, 1-842, President Thornton addressed an open letter to the people, from which are taken the following extracts: Professor Magruder, who is at the head of the school of ancient languages, is a native Mississippian, regularly educated, a scholar of no common order, not only -perfectly at home in the ancient languages, hut in his element, deli~ghrting in that part of our work assigned to him. To this I may add, with sincerity and truth, that he is among the most laborious and faithful instructors I have ever seen engaged ia teaching the languages. Of ])r. Thornton, the professor of natural sciences, and the theory and practice of medicine, it does not become me to speak. He is my brother. Nor is it necessary, as he is known to gentlemen in Mississippi of exalted standing as a physician of twenty-five years' practice and experience in. Virginia and Washington City. He has been constantly engaged in the instruction of young gentlemen in the science of medicine, several of whom are eminent physicians now in this and the adjoining States. * I* Our present prospects, in our estimation, are most cheering. W 1,e have now about 100 students and our number is incrensing daily. * ~Our laboratory is nearly done. The college agents have thus far faithfully supplied the money necessary for the alteration and improvement of the buildings, and a Yery small sum, we think, will complete the whole. We have some valuable philosophical and chemical apparatus and mathematical instruments for practical as well as experimental purposes. Our professors have pretty good private libraries, and the collegfe societies are commencing theirs. We shall have a small commencement of a college lihrary, a present of books from several gentlemen of great liberality, and the promise of many friends to assist us in the formation of a library. We have also a small collection of geological and other specimens and curiosities. I*IWhen we get our anatomical and society halls, our museum and gallery of paintings finished and adorned -with works of.art and science, our botanical and other gardens supplied with the beauties of nature, our law as well as our medical and other schools in uniform and successful operation, I trust we shall prove to the people of Mississippi that the Centenary College has not been commenced to pass off as "1a morning cloud or the early dew." '*I I am finally asked, "1What effect will the veto message of Governor Tucker have on the college i" I answer, "Jam unable to say. leaninot, however, think that this will do us much harm. I have ever said that our charter is in the education we give, in the discipline, order, and system in our school, and the progress and good conduct of our students. It is certainly convenient to have a corporate name, and this, a's citizens, is doubtless our right, that we may transact oar legal and constitutional business; but a refusal to grant us our rigfhts and privileges will never put down our school. We are here, pleasantly situated, and are going on prospering and to prosper. Others may think that we are here to teach.sectarian dogmas and turn out 100 yonng men per annum. to upturn the liberties of our country, but we think the people will not believe this. We think that we are giving a good, a solid, and practical English, classical, and scientific education equal to any that can be obtained in the United States, and we are sure that we are training scores of young men by wholesome discipline to habits of industry and study, who shall adorn our country when we slumber in the dust." The first commencement celebration of the college took place on the the 28th of July, 1842. On that occasiou Prof. James B. C. Thornton IAddress of A. C. Bain, esq., in the Presbyterian Church at Grenada.-Weekly Register, April 30, 1842. THE CENTENARY COLLEGE. 113 delivered the inaugural address. In October following the college opened with 175 students. The course of study and general organization were as follows: COLLEGIATE DEPARTMENT. SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES. Latin.-Latin tutor (continued); Cicero's Orations; Cooper's Virgil and Gould's Ovid, with strict, attention to prosody and mythology; Cicero De Officiis; Anthon's Horace; Folsom's Livy; Juvenal; Cicero De Oratore; Tacitus and Terence; Latin composition. Greek.-Grweca Majora, vol. 1; excerpta historica; miscellanea; rhetorica; critica; Fisk's Greek Exercises; Grweca Majora, vol. 2; lyrics, etc., Sophocles, Euripides; Homer's Iliad (six books); ZEschines, and Demosthenes De Corona; Eschenberg's Manual and Anthon's Classical Dictionary will be used for reference; examinations in ancient geography and Grecian and Roman history; Greek composition; select portions from the Greek of the New Testament and the Septuagint version of the Old will be assigned to all the regular college classes. SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS. Algebra; plane geometry and trigonometry; mensuration of planes; surveying; solid geometry; mensuration of solids; navigation; analytical geometry and conic sections; spherical trigonometry; differential and integral calculus; descriptive geometry and civil engineering (when required); the mathematical principles of natural philosophy and astronomy. Text-books.-Davies' mathematical course (six volumes); Olmsted's Natural Philosophy (2 volumes); Olmsted's Natural Astronomy. The practical application of mathematics will be taught in connection with theory, and occasional lectures will be given on the history of mathematical discovery. SCHOOL OF NATURAL SCIENCES. Buffon's Natural History; Good's Book of Nature; Smellie's Philosophy of Natural History; Brown's Geology and Mineralogy; Eaton's Botany; Olmsted's Natural Philosophy; Turner's Chemistry and Gross's General Anatomy, translated from the French of Bayle and Hollard. SCHOOL OF MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL SCIENCES AND SACRED LITERATURE. Tytler's Universal History (large edition); Bancroft's History of the United States, and for students who desire a more extensive course Prideaux and Giesler; Jameson's Rhetoric; Hedge's Logic; Uphamn's Mental Philosophy; Say's Political Economy and Sullivan's Political Class Book; Paley's Moral Science, Evidences of Christianity, and Natural Theology; Butler's Analogy; Jahn's Archaeology. SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. Horner's Special Anatomy; Richerand's Physiology; Turner's Chemistry; Materia Medica and United States Dispensatory, by Wood and Cache; Dorsey and Gibson's Surgery; Dewee's Obstetrics; Cullen's Practice, Chapman's Therapeutics, and Good's Study of Medicine. The library for general reading in this department is extensive. SCHOOL OF LAW. Arrangements are now making to procure a suitable person as professor of law, who will prescribe to his classes the course of study for the law school, and will 21785-No. 24- 8 114 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. deliver to the junior and senior classes a course of lectures on constitutional, international, and municipal law. All the students in the institution will declaim publicly; those of each section in the senior class will deliver their own compositions. The Hebrew and the modern languages will be taught when required, chiefly in the last year. All the students will be required to prepare regular recitations in those branches of study in which they are engaged; but the professors will deliver lectures in their respective departments for the benefit of all the classes. Those of the professor of natural science and medicine will be accompanied with experiments in natural philosophy and chemistry, and examinations from preparations in anatomy. Medical and law students will have the privilege of attending the other schools without charge. * * To avoid unnecessary expense for clothing and induce economy in students the trustees have provided in their by-laws that a uniform, to be agreed on by the faculty and students, shall be adopted. This has been done. The winter dress of a student consists of a single-breasted coat, with standing collar, made of light gray cloth, with three rows of black buttons in front. One or more stars will designate the classes. Pantaloons of the same, with black stripes on the outside seam, a flat crowned blue cloth cap with broad band around it. White linen pantaloons for summer. The legislature of 1843 granted the institution a charter, which this time the governor did not veto. As time passed by, however, and the college lost the charm of novelty, criticism of it arose. Much opposition became apparent, both to its tuitional and its business methods. Prejudice was excited against the president, who was even charged with perverting the college funds; and the spirit not only invaded the conference, but became so widespread and intense that when he resigned, as he did do, and at the conference of November, 1844, asked for a transfer to the Alabama conference, he was located without his consent.' On the resignation of President Thornton, the Rev. David 0. Shattuck, of Carroll County, a man of singular purity of character and force of intellect, and of great influence in the State, once the candidate of the Whig party for governor, was chosen president pro tem. The institution was reorganized 'so far as to establish an exclusively English (and classical) school, and to place the studies preparatory to the collegiate course under the immediate direction of the professors, respectively." 2 These changes seem to have allayed the troubles. The session of 1844-45 opened well, and students were coming in almost daily in November; the college was able to meet all pecuniary demands, and good order reigned.3 During this session, however, the trustees came to the conclusion that it was a mistake ever to have located the institution at Brandon Springs. The surrounding country was poor, population sparse, and the people only of moderate means. Overtures were made from the State of Louisiana, and the result of all was a determination to change; 1 Minutes of Annual Conferences, vol. 2, p. 230. 2 Adv. in various State papers for September, 1844. The Constitution, November 23, 1844. THE CENTENARY COLLEGE. 115 and that, although some part of the subscriptions made, and all of the lands donated, were thereby lost. In the month of July, 1845, the following editorial notice appeared in the Mississippi Democrat: CENTENARY COLLEGE. We see it stated in the papers, we do not know upon what authority, that this institution is about to be removed to Jackson, La. The Methodist conference, which founded and controls the Centenary College, extends over both States of Louisiana and Mississippi. We believe the larger portion of the fund for its endowment was contributed in the former State. There are already commodious and splendid college edifices at Jackson, lately occupied by the "College of Louisiana," now defunct. From these circumstances we have thought the report of the removal not improbable. Since writing the above we have seen a paragraph in the Bayou Sara (La.) Ledger, stating that the college buildings at Jackson have been purchased by the Mississippi conference, with the intention of locating the Centenary College there. The failure at Brandon Springs discouraged the purchasers of the property of the late College of Louisiana; yet still they determined to try the experiment, and the purchase was concluded. The State sold on very liberal terms, requiring not more than one-fifth ofthe true value of the property, but exacting a guaranty that it should be devoted to literary purposes. The preparatory department was first opened for active work, an existing school in the town being adopted and incorporated into the institution for that branch. By invitation of the purchasers, the faculty opened the collegiate department about the 1st of October, 1845. Matters were, however, in rather an undefined and disorganized condition until the meeting of the conference in the winter. By that body the following persons were appointed trustees, viz: E. McGehee, J. I. Muse, J. Bowman, J. McCrea, J. W. Burruss, R. Perry, D. Thomas, William Winans, J. Robson, and J. Carmena. A board of visitors of thirteen persons, principally ministers, was also appointed. The two bodies combined constituted the joint board of trustees and visitors, and composed the corporation. The joint board met in January, 1846, and everything necessary was done. Steps were taken to secure a liberal charter from the legislature of Louisiana, under the name of The Centenary College of Louisiana. It was determined to hold as members of the institution not only the former graduates of the old Centenary College, but also those of the late College of Louisiana. A remarkable feature of this reorganization of 1846, was, that anticipating by about forty years a movement now attracting considerable attention in college circles, the plan, then unprecedented, was adopted of admitting the students to share in the management of the college. The faculty were charged with the executive and judicial functions of the institution. The legislative power was conferred on a body composed of two departments-one, called the senatorial department, consisted 116 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. of the joint board of trustees and visitors; the other, called the lower house, was constituted of twenty-one members, chosen by ballot from those students who were over 17 years of age, by such students as were over 15. The results of this experiment, as indicated in the first session, held in December, 1845 (perhaps in January, 1846), were reported to be "eminently gratifying. The amendments proposed [by the student branch], the suggestions made, were all distinguished by good sense and forethought. Their amendments were urged respectfully, not obstinately; their disagreements, with dignity submitted to a committee of conference." I Having now seen the Centenary safely over the Louisiana line, and its career there well begun, our connection with it as a Mississippi institution ceases. The following forty-odd years of its history belongs to the State of Louisiana.. This chapter can not properly be closed, however, without some account of its able first president. Thomas C. Thornton, D. D., was the son of Dr. Thomas Thornton, and was born in Dumfries, Prince William County, Va., October 12, 1794. His grandfather, Thomas Thornton, acted *s surgeon in the British Navy for several years, but afterwards entered the ministry of the Established Church of England. He came to America previous to the Revolutionary War, and in that struggle was the firm friend of Washington and the cause of American Independence-selling all his plate to the last spoon, and his stock to the last cow, and giving the money to the commander to help defray the expenses of his suffering soldiers, urging them to fight for their liberties, and not falter. Young Thornton graduated at an institution in his, native town under the Rev. Charles O'Neil, in his sixteenth year. He then began the study of medicine; but soon the Rev. Richard Tydings began to preach in the town, and young Thornton in a short time became serious and anxious for his soul's salvation. His father was a HighChurch Episcopalian, and discouraged his course. He joined the church; and soon after, ' * s near Stafford Court-House, preached his first sermon to an astonished people, from the text, "Ye must be born again." He was then in his sixteenth or seventeenth year. He continued on the circuit the remainder of the year. Being persuaded that on account of his youth the conference would not receive him, he engaged in teaching until in his nineteenth year, preaching as opportunities offered. In March, 1813, he was admitted on trial in the Baltimore Conference, and appointed to Winchester circuit; in 1814 and 1815 to Prince George's circuit. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Asbury, March 24,1815, at Baltimore. In 1816, he was sent to Stafford and Fredericksburg. He was ordained elder by Bishop McKendree, March 16, 1817, at Baltimore. In 1817, he was appointed to Severn circuit; 1818, Lancaster; 1819, Lancaster and Westmoreland; 1820 and 1821, Fredericksburg station. In March, 1822, he located, to wind up the business of the father's estate. In 1823 he took charge of the Menokin Academy in Virginia, where he remained until called to take charge of a collegiate institute in Northumberland, Va., where he remained until 1831, when his health forced him to seek a more active life on a farm. His health being restored, he reentered the Baltimore Conference March, 1833, and was appointed to Prince William circuit; 1834 and 1835, Baltimore city; 1836, 1837, agent for Dickerson College; 1838, 1839, Carlisle station and teacher in Dickerson College; 1840, 1841, Foundry Chapel, Washington City. In 1841 he was elected president of Centenary 1 The Republican, Woodville, January 24, 1846. THE CENTENARY COLLEGE. 117 College, and in the autumn of the year came to Mississippi Conference. He was president of Old Centenary College, 1842, 1843, and 1844. He asked to be transferred to the Alabama Conference at the conference of 1844, but, through the prejudice gotten up against him, he was located without his consent. This irritated him; and feeling assured of the determination of certain men to persecute him as long as he remained in the Methodist Church, he gave up his credentials June 6, 1845, to the Rev. J. N. Hamil, and withdrew from the Church. Soon after this he united with the Protestant Episcopal Church and became connected with a college in Jackson, Miss., where he taught for some years. He next was connected with a college in Brandon, Miss., for some years. While in the Protestant Episcopal Church he exercised as a preacher, but did not take orders in that Church, because he could not subscribe to their doctrine of apostolical succession. In 1850 he returned to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and at the conference held in Yazoo City, December, 1850, his credentials were restored to him. In 1851 ho was elected president of Madison College, which office he filled until his labors and sufferings ceased on the 22d of March, 1860. In November, 1853, he was readmitted into this conference. In 1854 he was on a mission to the colored people in connection with his labors in the college. He had regular pastoral work seventeen years; was college agent two years; was connected with institutions of learning thirty years-in eight different institutions-in all of which he was successful and popular as a teacher. As a professor or instructor, he stood preeminent. As a minister of the New Testament, he was a workman that needed not to be ashamed, as he gave to each his portion in season, and brought forth from his vast treasury things new and old, and thousands were converted to God under his ministry. As an expounder of the Scriptures, but few equaled himperhaps none in this country excelled him. While in Baltimore he wrote his "Theological Colloquies;" and when stationed in Washington City, at the solicitations of ' distinguished gentlemen, he wrote and published his " Slavery as it is in the United States," in reply to Dr. Channing. His end was peaceful and triumphant.' 1 Minutes Annual Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for 1860. Chapter IX. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. FOUNDING AND ENDOWMENT OF THE INSTITUTION. The University of Mississippi was, in effect, founded by the Congress of the United States, by the acts of March 3, 1815, and February 20, 1819. The former act, that which provided for the survey of the boundary line fixed by the treaty with the Creek Indians, donated 36 sections of the public lands for the use of a seminary of learning in the (then) Mississippi Territory. When the State was organized in 1817, all of the Creek lands were left within the Alabama Territory, and that fact led to the act of 1819. By this act a similar quantity of land in lieu of the Creek lands was granted and the title vested in the legislature of the State, in trust, for the support of a seminary" of learning therein, the lands to be located whenever an extinguishment of the Indian title should be made. On the 20th of November, 1821, the State legislature passed an act authorizing the governor "to obtain the best information that can be procured as to the most suitable lands in the Choctaw cession," and to correspond with the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States so that the location might be made prior to the sales of public lands in the said ceded territory; also, with the assent of the Secretary, to appoint a person to explore the territory and make report where the most valuable lands were situated, and where it would be advisable to locate the seminary lands so as best to promote the interests of the institution. On the 23d of December, 1823, Governor Leake, in his annual message to the legislature, stated that the exploration had been made, and 28 sections selected and reported to the Secretary for location (the residue being located shortly afterwards); and he said, "I would respectfully suggest to the general assembly the propriety of a memorial to Congress requesting an authority to sell such portions of the aforesaid lands as may be deemed expedient by the legislature; this measure would seem to be necessary, as it is believed that some of the tracts selected for location afford eligible sites for towns and ferries, and the purchasers of town lots would much prefer a fee-simple estate in their lots to a term of years, however long such term might be made, and such purchasers would, of course, give a better price for their lots." Six days later a select committee, to whom was referred that 118 THE LYCEUM NO. 1-UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 119 part of the governor's message, reported that "they deem it inexpedient to memorialize Congress on the subject;" and there the matter seems to have stopped. Again, in his message of January 4, 1825, Governor Leake, insisting on the necessity for making the seminary lands produce something for the purpose of the donation, and on the fact that the act of Congress did " not authorize the sale of any of those lands," urged the memorial. The legislature, however, seems to have taken a different view of the case. Its response to the governor's message was the act of January 29, by which the auditor of public accounts was authorized to lease the lands for terms not exceeding four years. Other acts were passed on the 7th of February, 1827, and the 16th of December, 1830, by which the leasing system was continued. In the year 1830 the State established the Planters' Bank. In its preamble the charter recites that the bank was established for the purpose of creating a public revenue. By the charter and a supplementary act passed in February, 1833, the State reserved to itself onehalf of the capital stock and 6 of the 13 directors. To the legislature of the latter year (1833) the auditor reported that the seminary lands had so far yielded only $8,328.50 gross; that the leased portions were deteriorating; and that, in his opinion, the ends contemplated by the framers of the law were not reached. This [said he] is, indeed, an inconsiderable sum, when compared with the dividends that would be declared on the amount for which they can be sold vested in bank stock. * * I am warranted in the opinion that one-fourth, or nine sections, of them can be sold at an average price of $15 per acre; the remaining three-fourths at an average of $10, $5, and $3 per acre, which will make the sum of $191,080. * * * If the policy now suggested for the future disposition of the seminary lands would produce the pecuniary result above exhibited, the political advantage the State would derive from bringing so much inert capital into useful and active employment would claim its adoption at the hands of the legislature. But higher considerations than this add their claim. The permanency of the political institutions of our State rests upon the virtue and intelligence of its citizens. Many of them are poor and look to this grant of lands as the means of assisting them to educate and direct their-children in the paths of usefulness, virtue, and religion. From the interest alone arising from the sale of these lands a seminary of learning might be supported, which could annually receive from the lap of penury 200 of those children, and as often return a like number to the bosom of society, prepared for the useful occupations of life. In accordance with this suggestion, the act of March 2, 1833, was passed. That statute directed the seminary lands to be sold at auction on one, two, and three years' time, with 10 per cent interest. The notes were to be on approved security, payable to the governor and his successors in office, and payable and negotiable in the Planters' Bank. As they should fall due the auditor was to collect them and invest the proceeds, from time to time, in stock of the bank. The question of want of power to sell without the consent of Congress seems to have been wholly lost sight of. 120 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. On the third Monday of the following November the lands were sold. The sum of the various bids, and for which notes were taken, as directed, was $277,332.52. The notes were placed in the Planters' Bank for collection and investment, as ordered. The collections began on the 16th of October, 1834, with a payment of $200 by one S. S. Fox, and thenceforward various sums were received at irregular intervals, aggregatingOn the 24th of December, 1839, the sum of............................. $139, 089.54 Add dividends from the bank stock.................................... 12, 235.00 Total collected to 24th of December, 1839........................ 151, 324.54 Amount of notes uncollected, principal ---......-......-.........-. 165,141.25 Amount embezzled by auditor, principal and interest.................. 6, 896.45 One half section of land still unsold. Of the moneys collected the total sum of $129,300 was invested in stock of the Planters' Bank, and the residue, with the stock itself, was irretrievably lost by the breaking of the bank in th year 1840 The uncollected notes shown in the foregoing statement were neglected. On the 30th of January, 1841, the standing committee on the seminary made the following report to the house of representatives: There is yet due to the seminary fund upon the notes in the office of the auditor a sum amounting to $168,518.92, some of which has been due more than six years, and all of which has been due more than two years. Your committee have not been informed of any great exertion having been made in order to collect this large amount of debt, and from the best information they have on the subject a great portion of it is in very bad condition on account of the insolvency of the debtors. They are constrained to believe that if due diligence had been used in the collection more than three-fourths of this large outstanding debt could have been collected before this time. Notwithstanding this urgent report of the committee, no action was taken by the legislature; and it was not until the 26th of July, 1843, that an act was passed "for the collection and investment of the seminary fund." The act provided, first, that all moneys which had accrued, or should accrue, from the sales of the 36 sections, and all bank stock in which any of such moneys had been invested, should constitute the seminary fund; secondly, that a commissioner should be appointed to collect said fund in currency or State warrants, and to pay over the same into the State treasury; and, thirdly, that the State treasurer should keep a separate account of all moneys theretofore or thereafter paid into the State treasury on account of the seminary fund, and also immediately after the passage of the act to credit the fund with interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum on all moneys theretofore paid into the treasury for that fund, and thereafter annually to credit said fund with interest at the rate of 8 per cent. This action was in the right direction, but it was too late. It was almost ten years after the sale, and the notes uncollected were mostly barred by the statute of limitation, and their makers were mostly THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 121 insolvent or removed from the State. To the legislature of 1844, Governor Brown said, in his annual message: Where is the seminary fund, is a question often asked, but never yet satisfactorily answered. To members of the legislature let me say, our common constituency will expect of us some account of this munificent fund, and a speedy application of it to the great purpose for which it has been set apart. On the 30th of December, 1845, the commissioner of the seminary fund reported to Governor Brown, and a summary of his report is as follows: Available assets. Amount collected into treasury, principal-............ —.. $79, 519.76 Interest accrued on the same........................................... 23, 519.64 Amount secure and certain of collection......-......................... 38, 287.93 Section 32, valued at $10 per acre............................-.... 6, 400.00 304 acres of land, valued at $5 per acre....-............................. 1,520.00 480 acres, valued at $1.25....-........ ----....... —...........-...... 600.00 Due for seminary land rents -........................................ 200.00 Total.-. — ---—. -- -..-...... —... —...... --- -- -- - -—. —... 150, 076.33 Unavailable assets. Due on judgments, decrees, and notes in suit, and from the Planter's Bank..-...............-.-..... -........................ $117,172.29 849 shares of Planter's Banj stock............................. 84,900.00 202, 072.29 In fact, however, there were additional shares of Planter's Bank stock, overlooked by the commissioner, as shown by the records, amounting to 44,400.00 Making a total of unavailable assets...... --- —...-... --- —-... 246,472.29 The moneys shown by the foregoing statement to have been collected into the State treasury, and such further sums as were afterwards collected, aggregating not far from $90,000, were used by the State about its ordinary expenses. At different times, notably by Governor Brown in 1846 and by Governor McRae in 1856, efforts were made to obtain from the legislature a recognition of liability for the seminary fund, on the ground of mismanagement as trustee. Such efforts, however, proved unavailing until the year 1880. The legislature of that year appointed a committee to investigate the account between the State and the seminary fund, and it appearing that there was a balance of $544,061.23 due, the act of March 5, 1880, was passed. By that act the debt as stated was recognized, and the payment quarterly of interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum was ordered. The interest revenue of the university was thereby fixed at $32,643 per annum, and it is promptly paid. The only other sources of revenue are the matriculation fees of students in the department of arts and the tuition fees of the law students, which add about $3,000 per annum. 122 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. THE LOCATION AND INCORPORATION OF THE INSTITUTION. To the legislature of 1835 Governor Runnells said in his annual message: The 36 sections of land granted to this State by the United States for a seminary of learning have been sold for the sum of $277,282.53, a sum quite sufficient to j ustify the State to go into the establishment of a university, and with a view to its location I would recommend the appointment of commissioners * * whose duty it shall be to select the spot for its location. So Governor Quitman, in his message to the next legislature, that of 1836, said: By a former communication fromthe executive department of this State it will be perceived that the lands granted to this State by Congress for a seminary of learning have been sold for the sum of $277,282.53. The specific direction of this fund can not be diverted by the legislature. It will, therefore, be proper that some plan for carrying out the purposes of the grant should be adopted. Again, Governor Lynch, in his message to the legislature of 1837, said: The bonds or notes given for the seminary lands, and which amount to $270,000, are now all due; and the original sales, together with the interest that has accrued, now exceed $310,000, which, at 10 per cent interest, the rate they bear, will create an annual revenue of more than $30,000. With such an ample endowment, your immediate attention should be directed to the establishment of a seminary of learning upon a large and liberal scale, in which both sexes may receive a finished education. The annual receipts of the interests on this fund, with, perhaps, some little aid drawn from the principal or some other source, would probably be sufficient to construct the buildings, and after their completion the interest may enable the State to defray all the expenses of such an institution. * * I would suggest that five or more commissioners be appointed, whose duty it shall be to select a proper site. In his message of January 8, J839, Governor McNutt warned the legislature of the critical condition of the fund; and, as one means of securing it from loss, urged the immediate establishment of the seminary. He said: The terms of the grant seem to forbid a division of the fund, and the best interests of the. State require the immediate establishment of the seminary. It should be located in a salubrious and healthy situation, where living is cheap. A sufficient amount could be realized the present year to erect suitable buildings. Two hundred thousand dollars might be retained, and the interest used to pay the professors and other incidental expenses. In a few years the university would furnish an ample supply of good teachers for our free schools. Unless the university is speedily established, or the law providing for the collection of the fund changed, a large portion of it may be lost. * * I Sectarian and party influence should be guarded against, and the benefits of the institution forever secured to every portion of the people of the State. The immense sums annually expended abroad by our citizens in the education of their children take away much of our means and operate injuriously on our welfare. Situations as healthy can be found in our own borders as elsewhere and education can be as cheaply obtained. Our youths should never be far removed from parental supervision. Patriotism, no less than economy, urges upon us the duty of educating our children at home. In early life the strongest impressions are made. Those opposed to us in principle and alienated in interest, cannot safely be entrusted with the education of our sons and daughters. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 123 In his message of January, 1840, Governor McNutt said, further: The discordant views of the members of the legislature, in relation to the location of our State seminary, have heretofore prevented the passage of a law providing for the final disposition of the fund. All will admit that it should be fixed at a healthy place; of convenient access to the people of the State; where the expenses of living would be cheap. The preservation of the health and morals of the students are objects of the first magnitude, and in locating this great institution the interest of the whole State, rather than that of particular towns and sections of the country, should be consulted. On the 14th of January this portion of the governor's message was referred to a select committee of the house, composed of Messrs. Ventress, Evans, Bradford, Talbert, Bell, Cook, and Binford. On the 5th of February Mr. Ventress, for the committee, made the following report: Mr. SPEAKER. The committee on the seminary fund, to whom was referred that portion of the governor's message in relation to the seminary fund and other memorials on the same subject, have had the same under consideration, and have instructed me to report the following bill, the bill to be entitled " An act to provide for the location of the State university." The bill was read the first time, and, on motion of Mr. Ventress, the constitutional rule of the house requiring bills to be read upon three several days was dispensed with and the bill read a second time. On motion of Mr. Ventress the bill was then committed to a committee of the whole house and made the order of the day for Friday, the 6th, at 11 o'clock. On the 8th of February, the hour of 11 o'clock having arrived, the house resolved itself into a committee of the whole house, and after some time spent therein the committee arose and reported progress through their chairman, Mr. Drake, that they had had under consideration a bill to be entitled " An act to provide for the location of the State university," and had made an amendment thereto. On motion of Mr. Ventress the bill was-read a second time, ordered to be engrossed, and made a special order of the day for Monday next, at 11 o'clock. On the Monday following the bill was duly passed. The senate concurred in it, the governor approved it, and it became a law on the 20th of February. Of this act the first nine sections directed that seven possible sites should be selected by the legislature on joint ballot, and that three commissioners should be also elected to examine and report on the sites so selected and to secure conditionally, by purchase or donation, one section of land for the university location. The commissioners were required to report to the next succeeding legislature, at which the final site was to be chosen on like ballot. On the day following the approval of the act, on motion of Mr. Ventress, The clerk was instructed to inform the senate that the house of representatives were now ready to receive them, to proceed to the selection of seven sites for the 124 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. location of the State university and the election of three commissioners to report thereon to the next legislature. The clerk notified the senate accordingly, and on the same day, the hour having arrived for the assemblage of the two houses to proceed to the selection of seven sites for the location of the State university and the election of three commissioners to report thereon, the senate and its officers, preceded by the sergeant-at-arms, came into the representatives' hall and took the seats assigned them. The president of the senate and of the joint meeting then announced the object of the joint assemblage. Mr. Humphreys, of the senate, and Mr. Durham, of the house of representatives, were appointed tellers to receive and count the votes. The two houses then proceeded to make their several nominations of sites for the location of the university. After six ballots the president decided that Louisville, Kosciusko, Mississippi City, Brandon, Oxford, Middleton, and Monroe Missionary Station were selected as possible sites from which to make choice. The three commissioners were thenr balloted for and the result on first ballot was the choice of Hon. William L. Sharkey, Hon. William L. Brandon, and Hon. Thomas H. Williams. Mr. Brandon and Mr. Sharkey declined to serve, and the governor appointed in their stead Messrs. Joshua T. Russell and J. A. Van Hoesen. The commissioners discharged their duty punctually and faithfully. They visited all of the seven places nominated, and presented to the next legislature a full report.' Whereupon, on the 26th of January, 1841, the two houses in joint session proceeded to ballot for the selection of the site, with the following result: Place voted for. First. Second. Third. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth. Mississippi City................................ 33 33 31 36 49 57 Oxford -.............-....... — -... —.. —. 15 17 22 27 38 58 Brandon......... —..... —....-....-........ --- — 18 19 23 i....... Monroe Missionary Station......................... 14 16 22 27 1 28 -..... Louisville....................12 10................ Kosciusko. ---. —. —.... —.....................-.......... M iddleton.................................................................. Whereupon the president announced that Oxford was selected as the site for the State University.2 The citizens of Oxford and of Lafayette County had already purchased and conditionally donated to the university a fine section of land, adjoining the town, for the site. On the 10th of January, 1844, the governor-elect, A. G. Brown, was installed, and delivered to the legislature an inaugural address, in which he said: The day which witnesses the completion of this magnificent temple of learning will be a brilliant one in the annals of Mississippi. It will be regarded as the dawning of a new era in the history of letters, and as such will be hailed with joy by the friends of science throughout the nation. 'House Journal, 1841, p. 267. 2 Ibid., p. 311. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 125 Our State will not be appreciated at home nor sufficiently honored abroad until her educated youth shall acknowledge as their alma mater this or some other reputable college within our own limits. The practice of sending the youth of the country abroad to be educated ought to be discouraged. The only effectual means of doing so is to rear up colleges and academies at home, which may successfully compete with those of other States. The enterprising founders of Centenary College have set a noble example, and one which deserves imitation. Let such institutions be encouraged by all proper means in our power, and instead of sending our youth abroad to be educated, where they sometimes contract unfortunate habits, and grow up with false prejudices against home institutions and laws, they may be kept at home comparatively under the supervisory care of their parents, surrounded by those institutions and protected by those laws which it is proper they should be early brought to love and reverence.' Responding to this message, the legislature granted a charter for the university on the 24th of February, 1844. The reader has probably been struck by the concluding expressions used in the governor's message, quoted above. They contain an allusion to a subject which must be treated for a full comprehension of the motives to the final establishment of the university, so long delayed. We must therefore indulge in an excursus on A RETARDING INFLUENCE, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SENTIMENT. By referring to the introductory chapter on '"The early social and political history of Mississippi,' it will be seen that the conditions under which this State was occupied by the English-speaking people were remarkable. The lands were fertile, and were granted in large tracts on very easy terms. The immigrants were people of means and of culture. They came from a comparatively old and an absolutely refined civilization, where, amongst other institutions, educational establishments of a high order flourished. Many of the immigrants were from the New England States; many from the Middle States, and nearly all the remainder from Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Georgia, and the Carolinas. They brought with them full knowledge of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, University of Virginia, Transylvania, the University of North Carolina, et id omne genus, and long preserved pleasant and loving remembrances of the old colleges of their youth. Knowing these facts it would be a natural inference that they should incline to send their sons back to those colleges to be educated. Such was the fact. In the biographies of all the elderly men whose youth overreaches the decades between 1810 and 1840, the statement that he was educated at one or other of those institutions is invariable, provided the youth received any college training. The first man to take a college degree in Mississippi was James M. Smiley, in 1833, and even he had had a preliminary course at Jefferson College in Pennsylvania. Yet Jefferson College in Mississippi had been incorporated and endowed ten years before he was born. House Journal, 1844, p. 207. 126 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. In respect to the girls, the conditions were different. The greater tendency of the females to find their interests in domestic life; the greater inclination of parents to keep their daughters under their wings;, the slow and difficult means of travel used exclusively in those daysall conspired to keep the girls at home. Consequently greater honest effort was made to build up and encourage female schools at home. The first public school of which we have any record was the female school of Dr. Ker, in Natchez, in 1801. While Jefferson College was incorporated in 1802, yet it did not open its doors for nine years, and led but the most feeble and languishing existence as an academy until 1830; but, on the other hand, Elizabeth Female Academy, established in 1818, sprang at once into lusty and fruitful life. We are not, however, left to infer the causes of the practical indifference felt by the people of that period to the support of high grade male colleges in this State. There is plenty of direct testimony on the point. For instance, a committee was appointed by the trustees of Jefferson College in 1837 to inquire into the causes of the ill success of that institution; and in their report, made in October of that year, they attributed the unsatisfactory condition: Chiefly to the prevalent feeling of partiality and veneration for the time-honored and distinguished institutions of the North, which impelled most parents to resort to them for the education of their sons, attaching a high value to the honors derived from those venerated shrines, from which have issued so many distinguished men whose names have shed a luster upon the history of their country.' Again, in an address delivered at Madison College in 1859, ex-Governor A. G. Brown said: Let Southern parents cease to send their sons and daughters to the North, and resolve to build up schools and colleges at home. I know that experiments have failed in our own State, and I know the cause. Jefferson College was the first endowed in Mississippi. Mr. Jefferson, the great friend of home instruction, was its patron. It was incorporated in 1802 by the then territorial legislature of Mississippi, and in the following year Congress made to it a grant of one township, or about 23,000 acres of land. Had the resources of this college been husbanded, and its usefulness recognized and encouraged, it might have dispensed a vast amount of learning, and boasted to-day of an endowment equal to half a million of dollars. Instead of this it has languished for half a century-starved amidst teeming wealth and gorgeous luxury. Its funds have been squandered, and to-day it almost gasps for breath. Why has this been? Those who lived under the very shadow of the college refused to succor it, allowed its money to be wasted, and sent their sons and daughters to the North to be educated. In the thirty-eight years, from 1802 to 1840, there were incorporated no less than 110 academies and colleges in Mississippi, male and female. Most of them had a fitful existence, and then went down to that general receptacle of odd and useless things, "the tomb of the Capulets." The cause is obvious-the children of Mississippi could only be educated at Northern schools. It is impossible to tell to what extent the prepossession in favor of the Northern and Eastern colleges so strongly insisted on and objected to in the foregoing quotations would have affected educational interests in this State had nothing intervened to combat it; but something didintervene. The question of slavery arose, and became the all-absorbing 'Charter and St. of Jefferson College, 1840, p. 89. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 127 issue of the day. It deeply stirred the matter of education; indeed, what interest did it not stir? Until 1829-30 the abolition idea was representative of a sentiment only. In 1831 and 1832, The Liberator, an "immediate abolition" newspaper, and the New England Anti-Slavery Society were established. In December, 1833, the American Anti-Slavery Society was formed, and began to assume national importance. In 1839 was organized the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. In the election of 1844 this society was strong enough to poll 62,300 votes; which being drawn mostly from the supporters of Mr. Clay, gave Polk the electoral vote of New York by a plurality, and made him President. The assaults of this party on the South were deeply felt there; the " gradual abolition " theory, which had largely prevailed in the South itself up to this time, was swept away in the tide of resentment, and the new and aggressive phase of the antislavery feeling was regarded as insulting to the South and dangerous to the continuance of the Union. This development in the Northern States of the Union soon began to affect the question of Southern education. Many of the leading men in the South strenuously urged the expediency of abandoning the practice of sending Southern boys North to school, and by consequence to advocate the using of every effort to build up colleges in the South. It is not well, as a general rule, to rake over the embers of dying hatreds. But these questions have now so completely fallen into the stage of lifeless ashes that we may venture, in the interest cf historical truth, to recall somewhat of their living fierceness. The new phase of sentiment found early expression through Governor McNutt. In his message of the 8th of January, 1839, he said: Patriotism, no less than economy, urges upon us the duty of educating our children at home. In early life the strongest impressions are made. Those opposed to us in principle, and alienated in interest, can not safely be entrusted with the education of our sons and daughters.' On the 9th of May, 1839, a discussion was held in the Raymond Debating Club upon the following question: Is it more advisable to have the youth of Mississippi educated at the literary institutions within the State than to send them abroad? 2 In his message of January 10, 1844 (the message that brought about the incorporation of the State University), Governor Brown said, as quoted above: The practice of sending the youth of the country abroad to be educated ought to be discouraged. * * * Instead of sending our youth abroad to be educated, where they sometimes contract unfortunate habits, and grow up with false prejudices against home institutions and laws, they may be kept at home, comparatively under the supervisory care of their parents, surrounded by those institutions and protected by those laws which it is proper they should be early brought to love and reverence.3 ' House Journal, 1839, p. 9. The Southern Sun, July 9, 1839. 3 House Journal, 1844, 207. 128 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. These were mild utterances, and reflected the nature of the growing opposition to Northern education. The tendency of such a system to inspire Southern youth with antislavery proclivities was felt to be objectionable. Heretofore, however, the antislavery idea had been mainly a sentiment. It had not been sufficiently aggressive to excite apprehension. The objection to coming into contact with it through the young students was also sentimental and sought reenforcements from other considerations. Thus, Governor McNutt invokes economy and Governor Brown the point of a stricter paternal supervision. Another argument advanced was that of the supposed injury to the constitution by the loss, through a protracted residence in a strange climate, of the acclimation given by Southern birth. After this period, however, abolitionism gathered strength with magical rapidity. The Southern people were filled at once with alarm and indignation, and those who considered the question of education at all, rapidly came to regard the danger of abolition propagandism as an all-sufficient argument for home education, needing no reenforcements. When the university was incorporated, in February, 1844, this feeling had not reached its height. That was the year in which the AntiSlavery Society practically defeated Mr. Clay, but it had not yet been done. But while the tidal wave of passion had not yet come in, the swell was on, and its strength was sufficient to overcome the obstruction of an infra-state sectional difference, of which account will be given a few pages further on, and largely contributed to bring the university into being. THE CHARTER. The act of incorporation which finally called into being the institution so long hoped for is as follows: AN ACT to incorporate the University of Mississippi. 1. J. Alexander Ventress, John A. Quitman, William L. Sharkey, Alexander M. Clayton, William Y. Gholson, Jacob Thompson, Pryor Lea, Edward C. Wilkinson, James M. Howry, John J. McCaughan, Rev. Francis L. Hawks, J. N. Waddel, A. H. Pegues are hereby appointed trustees of the University of Mississippi, in Lafayette County, and they and their successors in office are hereby declared and constituted a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of the " University of Mississippi," a majority of whom shall form a quorum to do business, but a committee of less number may be appointed to transact necessary business in the interim of a regular session of said trustees. 2. Said corporation shall be possessed of all the general powers, privileges, and emoluments now secured to similar corporations by the constitution and laws of this State, and to adopt such by-laws and rules as they may deem expedient, for the accomplishment of the trust reposed in them, not repugnant to the constitution and laws of, this State. 3. The said board of trustees shall have full power and entire control over the funds belonging to the " University of Mississippi," or the "seminary fund," after it shall have been collected, to be by them applied toward the consummation of the plan of the "University of Mississippi;" and said trustees shall have power to devise and adopt such a system of learning as in their judgment they may deem THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 129 most advisable to be pursued in the course of education in the university; to employ a competent person to draft a plan of the same, and appoint commissioners to contract for the erection of the university building, so soon as they may think advisable. 4. Said board of trustees shall have power to fill all vacancies that may occur in i'heir body. 5. This act shall be repealed at the will of the legislature, and shall be in force from and after its passage. James Alexander Ventress, of Wilkinson County, whose name first appears in the enumeration of trustees above, was the same Mr. Ventress who in 1810 was chairman of the committee on the seminary fund and, as such, introduced the bill to locate the university, and conducted it to the fortunate conclusion. He was a gentleman of scholarly attainments and had been educated in Germany. FIRST MEETING OF THE TRUSTEES. The first meeting of the board took place in Jackson, on the 15th of January, 1845. A temporary organization was effected by calling Mr. Quitman to the chair, with Mr. Lea as secretary. The first motion made was by Mr. Clayton, on which it wasOrdered, That a committee of three be appointed by the chair to report, as early as practicable, a system of by-laws for the government of the board. Messrs. Clayton, Howry, and Lea were appointed; and on motion of Mr. Sharkey the chairman was added. On the 17th the committee reported a code in nineteen articles, the first of which declared that the officers of the corporation should be a president, secretary, and treasurer, and an executive committee of the trustees. The board then proceeded to the election of president of the board of trustees. Hon. Alexander M. Clayton was chosen and took the chair. The board then inaugurated proceedings to obtain information in regard to the seminary fund, to procure plans and specifications for the proposed buildings, and adjourned after transacting further business of minor importance.' SECOND MEETING OF THE TRUSTEES. The next meeting of the board was at Oxford on the 14th of July following (1845). At the very first they were met by the president with the disheartening information that the auditor declined to issue any warrants in favor of the university until further legislation was had on the subject, and nearly all their deliberations at this meeting were directed to this complication and to the question of the condition of the seminary fund. Notwithstanding the embarrassment, they considered their scheme of financial policy. The conclusion reached was this: That inasmuch Minutes of the board, Vol. I, pp. 1-8. 21785 —No, 24-9 130 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. as the commissioner of the seminary fund had stated the probable amount, collected and collectible, at from $150,000 to $160,000, the sum of $100,000 thereof should be reserved for permanent investment, and the remainder (not, however, to exceed $50,000) used for buildings and outfit. However, should in any event the total fund not exceed $100,000, then at least $75,000 should be invested and only the excess be used for buildings and furnishings. It was not designed to set apart for present use either of those sums, however. All that could be safely done at the time was to set apart $15,000 for the purpose of construction..On this basis the executive committee was empowered, not to make contracts, but to receive proposals for building contracts.' THIRD MEETING OF THE TRUSTEES. The next and third meeting of the board was in Jackson on the 12th of January, 1846. The trouble in regard to obtaining funds was still in the way. The building committee appointed at the last meeting reported that they had not been able to accomplish anything, and were discharged. An architect was elected and a plan submitted by him for a building accepted, with some modifications. The sum of $15,000 was ordered to be placed in the hands of the treasurer (when it could be got) for building purposes, and the executive committee authorized to make contracts not to exceed $20,000 after the legislature should have passed an appropriation bill. THE BASIS OF SCHOLARSHIP SETTLED. A question of paramount importance settled at this meeting was that of the scholastic principle of the institution. The question was raised by a resolution offered by Mr. Quitman, to the effect that "the act of the legislature constituting the University of Mississippi contemplates the establishment of a seminary of learning upon the usual plan of an American university, or college, for instruction in the higher branches of learning." The vote on this proposition was by yeas and nays-7 for, 1 against, and 1 not voting. It is noteworthy that the gentleman who voted against the resolution was Mr. Ventress.2 However, that settled the question that the seminary was to be a university in fact as well as in name. GOVERNOR BROWN'S SCHEME FOR AUXILIARY SCHOOLS. To the legislature then in session Governor Brown had said in his message: This institution (the university) has been located at Oxford, in Lafayette County, where a suitable site has been procured for the buildings. The trustees held a meetMinutes of the trustees, Vol. 1, pp. 8, 12, 14. Ibid, pp. 16-21, THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 131 ing in July, 1845, and subsequently furnished me with printed copies of their proceedings, which I herewith transmit to the legislature. An appropriation will be necessary to enable them to erect their buildings. Economy should be observed in their construction; convenience and durability being consulted, rather than beauty and ornament. I recommend that the sum set apart be limited to $50,000. * * The State ought to assume the $110,000 lost in the Planters' Bank and place it at once on the same footing with the $103,287 now in the treasury. The fund would then amount in round numbers to $250,000. Two hundred thousand dollars of this should be retained as a permanent fund, and the residue appropriated to the erection of college buildings at Oxford, as heretofore suggested. This permanent fund should be kept in the treasury and an annual interest of 8 per cent paid on it. This interest ($16,000) should be set apart in the treasury at the beginning of every year and kept sacred and inviolable for the purposes hereafter to be named; and here let me remark that the vexation and expense Which has attended a first collection of this fund, and the heavy and ruinous losses which it has sustained in the hands from which it has been slowly 4vrung, should admonish the legislature to take charge of and keep it secure in future. Of the $16,000 interest I recommend that $8,000 be appropriated to the annual purposes of the college. There should be then established ten academies or high schools at as many different points in the State, to be designated by the legislature, having reference to geographical divisions. To each of these there should be an annual payment of $800 out of the remaining $8,000. Nothing is clearer to my mind than that the college will not succeed without the aid of auxiliary schools. These schools need not, and indeed should not be in the immediate vicinity of the college, but at such points to give it the most efficient aid, and at the same time to diffuse the greatest amount of intelligence among the people. The language of the act of Congress in making the grant of land from which we derive this fund is that "it shall be vested in the legislature of the State in trust for the support of a seminary of learning." This language, " a seminary of learning," has been thought to limit the legislature to the establishment of one school, and to negative the idea that that school should have auxiliary departments. It has seemed to me so palpable that the trustees could so act as to carry out the great object of the trust, which was the diffusion of knowledge, that I have not fallen into what is, to my mind, a constrained idea of the law of Congress. It does not necessarily follow that because the act of Congress said " a seminary" that it meant there should be one school under one roof, or that the "seminary" and all its auxiliary departments should be in the same inclosure, or even in the same city or town. The spirit of the act of Congress is carried out by the establishment of one seminary, university, or college, with such auxiliary departments as are necessary to its success. These should be under the same general supervision and control, and be located at such points as to be of the greatest advantage to the main college and to the cause of education.1 ATTEMPT TO REPEAL THE CHARTER. This message brought on a notable and important struggle. In order to understand the following episode it is necessary to recall a controversy in the political history of the State, now long since passed away, and the memory of which is only preserved in the time-stained files of the contemporary newspapers. The Mississippi Territory was organized in 1801. The State was received into the Union in 1817; but at that time only the southern third of the present State was occupied by the whites; the Indians held the residue. From 1830 to 1834 the Choctaws and Chickasaws Senate Journal, 1846, pp. 13, 14, and 23-25. 132 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. made their cessions, thereby rendering available for white occupancy the northern two-thirds of the State. There was a great inrush of population, and of a population largely felt by the people of the southern part (the old State, if such a term can be applied to a country only about a half century occupied) to be newcomers and strangers. In December, 1833, the Dancing Rabbit Creek territory was organized into 16 counties, and in February, 1836, the Chickasaw cession into 12. South Mississippi felt that the scepter had departed from Judah. In the organization of the legislatures great acrimony was displayed. North and central Mississippi sprung into power in almost a day, and practically took control of the State. The lapse of ten years had not quieted these passions; nay, it had inflamed them rather. The following editorials of the day will indicate the situation, and after nearly a half century we may read them with a smile instead of a scowl: Apportionment bill.-This bill which makes a cipher of the southern portion of the State, "Old Mississippi," is perhaps as true a specimen of the tyranny of local majorities as we could find in a summer's day. We do not think it a party but a local vote that carried it. We are credibly informed that " logrolling" had a hand in it, without which it could not have passed, so repugnant was it to every sense of honor and justice. The south was outgeneraled. North Mississippi had the whole matter like a farmer's wife's pumpkins, all cut out and dried long ago. While our counties were returning a thousand or more less inhabitants than they claimed, there not one escaped the census-not one, visible or invisible-and it is said that the future was drawn upon to the extent of several months in numerous cases, in order to swell the total of white population in Tippah and such counties. Power they had, more they craved, and they now have acquired all. We go in now for a division of the State. Give us half a dozen counties in this section of the State, give us the franchises of a State and a respectable name; set us off from northern oppression, patronage, and repudiation, and our few counties will pay the bonds, and be glad of the opportunity and riddance. South Mississippi is now only a serf to the north, its voice unheard, its prayers rejected, its interests scorned. The Boones, the Mileses, the Labauves, the Briscoes are the gods of Mississippi, the penates and the idols. What then must the worship be I The foregoing demand for disunion was a sufficiently plain indication of a hot discontent, but it was not the plainest. Even annexation to a different State was declared better than the existing relations. On the 27th of June following, the same paper said, editorially: The Natchez Courier is advocating the policy of annexing the southwestern part of Mississippi to Louisiana. We go in for it heart, hand, and soul, and have done so for some time past, through our paper and privately. There is scarcely a reason why we should remain linked (like the living to the dead among the Romans) to the dead carcass of northern Mississippi. There is little sympathy between us, few principles in common, but trifling intercourse between us, and no benefit derived by us from the State government, unless to pay the chief taxes and to have little or no representation in the legislature, and to be cursed with all the evils of local legislation made exclusively for the northern part of the State's benefit-be considered a benefit. ' * * We say go ahead-let us off-off from Brownism, demagogism, toadyism, repudiation, taxation without representation. 1 Woodville Republican, March 14, 1846. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 133 This sectional spirit had already figured in the university's history. To it Governor McNutt referred in his message of 1840 when, urging the location of the university, he said, as already quoted: "The discordant views of the members of the legislature, in relation to the location of our State seminary, have heretofore prevented the passage of a law providing for the final disposition of the fund; ' and on the occasion, in January, 1841, when the institution was located, the final contest was between Oxford, in the far northern portion of the State, and Mississippi City, in the extreme southern part. The reader is now prepared to understand the following debate which nearly made shipwreck of the university at the very outset of its career. On the 15th of January, 1846, the legislature was in session. Mr. Cushman, a member from the county of Lafayette (in which county the university had been located), as chairman of a select committee, reported back to the house a bill explanatory of the act incorporating the university, with amendments. Mr. Simrall, a member from Wilkinson County, rose and said he was opposed to the money of the seminary fund being used for any one portion of the State; he desired to see this fund disposed of for the greatest good to the greatest number; that the State should be divided into four collegiate districts, and appropriate $60,000 to each, with colleges or universities to be located at the most prominent points in each district; to retrace all legislation upon this subject by repealing the original charter, and begin anew. If we could not use this fund for the diffusion of schools or colleges in different parts of the State to memorialize Congress upon the subject. This university, situated as it is, resembles the corruscations of the north pole, which are the most brilliant known, but are not seen or enjoyed by near onefourth of the globe; so will it be with this great " northern light" of Mississippi; the greater portion of the State will never derive any benefit from it. Mr. Cushman [from Lafayette] replied with warmth and energy, manifesting his great zeal for the welfare of the bill. On motion of Mr. Smiley the house resolved itself into committee of the whole upon the bill. Mr. Allen opposed the bill, briefly giving his views in opposition to the measure. Mr. Simrall offered a resolution that the bill be referred to the committee on education, and to inquire into the expediency of dividing the State into four collegiate districts, and the propriety of memorializing Congress to grant the use of this fund for the establishment of common schools throughout the State. Messrs. Totten and Fountaine advocated the passage of the bill with fervor and energy. Mr. Green opposed the bill, and called for the reading of that portion of the governor's message which relates to this fund. Mr. Cushman said he was willing to commit the bill to its fate, but he would suggest to the gentlemen to be cautious how they divided this fund and the 500,000 acres of land [granted by Congress for internal improvements], and if the same principle was carried out with them as was manifested toward this, there was no telling in what it would end. Mr. Farrer rose and made a very energetic appeal in behalf of the bill. Mr. Smiley said he was not surprised that the northern members should so unequivocally manifest their zeal in this measure, but that he deprecated the sectional feeling that existed in this house between the northern and southern portions of the State; he wished to see it abolished and hoped they would all do their utmost for 134 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. each others' good, and not be so jealous of this or that place being more prosperous than their own. He regretted that the gentleman from Lafayette [Mr. Cushman] had made the remarks he did in relation to the 2-per-cent fund and the 500,000 acres of land, as he thought them out of place and uncalled for. He went on to give his opinion upon a system of education which he desired to be adopted for the whole State, making an eloquent appeal to the house to forget and bury all sectional differences. Mr. Emanuel said, at the hazard of appearing to disadvantage in following the gentleman from Amite, who had just favored the house with his views on the subject of the bill now under consideration, he would avail himself of this occasion to express his hearty concurrence with that gentleman in the course which he advocated, and he would commend to this house the liberal and conciliatory spirit of the well-expressed, well-timed, and high-toned sentiments of that gentleman. He contended that the law of Congress donating to this State a portion of the public lands to create a fund for the establishment of a State seminary left no discretion with this legislature as to the appropriation of that fund, and that honesty and good faith sanctioned the grant of the $50,000 which it is the object of the present bill to place under the control of the trustees of the Oxford University. It is but carrying out the provision of an existing law of the State in relation to that institution. He would not hold back from that institution the funds to which it was justly entitled, merely because of its northern location. He was opposed to that kind of dog-in-the-manger legislation. He deprecated all narrow sectional prejudices in legislating on a subject of such magnitude, involving the interest of so considerable a portion of this Commonwealth. He considered that education and internal improvement were the two great subjects which called for prompt and wise legislation. They were questions which should not be met with contracted and sectional feelings. The threat, or suggestion, as he termed it, of the gentleman from Lafayette [Mr. Cushman], intended for the special attention of the friends of the great Southern Railroad bill, should not drive him from his purpose of acting with that justice and liberality toward this northern university which he felt it his duty to do, because that gentleman had made a remark which evinced more zeal than discretion. He would go with the friends of education with hearty good will, as he would with those of internal improvement, and his advice to the friends of both those great objects would be to pull all together. He said he adopted the construction maintained by the governor in reference to the State seminary; he believed that a gradation of schools auxiliary to thjat institution was the proper view of the subject, and in his opinion would certainly conduce in the highest degree to the public good. He said there was no one who would go farther than he to promote the cause of primary schools and elementary editation, and no State nor people needed them more than ours, but the claims of the university were none the less just and entitled to legislative liberality. The best interests of the people of Mississippi would be promoted by a liberal policy of this legislature with regard to education and internal improvement, and for one he should endeavor in his action as a member of that body to satisfy their just expectations. On motion the committee rose and reported the bill back to the house without amendment. The question was called for on Mr. Simrall's resolution and pronounced out of order. The question to recommit the bill, in order to refer it to the committee on education, was lost by yeas 39, nays 56. The question on the passage of the bill was decided affirmatively. Special correspondence of Woodville Republican, January 31, 1846. THE LYCEUM NO. 2-UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. THE UNIVERSITY 01 MISSISSIPPI. 135 FIRST APPROPRIATION FOR BUILDINGS, ACT OF 1846. Thus the legislature passed the act following, which was approved on the 26th of January, 1846: AN ACT supplementary to an act for the incorporation of the University of Mississippi. 1. So much of the third section of an act entitled "An act to incorporate the University of Mississippi," approved February 24, 1844, as gives the trustees of the university full power and entire control over the funds belonging to the University of Mississippi or the seminary fund, is hereby repealed. 2. The treasurer of the State is hereby authorized and required to pay to said board of trustees, or their order, upon warrant from the auditor of public accounts, during the present year, when demanded, the sum of $25,000 out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated; and the said treasurer is required to pay to the said board of trustees, or their order, upon warrant from the auditor, during the next year, commencing on the 1st of January, A. D. 1847, the further sum of $25,000, when demanded, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. Section 1 of the foregoing act must be specially noted. The result has been that the trustees have never had any other control over funds than the disbursement of income. BUILDINGS BEGUN. Hitherto the university had enjoyed "'a local habitation and a name," indeed, but nothing more. This act, however, gave promise of better things. The work of building and furnishing could now begin actively. Consequently on an appointed day, the 14th of July, 1846, the corner stone of the principal edifice, the lyceum, was laid, with appropriate Masonic ceremonies, and an address was delivered by William F. Stearns, esq., a lawyer of Holly Springs, and subsequently the first law professor of the institution. For the next two years, 1846 and 1847, the attention of the board was almost wholly engrossed in architecture and builders' accounts. The trowel, the plane, and the ledger were the rulers of those hours. To a very considerable extent this was also true of the year 1848; but in that year much other important work was to be done, for in the autumn the institution was to be launched. INCOME PROVIDED-ACT OF 1848. At the session of the legislature in January, 1848, a memorial was laid before that body presenting the condition and necessities of the university. The legislature thereupon passed the act of February 25, 1848, whereby the sum of $6,227.75 per annum was appropriated to the university, to be paid semiannually, and whereby it was ordered, further, that "the interest, at 6 per cent per annum upon the sum now standing on the books of the treasurer of this State, and upon all sums that may hereafter be paid into the treasury of the State to the credit of the university, be paid semiannually." The sum so standing was variable to a slight extent, but it was about $90,000. The effect of this 136 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. statute, therefore, was to give to the institution, aside from extraordinary appropriations and its own earnings, an annual income of about $11,000. It was ready to take up its work. ORGANIZATION OF FACULTY. An adjourned meeting. f the board was held in Jackson February 21, 1848, at whichOn motion of Mr. Sharkey it was resolved that the faculty of the University of Mississippi shall consist of a president, who shall discharge the duties of professor of mental and moral philosophy, rhetoric, evidences of Christianity, logic, and political economy. 2. A professor of ancient and modern languages. 3. A professor of mathematics, pure and mixed. 4. A professor of natural philosophy and astronomy. 5. A professor of chemistry, geology, and mineralogy. That the president shall receive an annual salary of $2,000, and each of the other professors $1,500, with the perquisites arising from tuition fees. Mr. Sharkey submitted the following resolution: Resolved, That the president shall cause notice to be given by publication in the public papers that five professors will be elected by the trustees of the University of Mississippi (one of whom shall be president) at their next meeting on the second Monday in July next, and that their services will be required about the 1st of October next. PROHIBITION OF RETAILING IN VICINITY. On the 25th of February, 1848, was passed an act prohibiting the sale of intoxicants within 5 miles of the university. This prohibition, altered and made even more strict by numerous subsequent amendments, is yet in force. The law now forbids the selling or giving away within the defined limits of any vinous, spirituous, or malt liquors, except in the dispensation of private hospitality at the place of actual residence, or when administered medicinally in sickness. SCHEME OF EDUCATION ADOPTED. At the July meeting, 1848, the board adopted the following scheme of education: 1. The sessions of the university shall comprise ten months. 2. Each professor shall instruct two classes-a junior and a senior class. 3. The president shall instruct his junior class in mental and moral philosophy, logic, and belles-lettres; his senior class, in political economy and international law. 4. The professor of mathematics and astronomy shall assign the dif ferent branches of his department as may seem proper to him. 5. The professor of natural sciences shall teach chemistry, geology, mineralogy, botany, and natural philosophy. 6. The professor of ancient and modern languages shall teach Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Spanish, and German. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 137 THE UNIVERSITY AND RELIGION. But the great question considered at this meeting was that of the relation between the university and the religious sentiments of the people of the State. The discussion and settlement of that vital point, and other interesting matter, was narrated by Dr. Waddel, an eyewitness, in an oration delivered by him at the university on the 25th of June, 1873, being the twenty-fifth anniversary. From that address the following extract is taken: In July, 1848, the board proceeded to the election of their first faculty. Extensive notice of the time of this election having been given through the public prints, the board on assembling found themselves in possession of the names and certificates of recommendation of about 180 candidates for office in the faculty, distributed about as follows: For the office of president 17 applicants sent in their names; for the professorship of mathematics and astronomy there were 60 candidates; 30 applied for chemistry and natural philosophy, and for the chair of ancient languages from 60 to 75 candidates laid their claims before the board. In the course of this election a discussion arose involving important principles of organization, and which had a material bearing upon the future of the university, and the influence of the discussion affected the election in its results. An influential trustee planted himself upon the untenable ground that "'no clergyman of any denomination should be elected to a chair," and the gentleman also protested earnestly against the introduction into the curriculum as a study of "the evidences of Christianity." In this latter position he was sustained by another trustee, who tendered his resignation upon the fact that this branch of study was to be introduced. The ground of opposition to these two ideas was stated to be that "the evidences could not be taught so as to avoid the inculcation of the tenets of some particular church or some theological dogma peculiar to some Christian sect. The institution being the property of the State, and not of any sect or party, the people of the State of all descriptions had a right to forbid any propagation of religion that would not be universally acceptable. It was manifestly improper therefore that such things should be permitted, and this would be inevitable should ministers of the gospel be eligible to professorships, or should the evidences of Christianity form a part of the course of study." I have in my possession to this day a letter from one of the wisest and most devoted members of the board of trustees who participated in this election, which bears date July 19, 1848, and states the fact that "one member of the board resigned because the evidences of Christianity formed part of the curriculum, and in his letter of resignation made a long and heavy assault upon religion." Again he adds, "Another trustee followed this letter with an assault upon the ministry." Such was one of the many difficulties which then pressed upon the university. Beginning with its infancy difficulties. have kept pace with its entire career in some shape or other. The assaults referred to were not, to the extent designed, successful, it is true. They were influential enough to prevent the election to the presidency of an eminent educator who was voted for and who was a clergyman; yet the debate, which was held in public in the presence of many of the best citizens, members of the various churches of the country, created so strong a sensation of disapprobation and so much indignation was aroused against the action of the board as to cause a reaction before the close of the election. THE FIRST FACULTY. The balloting continued from Monday to Friday at intervals and resulted as follows: George Frederick Holmes, LL. D., was elected president. i i * At the time of his election Mr. Holmes was a professor in William and Mary College, Virginia; an Englishman by birth. 138 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Albert Taylor Bledsoe, LL. D., was elected to the chair of mathematics and astronomy. At the time of his election he was a citizen of Springfield, Ill.; a native of Kentucky, and a graduate of the West Point Military Academy. John Millington, M. D., was elected professor of natural philosophy and chemistry. Dr. Millington was at the time of his election a professor in William and Mary College, Virginia; by birth an Englishman. John N. Waddel, D. D., was elected to fill the chair of ancient and modern languages. He was at the time a citizen of Jasper County, Miss. (where he was then conducting the celebrated Montrose Academy), and by birth a South Carolinian; a graduate of the University of Georgia. These four gentlemen were selected from about 175 or 180 applicants, and one of the four [Dr. Waddel] was a clergyman, the strong opposition "to the contrary notwithstanding." Still, the public discussions in relation to the evidences of Christianity exerted an unfavorable influence, and many persons abroad, throughout this State and the adjoining States, received the impression that the university was a regularly organized infidel institution. It may, perhaps, be attributed to this, as an immediate result, that only 80 matriculates were enrolled during the first session, and very little religious influence was exerted over the student body. THE FIRST SESSION OPENED. The University of Mississippi was opened in regular form on the 6th of November, 1848. Inauguration exercises were conducted in the lyceum in the chemical lecture room, the only public hall on the campus at that time which was capacious enough to accommodate an audience of any considerable size. A large and interested assembly were on' that occasion addressed on behalf of the board of trustees by Hon. Jacob Thompson, then a member of Congress from Mississippi, and a man of extensive influence and widely extended popularity. This was followed by an elaborate and chaste oration by the president, George F. Holmes, who is now a professor in the University of Virginia. [The first student enrolled was Thomas Elliott Bugg, who graduated in 1851, and is now practicing law in Florida.] Thus organized, the faculty and students entered at once upon the practical discharge of their respective duties under many difficulties and inconveniences. In a town of the interior, remote from the great thoroughfares, and long before lines of railroads were established to any great extent, no text-books were to be obtained at all, and great delay ensued before this want and that of other essentials could be supplied. In due time, however, the new machinery was fairly put into operation. FIRST STUDENT BODY. Fidelity to my office as historian on this occasion impels me to record that, in all probability, very rarely, if ever, was an institution attended by a body of students so disorderly and turbulent as the first students of the university, in mass, proved to be. It is true that among those early students there were some of the first young men of the country; but in point of morals and intellectual advancement, the large body of the students were idle, uncultivated, and ungovernable. PRESIDENT HOLMES LEAVES-PROFESSOR BLEDSOE ACTS. The health of the child of the president required its return to Virginia, and the failing health of the president himself rendering it necessary, he returned to Virginia; and at the close of the first term of the first session the university was found without a president. Professor Bledsoe was requested by the board to act as president, and, aided by the two remaining professors, the affairs of the university were successfully managed by him, and the scholastic year closed with an exhibition of the students in elocution and composition. Previous to the close of the session, however, the office of professor was by no means a sinecure-no child's play. LIBRARY BUILDING-UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 139 The difficulties in the management of the students arose from the assembling together of so many untrained young men and boys, many of whom had never before attended such an institution, and whose imaginations had been allured with the traditional belief that a college life was only a scene of fun and frolic. I may dismiss this subject with the remark that, in my opinion, nothing saved the infant university from utter ruin, under God's blessing, but the sternest and most rigid exercise of discipline. The institution, as has already been remarked, did not pass unscathed through the fiery ordeal. The confidence of the citizens of the State had received a shock so violent, in consequence of the disorders of the first session, coupled with the still lingering apprehensions awakened at the outset in regard to the infidel tendencies of the university, that it was very slow in returning. PRESIDENT LONGSTREET. The institution, however, began its career from the auspicious period of the accession to office of the second president, the eminent and beloved Longstreet. For, although the number in attendance during the second session was small, yet in all the elements of true prosperity, in orderly deportment, diligent application, and mental progress on the part of the students, in fidelity and success on the part of the faculty, the institution was far in advance of its status during the first session. The statistics of its patronage, year by year, enjoyed by the university during the twenty sessions of its actual operation, show that, with the usual slight variation in number common to nll institutions, which may be readily and satisfactorily accounted for, the confidence of the people in the university has been steadily growing. FIRST CODE OF BY-LAWS. The narrative of Dr. Waddel has carried us a little ahead of time. To go back to the 7th of November, 1848: On that day the first code of by-laws to regulate the workings of the university as an institution of learning was adopted. The most noticeable feature was that respecting free students. The tuition fee having been fixed at $30 per annum, three classes of students were exonerated from its payment. First, sons of ministers; secondly, poor young men not able to pay; thirdly, one student from each senatorial district in the State, to be selected by the boards of police on competitive examinations.1 LIBRARY FOUNDED. In July, 1849, Hon. Jacob Thompson laid the foundation for the university library by a valuable donation of books, for which a special case was ordered by the board, to be labeled with his name. To this nucleus the board added a purchase to the extent of $500 two days afterwards.2 In 1854 the university library and those of the two literary societies aggregated about 3,000 volumes. In 1856 they had increased to about 4,000 volumes; in 1858 to over 5,000 volumes. In 1870 the sum of $5,000 was appropriated for the purchase of books, and a reading room was established in connection with the library, to be furnished with the leading American and foreign journals, for the benefit of the faculty and the students. The $5,000 appropriation seems not to have been expended, for in 1875 it is still mentioned as having been Minutes of the Trustees, vol. 1, pp. 87-99. " Ibid., pp. 103, 106. 140 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. made and the number of volumes in the libraries had only reached "over 6,000." Of that number 2,500 were reported as in the libraries of the two societies. Several hundred volumes were added to the university library during the year 1878. The addition of new volumes every year, and especially of a large number in 1885-86, brought the university library to about 12,000 volumes. In the meanwhile, the societies, being indisposed to keep up their libraries, had sold them. In 1886 the library facilities were much enlarged. Up to that time the library had been opened once a week, and then for two hours only, for the issuance and the return of books; but at that time a librarian was provided for, and the library required to be kept open for three hours daily. Miss Julia A. Wilcox was elected librarian. In 1887 Miss Wilcox was succeeded by Mrs. Alice M. Beynes. In 1888 the trustees appropriated $10,000 for the erection of a library building, the library having been to this time kept in a large room in the third story of the lyceum. The building was completed in 1890 at a final cost of $11,500. It has two principal stories and four rooms. A large room 45 by 35 feet on the first floor is devoted to the miscellaneous and popular library. A similar room on the second story, divided into suitable alcoves, contains the scientific and technical library. The two other rooms, ovals, 20 by 24 feet, are set apart for studies in connection with the libraries. There are now about 13,000 volumes. The library is kept open five hours daily. THE FIRST GRADUATING CLASS. The first class to graduate was that of 1851, all taking the degree of Bachelor of Arts, then the only baccalaureate degree offered. The graduates were as follows: 1. Thomas E. Bugg -............... —... —...-.. -- -- Chickasaw County. 2. Joshua L. Halbert..................... ---- —. -—.. ---.. Aberdeen, Miss. 3. John B. Herring.-.. --...... ---. ------—. ---. ---. Pontotoc County. 4. John L. Hudson. —.-...-.. --- —----—. ----....... Marshall County. 5. John W. Lambuth. ----. ----. --- —. ---. ----. --- — Missionary in China. 6. John S. MeRaven. —... ---... —. --- —-—. —. --- ——. Marshall County. 7. John T. Moseley........................... —........... Kemper County. 8. Marlborough Peg es........ — ----................. --- —--------- Marshall County. 9. William C. Pegues... --- —--............. --- —----—...... Marshall County. 10. Jordan M. Phipps -........... ---. ---.... — ------—.. ---- Lafayette County. 11. James J. Quarles. --- ——..... —.. ---. ---.. --------- Lafayette County. 12. John L. Webb. --- —--------------------—. --- —----- Lafayette County. 13. William J. Webb. --- ——.-.. ----. --- —-—. —. — --—.. Lafayette County. 14. Beverly D. Young. —.-..... --- —-—. --- —-.... --- Lowndes County. 15. Thomas E. Young....................................-. Lowndes County. CLAYTON RESIGNS-THOMPSON ELECTED. On the 11th of July, 1853, Hon. A. M. Clayton, president of the board of trustees, resigned his trusteeship, and on the same day Hon. Jacob Thompson was elected president.' 1 Minutes of the Board, pp. 196, 197. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 141 AGRICULTURAL AND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. The next step of interest in the university's history was the direction by the legislature of the agricultural and geological survey, by the act of 5th of March, 1850. The importance of this subject has demanded a separate chapter, to which the reader is referred. Briefly stated, the effect of the act was fourfold: 1. To place on the university the responsibility for the survey, and the labor of it. 2. To organize by legislative enactment a professorship of agricultural and geological sciences, with an assistant. 3. To add the sum of $3,000 to the college revenue to be devoted to the purposes of the act. 4. To require the future proceeds of sales of seminary lands, not to exceed, however, the sum of $3,000 per annum, to be also devoted to those purposes, as if they were income. CHANGES IN FACULTY AND BOARD. On the 10th of July, 1850, two assistant professors were elected by the board, one an assistant in modern languages, Adolph Sadluski; the other, in mathematics, Lucius Q. C. Lamar. On the same day the sum of $1,700 was appropriated for a purchase of books and globes.1 CHEMICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL APPARATUS. On the 13th of July, 1853, Professor Millington resigned.2 The executive committee were thereupon authorized to make arrangements for procuring a chemical, philosophical, and geological apparatus. To this period the university had enjoyed the use of the chemical and philosophical apparatus of Professor Millington. The committee purchased a portion of it, and in the purchase acquired a most interesting relic; this relic consisted of several troughs of galvanic battery which had formed parts of Sir Humphrey Davy's immense battery of 2,000 plates, with which he made the astonishing discovery of the metals of the alkalies.3 'Minutes of the Board, p. 131. 2 John Millington, M. D., was an Englishman by birth and education. Reared in London, he was the associate and pupil of Farraday; was a member of the Royal Society. He was profoundly versed in the sciences of mathematics, natural philosophy, and chemistry, and an adept in civil engineering. He published a work on mechanics and one on civil engineering. A member of the Protestant Episcopal church, he was devout without bigotry. He was simple, honest, kind, and guileless. When he resigned he took the chair of chemistry and toxicology in the Medical College at Memphis. Died in Lagrange, Tenn., shortly after the close of the civil war. 3 Minutes of the Board, p. 203; letter from Dr. Barnard, in the University archives. 142 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. THE LAW SCHOOL; ACT OF 1854. A long step in advance was taken in January, 1854. The board of trustees met in that month at Jackson. The legislature was in session. The following memorial (a portion of which is omitted, however) was ordered to be transmitted to that body: To the senate and house of representatives of the State of Missisippi: GENTLEMEN: As trustees of the University of Mississippi we think it our duty to address the legislature of the State. * *I The professional chairs, from four, now number eight. The monetary affairs of the university, from a state of inadequacy extremely discouraging when the school began its operations, are now sufficient to meet the yearly expenditures of the board. The library is increased to 3,000 volumes. Additional buildings now adorn the grounds and serve to carry out the beautiful design of the architect. A cabinet of minerals is in the course of collection and arrangement, and a philosophical apparatus-simple, but of extraordinary beauty-has been placed before the chair of the professor of physics since the last communication of the board with the legislature. Everything indicates the steady progress and the ultimate prosperity of the University of Mississippi; but there is one great want which the university seriously feels. The circle of the moral sciences, so far from being complete there, is scarcely begun. Rhetoric, metaphysics, political economy, moral philosophy, logic-the last of doubtful utility, perhaps-may all be thoroughly taught and well understood, but they do not prepare a man to begin the great business of life. Our graduated young men often aspire to act in the councils of their country, and history and observation both teach them to look to the bar as the place of preparation and of trial to vindicate their fitness for the halls of legislation. It is well known that for a period of a thousand years the bar has been the great road to the dignities, the titles, the places and power of the politician, wheresoever the common law of England has been enforced. The university greatly needs a professorship of law; but not of law alone, in the opinion of the undersigned. The philosophy of government should be taught together with it, and history, which is philosophy teaching by example. Instruction in the science of governmentwe think of high importance to Southern youth-to youth everywhere in a republic, but especially to the youth of our country. We live in a confederacy of States. The political relations of the States to each other are looked at in somewhat different lights, according to the geographical points of view. Government is taught as a science in some of the States, but in few of the Southern States, if in any of them. Our ambitious youth go to the East for instruction in this department, for it is to be found there alone. Such a school may or may not be antagonistic in its principles to Southern views of the right philosophy of government, but we feel assured that a Southern university of learning could never disseminate views of society and government which would prove prejudicial to Southern interests. Besides political ethics, a right understanding and a full appreciation of political morality is of the last importance in every republic. A youth coming from the walls of the university with enlarged and fixed principles of political justice-with elevated notions of the use, the scope, and the design of government-would not be apt to sink into a factionist, or to merge the philosophic statesman in the turbulent demagogue. To instruction in law and government we would superadd (as we have said) instruction in history and international law; and we think a single professor would be adequate to discharge the combined duties that are here indicated. But it would require no ordinary man. Such a man as would fully suit the place would be of more difficult selection than any other professor in the university. His character, THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 143 his acquirements, even his place of residence and of education, would have to be considered. But it is in the power of compensation to procure such a man, we suppose, and we respectfully ask the legislature to aid us in raising the compensation. The annual excess of our revenue over our current expenditures is barely sufficient to keep the university in fitting repair. Even if there was then any excess, it would be proper to apply it to the erection of additional buildings. It is apparent from the report of the commissioner of the seminary fund, now before you, that but little is, in future, to be expected from that source. If all the lands now belonging to this fund were sold even at present prices, and its dues were all collected, the annual interest from the whole of it would amount to about $1,500. With such tuition fees as a law professor well known to be qualified for his duties might command, and a payment annually of $2,000 as a fixed salary, we think it probable that the scheme we have developed might be carried into effect. Having, therefore, stated the matter for the consideration of your honorable body, we pray the grant of an appropriation in conformity with the views set forth. J. THOMPSON, President of Board of Trustees, University of Mississippi. This memorial was laid before the senate by its president? and resulted in the passage of the act of the 27th of February, 1854, which is as follows: AN ACT to create in the University of Mississippi a professorship of governmental science and law. 1. That a professorship of governmental science and law be created in the University of Mississippi, and it is hereby made the duty of the trustees of said institution to elect h professor to fill the same, who shall lecture on the philosophy of government and science of law to such class or classes as may be formed therein, under such rules and restrictions as the board of trustees may prescribe. 2. That said board of trustees be authorized to fix the salary of the said professor and to regulate its payment, and that the sum of $2,000 per annum be and the same is hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be applied toward the payment of the salary of said professor on the first day of January and July of each year, as other moneys are drawn by the said university, on a warrant of the president of. the board of trustees. 3. That this act shall be in force from and after its passage. On the 14th of July following it was accordingly resolved by the board "that the course of study in the law department shall embrace a term of two sessions, of ten months each; and diplomas will be granted to such students as shall obtain from the law professor a certificate of proficiency and qualification." On the 29th of August, William F. Stearns, esq., a distinguished lawyer of Marshall County (the same who in 1846 delivered the oration at the laying of the corner stone of the lyceum), was elected to the chair of governmental science and law. The duties of that chair, as defined, brought Professor Stearns into contact with students in both departments. The senior collegiate class and the junior class of the law students proper, under his instruction, pursued together the studies of international and constitutional law. In the law school proper the students were examined daily upon their reading in the text-book under perusal, and such explanations were then afforded as were requisite in order to show wherein the general principles laid down by the author had been modified by local 144 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. statutes or adjudications. Occasional lectures were delivered to the seniors, illustrating the local law and practice peculiar to Mississippi. Moot courts were held weekly for the practical exercise of the seniors. The law students were not subjected to any of the regulations of the university, other than those which related to moral conduct. The text-books used were, Blackstone's Commentaries, Kent's Commentaries, Story on Bailnents, Story on Agency, Story on Partnership, Story on Conflict of Laws, Smith on Contracts, Byles on Bills, Stephen on Pleading, Angell and Ames on Corporations, Greenleaf on Evidence, Adams's Equity, Gresley's Equity Evidence, and Wharton's American Criminal Law. The first law class, that of 1854-55, had seven members: Benjamin Jay Clanton..-.. —..........-... —........ —..... ---. Panola County. James Alemeth Green, B. A. (U. M.)............... —. —.-. Tippah County. Flavius Josephus Lovejoy. ----. —..... ---......-. --- —. —... ---. Calhoun County. John Townes Moseley, B. A. (U. M.).............................. Kemper County. Lafayette Washington Reasons. ----. ----...-................. Calhoun County. James Stephens Teril -.....-....-............................... Jasper County. Albert Hiram Thomas.-.....-.......... —........ -—.... ---.. —. Oxford, Miss. In the year 1857 the diplomas granted to graduates in the law department were made by law to operate as licenses to practice in all the courts of law and of equity in the State, and such has been the law ever since that date. At this time also large and valuable accessions were made to the law library, bringing it up to more than 1,000 well-selected volumes. Bishop on Criminal Law was substituted for Wharton as a text-book. For the first six years Professor Stearns had sole charge of this department. At the close of that time the number of students had so greatly increased the labors that another professor was found neces sary. Therefore the Hon. James F. Trotter, ex-judge of the high court of errors and appeals, was elected as an additional professor. By his learning, ability, and industry Judge Trotter extended still further the usefulness of the department; but when the civil war came on, only one year after his election, the university work was suspended-this department with the other. After the termination of the war, although the department of arts was reorganized in July, 1865, the law school was not. At the June meeting, 1866, however, that school was reestablished. Hon. Horatio F. Simrall was elected professor, and pending the question of his acceptance and his reporting for duty Hon. Lucius Q. C. Lamar, professor of ethics and metaphysics, was appointed to discharge the duties of law professor also. At a called meeting of the board, held on the 21st of January, 1867, Judge Simrall having failed to notify that body that he would accept, such failure was regarded as a declination, and Professor Lamar was transferred to that chair. The practice of uniting the seniors of the department of arts with the junior law students in a study of international and constitutional law was not resumed. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 145 Professor Lamar made no changes in the courseof study. The school prospered under his management, but early in 1870, because of the political embarrassments surrounding the institution, he resigned his chair. The Hon. J. A. P. Campbell, now of the supreme court, was elected as his successor, but declined the chair. Thereupon Henry Craft, esq., of Memphis, Tenn., was elected, with Jordan M. Phipps, esq., of Oxford, Miss. (an A. B. of the university and ex-professor of mathematics), as adjunct professor. Mr. Craft did not take charge of the school at any time, but resigned in 1871. Judge Phipps conducted it alone during the session of 1870-71. On Mr. Craft's resignation Thomas Walton, esq., A. B. and LL. B. of the university, was elected professor, and the style of the chair was changed to that of "professor of law," simply. In June, 1872, the trustees reduced the period for attendance on the law school as a requisite to graduation from two years to one. The school at this time languished. Patronage was small, and when, in the summer of 1874, Professor Walton resigned to accept a seat on the chancery bench, the school was suspended. After three years, however, in the summer of 1877, the school was reestablished, and Edward Mayes, esq., of Oxford, Miss., an A. B. and LL. B. of the university, was elected professor, and he has occupied the-chair ever since that date. Professor Mayes established the follow-: ing course of study: Blackstone's Commentaries, Stephen on Pleading, first volume of Greenleaf's Evidence, Kent's Commentaries, Adams's Equity, Smith on Contracts, Addison on Torts (Harvard abridgment), read in the order indicated. As soon as Greenleaf was finished the moot court was begun. In June, 1881, the two-year course was reestablished. The books used were then as follows: For the juniors, Blackstone's Commentaries (omitting fourth book), Stephen on Pleading, first volume of Greenleaf's Evidence, second and third volumes of Kent's Commentaries, Bishop's Criminal Law, Bishop's Criminal Procedure, Bishop on Contracts, and Bigelow on Torts; for the seniors, Adams's Equity, Bispham's Principles of Equity Jurisprudence, Barton's Suit in Equity, first volume of Kenlt's Commentaries, Desty's Federal Procedure, Constitution of the United States, constitution of Mississippi, Cooley's Constitutional Limitations, Pierce on Railroads, May on Insurance, Code of Mississippi, in the order named. This course of reading has remained in force, except that Broom's Commentaries on the Common Law have been substituted for Second and Third Kent, Contracts and Torts have been transferred to the seniors, Davis on International Law substituted for First Kent, Curtis's Lectures for Desty, and Tiedeman on Real Property for May. 21785- No. 24 10 146 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. The following table will show the attendance on the law school from its foundation until now: Session. Juniors. Seniors. Total. Graduated. 1854-55....7 -................................... 7 ---...... 1855-56.............................14 8 22 6 1856-57...................1.......................... 10 11 21 9 1857-58.............................................. 7 9 16 9 1858-59................................................ 19 9 28 9 1859-60...................................................... 14 27 41 22 1860-61.................................................... 25 i 10 35 10 1860-61-25 10 35 10 1866-67. ----.-.. —., --- —----... —.-.,,,,,,,,,,....-,, 18 1i 19 1 1867-68.. —........................................... 10 14 24 12 1868-69....................................................... 15 11 26 10 1868-69 -- 26 10 1869-70................................................... 7 15 22 15 1870-71....................................................... 6 1 7............ 1871-72....................................................... 6 4 10 3 1872-73....................................................... 9 2 11 9 1873-74................................................ 5 1 6 5 1877-78...................................................... 36........ 36 29 1878-79...............................................17 17 13 1879-80....................................................20....... 20 19 80-8-1 -8...................................8......... 18 16 1881-82.......................................................7 5 12 5 1882-83......................................................9 5 114 5 1883-84....................................................... 6 6 12 6 1884-85................................................... 5 3 8 3 1885-86......................................... 4 7 11 7 1886-87-.......................... 5 5 10 5 1887-88....................................................... 7 16 23 15 1887-887 16 23 15 1888-89....................................................... 3 14 17 11 1889-90....................................................... 5 11 16 11 1890-91- 10 22. - 1890-91........................................................... 12 10 22............ Total..............,............... 326 205 531 265 Deduct students counted twice..............................-......... -'-.. 125 Individuals attending..................................................... 406 II I FIRST HONORARY DEGREES. To return to the year 1854. On the 13th of July of this year were conferred the first honorary degrees bestowed by the university, that of doctor of laws on Dr. A. T. Bledsoe, on his retirement from the faculty, and that of master of arts on Adjunct-Professor Jordon M. Phipps, an alumnus of the class of 1851, the first class of all to graduate.1 MIISSISSIPPI CENTRAL RAILROAD-DR. BARNARD ELECTED. In this year, also, the university granted the right of way through its grounds and a depot site to the Mississippi Central Railroad. The remote portions of the State now b gan to be brought practically nearer together.2 In this year, again, Dr. Frederick A. P. Barnard was elected to fill the chair of astronomy and civil engineering, vacated by the resignation of Dr. Bledsoe. ACT OF 1856 APPROPRIATES $100,000. The year 1856 was a remarkable one in the history of the institution. A memorial prepared by a member of the faculty, Dr. Barnard, in pursuance of a resolution adopted at the previous session of the board of ' Minutes of the Board, vol. 1, p. 222. 2 Ibid., p. 234. THE OBSERVATORY AND HALL OF PHYSICS-UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 147 trustees, was, on the 14th of January, submitted by Mr. Young, the chairman of the committee, was approved and ordered to be sent to the legislature. That memorial was, in part, as follows: To the honorable the senate and house of representatives of the State of Mississippi: * * While such are the indications of the growing popularity and usefulness of the university, the undersigned are compelled further to represent that, in many respects, the institution is deficient in matters indispensable to its complete efficiency as a school of letters and science; and that the resources of the undersigned are inadequate to the supply of these deficiencies. The number of officers of instruction is entirely insufficient to insure to each student the amount of personal attention which it is desirable that he should receive, and this evil is necessarily felt more and more seriously as the numbers swell. Not a single department of science is provided with suitable illustrative apparatus; the library is but the beginning of a collection of books, and offers no aids at all for the prosecution of such researches in the different branches of knowledge as are necessary to perfect the instructors themselves, to promote their usefulness to the university, and to enable them to connect their names honorably with the intellectual history of the age; cabinets of natural history in every branch are yet to be wholly created; lecture rooms offering suitable facilities for the experimental illustration of several branches of physical science are to be provided or arrangel at considerable expense; and, besides all this, the erection of ad]ditional buildings for the accommodation of the increasing number of students is imperatively demanded, and must be commenced at once, if we would not be compelled to submit to the mortifying necessity of daily turning applicants for admission away from our doors. * I I The wants of the university in regard to scientific apparatus are so great as to reduce it in this respect at present far below respectability, and seriously to hazard, unless they are promptly supplied, the permanence of that unexampled prosperity which it has thus far enjoyed. In the state of development to which in our day the physical sciences have attained, it is absolutely impossible to illustrate their principles with c.earness or to make intelligible the methods by which their countless astonishing truths have been brought to light without so large a variety of instruments and special contrivances as to impose upon every institution for higher education a heavy outlay. In some branches of science the necessary instruments are nearly everyone of them costly, and in others, where they are separately less expensive, they are exceedingly numerous. * * There are many colleges in the country which, in nearly everyone of the several departments of optics, acoustics, electricity, magnetism, pneumatics, hydrostatics, and chemistry have expended more money than the University of Mississippi has yet been able to appropriate to all of them together. 'he undersigned have endeavored, to the extent of their means, to supply the deficiencies which seemed most urgently to demand their attention; but burdened as they have been by the necessity of building-a necessity now forced upon them anew by the very prosperity of the university itself-and trammeled in their action by the entire inadequacy of their resources to meet the necessities of the case, they have been able as yet to make but little progress. In fact, they have no prospect of being able, unassisted, to put the university upon a creditable footing in these respects for many years. What has been said of apparatus is more or less applicable also to a library. The importance of an extensive library to an institution of learning is by many imperfectly understood. Nothing is more true than that to be a successful teacher, even of the elements of knowledge, a man must himself know much besides those elements; and the light which any instructor will be capable of shedding around the simplest facts will be greater just in proportion as he himself approaches the mastery of the entire subject to which those facts belong. Every teacher, therefore, who is fit for his position, and who does his duty, will be himself a learner as long 148 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. as he lives. And it is the truest policy of the supervisory government of any college to spread before the officers of instruction the largest field in letters and science which their means allow. It is much more in reference to college faculties than to college students that comprehensive libraries are desirable. The mental expansion of the student advances through the training which the course of study furnishes, and which is sufficient, for the most part. to occupy him; but the officer, without unrestrained access to books, is in danger of intellectual stagnation. Upon this topic it may be further observed that our colleges and universities are the sources to which the people look for authoritative opinions in all those abstruser matters with which the mass of men are unfamiliar. That they may possess the means of pronouncing such opinions, and thus answer the expectations formed of them, it is absolutely indispensable that they should have the command of those records of the world's progress in knowledge which are to be found in books, so that, whatever question may be presented for solution, they may be able to produce everything valuable which has ever been put forth relating to the subject. The possession of extensive and selected libraries thus gives dignity and character to a seminary of learning which can not be secured without it, and these advantages which are certainly desirable for every institution for higher education, are eminently so for one which is understood to represent the learning of a State. Again, it is undoubtedly true that the reputation of colleges is to a great extent dependent upon the personal reputation for talents and learning of the professors who contuct them. So strikingly is this the case, that a single name has often been known to build up an institution of learning altogether, and the loss of a single man has no less frequently pulled such an institution down. Now, most cer.tainly no man can acquire a high reputation as a man of science or letters without the opportunity to consult what has been already published in his chosen department. Hence a college without a copious library can rarely count on the great advantage of embracing in its faculty a man whose name is familiar to the learned world. Under these circumstances the undersigned, after mature deliberation, have felt it to be their duty to make an appeal at.once to the justice and to the liberality of the legislature of the State in behalf of the university. It is undoubtedly among the highest duties of a government to provide for the education of the people; and where political institutions, like ours, are founded on the principles of liberality, this duty becomes identified with the truest interests of the Commonwealth. To every thoughtful man, therefore, upon whom to any extent rests the responsibility of directing the legislation of a State, the question, in what manner it may be practicable most effectually to diffuse intelligence among the masses of the people and to secure the systematic and thorough training of all in the elements of knowledge, must present itself as one of the most important that can occupy his attention. i * It is a fact that the unprovided condition of the University of Mississippi, in regard to scientific apparatus in every department-to library, collections of minerals and fossils, museums of natural history, and everything else which is auxiliary to the business of instruction- is such as to reduce it to a position absolutely mean by the side of the universities of Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Virginia. The undersigned have actually had the mortification in a recent instance of losing the services of a professor-elect, distinguished for high reputation and eminent abil-, itics, even after he had taken the trouble to visit the university from a distance of 1,500 miles, and that simply because the inadequacy of the illustrative apparatus in his department was such as to convince him (to use his own words) that he could neither satisfy himself nor give satisfaction to others. Certainly no true Mississippian can be content that the institution of learning recognized by law as the State University, and therefore as the representative of the State in the highest depart-, ment of education, should continue to be so miserably provided in all those particulars on which its respectability depends that he dare not compare it with any other of its class in the country. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 149 One further consideration bearing upon this subject remains to be noticed. With the undersigned it is one which has great weight. Hitherto it has not been unusuar with our fellow-citizens to send their sons for education to a distance from home. The colleges of the Northern and Eastern States have educated great numbers of the present generation of Mississippi and not a few also of the youth who are about to come upon the stage to succeed them; but a deep conviction has at last fastened itself upon the minds of our citizens that, if we would educate our sons in the true spirit of attachment to the institutions among which they are born, we must educate them upon our own soil. It is perhaps in a measure due to the recent rapid growth of this feeling among us that we attribute the unexampled success of the University of Mississippi in commanding the attendance of the youth of this and neighboring States; and as the feeling is one which is not likely soon to die, we may not only with reason anticipate a continuance of this visible consequence of its existence, but we must feel ourselves bound to provide at least as well for those who seek their education with us as they would have been provided for in those distant schools which their patriotism constrains them to relinquish. It is impossible that we can reconcile it to our sense of duty to require our young men to abandon institutions which offer the highest intellectual advantages on the ground that in those institutions are nourished sentiments uncongenial with ours, and in return to content ourselves with providing merely for the correctness of their sentiments, without paying any adequate heed to their intellectual wants. It is impossible that, while manifesting a sensitiveness so lively in regard to the cultivation of Southern hearts, we should be altogether forgetful of the claims of Southern heads. When, therefore, we demand that Southern men shall have a Southern education, we can not shake off our sense of obligation to provide a worthy Southern education for Southern men; and when we insist that our youth shall be educated at home, we surely can never cease to blush so long as we fail to provide for them at home an education in all respects as good as they can obtain abroad. Upon the University of Mississippi a peculiar obligation of this kind seems at present to rest; because of this institution it can be said-what of no other of its class in the Southwest can at this moment be said with equal truth-that it is peculiarly a popular favorite. Just in proportion as this fact is gratifying-and it must be truly so to every citizen of the State-just in the same proportion should any failure on the part of the State to provide whatever is necessary to secure to its respectability and efficiency be esteemed the neglect of an obvious duty. The prayer therefore of your memorialists is that your honorable body would male provision for the relief of the immediately pressing necessities of the university by the present appropriation of a sum not less than- dollars to that object, etc. This memorial was placed before the legislature by a special message of the governor on the 6th day of February, and the legislature appointed an evening session, when both houses met in the representatives' hall and heard an address from Dr. Barnard in its support. Under these circumstances the act of March 6, 1856, was passed. It is as follows: AN ACT for the relief of the State University. 1. That to enable the trustees of the State University to provide suitable buildings to accommodate the increasing number of students in said institution, to supply deficiencies in the library and apparatus, and to meet other pressing wants of the institution, the sum of $20,000 be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, to be paid out of the State treasury annually, for the period of five years, to be paid on the order of the president of said trustees. 2. That the treasurer of said board of trustees shall keep and transmit to the governor of this State, annually, on the 1st day of May, a particular account of 150 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. all moneys received by said board under the provisions of this act, the amount appropriated by them, and the purpose and objects to which the said amounts have been devoted; and if it shall be made to appear to the governor that the funds drawn from the treasury under this bill are being misappropriated or likely to be wasted, it shall be his duty to instruct the auditor of public accounts to withhold any warrants on the treasury which it is made his duty to issue by this act, until the next ensuing session of the legislature. Approved, March 6, 1856. Of course this appropriation of $100,000 was a great help to the university. THE FACULTY ENLARGED. The first step taken was to increase the corps of instructors. On the 15th of July, 1856, a committee of the board reported as follows: The committee to whom was referred the subject of the necessary increase of the professors and instructors in the university make the following report: That they have examined the subject with care, and feel it to be a positive duty imposed on the board to increase our educational corps. The classes are too large to recite to the same professor at the same time. We hold that in order to secure a proper attention to their studies by the students it is of primary importance to hold each student to a strict accountability for each and every recitation. 'This can not be done without a division of the classes in their recitations. To enable the professors to do this, and hold the students to a proper accountability for every recitation, the corps of educators ought to be increased. It is further believed that the most prudent and sure policy to adopt in order to effect our object in this respect is to employ assistants at such low and reasonable salaries as to command the services of competent young men to act as assistant professors. Pursuant to this resolution four additional tutors were added-one each in Greek, Latin, mathematics, and composition and logic. Arrangements were also made for additional buildings, chiefly for the observatory building, now devoted to the department of physics and astronomy. Also for the purchase of the Marcoe cabinet of minerals, then in Washington City, and now, with the later additions, so highly valued at the university. Also for the Budd collection of shells, then in New York, and now one of the principal attractions of this institution. Also for the purchase of $14,000 worth of additional apparatus and $7,000 worth of additional books for the law and college libraries. These appropriations by the board were preliminary to yet more liberal arrangements, to be made. as the residue of the $100,000 should come in. Dr. Barnard, the president, contracted with Alvan Clark, of Cambridge, Mass., for a great astronomical telescope. This instrument was just completed in June, 1861, too late to be delivered at the university. Its aperture is 181 inches, and even yet it is the sixth in size in the United States. It is now at the Dearborn Observatory at Chicago. It created a sensation in the first month after its completion by the discovery made by it of a companion to the star Sirius, a discovery made by Mr. Clark himself almost accidentally.' J Minutes of the board, pp. 312-316; letter of Dr. Barnard in the archives. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 151 DR. BARNARD ELECTED PRESIDENT, At this meeting of the board, 10th of July, 1856, President Longstreet resigned. The board strongly urged him to withdraw the resignation but without avail. An effort was made to elect his successor but failed, since the board could not agree. At an adjourned meeting, however, held in the following month, Prof. Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D., of the faculty, was elected to the presidency. THE GOVERNOR MADE PRESIDENT OF TRUSTEES. On the 3d of February, 1857, an act was approved making a fundamental change in the constitution of the board of trustees. The governor of the State was declared by the statute to be, ex officio, its president, and this status has continued ever since. THE CHANCELLORSHIP CREATED. So, also, on the 29th of November, 1859, the title of " president of the university" was discontinued by order of the board and that of "chancellor of the university" adopted instead. THE UNIVERSITY AND THE COAST SURVEY. At the meeting of the board in November, 1859, a letter was laid before that body by President Barnard from Prof. A. D. Bache, Superintendent of the American Coast Survey. It asked the cooperation of the University of Mississippi in an extended series of observations upon terrestrial magnetism and meteorology, then about to be instituted under the sanction of the British Admiralty, the American Coast Survey, and various scientific bodies. The letter was accompanied by estimates of the probable cost of such cooperation. The request of Professor Bache was granted, and the executive committee were authorized to contract for the erection of the necessary building and the purchase of the required instruments. The building was erected accordingly, and a fine set of instruments, specially manufactured in Europe, contracted for, but the plan was interrupted by the breaking out of the civil war, and the instruments were never received.' THE APPROPRIATION EXTENDED-ACT OF 1860. On the 10th of February, 1860, an act was approved whereby the $20,000 annual appropriation was extended until the 6th of March, 1862. THE CIVIL WAR-"UNIVERSITY GRAYS." In 1861, immediately on the bombardment of Fort Sumter, the young men of the university became greatly excited, and eagerly pressed to be received into the army on the first call for volunteers. Opinion in 1 Minutes of the board, vol. 1, pp. 439,442; letter of Dr. Barnard, archives. 152 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. the university was not unanimous in favor of secession. The State flag of Mississippi was raised after the secession, and kept flying on one of the dormitories by the students; but on the dormitory opposite a band of loyal students kept the flag of the United States flying for ten days. The larger portion of the students, however, had as early as January formed themselves into a military company called " The University Grays," and they now demanded of Governor Pettus to be mustered into the Confederate service. As none of the young men had consulted their parents on this point, Chancellor Barnard, considering their action premature, wrote to the governor requesting him not to grant their request. Professor Lamar also advised in the same way, and said that Mr. Davis, President of the Confederacy, disapproved of the volunteering of the younger class of men, comparing it to the grinding of the seed corn of the Republic. But the governor disregarded the chancellor's letter, and a mustering officer came to Oxford to enlist "The Grays." The chancellor thereupon issued a circular letter.to the parents of all the students, stating what had occurred, and requesting authority to demand the discharge of their sons from the military service on the ground that the enlistment was unauthorized. In the majority of instances the response was to the effect that the parents entirely approved of the action of their sons. Some authorized a demand for discharge on the ground that the boys were too young to be trusted to go into camp without older companions to advise them, and declared their intention to withdraw them from '' he University Grays" only that they might enlist with local companies. The University Grays, however, were organized. They elected William B. Lowrey, one of their own number, a member of the junior class, to be their captain; were incorporated into the celebrated Eleventh Mississippi Regiment, and marched away to the war, going immediately to Virginia, and participating in the first battle of Manassas. The college was completely dispersed. Such students as had not joined "the Grays" either went home and enlisted in local companies or went to Charleston and Pensacola to military service. Professor Lamar left for Richmond, having been commissioned a lieutenant-colonel in the Confederate Army.1 THE CIVIL WAR-EXERCISES SUSPENDED. The trustees met in June in special session. Their embarrassments, deliberations, and action will here be best told by their official report, made to the legislature of 1861-62. The following are the most material portions of the report: Though the University of Mississippi, for causes which are generally understood, but which will presently be more particularly explained, has been momentarily suspended in its operations, yet it has never been, throughout the whole period of its prosperous career, in the enjoyment of a prosperity more satisfactory than it was Letter of Dr. Barnard, archives. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 153 in the moment in which, by a spontaneous impulse on the part of all its youthful and patriotic inmates to rush to the defense of an imperiled country, its halls were suddenly left vacant. As early as the month of January, when the danger of hostilities was yet very remote, a military company was formed among the students of the university, whose services were tendered to the governor of the State and accepted by him. The exercises of the university, however, still went on, being in no way interfered with by the drill of the company, which took place out of class hours. Nor did there seem to be any considerable relaxation in the spirit of study until the exciting events of April absorbed the attention of the whole country and gave token that the hour had come in which every citizen might be called on to defend his fireside from a wicked invasion. After this time study in college substantially ceased. Lectures and recitations and all other exercises proceeded, indeed, as usual, but the interest in them was gone and they passed as empty forms. One student after another dropped away and enrolled himself in some company about to march from his own neighborhood. In their turn the company of University Grays became entitled to marching orders, and on the 1st of May they actually took up their line of march for Virginia. In the memorable conflict of the 21st of July, on the plains of Manassas, this company bore a conspicuous part and covered themselves with imperishable glory. Simultaneously, or nearly so, with the departure of the University Grays, the graduating class of the university were brought to their final examination, and, in accordance with custom, discharged until commencement. The time of this examination had been anticipated by several weeks at the earnest desire of the class. The loss of these two considerable bodies of young men reduced the already diminished numbers to a mere handful, and these within the next few days followed their companions. The university was not, therefore, suspended by any act of the board or of the faculty, though several neighboring colleges were so about the same time; but in the mannerjust described the dissolution was spontaneous. The annual meeting of the board was holden as usual in June. It was impossible at that time to conjecture what might be the attendance at the opening of the ensuing session in September, but it was obvious that it must be comparatively small. The payiment of the officers of the faculty being in a measure dependent upon fees, there seemed to be a necessity of some reduction in their number should the apprehended diminution in the attendance be realized. The board, however, unwilling to take any action which might seem ungracious unless driven to it by the pressure of positive necessity, merely addressed to each officer of the faculty a note, of which an extract is given below, and adjourned to meet at the university in October following. The extract is in these words: "That ' while it is the desire of the board to carry on the operations of the university, if practicable, in accordance with the present plan of organization, yet inasmuch as their ability to to so must depend on the amount of patronage that may be extended to the institution, as well as upon the continued payment by the State of the standing appropriations in favor of the university, and inasmuch as thepending war, unless it shall speedily be terminated, may have the effect of so curtailing the patronage and resources of the university as to render it impossible to continue its functions at all, or without considerably reducing the present scale of operations, therefore the board can not engage to continue the payment of the salary of any professor beyond the date of their next meeting in October, 1861, if at that time it shall be deemed expedient to modify the existing plan of instruction by reducing the number of professors, or wholly to suspend the exercises of the university, and in the meantime any professor shall be at liberty to seek other employment if he shall think proper to do so," Advertisement was immediately made in papers in different points of the State of the intention of the trustees to resume operations at the university as usual in September. Editorial notices were inserted in many papers to the same effect. And 154 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. * * f there was published in the Mississippian, and subsequently copied into a large number of journals, an address to the people of Mississippi by a committee of the board expressive of their conviction of the importance of keeping the university alive and their purpose to do so if the attendance justified. Notwithstanding these various expedients, the effort to secure a respectable number of students on the day appointed by law for the commencement of the session completely failed, and only four students presented themselves, nor was the number at all increased after the lapse of two entire weeks. It was under these circumstances that the board reassembled. They had hardly convened before the resignations of most of the faculty were handed in, including those of Dr. F. A. P. Barnard, chancellor of the university and professor of physics, etc.; William F. Stearns and James F. Trotter, professors of governmental science and law; L. Q. C. Lamar, professor of ethics and metaphysics; Alexander J. Quinche, professor of Latin and modern languages, and Burton N. Harrison, assistant professor in physics. At a meeting of the legislature held subsequently t tthe annual meeting of the board in June, a resolution had been passed recommending to the board to consider the expedliency of introducing into the university the military system of instruction and discipline. This resolution coming up for consideration at this time, the spontaneous practical suspension of the functions of the university as an educational institution, however much on every other account to be regretted, appeared to furnish an occasion peculiarly favorable to the introduction, if thought expedient, of the proposed change. And the resignation of so large a number of the faculty sensibly relieved the board of what might have otherwise been an embarrass-nent in case the change should be actually introduced. They accordingly acceptei all the resignations offered, and in the same resolution declared the remaining chairs of Greek and mathematics and of English literature vacant. The chair of chemistry, it may here be properly observed, was already vacant. In former reports the board have laid before the legislature the views by which they have been guided in administering the affairs of the university. Their aim has been to erect it into an educational institution of the highest class, and advancing it, step by step, to raise it from the level of a mere college to the dignity of a university in the proper acceptation of that term. The fulfillment of this design required the creation of professional schools of law and medicine, of special schools of science, as of civil engineering, agricultural and analytical chemisry, theoretical and practical astronomy, and other subjects similarly important, and also in the more distant future, and as the progress of society should demand, schools of letters, philosophy, philology, and history, such as are to be found in European institutions of the same grade. It has, however, been their view that the task of the present generation would be limited to the establishment of the professional schools of practical science; and that in these views they have been constantly in harmony with the legislature of the State has been evinced by the fact that the school of law, already so flourishing, is the direct creation of the legislature itself, and that propositions have repeatedly been introduced into one or other of the houses for establishing one or other of the schools of science above named; propositions which have ceased to be pressed when it became understood that the erection of those schools was within the programme which the board had prescribed to themselves. This programme could not of course be carried out until the institution, in its original aspect as a school of the liberal arts, had been so far perfected as to entitle the university to rank as a college among the first in the country. In order that it might justly hold this rank it was indispensable that it should possess attractions to aspirants after knowledge equal to those which belong to the leading institutions of its class elsewhere. Such, it is believed, have been provided for it by measures of which a detailed statement was made to the legislature in the report of the board of November, 1859. By reference to that report it will be seen that the university commenced its operations in 1848 without apparatus, without a library, without collections of minerals, or fossils, or shells; in short, with only the build THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 155 ings necessary for the accommodation of its officers and students. For five years the only experimental illustrations given in chemistry and natural philosophy were furnished by means of apparatus and instruments which were the private property of one of the professors, and which were removed by him on his resignation. The permanent income of this university provided by law did not allow the great deficiencies in its means of usefulness to be filled up from that source, and accordingly, in response to an urgent representation of the case to the legislature by the board in the winter of 1855-56, a special annual appropriation was made for the purpose by law, which expired by its own limitation in 1860. In the report already referred to the mode of application of the funds thus granted was fully set forth, and an extension of the law was asked for in order to complete the provisions for the observatory and to proceed with the enlargement of the library, a matter now esteemed of immediate and prominent importance. The extension was granted and an order was thereupon promptly given for tile construction of a telescope, which should place the observatory of the University of Mississippi on a level with those of Cambridge, or Ann Arbor, or any other in the country in instrumental resources. The introduction of astronomical observations has been regarded by the board as important, not only because of its opening to the youth of Mississippi of a school in practical astronomy, but because it associates the institution itself with all that class of institutions throughout the world which are engaged in the prosecution of original scientific research, and thus affects advantageously our reputation as a people. Considerations of this kind induced the board, in like manner, to accept the invitation extended to the university in communications from distinguished men of science, appended to their report of 1859, already several times referred to, to become associated in a systematic observation of the variations of terrestrial magnetism, in which the public authorities and the scientific associations of the principal civilized powers are engaged, and concerning which more particular information may be found in a communication from the chancellor of the university, appended to the same document. In order to realize this project but a moderate expenditure was necessary, and arrangements had been completed for commencing the magnetic observations about the close of the spring of the present year, when the obstruction of communication made it impossible to obtain the instruments, although they were completed and ready for delivery. A similar disappointment has been experienced in regard to the large telescope of the observatory. Though notice was received just before communication with the outer world by letter entirely ceased that the object glass of the instrument (in the construction of which the main difficulty lies) would be ready in August or September for a scrutinizing test examination, and though, therefore, with the ensuing spring there was every reason to anticipate the commencement of a systematic series of astronomical observations at the university, yet the interruption occasioned by the war has indefinitely deferred this gratifying prospect also. It may be proper here to remark that though these instruments, magnetic and astronomical, have thus been prevented from reaching the university, there has, nevertheless, been no loss sustained except the important one of time on this account, no moneys having been advanced to the constructors of the instruments in anticipation of their completion. While the disappointments just described have been suffered in reference to the realization of projects of improvement in progress, the board have also to regret that the state of the times forbids and makes impracticable the present fulfillment of any part of that enlarged programme of operations which embraced the establishment at the university of schools of higher education in special departments of science. Had peace continued to bless the land the present time is that which had been looked forward to for setting on foot at least the schools of civil engineering and agricultural chemistry, of which the practical importance is so generally acknowledged, and of which the South has so especial need. These and all other projects involving expenditure must, however, be for the 156 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. present suspended, and of this necessity the unanimous conviction of the board is expressed in the following resolution, adopted at their meeting in October last: '"Resolved, That until further ordered, the treasurer of the board be instructed not to draw from the treasury of the State any more money than is actually required to defray the necessary expenses of the university, and to meet such liabilities as the trustees have already incurred." While, however, recognizing the necessity and the duty of postponing further measures of improvement connected with the development of the university to a season more favorable to that high culture which can only thrive with peace, the board still cherish the undoubting confidence that an institution which, favored by an enlightened policy, has already made so large advances in reputation and usefulness, will yet fulfill their most sanguine expectations and become, what they have endeavored to pave the way for making it, a university in fact as well as in name. PROPOSED MILITARY SYSTEM. In speaking thus of the necessity of deferring plans of improvement until the return of peace, it mnay be proper to make an exception in favor of the proposition which has come with legislative sanction before the board,,of introducing into the university the military system of education. As early as the annual meeting of the board in June, and before the passage of the resolution of the legislature referred to, this subject had been brought up for notice, though not for action. It was esteemed to be one on which it would not be safe or wise to act without more full informationi than was possessed by any member of the board. At the meeting in October certain documents were presented by the chancellor, obtained from an institution in a neighboring State in which the military system has been adopted, and certain statements were made by him explanatory of features of the system as he had observed them during a personal visit to that institution; but there still remained a degree of indefiniteness in regard to the specific modifications which would have to be made in order to introduce the plan here, and especially in regard to the amount of expense which the necessary changes would involve, which induced the board to request the chancellor to complete the task he had commenced, and to report to them in fill at their next meeting. This request has been complied with, and the report prepared under it is herewith communicated to the legislature. The most important of its results, so far as they affect the question immediately under consideration, are the following: 1. The minimum of expense at which the proposed change would be effected is $22,000. 2. The dormitories require a modification, which, though not greatly expensive, would render them untenantable for several months. 3. There is for the moment a serious difficulty in the way of securing a competent military staff. In a question involving outlay the board could not at this time think of taking any action without instructions from the legislature. Hence, although they are disposed to regard the proposition with favor and although the opinions of the report, which, considering the long experience of the chancellor as an educator of youth, are entitled to high respect, are also favorable, they feel bound to limit themselves at present to the communication to the legislature of the information which has been laid before them, and leave the decision with the higher authority. * During the existing suspension of the exercises of the university proper there is still maintained upon the premises a high school, which has been placed under the charge of Messrs. A. J. Quinche and B. N. Harrison, the former recently professor of Latin and modern languages, and the latter recently assistant professor of physics. These gentlemen have also been intrusted with the care and preservation of the university property. The school commands an attendance of upward of 30 scholars, principally boys pursuing preparatory studies. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 157 The legislature took no action on the memorial. The pressing and fervid issues of the hour probably diverted the attention of all concerned from the immediate prosecution of a scheme promising so little of present result, and when the university reorganized later all were heartily tired of things military. The matter was dropped,.sub silentio and finally. THE LEGISLATURE RESUMES THE ELECTION OF TRUSTEES. That legislature, however, took one important step in connection with the university. From its establishment until now the board of trustees had themselves elected new members to fill such vacancies as occurred, but by the act of December 19, 1861, this power was resumed by the legislature and the number fixed at thirteen, the governor being one.l This enactment substantially closes the antebellum history of the University of Mississippi. THE CIVIL WAR-THE GEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS. To the war legislature, which met at Columbus in November, 1863, Dr. Hilgard, the State geologist, in his report says: During a portion of the winter of 1861-62 the chemical labors (analyses of soils, etc.) were suspended, il order to complete the arrangement, labeling, and cataloguing of the collection, now consisting of about 3,000 specimens, among which are about 400 soils and marls, representing the agricultural resources of the State, outside of the Mississippi bottom, not yet explored. To the respectable aspect of the collections so arranged, their preservation during the subsequent Federal occupation is chiefly owing. * * * At the retreat of the [Confederate] army fron Abbeville2 [in 1862] I remained at Oxford in order, if possible, to prevent the wanton destruction of the collections, which were in a dormitory building apart from the university collections. I obtained from the Federal provost-marshal an order protecting the collections, laboratory, etc., but it was only by unceasing personal vigilance that I could prevent serious injury to both. After the occupation of the university buildings as a Federal hospital the collections were ordered to be removed to make room for the sick. I succeeded, however, in so far interesting the post surgeon in their preservation that a detail of carpenters were furnished me, by whose assistance I effected the removal to the observatory building, to which the shelves also had been removed. Thus, on the whole, but very little damage has been sustained, although, but for my presence, the greater part of the specimens would have been lost. They are now fully rearranged, and I have packed away ready for transmission the duplicates designed for the State collection at Jackson. THE CIVIL WAR-CUSTODY OF PROPERTY-GOVERNOR CLARK7S MESSAGE. On the 3d of December, 1863, the joint standing committee on the university reported as follows: Since the commencement of the present war the buildings, furniture, and timber belonging to the university have been injured and destroyed, more or less, by our armies camped there and thereabouts at various times. How to prevent further a f. r. 1 Laws of 1861-62. 2 A village 10 miles north of the university. 158 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. trespasses is a difficult question, but one which ought to be solved if possible. The buildings, firniture, apparatus, etc., cost a very large sum of money, and all will be needed again at the close of the war when the institution is resumed. The secretary of the board of trustees, Hon. James M. Howry, has submitted a report to said committee, showing the condition of the university, etc. The committee have instructed mue to report the accompanying preamble and resolution and recommend their passage, believing that very little in addition can be done in the premises. That report was closely followed by this special message from the governor: I respectfully call.your attention to the condition of the University of Mississippi. All collegiate exercises have been suspended; the board of trustees have not been convened since the passage of the act entitled "An act to amend the laws in relation to the State University," approved December 19, 1861, and in the present state of the country a quorum can not be conveniently assembled. The classification of the trustees, as required by that act, has not been made, and can not now be made according to its terms. In the meantime there is no executive committee or other officer who has legal charge of the property and the cabinets, laboratory, and libraries, and the astronomical and philosophical apparatus, all of which are of the most valuable and costly character, are liable to destruction. The exercises of the college will not probably be resumed during the war, and I recommend that the president of the board be authorized to appoint from the trustees, an executive committee to manage the affairs of the university and provide for the preservation of its property, or that the number of trustees necessary to constitute a quorum be reduced to three, so that a meeting may be had. The act of December 19, 1-61, should be amended so as to continue the whole board in office, or a new board should be elected. Since the adjournment of the last legislature a vacancy has been created in the board of trustees by the death of the Hon. Cotesworth Pinckney Smith, so long and so honorably connected with that institution. Sad as have been the inroads which death has made upon our State in the last twelve months, the demise of none of her sons has caused a wider or more heartfelt sorrow. Born upon the soil of Mississippi, devoted heart and soul to her interest, and watching with jealous care over her honor, Judge Smith spent a long and laborious life in her service. In the forum, in the senate chamber, and upon the bench he labored with a zeal that knew no weariness, and with a purity of patriotism and a loftiness of purpose that has had few parallels. In every position he occupied, his great talents, his profound erudition, his extensive legal attainments, and the unquestioned purity of his character, shed unfading luster upon the annals of his native State, and when death called him hence he left none behind him whose names will live longer or be more gratefully enshrined in the hearts of the people. CHARLES CLARK. The act of December 9, 1863, was passed in conformity with the governor's suggestions, the trustees in office being continued until the alppointment of their successors. There is little else of interest to relate of war history. The Federal and the Confederate armies in turn used the college lrol)erty in part for hospitals, and the magnetic observatory goes by the name of " the dead house" to this day. Fortunately, no permanent injury was done. REORGANIZATION OF 1865. On the cessation of hostilities, the Hon. William L. Sharkey was appointed provisional governor of the State. He was then a member THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 159 of the board of trustees, and had been since the incorporation of the institution in 1814. Naturally he was anxious to see the institution again at work. Therefore, on July 1, 1865, lhe issued a proclamation convening the board. That body, according to the call, met at Oxford, on the 31st of July. At this meeting measures were taken to reopen the college on the first Monday of the following October. Prof. John N. Waddel was elected chancellor and requested to teach, ad interim, the English classes, in addition to his regular assignment of ethics and netaphysics. Gen. Alex. P. Stewart was elected to the chair of physics, astronomy, and civil engineering; Dr. John J. Wheat to that of Greek and ancient literature; Prof. Alex. J. Quinche to that of Latin and modern languages, and Prof. Claudius W. Sears to that of mathematics. The tuition fee was fixed at $50 per annum.' The university opened on the day appointed, the first Monday of October, 1865. Notwithstanding the devastating effects of the war just concluded, there was a good attendance of students. The total enrollment of the year was 193, the greater part of which was composed of youths and young men who had served in the Confederate army. On the 23d of October the board met again, pursuant to a call of Provisional Governor Sharkey, this time meeting in Jackson. General Stewart having resigned his chair of physics, astronomy, and civil engineering, Gen. Francis A. Shoup was elected to that professorship. Dr. Stanford G. Burney was elected professor of English literature, and Dr. Eugene W. Hilgard requested to discharge provisionally the duties of professor of chemistry, geology, and mineralogy; the terms of office of the two professors elect to begin on the 1st of January following. A HIGH SCHOOL PROPOSED. The question of establishing a high school in connection with the university was raised. It was found that the students who applied for admission were, either in whole or in part, unprepared for entrance into even the freshman class. The faculty had temporarily arranged to class such boys and have them instructed, by way of preparation, by members of the faculty. But this arrangement was not regarded as altogether satisfactory, and the chancellor recommended the establishment of an university high school. The recommendation was referred to a committee, to report at the next meeting. Thle next meeting was in June, 1866. The high-school committee reported adversely, on the ground that the university was too poor to undertake the expense of such an establishment. There was, however, a minority report by Judge Clapp, recommending the appointment of another committee to investigate the practicability of the scheme, with instructions to report at the next meeting of the board. The minority report was adopted. Minutes of board, vol. 2, pp. 52-62. - 160 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. CHANGES IN THE FACULTY. At this meeting the chair of ethics and metaphysics was filled, Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar being elected thereto. The classes in moral philosophy and political economy were taken from that chair and assigned to the chancellor. Dr. Eugene W. Hilgard, former State geologist, was elected professor of chemistry, geology, and mineralogy. The faculty were authorized to establish special schoolsin calculus, civil engineering, Spanish and French, without expense. THE ACT OF 1867 APPROPRIATES $20,000. At this meeting it was ordered further, that a memorial be sent to the legislature, then in session, praying for a recognition of the debt due the university on account of the seminary fund and an appropriation of $15,000 for two years for repairs. Accordingly, the memorial was prepared and presented, and the following are extracts from it: The undersigned, trustees of the University of Mississippi, respectfully represent, that the fifteenth session of the university (the second since the close of the war) opened on the 24th of September last with 157 students, and on the 17th of October instant the number iad increased to 201, distributed among the college classes as follows: Senior, 4; junior, 30; sophomore, 51; freshman, 27; irregular, 66, many of whom are pursuing studies preparatory to entering the regular classes. This shows a prosperity for the university equal to its most flourishing condition before the war, and an unexpected ability and disposition on the part of the people, after the fiery trials through which they have passed, to secure for their children the advantages of the higher branches of education. Certainly this prosperity of the university, which should be the pride of every citizen, and this ability and disposition of the people to advance the moral and intellectual culture of the growing mind of the State, should be most gratifying to the people's representatives, and should induce them to give the most liberal support to the university, to enable it to accomplish the great purpose for which it was founded and to give the highest encouragement to the sentiment which tends so strongly to the development of the intellectual resources of the State. To do this, all that is required is for the legislature to endow the university with the fund which is its own, which has been so long withheld, or to make such appropriations from the treasury as will enable it to furnish the means of education to the children of the State who seek instruction within its walls. Surely it would be better to endow it at once with that which belongs to it, that it might forever perform all its high functions unsurpassed by any other similar institution of learning, without making a further call upon the State. But if, in the wiser judgment of the legislature, that can not at present be done, then what is required is the appropriation of the necessary amount to provide for the exigencies of the university for the time being. We ask respectfully to present to the legislature the facts in reference to these two propositions as they were presented to the legislature in 1856, with the action of that body upon them at that time. * * I [Here follows an abstract of Governor McRae's message of 1856 on the seminary fund and of the action of the legislature thereon. The memorial then continues:] We respectfully ask your honorable body, upon this statement of facts, to allow the interest annually upon the indebtedness of the State to the university or to make adequate appropriations to meet all its necessities. The appropriation under the act of March, 1856, ceased in March, 1861, the first year of the war, and from that time for the four years ensuing the exercises THE 'UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 161 of the university were suspended and the grounds were occupied by Confederate and Federal troops alternately for camp and hospital purposes. Your honorable body may well know what ruin and decay must have befallen them during that period. With the return of peace the university has been reestablished in all its departments, with a faculty of arts unsurpassed in ability and efficiency by any similar institution in the South, and prosperity has again dawned upon it. The necessity now arises for means to repair the present buildings; to erect additional ones for the increasing number of students and professors, especially a residence suitable for the chancellor of the university; to inclose and improve the grounds, which are now like a waste place, and to make necessary additions to the library and portions of the apparatus. * * * Careful estimates have been made of the sum now required to meet the necessities of the university, and it is believed that $30,000, payable in two installments of $15,000 each during the current year, will be sufficient for all the purposes embraced in this memorial. The munificent donation of land to the State for the establishment of a seminary of learning and the acceptance of the trust by the State for its faithful management, both now appeal to her to make the university what it was originally designed to be.' Thereupon the legislature passed the following: AN ACT for the relief of the State University. SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the legislature of the State of Mississippi, That the sum of $20,000 be, and is hereby, appropriated, out of any moneys in the State treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the use of the State university, to provide additional buildings, to make necessary repairs, and meet other pressing wants of the institution, to be paid quarterly on the first days of January, April, July, and November, on the order of the president of the board of trustees; and until further direction by legislation a similar amount is annually appropriated thereafter. SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That this act take effect from and after its passage. Approved February 19, 1867. FURTHER CHANGES IN THE FACULTY. On the 21st of January, 1867, there was a called meeting of the board at Jackson. The chair of physics, astronomy, and civil engineering was divided into two chairs-first, that of applied mathematics, including mechanical philosophy and civil engineering, which was assigned to Professor Shoup, and secondly, that of experimental philosophy and astronomy, to which Dr. Landon C. Garland (later chancellor of Vanderbilt University) was elected. The ethics and metaphysics were assigned t6 the chancellor. Such were the formative processes through which the faculty passed on the reorganization after the civil war. There were still other and later changes, but they were widely separated in time, and of not great importance. They will therefore not be traced in detail. THE SPECIAL SCHOOLS, In the year 1867-68 certain "special schools" were established-first, for the benefit of such students as had not the time or the means to Senate Journal, 1866, Appendix, p. 87, 21785-No. 24 -11 162 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. pursue the regular curriculum; second, for those who should desire to prosecute special studies further than the regular course carried them. Those schools were of mathematics, of natural philosophy and astronomy, of applied mathematics and civil engineering, of practical chemistry, and of geology. They were kept up until displaced by the reorganization of 1870. THE UNIVERSITY AND RECONSTRUCTION. The university seemed entering on a new career of usefulness and prosperity. The perils and the desolation of the war had gone by. The empty halls and lecture rooms were again filled with eager and aspiring youths, at once the hope and the pride of the State; the professors' chairs were occupied by selections from the most honored sons of the South, and the treasury of the institution was filled with the State's ready bounty. The sky seemed cloudless as a day in June, and the memory of the pall that had recently hung over it served only to intensify the brightness of the passing hour. Yet below the horizon were the mutterings of a gathering storm. The reconstruction measures adopted by Congress went into effect in 1867. The governor of the State who had been chosen by the people, and who, among other things, was ex-officio president of the board of trustees, was removed from his office, and Gen. Adelbert Ames, of the United States Army, appointed military governor. The State officials were all displaced, the judiciary and legislature suspended, and the State placed under martial law. In the general displacement of officers, however, the university trustees were not included. General Ames did not interfere with the institution. He issued the warrants for its support promptly, and seems to have been animated by no hostile designs. Except so far as the routine of his office work brought him into contact with it, as where it was necessary to fill a vacancy in the board, etc., he left it severely alone. At the June meeting of 1868, the secretary was early ordered to notify him of the board's assembling and to invite his participation in the meeting. He seems to have made no response, nor did he ever attend a session. The new appointments made by him to vacancies in the board were not objectionable to the people of the State. Indeed, no man was ever more sincerely loved and honored by Mississippians than was one of his three appointees, the Hon. William Yerger. The policy pursued by Governor Ames toward the institution seems to have been thoroughly conservative and wise. However, the new constitution of the State was adopted on the 1st of December, 1869, and in the January following the first legislature of the reconstructed State was convened by proclamation of the military governor. It was of the type then denominated "radical," thoroughly so, and a very large part of its membership were negroes. Needless to say that it was a very unacceptable legislature to the white people of the State. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 163 Among other things that this body did was to reorganize the university. It passed the following statute: AN ACT to provide for the appointment of a board of trustees of the University of the State of Mississippi. 'SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the legislature of the State of Mi88issippi, That the governor of this State shall, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint twelve citizens of this State, who with said governor as president, shall constitute the board of trustees of the State University. A majority of said board shall constitute a quorum to transact business. SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That said trustees shall, immediately after their appointment, divide themselves by lot into three classes: The first class shall hold their office for two years from the date of their appointment; the second class shall hold their office for four years after the date of their appointment, and the third shall hold their office for six years from the date of their appointment. SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That as the terms of office of said.trustees expire as provided for in the second section of this act, their successors shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, who shall hold their offices for the term of six years from the date of their appointment, and thereafter until their successors are qualified. SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, That in case of vacancies occurring by death, resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the senate, the governor may make appointments to fill such vacancy or vacancies, which appointment or appointments shall entitle the party to hold and exercise the duties of said office until the next meeting of the senate. SEC. 5. Be it further enacted. That until the appointment of the trustees, as provided for in the first section of this act shall be made, the present incumbents shall hold and exercise the office and duties of trustees. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed, and that this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Approved May 9, 1870. Pursuant to this act, and during the early summer of 1870, a new board was appointed. Some of the appointees were acceptable to the white people of the State, but the board as a body was not. The removals were deeply felt by all who had any interest or pride in the institution. They were Howry, who from the earliest hour of its being in 1844, to that day, a period of twenty-six years, had served faithfully and well; Brown, whose unbroken service was only two years less, and whose zeal was quite as great; Young, the amiable and elegant gentleman, who had been uninterruptedly on duty since 1848, twenty-two years; Clayton, a nestor and achates at once, wise and true, one of the original incorporators of the college; Hillyer, a scholarly and wise and trusted servant; Walthall, endeared to all the people by his chivalric and brilliant record in their unfortunate armies; Yerger, the matchless advocate and jurist, a gentleman without shadow of reproach; and Hill, whose Republican politics had yet not deterred a Democratic governor and senate from committing to his hands, among others, the keeping of the State's most precious jewel. In the face of this action, it was but little solace that West, Pegues,:nd Charles Clark were retained, and Isom and Simrall newly ap]pointed. They were only five. The feeling was generally entertained 164 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. that the board had been " radicalized," and that their presence would do no good. Mr. Lamar resigned the professorship of law at once. Throughout the State soon arose a heated and somewhat bitter discussion, not loud but persistent and influential, finding expression in the newspapers occasionally, as to whether it did not behoove " sound Democrats" to resign from the faculty, such as were of it, and all others to decline to send their sons to an institution where they would be in danger of being corrupted politically." This sentiment was not universally accepted. Many maintained that the true policy was to surrender nothing; to fight every inch of the ground; that, if the university was to be taken away from the white people of the State, it should be made manifest that such was its fate, and no seeming abandonment of it by them should give a disguise to the transaction. There was a strong undercurrent of nervous apprehension lest at any time some aggressive negro should ignore the provision made for his race elsewhere, and demand admission to the university, in which case an explosion was regarded as inevitable. It was an anxious period. The result of the agitation was that the public confidence was more and more withdrawn from the college and the attendance fell away to a very marked degree, in spite of every effort for its maintenance. From its foundation until 1870 the board had always met during the commencement week to attend to the business of the university. One important feature of that business was the conferring of degrees on the graduates. At the commencement of 1870, however, there was no meeting; the old board was removed, and the new not organized. The degrees were conferred by the faculty, a proceeding unprecedented in the history of the institution. On the 15th of August following, there was a called meeting of the new board. The degrees conferred by the faculty were confirmed.1 A NEW SCHEME OF ORGANIZATION-1870. The next meeting of the board, and a very important one it was in its results, took place 26th of October, 1870. The following preamble and resolutions were adopted: The committee appointed under a resolution of the board at its meeting in August last, to take into consideration the subject of a change from the close college to the university system, through its chairman, Mr. Lyon, made the following report (Appendix No. 1), which was read and received, and, after discussion, adopted with the following preamble and resolutions: Whereas the University of Mississippi was originally founded for the advancement of the cause of education in its most enlarged sense, and for the benefit of the present and future generations of its youth, and thus for the elevation and culture of our people in arts, science, literature, and morals; and whereas during the period of its existence as an institution of learning, now reaching over a space of nearly a quarter of a century, its sphere of operations and field of usefulness have been limited by 1 Minutes of the board, vol. 2, p. 225. THE CAMPUS-UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 165 circumstances beyond the control of the authorities, so as never yet to have developed the idea of an institution of the higher learning, such as is demanded by modern life, but has been confined to the narrow limits of the close college system, thus failing to fulfill the expectations and satisfy the desires of those for whom it was established; and whereas the voice of a discerning public is everywhere demanding that the area of its operations shall be enlarged so as to open its portals for the admission of applicants for every form of scholastic training, both of a theoretical and practical character; and whereas it is believed that the times are propitious for the consummation of the long-cherished purpose to change the system of this institution from the close college to the university proper; therefore be it Resolved, That it is the sense of this board of trustees that the following shall be adopted as the plan for the future operations of the University of Mississippi: First, there shall be included in the plan three general departments, viz: 1. A department of preparatory education. 2. A department of science, literature, and arts. 3. A department of professional education. Under the first of these departments is included a university high school, in which shall be taught all those branches of study that are preliminary to the university courses, viz: English, Latin, Greek, and mathematics, together with a course of commercial science, including penmanship and bookkeeping. Under the second of these general departments there shall be included six distinct courses of study, four of which shall be for undergraduates, and shall be parallel courses, and two of them shall be postgraduate courses. The four parallel courses for undergraduates shall be designated and described as follows: 1. The course for Bachelor of Arts, requiring for its completion four years, and embracing the following studies: For the first year: English, Latin, Greek, and mathematics. For the second year: English, Latin, Greek, mathematics, history, and physics. For the third year: Physics, metaphysics, rhetoric, Greek, Latin, French, and chemistry. For the fourth year: Optics, astronomy, geology, political economy, ethics, English literature, Greek, and French. 2. The course for Bachelor of Science,requiring three years for its completion, and embracing the studies following: For the first year: English, Latin, natural history, and mathematics. For the second year: Mathematics, physics, political economy, history, English literature, French, and ethics. For the third year: Physics, astronomy, metaphysics, chemistry, and geology. 3. The course for Bachelor of Philosophy, requiring for its completion three years, and embracing the studies following: For the first year: English language and literature, natural history, and mathematics. For the second year: Mathematics, physics, geology, history, and English. For the third year: Physics, astronomy and meteorology, chemistry, metaphysics, ethics, and rhetoric. 4. The course for civil engineering, requiring for its completion four years, and embracing the studies following: For the first year: English language and literature, natural history, French, and mathematics. For the second year: Mathematics, drawing, French, and German. For the third year: Physics, mechanics, chemistry, and engineering. For the fourth year: Optics, astronomy, geology, engineering, ethics, and history. The two postgraduate courses shall be as follows: 1. The course of Master of Arts, requiring one year additional to the course of A. B. and embracing, in addition to the studies for that course, an extended course in any three of the following: viz, Latin, French, German, Anglo-Saxon, Greek, Hebrew, ethics, metaphysics, history; on which the candidate must sustain a satisfactory examination, and submit an approved thesis. 2. The course for Doctor of Philosophy requiring two years additional to the course for A. B., and requiring the following additional studies: For the first year, practical chemistry, practical mineralogy, and practical botany. For the second year, practical geology, practical zoology, practical astronomy, and practical 166 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. chemistry; on any three of which the candidate must sustain a satisfactory examination and present an approved thesis. Under the third general department there shall be included two professional schools, viz: 1. A school of law and governmental science. 2. A school of medicine and surgery. For the first of these professional schools, when complete in its organization, there shall be provided a faculty of four professors. For the second professional school, when organized, a faculty sufficiently large to meet all demands for this form of professional education. The department of science, literature, and the arts shall be organized with the following corps of professors, viz: 1. A chancellor, to instruct in moral science and Christian evidence. 2. A professor of mathematics. 3. A professor of the Greek language and the history of ancient literature. 4. A professor of the Latin language. 5. A professor of English literature. 6. A professor of modern languages. 7. A professor of metaphysics and logic. 8. A professor of history and political economy. 9. A professor of physics and astronomy. 10. A professor of chemistry in all its branches. 11. A professor of mineralogy and geology. 12. A professor of botany and zoology. 13. A professor of engineering. For the present the seventh and eighth chairs shall be filled by the same incumbent, and, in like manner, one professor shall discharge the duties of the eleventh and twelfth chairs. The chancellor of the university shall be the presiding officer of all the faculties in the various departments. On motion of Mr. Simrall, the following resolution was adopted: Resolved, That the parallel courses, as laid down in the report and resolutions, be at once put in operation by the present corps of professors and their assistants as far as practicable, and that at the opening of the next session the above system be fully inaugurated.' The medical and surgical school provided for in the foregoing resolutions was never put into operation. The high school was abolished and a subfreshman class organized in lieu thereof in 1883. In the main, however, the scheme of organization devised by these resolutions has been in force continuously since that day. Some minor changes have been made, which will appear when the present scheme of work is set forth at the conclusion of this chapter. THE NEW CHARTER OF 1871. The next step in the university's history is the enactment by the legislature of 1871 of an entirely new charter, approved May 9. It appears as a portion of the Revised Code of 1871, and is as follows: ARTICLE I.-ORGANIZATION OF UNIVERSITY. (Revised Code of 1871.) 2062. The University of Mississippi, incorporated 24th of February, A. D. 1844, shall continue to be organized and governed as follows, viz: The trustees now in Minutes of the Board, vol. 2, pp. 239-242. THE UNIVERSITY OF MSISSISSIPPI. 167 office shall continue according to the terms of their appointment and until their successors shall be qualified; and they and their successors in office are hereby declared and constituted a body politic and corporate by the name and style of the "University of Mississippi." ART. II.-POWERS AND DUTIES OF TRUSTEES. 2063. The said trustees shall possess all the powers necessary and proper for the accomplishment of the trust reposed in them, viz: The establishment and maintenance at the site of the university buildings near Oxford, in Lafayette County, of a first-class institution in the different departments of learning; and they may adopt all such by-laws and regulations as they deem expedient for this purpose not repugnant to the laws and constitution of this State. 2064. A majority of the board'of trustees shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. 2065. As the terms of office of said trustees expire, their successors shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate. They shall hold their offices for a term of six years from the date of their appointment, and until their successors shall be qualified. 2066. In case of vacancies occurring during a recess of the senate, the governor may make appointments to fill the vacancy, until the meeting of the senate, and thereafter during the session of the senate, until successors shall be appointed and qualified. 2067. The governor, ex officio, shall be president of the board of trustees of the university; but in his absence a president pro tempore may be appointed by the board. ART. III.-MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 2068. There shall be appropriated annually for the support of the university the sum of twenty thousand dollars, out of the State treasury, to be expended under the direction of the board of trustees, and to be drawn quarterly, upon auditor's warrants upon the treasury, to be issued upon the order of the governor, as president of the board of trustees, and this shall be in lieu of all allowances heretofore made by the State for a support of the university. 2069. The secretary of the State shall, from time to time, furnish for the use of the university two copies of all laws, journals, reports of decisions of the supreme court, and all other books and public documents had for distribution among the public officers of this State. 2070. If any person shall sell vinous or spirituous liquors in any quantity less than five gallons within five miles of the university, he shall, on conviction, be fined five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned in the county jail not exceeding two months, or both, for each offence; but this shall not prohibit the sale of vinous or spirituous liquors by druggists for medical, sacramental, or culinary purposes. 2071. This chapter may be repealed at the will of the legislature. 2072. That this act shall take effect from and after the first day of October, A. D. 1871. Approved May 9, 1871. This legislation was quite a material reduction of the university's income from the State. At the time it was annually receiving, approximately, as follows: Under the act of 1848................................................. $11, 000 Under the act of 1854................................................. 2, 000 Under the act of 1867..................................................... 15,000 Total, about. ---............................................ 28,000 Amount of reduction made by the act. —,.................-.........-.. 8, 000 ]68 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. THE UNIVERSITY AND ALCORN UNIVERSITY. However, that act produced no actual damage. It was, on that point, repealed in just four days. On the 13th of the same month the act incorporating Alcorn University was passed, and that charter provided for the payment of $50,000 per annum each to the Alcorn University and the University of Mississippi.' Nor was it alone in respect of this great augmentation of the proposed income from $20,000 to $50,000 that the establishment of Alcorn University was to figure in the history of the State University. THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. On the same day that the Alcorn University charter was approved was also approved an act disposing of the agricultural land-scrip fund. The charter provided that three-fifths of that fund should be the property of Alcorn University, and the other act provided that two-fifths of it should be property of the State University.2 This disposition of the fund was in conformity with the suggestions of Governor Alcorn in his message of 1870. The part assigned to the university realized $95,000 in 8 per cent State bonds in 1873. This appropriation of two-fifths of the land-scrip fund to the university was conditioned on the establishment by it of a "college of agriculture and the mechanic arts," including a machine shop, model farm, a chemical laboratory, and a chair of agricultural chemistry, and the application of the interest of the fund to their maintenance. Consequently, at a meeting of the board on the 30th of August, 1871, this committee report was received and adopted: Your committee beg leave to say that the funds not yet being provided, or rather available, it is not at present possible to put this department into full operation. They, however, think that preliminary steps may be taken to that end. They concur, in the main, with the views advanced by Professor Hilgard, whose report is herewith submitted, that while ample instruction should be afforded in all branches connected with the science of agriculture, obligatory labor, except in so far as may be necessary for practical instruction, should not be imposed on the students. A small farm will be necessary to exemplify the teachings of the professors. While the students in this department should not be compelled to labor on this farm, still they may be encouraged to do so by being paid for any work they may perform. They think 20 acres will be sufficient for all present purposes, and will practically exhibit all the results of different modes of culture, as well as the effects of various fertilizers and the workings of the many labor-saving implements now in use. Your committee are not prepared, nor do they think it proper at present, to make any recommendation as to number of professors, cost of buildings, general outfit, etc. They, however, recommend to the members of the board the careful perusal of the report of Professor Hilgard [see Appendix B], believing that it will contribute much to the formation of right views on the whole subject. They beg leave to recommend the passage of the following resolutions as preliminary steps toward the final organization of the department: Resolved, That Professor Hilgard be appointed professor of agricultural chemistry 'Revised Code, 1871, sec. 2916. 2' Laws of 1871, p. 704. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 169 and the special geology and agriculture of the State, and that he be requested to deliver a course of lectures on these subjects during the current year. Resolved, That so soon as funds are provided, the executive committee be authorized to elect a superintendent of the farm, and to take the necessary steps to put the same in a state of preparation. THO. E. B. PEGUES, Chairman. The "Appendix B" referred to in the foregoing report was an elaborate and able statement by Professor Hilgard of the results of an extensive personal examination made by him into the organization, equipment, and processes of the leading agricultural and mechanical colleges in the United States, with a detail of the adjustments in the faculty, the constitution of new chairs, and erection of buildings and purchases of appliances needed to put the proposed department into active operation. During the session of 1871-72 Dr. Hilgard delivered the course of lectures called for in the preceding resolutions. At the June meeting, 1872, the following action was taken: The committee to whom was referred the agricultural department of the university, beg leave to recommend the adoption of the following resolutions: 1. Resolved, That the agricultural department ought to be organized so as to go into operation at the opening of the next session. 2. Resolved, That instruction in this department ought to be assigned to the corps of professors as now constituted, if compatible with their duties. If it shall be found impracticable for the present professors to instruct in full in this department the necessary instructors will be appointed. 3. Resolved, That only so much land should be employed in cultivation (not to exceed 25 acres) as may be necessary to illustrate the scientific instruction. 4. Resolved. That inasmuch as the funds will not admit of a complete organization of the mechanical department at this time, it be postponed until the close of the next scholastic year. 5. Resolved, That the executive committee, with the aid of the chancellor, be instructed to devise the curriculum of studies, to be made public before the opening of the next session, and that the executive committee be charged with all the other details. 6. Resolved, That a sum (not exceeding $5,000) be appropriated out of the ordinary funds of the university, to be used, so soon as the same can be spared, to put the land in order, and to provide the necessary buildings. H. F. SIMRALL, Chairman. It was further ordered that the executive committee elect a superintendent of the farm to be attached to the agricultural department, at a salary not to exceed $1,000. In pursuance of that authority the committee elected, as adjunct professor of agriculture and superintendent of the farm, Dr. M. W. Philips, a celebrated agriculturist of the State and editor of a popular agricultural journal published in Memphis. The department was opened for the reception of students October 2, 1872. A full curriculum was presented, of four years' extent, including agriculture, horticulture, stock raising, dairying, etc., mathematics, English, natural history and geology, general and economic chemistry, physics, meteorology, history, political economy, and ethics. The idea 170 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. was to have these students fall in with the ordinary classes in such subjects as were common to both courses; whereby but a small increase of the faculty would be needed. On the 23d of January, 1873, Dr. Hilgard submitted to the chancellor a report from which the following extracts are made: Dr. JOHN N. WADDEL, Chancellor University of Mississippi: In view of the approaching meeting of the board of trustees of the university, I beg leave to present herewith a report on the general condition and prospects of the agricultural department of the university, concerning which some action seems necessary at the present meeting. As regards first, the failure, thus far, to secure any classes in this departmert it might appear discouraging at first sight. It does not so impress me, perhaps for the reason that my intimate personal acquaintance with the views and prejudices of our agricultural population did not lead me to expect a very different result at the outset. The inquiries and applications for circulars received lead me to believe that, had our public announcement not come so late that students could hardly get ready for the beginning of the session, we might at least have started a freshman class. But it must be remembered that the idea of educating young men professionally for the pursuit of agriculture at an institution of learning is a new one even in older communities than ours, and that with us not longer than ten years ago those who considered that any improvement whatsoever in our agricultural practice was necessary were few and far between. And even these few were divided as to the proper mode of attaining such improvement, a small minority only admitting that there was anything in "book farming" worthy of the attention of a "practical" man. While, in my official capacity as State geologist, I have had ample opportunity to become cognizant of the state of feeling as then existing, I may now, il the same capacity, bear witness to the great and material change that has been wrought in public sentiment oh these questions of late, and that the calls for information on all topics connected with industrial pursuits are constantly and rapidly on the increase. The conviction that a change in our agricultural system is necessary seems, indeed, to be almost universal; but it has not as yet reached that advanced stage which brings the further conviction that fairs, improved implements, fertilizers, etc., are after all only like good tools, requiring the skill of an educated workman for their proper use and the best results to be derived therefrom. It is my conviction that the enlightenment and ratification of public opinion on the general subject, as well as upon the objects and mode of instruction of the agricultural department, is among the foremost necessities of our present situation. In our sister States of Alabama and Georgia this necessity was so well appreciated that a regular canvass of these States was, at the very outset, undertaken by the heads of the institutions established there, and with the most satisfactory results as regards the numbers of the attendance secured. I am not prepared to recommend unconditionally that we follow their example, or at least would be compelled to decline acting personally in the matter. But I do think that it is incumbent upon us to avail ourselves largely of the press, both periodically and occasionally, to impress upon our people the claims of this department upon their attention and support. Such was essentially the object of the address delivered by myself on the occasion of the late State fair at Jackson, and without claiming for that effort any merit beyond that of a correct and forcible exposition of the actual condition of our agricultural system, of its faults, and of the remedies that should be applied, I think with many prominent gentlemen who have conversed with me on the subject since that it should be widely circulated as a campaign document, so to speak, on behalf of the agricultural department of the university, and of agricultural and THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 171 industrial improvement and education in general. Pecuniary embarrassments on the part of the Jackson Fair Association, by whom the publication was first proposed, having threatened to materially delay its circulation, I trust that the board will not only ratify the expenditure for printing it, to the extent authorized by you, but will also relieve Dr. Philips from being even temporarily held responsible for the balance of the cost, which will ultimately be reimbursed by the Fair Association, according to agreement. It were, indeed, a low view to take of the mission of education and of educational institutions, if we were to consider our moral duty fulfilled by merely keeping up with local public opinion, and supplying the demand as it arises. Such is, unfortunately, the theory of but too many who exert influence on our institutions, both in public life and in the press. The example of other States, both older and younger than our own, that have gone before us in this work, can leave no doubt either as to the necessity for, or the ultimate success of, schools of agriculture. What they have done, we can and must do; for our system of culture is certainly not superior to theirs, our population not better educated, our lands quite as rapidly going to waste. If, then, our people have shown a certain degree of supineness in this matter, so much greater is the necessity-so much more is it incumbent upon us to use our utmost exertions, and all the means at our disposal, to diffuse information on this vitally important subject; to dispel prejudice and misunderstandings, and to so organize and equip the institution that it must command respectful attention, and may challenge criticism in all its parts and details. This, in my view, is the only proper and safe course to be pursued by us. Nothing could be more fatal to our success than if, discouraged by a present want of patronage, we were to "heave-to," waiting for it to come, and meanwhile confine our operations and means of instruction to its probable requirements for the time being. Nothing short of an absolute financial impossibility should impel or induce us to thus invite failure, and proclaim our unfitness for the trust confided to us. It is with this view that, as a member of the local subcommittee appointed to determine upon the site for the college farm, I have insisted strenuously, and it may have seemed at times obstinately, that both as to its location and extent the very first beginning should be so made as to indicate what it should hereafter be and do, feeling well assured that the acceptance by the board of my recommendation that not more than about 25 acres should at the outset be taken into cultivation could not reasonably have been meant to compel the adoption of this as the maximum area to be considered in the general plan, or put under fence. It was certainly far from my intention to be understood as recommending anything so ludicrously disproportionate to what has been done by every other State where a farm has been established at all; and so peculiarly inappropriate where a variety of soil and position is positively essential even to efficient instruction; apart from experiments, where it becomes a conditio sine qua non. There will be no difficulty now in finding, within the limits of the 2 inclosures representing the farm, such variety as can usually be found in small upland tracts in this section of the State. Again, it has been objected to the site selected, that it embraces not an inconsiderable tract of land badly washed and gullied, lying in full sight of the railroad and public road. It is, indeed, a great pity (to say the least) that so large a piece of land lying so close not only to the public highways mentioned, but to the campus itself, should so long have been allowed to run to waste, when a very little labor applied in time might have preserved it. The injury is great now, but it will be greater, and will in part become irreparable a few years hence. A small amount of labor bestowed on it now, at convenient times such as always occur to the careful farmer, can yet keep the gullies from encroaching farther, and even make a beginning toward their filling up and final reclamation. Had they been left outside of our fence, as was proposed, we should have done precisely whlat we intend with all our might and main to 172 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. urge our young men not to do, viz, to turn out their worn and gullied lands to final devastation. It will be to them a lesson fully as important at this time as any they can learn; for the reclamation of worn and waste lands in this State is becoming more and more a question of alarming magnitude. We have good land enough within the inclosure to raise premium crops of every kind; we have also worn land enough to exemplify its reclamation. The location within full view of the Central Railroad will make the farm the best advertisement of the department, if equipped and managed as it should be. It should have nothing to hide from the public gaze or from fair criticism. To this end, I would strenuously second the suggestion made by Dr. Philips in his report, viz, that a definite general plan based upon an accurate topographical survey of the ground should at once be made and adopted, so that everything that is done in the way of improvement may tend toward the realization of a harmonious and efficient whole. In no other way can true economy be attained and the periodic undoing of patchwork avoided. I can not omit in this connection to suggest the necessity of providing, for the funds to be used in the operations and management of the farm, a different mode of disbursement from that now existing with regard to other university work. Unlike general improvements or repairs, the operations of the farm can not afford to await their turn at the foot of the docket, or be governed by the fluctuations of warrants. In order to be a success in any point of view it must be managed as a prudent business man would manage his own concerns, to the utmost extent consistent with its special object-instruction. At times when the success or failure of a season's operations may depend upon prompt action requiring pecuniary outlay, the delay attendant upon circuitous official references often becomes ruinous. To avoid such troubles and to secure unity and efficiency of management, considerable discretion must be allowed the superintendent of the farm-a condition not in the least incompatible with the strictest accountability. So far from this, such large measure of discretion is the only condition on which an incumbent of the proper qualifications can be held strictly responsible for the results which unequivocally flow from his individual management only when there is no divided responsibility. It gives me pleasure to reiterate in this place my confident belief that in Dr. Philips we have secured the right man for the place, and I hope he will be given abundant opportunity to demonstrate the fact. As an experienced business man, he is doubtless correct in the suggestion made in his report concerning the propriety of immediately entering upon the breeding of blooded stock as a means of increasing the pecuniary resources of the department, provided only that arrangements for the proper and safe keeping of the animals can be speedily made. While lucrativeness should always be a very secondary consideration as compared with the necessities of instruction, yet, situated as we now are, anything that can render the balance sheet more satisfactory without interfering with the educational interests deserves especial consideration. * * * * - * In all our plans and operations, however, the inadequacy of our resources, both as regards the plant and the employment of additional special instructors, meets us at every turn. It has been thus in the great majority of the agricultural colleges established in accordance with the act of 1862, even where the States have added liberally to the closely entailed Congressional donation, and communities have vied with each other in offers to donate improved sites. The obvious reason of this lies in the fact that industrial instruction, to be effectual, is intrinsically of a costly character, requiring a "plant," which forms no part of the estimated cost of literary colleges, while at the same time in many cases the salaries usually offered to instructors in literary courses are wholly inadequate to command the services of men eminent in technical pursuits. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 173 This report was, by the chancellor, presented at a meeting of the board of trustees on the 4th of February, and that body thereupon passed the following resolution: Resolved, That Professor Hilgard be requested to report to the governor the condition and requirements of the agricultural department of the university, and that the governor lay the subject before the legislature and recommend such an appropriation as may be necessary to place this department on an efficient footing. Professor Hilgard discharged the duty imposed upon him by the foregoing resolution, but without avail. The legislature took no action in the matter. At the June meeting of the board, 1873, a second report from Dr. Hilgard was submitted, from which is taken the following extract: DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Concerning the requirements and prospects of this department I have little to add to what I have already expressed in a report laid before you at the late session of the board of trustees. The failure of the legislature to make any provision for an outfit such as is contemplated by the act of donation renders i t impossible to carry into effect the plans heretofore detailed, and all that can be done at the present time with the limited means at command are the experimental operations detailed in the accompanying report of Dr. Philips. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that the cry of "failure" should already be raised by those whose wish is father to the thought. I see no cause for such clamor, and trust that yourself, as well as the board of trustees, will take no heed of it, but will duly consider the circumstances under which that which has been done has been accomplished, and I think you will be satisfied that few men laboring under similar difficulties would have accomplished as much as Dr. Philips is able to show. He has inaugurated a number of important experiments,.whose results when published will convey important practical information. With the limited force at his command he has materially improved the aspect and condition of the tract now under cultivation at times when other operations were stopped by the weather, and even on the tract newly put under fence he has put in the " stitch in time " whenever possible. He will make abundant feed for the coming season, and if but reasonably backed by funds at that time will be able to prove conclusively to all willing to be convinced that the practical part, at least, of the agricultural department is no failure. But the most intelligent or even desperate energy can not succeed without means. I can not for a moment admit. that the late unfavorable action of the legislature represents the interest of the people on this subject. I know it to be otherwise from a long and close intercourse with the farming population of the State. Whatever of supineness or political considerations may have brought about the result, it assuredly does not represent the state of intelligent public opinion. And my hope that a different action, more consonant with the interests of industrial and educational progress, will yet be taken by the legislature is unshaken. As regards the absence thus far of students in the agricultural course, it is a phenomenon of common occurrence in the establishment of new professional schools, and so far from discouraging us, should only stimulate to greater efforts. All parties agree that the necessity for this class of instruction is great and crying; but it is a new thing in this country, and opinions differ greatly as to the manner and opportunity of imparting it; this experience alone can determine. I have heretofore placed before you the results of the experience of the older colleges in the country, basing thereon my recommendations as to the course to be pursued by us. I have found no reason as yet to change my views in this regard; and the discussion which was provoked at the late session of the agricultural congress at Indianapolis, by a motion to indorse the "Morrill bill," and in which many unkind things were said of the agricultural colleges in general, has but confirmed me in my opinions as previously expressed. 174 HIISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Hampered thus, as explained by Dr. Hilgard, by want of means to equip an agricultural and mechanical college, but little was ever done. The justness of the Doctor's views in regard to the temper of the people of the State was manifested a few years later by the establishment of the Agricultural and Mechanical College at Starkville. Meanwhile the matter languished. The farm was continued in a small way on strictly an experimental basis, under the charge of Dr. Philips, until the year 1876, when it was finally abandoned. In the year 1878 the Agricultural and Mechanical College was chartered; and the agricultural land-scrip fund was withdrawn from the university and passed to the credit of that institution, along with a sufficiency of that portion of the fund previously donated to the Alcorn University to make up one-half of the whole. FREE SCHOLARSHIPS. A third instance in which the establishment of the Alcorn University was made to affect the State University was that of the free scholarships. One of the features of the Alcorn charter was a provision so very illdrawn that it is impossible to say with any certainty what it does mean, but which was understood to give one free scholarship, including the right to have, for the benefit of the scholar, $100 per annum from the common-school fund in the public treasury, to each county or other representative's district in the State, with a proviso to the effect that when any county was entitled to more than one representative there should be one scholarship for each representative. Quite a number of students, selected under that statute, on competitive examinations, attended the university for several years; 116 being considered the full annual attendance admissible thereunder. In the year 1875, however, the whole scheme was abolished by a repeal of that portion of the statute. FREE TUITION. In 1871 tuition was made free, except in the law school, to all Mississippi students. Students from any State who were preparing for the ministry, or who were not able to pay tuition, were also admitted free. In 1876 students, from any State or country, were ordered to be admitted free of tuition fees; and such has been the rule ever since that date. THE HIGH SCHOOL. It will be remembered that one of the features of the reorganization of the university in 1870 was an order for the establishment of a high school. It was not, however, until the fall of 1874 that any arrangement was made for it, at which time Mr. Andrew E. Kilpatrick, an A. B. of the class of 1873, was elected its principal. In the year 1875 Professor Kilpatrick resigned, and Prof. Lewis T. Fitzhugh (later principal of Whitworth College), was chosen to succeed him. The high school, however, while very prosperous, was broken down finally by its very prosperity. It was strongly objected to by the teachers of acad THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 175 emies throughout the State on the ground that it was an invasion of their field of work and patronage. In the year 1883 the board of trustees, deferring to that objection and considering the further fact (more weighty by far) that the academies of the State had begun to recover from the ruinous effects of the late war and to do much more thorough educational work than had been done before, abolished the school. A subfreshman class was organized in lieu of it, intended only for students applying for admission to the higher classes of the university and candidates for the A. B. or B. S. degree. This class was placed in the charge of Professor Fitzhugh as principal, with the rank of a full professor. Subsequently, the restriction that students of the subfreshman class should be candidates for the A. B. or B. S. degrees was set aside, and those designing to pursue the B. P. course, or even a select course, were admitted to the privileges of the class. In 1886 Professor Fitzhugh resigned to accept the presidency of Whitworth College. He was succeeded by John Wesley Johnson, A. B. and M. A., of the university. In 1889 the subfreshman class, as a distinct organization, was abolished; the students doing preparatory work being placed under the immediate tuition of their respective professors, and Professor Johnson was assigned to other duties. CHANCELLOR A. P. STEWART. In the month of July, 1874, Dr. Waddel resigned the chancellorship. Dr. John J. Wheat, the professor of Greek, being the senior by election, was declared the vice-chancellor, and discharged the duties of that position. On the 7th of October, 1874, Gen. Alexander P. Stewart was elected unanimously to the chancellorship, and was inaugurated in the following December. This distinguished gentleman was thoroughly identified with the Southern people. He had been a lieutenant-general in the Confederate army, and had served in that delicate and trying position with the greatest success to the very end. His installation as the presiding officer of the faculty almost wholly allayed the restiveness of the people of the State about the institution, growing out of the political complications already described. And the unmistakable index of a better feeling was the fact that in the inaugural ceremony the new chancellor was introduced to the audience by the Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar, then a member of Congress, but who had resigned his professorship of law in 1870. REORGANIZATION OF 1876. In the fall of the year 1875 there was a great political uprising in Mississippi. The Democratic party regained control of the State. On the 14th of April, 1876, there was passed and approved "An act to reorganize the University of Mississippi." Its tenor was as follows: SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the legislature of the State of Missi8sippi, That the University of Mississippi incorporated the 24th of February, 1844, shall continue to be organized and governed as follows, to wit: The board of trustees of said institution shall be fifteen in number, five of whom shall be alumni of said institution. The members 176 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. of said board shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the consent of the senate, and shall hold their office for six years, or until their successors are appointed: Provided, That the first board appointed under this act shall at its first meeting, which shall be held in the university buildings at Oxford on the Monday before the last Thursday in June, 1876, be divided by lot into three classes of five each. The first class shall hold their offices for two years from the date of their appointment, the second class shall hold their offices for four years, and the third class for six years: Providedfurther, That the present board shall hold their offices until their successors are appointed as herein provided. SEC. 2. Be itfurther enacted, That the board of trustees herein provided for and their successors are hereby declared and constituted a body politic and corporate by the name and style of " The University of Mississippi." SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That in case of vacancies occurring in the board of trustees during a recess of the senate the governor may make appointments to fill such vacancies until the meeting of the senate, and thereafter during the session of the senate until such vacancies are filled. SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, That the governor of the State shall be president of the board of trustees of the University of Mississippi; but in his absence from any meeting of the board a president pro tempore may be appointed by the board. SEC. 5. Be it further enacted, That a majority of the trustees shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and the approval of two-fifths of all the trustees shall be necessary to the adoption of any order or resolution by the said board. SEC. 6. Be it further enacted, That the trustees shall possess all the powers necessary and proper for the accomplishment of the trust reposed in them, viz, the establishment and maintenance at the site of the university buildings near Oxford, in Lafayette County, of a first-class institution in the different departments of learning; and they may adopt all such laws and regulations as they may deem expedient for the purpose not repugnant to the constitution and laws of the State. SEC. 7. Be it further enacted, That the said board shall elect a treasurer who shall receive all the moneys coming to said institution except the State appropriation, and shall disburse the same for legal and proper purposes, and his tenure of office and compensation shall be fixed by said board-the latter not to exceed $200 per annum. Said treasurer shall make a report of his receipts and expenditures, accompanied by proper vouchers, annually to said board, if it meet so often, for purposes of allowance or rejection: Provided, That said treasurer may be removed at any time by said board on satisfactory evidence of official misconduct to be produced in the presence of said treasurer and on reasonable notice to him, and to this end said board may, by summonses addressed to any suitable officer of any county in this State to be served by him, summon witnesses and send for papers: Provided, That no member of said board or of the faculty of the university shall be eligible to the office of treasurer: And provided further, That said treasurer shall live either in the town of Oxford or within 1 mile of the university. SEC. 8. Be it further enacted, That the members of the board of trustees shall receive as compensation their actual traveling expenses incurred in going to and returning from the meetings of said board, payable out of any funds belonging to the university. SEC. 9. Be it further enacted, That in the construction of this act by the term "alumni" shall be understood all such persons as have graduated in any department of said institution, whether of arts, science, or law. SEC. 10. Be it further enacted, That all the powers and duties belonging to the present board of trustees of the University of Mississippi are hereby conferred upon the board as organized under this act. SEC. 11. Be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed and that this act take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Approved April 14, 1876. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 177 Under this statute a new board was appointed, composed of four members of the former board, ten new members, and Judge Hill, restored. The board met as usual in June. They passed a resolution requesting the Hon. H. H. Chalmers (a member of their body, an alumnus of the university, and theY one of the justices of the supreme court) to prepare an address to the public setting forth the merits of the institution and urging its support. The effect of this address, and of a canvass of the State made by the chancellor and several members of the faculty in the summer of 1877 was such that the attendance of students in the session following ran up to 471, a number much larger than was ever reached before. DEPARTMENT DIPLOMAS. In 1877 was begun the practice of awarding department diplomas. They were at first conferred on any student who should complete satisfactorily the longer course in any one of the nine departments into which the work of the literary and scientific department was divided, and entitled their holders to the status of alumni. In 1886 it was resolved to grant no further department diplomas except to such students as should complete the longer course in at lest three of the then ten departments. In 1889 the departments were dissolved and nineteen (now twenty) schools established. Department diplomas are conferred whenever the student shall have completed schools whose work shall aggregate twenty-five hours weekly. THE VAIDEN CHARITY. It was at the session of 1877-78 that Dr. Cowles M. Vaiden, a member of the board, inaugurated a charity, which he sustained until his death, several years after. A large number of aspiring but indigent young men were advanced by him the money necessary to pay their expenses at college on an economical plan, on their personal notes. At one period there were as many as 100 of the " Vaiden beneficiaries" in the institution. THE LABAUVE CHARITY. In the year 1879, Col. Felix Labauve, of De Soto County, died and left by his will a residuary legacy to the Hon. Thomas W. White, in trust, that the net income thereof should be devoted to the education at the university of poor young men, who are orphans, sons of worthy parents, and from De Soto County. The legacy yielded about $16,000, and the income now liberally supports five beneficiaries. Colonel White, the original trustee, is now dead, and the fund (now $20,000) is managed by the local treasurer. Col. Felix Labauve was a native of France. His father served in our Revolutionary war under Rochambeau; was at the siege of Yorktown, was decorated by Napoleon with the Cross of Honor for services against the Russians, and became a captain. After his father's death Felix came to America when 8 years old. Represented De Soto County in the legislature of 1843; was member of the State senate in 1845. Was 21785-No. 24 12 178 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. afterwards clerk of the circuit court. Rendered efficient service during the war; was again in the legislature and was commissioner for Mississippi to the Paris Exposition in 1877. He died a bachelor. FEMALES RECEIVED. At the meeting of the board of trustees held in June, 1882, it was resolved to open the doors of the institution to females, except in the high school. The coeducational feature thus adopted has worked very satisfactorily. No adjustments of curriculum were made to meet any want for ornamental education or training. The girls were simply allowed to avail themselves of the severe classical, scientific, and philosophical courses offered to boys. Consequently the institution has not been extensively patronized by females; most of those who come being such as desire to qualify themselves to teach. The largest number of girls in one year was 23. In scholarship the result has been very gratifying. The first class to graduate with female members was that of 1885; and of the six graduating classes from 1885 to 1890 inclusive (in five ofwhich there were females), in two the highest records were made by girls: Miss Sallie Vick Hill, class of 1885, from Noxubee County, and Miss Mattie James Smythe, class of 1888, from Leake County. Twelve young ladies have graduated in the six years, and of the 12, 5 have professorships in colleges among the best in the South. There are now (1890-91) 4 female candidates for the post-graduate degree of M. A. CHANCELLORSHIP ABOLISHED-CHAIRMAN MAYES. In the month of July, 1886, Chancellor Stewart resigned. The trustees thereupon abolished the office of chancellor, and directed that the presiding officer of the university should be a chairman of the faculty, to be selected by that body from their own members. The faculty thereupon elected Prof. Edward Mayes, of the law chair, an alumnus of the class of 1868, to be chairman. At the expiration of the first year of the term the chairman called attention of the faculty tQ the fact that the order of the board fixed no period of time during which the chairman, once elected, should serve, and requested them to elect their chairman for the coming year. This they did by reelecting the incumbent unamimously. Chairman Mayes was a second time unamimously reelected in July, 1888. THE REORGANIZATION OF 1889. In June, 1889, Chairman Mayes, in conformity to the by-law of the university, made a report to the trustees on the needs and condition of the institution. Induced by that report the trustees made a thorough reorganization both of the scheme of study and of the faculty. First. The law by which the department of science, letters, and art was divided into ten subordinate departments was abolished. It was considered that such division was arbitrary and unphilosophical; that there was no necessary connection between many of the studies associated in the make up of a single department, and that it was unjust to THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 179 the student. For instance, the department of modern languages included both French and German, and under that arrangement a candidate for the B. S. degree, in order to get any credit whatever for work done in the one language, however excellent, was forced to take the other. Again, the department of natural history was composed of the four subjects of botany, zoology, mineralogy, and geology, and in order that a student should be credited with work done in any one of them he was forced to take all the others. So also was it with physics and astronomy on the one hand and with history and political economy on the other. Under the new rule the trustees declared that there should be nineteen distinct schools, each being independent of all others; satisfactory and completed work done in any one should entitle the student to so much credit toward his degree, whether he had taken any other particular school or not. The nineteen schools were as follows: 1. Latin language and literature, to be a course of four years. 2. Greek language and literature, to be a course of four years. 3. French language and literature, to be a course of two years. 4. German language and literature, to be a course of two years. 5. English language and literature, to be a course of three years. 6. Belles lettres, to be a course of one year. 7. Pure mathematics, to be a course of at least three years. 8. Physics, with optics and acoustics, to be a course of three terms. 9. Astronomy, to be a course of one term. 10. History, to be a course of one year. 11. Political economy, to be a course of one term or of one year, at the discretion of the professor. 12. Mental and moral philosophy, to be a course of one year. 13. Logic, to be a course of one term. 14. Botany, to be a course of one term. 15. Zoology, to be a course of one term. 16. Mineralogy, to be a course of one term. 17. Geology, to be a course of one term. 18. Theoretical chemistry, to be a course of one year. 19. Practical chemistry, to be a course of one year. Second. The foregoing order effected these changes in the extent of scholastic work. In the schools of history and political economy the course in each was extended from one term to two; in those of French and German each, from one year to two; in those of Latin and Greek each, from three years.to four; and the school of belles lettres was wholly a new course. It is designed for a study of the last yearassumes that the student has, in the study of the five schools of ancient and modern languages, acquired a certain acquaintance with their respective literatures, and embraces, so far as is possible in the time allotted, a consideration of the best authors of all tongues and nationalities, without regard to the language, and with especial attention to the interrelations of national literatures to literary criticism and to the philosophy of literature. 180 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Third. Large scope was afforded for electives. Theretofore the only degree which could be taken by an elective course was that of bachelor of philosophy. The studies for the B. A. and the B. S. were all prescribed. Under the new rule, any student who does an amount of work equal to 75 recitations per week for one year is entitled to a bachelor's degree. If his course shall include the English, the Latin, the Greek, and the pure mathematics, he may call for an A. B., the remainder of the work required being elective; if it include botany, zoology, mineralogy, geology, theoretical and practical chemistry, mathematics, physics, and astronomy, he may call for a B. S., all the remainder of the work required being elective; and any course taken, provided the necessary amount of work be done, entitles to a B. P. If a student shall take the whole 19 schools he may call for any two degrees. In the computation of work to be done for any degree, however, the following work is not counted, being considered preparatory: That of the first and the second years in mathematics (which was in fact made a five years' course), in Latin and Greek; that of the first year in English. Of course a student is not debarred the privilege of entering an advanced class under the test of examinations for entrance. He is credited, if successful on such examinations, with all of the work passed over by such examinations, in like manner as if he had done the work in the university. Fourth. The office of chairman of the faculty was abolished, that of chancellor restored, and the faculty organized as follows: Chancellor: Edward Mayes, LL. D. Schools of physics and of astronomy: Robert Burwell Fulton, A. M., professor. Schools of Greek and of Latin: Addison Hogue, professor; Alexander L. Bondurant, assistant professor. Schools of English and of belles lettres: Richard Marion L6avell, A. M., professor; John W. Johnson, A. M., assistant professor. Schools of French and of German: Joseph Auguste Fontaine, Ph. D., professor. Schools of mental and moral philosophy, of logic, of history, and of political ecoromy: William Rice Sims, professor. School of pure mathematics: Henry Aubrey Strode, professor; John W. Johnson, A. M., assistant professor. Schools of theoretical and practical chemistry: Richard W. Jones, professor; John William Provine, B. S., fellow. Schools of botany, zoology, mineralogy, and of geology: Richard W. Jones, professor; John W. Johnson, A. M., assistant professor. School of elocution: Miss Sally McGehee Isom, instructor. School of law: Edward Mayes, LL. D., chancellor, professor. Since the action above described the course in mathematics-room being given to that end by the law that it should be " at the least" THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 181 three years-has been expanded into one of five years, of which the fifth is not compulsory for any degree. To illustrate the practical working of the foregoing scheme, suppose a youth to come in who applies for a degree of B. A. He is examined by the professors in charge of the schools of Latin, Greek, mathematics, and English and assigned to the classes of the fourth year in the first three and that of the third year in the last. He will at once be credited toward his seventy-five hours with the work so passed over; that is to say: Hours. Third year Latin (first and second being merely preparatory)... —...... --- — 5 Third year Greek (first and second preparatory).-........... —. --- — -- —....- 5 Third year mathematics (first and second preparatory)..... 5 Second year English (first year being merely preparatory) -...... —. --- —-—. 5 Total credit on entrance —.-..-.... —................ --- —... —.. ----...- 20 He must then do theFourth year Latin............................................ 5 Fourth year Greek. —... -....5........ --- ----. --- —----—.- 5 Fourth year of mathematics -................5...............-............. 5 Third year English..-.......... -—..-. 5 Total num ber of hours -..................... -....-..-................. 40 He now has uncontrolled election in the residue of thirty-five hours, and might make it in this wise: German (two years, five hours per week).................................. 10 History (one year, five hours per week)........................... ----. 5 Theoretical chemistry (one year, five hours per week) —..-.............. 5 Mental and moral philosophy (one year, five hours per week)..-.. ---.-.. 5 Physics, etc. (three terms, five hours per week) -—.-........... 71 Astronomy (one term, five hours per week.. —............................. 2 Making the necessary total of.... —....................................- 75 The student in such case would graduate in three years by doing fifteen hours weekly in one year and twenty hours weekly in each of two years. CANVASS OF THE STATE. During the summer of 1889 the chancellor made a partial canvass of the State in the interests of the university, addressing the people in public on the history, work, and status of the institution. He spoke in the towns of Holly Springs, Magnolia, McComb, Brookhaven, Hazlehurst, Jackson, Natchez, Lexington, Durant, Kosciusko, Starkville, West Point, Meridian, Macon, Aberdeen, Columbus, Winona, Grenada, Vaiden, Canton, Vicksburg, Fayette, and Port Gibson. The result of all these measures was an immediate large increase in the attendance at the university. FELLOWSHIPS ESTABLISHED. In the summer of 1890, Assistant Professor Johnson resigning in order to undertake a course of special study in Germany, the trustees resolved not to fill that place, but in lieu thereof to establish a number 182 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. of fellowships for postgraduates. The fellows are to pursue special studies to qualify them for professorships, and they are required to act as assistants to their special professors. Each fellow is paid $300 per annum for his first year and $400 per annum for each subsequent year. There was already one such fellowship, that in chemistry, established in 1887. Four others were added, one each in mathematics, English, physics, and natural history. The strictly narrative portion of this chapter is now concluded. It remains to sum up the general results and to give the present plan of organization. The university is now (1891) in the forty-eighth year of its chartered existence and in the forty-third of its active working period. Yet the session now progressing is the thirty-ninth only, four years having been lost during the war. Summary of the total enrollment. Number of students Number degrees conferred. attending. N11 tentdin t Number degrees conferred. Literary. Honorary de- Students' degrees. grees. Session. | l [ P P i l 2 1848-49...-...........................-........... 80-.. -o- -..... —.-........-..... ---.... 1849-50 - - - -............................... 76.-...................... 1850-51-.................-...-........... ~ 134..- -............. 15......... 1851-52...- -..........-................... 144 -—............... --- 11..... 1852-53...- —................................130 ---..-..... —.. 22.. 1853-54........................................... 158 1.-....... 1 37............ 1854-55............................ 166 —..7........ 173...... 28........... 1855-56.. - ----—. —. ----.. - ------ 211...... 22 233 —..... 2..-. 34........ 6........ 1856-57 —.-... --- -—. ---------—.. - 243.. ---. 21 264 6........ 1 36........ 9........ 1857-58-............................ 162 --—. 16 178 --- —-. —..- 39........ 9 ---- 1858-59.....-..-...........-....... 140.. —.... 28 168 4...... 4 19........ 9........ 1859-60...................... 175 —41 216 1... 2 27....-.... 22 1860-61-1..................... 191. --- —-35 226 -........ -28........ 10. 1865-662.- -- - 193 3 7 2 -.......... 2........ 1866-67.....-.....................-.. 227- -.. -- 19 246 3.... 11........ 1867-68.. ---------—. --- —. ---.-. 207.. —. 24 231 — 4 2 24....... 12........ 1868-69-. —12..-....20 ---.-........ 187.. —...26 213 4...... 1 20 10... 1869-70-.......-....... ---..-..... 186 --—. 22 208................ -- 21 -...... 15........ 1870-71.... ---.. —... —.......113 —...... 7 120 —1....... 18 3................ 1871-72....-... --—......-........ 250. —..- 10 260.. -.....- -.. 1 12 4.-... 3...... 1872-73 —......................... 287 5 11 302 --... 12 1.... 9.... 2 1873-74... ---. ----.. ---.... 199 3 6 208.............. 1 14 2 5..1 1874-75..-.......................... 135 2 -.. 137. —......... 1 10 2............ 2 1875-76................... 128 131 1 1 13 2............ 3 1876-77....-..-. —.-...-..... 123 2... 125 -.... 1 5.... 4 1..-..... 1877-78..................... 429 6 36 471........ 3 3 8 4 1 29. —... 3 1878-79-............. ----..... 301 1 17 319........1 1 7 1 2 13.... 2 1879-80.................. —.......... 392 2 20 414 2...5........... 1 1880-81.. --- —---------- --- 326 3 18 347 --- -- 13 1 11 16.... 2 1881-82. --- —- ---— 0 ----. --- —-- 200 21 12 214 3....12 3 7 5. 1882-83....... --- —- ------- -- 7239 6 14 259.. 2 5....9 5 1883-84........................ 255 9 12 2765.......1 7 6........ 1884-85........................ —.... 223 3 8 234........ 1 3 1 3.... 1 1865-86....- -.... ---..- 188 3 11 202..........9 3 7... 1886-87 --- —-.. —. --- —-- 169 610 185................ 424 51 1 1887-88............................ 197 9 23 2291 8 2....15.......... 1 15 1888-89...... --- —--- ------ 160 12 17 189.......... 1 2 16 11 2 2 1889-90.......................... 218 12 16 246....6 5 2 11 3 2 1890-91.. —......... --- —-.. ---- 202 14 22 238........ --- —.... 3 Total.............7,635 103 63 8,36926 1 25 29545 47 73265 6 26 128 __ 3.... 131........ I I 13 2....... Total number' of individuals in literary courses -...............................................3,927 Total nIunber of individuals in law course.....-. --- —-....... -...................... 06 THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 183 The presiding officers of faculty have been as follows: George Frederick Holmes, LL. D., president.............................. 1848-49 Albert Taylor Bledsoe, LL. D., professor, presiding...-....-............... 1849 Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, LL. D., D. D., president.......... —..... --- 1849-56 Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D., D. D., president..-...... —......... 1856-59 Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D., D. D., chancellor........................ 1859-61 John Newton Waddel, D. D., chancellor..-...................... 1865-74 John J. Wheat, vice-chancellor, presiding. ---..-......................-. 1874 Alexander P. Stewart, chancellor..-.....-..................... 1874-86 Edward Mayes, LL. D., chairman of faculty.............................. 1886-89 Edward Mayes, LL. D.. chancellor. ----.................... ----..-. —. 1889 -The professors have been as follows: GREEK LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. John N. Waddel, LL. D., D. D............................................. 1848-57 Ienry Whitehorne, A. M.-......................................... 1857-61 John J. Wheat, D. D.................................................. 1865-86 Addison Hogue.......................................................... 1886 -LATIN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. John N. W addel, LL. D., D. D.............................................. 1848-56 Wilson Gaines Richardson, A. M ----..-... —....-..........-........... 1856-59 Alexander J. Quinche, A. M-..... 1860-61 Addison Hogue. ----... ----. —..............-........-. —................. 1889 -HEBREW LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. John N. Waddel, LL. D., D. D........................................ 1848-51 SPANISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. John N. W addel, LL. D., D. D............................................. 1848-51 FRENCH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. John N. Waddel, LL. D., D. D............................................ 1848-51 William A. Strozzi.............-...........-..........-................. 1851-53 Wilson Gaines Richardson, A. M...-... —..-............................-. 1854-60 Alexander J. Quinche, A. M.-............................................ 1860-61 Dabney Minor Scales...................-......-.................. 1866-67 Alexander J. Quinche, A. M.............................................. 1867-73 F. A. Juny, S. T. D...................................... 1873-76 Alexander J. Quinche, A. M............................................ 1876-82 Charles Woodward Hutson -........... ---......................-........ 1882-89 Joseph A. Fontaine, Ph.D D... —.............. —.-. -—..................... 1889 -GERMAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE Same as the French. See above. ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. George Frederick Holmes, LL. D., president........................... 1848-49 Augustus B. Longstreet, LL. D., D. D., president.-..-.-....-..-...... 1849-56 Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D., D. D., president........................... 1856-58 William D. Moore, A. M.............................................. 1858-61 Stanford G. Burney, D. I.................................................. 1865-72 184 HISTORY OP EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. John W. Shields; A. B., adjunct professor, acting -.......................... 1872-73 John Lipscomb Johnson, LL. D., D. D......................................-1873-89 Richard Marion Leavell, A. M -.......................................... 1889-90 William Rice Sims, Ph. D..................................................-1890 -PURE MATHEMATICS. Albert Taylor Bledsoe, LL. D -.............................................1848-54 Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D.,D. D...................................... 1854-56 Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D., D. D., president.-...... ----... —.......... 1856-58 Jordan McCulloh Phipps, A. M............................................ 1858-61 Claudius W. Sears........................................................ 1865-89 Henry Aubrey Strode..................................................... 1889-90 Alfred Hume, Ph. D....................................................... 1890-.ASTRONOMY. Albert Taylor Bledsoe, LL. D.............................................. 1848-54 Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D., D. D...................................... 1854-56 Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL.!?., D. D., president and chancellor............ 1856-61 Francis A. Shoup, A. M.................................................... 1865-67 Landon C. Garland, LL. D.-...-.......................................... 1867-75 Robert Burwell Fulton, A. M.............................................. 1875 -NATURAL PHILOSOPHY (OR PHYSICS, OPTICS, ACOUSTICS, ETC.). John Millington, M. D..................................................... 1848-50 Albert Taylor Bledsoe, LL. D-............................................. 1850-54 Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D., D. D........-.....-....-...-.......-...-.. 1854-56 Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D., D. D., president and chancellor -.-.-.. ---.. 1856-61 Francis A. Shoup, A. M - --—.. ---....-.. —....-... — -...................... 1865-67 Landon C. Garland, LL. D................................................. 1867-75 Robert Burwell Fulton, A. M-............................................. 1875 -CIVIL ENGINEERING. Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D., D. D...................................... 1854-56 Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D., D. D., president and chancellor............ 1856-61 Francis A. Shoup, A. M.................................................... 1865-68 Claudius W. Sears, professor of mathematics, acting ---—..-. ---....-.-. —.. 1868-76 CHEMISTRY. John Millington, M. D..-.-. —............................................ 1848-53 John C. Keeney, A. M-...................................................... 1853-54 Francis J. Mettauer, M. D-.... —....... —.... ---......................-... 1854 Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D., D. D., acting. —....................-.. -. - 1854-55 Edward C. Boynton..-....... ---........-.... —.- -—.. —....-....-.-...-.. 1855-61 Eugene W. Hilgard, state geologist, acting --- -........................... 1865=66 Eugene W. Hilgard, Ph.D...... —............ —.......................... 1866=73 R. H. Loughridge, Ph. D., assistant, acting. —..... --- —.......... --- —. —. 1873-74 Landon C. Garland, LL. D., acting -......... —......-.. 1874-75 Richard W. Jones, A. M., LL. D —... — -..-..-. -------—........... --- ——. —. 1875-85 Winn David Heddleston, assistant, acting.... —.. —.. ----.. ----......-. 1885-86 Woodville Latham-... ---. --- —-. — ----—. --- ——. ---.. ---... —. ----. ---- 1886-89 Richard W. Jones, A. M., LL. D.-... ---...... —............. ---........ ---. 1889 -AGRICULTURE. John Millington, M.D................................................. 1850-53 John C. Keeney, A. M.-..-.. --- — -—... --- ——... ---....... ----.. --- — 1853-54 Lewis Harper, LL. D ----—.. ---.- -—. —... -. —.. -—. —... ---. 1854 Eugene W. Hilgard, Ph.D................. --- —.. ---.. —.. ----... --- —-.- - 1871-73 THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 185 GEOLOGY. John Millington, M. D... —.. ---. —........ --- —-.... --- —-—.. --- —...-... 1850-53 John C. Keeney, A. M ---........-.......-...... —...-.-..... - —.. —.. —.. 1853-54 Lewis Harper, LL. D.. —... —....... —.-. ---........- -—.. ----. 1854 Edward C. Boynton....................................................... 1855-61 George Little, Ph. D., state geologist, acting.........-.. -.................... 1866-70 George Little, Ph.D....................................................... 1870-74 Richard W. Jones, A. M., LL. D............................................ 1875-82 George Little, Ph. D —.........-... ---.......-..... — -..-1882-89 Richard W. Jones, A. M., LL.D ---------- -.- --- —.- -—.. 1889 -MINERALOGY. Edward C. Boynton -.................... —...-..... --- ——.. --- —. ---. 1855-61 George Little, Ph. D., state geologist, acting....-........................... 1866-70 Richard W. Jones, A. M., LL. D............................................ 1875-82 NATURAL HISTORY (INCLUDES MINERALOGY). George Little, Ph. D............................................... 1882-89 Richard W. Jones, A. M., LL. D -....................................... 1889 -MENTAL AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY, LOGIC, AND POLITICAL SCIENCE. George Frederick Holmes, LL. D., president..-..... ---.... ---..-............ 1848-49 Augustus B. Longstreet, LL. D., D. D., president-..................... 1849-56 Nathaniel Macon Crawford, D. D -......-....-,-...-..-..... —.-........... 1856-57 Frederick A. P. Barnard, LL. D., D. D., president. ---.... —.-.-.............. 1857-58 George W. Carter, M. A., D. D.............................................. 1858-60 Lucius Q. C. Lamar, LL. D... ----....... —..... --- —-.................. 1860-61 John N. Waddel, LL. D., D. D.. chancellor, acting -..-..-.. ----....-........ 1865-66 Lucius Q. C. Lamar, LL. D -1.....-. ----...-.-.. --- —-.- 1866-67 Francis Asbury Shoup, A.M..........-.................................. 1867-70 James Adair Lyon, sr., D. D -..-...-.-. --- ——......-..........-............ 1870-81 James M. Long, A. M...................................................... 1881-83 John J. Wheat, D. D., professor of Greek, acting...-.. ---..-................ 1883-86 John J. Wheat, I). D ---...... --- —-........................................ 1886-89 William Rice Sims, Ph.D.... ---..-.. —................................... 1889-90 Patrick Henry Eager, A. B. (Miss. Coll).................................... 1890-91 HISTORY. James Adair Lyon, sr., LL. D.............................................. 1870-75 Albert Hall Whitfield, A. M., assistant professor, acting.................... 1872-73 Alexander P. Stewart, chancellor.......................................... 1875-86 Charles Woodward Hutson, professor of modern languages, acting.......... 1886-89 William Rice Sims, Ph.D.. ----... --- —-................................... 1889-90 Patrick Henry Eager --.. --- —-.............-......,...................... 1890-91 BELLES LETTRES. Richard Marion Leavell, A. M ----—.. ---.........-.........-.............. 1889-90 William Rice Sims, Ph. D -................................................... 1890 -LAW. William F. Stearns, LL. D................................................. 1854-61 Hon. James F. Trotter.................................... 1860-61 Lucius Q. C. Lamar, LL. D —...... ---.....-................................. 1867-70 Henry Craft, esq., titular. ----..-.-. --- —- --------------—.... --- - 1870-71 186 HISTORY OF EDUCATION.IN MISSISSIPPI. Hon. Jordan McCulloh Phipps, acting...................................... 1870-71 Thomas Walton, LL. B.................................................... 1871-74 Edward Mayes, LL. D.-............................................... 1877-86 Edward Mayes, LL. D., chairman and chancellor........................... 1886 -ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS. Alexander L. Bondurant, A. B., Latin and Greek... -.................... 1890 -ASSISTANT PROFESSORS. Adolph Sadluski, modern languages....................................... 1850 William A. Strozzi, modern languages. —.. --- ——.... --- —................. 1850-51 Lucius Q. C. Lamar, mathematics..-.........................-............ 1850-52 Oscar M. Lieber, geology... —....-... ----.. --- —-......................... 1851-52 Jordan McCulloh Phipps, mathematics —. ----. -.............. —........... 1852-53 B. L. C. Wailes, geology.... ---.....-...........,....................... 1852-54 John M. Easter, Ph. D., geology -... —. ---....-... ---....................... 1854-55 Eugene W. Hilgard, Ph. D., geology. ----.. —.. ---......................... 1855-56 Eugene A. Smith, Ph. D., geology. ----... —... ----......-.................. 1869-71 Jordan M. Phipps, A. B., law —......................................... 1870-71 Robert J. Guthrie, A. B., mathematics. —. ---. --- —.... —... —.....-....... 1872-73 Robert B. Fulton, M. A., physics...-.... --- —.... ---...........-........... 1872-75 John W. Shields, A. B., English............................................ 1872-73 John B. Adger, M. A., chemistry --—.. ----.-....-........................... 1872-74 Martin W. Philips, M. D., agriculture. ----... —... —....................... 1872-75 Robert H. Loughridge, Ph. D., geology..................................... 1872-74 Albert H. Whitfield, M. A., Greek. —... ----................................ 1872-74 Alexander Fox Moore, B. A., mathematics...-... ----.... —..-...... ---..... 1873-74 Alexander L. Bondurant, A. B., Latin and Greek.......-....... 1889-90 John W. Johnson, M. A., English, mathematics, and natural history -.-...... 1889 -TUTORS. George T. Stainback, D. D., Greek and Latin.-..-........ ---... —.......... 1855-56 William Alexander Eakin, M.D., Greek. —...... ---.-. --- —-... — —....-. 1856-57 Charles Hawkins Lee, M. A., Latin —.. ---... ---.. —... --- —. ---. —.-. —... 1856-57 Robert M. Kimbrough, mathematics.-.......... ----. ---.. ----. —.......... 1856-57 William R. Barksdale, M. A., English and logic —...... ---- -—.. ---........... 1856-57 Daniel B. Carr, mathematics and physics-................... 1857-59 Rev. W. T. J. Sullivan, English and logic............-....... ----........... 1857-58 Burton N. Harrison, physics.. —. —.. — --—. ----. --- —----—.. --- —----—.. 1859-61 Robert EH. Loughridge, Ph. D., chemistry.. —.. ----.. —..-... --- —....-.... 1868-72 Edward Mayes, A. B., English. --- —.. --- —.. ----..-.. ----...-.. ----.. — -- 1869-70 Robert J. Guthrie, A. B., mathematics. —......... ---.. ---.. ---. —.. --- —. 1869-70 Alston M. West, A. B., Greek and mathematics. --- —.. ----..-.. —...-.. ---. 1870-71 Robert J. Guthrie, A. B., mathematics.... ---.. ----. —.... —.. --- —-.. ---.- 1871-72 John W. Shields, A. B., Latin and English..- -.-... ----.. ---. ---. 1871-72 Robert B. Fulton, A. B., physics-......... --- -—..... --- —-—.... ---.. --- ——. 1871-72 Albert H. Whitfield, A. B., Greek. —.. —........ --- —-.. ----.. ----.. ---. ---.. 1871-72 John H. Davidson, A. B................. --- —--—........ --- —---- -—.-..-. 1872-74 William A. Alexander, M. A., high school-.-... ---... ---. -—. ---.. --- —-.... 1875-76 Louis L. McInnis, A. B., chemistry and natural history.-......- —..... —... 1875-76 Thomas D. Greenwood, A. B., chemistry and natural history -... —. ---. ---.- 1876-77 Samuel A. Witherspoon, A. M., Latin and modern languages.-...-. —. —,... 1876-79 John W. Johnson, A. M., high school. --- —.....-.... ---... --- —--... -------- 1876-81 Thomas W. Stockard, A. M., mathematics and English..-.......... --- ---- 1877-81 James M. Buchanan, chemistry and natural history -—..... ----... ---..-.. 1877-78 THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 187 William E. Martin, high school and chemistry and natural history....... 1877-81 Arthur A. Walter, English..............-...-........ —... --- ——.... ----.. 1877-78 Lawson H. Snell, high school............................................. 1877-78 James B. Walter, high school...-.-................. ---....... ---. — 1877-78 Joshua W. Kilpatrick, A. B., chemistry and natural history................ 1878-80 Edward C. Davidson, A. M., high school —....... —.... —. —... ---.. ---. 1879-83 Anselm H Jayne, A. B., high school. —........... —.... ----. ----. ---- ---- 1880-82 Frank E. Larkin, A. B., high school-....... —. -... ---..-... ---- ------- 1882-86 John M. Steen, B. P., high school...-..-..... ---. ----.. ----. ---.. ---- 1883-84 Charles F. Smith, A. B., high school.....-............ —.. --- —----- 1887-88 John L. Johnson, jr., B. S., high school -........-.. —. —. ----.-. —.. —. 1887-88 Thomas 0. Martin, B. S., high school -..-....... —... --- —--—.. ----. — 1887-88 Jackson tReves, A. B., B. S., high school... ---... ---..... -----—. ---. 1888-89 INSTRUCTOR IN ELOCUTION. Sally McGehee Isom...................................................... 1885 FELLOWS. John W. Provine, chemistry...-... —.. —... —. --- —-... ---... --- —... ---. 1888-90 Thomas Ovid Mabry, chemistry....-.......-. ---.. --- —-----—. ---- 1890 -Frank Clarke Holmes, natural history -.......... -... —. ---.. 1890 -Paul Hill Saunders, mathematics.... ----... ---- ---------—....... 1890 -Hubert Anthony Shands, English....... ----....... --- —-- ---- 1890 -Lem Hall Kimmons, physics. ----.. ---. —. ---.. —.. —.. --- —----- - -.. 1890 -Alfonso Babbitt Amis, history.. —............. --—........ ----.. ----...- 1890 -PRINCIPALS OF HIGH SCHOOL, AND OF SUBFRESHMAN CLASS. Andrew E. Kilpatrick, A. B., high school -.......-..... —.........-. ---. 1874-75 Lewis T. Fitzhugh, high school ---....... ----............................. 1875-83 Lewis T. Fitzhugh, subfreshman class.... -- 1883-86 John W. Johnson, subfreshman class. —. ---.. —...-.. - --.. ---.. --- —-—. 1886-89 ORGANIZATION. The University of Mississippi comprehends two general departments 1. A department of science, literature, and the arts. 2. A department of professional education. The former department includes twenty distinct schools and five courses of study, as follows: 1. Latin language and literature, course four years. 2. Greek language and literature, course four years. 3. French language and literature, course two years. 4. German language and literature, course two years. 5. English language and literature, course three years. 6. Belles-lettres, course one year. 7. Pure mathematics, course four years. 8. Physics, with acoustics and optics, course three terms. 9. Astronomy, course one term. 10. History, course one year. 11. Political economy, course one year. 188 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. 12. Mental and moral philosophy, course one year. 13. Logic, course one term. 14. Botany, course one term. 15. Zoology, course one term. 16. Mineralogy, course one term. 17. Geology, course one term. 18. Theoretical chemistry, course one year. 19. Practical chemistry, course one year. 20. Elocution, course one year. The courses of study areA. The undergraduate courses, consisting of (1) course for the degree of bachelor of arts; (2) course for the degree of bachelor of science; (3) course for the degree of bachelor of philosophy. B. The postgraduate courses, consisting of (1) Course for the degree of master of arts; (2) Course for the degree of doctor of philosophy. The requirements for the bachelor's degrees are fully explained under the subtitle "Reorganization of 1889." POSTGRADUATE DEGREES. The degree of master of arts is conferred on bachelors of at least one year's standing on passing satisfactory examinations. The candidate is allowed to select for his course of study any three of the following schools or groups of schools: 1. Greek language and literature. 2. Latin language and literature. 3. French and German languages and literatures. 4. English language and literature, and belles-lettres. 5. Pure mathematics. 6. Physics, acoustics, optics, and astronomy. 7. Chemistry, theoretical and practical. 8. Botany, zoology, mineralogy, and geology. 9. Mental and moral philosophy and logic. 10. History and political economy. Applications for this degree from graduates of other institutions will be entertained, and a special course of study assigned in each case. The text-books to be used will be prescribed in all cases by the several professors on application. Applications for the degree must be made through the chancellor by the first Monday in November in each year. DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY. This is the highest degree offered by the institution. It will be conferred on the following conditions: The applicant must hold a baccalaureate degree from this institution or from some other of at least equal grade; he must select three of the schools as the course desired subject to approval or rejection by the faculty, designating one of them as his major study. In those three schools (not more than two of which - THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 189 can be under one professor) the candidate must pursue a course of postgraduate study for at least three years, of which two must be in residence. The work must be assigned by the respective professors in charge of the schools chosen. No school may be selected unless it shall have been included in the work pursued by the candidate in obtaining his baccalaureate. Every applicant must have at the outset a reading knowledge of French and German; if he have not, he must make up the deficiency within eighteen months, beginning their study at once; nor can this work be counted toward his degree. Ten weeks before he is examined for his'degree he must present a dissertation showing original investigation in the line of his major study, which, if accepted by the faculty, must be published at his expense. At the conclusion of his course he is to be examined before the faculty, the examination being conducted by the professors under whom he shall have studied, but any member of the faculty may propound questions. HONORARY DEGREES. But one honorary degree is conferred, that of doctor of laws; and it will be conferred on none unless he shall have made a special study of either the common or the civil law. THE SCHOOLS OF GREEK AND OF LATIN. ADDISON HOGUE, professor. A. L. BONDURANT, associate professor. As arranged at present the course in each school extends through four years, with five recitations a week. The first two years in each school are preparatory, and are not counted as any part of the regular university work with which a student must be credited in order to graduate. In both Greek and Latin the first year's work begins at the very beginning, so that no previous knowledge of either language is required for entrance into this class. To enter any of the other classes the applicant is examined by one of the professors in charge, and is placed in the class in which he seems likely to get the most good. The aim in the ahcient-language course is to secure thoroughness in what is learned, rather than to go over a large extent of ground. SCHOOL OF GREEK. First year.-The work of this year is mainly devoted to thorough and persistent drill in the inflections and in the most elementary principles of syntax. At the same time the pupil is introduced to correct Greek reading almost from the very first day, the teacher translating for the class. A slight advance in the reading is made every day; the teacher keeps the class informed as to the progress of the narrative, and encourages the beginner now and then to translate an easy sentence for himself. With the beginning of the second term, say toward the close of February, the class begins to translate, commencing where the teacher began the first day. The class feels somewhat at home here, and many difficulties are thus removed out of the beginner's path. Only the main inflections of Attic prose are taught in 1 his and the succeeding year, and the blackboard is freely used as an efficient aid. The few elementary principles 190 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIP-PI. of syntax that are taught the first year are given mainly in connection with the reading. Prose composition (English into Greek) is begun the second term and continued throughout the course. The books used the first year are Goodwin's Greek Grammar, Moss's First Greek Reader, and Hogue's Irregular Verbs of Attic Prose. Goodwin's Grammar is the only one used in any of the classes, but it is supplemented when needful by the teacher's notes. Second year.-The Attic inflections are reviewed, and more attention is paid to syrntax. In the first term Xenophon's Anabasis is read (Kelsey's edition), and in the second term Xenophon's Hellenika (selections from Xenophon by Phillpotts). The history of Greece io also studied, in Pennell's Ancient Greece. In the third year the book used is Boise and Freeman's Selections from Greek Authors. Extracts are read froa Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, and Demosthenes. In connection with the authors read, the students are encouraged to read such parts of Grote's Greece as bear upon their Greek text. In the fourth year are read the Apology and Krito of Plato, the Panegyric Oration of Isokrates, and the Oedipus Tyrannus of Sophokles. The outlines of Greek literature are given partly by text-book, partly by lectures. The Greek lexicon recommended is the abridged Liddell and Scott. On the examination in both Greek and Latin the passages set for translation are taken not merely from what has been read during the term closed by the examination, but from any Greek or Latin that has been read (by the class that is standing the examination) in any previous part of the course; or, an entirely new passage may be given. SCHOOL OF LATIN. The same principles and methods of instruction that have been explained above for the school of Greek are carried out in teaching Latin. The books used the first year are The Beginner's Latin Book, by Collar and Daniell; and Smith and Drisler's Principia Latina, Part II, which contains extracts from Caesar (simplified), and Viri Romve. From now on Gildersleeve's Latin Grammar is used by all of the classes. White's Latin-English Lexicon is recommended. Prose composition, begun in the last half of the first year, is now a regular part of the work. Roman history and Roman literature are taken up in the second year and studied at intervals during the remainder of the course. To the three higher classes a moderate amount of private reading (Latin) may be assigned. The authors read are given below: Second year.-Caesar's Gallic War (Kelsey's edition), Cornelius Nepos, Sallust's Catiline, two of Cicero's orations against Catiline. Third year.-Cicero De Senectute and De Amicitia (Kelsey's edition), Virgil (Allen and Greenough's edition), Livy. Fourth year.-Livy continued, Tacitus, Horace, Plautus or Terence. N. B.-The right is always reserved to modify any part of the course as circumstances may suggest. SCHOOL OF FRENCH. J. A. FONTAINE, Professor. FIRST YEAR-FIRST TERM. The aim of this department is primarily to impart to the students a critical, and as far as possible, scientific knowledge of the language they are studying; secondly, to enable them to make use of the spoken language as a means of communication. During the first term students have to acquire a correct and fluent pronunciation and thoroughly master the essentials of French grammar, the following points being THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 191 especially insisted upon and constituting the basis for the first examination: Article: (its) forms, contraction, and use. Nouns: how to recognize their gender, form their plural, and use them partitively. Adjectives: their agreement with the noun, their formation of the plural, their place in the sentence. Pronouns: how to distinguish, first, between pronouns and pronominal adjectives; second, between conjunctive and disjunctive personal pronouns; the importance of the latter in a sentence, both as to their use and place. Verbs: to be thoroughly familiar with the conjugation of auxiliary and regular verbs, and also of some of the most important irregular verbs; to know how to form and use the different tenses, and, finally, be able to point out and illustrate the peculiarity of the French in its formation of negative and interrogative sentences, and its use of auxiliaries in intransitive and reflexive verbs. SECOND TERM. The second term is devoted to a systematic study of French irregular verbs, and to the acquirement of an extensive reading vocabulary. This double task is made easier and more profitable by comparing the French verbal system with that of the Latin and the French vocabulary with that of the Latin and English. About threefourths of the time is spent in reading, and at the end of the year students are expected to read at sight French prose of average difficulty. Texts.-Practical French Government (with copious exercises). French reader and other texts suited for the first year. It is intended to have the class conducted in French as soon as students can be benefited by it. SECOND YEAR. The second year includes reading in literary, historical, and scientific French, together with French composition. It is thought best to acquaint the student first with the classical literature of France and conclude with the best models of French style and thought. About one-fourth of the time will be devoted to practical review of the grammar and drill on pronunciation and idioms. The practical side of this course is never lost sight of, but the mental training of the students, the development of their thinking and comparative faculties, the promotion of the knowledge of their own mother tongue, or of Latin by careful comparison with a living language, with which they have so much in common, are regarded as features of paramount importance. SCHOOL OF GERMAN. J. A. FONTAINE, Professor. The principles and methods involved in the study of French are also involved in that of the German, and what has been said of the former respectively applies to the latter. FIRST YEAR-FIRST TERM. Study of the German grammar; especial attention being paid to declensions, verbal system, and order of words. Texts.-German grammar (Joynes-Meissner); reader, Joynes-Meissner or Whitney and other easy German texts. SECOND YEAR. Students are required to read literary, historical, and scientific German texts, the authors of the classical literary period receiving a special attention. Lectures will be given on the relation of the English with the German and on the historical development of the latter. Spanish and Italian are elective studies and classes are formed in those languages whenever necessary. 192 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MSISSISSIPPI. SCHOOL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. WILLIAM RICE SIMS, Ph. D., Professor. HUBERT A. SHANDS, B. A., Fellow. In this department provision is made for at least a three years' course of study, one year thereof being considered preparatory. The design of the preparatory year is to qualify students who may be wanting in adequate preparation for admission to the freshman class of the university. The tfme is therefore chiefly occupied in thorough drill in the elementary branches, viz: Practical and critical parsing in English; inflection, derivation, and meaning of words; minute analysis of English sentences, both oral and written, including diagrams; written exercises as tests of penmanship; spelling; punctuation; the proper use of figures, both etymology and syntax; the essentials of good style, etc. Text-books: Butler's New Practical and Critical Grammar; Reed and Kellogg's Higher Lessons in English; Hill's Elements of Rhetoric. I The freshman and sophomore classes have each five recitations a week during the year. 1. It is the aim of the professor to adapt the instruction in the freshman class of the first term to the wants of a large number of young men who attend college but one year. Those subjects, therefore, are taught which it is believed furnish the best practical knowledge of the language. English grammar, which all are presumed to have some acquaintance with before they enter this class, is searchingly reviewed. The commoner forms of syntax, as well as the nicer, are closely examined, and the reasons for preferring one form to another are carefully given. The qualities of a good style are discussed, and the various methods of composition are explained and copiously illustrated. Text-books: Bain's Higher English Grammar, Abbott's How to Write Clearly, Genung's Practical Rhetoric, Genung's Rhetorical Analysis. 2. The freshman class of the second term begins the study of old English, without which it is not possible to have a thorough, scientific knowledge of modern English. And from the very beginning of the work of the class, to the end of the course in the sophomore year, the old is constantly used to explicate the new in its difficult points of syntax, its anomalous word forms, its idioms and etymologies. The text-books are March's Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Reader, and Lounsbury's History of the English Language. But much of the work of this class is furnished directly by the professor, there being as yet no satisfactory text on the etymology of Saxon words. 3. The sophomore class of the first term takes a further view of the language as to its historical development and philological relations, after which attention is directed mainly to the history and critical study of the literature of the language. Beginning with the writings of the middle English period, some attention is given to the works of Chaucer, after which the course is continued in the study of the poems of Spenser, Milton, Dryden, Gray, Burns, and others, with prose selections from Bacon, Milton, Addison, De Quincey, and Carlyle. Text-books: Carpenter's English of the Fourteenth Century, Shaw's New History of English Literature, Hale's Longer English Poems. For reference: Bacon's Philosophy of English Literature, Stedman's Victorian Poets. 4. The sophomore clasp of the second term continues the study of English literature, giving its chief thought to the works of Shakspeare, and concluding the course with the writers of our own country. The text-books are Hale's Poems (continued), Rolfe's and Hudson's Select Plays, Scudder's American Poems. For reference: Dowden's Mind and Art of Shakspeare, Stedman's Poets of America. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 193 SCHOOL OF BELLES LETTRES. WILLIAM RICE SIMS, Ph. D., Professor. The chief subjects of study in this school are literary history and criticism. The course is introduced by some examination of the fundamental principles and essential elements of literary criticisms in particular. As poetry is the highest form of any literature and constitutes a leading part of the several literatures of the world, its province and characteristics are also duly considered, and its peculiar domain andl,true aim carefully discussed. With this preliminary preparation the class enters upon the study of the leading ancient and foreign classics, first taking a brief survey of each literature as a whole and then giving attention to the masterpieces of the best authors through translated specimens and critical comments by the most competent authorities. The literatures studied during the year are the Greek, Roman, German, French, Italian, and Spanish, with some-notice of others not so prominent. From the beginning to the end of the course, the interdependence of these several literatures, and especially their influence upon the literature of our own tongue, are carefully noticed and duly emphasized. It is believed that the knowledge acquired in this school will be of special value to young men contemplating professional pursuits. The text-books used for the present are Botta's Universal Literature, Kames's Elements of Criticism, Shairp's Aspects of Poetry, and Wilkinson's Classic Courses in English, with reference to Sismondi's Literature of Southern Europe. SCHOOL OF PURE MATHEMATICS. ALFRED HUME, Ph. D., Professor. PAUL HILL SAUNDERS, A. B., Fellow. First year (in preparatory department): This class pursues the study of arithmetic through both terms. Second year (in preparatory department): This class studies algebra only in the first term, and algebra and geometry on alternate days in the second term. As in the studies of these classes the course begins at the beginning of the books used, no examination for entrance is required, unless the student enters late. Text books: Venable's Arithmetic, Venable's High School Algebra, and Venabie's Geometry. Third year: There is but one class, and this studies algebra and geometry, with recitations on alternate days throughout both terms. For entrance into this class the student is required to stand an examination on the first three books of geometry, and on algebra up to quadratics. Text books: Same as those of first year, with Bourdon's Algebra and the Professor's Notes on Algebra. Fourth year: This class studies in the first term plane and spherical trigonometry and surveying. The second term is devoted to conic sections. For entrance into this class the student is examined on the subjects of the second year. Text-books: Wentworth's Plane and Spherical Trigonometry and Surveying, Puckle's Conic Section's. Fifth year (optional): This class recites three times a week. The first term is devoted to differential calculus and the second term to integral calculus, with a short course in calculus of variations. Entrance examinations are on the subjects of the third year. Text-books: Todhunter's Differential Calculus and Courtenay's Calculus. 21785-No. 24 13 194 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Students applying for degrees and taking mathematics in their course are not required to complete the fifth year, but work done in that year will be counted.1 SCHOOL OF PHYSICS. R. B. FULTON, Professor. LEM HALL KIMMONS, Fellow. Students enter the school of physics in regular course, at the beginning of their junior year if they have completed the fourth year of school of mathematics. Others may be admitted on examination. During the first year (graded as junior) five exercises per week in the first term are given to a course embracing the elementary principles of motion, and of the mechanics of solids, liquids, and gases. The subject of heat, acoustics, and optics occupy the second term. The first term of the second (or senior) year is given to the study of electricity, and to practical work in the physical laboratory. Ganot's Physics, or an equivalent is used as a text-book. In the general course in physics all topics are largely illustrated by experiment and lecture. In the practical course the aim is to teach the methods of physical investigation, and at the same time to enlarge the student's conception of topics previously studied. In this course special attention is given to the practical applications of electricity, and to the solution of electrical problems. Students have the use of many of the best forms of instruments of precision, and have work in' reducing observations and in solving problems requiring original measurements. When originally purchased (in 1857) the apparatus employed for the illustration of mechanical principles embraced not only every article which was then usually found in such collections, but many which were less common; especially models of machinery, and contrivances for exhibiting the various modifications and transformations of motion employed in mechanics. The machines of Atwood and Morin for demonstrating the laws of falling bodies, purchased in Paris, deserve especial mention, as being unsurpassed in finish and accuracy, and provided with all the more recent improvements. The convertibility of the centers of suspension and oscillation is illustrated by the reversible pendulum of Kater. The steam engine, to the construction and theory of which particular attention is given, is illustrated by working models, or miniature engines of various forms, embracing the stationary, locomotive and marine engines; and by dissected models in strong card-board, in which all the movable parts are visible, and may be put in motion. Separate models-of the valves, pistons, and other essential parts of the engine are also exhibited. The statical part of the mechanics of fluids is illustrated by the contrivances of Haldat, Mariotte and others, Bramah's hydrostatic press, Barker's mill, and by the various forms of hydrometer and areometer, the hydrostatic balance, and all the different modes of determining the specific gravity of solids and liquids. In the illustration of the dynamical laws the large apparatus of Venturi is employed for spouting fluids; and glass models of pumps of various forms, of the fire engine, of the inter'In his monograph on "The Teaching and History of Mathematics in the United States," Professor Cajori has made a mistake apropos of this school. Quoting from the catalogue of 1857-58, to the effect that students were made to do exercises "on large wall slates or blackboards," he says: " The fact that pains are taken to explain the term as meaning 'large wall slates' rather tends to show that blackboards were then a novelty in Mississippi" (p. 224). This is an error. The expression is one of enumeration, not of definition. The university used both blackboards and wall slates. The room for mathematics is supplied with a number of large and fine slates, about 5 feet by 2 feet 6 inches, set in the walls. The lecture room for physics has a number set on easels. Both rooms have ordinary blackboards in addition. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 195 mitting fountain, of the fountain of Heron, of the Archimedean screw, and other hydraulic contrivances, are shown, together with the hydraulic ram of Montgolfier, and models of canal locks and of water wheels of different descriptions. All the forms of piston and valve employed in hydraulic machinery are also shown in separate models. In the subject of pneumatics the school is prepared to render the experimental illustrations very striking. A powerful air pump was constructed for the university by Ritchie, of Boston (whose instruments have secured so high and so deserved a reputation), on his Smithsonian model, with all his latest improvements, including receiver plates, both attached and detached, and capable of carrying exhaustion to the highest attainable degree. There is, also, a large variety of minor apparatus, for showing the downward, upward, and lateral pressure of the atmosphere, the resistance of the air to motion, the fall of light bodies in vacuo, the buoyant power of the air, the weight of air, evaporation in vacuo, and the freezing of water by evaporation; also, condensing pumls, condensing chambers of copper and glass, the-air gun, the air paradox, and various forms of fountain by rarefaction and condensation. The construction and theory of the barometer in all its forms is explained and illustrated, and the instrument, as made by Green, of New York, and adopted by the Signal Service, and also Newman's standard barometer, as constructed expressly for the observatory of this university are exhibited, together with the mountain barometer of Gay Lussac, the sympiesometer, the aneroid barometer, and the metallic barometer of Bourdon. In the course of these expositions all the different forms of the thermometer are exhibited, including the metallic thermometers of Breguet and others, and the maxima and minima thermometers of Rutherford, of Negretti and Zambra, and of Walferdin. Also Melloni's delicate thermomultiplier, of which the theory belongs to a later period of the course. For the experimental illustrations of all of the interesting facts and principles of acoustics the apparatus of the university is complete, embracing every important instrument in the catalogue of Marloye, of Paris, whose name has so long been associated with this speciality, and who, since his retirement, has been replaced in this manufacture by Secretan, by whom the university was supplied. The collection will, therefore, be found to contain all the ingenious contrivances of Savart, as for example, his monochord, his large apparatus for illustrating the sympathetic vibration of a column of air with a bell, his toothed wheel and spring, his system of parallel bars, etc., with a great variety of tubes, embouchures, organ pipes, plates and membranes for producing acoustic figures, diapasons of various pitch from CC upward, Wheatstone's arrangements for interference, the siren of Cagniard for registering vtibrations, Koenig's apparatus for monometric flames as applied to the analysis of sounds, to the determination of nodes inpipes, and for measurements based on interference of sounds. It is probable that, at the time of its purchase, the electrical apparatus of the University of Mississippi was superior to any similar collection in the United States. The principal electrical machine, constructed by Ritchie, has two glass plates, 6 feet each in diameter, and in its dimensions is not surpassed by any in the world. The illustrations which it furnishes of electrical phenomena are correspondingly splendid. Batteries of a magnitude proportional to the power of the machine, prepared by Mr. Ritchie, accompany it. The collection embraces also a large torsion balance by Secretan, and a great variety of minor apparatus, such as condensers, electroscopes of different kinds, among which are those of Bohnenberger, Peltier (for atmospheric electricity), and Peclet, Coulomb's hollow sphere, Biot's spheroid with movable envelopes, Kinnersley's electrical thermometer, electrical mortars and guns, model houses for firing or exploding by electricty, electrical rotations, dances, bells, etc., the electrophorus, Zamboni's dry piles, together with extensively varied and magnificent illustrations of electrical light. 196 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. The university has, in late years, been supplied with the apparatus necessary for instruction in the lines along which the science of electricity has developed. To the the original unique collection have been added models of the various practical forms of the telegraph and telephone, galvanometers of various patterns, amperes-meter, voltmeters, and other appliances needed for practical study; and a complete set of Crook's tubes may be mentioned in this connection. The natural magnet is shown in its rude state, and also as mounted for experiment. A specimen of loadstone in possession of the school possesses a sustaining power of more than 75 pounds. The more recently discovered phenomena of diamagnetism, or the influence of magnets upon nonferruginous bodies, are demonstrated by means of a powerful apparatus constructed for the university by Ruhmkorff, of Paris. The university possesses a standard magnetometer and a dip circle, both made by Wurdemann after the style adopted by the Coast and Geodetic Survey. These are mounted in the magnetic observatory, a building specially constructed for such apparatus. In optics the laws governing the reflection of light, the formation of images by mirrors and lenses, the dispersion of light by refraction, its analysis and recomposition, Newton's experiments upon the colors of thin plates, the phenomena of diffraction and of double refraction and polarization with the explanation of these phenomena upon the undulatory theory, the philosophy of vision, and the construction of microscopes, telescopes, and optical instruments generally, successively receive attention. The application of optical principles to the explanation of meteorogical phenomena, such as the rainbow, halos surrounding the sun and moon, the moon's corona, parhelia, the mirage, looming, extraordinary refractions of the polar seas, etc., are made as occasion presents. For the experimental illustration of these subjects, the department is provided with a rich collection of apparatus, in which are to be found mounted mirrors and lenses of large size and of all kinds, including Fresnel's compound burning lens nearly 2 feet in diameter, solid prisms of various materials and forms, achromatic prisms, hollow prisms, and prisms of variable angle, Silberman's heliostat, Rochon's dispersion apparatus, Arago's, Norremberg's, and Biot's polarizing apparatus, photoelectric and solar polariscopes with numerous accompanying objects for exhibiting to classes the chromatics of polarization, the saccharimeters of Soleil and Mitscherlich, Engel's ingenious models for the illustration of the wave theory, and double refraction, Pouillet's diffraction apparatus; also optical instruments of various kinds, the camera lucida, the camera obscura, the refracting telescope, the Gregorian reflecting telescope, compound microscope by Spencer with objectives from 2 inches to one-twentieth of an inch, binocular and double microscope by Grunow, the solar and photo-electric microscopes, the stereoscope, the magic lantern and the double lantern with polyorama, dissolving views and phantasmagoria, and a fine spectrometer, made by Steinheil, after the pattern used by Bunsen and Kirchoff. For illustrating the structure of the eye and the laws of vision, models, and drawings on a large scale are introduced; and for the better demonstration of the laws of refraction, dispersion, diffraction, interference, luminous meteors, etc., use is made of oil paintings, exhibiting the phenomena, largely magnified. Besides the apparatus needed for producing these phenomena experimentally, the university possesses a unique collection,of such oil paintings, numbering nearly 100, illustrating the topic. SCHOOL OF ASTRONOMY. R. B. FULTON, Professor. The second term of the senior year is given to the study of astronomy, theoretical and practical. Young's astronomy is used as a text-book in general astronomy. Students are taught practically the use of the transit and alt-azimuth instruments with the clock, with the simpler measurements and reductions of measurements made with these. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 197 Thro.ughout the senior year, in both schools, three exercises per week are given to the work of the lecture room, and two exercises per week to practical work. For the illustration of the different topics in this science the university possesses considerable advantages, which will be largely increased during the ensuing session. The celestial motions are beautifully represented by Barlow's magnificent planetarium, 11 feet in diameter-a piece of mechanism unrivaled in ingenuity, accuracy, and elegance. The optical apparatus furnishes also brilliant representations of the telescopic appearances of the planets, comets, and nebulae, and the 36-inch globe of Malby, of London, affords very useful aid to the conception of astronomical problems. At present a portable transit instrument is available for observations of meridian passages, and a sextant will furnish means of making direct measurements of altitudes and arcs. Also a large theodolite, by Secretan, with complete vertical as well as horizontal circle, will serve as a model in explaining the construction of the astronomical altitude and azimuth and equatorial telescope. A contract has been made for the erection of a refracting telescope at the works of Sir Howard Grubb, near Dublin. It will be a twin equatorial, consisting of a 15-inch visual telescope, Inounted on the same support with a 9-inch photographic telescope. The instrument will be complete with the best mountings, including all the best devices for control, and with a 4-inch finder and all needed accessories for use with the eye or for photographic purposes. It is to be in position in April, 1892. It is after the plan (though on a smaller scale) of the twin equatorial at the Paris observatory at Meudon, designed and used by M. Jannsen, and which has been characterized as an observatory in itself. SCHOOL OF HISTORY. P. H. EAGER, A. B, Professor. ALFONSO B. AMIS, Fellow. First term: General sketch of mediaeval and modern history (Myers); geography and chronology (Labberton's Atlas). An entrance examination on United States history is required in this school. The examination is elementary. Courses in Roman and Greek history are given in the schools of Latin and Greek, respectively, by the professors in charge of those schools. A recent act of the legislature of Mississippi has incorporated the Mississippi Historical Society. The bill provides that the archives of this society shall be located at this university. A prolific field for original research will thus be opened to students in the school of history. For the session of 1890-91 a post-graduate course will be offered in the school on Mississippi as a Province and as a Territory, based on the Claiborne collection of original manuscripts. SCHOOL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. P. H. EAGER, A. B., Professor. First term, economics: F. A. Walker's Political Economy (third edition); notes by the professor on the history of political economy; notes on the history of United States tariff legislation, based on Taussig, with original reference work in Niles's Register, Congressional debates, public documents, and Wool Manufacturers' Bulletin. Written exercises by the class. Second term, civil government: Special attention is given to the Government of the United States, and an independent study is made of the government of the State of Mississippi. During the session of 1889-90 each member in the class in economics made an original investigation into the economic life of his own town or county. Ten of these dissertations were published, and they attracted widespread attention and favorable notice. A similar series is contemplated from year to year, and it is hoped 198 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. that when taken together they will form a valuable exhibition of the economic condition and resources of Mississippi. The same class were favored with two lectures by Chancellor Mayes on taxation in general, and in Mississippi. SCHOOL OF MENTAL AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY. P. H. EAGER, A. B., Professor. First term: Hill's Elements of Psychology, with occasional lectures by the professor and written exercises by the students. Brief historical review. Second term: Calderwood's Handbook of Moral Philosophy, with occasional lectures by the professor and written solutions of ethical problems by -the students. Toward the close of this term is given an outline course in the evidences of Christianity. SCHOOL OF LOGIC. P. H. EAGER, A. B., Professor. Second term: Deductive logic, Tigert's Handbook (fourth edition); inductive logic, notes by the professor. Frequent practical exercises throughout the course. SCHOOL Ol BQTANY. R. W. JONES, Professor. FRANK CLARKE HOLMES, B. S., Fellow. Five times per week during second term. Gray's School and Field Book of Botany, Bessy's Botany, Chapman's Flora of the Southern States. Excursions are made into the woods and fields, specimens are gatherwed from them and from flower gardens, analyzed, classified, and preserved. The facilities for illustration consist of microscopes, herbarium collected by the geological survey, a suite of cryptogamous plants, and the use of fresh plants gathered by instructor and students. The library contains many and various volumes, pamphlets, scientific journals which the student is encouraged to consult. SCHL F OOL OF ZOOLOGY. R. W. JONES, Professor. FRANK CLARKE HOLMES, B. S., Pellow. Five times per week during first term. Text books: Orton's Zoology, Packard's Entomology, with frequent reference to "Insect Life,' and other sources of information. Dissection, mounting, and other practical work required. This school is rendered more interesting and intelligible by maps showing the geographical distribution of animals, by anatomical charts and various drawings, by a manikin, many animal skeletons, a large number of mounted specimens, a good number preserved in alcohol; also by a collection of vertebrates, which is increased every year by specimens from the geological cabinet, and the "Budd Collection." This collection is the result of twenty-five years of labor, and is believed to be unsurpassed in this country. It was made by Dr. B. W. Budd, of New York City, and contains a rich exhibit of marine, terrestrial, and fiuviatile shells. There are over 400 genera, upward of 5,000 species, and more than 20,-000 individual shells, many of which are believed never yet to have been described in works on conchology. SCHOOL OF MINERALOGY. R. W. JONES, Professor. Five times per week first term. Dana's Manual, Brush's Determinative Mineral, ogy, E. S. Dana's Text-book. The study is conducted so as to make it valuable for mental training and useful practically. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 199 Crystallography is studied thoroughly and practice given with goniometers. The student handles specimens, familiarizes himself with their physical properties so as to know them on sight. In addition to this each student is taught to use the blowpipe and simple methods in the wet way for recognizing minerals by their chemical properties. The Markoe collection embraces a rare and elegant collection of minerals, purchased in 1857 of Mr. Francis Markoe, of Washington City, and pronounced at that time to be inferior in quality to none in the world. It has been enlarged by a handsome addition purchased from Dr. A. E. Foote, of Philadelphia, also by a fine collection of minerals from New Mexico in 1884, and by various minor additions. SCHOOL OF GEOLOGY. R. AV. JONES, Professor. Five times per week second term. LeConte's elements with assignment of special readings in var;ous- orks and articles in the library. There is a stidyi of'the.whole province of geology and a more special study of the geology of Mississippi.. Along with the study of phenomena is a constant inquiry into causes; many important germane questions are discussed, and emphasis is laid on the conclusion that the known -facts and' established laws bof this science do- not contradict the word-of GOo&. - - ' As far as time allows the instructor points out carefully the economic bearings of botany, zoology, mineralogy, and geology. Hitchcock's large geological map of the United States, geological map of Mississippi and of the adjacent States, and maps and charts of the United States Geological Survey, all furiish means of illustrating this school. There is a general collection of rocks and fossils representing more or less comr pletely the several geological ages, while the collection of the agricultural and geological survey of Mississippi, embracing over 3,000 specimens of the rocks, fossils, minerals, marls, and soils of the State, affords the student an opportunity found nowhere else of rendering himself personally familiar with the geological and agricultural features not only of Mississippi, but in a great degree also of the adjoining States. SCHOOLS OF THEORETICAL AND OF PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY. R. rW. JONES, Professor. THOMAS OVID MABRY, Fellow. These schools offer: 1. A course in general experimental chemistry, in which are discussed in order the elements and their most important compounds, their properties and uses, the laws of chemical combination, the conditions of chemical action, chemical theories, value, periodicity. This part occupies the first term of the first year. During the second term a short time is devoted to chemistry applied to industries, and the remainder of the term to organic chemistry. Instruction is by text-book, and parallel lectures fully illustrated by materials and experiments. Text-book: C. L. Bloxham (sixth edition), published by Churchill. This textbook may be changed. Class meets five times per week throughout the session. 2. A course in practical and analytical chemistry, embracing (a) general manipulations, (b) blowpipe exercises, (c) qualitative analysis, (d) quantitative analysis. This course occupies the second year. This class spends from six to ten hours per week in laboratory work. Students are well prepared to teach chemistry in high schools and colleges, and are well grounded-for the study of medicine and pharmacy, as well as for the further prosecution of chemistry as a specialty. 200 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. The lecture room and the laboratory are large, and the supply of material and apparatus is good. Students are encouraged to take post-graduate work. SCHOOL OF ELOCUTION. Miss SALLY MCGEHEE ISOM, Instructor. The object of this school is to produce effective readers and speakers; to substitute simple, natural methods of expression for the faulty delivery which commonly prevails in the reading circle, the college, the pulpit, on the platform and the stage. The course of instruction covers thoroughly the entire range of expression, neither neglecting its simplest methods, nor stopping short of its highest. The aim is to supply to those who use the voice a course as scientific and thorough as can be found in any phase of education, and to induce those who have no professional purpose in view to enter this course of study, which, while eminently conducive to bodily health, will add a valuable result,of personal accomplishment. The scope of the work may be indicated by the following general outline: Physical training, respiration, vocal culture, articulation, orthoipy, gestures, the laws of inflection and emphasis, analysis in reading, dramatic and practical reading, artistic and oratorical recitations. Text-books: J. W. Shoemaker's Practical Elocution, Shoemaker's Best Things from Best Authors, and Single Plays of Hudson's (or Rolfe's) School Shakespeare. The Delsarte System of Oratory, by Stebbins, will be used as a text-book in the last term. This branch is wholly optional in all courses. LITERARY ASSOCIATIONS. The Phi Sigma and Hermsean Societies are literary in their character, and were established immediately after the organization of the university. They hold their meetings during the forenoon of every Saturday, for the purpose of improvement in debate, declamation, and composition. They are managed by the students; each society framing its own constitution and by-laws. The anniversaries of these societies are held on the 5th of May and second Friday in April, each year, respectively, when an oration is delivered by a member of the society, selected by its members, and usually from the senior class of that year. The "Anniversarianships" are highly prized by the students, and are eagerly sought.1 PROPERTY. The university property consists of a section of fine, rolling upland, partly within the limits of the town of Oxford, bisected by the Illinois Central Railroad. The depot grounds were donated to the railroad out of this section. The land, except about 80. acres, is yet in the woods. The university buildings, grouped about the campus, near the center of the section, consist of1. The lyceum, in which are.the chemical laboratory and the lecture room; the museum, and the geological display room, and lecture room of natural history; six other lecture rooms; the chancellor's office and the young ladies' waiting room. 2. The library building, an attractive structure of two stories in brick, just completed-four rooms. 3. The observatory, in which are the lecture room of the schools of physics and astronomy, the storeroom of physical apparatus, the physical laboratory, the astronomical tower, the transit room, and the residence of the professor. Catalogues of 1857 and 1890. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 201 4. The chapel, devoted to the daily public worship, and the public exhibitions; in the third story, containing the halls of the two literary societies; the second story being taken up by the chapel galleries. 5. The steward's hall, so called because of its former uses long since abandoned. It is now used for the recitation rooms of the sub-freshman class and as a residence for two of the professors. 6, 7, and 8. Three domitories, each containing three halls, and thirtysix rooms (each hall containing twelve). 9 and 10. Two double houses, three stories high, constituting the residences of four of the professors. 11 and 12. The residences of the professors of chemistry and of Greek, the latter a framed structure. 13. The magnetic observatory. 14. The gymnasium (frame). 15. The carpenters' shop (brick). 16 to 23. Eight frame dwellings of various styles, in which, however, the university has only a reversion after the termination of leases yet to run from thirty to eighty years. The entire property is worth about $300,000. There is also a handsome two-story brick house built by the Delta Psi Fraternity for a chapter house. They hold by a qualified fee from the university, the condition being its continued use for that purpose. THE ENDOWMENT is the seminary fund which is treated elsewhere. The amount of the fund as recognized by the State is $544,061.23; the yearly interest drawn quarterly, is $32,643. THE STATE APPROPRIATIONS. The State recognized the indebtedness to the seminary fund, and settled it on the basis set forth above, in 1880. Prior to that year the appropriations made in aid of the institution had been as follows: 1846 and 1847............. $50, 000.00 1866...................... $25,102. 38 1848...-..............-..- 4, 000. 00 1867........................ 20, 964. 81 1849............-..-.. 11,701.03 1868......-........ —.-... 39,415.19 1850.............-.....-. 12,450.08 1869....................... 28,551.19 1851......................... 5,384.40 1870.................. 38, 551.19 1852......................... 26,427.45 1871...................... 47,551.19 1853............. 14, 213.27 1872.................' 50,000.00 1854 and 1855........-.. 33,999.36 1873..................... 50,000.00 1856...................... 41,094.33 1874........................ 50, 000.00 1857........................ 39,221.40 1875.........-........... 35,000.00 1858.................... 39,808.93 1876.................... 21, 000.00 1859..................... 38,117.19 1877........................ 39, 000.00 1860......................... 37,524. 93 1878......................... 29,979.51 1861.......3........... 35,551.19 1879........................ 30,020.49 1865.,................... 6, 226. 75 1884, special appropriation... 3, 000.00 202 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. TUITION AND OTHER EXPENSES. Tuition is free to the world in the department of science, literature, and the arts; these students pay an incidental fee each year of $10. Law students pay an annual tuition fee of $50, but no incidental. Dormitory rooms are free to all students. Each student is taxed yearly $2.50 for coal for lecture and other public rooms; additional $10 coal fee on such as room in dormitories. Day board ranges from $8 to $12 per month; board with lodging from $12 to $18. ALEXANDER M. CLAYTON, FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE TRUSTEES. Judge Clayton was born in Campbell County, Va., on. the 15th of January, 1801. He received but the common classical: school ednudation. After a period of preparation. in a law office at Frederic&kburg he was admitted to the bar in.1823. He entered upon the practice:at Louisa Court-House; and: there, in 1826, married a Miss Thomas. His; early professional prospects were good, but he soon removed to the: town of Clarksville, Tenn. In that new field he immediately established a reputation 'for ability, and acquired a large and profitable practice. He formed a partnership with a Mr. Turley, which was con-. tinued luntil that gentlekman:was raised to the bench. Here, inthlie year, 1832, Mr. Clayton had the misfortune to lose his wife. He was appointed by President Jackson United States judge for the Territory of Arkansas but resigned and returned to Clarksville after only one year's service. In 1837 he moved to Mississippi and settled on a plantation near the village of Lamar, in Marshall County, which he called Woodcote, and where, at intervals, he continued to reside until his death. His planting enterprise was successful, but Judge Clayton did not abandon the practice of his profession. In 1842 he was elected to the high court of errors and appeals to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Trotter, and in 1844 was reelected for a full term. In this honorable position he made a great reputation. His term expired in 1851, and he was a candidate for reelection, but as he took a prominent part in politics he was defeated with his party, and returned to the practice. He then formed a copartnership with: Hon. J. C. W. Watson, of Holly Springs. President Pierce-appointed Judge Clayton consul at Havana, without solicitation, but his health failed and lie soon returned to his home. He removed to Memphis shortly afterwards, and there formed a partnership with Judge Archibald Wright and D. M. Currin. He was a member of the Charleston and Baltimore conventions, and having returned to Mississippi, was in 1861 elected a delegate from Marshall County to the secession convention. He prepared the address which set forth the reasons for the secession of the State. He wast one of the seven delegates to the Montgomery THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 203 convention. He was a member of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, and as such rendered most efficient service. He was afterwards appointed Confederate district judge for Mississippi, and held that position until the close of the war. He was then raised to the circuit bench of the State, but was removed from office by General Ames in the reconstruction. He never afterwards held public office. He always took great interest in the cause of education and in all public enterprises. He was made a. trustee of the State University upon the establishment of that institution, was first president of the board of trustees, and ulntil his death; with oie or two short intervals; maintained the relationship of trustee to.that institution. He was also a chief promoter of the construction of the- Mississippi Central Railroad, and was for several years one of its directors.. His legal 'attiinments were comrprehensve and profound, and.as a constitutiinal'lawyer his abilities were preeminent. -.. Judge Clayton was' al.ways: a devotee of th'e pure'anicd fundamental principles of the American Constituti6n strictly construedd. He died in October, 1889, in his eighty-ninth:year... JACOB THOMPSON. Hon. Jacob Thompson was born in Caswe11 County, N. C., on the 15tli of May, 1810. His father, Nicholas Thompson, was descended from a a family which emigrated from England to Pennsylvania more than two centuries ago. Mr. Thompson prepared for college in Hillsboro, N. C.; entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in his seventeenth year, and graduated in 1831 with the first honor. On the day of his graduation he was appointed a tutor in the university, and discharged the duties acceptably for eighteen months, when he resigned and commenced the study of law in the office of Judge John M. Dick,.of Greensboro.. Receiving his license as attorney andc counsellor in 1835,he removed to Mississippi in the same year and established himself at Pontotoc, where the United States land office had just been. opened, after the Chickasaw cession. The first iublic question which divided that community was the proposition for the State to indorse $5,000,000 of the Union Bank bonds, and a speech by Mr. Thompson in opposition to that measure introduced him to public life. In 1837 arose the controversy over the admission of the Chickasaw counties to representation in the legislature of that year. Mr. Thompson championed the party claiming representation, triumphed in the debate on the subject, and was selected to draw up the address to the Chickasawvcounties. In the year 1838 he married Miss Catherine A. Jones, daughter, of Col. Johh P;.Jnes, of Lafayette County, one of.lthe first settlers in that portion of fthe - St e-. 204 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. In 1839 the question of the deposit banks was the great issue o" the hour. They had suspended specie payments, and the Democratic party claimed that they should resume or forfeit their charters. The banks, notwithstanding their suspension, were thought to have great popular strength, and the assault on them was regarded as a struggle almost desperate. Yet, accepting the Democratic nomination, Mr. Thompson, after a heated campaign, was elected to the lower House of Congress. In 1841 Mr. Thompson was again a candidate for Congress. There was a local issue paramount to all others. The Union Bank had become bankrupt. The bonds of the bank, to the amount of $5,000,000, had been indorsed by the State. They had been defaulted, and the State was called on to pay as indorser. The governor had refused payment on the ground that the bonds were issued in violation of the constitution, and that the State was neither legally nor morally bound; and an appeal was made on this question to the people. Mr. Thompson was called on for his views, and sustained the governor with great clearness and force. He was reelected. He was again reelected in 1843, and for a fourth term in 1845. Pending the canvass for this last reelection, Governor Brown offered him the unexpired Senatorial term of Mr. Walker, who had resigned when appointed to the Cabinet of Mr. Polk, but the offer was declined. In 1847 and 1849 he was again returned for his fifth and sixth terms, making twelve consecutive years in that service. In 1850 the compromise measures were passed which admitted California as a State, provided Territorial governments for New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona, and defined the northern boundary of Texas. Out of the complications arising from those measures grew Mr. Thompson's first political defeat. All his ticket went down before the storm. During the Administration of Mr. Pierce Mr. Thompson was offered the consulship to Cuba, an important office, and then considered a most profitable one, but he declined it. In 1855 his name was laid before the party as a candidate for the United States Senate; but there were other aspirants, and to preserve the harmony of the party it was determined in the caucus to nominate Mr. Davis, who was not a candidate. In 1856, being a delegate to the Cincinnati convention, he supported the candidacy of Mr. Buchanan, and after the election President Buchanan invited Mr. Thompson into his Cabinet as Secretary of the Interior. He accepted the post, and entered on its duties in March, 1857. When Mississippi seceded from the Union, Mr. Thompson, on the 9th of January, 1861, sent in his resignation, and returned to his home in Oxford, Miss. During the war he served for short periods in various military capacities-as volunteer aid on the staff of General Beauregard in the Shiloh campaign; as lieutenant-colonel in Ballantine's regiment; as chief inspector, on General Pemberton's staff, in the campaign about Vicks THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 205 burg. After the fall of Vicksburg he returned home and served in two sessions of the legislature as representative from Lafayette County. In 1864 he was sent to Canada on a secret mission by the Confederate authorities. After the war was over he spent several years in Europe with his family. On his return he removed from Oxford, Miss., to Memphis, where he took no part in politics, but actively engaged in business until his death, in 1885. During his active life Mr. Thompson was a zealous supporter of all movements of educational character. He served as a member of the board of trustees of the university from 1844 to 1864, with one interval of four years, and was the second president of that body, succeeding Judge Clayton and serving as such until the law making the governor of the State president ex officio went into operation. AUGUSTUS B. LONGSTREET, PRESIDENT. Augustus Baldwin Longstreet was the son of William Longstreet, an inventor of steam machinery, a native of New Jersey. The son was born in Augusta, Ga., on the 22d of September, 1790. He was early sent to school, but made little progress in study, and was more expert as a cotton picker, a wrestler, and a marksman. His mother, however, kept him resolutely to his tasks, and, becoming at length associated at school with George McDuffie, the influence of the latter gave him a relish for books. He was graduated at Yale College in 1813, began the study of law at Litchfield, Conn., and was admitted to practice in Georgia in 1815. About this time he married Miss Frances Eliza Parke, of North Carolina, with whom he lived happily until her decease, in the year 1868. In 1821 he represented the county of Greene in the legislature; in 1822 he was made judge of the superior court of Ocmulgee circuit, and in 1824 was a candidate for Congress with every prospect for success, when he withdrew from the canvass in consequence of the death of a child. This event deeply impressed him with religious feeling, and it was his custom from that time to open his court with prayer. Declining reelection to the bench, he returned to the bar, and was especially distinguished for his efforts and successes in criminal cases. In 1838 he entered upon the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was stationed in 1839 in Augusta, which was then visited with unusual malignity by yellow fever, but he did not leave his post. In that year he was elected president of Emory College, which office he held until 1848, when he was invited to the presidency of Centenary College, Louisiana. This position after one year he exchanged for the presidency of the University of Mississippi, which he resigned in 1856, designing to retire to private life. But in the following year he accepted the presidency cf the South Carolina College.' This station he filled until the breaking out of the late civil war. With his presidency of the South Carolina College terminated his public life. On the cessation of hostilities he returned to Oxford, Miss., drawn thither by the fact that both of his daughters lived there. Here he resided until his death, on the 9th of July, 1870. His last illness was not painful, nor long protracted. As life passed away he lay quietly in full possession of his mental powers, counting his own 'New American Encyclopedia, title "Longstreet." 206 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. pulse and commenting on its failing power. He died in the fullest assurance of a Christain faith. From an early period of life Judge Longstreet was accustomed to write for newspapers, magazines, and reviews, and many of his speeches before literary societies, charges to juries, and sermons have been published. His inaugural address on assuming the presidency of Emory College, his baccalaureate to the graduating class of the South Carolina College (1858), and a sermon on infidelity before the Young Men's ChristianAssociation are among his best performances. He extended his reputation 1by his "Letters to Clergymen of the Northern Methodist Church" on the subject of slavery, by his speech in the convention at Louisville, Ky., for organizing the Southern Methodist Church, by his "Letters from Georgia to Massachusetts," and by an able review of the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of McCulloch v. The State of Maryland. His miscellaneous writings include many of a humorous character. The first of his publications was a letter purporting to come from two convicts under a sentence of death who had broken gaol and escaped. His peculiar vein of humor is conspicious in the Georgia Scenes, a volume of sketches which has passed through numerous editions. Many of his papers in periodicals, as the Magnolia Magazine, the Southern Literary Messenger, and the Methodist Quarterly, have not been collected. A novel from his pen, entitled Master William Mitten, or the Youth of Brilliant Talents who was Ruined by Bad Luck, appeared serially in the Field and Fireside, a literary j ournal of Georgia, and was reproduced in a volume during the late war.' The following eloquent tribute was paid to the memory of this Christian gentleman and teacher by Chancellor Waddel on the occasion of the quarter-century celebration of the university, in 1873: The more familiar title-that by which he was best known among his acquaintances and his oldest friends-was " Judge Longstreet." He was a Georgian. His name was a familiar household word in my native home as far back as my early youth. He was a pupil of my father's celebrated "Willington Academy," in South Carolina, which he himself has immortalized in the chapter of the Georgia Scenes headed "The debating society." There he was fitted for Yale College, where, in the year 1813, he graduated in a class of 70. Subsequently he took his course in law at Litchfield, Conn., at the celebrated school of Tapping Reeve and James Gould, under whose instruction so many distinguished men of the South pursued their early legal studies. Having entered upon the career of an attorney at law in his native State, with prospects unusually bright, he soon rose to the highest rank, and stood among the foremost of a profession in which his compeers were such men as Berrien, Cobb, Dawson, and many others of abilities equally splendid. He rapidly achieved such fame, and won for himself such reputation as a finished and eloquent orator, that he could always commannd as large an audience as any man in the State, and 'perhaps larger than could any other man. Under the powerful influence of God's Holy Spirit, when at the very height of his fame and popularity he abandoned the profession of law and the pursuit of politics, and yielding to the chastening hand of his Heavenly Father in a deep and sore affliction-the loss of an only son-he accepted with a humble and devout spirit what he believed the call of God to the holy ministry. While engaged in this exalted service he was called by his church to the presidency of Emory College, at Oxford, Ga., where, without ceasing at all the functions of a gospel minister, he added to them the kindred duties of a preceptor of youth and occupied this position for thirteen years with credit, honor, and usefulness. Called again to preside over Centenary College, in Louisiana, he remained there only five months, when, finding the field one wholly unsuited to his views, he 'The New American Encyclopedia, title i" Longstreet." THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 207 resigned and returned to Georgia. Hardly had he reached his native State when he received the intelligence from official and private sources at once that he had been elected unanimously to the presidency of the University of Mississippi-not having been a candidate for the office. Here his career was eminently successful. Entering upon the duties of his office in September, 1849, for seven years he gave his best services to the institution, ald in the unparalleled prosperity of the university reaped the truest, richest, and most gratifying reward for all his unwearying and faithful toils. On his entrance upon the duties of his office he was met by the two difficulties to which allusion has already been made, viz: First, the bad repute of the university for order and discipline, and, second, the reputation which was unjustly given to the institution, that its tendencies were toward infidelity. The result of the second session of the university (the first of the new administration') was hardly to be considered a success in all respects, there being in attendance during the whole year only 76 students. The people of the State, however, soon discovered that there was at the helm a master spirit, and year by year the patronage steadily increased until the number 264 was reached. Although this number was attained during the session after his resignation, I have always maintained that it was due to the wise administration of President Longstreet, which had gained for the university the confidence of the people of the State, and the impulse thus imparted to the institution continued to operate after he had left it. The resignation of this pure-minded, upright, and able college executive took effect in July, 1856, and I may take occasion, at this point of his record, to present a double estimate of him as he appears to me as a public servant and as he was known to me in the sacred retirement of private life. (1) AS A PUBLIC SERVANT. His character was adorned not merely with a morality current with the world, but with the enduring yet chastened luster of Christian purity. He preserved his dignity and self-respect even when giving full flow to his excellent humor. He was vigilant without being offensive; he succeeded in impressing students with the belief that he was solicitous only for their highest interest. He was eminently selfpossessed, keeping ever full command of himself. He governed without any ostentatious display of the machinery of government. He possessed in a remarkable degree the faculty of swaying and controlling a student body during exciting scenes. This much as to his official traits. No less estimable and attractive were his characteristics. (2) IN PRIVATE LIFE. Genial and cordial in his temperament, he was possessed of a deep and subtle vein of rich humor, which was irresistible in its cheerful and even mirthful influence. In his heart there was no malice or bitterness. His wit partook not in the slightest degree of sarcasm. He was charitable in his judgments, liberal in his views, and public spirited in his relations to all around him. His opinions in religion and politics were none the less decided, for all his tenderness to the creeds of others. There was no dogmatism about him, nor any timidity in expressing his views. As a preacher he was solemn, earnest, and instructive. As a writer his style was chaste and beautiful. As a man, then' "take him all in all," his character will bear the closest scrutiny, both in his public and in his private life. He was a kind husband, an affectionate father, a humane master, a considerate neighbor, a genial companion, an affable teacher, a wise counsellor, a man of faith and trust in God, enjoying to a degree that was remarkable the assurance of his acceptance with his Heavenly Father. When, on the 9th of July, 1870, he closed his long and useful life of 79 years, 9 months, and 18 days, he died in faith, and left as a legacy to his descendants a spotless reputation and the example of a transcendently noble life. 208 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. FREDERICK A. P. BARNARD, PRESIDENT AND CHANCELLOR. Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard was born in Sheffield, Berkshire County, Mass., on the 5th of May, 1809. His father was Robert Foster Barnard, a lawyer, who had married a Miss Augusta Porter. Dr. Barnard's first instruction was received at home; afterwards at Saratoga Springs, N. Y., and at Stockbridge, Mass. He entered Yale College in September, 1824, pursued a classical course, and graduated in 1828. Adopting education for his pursuit in life, after graduation he taught for a few years in the preparatory school called the Hartford Grammar School, at Hartford, Conn. He was then, for one year, a tutor in Yale College. Then he engaged as an instructor of the deaf and dumb at Hartford, whence he was transferred to an institution of the same character in New York City. While holding this position he published an analytic grammar. When the faculty of the University of Alabama was reorganized in 1837 he was elected professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, which chair he held until 1848, when he was transferred to that of chemistry and natural history. During this period, in 1846, Governor Martin, of Alabama, appointed him astronomer to a commission organized to determine the boundary between that State and Florida. His report was adopted as a basis for settling the matters in controversy by the legislatures of both States. In the year 1847 he was married to Margaret McMurray, of Ohio. In September, 1854, he was elected professor of mathematics, physics, and civil engineering in the University of Mississippi, which position he accepted, filling also the chair of chemistry ad interim for one year. In June, 1856, President Longstreet resigned, whereupon Dr. Barnard was elected to the Presidency, and accepted it. In 1858 the style of the office was changed to that of chancellor, Dr. Barnard continuing to be the incumbent. During his residence in the South Dr. Barnard wrote largely for the periodical press, published many papers on topics of educational and scientific interest, and delivered many public addresses. In 1858 he prepared an elaborate report on the history, methods, results, and value, practical and scientific, of the United States Coast Survey. In 1860 he was a member of the astronomical expedition sent to Cape Chudleigh, in Labrador, to observe the solar eclipse. He was elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in August of the same year, and held that office until August, 1866. M eanwhile the war broke out, and when the students formed a company called the University Grays, for service in the Confederate Army, Chancellor Barnard opposed the movement on the ground that they were too young. His opposition was overborne by the enthusiasm of the period. THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 209 The college was completely dispersed by the attack on Fort Sumter and the excitement consequent thereon. Chancellor Barnard tendered his resignation, but the trustees, being hopeful of a resumption of college labors in the fall, persuaded him to withhold the resignation at least until that time. The fall came. Only two or three students presented themselves, and the trustees consented to the chancellor's resignation. However, he was urged to perform one final service. This was to consider and to report to the legislature on the practicability and expediency of establishing a military school on the foundation of the university. With this in view, he visited the military schools of South Carolina and Virginia, and prepared and submitted to the legislature of 1861-62 a most instructive and elaborate report, which was published in the house journal of that body. Nothing came of the movement. It was Dr. Barnard's last labor for the university, and that makes it memorable there. Dr. Barnard's intention in resigning was to go North, but he was unable to obtain permission to leave the Confederate States. Finally reaching Washington, he was for some time engaged in astronomical work under the director of the Naval Observatory. In the spring of 1863 he received an appointment as assistant in the Coast Survey, and was placed in charge of the map and chart department. In the act of Congress passed in 1863, incorporating the National Academy of Sciences, he was named as one of the original incorporators. In 1874 he was chairman of the physical section of the Academy, and from 1874 to 1880 was foreign secretary. In May, 1864, he was elected president of Columbia College, which office he held until the year 1888. In December, 1866, he was appointed one of the Government commissioners to visit and report on the universal exposition of 1867 at Paris. His contribution to the reports of that exposition forms the third volume of the series and is very elaborate. In 1878 he was appointed assistant commissioner-general to the exposition of that year, after the close of which he received the cross of an officer of the Legion of Honor from the French ministry. In 1876 he was appointed one of the board of judges of the International Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia on instruments of precision. In 1872 he published a volume on the Metric Systell of Weights and Measures (third edition, enlarged, 1879). He prepared part of Field's Outlines of a Code of International Law (1872), and of Harper's First Century of the Republic (1876). During the twenty years preceding his death he contributed various papers on scientific, educational, and economic topics to public journals and to the proceedings of the various societies with which he was connected. From 1873 to 1877 he was editor-in-chief of Johnson's Cyclopaedia. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from 21785-No. 24 14 210 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Jefferson College in Mississippi in 1855, and the same degree from Yale College in 1859. 1 He died in the city of Kew York, April 27, 1889. JOHN N. WADDEL, CHANCELLOR. John Newton Waddel, D. D., LL. D., youngest son of Rev. Dr. Moses Waddel, of South Carolina, was born April 2, 1812, at Willington, S. C. He prepared for the University of Georgia, at Athens, Ga., and graduated at that institution August 5, 1829. He joined the Presbyterian church in 1839, in Green County, Ala.; was taken under the care of the Presbytery of Tuscaloosa in the same year; was licensed by the Presbytery of Mississippi, September 15, 1841, and was ordained by the Presbytery of Tombeckbee, September 23, 1843. He was first settled as preacher at Mount Herman, Smith County, Miss.; then at Mount Moriah, Newton County, Miss., alternating with Montrose, Miss. This continued until 1848, when, removing to Oxford, Miss., he supplied the church there, in conjunction with Hopewell church, near Oxford. Here he continued until 1857. He then supplied Lagrange church, where he was associated with Dr. J. H. Gray. After acting as the agent of the Synod of Alabama for establishing the orphan asylum at Tuskegee, Ala., he supplied Oxford church again from 1865 to 1872, partly with Hopewell church. In 1874 he removed to Memphis, Tenn., and supplied as his last charge Lauderdale Street church until 1879. Dr. Waddel's work has been largely connected with literary institutions, in all of which he has won a high reputation. He taught the academy at Willington, S. C., from 1830 to 1834, and taught another academy from 1841 to 1848 at Montrose, Miss. He was then elected professor of ancient language in the University of Mississippi, where he served until 1857. He was then called to Lagrange Synodical College as professor of ancient languages, serving as such until 1860, when he was made president of the same college, which office he held until the college was closed by the war. In 1865, called to the University of Mississippi as chancellor, he served in this capacity until 1874. Resigning to accept the secretaryship of education of the Southern church, he served in this office until 1879, when he accepted a call to the chancellorship of the Southwestern Presbyterian University, at Clarksville, Tenn. This position he occupied until the year 1887, at which time, oppressed by the burden of gathering years, he resigned. Dr. Waddel was moderator of the general assembly of the Southern Presbyterian church in its meeting at Baltimore in 1868. His whole ministry has been one of great activity and widely extended usefulness. Blessed with a vigorous constitution and until the last few years with fine health, he has done an unusual amount of service in all his different charges. As a preacher he is always evangelical, inst.rnctive and attractive. He is eminently conservative in all of his doctrinal views, and may be regarded as a representative man of the Southern church. It is, however, as an educator that he has won his widest reputation. Much of his life has been spent in this department of work. In the instruction of youth and in the government of collegiate institutions he seems to have inherited the genius of his distinguished father. Eminently wise in counsel, judicious and practical in all his methods, he has never failed to secure the respect, confidence, and affection of young men in all the institutions of education with which he has been connected. There is probably no man in all the Southern church who could be placed before him in this respect. Nor are there many in all the country who to an equal degree possess those high qualities of thorough scholarship, practical wisdom, good sense, firmness, and affability which make the popular and efficient college president.2 Dr. Waddel has been thrice married. The first wife was Miss 1Compiled from Autobiographical Sketch in archives of the University of Mississippi, Vol. I, Supplt. to Encyc. Brit., title, "Barnard." 2 Presbyteriau Encyclopedia, title, " Waddel." THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 211 Martha Ann Robertson, a native of Abbeville district, South Carolina. The marriage was celebrated in Greene County, Ala., on the 28th of November, 1832. This lady was the mother of all his children. She died at Oxford, Miss., October 3, 1851. His second wife was Miss Mary Ann Werden, a native of Massachusetts. They were married in Berkshire County, Mass., on the 24th of August, 1854. The lady died of consumption on April 10, 1862. The third wife was Mrs. Harriet Augusta Snedecor (nee Godden), of Lexington, Miss. This lady is still living. ALEXANDER P. STEWART, CHANCELLOR. Alexander P. Stewart was born in Rogersville, Tenn., on the 2d of October, 1821. His father was William Stewart, of Scotch-Irish birth; his mother was German, and her maiden name was Elizabeth Decherd. When he was 10 or 11 years of age his parents removed to Winchester, Tenn., and there he was put to school in Carrick Academy. He was appointed cadet at West Point in 1838. There he graduated in 1842, and was appointed second lieutenant in the Third Artillery. After service of one year on the coast of North Carolina, he was returned, in 1843, to the Military Academy, as an assistant to Prof. Albert E. Church, of the department of mathematics. In 1845 Lieutenant Stewart resigned on account of impaired health. He was then chosen professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at the Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn. He held this position and a similar one at the Nashville University until the outbreak of the civil war. In 1861 he was appointed by Governor Isham G. Harris as major of the artillery corps in the army organized by the State of Tennessee. During the summer of that year the army of Tennessee was transferred to the service of the Confederate States. In November, 1861, Major Stewart was appointed a brigadier-general of the Confederate Army. He was promoted to be a major-general in 1863, and a lieutenant-general in 1864. He was at Columbus, Ky., and took part in the battle of Belmont in November, 1861. He joined the army of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston at Corinth, Miss., in 1862, and remained with that army until the close of the war. He was at the battle of Shiloh, was in Bragg's Kentucky campaign, took part in the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro (December, 1862), Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge, in 1863. He took part in the Georgia campaign of 1864, under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston; in the siege of Atlanta, the campaign into Tennessee, the battle of Franklin, and the retreat, under Hood. He was with Joseph E. Johnston il North Carolina, and at the battle of Calls Farm, in 1865. It is wholly unnecessary to characterize the military record of General Stewart. Achieving in three years the highest grade possible but one, his fame as an effective, stanch, and thoroughly reliable commander is more than national, and finds its expression on almost every page of the brilliant and terrible record of the armies of the West. 212 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. On the cessation of hostilities General Stewart returned to Lebanon, Tenn., and resuming service in Cumberland University, remained there a year or two. In 1874 he was elected chancellor of the University of Mississippi, which office he held until July, 1886. He then resigned, and after a brief sojourn in St. Louis, and another in Colorado, removed to Los Angeles, Cal. He now (1891) resides in St. Louis, Mo. EDWARD MAYES, CHAIRMAN AND CHANCELLOR. Edward Mayes was born in Hinds County, Miss., on the 15th of December, 1846. His father, Daniel Mayes, was a native of Virginia, but grew to manhood in Kentucky, whence, after serving on the circuit bench and in the law professorship of Transylvania University, he removed to Jackson, Miss., and engaged in the practice of law, in 1839. Mr. Mayes, the subject of this sketch, was prepared for college by various teachers of primary and preparatory schools in Jackson. In the session of 1860-61, he attended at Bethany College, Virginia (now West Virginia). Driven home by the outbreak of the civil war, he engaged as a merchant's clerk until the destruction of Jackson by the Federal troops in May, 1863. He then taught school as assistant to a Mr. Ray, in Carrollton, for three or four months. In April, 1864, he volunteered as a private in Company H, of the Fourth Regiment of Mississippi Cavalry, Mabry's Brigade, in which capacity he served until the termination of the war. In October, 1865, he entered the freshman class of the Universit\of Mississippi, graduating with the degree of A. B. in three years, haviig been advanced one year. In 1869 he received the degree of B. L. from the same institution. In the session of 1869-70 he taught in the university as tutor of English. On the 5th of May, 1869, he was married to Miss Frances Eliza Lamar, daughter of Prof. L. Q. C. Lamar, of the law department in the university (late Mr. Justice Lamar of the United States Supreme Court), and granddaughter of Dr. A. B. Longstreet, second president of the university. In 1871 Mr. Mayes began the practice of law at Coffeeville, Miss., but in May, 1872, removed to Oxford, where he has resided ever since. In July, 1877, he was elected to the law professorship in the university, and has occupied that chair from that date until now. In August, 188 i, on the reorganization of the faculty of the university and the resignation of Chancellor Stewart, he was elected chairman of the faculty by that body, and in June, 1889, the office of chancellor having been reestablished, he was elected to fill it. He was a member for the State at large of the constitutional convention of 1890, and was chairman of the committee on bill of rights and general provisions. Mr. Mayes is the writer and compiler of this history. Chapter X. THE AGRICULTURAL AND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. As early as the year 1838 an agricultural and geological survey of the State was agitated. To the legislature of that year was presented a memorial from Jefferson College and the Washington Lyceum, praying for the inauguration of such a survey by the State. It was favorably reported on by a special committee, but without any further result. Governor McNutt, in his alnual message of 1839, urged the desirability of such a work, and a bill to that end was introduced by Mr. Mellen, passed the house, but failed to become a law. Again, in his message of 1840, Governor McNutt urged the subject. Nothing came of his messages, apparently. What effect they may have had in implanting in the public mind the seeds of thought on the subject can not now be told. In the year 1849 Dr. James B. C. Thornton, formerly a professor in Centenary College (q. v.), and then resident in Rankin County, addressed to Governor Matthews a lengthy and able letter on this subject, which is to be found in the house journal for 1840, page 31. That letter was supported by a memorial from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. These documents the governor transmitted to the legislature with his annual message, in which he urged the adoption of their suggestions, and in which he called the attention of that body to the fact that in Alabama such a survey had commenced under the patronage of the university of that State. The legislature thereupon passed an act, approved March 5, 1850, to the following effect: 1. That the further sum of $3,000 be, and the same is hereby, semi-annually appropriated, subject to the draft of the president of the board of trustees of the University of Mississippi, to be applied by them to the purchasing of books and apparatus, and the payment of the salary of a professor and assistant professor of agricultural and geological scienoes in said university Provided, That one-half only of the amount of said appropriation shall be made from the revenue in the treasury and the other half shall be made out of the sale of the lands belonging to the seminary fund hereafter to be sold as provided by law. 2. That the authority which shall be required by the treasurer for the payment to the trustees shall be the warrant of the president of the board of trustees drawn in favor of any person whatsoever. 3. That at least one-half the amount herein appropriated shall be expended in making a general geological and agricultural survey of the State, under the direction of the principal professor, to be appointed under the first section of this act. 213 214 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. 4. That the survey herein provided for shall be accompanied with proper maps and diagrams and furnish full and scientific descriptions of its rocks, soil, and minerals and of its botanical and geological productions, together with specimens of the same, which maps, diagrams, and specimens shall be deposited in the State library, and similar specimens shall be deposited in the State university and such other literary institutions in this State as the governor shall direct: Provided, That the survey shall be made in every county in this State. 5. That the trustees of the State University shall cause a report to be made annually to the governor, to be by him laid before each session of the legislature, setting forth generally the progress made in the survey hereby required. This act was amended on the 3d of March, 1852, in such wise as to require a zoological collection instead of a geological one, and to provide further that a room should be set apart in the State capital at Jackson for the deposit and safe keeping of such specimens as might be collected during the progress of the geological survey; that the rooms when fitted up should be under the charge of the State geological society (which should be authorized to employ the State librarian as curator), and should be open to the public. The university was then, as it is now, a State institution. The act of the legislature was, therefore, a command. There was and could be no question as to acceptance of the task imposed on it. Accordingly at the next meeting of its trustees, held at Oxford in July, 1850, the following action was taken: The professor of chemistry was relieved of the duties of the chair of natural philosophy and astronomy, which he was then discharging, and required to perform the duties of a professor of geology and chemistry and their practical application to agriculture. An assistant professor of geology was provided for and required to perform the duties assigned by the act of 1850 in making a geological survey, and to make quarterly reports to the principal professor. Appropriations were made for the purchase of instruments for the survey, for books and materials for making the necessary diagrams and maps, and for general expenses; and the secretary of the board was ordered to correspond with scientists in order to select the assistant.1 At the July meeting, 1851, Mr. Oscar M. Lieber was elected assistant professor. On the 14th of January, 1852, however, the board being in special session at Jackson, he resigned, having merely commenced a reconnoissance of the State, of which no report was made.2 On the same day, Mr. Benjamin L. C. Wailes, of Adams County, then a professor in Jefferson College, was elected to fill the vacancy. Professor Wailes entered forthwith on the performance of the duties assigned to him. These duties, after his appointment, were somewhat augmented by the amendatory act of 1852, already noticed, whereby a room in the capitol was set apart and placed under his charge, for the better preservation of the collections in natural history, which, as the State geologist, he was required to make. IMinutes of board, vol. 1, pp. 127, 128, 135. 2Ibid., pp. 156,170; Wailes's Agriculture and Geology of Mississippi, p. xiii. AGRICULTURAL AND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 215 In the prosecution of his work a considerable portion of the State was soon traversed, with a view of gaining such general knowledge of its character as would best guide and direct the subsequent more detailed and minute examination. More than 7,000 miles were traveled by him during the years 1852 and 1853. He made collections amounting to several thousand specimens. The character, peculiarities, and productions of the different sections visited were observed and noted.1 While Assistant Professor Wailes was engaged in this work, on the 13th of July, 1853, Dr. Millington, his principal professor, resigned. This event, occurring at a period so nearly approaching to that at which a report of the progress of the survey was required to be made to the legislature, devolved on Professor Wailes the duty of making the report.2 This additional burden, unexpected though it was, proved most fortunate for the reputation of the professor. His report was laid before the board of trustees at their special meeting in Jackson, on the 9th of January, 1854. The board transmitted it to the governor, who sent it to the legislature, then in session, accompanied by a message recommending that it be printed. Thereupon was passed the act of March 1, 1854. This statute provides as follows: 1. That 2,000 copies of the report of Prof. B. L. C. Wailes, State geologist, be printed, under his supervision, in quarto form, and in such manner and with such illustrations and plates therein given as his excellency the governor shall deem appropriate and necessary for its illustration. * *. 2. That for the further and more efficient prosecution of the survey, analyses of the marls, soils, mineral waters, and the chief agricultural productions of the State shall be made at the University of Mississippi, as the trustees may designate; and the State geologist may, from time to time, furnish such marls, soils, and waters as may be required for analyses, and shall receive in return from the chemist full and precise reports of all analyses which may be made; and specimens of the marls and soils shall be preserved in convenient glass bottles in the State cabinet and in the cabinet of the university, properly labeled with the chemical character of the substance and the locality from which the same was obtained. 3. That the said geologist shall make collections of specimens to illustrate the mineral character and paleontology of the State, in addition to the zoological productions which by law he is now required to collect, and to cause them to be suitably arranged and preserved in the State cabinet and that of the university; and any duplicates that remain may be distributed by him among such of the incorporated colleges as may apply for them. 4. That the sum, not to exceed $2,500, be appropriated out of any money in the treasury, to be drawn upon the requisition of the governor, for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this act.3 The admirable report of Professor Wailes deserves the highest praise. It is divided into six principal titles, viz: An historical outline, land titles, agriculture, geology, fauna, and flora. It is accompanied and 1Wailes's Agriculture and Geology of Mississippi, p. xiii. 2Ibid., p. xv; Minutes of the board, p 202. 3Wailes's report, pp. 360-362. 216 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. illustrated by numerous colored engravings. For a fuller explanation the following extracts are made from the introduction: f * O f the plan of this report it will be seen that with the sanction of approved precedents it has been considered that a short preliminary sketch of the discovery and early history of the country, not hitherto separately written, would not be out of place. * 4 ' As a subject of interest to the landed proprietors of the State the chapter on land titles was considered as germane to the subject and entitled to the short space which it occupies. An attempt has been made to give a view of the early agriculture of the country, derived mainly from the accounts received from many of our older inhabitants, with whom I have conferred, aided by my own recollections. In the details given of the different agricultural productions, the mode of cultivation, and the machinery for preparing these, I have been similarly aided. * * The tables of agricultural and other statistics have been prepared from the best sources, and will form matter for convenient and useful reference. At this stage of the survey, and in the first, and as it may be termed preliminary report, the notice of the geology and other departments of natural history will necessarily present a mere outline, and can not assume that form and shape which will properly be given them in a final report. Such an arrangement has been adopted, however, as far as these subjects are embraced, as will, it is believed, give a reasonably comprehensive and familiar view of those departments of the report. Of the fauna and flora of the State, in the notice that has been taken of them, my own observations have been directed by the best available authorities, and in the former department, among others, the works of De Kay and of Audubon and Bachman, among the most recent published and, by inference, the most complete and correct, have been consulted. The aid of distinguished naturalists also has been liberally afforded, and I have to acknowledge my indebtedness and express my thanks to Professors Agassiz and Baird, and to Mr. Conrad, for their contributions to this department of the report. * The catalogues furnished by them, although not so complete or perfect as they will hereafter be made, have the stamp of authenticity and accuracy to recommend them. I should be remiss were I to omit to acknowledge the obligations I am also under to Dr. Leidy and Mr. Cassin, of the Academy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia. As to the illustrations which accompany the report, the limited means appropriated to the survey, and the dearth of artistic skill available in this quarter, have made me dependent upon the early, imperfect, and self-taught attainment of drawing, and which, having been almost wholly unpracticed for nearly thirty years, makes an apology necessary for their rude and unsatisfactory execution. In making the collections required, the cases in the State cabinet attest that a reasonable progress has been made with the means appropriated to this object, and upward of a thousand duplicates have been deposited in the university at Oxford for its cabinet. Meanwhile, at their January meeting, 1854, the board of trustees had established a chair of agricultural and geological science, independent of the chair of chemistry. It was made the duty of the professor to direct and superintend the survey; to analyze soils, marls, mineral water, and such other mineral substances as might be proper to be analyzed for the benefit of the State or of its citizens; to lecture the students on natural history, and to enter the field with the assistant professor for active work whenever his duties at the university should permit. On the same day Lewis Harper, LL. D., a native of Hamburg, Germany, then teaching near Greenville, Ala., was unanimously elected to AGRICULTURAL AND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 217 the professorship.l Mr. John D. Easter was appointed assistant. He served only until July, 1855, when he resigned, and was succeeded by Eugene W. Hilgard, Ph. D. (Heidelberg), who subsequently became State geologist. Professor Wailes, in the meanwhile, was absent from the State superintending the publication of his report. There was some question as to whether the act of 1854 making provision for that work did not by implication sever his relation with the survey and the university by the demands of the new duty, but in 1856 that proposition was settled, by resolution of the board, in the negative.2 Professor Harper's report, in an incomplete condition, was laid before the board of trustees on the 16th of January, 1856. It was determined to deliver it into the hands of the governor, according to law.3 The governor, in turn, sent it to the legislature on the 6th of February, accompanied by a special message, in which he said*: The report of Professor Harper herewith submitted contains much valuable information, shows a high degree of scientific attainment on his part, and gives evidence that when the work is completed it will be one of great value to the public. The present report is only preliminary and partial, and is not designed at this time for publication, but to be embodied and published in the general report when completed.4 For the reason, presumably, that the report was incomplete, nothing was done about it by that legislature. On the 19th of August, 1856, the board of trustees requested Professor Harper to make out and hand over to the board his report of the survey, as far as the same had progressed, by the first Monday of December following, at "which time his connection with the survey and with the university shall cease." This removal seems to have been caused by a personal difference between the professor and the president of the university.5 The report, when completed, was laid before the legislature of 1856-57; there was a reference to a committee and a favorable report by that body. Thereupon was passed the act of the 31st of January, 1857, which provided for the publication of 5,000 copies of the report under the direction of the governor. This was done during the year. The outline of the report is as follows: There is, first, a geographical description of the State. Then follows a geological geography of the State. The professor then treats in great detail the Carboniferous formation, the Cretaceous formation, the Tertiary formations, and the Quarternary formations. Each of these principal topics is considered from the threefold point of view; of a lithological and palsontological description, of its national economy or materials for manufactures, and of its agriculture. Numerous notes 1 Minutes of the Board, Vol. I, pp. 209,210. 4 House Journal, 1856. 2Ibid, pp. 240, 244. 5Minutes of the Board, p. 319. 3Ibid., p. 256. 218 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. of a miscellaneous character are appended: On the origin of the Mississippi River, mines in Mississippi, kaolin, terra cotta, coprolites, petrifactions, artesian wells, rust in cotton, etc. It is, however, a crude and unsatisfactory work; evidently prepared by a man who was beyond his depth. Meanwhile, at the January meeting, 1856, of the board of trustees, a very important question had been raised as to the relations between the survey and the university, and a committee had been appointed to inquire into the expediency of disconnecting the two. The committee reported as follows: Under our present law and according to the existing system we have a principal and assistant professor of agricultural and geological sciences. The fund appropriated by the State being wholly inadequate to pay the salaries of these two professors and keep them in the field, the trustees of the university elected a principal professor whose salary was paid partly out of the money appropriated by the State for the survey and partly out of the university funds. He became, of course, a professor in the university and was assigned his appropriate duties. The assistant professor was selected with the approbation of the chief professor and kept in the field under his direction. That system did not work satisfactorily, because we found we were necessarily compelled to rely on the assistant instead of the principal for the geological report of the State. It became imperative, therefore, to send the principal professor into the field. Being paid by the State and by the university, each of course claim his services, so that the professor is part of his time in the field, which takes him away from the college, and part of his time in the lecture room, which necessarily arrests the survey. The duties of the geologist in the open field and in the lecture room are quite distinct, and in our opinion ought not to be imposed on the same man. If our State wants a geological survey made in any reasonable time it must make an adequate appropriation, select men to take the field, responsible directly to the State and its officers, and leave the university and its trustees to direct their entire attention to the subject of education; and in pursuance of this view we recommend the adoption of the following resolution: Resolved, That in the opinion of this board it is inexpedient longer to continue the geological survey of the State under the direction of the trustees of the University of Mississippi. 1 For the reasons assigned, the act of January 31, 1857, was so framed that besides providing for the publication of Harper's Report, as related, it provided alsoFirst. That the act of 1850, so far as it in any way connected the survey with the university, be repealed. Second. That the survey should be prosecuted to its completion by a State geologist, to be appointed by the governor. Third. That the State geologist should keep his office in the city of Jack son. Fourth. That appropriation be made for the purchase of necessary apparatus. Fifth. That the State geologist enter on the duties of his office on the first Monday in March, 1857. 1Minutes of the board, pp. 259-260. AGRICULTURAL AND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 219 It has been claimed that this severance between the survey and the university-which, as just shown, was a change of front on the part of the legislature-was the result of the strenuous efforts of Professor B arper, who in the meanwhile had been discharged from the university, as stated above. Proceeding under this statute, the governor appointed ex-Professor harper to the office of State geologist. He took possession of that office in March, 1857, resigning in October following. In 1858 he was succeeded by Prof. E. W. Hilgard. This gentleman, after serving about one year as assistant professor, had relinquished the situation and in 1856 taken work at the Smithsonian Institution. Returning promptly on his appointment, he entered at once on the duties of his office. Probably we have not had in the State a man more accomplished than Dr. Hilgard. Under an authority given by the governor, and by permission of the trustees, Dr. Hilgard promptly transferred all the apparatus and the laboratory of the survey from Jackson, where Dr. Harper had it, to a front room in the main building of the university, and thus the survey was again practically, though not officially, restored to its original connection with that institution. Without this restoration the work could not have been successfully conducted under the meager appropriation of the act of 1857. Dr. Hilgard at once took the field. In passing through the State he found that the survey had become extremely unpopular. This resulted from dissatisfaction with Professor Harper's work and report, and so intense was the feeling that he often found it difficult to obtain information or even civil answers to inquiries. Feeling that if something were not done to retrieve the situation the coming legislature would probably discontinue the work, Dr. Hilgard, after consultation with Governor McWillie, wrote a short "Report on the condition of the geological and agricultural survey of the State of Mississippi," of 22 pages octavo, which was printed by executive order and circulated prior to the meeting of the legislature of 1858-59. This report discussed, first, the need of the survey and its advantages; second, the causes of the slow and unsatisfactory progress lately made; third, the similar work in other States, and closed with a recommendation for the repeal of the law locating the office of the survey in Jackson and for the restoration of the office of assistant geologist, with a more reasonable compensation. There was a stormy scene in the legislature. Those members who had been instrumental in passing the act of 1857 were sore, and especially eager to have the survey wiped out. A special investigating committee was appointed. Without giving Dr. Hilgard a hearing it reported a bill to abolish the survey. In presenting the report the chairman of the committee inveighed fiercely against the alleged insolence exhibited in Dr. Hilgard's report and "his attempt to coerce the legislature by forestalling public opinion." The report of the committee would probably have beein adopted but for Dr. Hilgard's persistence 220 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. in securing a personal interview with the chairman, at which a better understanding was reached. After this the bill to abolish was not called up, and the legislature adjourned without any action.1 By an act of the legislature, approved February 8, 1860, the collection in natural history made previous to 1855 by Professor Wailes and deposited in the room of the capitol devoted to that purpose was transferred to Jefferson College and placed in the cabinet of that institution for use by the professors and students. Dr. Hilgard's official report was made to the legislature of 1859-60. The following is an outline of Dr. Hilgard's report. The work is divided into two general heads and several subordinate titles: I. THE GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE STATE: a. The Orange sand formation. b. The Carboniferous formation. c. The Cretaceous formation. (1) The Eutaw group. (2) The Tombigbee sand group. (3) The Rotten limestone group. (4) The Ripley group. d. The Tertiary formations. (1) The Northern lignitic. (2) The Claiborne group. (3) The Jackson group. (4) The Vicksburg group. (5) The Grand Gulf group. e. The Quaternary formations. II. THE AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR THE STATE: a. The principles of rational agriculture. b. The principles of agricultural chemistry. c. The agricultural features of the State. (1) The Northeastern prairie region. (2) The (Flatwoods region. (3) The Yellow loam region. (4) The Northern river counties. (5) The Southern river counties. (6) The Central prairie region. (7) The Longleaf pine region. (8) The Seacoast counties. The zealous and scientific labors of Dr. Iilgard rehabilitated the survey, and by an act of this legislature, approved February 10, 1860, it was provided that an assistant State geologist should be appointed by the governor; that the sum of $545 be appropriated to meet the expense of fitting up a chemical laboratory for making analyses in the prosecution of the survey; that 5,000 copies of Dr. Hilgard's report be published under the direction of the governor, with such diagrams and maps as he might deem necessary for its illustration; and, finally, that the State geologist might, at his election, keep his office at or near the State University, and remove thither his collections and laboratory.2 1 MS. of Dr. E. W. Hilgard. Laws of 1859-60, p. 475. AGRICULTURAL AND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 221 Dr. Hilgard immediately took advantage of this last provision, and thenceforward the university was his official as well as his actual beadquarters so long as he remained in Mississippi. The report was printed in Jackson by the State printer, but was sent to St. Louis for binding. Pending that work the civil war broke out. The binder kept it safely through the war, however, and in 1867 it was distributed by order of the legislature.' Of course the war was a serious interruption. By an act passed at the special session of August, 1861, the appropriations made for the purpose of carrying on the survey and all laws authorizing the survey were suspended until twelve months after the close of the war, except $1,200 per annum to be continued for the salary of the geologist and for the purchase of chemicals, etc., for the making of the analyses of soils. Shortly after the passage of the last-named act, and during a portion of the winter of 1861-62, the chemical labors (analyses of soils, etc.), which had until then progressed as usual, were suspended in order to complete the arrangement, labeling, and cataloguing of the collection, now consisting of about 3,000 specimens, among which were about 400 soils and marls representing the agricultural resources of the State outside of the Mississippi bottom, not yet explored. To the respectable aspect of the collection so arranged their preservation during the subsequent Federal occupation was chiefly owing. When the Confederate army retreated from Abbeville, in 1862, Dr. Hilgard remained at Oxford in order, if possible, to prevent the wanton destruction of the collection belonging to the State. It was in one of the dormitory buildings, apart from the university collection. The doctor obtained from the Federal provost-marshal an order protecting the collections, laboratory, etc., but it was only by unceasing personal vigilance that he could prevent serious injury to both. The university buildings were occupied as a Federal hospital, and the State collection was ordered to be removed to make room for the sick. Dr. Hilgard, however, so far succeeded in interesting the post surgeon in its preservation that a detail of carpenters was furnished him, by whose assistance the collection was removed to the observatory building, to which the shelves also had been removed. On the whole, very little damage was done.2 The collection in the capitol at Jackson was not so fortunate. There the shelves and cases seemed to have been swept with the butts of muskets, and the floor was strewn with broken specimens and shattered jars. Dr. Hilgard remained in the office of State geologist during the war, directing, as far as possible, the efforts to make salt and saltpeter out of such material as the State afforded, and completing the analyses of soils collected in the progress of the survey. 'House Journal of 1862-63, p. 92; Laws of 1866-67, p. 497. 'Hilgard's report to legislature, House Journal, 1862-63, Appendix, pp. 89-91. 222 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. When the war terminated, and the "twelve months thereafter," fixed by the act of 1860, had expired, the survey revived ipso facto, and on the basis of that act. But while that year was passing the university had been reorganized, and on the 25th of October, 1865, the trustees, instead of electing a professor of chemistry, geology, and mineralogy, requested Dr. Hilgard to discharge the duties of that chair ad interim, and this he did. In July, 1866, Dr. George Little, formerly professor of natural sciences in Oakland College, was appointed assistant geologist, and shortly thereafter took the field for a detailed exploration of the loess region, from Rodney to its farthest point in Louisiana. In October, 1866, Dr. Hilgard accepted the chair of chemistry in the university, and resigned the office of State geologist. Dr. Little was appointed to succeed him. At the same time the trustees requested Dr. Little, as State geologist, to lecture the students on geology and agriculture at such times as he should not be engaged in the field work of the survey. To this request the doctor acceded, and for several years lectured on those subjects. The assistant geologist at this period was Dr. Emanuel Tillman, who was followed by Col. George M. Edgar, now president of the Arkansas Industrial University. In the autumn of 1867 Dr. Little made a personal reexploration of the section of Tertiary strata afforded by the Chickasawhay River, between Enterprise and Winchester. No field work was done in the year 1868. In November of that year, however, the office of assistant geologist was most fortunately conferred on Dr. Eugene A. Smith, of Alabama (and now State geologist of that State), who had then just returned from his ~tudies in Europe. Dr. Smith's first important work was in the Yazoo bottom, and in the year 1869 he traversed it, zigzagging from the river to the bluff, from near Vicksburg to the river's head near Memphis. A report of this important exploration was made by him at the Indianapolis meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was published in the volume of proceedings for 1871 (p. 252). The outcome of his observations is that "the true river deposits of any considerable thickness are mostly confined to narrow strips of land lying on both sides of the Mississippi, and of the bayous and creeks, and of ancient channels since filled up, while a large proportion of the superficial area of the bottom, including some of the most fertile lands, is derived from clays of older formation, into which these beds have been excavated." In October, 1870, Dr. Little was called to the chair of geology and natural history in the university, and resigned his office of State geologist, when Dr. Hilgard, in order to prevent the survey from either being discontinued or committed to wrong hands, again assumed that office, taking it, however, without severing his relation with the university, and without compensation, and with a distinct understanding that he was to be under no obligation to take the field in person. AGRICULTURAL AND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 223 Through these changes Dr. Smith continued his active work. At the end of May, 1871, he undertook to trace across the State the "Silicious Claiborne" belt. His route lay from Leake County, southeasterly, to the Alabama line, along the northern contact of the problematic "red hills" and yellow sandstones with the lignitic formation; thence westward in the more southerly portion of the belt to the border of the Yazoo Bottom. In this trip he traced the connection and established the equivalence of the ferruginous formation as a local feature with the sandstones of Neshoba and Newton counties, and again the undoubted connection of these with the characteristic burstones of Lauderdale. The stratigraphical relation of these beds to those of the Jackson group were then traced by him down the edge of the bluff to Yazoo City, forming the third complete section across the Eocene, observed in Mississippi. In September, 1871, Dr. Smith resigned his office, accepting the chair of geology and mineralogy in the University of Alabama. His successor in office was Mr. R. H. Loughridge, of Texas, who had for some time previously acted as Dr. Hilgard's assistant in the department of chemistry. Mr. Loughridge prosecuted the chemical work of the survey during a part of the year 1872, and Dr. Hilgard was preparing another report covering the work done since the report of 1860, when by a ruling of the then auditor of public accounts the survey appropriation was withheld; and thus in the autumn of 1872 the work was peremptorily stopped. That work has never been revived since, although the act of 1860 has never been legally rescinded. The last enactment on the subject to be found in the statutes of the State is that of the 20th of March, 1873, wlich makes the State geologist ex officio professor of the agriculture and geology of the State, in the State University. In June, 1873, Dr. Hilgard resigned his chair in the university to accept one in the University of Michigan. Dr. Loughridge continued il charge as assistant until October, 1874, when he also resigned to accept the position of geologist to the newly organized department of agriculture in Georgia. Thus passed off the scene the last of the active workers in the survey. In the year 1875 the State geologist and the survey disappearedpassed out of sight. They seem not to have been formally and openly discontinued, but to have been subjected to a sort of legislative lettre de cachet. For quite a number of years the State expenditures had been provided for by appropriations of the most general nature-in lump sums; for instance, in 1871, the sum of $600,000 "to defray the expenses of the several departments of the State government." The State officers would distribute these sums as the statutes elsewhere found authorized. In 1875, however, an entirely new policy was adopted. The appropriation bill itemizes all the disbursements, and in the list was not included any estimate for the salary of the geologist or 224 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. the expenses of the survey. The one and the other seem thereby to have been most effectually "frozen out." At all events, they disappeared. In conclusion, however, it may well be said that the work was finished. The geological features of Mississippi are not varied or numerous. The labors of the survey were pressed sufficiently far to approach nearer to completion than in any other Southern State, except Alabama; and certainly are as full as will ever be needed for any practical use. That work was, at the time of the survey's extinction, very much further advanced than is shown by the publications. Several years of active labor remain unpublished, except so far as it has been included by Dr. Hilgard in a monograph on Mississippi in volume 5 of the Census Report of 1880. In fact, Dr. Hilgard's work in connection with this survey has given direction to his life, and (with that in Louisiana) has formed the basis of all his subsequent labors, both in geological and in agricultural science. In the matter of agricultural investigation, his Mississippi experience led him to conclusions still combated by many in regard to the functions of soil ingredients and the practical value of chemical and mechanical analyses of soils. He has, however, seen no reason to retract anything of what he then maintained. On the contrary, he claims to have found confirmation and encouragement in his later researches.' Finally, it remains to say that no instrumental topographical work was ever done in connection with the survey, partly because the law made no provision for it, and partly because the continually recurring violent barometric changes during the working season render the use of the aneroid, so useful elsewhere, very unsatisfactory where rapid work is to be done by a single person. The railroad levelings then available were fully used, and were omitted from the report of 1860 simply from considerations of brevity and economy. PROF. E. W. HILGARD. This gentleman, well known to the scientific world and to farmers as the director of the California Experiment Station, was born in Zweibriicken, Rhenish Bavaria, January 5, 1833, of distinguished parents. The elder Hilgard, becoming dissatisfied with the Government, resigned the chief-justiceship of the court of appeals and emigrated to America, settling on a farm near Belleville, Ill., where the subject of this sketch had a thorough schooling in all the details of agriculture, and where he received a superior education from his father. When 16 years old he went to Europe, and studied at Heidelberg, Zurich, and at the Academy of Mines at Freiberg in Saxony, taking the degree of doctor of philosophy at Heidelberg in 1853, at the age of 20. After two years in Spain and Portugal, he returned to America in 1855, to take charge of the chemical laboratory of the Smithsonian Institution, and lectured on chemistry at the National Medical College. In 1858 he was appointed chief geologist to Mississippi, having, however, been connected with the geological survey for some years previously. As State geologist his work was vigorously pushed forward, and in 1860 was printed his Report on the 1 Letter of Dr. Hilgard, December 13, 1888. AGRICULTURAL AND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 225 Geology and Agriculture of Mississippi, though not actually published until after the war. No other State report contains so much original matter, presented in such a clear and orderly manner, as this. Up to the time of publication of this report, the whole subject of the Cretaceous and Tertiary of the Gulf States and of their soils was, with the exception of the information contained in the two reports of Ttomey on Alabama, practically in darkness. In the light of Hilgard's Mississippi report, the study of the Cretaceous and Tertiary formations of the other Gulf States becomes a comparatively easy task. In 1860 he made a second trip to Spain and married at Madrid the daughter of Col. Manuel Bello, of the Spanish army. During the war Professor Hilgard was mainly assigned to the duty of preserving the collections at the University of Mississippi at Oxford. Continuing also the office work of the survey so far as his connection with the Confederate "niter bureau" permitted, he took a prominent part in scientific matters connected with the Confederate army, and at the close of the war resigned as geologist to become professor of chemistry in the Mississippi University. His interest in geology did not cease with his becoming professor of chemistry, and many of his most important contributions to the science of geology were made during the period from 1865 to 1873. We need mention only his papers on the Quaternary Formations of the Gulf Region; his Geological Reconnoissance of Louisiana; his articles on the Mississippi River, and its Delta and Mudlumps; his Geological History of the Gulf of Mexico, all of which are authorities on the subjects of which they treat. In the Mississippi report the soils of the State are, for the first time, adequately treated, and this was the beginning of a long line of study and investigation of the chemical and physical properties of soils, continued up to the present time and still in progress. Some of the results of these investigations have been published from time to time, such as: Soil Analyses and their Utility; Objects and Interpretation of Soil Analyses; Silt Analyses of Soils and Clays; Silt Analyses of Mississippi Soils; Flocculation of Particles. These titles will show that the position of the author in regard especially to the utility of chemical analyses of soils, first taken in his Mississippi report, has been consistently maintained through all these years. When the Mississippi report was published, with the exception of Dr. Peter, of Kentucky, Dr. Hilgard was about the only scientific man in the United States who held that it was possible to form any reliable estimate of the fertility of a soil from its chemical analysis. In the works above quoted, and particularly in the great work done by him for the Tenth Census, on cotton culture in the United States, the author has demonstrated that the chemical and physical analyses of our virgin soils properly interpreted, together with accurate observations of the timber growth, and other characters of these soils in their natural condition, furnish the data from which it is perfectly feasible to ascertain both their agricultural value and their proper treatment in cultivation. Hence he is a warm advocate for agricultural surveys, for the benefit of farmers, and is constantly urging upon the General Government to give proper attention to the bearings of geology upon agriculture, and to study the soils in their natural conditions while it is still possible to do so. One of the results of this long and laborious series of investigations has been to carry conviction to the minds of a number of the scientific men of the country, and at the present time Hilgard has a strong support both in this country and in Europe, where his work is well known and as much appreciated as it is here. An ingenious worker and an expert glass blower, he constructed himself much of the apparatus used by him in his lectures and in his soil investigations. His apparatus for the mechanical analysis of soils is the best of its kind, and appears to have overcome the difficulties which previously made such analyses valueless. It is largely used in Germany where that class of careful and thorough-going investigations is more frequently carried on than here. 21785-No. 24 15 226 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. While Dr. Hilgard was in charge of the chemical department of the University of Mississippi, laboratory work was first introduced as part of the course of instruction in chemistry. This course, though for a long time entirely optional, was taken by a number of students, some of whom have since risen to distinction, and have spread the teachings of Hilgard into other States. In geology, Hilgard was a close and accurate observer, and the sagacity with which he interpreted all the facts coming under his observation and appreciated their bearings upon the geological history of the gulf region can be fully understood only by one who has himself studied the same territory. In 1873 he accepted the chair of geology and natural history at the University of Michigan, but the climate proving too severe for his health, he accepted the professorship of agricultural chemistry at the University of California, and in the spring of 1875 moved with his family to Berkeley, Cal., where he has since resided. One of Professor Hilgard's greatest works was his report on the cotton production of the United States for the Tenth Census, in which undertaking he was given full latitude. With the aid of the State geologists and other qualified men of the cotton States, his report embraces not only the results and discussions of the census returns, but also descriptions of the physical and agricultural features of each of the fifteen States concerned. These volumes exemplify the plan according to which he would have the whole country described for the benefit of the agricultural population. Professor Hilgard has been a frequent contributor to the scientific and agricultural press. As may be inferred, he is a man of the people as well as of science, and is an indefatigable worker. The writings of Professor Hilgard are characterized by great force and clearness of expression and a sprightliness of style that make them all pleasant reading. As a correspondent, whether on scientific or personal matters, his bright fancies and delicate touches of fun make him the peer of Thackeray. In conversation, he is bright, animated, and sympathetic, with a quickness of apprehension that puts him in possession of your meaning almost before it is expressed in words. Professor Hilgard is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and of other scientific bodies. In 1884 the degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by the University of Mississippi. The same was received by him from Columbia College on the occasion of the celebration of the centennial anniversary of that institution in 1887. Subsequently, in the same year, the same honor was conferred upon him by the University of Michigan, at the celebration of its semicentennial anniversary.' 1 Sketch by Professor Smith, State geologist, Alabama. AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. Chapter XI. THE AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. Post-office, "Agricultural College, Miss." THE AGRICULTURAL LAND-SCRIP FUND. This fund, prominent in the history of several of the State institutions, is a donation of the United States Government. On the 2d of July, 1862, was approved an act of Congress entitled "An act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts." It gave to each State an amount of land equal to 30,000 acres for each Senator and Representative in Congress to which it was entitled under the census of 1860. The proceeds of the donation were directed to be " invested in stocks of the United States or of the States, or of some other safe stocks, yielding not less than 5 per cent interest; and shall constitute a perpetual fund, the capital of which shall remain forever undiminished; and the interest from which shall be inviolably appropriated to the endowment, maintenance, and support of at least one college, where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies or military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life." By a joint resolution of the Mississippi legislature, approved October 30, 1866, this offered donation was accepted by the State on the terms and conditions prescribed, and the governor was requested to take the steps necessary to secure the same. On January 24, 1867, in his message to the legislature then in session, Governor Humphreys says: On the 24th of November, 1866, I addressed a letter to the Commissioner of the General Land Office at Washington City, informing him of the acceptance by the legislature of Mississippi of the terms of the grant of land by Congress for the establishment of an agricultural and mechanical college, and requested to be informed if any further legislation was needed to secure the scrip. I have received no reply to this communication. I understand, however, that the Federal Government has suspended further issuance of the scrip to any of the Southern States.' The grant was refused to the State on the plea that the time within which application should have been made had elapsed. In April, 1871, Senate Journal, 1866, Appendix, p. 95. 227 228 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Governor Alcorn visited Washington, in order to bring the subject more strongly before the honorable the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary suggested action by the legislature; that being made satisfactory, he thought he would issue the scrip. Governor Alcorn then returned to Jackson and recommended the act which was approved May 13, 1871.1 The substance of the act is this: 1. The governor was authorized to receive the scrip and receipt for it; also, by the consent of the lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, and attorney-general, or a majority of them, to sell the scrip foi cash at a minimum of 60 cents on the dollar, and to invest the proceeds in bonds of the United States or of the State, bearing not less than 5 per cent interest. 2. These bonds should be a perpetual fund, whose principal shall remain forever undiminished, save so far as authorized by the act of Congress. 3. That the bonds should be placed in the State treasury for safekeeping, two-fifths to the credit of the University of Mississippi and three-fifths to the credit of a university to be dedicated to the education of youths of color, and the interest therefrom be paid to the two universities in the proportions specified, on condition that they shall each establish, and apply the said interest to the maintenance of, a college of agriculture and the mechanic arts, including a machine shop, model farm, a chemical laboratory, and a chair of agricultural chemistry.2 On the same day Alcorn College was incorporated for the education of colored youth, and section 9 of its charter vested in it the ownership of the three-fifths of the fund, as above stated.3 This disposition of the prdceeds of the scrip seems to have been satisfactory to the Secretary. Says Governor Alcorn further: "On account of delay at the office of the Secretary of the Interior at Washington, the scrip was not ready for delivery until the 21st of September following, at which time I received at the office of the Secretary of the Interior 1,312 pieces of scrip, amounting to 209,920 acres.4 In July, 1871, the scrip was sold at 90 cents per acre. The purchaser paid in installments, and by the 1st of January, 1874, the entire amount, $188,928, had been paid. This amount had been invested in State bonds and deposited in the treasury: To the credit of the University of Mississippi, $95,000 thereof were assigned; to that of Alcorn University, $123,150. By a fortunate purchase of State warrants in 1874, at a discount, with the proceeds of bonds which had matured and been paid, followed by an exchange of the warrants for other State bonds, the fund was increased to $227,150. ' Governor Alcorn to Governor Powers, House Journal, 1872, p. 303. 'Laws of 1871, p. 704. 3Ibid., pp. 716-720. 4Governor Alcorn to Governor Powers, supra. AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. 229 Up to January 1, 1875, the interest on the bonds was paid in the proportion of three-fifths to the Alcorn University, and two-fifths to the University of Mississippi; but the general appropriation bill of that year required the interest to be thereafter divided between the two institutions equally, which was done. Meanwhile the whole fund had been in the utmost peril. There was no Planters' Bank this time to devour every charitable fund in the land; but there was a railroad in nubibus equally seductive and dangerous. On the 18th of April, 1873, was approved "An act to aid in the construction of the Vicksburg and Nashville Railroad." The substance of it was that this fund, with another, should be exclusively devoted to the construction of that railroad, to be paid over at the rate of $8,000 per mile for each completed mile on the receipt of the company's obligation therefor, bearing 8 per cent interest, secured by a deposit of the company's first-mortgage bonds of equal amount. The issuance of the funds to that company under the act was enjoined, but the injunction was finally dissolved by the supreme court, on the idea that it was for the State to determine the question of the propriety of the investments thereof as well as the safety of them; and the legislative decision on those points was final. But in the act itself there was a saving clause. It provided that if at any time the legislature should deem the securities of the company insufficient the company might be compelled to give such additional securities as might be demanded. The injunction had served to delay the matter, at all events. The foregoing decision was rendered at the October term, 1875. Legal remedies having failed, some other recourse had to be resorted to in order to save this great interest. Accordingly, in his annual message, of date 4th of January, 1876, Governor Ames says to the legislature: "I also recommend the repeal of so much of an act entitled 'An act to aid in the construction of the Vicksburg and Nashville Railroad,' approved April 18, 1873, as surrenders to the Vicksburg and Nashville Railroad Company, under certain conditions, trust funds known as the 3 per cent and the agricultural land scrip, which amount to some $320,000." The governor then sets forth at considerable length the reasons for that recommendation. Pursuant to this suggestion an act to secure the funds was passed and approved April 1, 1876. It declared the securities offered by the company insufficient (here came in the saving clause), and directed that before any of said funds should be delivered to the company it should deposit, as additional collateral, State bonds to an amount equal to the sum demanded; that if the company should fail to comply, within sixty days from the passage of the act, with the foregoing provisions, so far as related to the amount due on the completion of the first 5 miles of the road, none of the funds should ever be paid over to it; that if the company failed to comply with the foregoing requirements all the bonds 230 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. and warrants belonging to the fund should be canceled, as paid, and the State debited with their amount on the treasurer's books.' lNeedless to say that the company never complied with the conditions of the act, and the fund was saved. That was a foregone conclusion. THE AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE ESTABLISHED. On the 28th of February, 1878, was passed and approved "An act to establish and organize agricultural and mechanical colleges, and to regulate the government of the same." Its main provisions were: 1. To reorganize Alcorn University into an agricultural college, under the name of "The Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi." 2. To establish an agricultural college for the education of the white youth of the State, to be known as "The Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi."7 3. To set apart for the use of the two colleges, in equal proportions, the interest of the agricultural land scrip fund, thereby excluding the University of Mississippi from any further participation in that fund. The principal provisions of the charter are, so far as they relate to this institution, as follows: First. The board of trustees are granted all the power that is necessary and proper for the accomplishment of the trust reposed in them, viz, the establishment and maintenance of a first-class institution, at which the youth of the State of Mississippi may acquire a common-school education and a scientific and practical knowledge of agriculture, horticulture, and the mechanic arts; also of the proper growth and care of stock, without, however, excluding other scientific and classical studies, including military tactics. They are also authorized to regulate the course of study, rates of tuition, management of the experimental farm, the manner of performing labor, and the kind of labor to be performed by the students, together with the course of discipline necessary to enforce the faithful discharge of the duties of all officers, professors, and students. Second. They are further required, immediately after their organization, to proceed to procure, by purchase or donation, a site for the location of the said Agricultural and Mechanical College, with an experimental farm thereto attached of not less than 160 acres of land. In the selection of the said site and experimental farm the trustees shall look to the convenience of the people of every section of the State, the proximity of the proposed site to other public institutions supported in whole or in part by the State, with a view to giving the preference to localities least favored heretofore, and also the facilities for going to and from said college, the advantages and disadvantages of the different sites proposed, and shall locate the same at the place where most advantages are offered. Under this requirement the institution was located at Starkville, in Oktibbeha County, the citizens of that town contributing to it the sum of $9,000. The half of the fund secured to this institution by the charter was $113,575. Of this amount $15,000 was used in the purchase of lands for the college site and fields, leaving in hand the balance of $98,575, paying an interest total of $4,928.75, which is all that is derived from this source. ' Laws of 1876, p. 64. AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. 231 LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT. By the terms of the Federal act donating the lands to the States, no part of the land-scrip fund or the interest derived from it can be used, directly or indirectly, under any pretense whatever to the purchase, erection, preservation, or repair of any building or buildings, as the income from the fund can only be used as far as it goes toward meeting other expenses. The State, by accepting the gift, incurs the obligation to provide buildings, equipments, and the additional support necessary. The State has liberally carried out its obligations, and by appropriation has provided the necessary buildings, grounds, equipment, and support. The appropriations made by the State have been as set forth in the following table: 1880.-.....-..$......... —. $85, 000 1886.-............ -—...... ---. $50, 000 1882. —..... ---.. ---........... 120, 000 1888 -......... —. — - 35, 320 1884-.-... ----... ---. --------- 65,000 1890..................-....... 58, 760 The large appropriations of 1880 and 1882 were made to provide the necessary grounds, buildings, and equipment, and to provide for the support of the college until.the winter of 1883-84. The last three were given for general support. The great reduction of 1888 was due to a feeling of discontent which had become quite prevalent in the State because of heavy expenditures and alleged high taxation, which produced quite a general cutting down of appropriations. THE RESULTS OF REDUCED APPROPRIATION. The previous success of the college was conceded and the large attendance had attracted universal attention, and so soon as the action of the legislature was known the authorities of similar institutions in other States at once began holding out inducements to the faculty to leave the institution, offering large increase of salary. As a result, four professors, two assistant professors, and six tutors left for betterpaying positions. The institution was also so unfortunate as to lose one professor by resignation and another by expiration of detail (United States officer), making a change in the faculty and assistants of fourteen in little over one year. In one chair (agriculture) there were three professors during that period, involving a change of management incident to the personality of the three gentlemen, doing away with responsibility as to results and destroying the accuracy of experiments, for they were also employed by the experiment station. Tempting offers for changes to other States were also made to other members of the old faculty, but they elected to stand by the institution, believing a more liberal policy would be adopted for the future. The reduced appropriations put it out of the power of the trustees to fill the vacancies with experienced professors, and they had to employ young graduates of the college (mostly) in the places of the trained men who had contributed so much to making the institution a success. It was found, however, that even these young graduates could not be retained at the reduced salaries. One was taken at a salary of $2,000 by a railroad company and put in charge of a model farm in Georgia; another to a better paying position in a permanent business. These sudden and rapid changes amounted almost to a reorganization of the college. The two sessions have been a period of great strain, retarding and setting back the progress and usefulness of the institution. To have come out with a full college attendance is proof of its real worth, its thorough organization, and the unselfish labor of its trustees and faculty. It has demonstrated fully by actual test that a man or commodity is worth wAhat he or it will bring ou the market. * * 232 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. To prevent a complete disorganization of the college the board of trustees arranged for the president and members of the faculty to perform certain duties in connection with the experiment station, and to have their salaries supplemented out of the station fund. This arrangement not having worked satisfactorily to the college employees or to the station, will have to be changed, except in one or two cases. DESTRUCTIVE FIRES. The college, after going through two years of the severest strain it could be subjected to, had, at the beginning of the session of 1889-90, four destructive fires. The two-story college barn was burned the week of the opening (September 22); the president's house October 15; the lower college barn (23 miles off) October 23, and the mess hall for students November 16. In the nine previous years the college had not had a single fire involving any loss. This alone would indicate that the burning was incendiary. The losses by those fires amounted to $10,000. There was $2,500 insurance on the mess hall and $500 on range and fixtures. The insurance will replace the lower story of the mess hall and the range, and this was done. THE OBJECTS AND PURPOSES OF THE COLLEGE. The acts of the General and State governments plainly define the objects of the college. The "leading object" must be "to benefit agriculture and the mechanic arts;" should studies be taught, other than such as relate to these interests, they are to be considered secondary, and rather as means by which to comprehend more readily the sciences underlying agriculture and the mechanic arts. The instruction at this college must be such as to educate and direct the minds and tastes of students to agriculture, horticulture, care and growth of stock, management of farms, manner of performing labor, and to the mechanic arts The college is not to be in the strictest sense either literary, classical, or military; but, rather, it is to be a college in which the industrial classes shall be given a general education combined with such scientific and practical knowledge as will make them familiar with the nature of the objects and the forces with which they have to deal. This necessitates that special stress should be laid on such sciences as underlie agriculture, viz, chemistry, botany, geology, zoology, entomology, physiology, mechanics, mathematics, physics, etc. To understand these sciences properly a very liberal culture, especially in English, is requisite. The various conditions contributing to an intelligent understanding of agriculture as a science and an art comprehend an education as broad and liberal as that needed in mastering any profession. This education, however, must of necessity differ in kind. Students, whose education is intended to promote the interests designated in the acts, must omit some studies taught in other colleges, looking to general or special training. This education, too, is to be practical and industrial; students must not only be familiar with farms and labor, but they must also labor themselves, and in this labor find a part of their education, the object of which is to create a taste for agricultural pursuits, and to fix and preserve habits of industry. ' * * The trustees have established a preparatory and a collegiate course, which will afford the youth of the State ample means of acquiring, in accordance with the law, a thorough, elementary education and a scientific and practical knowledge of agriculture, together with a theoretical knowledge of the mechanic arts. * * * It is the only college or school in the State that instructs in the theory and practice of agriculture. This instruction is given to every student, commencing with the elementary principles of agriculture which are taught to preparatory students. By easy gradation, as they advance in general culture, the college classes rise to the mastery of the sciences which underlie agriculture and the mechanic arts, and thus become well grounded in botany, geology, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, and AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. 233 veterinary science; gaining, in fact, a thorough understanding of the application and relation of such sciences to agriculture, considered both as a science and as an art. In addition to the class-room instruction, students work on the farm, in the barns, in the creamery, in the garden, and on the grounds, thereby applying what they learn from bocks and lectures and fixing this knowledge more clearly and firmly in their minds. The State has not yet given the means for properly instructing the students in the mechanic arts, although the board of trustees has asked for shops for wood and iron works, and their necessary equipment.1 / COURSE OF STUDY. PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT. English grammar and composition, penmanship, declamation, arithmetic, elements of bookkeeping, algebra to equations of the first degree, geography, United States history, and agriculture. Text books: Patterson's Elements of Grammar and Composition, Raub's Practical English Grammar, Thomson's Complete Arithmetic, Maury's Manual of Geography, Barnes's Brief U. S. History, Peck's Manual of Algebra, Gulley's First Lessons in Agriculture, supplemented by lectures. COLLEGIATE DEPARTMENT. FRESHMAN. First term.-Drawing, algebra, English, natural philosophy. Second term. —Algebra, English, agriculture, horticulture. Third term.-Etymology, algebra, bookkeeping, English, history. Declamations and compositions through the entire session. SOPHOMORE. First term.-Chemistry, drawing, geometry, rhetoric. Second term.-Rhetoric, geometry, chemistry, geology. Preparation of addresses on scientific and industrial subjects. Third term. —Trigonometry, agriculture, botany, chemistry. Delivery of addresses contesting for places at commencement. JUNIOR. First term.-Surveying, anatomy and physiology, horticulture, Constitution of United States (6 weeks), criticism (6 weeks). Preparation and delivery of addresses on scientific and industrial subjects. Second term.-Mechanics, chemistry, veterinary science, political economy. Preparation and delivery of addresses on scientific and industrial subjects. Third term.-General history, military science and tactics, entomology, mechanics. Preparation and delivery of addresses, contesting for places at commencement. Afternoon work in chemical laboratory, and with steam engine, 10 hours per week, November 15 to February 15. SENIOR. First term.-Literature, zoology, drawing, chemistry. Preparation and delivery of addresses on scientific and industrial subjects. Second term.-Botany, civil engineering, literature, chemistry. Preparation and delivery of addresses on scientific and industrial subjects. Third term.-Agriculture, astronomy, moral science (6 weeks). Preparation and delivery of addresses, contesting for places at commencement. 'Catalogue of 1890-91. 234 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. POST GRADUATE. Biology.-Mycology, fertilization and cross fertilization, relation of insects and plants, histology, zoology, including embryology, with monthly written discussions, under direction of professor of biology. Agriculture.-Principles of stock breeding and feeding, theory of drainage, cultivation, curing and marketing crops, improvement of soil and manure supply. The student will be required to take charge of field and feeding experiments, dairy and general farm work, under direction of the professor of agriculture. Horticulture.-Pomology, floriculture, landscape gardening, forestry, geographic botany, econonomic botany, management of greenhouses, under the direction of professor of horticulture. Chemistry.-Chemistry applied in the analysis of soils, plants, foods, animal tissues and products, feeding, water and other drinks, under the direction of the professor of chemistry. English.-A course of reading in English prose and poetry, embracing entire works, logic, and mental science, with monthly written essays, under the direction of the professor of English. Mathematics.-Analytical geometry, differential and integral calculus, applied mechanics, and civil engineering. DEGREES. The degree of Bachelor of Science is conferred upon students who complete the college curriculum by passing all the required examinations. The degree of master of science is conferred on any student who has taken the bachelor's degree in this college or in any other college with equivalent courses, and who pursues and completes the post-graduate course herein prescribed. Each candidate for the master's degree will be required to take the course in English, under the direction of the professor of English, and any one of the scientific courses the candidate may select. The amount of work to be performed must be equivalent to two years' work in the undergraduate course and will be determined by the faculty; and the degree will be conferred only after the candidate shall have passed an approved examination and shall have written a thesis on some subject connected with his industrial or scientific course which shall be accepted by the faculty. While these post-graduate courses are open to the graduates of other colleges, such students will be required to pay the usual matriculation fee; and in case chemistry or biology is selected, each student will be charged for the chemicals and materials used. At the last meeting of the board of trustees the honorary degree of master of progressive agriculture, M. P. A., was established. DEPARTMENTS OF INSTRUCTION. AGRICULTURE. J. H. CONNELL, Professor and Superintendent of Farm. It is the purpose of this department to give such practical and theoretical instruction to all students of the college that the accumulated facts and experience will do much to give a fair understanding of all the workings of a diversified farm following various lines of work and conducting important experiments with field crops, forage plants, stock food, etc. Class-room instruction is given to freshman, sophomore, and senior classes by text-book and lectures to each. Freshman class (second term).-History, characteristics, and care of the breeds of live stock, and their adaptation to the South. Elements of stock feeding and dairying. AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. 235 Sophomore class (third term).-Breeding live stock, principles of drainage, excess of soil water affecting crops, surface and subsoil drains, laying tile and sewer pipe, hillside ditching, contamination of wells and cisterns, washing soils, field lessons in farm machinery, cultivation and rotation of crops, farm buildings. Senior class (third term).-Principles and practice of stock feeding, selection of foods, rational feeding, manures, essential elements, application, green manures and composts, adaptation of crops to soil, special crops, diversified farming, intensive versus extensive farming, farm economy. Instruction in this department is not limited to the class room. Knowledge is gained by the student in the regular work in the fields and in an intimate association during the entire course with a large and well-equipped stock farm, with 400 acres of cultivated land, many pure-bred cattle, a creamery in active operation, with all of which he comes in contact. The department in all its branches is under the immediate supervision of the professor of agriculture, which fact affords opportunities to illustrate by actual practice the theories taught in the class room. The compulsory student-labor system is made a prominent feature, and is considered educational, not only in teaching the student how to do certain things, but also in making him familiar with the various industrial operations of the institution by becoming interested in them. To assist in meeting expenses students are required to labor from two to three hours each day, at 8 cents per hour, three to five days in the week, limited by money appropriated for this purpose. This is compulsory to the extent that each student must perform a prescribed minimum amount of labor. With ordinary weather this will enable the student to earn about $25 a year. Some students have earned as niuch as $50. Money so earned must be credited on their account for board. Students can also labor on Saturday, and very frequently they can work longer than three hours daily during the week. Those who do this earn much more, and it goes far toward meeting their expenses. To illustrate the varieties of breeds a herd is provided, enabling the student to become familiar with the work of caring for several hundred animals, as well as to study the peculiarities of the various breeds. Opportunity is given the student to compare the " theory " of agriculture with the "practice; " he soon becomes an interested critic, and is enabled to judge with considerable accuracy as to the value of the principles taught in relation to the art. At the close of the course in agriculture, questions pertaining to the details of the entire work of the farm constitute a part of the regular examination. DAIRY HUSBANDRY. A special course in dairy husbandry is provided, covering the theory of breeding dairy stock, feeding for milk, and of making and shipping milk, cream, butter, and cheese, and the practical method of working in different sections of the country. On written application practical work in the college creamery, combined with the study of principles, will be given free to students and others who desire to fit themselves for taking charge of creameries in the State. Means of illustration.-Corn, cotton, hay, and live stock are the products of the 1,200 acres comprising 'the farm. Students are brought in immediate contact with 300 head of cattle, including Holsteins, Jerseys, Herefords, Devons, and Galloways; a full and complete outfit of farm machinery and implements, including steam engines, cane mill, evaporator, feed mills, fanning mill, ensilage cutter, Kemp's manure spreader, reaper, mowers, hay loader, roller, grain drills, corn and cotton planters, and a variety of plows, harrows, and cultivators for one, two, and three mule teams, from the principal manufacturers of the country; the growing of crops adapted to this latitude; experiments with corn, cotton, ensilage, grasses and manures. Access is given to all the results reached by the various experiment stations 236 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. of the United States, as well as those of the State station located at this college; to a working creamery, with full outfit of the best machinery, including the De Laval cream separator. Butter is made and forwarded to market daily during the year. The library contains works of reference on all branches of agriculture and allied sciences, and the reading room is supplied with the best agricultural papers and periodicals published in the country. HORTICULTURE. BEN. W. SAFFOLD, Acting Professor and Superintendent of Garden and Orchards. Instruction in horticulture is given by text-books, supplemented by lectures, during the first two terms of the collegiate year. Freshman class (second term).-Instruction in the class room is given on the following topics: Preparation and location of garden and orchard lands; the preparation and application of manures, and the adaptability of different fertilizers to the crops of the truck farmer; drainage of garden lands; construction and management of hot beds and cold frames; how and when to plant; different methods of propagating plants; description of the more common insects injurious to fruits and vegetables, and how to control them. Junior class (first term).-Instruction in class room is given on the following topics: Garden, orchard, and nursery economy; varieties adapted to different soils and latitudes; improvement of plants; pruning and training of trees and vines; the best method of harvesting, packing, and shipping fruits and vegetables; when and where to ship; preservation of seeds; management of greenhouses; care of ornamental grounds; propagation and culture of forest trees. While at work in the garden and orchard the students become familiar with the growth and habits of the different plants cultivated, thus getting practical and valuable information that could not be obtained in any other way. BIOLOGY AND GEOLOGY. G. C. CREELMAN, Acting Professor. Sophomore class (second term).-Anatomy and physiology are taught by lectures, illustrated by skeletons, mounted and unmounted; models, manikins, fine life-sized drawings, colored from nature; alcoholic preparations and dissections, showing the comparative structures of the organs of sense, digestion, circulation, respiration, locomotion, etc., their situation, their appearance in health and disease, their interdependence and their relation to hygiene. Third term: Botany, structural, physiological, descriptive, and economic, is taught practically, the class making dissections under the microscope and analyzing from 70 to 100 fresh plants. Junior class (first term).-Geology is taught in its relations to lithology, mineralogy, soils and its agricultural, architectural, and other economic applications. Second term: This term is occupied by lectures on breeds, breeding, and management of sound and sick animals, with examinations of them by the class. Third term: Economic entomology, text-book supplemented by lectures. Senior class (first term).-To zoology, in its various phases of development from the microbe to man, one hour is given daily. In these studies students have the use of skeletons, plates, thousands of specimens, twelve high-power compound microscopes of modern construction, and recent improved accessories. Second term: The study of botany is resumed with special reference to development, tissues, morphology, and microscopic organisms in their relations to health and disease. AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. 237 CHEMISTRY. W. L. HUTCHINSON, Professor. Instruction in this department is given by means of lectures, illustrated by experiments, recitations in text-books, and practical work in the laboratory. The course of study embraces general chemistry, agricultural chemistry, and industrial chemistry. Sophomore class (entire session).-This class studies general chemistry (five hours per week). This study embraces the principles of chemistry, the history, preparation, and properties of the elementary forms of matter, the manufacture and uses of their most important compounds, and organic chemistry. Qualitative analysis is studied the last term. Junior class (second term and six weeks of third term).-This class studies agricultural chemistry (five hours per week). This embraces a study of the origin and constitution of soils, the composition, growth, and the feeding of plants, and the manufacture and application of fertilizers and manures. Qualitative and quantitative analyses constitute the practical work of this class. Senior class (entire session).-This class studies industrial and agricultural chemistry (five hours per week). Plant growth, fertilizers, stock feeding, the occurrence of ores and minerals, the extraction of metals, their properties and uses; the preparation of articles for food and drink, for clothing, for heating, adorning, etc.; the chemistry of combustion and of multiple effect evaporation; the analyses of soils, fertilizers, and feeding stuffs constitute the study and work of this class. A fee of $5 per year is charged each student in the analytical laboratory to cover expense of chemicals, gas, etc., used by students. Each student in the laboratory is furnished with a complete set of apparatus for performing experiments and making analyses. Any apparatus broken by student is charged to him. The freshman class is given a three months' course in physics. ENGLISH. W. H. MAGRUDER, Professor. The primary object of this department is to give the student a practical knowledge of English, and with it the liberal culture that necessarily follows a thorough study of language. To this end it proposes1. To give (a) a critical knowledge of our vernacular in its grammatical and idiomatic constructions; to give (b) a general knowledge of its etymological history and the history of its relation to other languages; and to give (c) such knowledge of the history of its literature as can be acquired in the short time allowed for its study. 2. To present an outline of the history of general literature; and to teach the elements of criticism, and their practical application. 3. To give an accurate knowledge of English history, and a general knowledge of the history of the world. To accomplish the purpose stated above the following course of study has been adopted: Freshman class.-In the freshman year the English sentence is carefully studied for two terms in its simple, complex, and compound forms; in its punctuation, its analysis/ its style, and its relation to the other sentences of the paragraph. During the third term the history of the English people is studied topically. By means of maps and lectures, by discussions and debates, and by the use of a variety of text-books, interest in this important study is sought to be awakened and maintained. During the same term the class pursues the study of English etymology in conjunction with the history of our tongue. 238 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Lectures on elocution are given during the first term; and letter writing, the reproduction of lectures, composition, and declamation are exercises which are required weekly throughout the entire session. Ancient biography constitutes the collateral reading of this class, special prominence being given to the biographies of scientific men and of men who have influenced the industries of the world. Sophomore class.-During the second collegiate year the sophomore class pursues the study of rhetoric for two terms (first and second), discussing the subject of (1) style (a) under the various subdivisions of concord, clearness, unity, energy, and harmony in the construction of the sentence; and (b) the origin and use of figures; (2) they review punctuation and capitals; (3) they study the different kinds of composition; and (4) they acquire the principles of real, logical, verbal, and aesthetic criticism in literature-the whole being practically applied during the third term in the preparation of addresses on industrial topics. These addresses are delivered before the faculty and the corps of students competing for places at commencement. Modern biography constitutes the collateral reading of this class, under the same limitations as in the freshman year. Junior class.-In the first term the juniors review the etymological history of the English language and its relation to other languages, studying at the same time the history of its literature, and thus is given to the student simultaneously a knowledge of the changes through which our language has passed and the authors who illustrate the different periods. In the second term they study the history of universal literature, the object being to give only a bird's-eye view of this vast field. In the third term universal history is studied by this class, the text-book being supplemented by lectures, maps, and illustrations of various kinds. One' original address on an industrial or scientific subject is delivered before the faculty by every member of the class each term; and each month one extended essay on an assigned subject is read by every member before the class, and is criticised by the class and by the professor. Collateral reading is confined to English and American classics. Senior class.-During the second term of the fourth year the members of this class study criticism five hours per week. The instruction is given by text-books, lectures, and the reading, in class, of some standard work. Instruction in political economy (first term) and in constitutional law (six weeks of last term) is for the present given to the senior class by the professor in charge of the department of English. During the session seven extended essays on assigned subjects are read by each member before the class, and these essays are criticised by the class and by the professor. Two addresses (each) on industrial or scientific subjects are delivered before the faculty and corps of students, and one address (competing for a place at commencement) is delivered by each member of the class before the faculty. Post-graduate class.-During the first term of each year the study of logic or psychology is pursued, the one alternating with the other. The remaining terms are devoted to the reading of English classics, which are reported upon monthly by means of written essays. MATHEMATICS. B. M. WALKER, Professor. The object of this department is to furnish thorough and practical instruction in the branches of pure and applied mathematics which it embraces. Freshmnan class (three terms).-This class studies algebra the entire session, devoting the first term to the fundamental operations of algebra, equations of first degree, and the solution of groups of simultaneous equations; the second and third terms to formation of powers, radical equations, ratio and proportion, and general theory of equations. AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. 239 This class has also a course in bookkeeping during the third term. In this study the students write up as many exercises as time will permit, thus making the course as practical as possible. Sophomore class (three terms).-This class studies plane and solid geometry during the first and second terms, with numerous exercises for original solution. The third term is devoted to plane, analytical, and spherical trigonometry, with applications. Junior class (three terms).-This class studies surveying during the first term. The use of the field instruments for the surveyor and engineer is carefully explained in the section room and minutely illustrated on the field. The class is then carefully instructed in the best methods of land, city, trigonometrical, topographical, and mining surveying, leveling, railway curves, and underground traversing. The field notes, obtained from actual field work by the students, are used in teaching how the office or indoor work is done. The students themselves use the instruments, make the measurements, calculate the areas, plot the work, and construct the maps. During the second and third terms this class studies analytical geometry and mechanics. The former is short and given by lectures. Mechanics is then studied the remainder of the session. The composition, resolution, and equilibrium of forces, rectilinear and periodic, curvilinear and rotary motion, elementary machines, and mechanics of liquids and gases, with original exercises, are carefully studied. Senior class (two terms).-This class has no mathematics the first term. The second term and half the third are devoted to the study of civil engineering. The instruction is given partly by lectures and partly by the use of a text-book. The adjustments of mathematical instruments, strength of materials, roof and bridge trusses, railway curves, excavations and embankments, suggestions as to field work and location projects, and track problems are carefully and minutely studied. The students handle the instruments and make all the measurements and calculations and draw their own plans and maps. The remainder of the session is devoted to astronomy. The instruction in the department of mathematics is conveyed partly by lectures and partly by the systematic study of approved text-books. The progress of each student in the different classes is tested constantly by his being called upon to apply the principles acquired to the independent solutions of original problems. MILITARY SCIENCE AND TACTICS. Lieut. JOHN V. WHITE, First Artillery, UT. S. A., Professor. THEORETICAL INSTRUCTION. Junior class (third term).-Recitations and lectures in the drill regulations of the U. S. Army, the preparation of the usual reports and returns pertaining to a company, the organization and administration of the U. S. Army, and the elementary principles governing in the art of war. PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION. Sophomore class.-Service, etc., of the field piece (artillery). ll classes.-Infantry drills, including schools of the soldier, company, and battalion, ceremonies, target practice, guard duty, etc. ARMS AND AMMUNITION. Two 3-inch field guns. Two hundred and fifty Springfield rifles, cal..45, and infantry accoutrements. Ball and blank cartridges for small arms and blank cartridges for field pieces. BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. The college buildings are situated on both sides of the branch of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, which extends from Artesia to Starkville, 1l miles from the latter 240 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. place. The grounds about the buildings are being rendered as attractive as possible by the laying out of drives and the planting of grass and ornamental and shade trees. The academic building, 127 by 70 feet, has three stories and a basement. The upper story consists of six rooms used as class rooms by the professors of agriculture and horticulture, the instructors in the preparatory department, and the instructor in drawing. The second story consists also of six rooms; serving as class rooms for the professors of English and mathematics, except. one reserved for the safekeeping of the mathematical instruments. The first floor contains the chapel or assembly room, and the offices of the president and secretary. In the basement the horticulture department has its grafting room and tool rooms. The dormitory, 275 by 140 feet, is a three-story building capable of accommodating 250 students. The first floor contains the library, museum, lecture room of the professor of biology, commandant's quarters, and writing room. On the second floor are students' rooms and the guardroom and armory. The third floor consists wholly of rooms occupied by students. The chemical laboratory is a two-story brick building, well ventilated, and supplied with convenient fixtures, gas, and water. The lower story, consisting of seven rooms, is used for practical analytical work for the State and for the experiment station. The second story, consisting of five rooms, is used for class instruction. The mess hall, 80 by 60 feet, is a one-story frame building, containing a large dining hall for 300 students; and to the rear of this, the kitchen, bakery, and storerooms used by the steward are situated. The hospital is a one-story frame building, containing four large and four small rooms. Besides these there are residences for the president, professors of agriculture, chemistry, English, mathematics, horticulture, preparatory department; also for the director of experiment station, secretary, surgeon, and steward. The value of land, buildings, and equipment is about $188,617. THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. By an act of Congress approved March 2, 1887, an annual sum of $15,000 was donated to each State for the establishment of an agricultural experiment station in connection with such college or colleges as might have been established in such State under the act of July 2, 1862. In States having two such colleges the fund is to be divided, unless the legislature shall direct that all of it shall go to one. On the 31st of January, 1888, the legislature of Mississippi passed an act accepting this donation, directing the whole fund to be expended under the direction of this institution, and authorizing the trustees to set apart for the use of such station so much of the land and other property of the college as they may, from time to time, deem necessary. Although a department of the college, the work of the station is entirely distinct, the station having its separate working force, its own teams, buildings, tools, etc., and accounts of its expenditures being sent to the Secretary of the Treasury at Washington for final approval. The work of the station furnishes continual object lessons to the students, and in this way is an advantage to the college. The farm department is especially benefited by the station work, as it is thus relieved of the large amount of experiment work which was formerly required, and which involved great expenditure of time and money, while the station finds its work furthered in many ways by its location at the college. AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. 241 The act establishing the station requires (section 4) the publication of an annual report and bulletins as often as once each quarter. Up to this time the station has published one annual report and ten bulletins, which are sent free of charge to all farmers in this State who apply for them, and to which reference is made for further details of the station work. These publications have been as follows: Date. Subject. 1. Mar. 21,1888................................... Organization. 2. May 20,1888......................... Cotton worm. 3. June 20,1888....................................... Analyses of commercial fertilizers. 4. Nov. 7,1888........................................ Marls of Mississippi. 5. May 20,1889....................................... Fertilizers. 6. June 25,1889...................................... Charbons. 7. June 20,1889.................... Hay presses. 8. Aug. 30,1889.................................... Stock feeding. 9. Aug. 30,1889............................... Diseases of sheep and calves. Bitterweed. 10. Oct. 10,1889..................................... Dishorning. Feb. 1,1889........................................ First annual report. FARMERS' INSTITUTES AND OUTSIDE WORK. The board of trustees have for several years set aside $500 and directed the faculty to hold "farmers' institutes" with the farmers in the different parts of the State, and to otherwise assist the farming interest of the State. There has been great demand for this kind of work-more than the faculty could do or than the money set aside for this purpose would warrant. At these gatherings of the farmers the faculty or individual members discussed such topics as the farmers themselves selected and thought would most benefit their respective localities. These meetings have been productive of good in inculcating a more careful system of farming. The correspondence of the members of the faculty on agricultural topics and in supplying desired information is a very considerable part of the duties to be performed by the college. The institution is really every year becoming more and more an official bureau of information to the farming interests of the State. DISCIPLINE. A military organization and drill is one, of the features of the institution. The discipline is directly administered by an officer of the United States Army, a graduate of West Point, detailed for that service. MILITARY EQUIPMENT. The college received from the United States 150 stand of cadet rifles and accouterments and 2 rifled cannon; from the State, 100 stand of cadet rifles and accouterments-total, 250 stand. LIBRARY AND READING ROOM. The library is totally inadequate to the wants of the college at its present stage of progress. It includes 3,099 volumes, of which about one-half are United States department reports. The reading room is supplied with many of the papers published in the State, and about $130 is spent annually for magazines and periodicals, including agricultural and scientific journals suited to the technical character of the institution. 21785-No. 24 16 242 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. ATTENDANCE OF STUDENTS. The institution was opened to students October 6, 1880. The following is a schedule of attendance: Session. | | 1..., 52. 22 2 '1 a a S a P1......H 1t 5 1880-81.......-..................-... 267 73 14................ 354...... 1881-82.... —1.....-........ —...... 154 86 40 10 14 304...... 1882-83....-.... --- —. ---.-..-.-........- 169 81 27 16 9. ---.. 15 317 8 1883-84................................... 135 55 26 15 12 -.... 14 257 9 1884-85.......-.................... 150 71 24 12 12...... 22 291 11 1885-86 ---................................... 227 70 40 18 12..... 48 415 11 1886-87.... --- —---—. ----..... --- —-........-.. ---. 95 77 32 24 15 7 26 276 16 1887-88..................................... 108 62 30 17 22 3 44 286 22 1888-89. ---.-....... —.. ----..-.....-...... 136 79 33 14 18 5 33 318 14 1889-90...-........................... 140 74 39 19 13 11 34 330 13 Total attendance-31............................I............ 3,48...... Attendance of individual students.........-............................ 1, 832..... Only students from Mississippi are received. The institution has not been able to accommodate all the students from Mississippi who desired to attend, and many have been, consequently, turned away. Under the law, 300 students are entitled to free tuition; and this accommodation of the college is equally distributed among the counties of the State on the basis of the educable white boys in the respective counties. This rule is observed, with the modification that it does not exclude from attendance such other students as shall pay tuition fees. The reception of pay scholars is not allowed to exclude the free scholars. FACULTY. Gen. Stephen D. Lee, president; J. H. Connell, B. Sc., professor of agriculture; B. W. Saffold, B. Sc., acting professor of horticulture; G. C. Creelman, B. S. A., acting professor of biology; W. L. Hutchinson, B. Sc., professor, and J. S. Meng, assistant, of chemistry; W. H. Magruder, A. M., professor, and J. M. White, M. Sc., assistant, English; B. M. Walker, M. Sc., professor, and Lieut. John V. White, U. S. A., assistant, and J. C. Herbert, B. Sc., instructor, of mathematics; Lieut. John V. White, U. S. A., commandant and professor of military science and tactics; S. M. Tracy, M. S., director of experiment station; Dabney Lipscomb, A. M., professor, J. C. Herbert, B. Sc., assistant, and J. T. Manier, B. Sc., and W. A. Fort, B. Sc., instructors of preparatory department; E. L. Dimitry, instructor in drawing; A. M. Maxwell, instructor in writing. From its establishment until now this institute has been under the very able and energetic administration of Gen. Stephen D. Lee, late of the Confederate States Army, and of the United States Army before AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. 243 the civil war, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.' BIOGRAPHY. Stephen Dill Lee was born in Charleston, S. C., September 22, 1833. His great-grandfather was one of forty distinguished citizens of Charleston confined on a prison ship at St. Augustine, Fla., by the British during the Revolutionary war. His grandfather was United States judge for South Carolina under President Monroe. He graduated at the United States Military Academy at West Point in the class of 1854; served in United States Army till 1861, in the Fourth Artillery; was first lieutenant and regimental quartermaster when he resigned to enter the Confederate Army. -In 1861, he was appointed captain in the Confederate States Army. When Fort Sumter fell he was at Charleston, on the staff of General Beauregard. He went to Virginia in command of a light battery in Hampton's Legion from South Carolina; was rapidly promoted to colonel of artillery, serving in battles of Seven Pines, Savage Station, Malvern Hill, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and numerous minor engagements. He came into prominent notice at Manassas and Sharpsburg when he, among the first, used artillery massed instead of by single batteries. He was made brigadier-general in November, 1862, at the close of the first Maryland campaign, and was ordered to the western army and stationed at Vicksburg on the Mississippi River. Here he commanded the heavy artillery batteries and the supporting brigade of infantry in the city. In December, 1862, Sherman attempted to capture the city by a rapid movement down the Mississippi from Memphis. He, almost without a day's warning, appeared at the mouth of the Yazoo River and succeeded in landing an army of 30,000 troops within 7 miles of the city. At the time there were not exceeding 5,000 troops, including heavy artillery, in the city. General Lee was at once detached, with all the available infantry (about 3,000) and two light batteries, to hold him in check until reenforcements could arrive. He fought Sherman at the junction of Chickasaw and Willow bayous, 5 miles from the city, and signally defeated him with a loss of 2,000 men killed, wounded, and missing, the Confederate force sustaining a loss of about 100. This defeat and the arrival of reenforcements compelled Sherman to reembark his army on his transports and abandon the expedition. General Lee participated in the defense of Vicksburg, being engaged in the battle of Champion Hills and during the siege of the city. He surrendered with the garrison to General Grant, July 4, 1863. He was immediately exchanged, and was promoted to be major-general August, 1863, and was placed in command of all the cavalry in Mississippi, Alabama, East Agricultural and Mechanical College Catalogues for 1881-1890; biennial reports for 1883, 1885, 1887, and 1889. This chapter is mainly a compilation from those publications. 244 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Louisiana, and West Tennessee. He was made lieutenant-general in August, 1864. His service was mainly in Mississippi, organizing cavalry commands and repelling raids. He relieved Lieutenant-General Polk in command of the Department of Mississippi, Alabama, East Louisiana, and West Tennessee, when that officer joined Gen. J. E. Johnston in the spring of 1864 at Dalton, carrying with him all the infantry in his old department. In July, 1864, he commanded the Confederates in the drawn battle at Harrisburg, near Tupelo, Miss., where with cavalry he met A. J. Smith with superior forces, consisting of his veteran infantry corps and a brigade of cavalry. He also confronted Sherman in his expedition from Vicksburg to Meridian. In July, 1864, he left the Mississippi Department and was assigned to the command of Hood's corps at Atlanta, when that officer relieved General Johnston in command of the Army of Tennessee. He was in the battle on the left of Atlanta, 28th of July, and also at the battle of Jonesboro with his corps. He accompanied Hood in his Tennessee campaign. A part of his corps (Johnston's division), was engaged in the battle of Franklin. He commanded the right of the army in the battle of Nashville, and repulsed the Federals in their attack on Overton Hill. When the army was routed his corps covered the retreat the afternoon of the rout, and all during the succeeding day and until a rear guard was organized from the other corps and Forrest's cavalry. The Federals made most persistent effort to rout his corps, but failed. General Lee was wounded on the day after the route while with the rear guard. He surrendered with Joe Johnston's army in North Carolina at High Point. General Lee returned to Columbus, Miss., at the close of the war, where he had married Miss Regina Harrison a few months before the collapse of the Confederacy. He has been engaged in farming since the war and has been identified with the agricultural interests of the South. He represented the counties of Lowndes, Oktibbeha, and Clay in the State senate of Mississippi for two years. In 1880 he was placed at the head of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Mississippi when it was organized, and has been its president ever since. The college is a success, and that success is largely due to his faithful and wise administration. INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE AND COLLEGE, Chapter XI1. THE INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE AND COLLEGE. A STATE COLLEGE FOR GIRLS-THE STRUGGLE. The question of State aid for the establishment of a large and powerful college for females was first propounded and extensively agitated in this State, it is believed, by Miss Sallie Eola Reneau. This young lady lived in Grenada. Governor McRae, in his message in 1856, says: The proposition for the establishment by the State of a female college, for the thorough and accomplished education of the daughters of the State, has been brought prominently and interestingly before the public, and to the notice of the executive, by Miss Reneau, a young lady of accomplishment, intelligence, and talent, educated in this State, a resident of Grenada, engaged in the business of female instruction, and devoted to the intellectual advancement of her sex. I commend the subject to the favorable consideration of the legislature.' On the 26th of January Mr. Drane, the member from Choctaw, introduced in the senate an able and elaborate memorial from Miss Reneau, praying for the endowment and establishment of a State college for girls. This memorial and the governor's indorsement procured the passage of the bill for the establishment of a State female college. This act, approved February20, 1856, provided that the college should be established under that name, and that it should be located in Yalobusha County. Unfortunately, however, the achievement of this charter was a barren victory. There was no endowment. The college was never enabled to assume any effective form. Miss Reneau, in order to overcome that obstacle, caused to be framed and presented to the Congress of the United States, in December, 1860, a bill for the purpose of endowing the college with 500,000 acres of the unsold public lands in the State. The bill was not acted on, but remained on the calendar of the House so late as the year 1872.2 In the year 1872 Miss Reneau was again at work. She obtained the passage by the legislature of that year of "An act to amend the charter of the University of Mississippi at Oxford, and for other purposes." Its principal feature was that the State Female College of Mississippi (the corporation of 1856) should be received as a female department of the university, under the name of Reneau Female University of Mississippi at Oxford." The governor was directed by the act to transmit 'Senate Journal, 1856, p. 22. Laws of Mississippi, 1872, memorial, p. 127. 245 246 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. to Congress a memorial, which was incorporated in the bill, designed to revive the old application of 1860 in reference to the grant of lands.' In the House, on its final passage, a proviso was inserted which-forbade any expenditure at the cost of the State until Congress should act favorably;2 and since the trustees of the university had no funds of their own available for such a purpose, the whole scheme now rested upon the course of Congress on the memorial. Nothing was done, and the affair fell stillborn. Miss Reneau, however, did not yet despair. In 1873 there was passed another bill; this time to incorporate the " Reneau Female University of Mississippi at Sardis." This act was of the usual type of college charters. There was nothing special in it, which, indeed, was its trouble. Again there was no appropriation, and the school remained among the nebulae. Here Miss Reneau seems to have given it up for a hopeless undertaking. Shortly afterwards she removed to Tennessee and there prosecuted her vocation as teacher. It was a pity that she did not reap the reward of such faithful and long-sustained effort in a cause so noble. Her chief obstacle was that she was ahead of the times, and yet, as it turned out, so very little ahead. At the least, the people of the State should remember her for her great good will. Although Miss Reneau was thus baffled and finally left the State, yet the cause was not lost. One fully worthy to be her successor took up the struggle and proved more fortunate in the issue. Every Mississipian will have anticipated the appearance here of the name of Mrs. Annie C. Peyton, of Copiah County. This excellent lady was born in Madison County on the 12th of September, 1852, the daughter of a Mr. Coleman. She graduated at Whitworth College in June, 1871, and on the 7th of August, 1873, married the Hon. E. G. Peyton, jr., son of Hon. E. G. Peyton, sr., who was then chief justice of the supreme court, and had been a citizen of this State since the year 1820. Mrs. Peyton's first effort was to bring about the adoption of Whitworth College as the State Female College. Section 9, Article VIII, of the State constitution, provided that "No religious sOct or sects shall ever control any part of the school or university funds of this State." It was therefore necessary to sever the connection between the college and the Methodist Church, South, and to transfer the property in the college to the State. She presented to the conference which met at Meridian in December, 1879, a memorial to that end, which was well received. But it was determined to be impracticable, aside from the wish of the conference, because of the fact that the terms of the bequest under which the property was held imposed as a condition of the tenure that it should remain under the control of the conference. Laws of 1872, p. 125. 2 House Journal, 1872, pp. 669,690,801. INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE AND COLLEGE. 247 Notwithstanding the discouragement of this failure, Mrs. Peyton continued her labors. She obtained the passage of a bill for the State Female College through the senate in the legislature of 1880, but the papers were then lost and it failed to pass the house. But the agitation was continued. Over the pseudonym of "A Mississippi Woman" she published numerous articles in the Clarion, all urging the one point. She procured the publication, in pamphlet form, in August, 1881, of an elaborate and strong address by Dr. G. S. Roudebush, then professor of English in the Agricultural and Mechanical College, favoring the highest education of women, and in separate schools. The papers of the State joined in the movement, and the Democratic State convention which met in Jackson, August, 1881, unanimously adopted the following resolution: Resolved, That as Mississippi has made liberal provision for the education of all of her sons, this convention declares it to be the highest duty of the legislature to establish, with an ample endowment, a State institution for the education of our daughters. Another unsuccessful attempt was made in the legislature of 1882. When the legislature of 1884 met, Hon. J. K. McNeely, of Hinds County, introduced a bill, prepared by Mrs. Peyton, providing for the establishment of '"a State normal and industrial school for the white girls of Mississippi." Shortly afterwards Hon. J. McC. Martin, of Claiborne County, introduced in the senate a bill for the "Industrial Institute and College." This bill made more liberal provision than the one drafted by Mrs. Peyton, and she and her coworkers immediately abandoned their own and rallied to the support of the Martin bill. Thus, by a pull all together, its passage was secured by a majority of only 1 in the senate, the act of incorporation being approved March 12, 1884. THE CHARTER. The principal provisions of the charter are these: 1. An industrial institute and college is established for the education of white girls in the arts and sciences, to be known as the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls of the State of Mississippi in the Arts and Sciences. 2. The governor was authorized to appoint trustees, with the copsent of the senate, one from each Congressional district and two from the State at large. 3. The trustees were vested with the usual powers of corporations, including the power to own, purchase, and sell property, real, personal, and mixed. 4. That the governor and State treasurer should be, respectively, president and treasurer of the board. 5. That the object of the school should be the giving of education in the arts and sciences, in normal school systems, in kindergarten instruction, in telegraphy, stenography, and photography; also in drawing, painting, designing, and engraving in their industrial applications; also in fancy, practical, and general needlework; also in bookkeeping, and such other practical industries as may, from time to time, be suggested to the trustees by experience or tend to promote the general object of the institution, to wit, fitting girls for the practical industries of the age. 248 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. 6. That the trustees should appoint a president, professors, and such other officers as they deem proper; fix salaries, make by-laws, regulate rates of tuition and discipline, and divide the course of instruction into departments, so as to secure the best possible instruction in all of said studies. 7. That the trustees should organize as soon as possible after appointment, and immediately thereafter proceed to procure by purchase or donation a site for the institution. 8. That so soon as the institution should be prepared to receive students in three or more departments the trustees should apportion to each county its quota of scholars on the basis of the number of educable white girls in the counties. The scholars to be commissioned by the various county superintendents of public education, with the approval of the boards of supervisors. The presentation of such certificates to entitle the holders to admission into the institute, with all its privileges. 9. The sum of $20,000 per annum each year for the years 1884 and 1885 was appropriated for the purposes of the act. Entering promptly on the discharge of their duties, the board visited a large number of places that had bid for the institute. They finally accepted the offer of the city of Columbus, which was to donate to the college the property of the Columbus Female Institute and city bonds to the amount of $50,000, running from one to six years, without interest. On the 1st of October, 1884, Prof. Richard W. Jones, then (and since 1875) professor of chemistry in the University of Mississippi, was elected president. On the 19th of February, 1885, Professor Jones entered on the duties of that office with a view to organization, laying out the plans of the institution, stating and formulating its purposes and scope, all of which the trustees had committed to him, subject to their approval. President Jones served as a member of the building committee, the two others being James T. Harrison, esq., and Dr. J. J. Thornton. PROPERTY. The college owns two lots: First. The original plat of ground donated by the city of Columbus, fronting Washington street on the south side for 1,050 feet and extending back 1,060 feet. Being beautifully shaded and embracing about 20 acres, it affords ample facilities for exercise. Second. A lot 165 feet square on the north side of Washington street and immediately facing the first lot, devoted to the president's residence. On these lots are valuable buildings. The dormitory is a massive brick structure, three stories and a mansard high, 175 feet front, and running back 170 feet. It has a large and well-arranged, well lighted and ventilated dining room, capacious kitchen for preparing the meals, smaller kitchen for instruction in cookery, washing room, room for soap making, boiler room, ironing room, bathroom, water-closets, 76 well built and ventilated rooms for sleeping, and a parlor, with capacity for about 200 boarders. The bedrooms are neatly furnished. Connected with this building by a covered passage is the new chapel building, which is three stories high, well and strongly built. This has a large assembly room, president's office, secretary's office, eight recitation rooms, chemical and physical laboratories, and storage rooms, all arranged with full regard to convenience, health, and efficient work. INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE AND COLLEGE. 249 These two buildings have all the modern conveniences; they are warmed throughout by steam. The dormitory is supplied with hot and cold water for use in the kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms; both buildings are supplied with water by mains and pipes from the city waterworks. The dormitory is lighted with city gas. The chapel is lighted by electricity. An easy running and safe elevator has been introduced into the dormitory. A frame building was upon the grounds when the property was donated to the State. It has been moved back 150 feet in the rear of the present brick chapel, been remodeled and improved, and has twentyfive rooms. It is devoted to music, to painting, and industrial arts. Steam has been introduced into it also. The college was opened for the reception of students October 22,1885. The greatest practical difficulty was found to be the desire and expectation of many students and their parents to acquire industrial training and skill without the needful general academic instruction, but the faculty succeeded in correlating the industries to the academic work so as to bring about practical adjustments and excellent results. The requirements in accurate scholarship for passing from one class to another were made very explicit, positive, and high. ' The following extracts from the report of President Jones, made to the board of trustees in December, 1887, will explain the principle of the institute's organization: COLLEGIATE EDUCATION, NORMAL TRAINING, AND INDUSTRIAL PREPARATION. To develop largely and according to the demands of thoroughness any one of these departments is a great work, but to successfully carry forward all three of them side by side so as not to have conflict, so that neither one would encroach upon the other, and so that a student might derive benefit from more than one at a time, is a task that has been essayed by no other institution. The, measure of success which has attended our efforts to work out a satisfactory result has been in the highest degree gratifying. Our patrons have almost unanimously expressed themselves as highly pleased with our methods, our efforts to secure scholarly accuracy and industrial skill, whilst our pupils that have gone out from the normal department have given evidence of the value of the instruction they have received in the art of teaching. We may safety claim, for it is accorded to us by the highest educational authorities, that the plan of the college rests upon a rational, philosophical basis. It recognizes first of all, and in all departments of life's activity, the value of general intelligence, the value of mental discipline, the value of trained power of thought, the value of the acquired power of steady application, the value of professional skill, the value of special industrial dexterity. The college is designed to fit woman for particular spheres and lines of work, to open up to her new avenues to employment and to wider and more varied modes of usefulness. Whilst we emphasize the value of the industrial arts, we at the same time teach that to be successful in its aim the hand that is skilled in art or industry must be directed by intelligence. To confer upon our girls simply manual skill without mental training, is to confer upon them the poor boon of placing them among ignorant workers and in competition for employment at poor remuneration. The ignorant worker is always at a disadvantage in the struggle for success and respect. fql recognition.: Whilst, therefore, we urge upon our pupils to acquire the highest order of art skill and industrial proficiency, we keep before them the fact that they must deal with society, they must meet the competitions of business, the exactions of trade, 250 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. and in order to dignify work and enhance its value they must put intelligence into it. It is our constant effort to improve the intellect by the best methods which philosophy and experience suggest, to afford the broadest and highest culture, and to preserve and improve every characteristic of refined womanhood. The standard of scholarship in the collegiate and normal courses is high. Thoroughness and accuracy are insisted upon and pupils are not passed into higher classes until they have mastered the subjects of the lower. A large number of our students of last session who had not advanced beyond the first college class succeeded in the State examinations of teachers and obtained first-grade certificates to teach. Of all who applied, only one failed. Many of them taught very successfully during the vacation, and thereby obtained means to defray their expenses for the present session. In the industrial arts we insist upon familiarity with details, and readiness and facility in execution, so that the pupil may be able to measure up to all just expectation when we recommend her for employment. We do no work for display, but for solid attainments and worth. We constantly and earnestly endeavor to impress on students the desirableness of accurate, sound learning, the worthlessness of superficial study, of lax mental movements, and of passing over high-sounding subjects merely for the name of having done so. True mental enlightenment and accompanying vigor can come only through the clear perception and comprehension of truth in its many and beautiful forms. Our course of study is laid out and our methods of teaching directed to secure these best intellectual results. In the normal department we give special attention to the preparation of those who propose to become teachers in the public schools of the State, directing these studies first so as to enable them to pass the examinations required by the State law and set by the State superintendent. Besides this, we carry forward those who remain long enough to the study of advanced subjects to prepare them to be teachers in high schools and colleges. In both cases we give especial care to instruct these young teachers in the most improved modern methods of teaching, and we make arrangements for giving them teaching practice. Another and prominent feature in our normal work is this: We have introduced into our normal course a well-arranged line of instruction in free-hand drawing and industrial drawing. * * The young ladies who go out from our normal department will be competent to give to boys and girls thorough instruction in drawing, so that they will be enabled to read designs and plans, and to represent with the pencil any object it is desirable to manufacture. Thus we hope to contribute ultimately to the general industrial development and the wealth of our State. The president here sets forth succinctly the entire course of instruction in the collegiate and the normal departments; and continues: It will be apparent from these schemes of general education that a young lady who graduates in our college course will have an education as thorough and extensive as that conferred by our best colleges on young men. In the sciences we offer exceptionally fine practical advantages. Botany, zoology, physiology, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, and geology are taught practically and experimentally. Our physical and chemical laboratory and lecture room are supplied with the best modern improvements. Students not only witness the experiments of the professor, but they perform experiments and learn laboratory manipulations in progressive courses, and in addition have the best opportunities for qualitative and quantitative analysis. We have botanical charts, zoological charts, charts for anatomy and physiology, two microscopes. We are favored also by the loan of the mineral and geological cabinets of the late Dr. W. Spillman. An entire hour is devoted to each recitation in every department except in music. A music lesson occupies a half hour. INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE AND COLLEGE. 251 INDUSTRIAL DEPARTMENTS. Every student is required to learn some one of the industrial arts unless she is pursuing the study of music or oil painting. Those studying music and oil painting have the privilege of an industrial art. Each student is limited to one industrial art at a time; after learning one she may proceed to another art. Students or their parents may choose their industrial arts; but no one is permitted to take up phonography without an adequate knowledge of English, and no one is admitted to the study of bookkeeping without a good knowledge of practical arithmetic. The want of competentpreparation has been the most serious hindrance to the industrial work of students. The girls here evince a lively interest in their industries and generally make gratifying progress. They appear to be in earnest to prepare for selfsupport. The numbers of students registered in most of the industrial departments were larger the first session than they have been since. This is accounted for by the fact that during the first session many pupils, supported by their parents, insisted on taking several industrial arts at a time. In order to convince them of the error of this, it was necessary to allow them to make the effort and to suffer failure. The work of students in design, wood carving, modeling, crayon portraiture, dressmaking, hammering in thin metals, art needlework, decoration of porcelain ware, and oil painting has been from time to time on exhibition in the rooms of the college, and has received the highest praise from visitors and the strongest indorsement of skilled artists and judges of such work. Specimens of students' work in Miss McLaurin's department have been sent to manufacturers and art associations in New York, and have received high commendation and valuation. We have sent out well-qualified bookkeepers, shorthand reporters, and typewriters, who have secured employment at good pay. We have found it impracticable to get employment for women as telegraphers, and while a number of young ladies have been pretty well trained as printers, they have found it difficult to get employment, and when they succeeded in doing so the pay has been comparatively poor. Two young ladies who were trained here are getting remunerative employment in establishments for cutting and making dresses. MUSIC AND OIL PAINTING. Instruction has been regularly given in music on the piano and organ and in vocal music. The number of students in music has been large, considering the inducements and opportunities here offered to acquire industrial arts. The teachers are accomplished and the students are interested and generally make good progress. A considerable portion of the students of music are preparing to teach, and they will go out thoroughly equipped for the profession. Each year there has been a class in oil painting, taught by Mrs. Torrey, who has had a long experience as a teacher and who enjoyed the best advantages in art instruction in Europe. WORK. This work is of two kinds, required and voluntary. Required work in the dormitory.-The occupants of the rooms are required to do all the work necessary to keep them in nice order. The work in the dining room, such as spreading the cloths, putting on the meals, placing the chairs, washing plates and dishes, waiting on the table, is required of the pupil. For this work regular details are made and each one in turn performs her part. By this arrangement we dispense with hired servants entirely in the dining room and apartments for sleeping, and thereby effect economy. 252 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Voluntary work.-Girls have the privilege of doing a large part of the work in the kitchen, in keeping the room and furniture in a cleanly condition and neat order. They sweep the halls, recitation rooms, chapel, music rooms, light the gas in the halls and dining room, and do much of the light work in the laundry. Students also are, paid for certain work in the printing office, and may take in work in the cutting and making department. Some work in the garden, and thus earn something. For this voluntary work they are paid at the rate of 6 to 8 cents per hour. There is no disposition in the institution, by word or action, to disparage those who work to aid in paying their expenses. On the contrary, the president and facz ulty commend all the work that is offered to students as honorable and praise those who perform it well. The heavy work in the kitchen and laundry is performed by hired laborers; the machinery in the laundry is operated by an engineer. A few girls have paid their whole expenses by work. Many have earned $4 per month and upward. While we encourage girls to work, we urge them to regard their studies and their industrial arts as of paramount importance. When a student works so much daily as to be wearied, she loses in studies. Where it can be avoided pupils ought not to attempt to make the whole of their expenses while here. Experience teaches us that girls generally can not do more than two hours' work daily without injury to their class standing, their health, or to both. This amount of work, together with what they can do on Saturdays, will enable them to earn about $4 or $5 per month. The girls have shown a great desire to get the work to do, and the number of applicants has been so great that we have not been able to supply all. A good part of the money paid into the college treasury in the form of entrance fees is paid back to students for sweeping halls and recitation rooms and for writing in the offices of the president and secretary. No part of the State fund is used for paying students for work. * 4' * * * * WOMAN UNWOMANLY. We are not teaching woman to demand the "rights" of men nor to invade the sphere of men. The conditions are supplied here for that high training of the mind, of the sensibilities, of her aesthetic faculties, of the moral and religious parts of her being which fits her for the ways of modest usefulness, for works of true benevolence, and which invests her with that.true womanly character and those beautiful Christian graces that constitute her the charm of social life and the queen of home. * " 4 y4 4 4 X The results of our work are becoming manifest. The college marks a new era in education in the South, it is being entrenched deeper and deeper in the affections of its friends, it has attracted multitudes of visitors from various States. Some educators of prominence have spent days here studying our plan of organization, our scope and methods; these observations have been used in projecting institutions in older States. Governors and members of legislatures,of other States have sought information regarding it, with a view to recommending the establishment of similar institutions in their borders. It has been the subject of the most elaborate and favorable newspaper articles. It has done much to attract the attention of people outside of our State and to create a most favorable impression in regard to the progressive educational spirit of our people. THE ATTENDANCE. The first session opened October 22, 1885. The annual attendance has been as follows: INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE AND COLLEGE. 253 Session of 1885-86, 341; of 1886-87, 388; of 1887-88, 383; of 1888-89, 337; of 1889-90, 312. In the year 1886-87 there were 300 applications from Mississippi for places in the dormitory. In the autumn of 1887 there were 476 applications, besides many from various States. The places in the dormitory apportioned to the counties of the State number 200. It has been impossible to accept in the dormitory half of the applicants. Many of these have made arrangements with private families in the town for board and lodging. EXPENSES. Girls from other States are required to pay tuition, but tuition is free in the collegiate, normal, and industrial studies to all girls of Mississippi who obtain scholarships. Incidental fee paid on entering each session...................... $5.00 Music on piano or organ, per month.................................. 4.50 Voice culture, per month..................5....................... 5.00 Solfege, per month..50 Use of instrument for practice, one hour per day, per month.................75 Oil painting, per month.................................................. Free. Students in analytical chemistry pay for materials consumed and apparatus broken. In the dormitory board is furnished to pupils at actual cost. APPROPRIATIONS. The appropriations made by the State for the establishment and maintenance of the institute have been, thus far: 1884 and 1885, $20,000 each.......................................... $40, 000.00 1886 and 1887.................................................... 59, 875.50 1888 and 1889, $22,588.75 each.......................................... 45,177.50 1890 and 1891................ 50,000.00 Total............................................................ 195,053.00 Add donation of Columbus,............. 50,000.00 Grand total..................................................... 245, 053.00 At the conclusion of the session of 1887-88 President Jones resigned his position, accepting the presidency of Emory and Henry College in Virginia. The cause of his resignation was the excessive demands of the institute on a president's strength, while his own health was delicate. On the 3d of September Prof. Charles Hartwell Cocke, of Columbus, was elected to succeed him. In March, 1890, President Cocke resigned, and the board appointed Miss Callaway, mistress of mathematics, to be chairman of the faculty for the remainder of the term. In June following Prof. Arthur H. Beals, of Paducah, Ky., was elected president. 254 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. THE FACULTY. Arthur H. Beals, president; Miss M. J. S. Callaway, A. M., mathematics; Miss Pauline V. Orr, English; Miss Ellen Martin, history, mental and moral philosophy; Miss J. T. Clarke, B. S., L. I., Latin; Miss Ella F. Pegues, modern languages; Miss S. C. McLaurin, M. T. D., industrial and decorative art; Miss Ruth S. Roudebush, M. A., bookkeeping and penmanship; Miss Helen Graves, phonography, telegraphy, and typewriting; Miss Helen M. Quinche, natural history, chemistry, and physics; Miss Bettie B. Clay, instrumental,music; Mrs. Addie T. Owen, instrumental music; Mrs. C. Y. Hooper, vocal music; Mrs. A. E. Crusoe, repousse and art needlework; Miss Virginia L. Cates, L. I., printing; Mrs. F. I. Crowell, cutting and making garments; Mrs. Lucy Torrey, oil painting; Mrs. M. L. Batte, assistant in English; Miss Edwina Burnley, assistant in mathematics; Mrs. Irene T. Ramsey, assistant in instrumental music; Miss Effie Hutchinson, M. T. D., assistant in designing, engraving, modeling, etc. Prof. Richard W. Jones was born May 16, 1839, in Greenesville County, Va. He graduated from Randolph-Macon College, Virginia, at the head of his class in June, 1857. After two years of study in the University of Virginia he received from that institution the degree of Master of Arts, July, 1861. He entered the Confederate service soon after his graduation, first as a private soldier. Afterwards he raised a company and was elected and commissioned captain of infantry. This company became a part of the famous Twelfth Virginia Infantry, of Mahone's Brigade, R. H. Anderson's Division, Army of Northern Virginia. This command bore a full share of the hard fighting and trying events during those memorable years in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. During the latter part of the war, for more than a year of the most desperate part of the struggle, he commanded his regiment, and surrendered it at Appomattox. The war over, he entered the profession of teaching, and has been continuously engaged in it since that time, occupying the following positions: Professor in Randolph-Macon College, Virginia; president of Martha Washington College, Virginia; professor in University of Mississippi; president of the State Industrial Institute and College, Columbus, Miss. His special professional work has been in the sciences. At the University of Mississippi he had charge first of chemistry, natural history, and geology, with an assistant; afterwards the chairs were divided, and he confined his attention to chemistry. During this time he wrote a number of articles on scientific subjects. The Government of the United States appointed him during two summers as agent of the entomological commission in Mississippi. His reports on cotton insects were published in pamphlet form by the Government and were also largely introduced into the general reports of the chief of the commission. INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE AND COLLEGE. 255 He has been for a number of years a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Institute of Christian Philosophy. He has also been elected a member of the Victoria Institute, England. He became president of Emory and Henry College, Virginia, in the year 1888, but in the fall of 1889 accepted his former chair in the University of Mississippi. The three colleges of which he was president flourished greatly under his administration. Chapter XIII. THE MILLSAPS COLLEGE. For several years past a sentiment has been growing among the Methodists (Southern) of Mississippi that a denominational college should be established within the boundaries of the State whose special object should be to attract to its halls and to prepare for their purposed holy calling those youths of the Methodist Church, South, who propose to adopt the ministry for their life work. It is believed that such want found its first public expression from the lips of the Rev. F. A. S. Adams, formerly a president of Centenary College, at the session of the North Mississippi Conference, held in Corinth in 1882; but nothing was done for several years. At the seventy-fifth session of the Mississippi Conference, held in Vicksburg, December 5-10, 1888, the committee on education, Dr. C. G. Andrews, chairman (also a former president of Centenary College), made this report, among others: 1. That we realize the rapid strides being made around us in progress and learning, and that we will still endeavor, both by precept and example, to keep our people fully abreast of the age. 2. That a college for males under the auspices and control of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, ought to be established at some central and accessible point in the State of Mississippi. 3. That a committee of three laymen and three preachers be appointed to confer with a like committee to be appointed by the North Mississippi Conference to formulate plans to receive offers of donations of lands, buildings, or money for that purpose and to report to the next session of said conference. And we do this without any unfriendliness to Centenary College or desire to impair its influence or to interfere with the present endowment plan now being carried on by Dr. Hunnicutt, president of that honored institution. In accordance with the resolution the following committee was appointed: Rev. T. L. Mellen, Rev. A. F. Watkins, and Rev. W. C. Black; laymen, R. W. Millsaps, W. L. Nugent, and Luther Sexton. At the following session of the North Mississippi Conference, which convened in Starkville on the 12th of December, 1888, Rev. T. L. Mellen, as a special messenger from the Mississippi Conference, appeared and presented the resolution passed by that body. After its reading it was referred to the board of education, and that board made on the 14th a special report, on which the Rev. Mr. Mellen addressed the conference. The report was as follows: The board of education having under consideration the proposition of the Mississippi Conference, as embodied in the communication of Rev. T. L. Mellen, and look256 MAIN BUILDING-MILLSAPS COLLEGE. WEBSTER SCIENCE HALL-MILLSAPS COLLEGE. MILLSAPS COLLEGE. 257 ing to the establishment of a male college in Mississippi, have adopted a resolution concurring in said proposition. The board recommend the adoption of the following resolutions: 1. Resolved, That a college for the education of boys and young men should be established in the State of Mississippi, under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 2. That a committee of three laymen and three ministers be appointed to confer with a like committee already appointed by the Mississippi Conference, to formulate plans, to receive offers or donations of land, buildings, and money for the establishment of said college, and to report at the next annual session of this conference. 3. That the following-named persons shall constitute the committee provided for in the second resolution: Clerical-J. J.- Wheat, S. M. Thames, T. J. Newell; layG. D. Shands, D. S. Sweatman, J. B. Streater. T. C. WIER, Chairman. On the 14th of February following the joint committee met in the city of Jackson. One of their number, Maj. R. W. Millsaps, who is a banker of Jackson and a lay member of the Methodist Church (the same who is mentioned as a benefactor of Whitworth College), offered to donate to the proposed college the sum of $50,000 on the sole condition that the members of the churches of the State should raise an equal sum to be devoted to the same institution. The committee thereupon appointed a subcommittee to formulate a plan for the raising of that additional sum,. witl instructions to report at an adjourned meeting shortly to be held. They also appointed two clergymen-Rev. J. J. Wheat, then professor of mental and moral philosophy at the State University and presiding elder of a district in the North Mississippi Conference, and Rev. W. C. Black, then preacher in charge of the church at Jackson and member of the Mississippi Conference-to prepare for publication an address to the Methodists of the State in behalf of the proposed college. The address was duly prepared by them and was widely circulated. On March 5, 1889, the joint committee again met in Jackson. Their meeting was held in public and was largely attended. A permanent organization was effected, with Major Millsaps as president and treasurer, and Rev. T. J. Newell (president of the Grenada Collegiate Academy) as secretary. The subcommittee appointed at the previous meeting reported a plan, deemed by them feasible, for the raising of the $50,000 needed, and their report was adopted. It was, in brief, to canvass the State for endowment subscriptions. Bishop Charles B. Galloway was present and undertook the canvass in person. This divine has been through all of his life an earnest friend of higher education. He graduated at the State University, with the degree of A. B., was a professor at Madison College for a short period, entered on the Methodist ministry, was elected bishop when 36 years of age. He had already organized and put into operation two colleges, both of which assumed his name; one at Searcy, Ark., the other at Vineta, in the Indian Territory. He presided over 21785-No. 24 -17 258 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. the conference at Starkville where this movement was finally determined upon. He had manifested the warmest interest in it and no man could have undertaken the work who would be so likely to bear it on to final success. Bishop Galloway discharged his undertaking faithfully.- Through all the remainder of the year 1889, and through the year 1890, he labored zealously in the cause. In various towns, and at many gatherings of the Methodist people, he made ardent and telling speeches; treating the importance of higher education, its relation to all the industries, to the church and the ministry. His unflagging energy and indomitable will carried all before him. His appeals met in all cases a ready and more or less liberal response. So that when the North Mississippi Conference met at Holly Springs in the month of December, 1889, he was able to report that about $44,000 of reliable subscriptions had already been made. By that conference, and by the Mississippi Conference which met at Crystal Springs two weeks later, resolutions were adopted providing for the appointment of a board of trustees, to consist of sixteen members in addition to Bishop Galloway; eight members to be taken from each conference, and one-half of whom in each instance were to be laymen. Pursuant to the action of the two conferences, the bishop appointed the following board of trustees: From the Mississippi Conference, Rev. T. L. Mellen, Rev. C. G. Andrews, Rev. W. C. Black, Rev. A. F. Watkins, ministers; Maj. R. W. Millsaps, C3ol. W. L. Nugent, Lieutenant-Governor M. M. Evans, Dr. Luther Sexton, laymen. From the North Mississippi Conference, Rev. J. J. Wheat, Rev. S. M. Thames, Rev. T. J. Newell, Rev. R. M. Standifer, ministers; Col. D. L. Sweatman, Lieutenant-Governor G. D. Shands, J. B. Streater, and John Trice, laymen. The entire subscription of $50,000 has been made, to meet the offer of Major Millsaps, thus giving the college an endowment fund of $100,000. Nor has the zeal of the promoters stopped here, for the same gentleman having made a further offer of $25,000 on the same terms, a further subscription is now taking to meet it also, and with every prospect of success. Moreover, the citizens of Jackson, in order to obtain the location of the institution in their midst (which they did), made a donation estimated at $40,000 value for site and buildings. It is expected to get the college under way in the fall of 1892, with $40,000 in real property and $150,000 of productive endowment..:...:~ LIBRARY-MILLSAPS COLLEGE. BEARD HALL, TOUGALOO UNIVERSITY. Chapter XIV. EDUCATION OF THE COLORED RACE. TOUGALOO UNIVERSITY. This institution, located at Tougaloo, a station on the Illinois Central Railroad, 7 miles north of Jackson, was founded in 1869 by the American Missionary Association. That body determined to establish, in a central locality of this State, a university for the education of the colored people. With this view it purchased at Tongaloo a farm containing 500 acres of land, with a large mansion and outbuildings. Tn the following year (1870) two large college buildings were erected. One was a one-and-a-half story building, 32 by 70 feet, called Washington Hall, and contained audience room, school and recitation rooms, and dormitories for 30 young men; the other was a two-story structure, 34 by 70 feet, called the Boarding Hall, and contained dining room, kitchen, laundry, sitting room, and dormitories for 30 young women. The buildings were erected by aid received from the Government of the United States through the educational department of the Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen at a cost of $13,050; the school farm cost the association $10,500; cost of stock and farming utensils, about $2,000. Total cost of equipment, $25,550. The institution had no permanent productive fund for current expenses. A few of the students paid $1 per month tuition; some of them defrayed wholly or in part their expenses by labor on the premises. In the third year of scholastic work (1871) the boards of school directors of Hinds and Madison counties paid the wages of two teachers for five months, and all the balance of current expense came from the treasury of the missionary association. However, it was not very heavy, this being the account: Expenses for 1870 and 1871....................................... $15,257. 00 Receipts fromLabor of students, 1870..-.......................... $1,168.00 Labor of students, 1871.................................. 1,751.00 Board and tuition........................................ 702.86 3, 621.86 Net expense for two years............................... 11, 635.14 As may be inferred from the foregoing statement, it was part of the scheme that poor students might, at their option, meet a part or all of their expenses by labor on the farm. The industrial department presents the same opportunities to the females. 259 260 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. On the 13th of May, 1871, the university was incorporated. The more important provisions of its charter are as follows: 1. Property, both real and personal, may be acquired, held, and conveyed to the amount of $500,000. 2. Such honors and degrees as are usual from colleges and universities may be conferred. 3. Vacancies in the board of trustees shall be filled by the American Missionary Association. 4. The president of the university, the professors, and the instructors, shall be appointed by the board of trustees on the nomination of the missionary association. 5. The board of trustees have the power to organize any or all of the departments of a university whenever in their judgment the interests of the institution and the public wants require; also, to provide that the normal, medical, and law departments, or any one of them, may be placed under the management of a separate board for special purposes, and that the property and liabilities of each be and remain distinct from the property and liabilities of the other departments. The institution began work in the year 1869. The attendance and classification of the school for the year 1871, from January to October, were as follows: Primary students, 81; intermediate, 73; grammar, 20; night students, 17; total, 191. After the charter was obtained (October, 1871) a separate normal department was organized and placed under the charge of Prof. A. J. Steele, with Miss H. Louisa Lane as assistant. The elementary and academic departments remained under the charge of Rev. Ebenezer Tucker, A. M., with Miss Sarah A. Beals as assistant; and the agricultural department under that of Mr. Henry S. Beals. Mrs. A. J. Steele, teacher of music. The statement of students for the closing term of 1871, as reorganized, was as follows: Elementary students, 94; normal, 47; academic, 1; total, 142. In December, 1871, the three principals, Tucker, Steele, and Beals, each presented a report and memorial combined to Hon. H. R. Pease, superintendent of public education, in which the scheme and the status of the university were set forth, its dependence on the missionary association explained, the heavily burdened condition of that association insisted on, and the pressing need urged of funds for the enlargement of accommodations, teachers' salaries, and the purchase of apparatus. This appeal met a prompt response. On the 3rd of January, 1872, an act was passed whereby a board of trustees, in behalf of the State, was authorized to make such contract with the trustees, or executive committee, of the Tougaloo University as would secure to the State the use of such buildings, grounds, and appurtenances as might be necessary for the establishment of a State Normal School. The sum of $4,000 was appropriated for the purposes of the act, to be expended as follows: $2,500, if needed, for teachers' salaries; $1,000, if needed, for aid to students; $500, if needed, for school furniture and apparatus. This arrangement was to continue only two years, and the State was to incur no other expense. STRIEBY HALL, TOUGALOO UNIVERSITY. TOUGALOO UNIVERSITY. 261 The act further provided that the governor, the State board of education, and five appointees of the governor should constitute a board of trustees; that such board should have the power to appoint and remove the teachers and to fix their salaries; also, to prescribe the rules of admission to the Normal School, and to make such by-laws as should seem needed for its good government. Each county of the State was declared entitled to two free scholarships for each term, the beneficiaries to be selected from the resident pupils attending the public schools of the respective counties by a public competitive examination. Each student who should file a declaration of intention to teach in the common schools of the State was granted the sum of 50 cents per week, for the time in attendance, payable out of the $1,000 aid fund. It should be noted that under this scheme the State board of trustees would control the normal school department of the university, and the board appointed by the missionary association all other departments and interests. In March, 1872, the arrangement proposed in the foregoing act was consummated, and the normal department of the university became a State Normal School. Prof. A. J. Steele was retained as principal by the State trustees. From his report to the State superintendent of public education, in reference to the year's work of 1872, the following extracts are taken: At the present time (December, 1872) there are four regular teachers employed in the normal school. The fact that our work is that of fitting teachers for their profession is never lost sight of. Students receive thorough drill in all those studies that they will be called to teach, and in such other branches as experience has shown best adapted to discipline and develop the mind. Those who train the minds of others should themselves have minds well trained. It is a matter of great congratulation that there is connected with the normal a training department. This department consists of primary and intermediate grades. It is intended that the primary be used as a model school, for observation, and in which little or no practice will be done by normal students, they only being allowed to witness the operation of the model school, while each normal student, besides the instruction received from the faculty in the art of teaching, will be required, at the proper stage of progress, to teach classes in the intermediate school for the length of time thought necessary, under the supervision and criticism of the principal and other teachers, who will point out their errors, commend their excellencies, suggest to them means of improvement, and thus enable students to determine for themselves whether they are qualified to undertake the arduous task of teaching. Other criticism lessons are also interspersed with the daily lessons of the school, testing and strengthening the power of management in the pupil, as well as the perception of a necessity of thorough drill at the hands of the teacher. The regular course of instruction and practice occupies four years. * *X * X* y* * At the present time there are in the normal classes 70 pupils, besides about 140 in 'attendance upon the primary and intermediate grades. A class has been carried through the common English branches, and is now pursuing more advanced studies, as algebra, rhetoric, and rudiments of Latin. Other classes are doing good work in advanced arithmetic, grammar, geography, 262 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. etc. A class of about 40 has made rapid progress, and are quite proficient in vocal music, under the thorough drill they have received at the hands of the music teacher. The members of the class readily read music of medium difficu]tness. * * # * * * * During the year (mostly from June to December) 25 of our students have been engaged in teaching in the public schools of several counties, mainly with marked success; and notwithstanding that during the fall term several of our students remained [absent] teaching, the number in attendance has been greater than ever before, and for want of room and accommodations admission has been refused to a large number of earnest young men and women desirous of fitting themselves for lives of usefulness as teachers. * * * * X * * During the year just past instruction has been given in the normal school to 112 students, all of whom, with us, have borne good characters and exhibited great earnestness and an unswerving determination to acquire knowledge and habits of life much different from those to which many of our pupils have been accustomed. The faculty of the State normal department were Prof. A. J. Steele, principal, and two assistants; Prof. J. K. Deering, principal of intermediate class, and one assistant; Miss H. C. Bullard, principal of primary department; Mrs. A. J. Steele, teacher of music, and Rev. E. Tucker, pastor and teacher of moral science. The report for the year 1873 shows that the school continued to work as before, with the following additions: A theological class had been organized for the benefit of those who designed to enter the ministry. The object aimed at was to secure a thorough knowledge of the Bible, including the original of the New Testament, together with training in homiletics and pastoral labor. The instruction given was not denominational in its nature. A system of lectures had been arranged, relating to the natural sciences, history, mental and moral science, and such other topics as might demand attention. The faculty remained much as before, except that Rev. J. K. Nutting had been made president, and placed in charge of the theological department. To the industrial branch, a mechanical department had been added. A suitable engine had been provided and was used for ginning cotton, grinding corn, aud for running the machinery in the mechanical department, where the simpler kinds of furniture were manufactured, together with brooms, rustic work, etc. Mr. S. 1. Osborne was business manager and superintendent of agricultural and mechanical departments. The attendance of students for the year had been 280, classified thus: Normal department, 85; intermediate department, 60; primary department, 142; 7 being in two departments. On the 28th of March, 1874, the legislature appropriated the sum of $10,000 for the erection of a normal building at the university, conditioned on a similar appropriation of $15,000 by the American Mission-, ary Association; but the condition not being complied with, the appropriation was never used. On 21st of the same month the further sum TOUGALOO UNIVERSITY. 263 of $4,500 was appropriated by the State for the current expenses of the year. A similar sum was again appropriated in March, 1875, and the law so amended as to stop the payment of 50 cents per week theretofore made to pupils. In 1876, $3,000 was appropriated; in 1877, $2,500. In 1878 and 1879 no appropriation was made for the university. This omission is thus explained in the annual message of Governor Stone to the legislature of 1880: Owing to disagreements between the representatives of the American Missionary Association and the trustees of the normal department, no appropriation was made for the last two years. I repeat my recommendation to the legislature two years ago, that the law be so amended as to abolish the board of trustees, and provide for a board of visitors. The normal department is doing faithful work in the education of teachers, and deserves well of the State. I recommend a renewal of the appropriations heretofore made for its support, to be distributed under the direction of the board of visitors. This would be a substantial recognition of the good work which the American Missionary Association is quietly, but very zealously and thoroughly, doing in our State. Pursuant to this recommendation, on the 6th of March, 1880, an act was passed organizing the board of visitors, and the university was again taken under the fostering care of the State. From that time, each year, an appropriation of from $2,000 to $3,000 has been made, except that those from 1888 to 1891, inclusive, were only $1,500, this reduction being a feature of a " horizontal put" made by the legislature of 1888 on nearly all State expenditures. The following extracts from the catalogue of 1888-89 will furnish the further history, present status, and the prospects of the school: Sunday night, January 23, 1881, Washington Hall took fire during the religious services, and was wholly destroyed. The school was continued during the remainder of that school year in arbarn ("Ayrshire Hall") that had just been built. A cottage for the president had been put up during the fall. During the same year the "Boarding Hall" was again enlarged by raising it one story, and putting an addition 30 by 50, three stories high, on south side, making accommodations for the lady teachers and about seventy-five girls. As soon as spring opened a brickyard was started, and the first brick in the foundation of the new hall was laid May 31, by Rev. M. E. Strieby, D. D., of New York, in honor of whom, as the oldest living secretary of the American Missionary Association, the hall was named Strieby Hall, and is a fine brick building, 41 by 112, three stories high, and having a fine basement. The work orf this building was done almost entirely by men from A. M. A. schools and churches elsewhere, and our own students. It was ready for school use October 1. In the fall of 1882 a blacksmith shop was built. During the year 1883-84, carpenter and tin shops were added to the industrial department. During 1886-87, through the generosity of Mr. Stephen Ballard, of New York City, a two-story building was put up on the old site of Washington Hall, and bears the name of Ballard Hall. This building furnishes ample accommodations for the schoolroom work in all the grades below the normal department, having large schoolrooms and recitation rooms, and a very pleasant assembly room. The Ballard shops, a building two stories high, with an addition on one end, 26 by 26, for blacksmith shop, was also completed during the year, furnishing ample room for all the shops under one roof. These two buildings were completed with the $5,000 given by Mr. Ballard, exclusive of the salary of our superintendent of 264 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. carpentry. They are substantial and commodious, and are justly regarded as a marvel in cheap buildings. All the work upon them was done by students trained in our industrial department. During the present year, 1887-88, the upper story of the small building known as "Boston Hall," in the rear of the mansion, has been fitted up as a Girls' Industrial Cottage. It serves to make a beginning in that line of work, but is far from adequate. AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. The farm consists of 500 acres of land, divided as follows: The buildings and grounds connected with them, with the adjoining grove and wood lands, occupy about 125 acres; pasture land, 225 acres; mowing land, 65 acres; cultivated land, about 86 acres. The crops raised are mainly those most common in this regioncotton, corn, oats, pease, sorghum and cane, potatoes, berries, etc. A large herd of cattle of representative breeds enables the young men to become acquainted with the respective merits and adaptabilities of the different breeds. The milk, meat, and vegetables used by the boarding department come mainly from the farm. It is the aim to make the farm an object lesson for the students and to teach them by affording opportunity for observation and stimulating inquiry concerning the practical workings of the different departments. The course of study is arranged on the idea that a student may pass twelve years in the university. It is divided into twelve grades. The first two grades (or years) are devoted to the primary course; the third, fourth, and fifth to the intermediate course; the sixth, seventh, and eighth to the grammar course; the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth to the normal course. There is also a classical preparatory course, divided into three classes (or years), the junior, middle, and senior. An industrial course of three years is arranged, in which all boys in and above the fifth grade, together with such others below the fifth grade as the industrial superintendent may choose, will receive class instruction in carpentry for the first year, blacksmithing and wheelwrighting for the second year, painting, turning, and tinning for the third year. Pupils are worked on this course, and those attaining to sufficiently high rank are given certificates of industrial proficiency. There is also an apprentice course, wherein after the completion of a three years' industrial course and the eighth grade of school, one or two pupils who have shown special aptitude will be appointed apprentices in each trade, and will have the opportunity of becoming thorough workmen. The apprentices have a three years' course in'the shops and attend night classes. There is also an agricultural course, wherein special instruction, in addition to the work which each boy is expected to do daily about the farm or grounds, is given in agriculture during the whole of the ninth year or grade. GIRLS' INDUSTRIES. All the young women are taught to sew and mend. Dressmaking is taught to a limited number. Lectures on the art of cooking and housekeeping, including canning and preserving, are given each week, with class instruction and practical lessons in cooking each day. TOUGALOO UNIVERSITY. 265 COURSE OF STUDY. In order to show the degree of culture attainable, the curricula of the normal and the classical preparatory courses are given: NORMAL COURSE. Ninth grade.-Arithmetic, grammar, rhetoric, geography, physical geography, history (reviews), physiology, school economy, reviews, and drills. Tenth grade.-Algebra, natural philosophy, bookkeeping, American literature, English literature (seven classics), civil government, methods. Eleventh grade.-Higher algebra, geometry, general history, geology, botany. Twelfth grade.-Political economy, mental and moral science, Scripture, history, pedagogics, reviews and methods in common branches, composition. CLASSICAL PREPARATORY COURSE. Junior class.-Fifth reader, Latin grammar and reader, elementary algebra, physical geography. Middle class.-Coesar (two books), Cicero (two orations), higher arithmetic, bookkeeping, physiology, seven British classics, school economy, and primary methods. Senior class.-Cicero (three orations), }Eneid, prosody, mythology, geography, Greek grammar, first lessons in Greek (Boise), Anabasis, irregular contract verbs, algebra, plane geometry. MUSIC. The music department is under the direction of teachers thoroughly accomplished in their profession. Instruction in vocal music is given to all pupils without charge. In devotional exercises the manual of praise is used. Two pianos and three organs are at the service of those who take lessons in instrumental music. LIBRARY AND APPARATUS. Encyclopedias and reference books are accessible to the students, and there is apparatus sufficient to illustrate the studies of the course. A reading room, containing about fifty journals of varying character, is open to all, and is well patronized. The Tougaloo Quarterly, a paper, is published by the university once in three months, with the threefold object of putting good religious reading into many families that take no religious papers, sending out information in regard to Tougaloo University, and as a medium of communication for present and former students. The institution has received valuable aid from the Slater fund. Its property is now valued at $60,000. 266 2IISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. EXPENSES OF ATTENDANCE. The expenses of attendance are $9 per month for board and tuition, and $3 per month extra for instrumental music; 50 cents per term (of which there are three) for incidental fees. THE FACULTY. Rev. George S. Pope was elected president in 1877, and resigned in 1887. He was succeeded by Rev. Frank G. Woodworth. The faculty is composed as follows: Rev. Frank G. Woodworth, A. M., president, Bible, mental, and moral philosophy; Albert S. Hill, natural science and mathematics; Miss A. L. Steele, normal assistant; Miss Mary Van Auken, grammar department; Miss Sarah J. Humphrey, grammar and intermediate departments; Miss Mary Flagg, intermediate department; Miss Clara L. Walker and Miss Alice Flagg, primary department; Miss Mary Kennedy, vocal and instrumental mlusic; Miss Edith M. Hall, night school; Miss Elizabeth L. Parsons, girls' industries; Miss Sarah L. Emerson, principal ladies' department and matron. THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL AT HOLLY SPRINGS. On the 26th of May, 1870, the Shaw University, which had been established at Holly Springs by the Mississippi conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was incorporated by act of the legislature. Its charter authorized it to establish, among others, a normal department. On the 1st of December, 1869, the reconstruction constitution went into operation. One of its requirements was the establishment of free public schools of higher grade " as soon as practicable." In accordance with that requirement the act of July 20, 1870, was passed. By that act, an offer made by the trustees of Shaw University to transfer to the State the normal department, for use as a State normal school, was accepted. A special board of trustees, consisting of the governor, the State board of education, and five others of the governor's appointment, was provided for, and they were empowered to contract for such normal department for a term of two years, to employ a principal and assist ants, etc. The sum of $4,000 was appropriated for teachers' salaries, furniture and apparatus, and as aid to pupils. Each representative in the legislature was authorized to send one pupil; and each pupil who should file a declaration of intention to tb ach in the common schools of the State was allowed 50 cents per week for time in attendance. The school was organized on the 15th of November, 1870, Professor Gorman, principal. The attendance was very small. On the 4th of January following, the year being then two months advanced, there were only 16 students. At that time Miss M. E. Hunter was employed as assistant. The first year closed on the 30th of June, 1871, and the total attendance for the.year was 50. STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, HOLLY SPRINGS. STATE NORMAL SCHOOL AT HOLLY SPRINGS. 267 On the 18th of September, 1871, the second year opened; Miss Hunter, principal, Miss C. Peck, assistant. Students present, 35; total attendance for the year, 65. After the close of the first year 26 of the pupils taught in the public schools of the State. Of these a number taught only two monthsduring the summer vacation-and then returned to school at the opening of the fall term. Others taught through the entire fall. The Normal School of the State was, it must be remembered, as yet but the lessee of the normal department of the Shaw University. The university's primary school was in operation also. The schools interfered, and when the two-years' contract with Shaw University expired the Normal School was removed to other quarters. From the annual report of the principal, dated January 14, 1873, the following extracts are made: The course of study as laid down in our catalogues has been pursued, the pupils proving their capacity for advanced study as well as for the more elementary work. A class is now doing successfully the work of the third year. The school has a full supply of necessary text-books and maps. A reference library has been begun, and, by the assistance of friends, quite a number of volumes have been secured, and others will be added as opportunity offers. Chemical and other apparatus will be procured as soon as possible. Instruction in instrumental music is given to those who desire it. Sixteen pupils have already made creditable advancement in this department. In addition to the literary society, which has been a part of the school since its organization, two debating clubs have been formed, into which the pupils are drawn, and between the members of which there is a generous rivalry, which adds much to their interest and makes them a means of improvement to the school. The strictest discipline is enforced. At a late meeting of the board of trustees it was resolved that each pupil be required to attend some place of public worship at least once on Sabbath. Let me repeat what I said in my report of a year ago: The pressing need of the normal is room. For two years this need has been felt. In the building first occupied the necessities of another school compelled us to be content with much less than needed room, and for the past four months the progress of the school has been retarded by narrow walls and poor accommodations. Notwithstanding the hindrances, the normal has gone steadily on with its work, but how much more successful it might become if permanently located in a convenient building, with necessary appliances. Let Mississippi grant us the means of procuring these and we shall endeavor to repay her by furnishing her schools with competent teachers.' The appeals for a building were successful. On the 15th of April, 1873, the legislature appropriated $10,000 for the purchase of buildings and grounds. In the year 1875 the 50-cent weekly payment to students was stopped; Miss Hunter was succeeded by Prof. W. B. Highgate as principal; the attendance of pupils continued good, and the standard of education was continuously raised. ' Senate Journal, 1873, Appendix, pp. 992-1001. 268 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. APPROPRIATIONS. The appropriations made by the State for the establishment and maintenance of this institution have been as follows: 1870..-................................................... $4, 000 1871 and 1872, $5,000 each................................................ 10,000 1873.. —.. —..-............................................ 14,500 1874 and 1875, $4,500 each................................................ 9, 000 1876.-....-............................ 4, 600 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880,1881, $3,000 each...-...-........................ 15, 000 1878, for repairs on building -....................................-......... 350 1880, for purchase of apparatus -..-....................................... 500 1882, 1883,1884,1885, $3,000 each. -..-....................................... 12,000 1886; 1887, $3,000 each -—. —...-..-..-.............................. 6, 000 1888, 1889, $3,000 each... —........-........... 6, 000 1890, 1891, $2,500 each........-..-..........................-....... 5, 000 Total thus far.....-.............. 96, 950 FACULTY. Prof. W. B. Highgate held the position of principal until 1886, when he was succeeded by the present principal, Prof. J. H. Henderson. As now constituted (1891), the faculty are J. H. Henderson, principal, mathematics, mental and moral philosophy, astronomy, and civil government; Miss M. A. Rabb, natural sciences, rhetoric, English literature, arithmetic, and grammar; Miss N. H. Hill, geography, grammar, United States history, reading, and elocution. ATTENDANCE. The attendance of students has been as follows: Year. Males. Females. Total. Year. Males. Females. Total. 1870-71............ 32 18 50 1880-81............ 93 33 126 1871-72. —.-... —.- 38 27 65 1881-82............ 91 45 136 187 2-73... - -. 50 26 76 1882-83............. 104 51 155 1873-74. ---.............. 83 52 135 1883-84.............. 101 44 145 1874-75.............. 89 4 134 188 85111 45 156 1875-76-..... 59 29 88 1885-86.............. 101 36 137 1876-77.. —..... 61 29 90 1886-87. ---....... —. 65 42 107 1877-78-.......... 83 41 124 1887-88.............. 93 55 148 1878-79 -—...-.....- - 78 27 105 1888-89.-........... 92 76 168 1879-80............ 157 63 220 1889-90.............. 89 73 162 COURSE OF STUDY. Up to the year of 1886-87, the course of study embraced four years. In 1886, by an act of the legislature, the institution was reorganized. The faculty then existing was dismissed. The State superintendent and the county superintendent of Marshall County were constituted a board, with power to employ teachers skilled in normal training; the course was altered to one of two years, and students were declared ineligible for admission unless their age, character, qualifications, and education were such as to promise that after the two years' course they would be capable of teaching in the common schools. Since 1886, therefore, the course has been one of two years, and the curriculum is as follows: STATE NORMAL SCHOOL AT HOLLY SPRINGS. 269 FIRST YEAR. First term.-Rhetorical reading; history, United States; arithmetic, written and mental; geography, political aud physical; algebra, introductory; grammar; written spelling; writing and drawing. Second term.-Rhetoric and composition; civil government; physiology; natural philosophy; algebra; geometry, introductory; drawing. SECOND YEAR. First term.-Geometry, plane and solid; trigonometry, plane; history, universal; natural history, zoology; chemistry; theory and practice of teaching; bookkeeping; drawing; compositions. Second term.-Surveying and navigation; geology; botany; mental and moral philosophy; English literature; theory and practice of teaching. Since 1886-87 a model class has been organized each year out of the junior pupils to be taught by the normal students, under immediate direction of the faculty. Each student of the normal is required, in his turn, to conduct a recitation of this class. No student hears more than three consecutive recitations before another is appointed. MUSIC. Lessons in vocal music are given free; lessons in instrumental music, to those who desire them, at a small cost. THE BUILDING AND GROUNDS. The building, purchased by the $10,000 appropriation of 1873, is a beautiful brick structure, two stories high, having a length of about 85 feet. It has a fine veranda on a level with each floor. The lower story is 14 feet high, with windows extending almost the full height, affording excellent light and ventilation. The edifice, although constructed for a private residence, has been arranged so as to suit most admirably for school purposes. It contains a large chapel furnished with an excellent organ, a mathematical recitation room, a ladies' dining room, and a gentlemen's dining room on the first floor; on the second, a large science room, laboratory, and a library. It is well heated by means of stoves in each room. There is no boarding department connected with the school. The grounds consist of a beautiful tract of nearly 5 acres. It is situated in the northeastern part of the city, on a hill commanding a fine view of the surrounding country. It includes both croquet and baseball grounds. LABORATORY. The $500 appropriation of 1880 laid the foundation of a collection of chemical and physical apparatus. Additions have been made from time to time, and now no necessary apparatus is wanting. The electrical call bells serve as a great aid in teaching electricity. There is telephone and telegraph apparatus. In fact the institution claims to be as well prepared to teach the natural sciences as any colored school in the country. 270 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. THE LIBRARY. In 1880 an effort was made by the students for the formation of a reference library. Prior to that time the school had suffered greatly from that want. A tax of 5 cents per month (the only charge for attending the school) was imposed for the formation of this library. This money bought the first 40 books. That tax was paid for several years and yearly additions made to the library. The citizens gave much aid in this work, by presenting many instructive and useful books. Congressman Manning and Senators Bruce and Lamar are gratefully mentioned in the school catalogues for their thoughtfulness in sending public documents of value. There are now over 3,000 volumes well selected and a fine globe. EXPENSES. No tuition is charged. Each student is required to teach at least three years (not gratuitously however) in the public schools of the State. Board ranges from $7.50 to $9 per month; by "messing" together this may be reduced to $4 per month. Books are furnished by the State to the pupils, who are not charged for them unless they are lost or damaged, but a book rental is collected.1 ALCORN AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. This institution, named for the late Governor James L. Alcorn, is located at Oakland, Claiborne County. It was incorporated on the 13th of May, 1871. As in the case of the Agricultural and Mechanical College (white), it "owes its existence primarily to the act of Congress approved 2d of July, 1862, donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts." 2 The principal provisions of the charter are these: 1. That the governor, with the consent of the senate, shall appoint a president and ten trustees, who shall be a body corporate, with the usual powers, and especially that to hold and convey real and personal property. 2. That the object of the corporation is the establishment and management of a seminary of learning, to be styled the "Alcorn University of Mississippi," for which purpose the sum of $50,000 per annum, for a period of ten years, beginning 1st of July, 1871, was appropriated. 3. That a site and building for the immediate establishment of the university shall be purchased by the trustees. 4. Free scholarships of four years' duration are to be awarded on competitive examination. The number of scholarships is limited to one from each county or representative's district, except that any county having two or more representatives is entitled to a scholarship 'Catalogues from 1872-73 to 1887-88. 2 See this title in chapter on the "Agricultural and Mechanical College." ALCORN AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. 271 for each representative. The holder of a scholarship from any county or district is entitled to a bonus of $100 per annum from the commonschool fund of the county or district.' On the same day, May 13, another act was approved, which directed that three-fifths of the agricultural land-scrip fund should be invested for the benefit of a university to be dedicated to the education of youths of color. Alcorn University was, by its charter, declared to be the owner of that three-fifths. Pursuant to the act of incorporation grounds and buildings were purchased. The property selected was that of Oakland College, situated at Oakland, 5 miles east of Rodney, and in 'Claiborne County. It consisted of 235 acres of good land, eligibly located, with fine brick buildings, in good repair, capable of accommodating 500 students. The purchase price was $42,500.2 Three competent professors were employed, and the institution was opened February 7, 1872. The experiment of the higher education of the colored youth could not have been tried under more favorable auspices. The annual appropriation was munificent; the college property, the result of lavish expenditure of thought and labor and money by the white people of the State for one of their own most cherished institutions; the premises, rich in scholastic associations and traditions, most excellently appointed, and ample in extent. The catalogue of the year 1873-74 thus describes the property: The campus, in which are situated the university buildings, is a beautiful oak grove, interspersed with flowering crape myrtles and tall pines, and elegantly festooned with long gray moss gently undulating, and clothed in a perennial dress of verdure, pleasing to the eye and conducive to health and quietude. It is far removed from the contaminating influence of town or city life. There are no haunts of dissipation to lead the unwary astray; but in the country, in the midst of a moral and highly cultivated community, the student is continually surrounded by all those influences which tend to develop his moral character during the period of his intellectual training. The buildings were all erected for academic purposes. They consist of a chapel, three brick dormitories, and a number of frame cottages devoted to the same purpose, two college literary society halls, a president's house and refectory, with all necessary outbuildings for an establishment complete within itself, dedicated to the purposes of the maintenance and education of youths. The chapel is a large, substantial brick building three stories in height and of dimensions 65 by 112 feet. It contains rooms for recitations, philosophical apparatus. laboratory, cabinet, library, and a hall sufficiently large to seat 900 persons. It has been thoroughly repaired, painted, and renovated throughout; the recitation rooms have been provided with new desks and furniture, the walls whitened, and every apartment presents a neat and cheerful appearance. The dormitories are two-story brick buildings 45 by 48 feet, each capable of accommodating 32 students. They are comparatively new, with substantial slate roofs, hard-finish ceilings, dry, airy, and comfortable; these have also been thoroughly repaired, painted, and renovated. The frame cottages, five in number, have also 1Laws of 1871, p. 716. 2Governor Powers's annual message, House Journal, 1876, p. 19; catalogue of 1873-74. 272 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. been repaired. and renovated. All the dormitories are furnished with good new bedsteads and comfortable bedding, and contain grates, tables, washstands, and chairs. The literary halls are elegant brick structures, two stories in height, about 50 by 80 feet, and well adapted for literary exercises. The lower room in each building is furnished with handsome bookcases and the upper stories furnished for society halls. No institution in the country has better facilities for the purposes so indispensable to the proper education of the American student. These halls have been repainted and such necessary repairs put upon them as would preserve them from going to decay. One of them will, for the present, be used as a dormitory in case the necessities of the university demand it. The refectory, or boarding house, is a large two-story frame building, with a basement; the basement contains the dining hall, a room capable of seating 200 students, a storeroom, and a pantry. The upper stories are devoted to the superintendent and family, and rooms for the employees of the institution. This building, though frame, now nicely repainted white, with green blinds, and extensive balconies, presents a handsome appearance, and is well calculated for the purpose for which it was constructed. A commodious kitchen, furnished with a fine cooking range, and a capacious washhouse, are among the outbuildings attached to the refectory. The president's house is a handsome two-story frame with basement. It has been newly painted white, with green blinds, and was confortably furnished by the executive committee at the opening of the university in 1871. The furniture as well as the building is thus the property of the institution. This building is situated convenient to the chapel and dormitories, and enables the president at all times to keep a watchful eye over the discipline and conduct of the students. Professors' houses. There are several other frame cottages, belonging to the institution and situated on its grounds, adapted to the use of professors and their families; several of these cottages are commodious and comfortable, having been erected for the use of the members of the faculty of Oakland College. The farm of the university consists of 235 acres, which will be increased to 275 acres by the addition of the ' Hunt tract," on the 1st day of January, 1874. The land is diversified in character, and well adapted to the various purposes of a model or experimental farm. It contains hill land and valley, with 25 or 30 acres of rich bottom, which can be irrigated at all seasons from an elevated lake or pond, and is well adapted to grasses. The land is all of more than average richness and produces good corn, cotton, and all other crops germane to the climate. A fine orchard consisting of 500 selected trees of different varieties of peach, pear, apple, etc., has been set out, and is in a thrifty growing condition. It is the intention, as it is the duty of the institution, to make the farm a model of agricultural beauty and fertility, and to develop a high order of scientific as well as practical agriculture. Good substantial fences have been built around all the improved land, and the whole tract will be put under fence without delay. * * * ** * * The buildings have all been put in thorough repair. The campus and improved farm have been inclosed with handsome and substantial fences; a washhouse and barn have been built, cisterns dug, and many necessary improvements made.. The farm has been kept in a condition of cultivation, under the management of a capable agriculturist, and the chair of the mechanic arts is filled by a competent and practical instructor, as required by law. * X * if y 4 * LIBRARY, CABINET, APPARATUS, ETC. The Oakland College, in its long years of successful educational labors, accumulated a fine library of several thousand choice volumes; also a very complete collection of natural history, geology, mineralogy, botany, and curiosities. By permission and request of the trustees of Oakland College, from whom the Alcorn University ALCORN AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. 273 was purchased, these valuable accumulations were left in possession of the present institution. While not absolutely the property of the Alcorn University, they remain in its charge, and it is not anticipated that they will ever be removed. It is hoped that at no distant day the university will be able to purchase them. At all events, the trustees of Oakland have indicated no disposition to deprive the university of these invaluable adjuncts to her educational advantages. They are open to the inspection of students and visitors, and are not among the least of the benefits which Alcorn is enabled to afford her students over other educational institutions of the State. The philosophical and chemical apparatus is also very elaborate and complete. When the institution opened it seemed to have entered on a career of usefulness with every favorable prospect of success. It was under the presidency of Hon. and Rev. Hiram i. Revels, D. D. and ex-Senator of the United States, and himself a negro. A high curriculum was devised. During the first session, 117 students were enrolled; during the second, 179; during the third, 172. The trustees, at a meeting in July, 1872, at the expiration of the first session, established an agricultural department, intended to be so conducted as to afford remunerative wages to all students who should desire to pay their way at the university. The scheme of the institution was to give prominence to the industrial department by affording ample instruction in practical agriculture, systematic farming, and mechanical pursuits. For the maintenance of the agricultural and mechanical department not only had the university its general appropriation from the State, but also the $123,150 of 8 per cent State bonds, proceeds of the land scrip.1 In the session of 1873-74 the faculty had increased to three professors (including the president), two tutors, two assistant instructors, one lecturer, and one superintendent. Quite a number of employees were engaged in the kitchen, dining hall, and washhouse. The superintendent was engaged il the supervision of the farm of about 90 acres and had general charge and management of the boarding hall and its appendages and of the grounds and property of the institution. A superintendent of mechanic arts was also provided for, in compliance with the terms of the agricultural land scrip grant. He was a practical carpenter and at this time, 1873-74, had been employed exclusively in working on the buildings.2 Prosperous as matters seemed to be financially, however, and favorable as were all the surroundings, there was yet trouble on hand. Discoid had crept into the faculty. Dr. Revels, the superintendent, and others disagreed. In 1874 Dr. Revels was removed from the presidency. The students rebelled, and the upshot of it all was that the matter got not into the courts, but into the legislature. A committee of investigation was appointed, and on its report an act to reorganize the univer'Governor Powers' message; House Journal, 1873, p. 20; ibid., 1874, p. 19 2 House Journal, 1874, p. 426. 21785-No. 24 18 274 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. sity was passed. Its preamble is literally and its main provisions substantially as follows: Whereas great dissatisfaction exists in the public mind in relation to the present management of Alcorn University; and whereas a majority of the students have withdrawn from the university in consequence thereof and a number of the faculty have been dismissed, and yet the present board of trustees seem unable to bring about a satisfactory adjustment or such relief as is necessary to the success of said university: Therefore1. All officers, teachers, and trustees were discharged. 2. The office of treasurer was abolished and the State treasurer made ex officio treasurer of the university. 3. That within a reasonable period the governor should appoint a new president and boald of trustees, who should reorganize the university, provided that during the year 1875 only the preparatory department should be put into operation. 4. All annual appropriations theretofore authorized were withdrawn save the annual sum of $15,000 for current expenses. 5. The governor was made ex officio president of the board of trustees, with power to remove any member of the board at discretion. 6. The boarding hall was to be rented out, provided no student should be compelled to board there. It should be remembered that this was not partisan action. That legislature was largely Republican, withE a great percentage of negro members, and the governor was Gen. Adelbert Ames. Three days afterwards, in the general appropriation bill, it was further provided that the Alcorn and Oxford universities should be equally entitled to the interest on the agricultural land script fund, and that the half of that interest assigned to Alcorn University should be in addition to the $15,000 appropriation.2 This action, by which the income of the university was cut down from about $60,000 to about $20,000 per annum (and, indeed, a year later to $10,000), staggering, as it seemed, was not in fact so injurious to the substantial interests of the institution as it would appear. There was no need for so much money. The concern, on the scale on which it was projected, was premature. There was no populace to supply the subjects needing the higher order of education that would entail such heavy expenditures-a fact made manifest, if it were needed, by the reports of the legislative committee. Indeed, to the legislature of 1873, the first which met after the university had begun actual work, Governor Powers said in his annual message: The annual appropriation now provided by law will be more than sufficient to support the institution, and one-half of it may, for the present, be safely applied to upholding educational interests in other portions of the State.3 The free scholarship system was also abolished by the legislature of 1875 by the same act which abolished it In the University of Mississippi. As a matter of course, this measure had a marked effect in - reducing the attendance of students. I Laws of 1875, p. 127. 2 Ibid, p. 36. 3 House Journal, 1873, p. 20. ALCORN AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. 275 In his annual message, on the 3d of January, 1877, to the legislature, Governor Stone says: I am glad to be able to state that Alcorn University bids fair to become what its founders designed it to be, to wit, a first-class university for the education of the colored youth of Mississippi. * * * Feeling a warm and deep interest in its welfare and success, I appointed a board of trustees composed of gentlemen who, I was assured, felt a like interest in Alcorn University. On the 20th day of July last I tendered the position of president to Hon. H. R. Revels, feeling confident that he, above all others, could place the university upon a prosperous footing. Dr. Revels accepted, and immediately entered upon the discharge of his duties. The result has been most satisfactory ard gratifying. * * The change of management has restored confidence. By the legislature of 1878 was passed the "act to establish and organize agricultural and mechanical colleges and to regulate the government of the same." The objects of this statute were two-the establishment of the Agricultural and Mechanical College for whites, now located at Starkville, and the further reorganization of the Alcorn University. Its principal provisions as to the Alcorn University are these: Section 1 changes the name of the institution to "The Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi." Section 9 vests the board with all powers necessary and proper for. the maintenance of a first-class institution at which the youth of the State might acquire a common-school education and a scientific and practical knowledge of agriculture, horticulture, and the mechanic arts; also of the proper growth and care of stock, without, however, excluding other scientific and classical studies. Section 13 gives to Alcorn College one-half of the interest on the agricultural land scrip fund. In his biennial message of January 3, 1882, Governor Stone says: This institution is as prosperous as the impoverished condition of the colored people of the State will warrant. There were in attendance last year 160 students, and but for the failure to realize their anticipated profits from the cotton crop, which was so seriously injured by the early and continued rains, the number would have been much larger. * * The president, in his report to the board of trustees, asks that the appropriation be increased to $12,000. I respectfully recommend that the appropriation be made as requested. Dr. Revels in his report says: "My people are not wanting in appreciation of or gratitude for what the State of Mississippi is doing for them in appropriating this valuable and desirable property for the education of their sons and in the annual appropriation of a large amount of money for the support of the same. But their poverty has prevented them from evincing their appreciation and gratitude by sending their sons to the institution, as they otherwise would have done." This college has unquestionably accomplished much good in educating a large number of young colored men, who, in most instances, are honorable men and good citizens and whose influence is being exerted to improve and elevate their race. It is one of the institutions of the State. You are its guardians, and I trust you will provide for its support.' Dr. I. R. Revels resigned the presidency in July, 1882, and Prof. J. H. Burrus, of Tennessee, an experienced educator, was elected and 1 Senate journal, 1882, p. 25. 276 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. assumed control in September following. One great difficulty the institution encountered at this period, and, indeed, throughout its history, was the broken and irregular attendance of its pupils, few remaining the entire session. The faculty was composed of the president, two professors, and one tutor. The college was practically a normal school for the education of colored teachers, though agriculture was taught with some success, except that few students ever engaged seriously in farming. Nearly all educated negroes are inclined to teaching.' Speaking of the agricultural department, in his report of December, 1885, President Burrus says: Our greatest difficulty in this department is to find as much work for our students as they are desirous of doing, and in the further fact that, owing to a lack of sufficient teaching force, the work done can not be made as completely instructive as the character of the school makes it very desirable it should be. The superintendent of the farm assures me the students in his agricultural classes, and those working on the farm under his directions, manifest increasing desire to learn more about the improved methods of farming. * * At the Colored State Fair held in Jackson during the last week of October, the special premium by Mr. Iler, in the shape of a calendar clock, valued at $15, for the best display of school work by any one school in the State, was awarded to Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College; Judges J. M. Arnold and T. E. Cooper, of the State supreme court, and ex-United States Senator B. K. Bruce being the judges in that department. Our distinguished governor, when opening the late Colored State Fair at Jackson, very justly remarked that Mississippi is the only State in which there is an agricultural college officered by colored men and fairly supported by the State for the education of her colored citizens. EXPENSES. The expense of attendance for the whole nine months need not exceed $75. This does not include tuition, which is free to Mississippi students. LIBRARY. The library is open to students an hour each afternoon. From the librarian's report the following statement is taken: Number of books for general reading in the library.......................... 855 Number of books from department at Washington, etc.....-....... 973 Number of pamphlets................................... 884 Total-.....-..................-.......-..-........ 2, 612 Most of the students manifest much interest in reading. The preference is for history, biography and poetry. The number of books taken out, read, and returned since the fall term opened is 204. X * x At the above rate, nearly all of the 855 books on general reading will have been read before next June. EDUCATIONAL HELPS. As important helps in the educational work aimed at might be mentioned a cabinet of a fair collection of geological, mechanical, historical, and natural science specimens, among which are some very rare and interesting; a library containing 1 Senate Journal, 1884, p. 27; Governor Lowry's message. ALCORN AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE 277 some good books, to which others are soon to be added; two literary societies, the Alcorn College Lyceum, organized some years ago, and the Literary Gem, organized during the year 1884-85; the Y. M. C. A., also organized during the same year, and a college brass band. A reading room has also been started. During the year lectures before the students and friends are delivered from time to time. APPROPRIATIONS. The appropriations made by the State for this institution thus far have been as follows: Years 1871 to 1874, $50,000 per annum.................................. $175, 000.00 Year 1875............................................................. 15, 000.00 Years 1876 and 1877.................................... 8, 642.50 Years 1878 to 1881................................................... 9, 285.00 Years 1882 to 1887..............3............... 31, 927.50 In 1882, special, for improvements................................. 11. 000. 00 Years 1888 and 1889.................................................. 7, 642.50 Years 1890 and 1891.................................................. 9,642.50 In 1890, special, for improvements, etc.......................... 2, 500.00 Total........................................................... 270, 640.00 Add interest on agricultural land scrip fund to January 1, 1891, being $5,678.75 per annum.......................................... 116,991.25 The attendance for the ten years last past has been: Year. Males. Females. Total. 1880-81.................................................124 1881-82......................................130 1882-83......................................................................113 1883-84.................. 141 188485... 193 18 211 1885-86............................................201 15 216 188-87...................................................191.8 209 in 1885,- 1 in 1886, 2 in 1887, 9; in 1888, 6; in 1889, 9; in 1890, 15. 1889-90.................................................................................. 245 Since 1887-88, the catalogue has not been so printed as to distinguish between the sexes. The alumni thus far, number 46, graduated as follows: In 1884, 4; in 1885, 1; in 1886, 2; in 1887, 9; in 1888, 6; in 1889, 9; in 1890, 15. FACULTY AND OFFICERS. John H. Burrus, M. A., president and professor of mental and moral philosophy and constitutional law, also teacher of literature and chemistry; James D. Burrus, M. A., professor of mathematics, geology, and practical agriculture, and superintendent of the farm; Rev. John C. McAdams, B. A., assistant professor of English and instructor in bookkeeping and political economy, and college pastor; Joseph Anderson, assistant professor of natural sciences, instructor in vocal music, and librarian; Rev. John W. Hoffman, B. D., Ph. B., instructor in physiology, botany, zoology, and secretary of the faculty; John A. Martin, B. S., instructor in English branches and writing; Benjamin F. Shannon, B. S., instructor in English branches and writing. Chapter XV. THE COMMON SCHOOLS OF MISSISSIPPI. THE COMMON SCHOOLS PRIOR TO THE CIVIL WAR. Let it be remembered that from the year 1803 schools in this State were established or aided by the sixteenth sections donated by Congress; from the year 1821, to a small extent, by the literary fund established by the State. About the year 1844, stirred by the tide (of immigration and the growing illiteracy in the State, and perhaps by the agitation of the sixteenth-section question, the general subject of common-school education began to attract far more attention than ever before. A leader in this agitation was the Hon. A. G. Brown. Too much praise can hardly be accorded to this gentleman for his unflagging interest in the subject of education. His broad sympathies pervaded the whole field. It was his influence, probably, which led to the passage of the charter of the State University in 1844, and the statutes in 1816 appropriating the funds necessary to effectuate that charter, notwithstanding bitter local opposition. We shall now see him laboring earnestly for the humbler though not the less important cause. In the year 1843 Mr. Brown was a candidate for the office of governor of the State. Previous to the election he issued an address to the people in which he urged "the establishment of schools in which every poor white child in the country may secure, free of charge, the advantages of a liberal education." Mr. Brown was elected governor, and on the 10th of January, 1844, delivered before the legislature his inaugural address, in which he pleaded with great eloquence for a general system of common schools which should be open to all and at which the poor should be educated gratis. The governor's appeal failed of its designed effect, that is, for this time. But it reached the people. They were ready for it, if the legislature was not. Nor did his labors cease here. When the legislature adjourned without passing any bill for common schools, he determined to occupy a portion of the time during the vacation in pressing the matter forward. Among other things, he issued to the presidents of the boards of police in the different counties a circular letter making full inquiries in regard to the management, status, and fruits of the sixteenth sections. He invited the Hon. James S. B. Thacher, then a judge of the 278 THE COMMON SCHOOLS. 279 high court of errors and appeals, and who was probably supposed by the governor to be especially well prepared to do so, since he was a native of Massachusetts and had been reared and educated in Boston, to devise a scheme of public education. The judge, accordingly, addressed an open letter on the subject to the governor, which, in the autumn of 1845, was published in full by many of the newspapers of the State. Not only was the governor moving in the matter of public education, but also the people were bestirring themselves. At a meeting of citizens of the Democratic party in Wilkinson County, held on the 10th of June, 1845, for the purpose of selecting delegates to the State convention, elaborate resolutions in favor of the establishment of public free.schools were adopted, and the delegates nominated were instructed to press the matter in the convention. This action is claimed to have been the first occasion on which the cause of public education was adopted as a portion of a party platform in this State. The matter was a feature of the campaign. On the 18th of October the Whig candidates for the legislature, Stewart, Simrall, and Netterville, published an open address to the voters, in which they also advocated such schools, but took issue as to the method of support. To the legislature of 1846 Governor Brown made another and stronger appeal, to which it responded by passing the act of March 4, 1846, the first statute in Mississippi contemplating a uniform and general system of common schools. Its main provisions are as follows: The boards of county police in their respective counties were required to appoint a board of school commissioners to consist of five members, one from each police district. The school commissioners were required to meet quarterly at their respective court-houses, to elect from their number a president and a secretary, and were authorized to adopt bylaws, also to designate what schools should be deemed common schools, and to have the general superintendence of them. They were also authorized to license teachers for such schools. Such teachers were authorized to draw from the county school fund such compensation as should have been contracted for between themselves and the commissioners. The boards of police were empowered to levy special taxes for common-school purposes, provided the consent of a majority of the resident heads of families in each township should be given in writing before such levy should be made on the inhabitants of such township. All escheats and fines, forfeitures and amercements, and all moneys arising from licenses granted to hawkers and peddlers, keepers of billiard tables, retailers of liquors, and brokers, together with the special taxes aforesaid, were set apart for the school fund in the respective counties. The sixteenth-section funds were ordered to be delivered by the trustees to the commissioners, and they were required to see that the sections still oil hand should be leased, all of the sixteenth-section funds and income being kept so that each township 280 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. should receive its own, as before. The commissioners were further required to make full reports semiannually to the secretary of state, who was made, ex officio, general school commissioner of the State, and required to register such reports and to publish abstracts of them. The local self-government principle, however, was so deeply rooted in the minds of the legislature that they incorporated into the act a provision that any township should be exempted from its provisions if a majority of the heads of families should file a written protest with the clerk of the police board on or before the 1st of March in each year; also special modifications were granted as to six cities and townships. When the news went out that the legislature had passed a commonschool law, there was rejoicing in the State; it seemed that a better. day was near. But there came a quick revulsion. The text of the statute was circulated and after a brief hesitation in order to ascertain exactly what it meant, and some efforts to put it into practical operation, a great outcry was raised. It was denounced as being "a law which is no law, for it contains within its own bosom the seeds of destruction. It is made a suicide, holding in its own hand the knife to cut its own throat. Any township can nullify it by a simple protest; and (it was asserted) every township that has an amount of funds more than an equal proportion with the whole will most probably nullify and thus defeat the object of the law." Another objection was to the point that even where the township did not thus positively "nullify" the statute, the taxing power was made conditional on the assent, expressly given, of a majority of the heads of families; and that such assent in the great majority of instances would not be given. It was urged furthermore that the statute was puzzling and ambiguous, in that it did not repeal all the previous acts on the subject of education and start anew from the foundation up, as it should have done, for it only repealed such of these as were in conflict with its provisions, thus leaving room for all sorts of ingenious and troublesome and complicated constructions. Other objections of a more or less grave character were urged; also some that were captious. It was commonly stated that the contending political parties, in their factious controversies, had sacrificed a nonpolitical and vital interest, which each professed to uphold. Yet, crude as the statute manifestly was, and inept as it was claimed to be, it will not do to say that it was fruitless. It was the initial step toward better things. To the next legislature, in his message of January 3, 1848, Governor Brown said: The common-school law of the last session has not fulfilled the anticipations of its friends. * * * Its immediate repeal, and the substitution of an act more in accordance with the suggestions contained in my message at the opening of the session in 1846 is respectfully recommended. * * The educational wants of the State require the establishment of a normal school where young gentlemen and ladies may be educated for the profession of teaching. THE COMMON SCHOOLS. 281 What influence Governor Brown might have wielded in this matter had he remained in office can not now be told. This was his last message, and in a few days he was on his route to the meeting of Congress. The legislature did not observe his recommendation. That body seems to have gone to pieces on the subject of education, and the result of their labors was no less than four distinct statutes, all approved on the 4th of March, 1848, and all devising different plans. One statute applied only to six counties; the second, to five counties; the third, to seven counties; the fourth, to seventeen. As to all other counties in the State, except the thirty-five embraced in the four statutes above mentioned, the act of 1846 was left untouched. Thus were introduced into the educational management of the State five distinct schemes. The educational movement of that period is a curious study. The carping criticism and the generous indulgence, the pessimistic forecasting and the wide-eyed faith, the short-sighted temporizing and the far-reaching prevision, all were most strikingly exhibited; but the universal innocence among both foes and friends of all just conception of the cost of the movement in dollars and cents is wonderful. Yet the cause was moving on. The general school commissioner made to the governor a report under date December 26, 1849. This report, although it embraces but a dozen of the counties, with its lights and its shadows, may fairly be taken as an exposition of the working of the school systems throughout the State. In some counties nothing was done, in others a little, in yet others more, in none very much. Yet, still it was progress; and it is due to the people to remember that this was the decade when the tide of immigration still more strongly swept in, bringing all of its inseparable rubbish and frictions. The population of the State sprang from 297,500 to 606,500. This fact must be kept in sight. A closer and clearer view of the work may be had from a report made by the county superintendent of Hinds County. He said, among other things: I think we may safely reckon as one of the happiest results of this law the practical demonstration which, as an experiment, it has furnished that a system of common schools aiming to carry the means of instruction to all can live in this State. * * Schools and school.funds. Number of children between the ages of 6 and 20, September, 1848............ 2, 540 Number attending common schools, including Jackson free schools........... 1, 361 Number attending private schools.................................... 264 Number of common schools................................................. 47 Number of private schools.................................................., 11 It has been already pointed out that a great evil of this period was an invincible tendency to local and privileged legislation. The following extract from the report of the general superintendent for the year 282 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. 1851 will show to what undue extent that notion was carried and its disastrous consequences: At the session of the legislature in 1850 special acts upon the subject of the schools were passed for a large number of counties. The special legislation upon this subject has virtually repealed the law providing for a general system of common schools in the State. On examining the various laws upon this subject, repeals and reenactments, special and supplemental laws, the subject is thrown into such a state of confusion that it is difficult to tell what the law is. In December, 1849, my predecessor made an elaborate report to the governor in which he states that in his previous report he was able to report from one-fourth of the counties in the State, and regrets that in his present report he could present the condition of schools in only eleven counties. And I now have to report that during the last two years returns fiom three counties only have been made to this office. This is owing to the special laws passed for most of the counties which are not required to report the condition of the schools to the secretary of state. It is not so much my purpose to make a report upon schools as to show why I have not done it, and also to show due respect to those counties who have made their reports. This sharp stricture, and others, seem to have done no good. The specialized legislation continued. The act of March 15, 18,2; that of March 8, a second of March 8, that of March 12, that of March 10, that of March 16, and that of February 5, all were of the same nature. So also were those of October 14, 16, and 18, 1852; and those of the 18th and 19th of November, 1857. The legislature of 1859-60 passed no less than twenty-six of such statutes. Under such management the schools drifted along to the period of the civil war, doing some good, more in some localities than in others, of course, but in all crippled, in many paralyzed, by the want of a uniform and vigorous policy. THE COMMON SCHOOLS SINCE THE CIVIL WAR. On the 17th of January, 1867, a meeting of the teachers of the State was held in Jackson, for the purpose of organizing a State association. At that meeting the following resolutions were adopted, among others: Resolved, 1. That the enactment of a common-school system that shall meet the wants or necessities of the entire population is a desideratum of the utm, st importance. 2. That it is the duty as well as the interest of the State, through its legislature, to establish and maintain normal schools in different parts of the State for the pur'pose of educating colored teachers, so that they may be qualified to labor as teachers among the colored population of the State. 3. That it would be for the interest of the people and the promotion of education to have a uniform system. The plans of the teachers were never carried out, or at least carried out by their initiative. The reconstruction measures intervened. However, the reconstruction constitution of 1869 was framed and adopted, and one of its provisions was that it should be the duty of the legislature to establish a uniform system of free public schools, by taxation or otherwise, for all children between the ages of 5 and 21 years. The first legislature to convene under that constitution met January 11, 1870, and THE COMMON SCHOOLS. 283 it passed the act of July 4,1870, entitled "An act to regulate the supervision, organization, and maintenance of a uniform system of public education for the State of Mississippi." It is a most elaborate statute, covering with its supplements of that session no less than 21 printed pages. The substance of it is as follows: Each county in the State was constituted a school district, and so was each incorporated city containing more than 5,000 inhabitants. Free public schools were ordered to be maintained in each district for a period of four months or more in each year, affording suitable facilities to every resident youth between the ages of 5 and 21 years. The State board of education provided for by the constitution was given the general management of the common-school fund, including all donations and appropriations thereto, was required to appoint for each county a suitable county superintendent, and was given the power to remove such superintendents for incompetency, misfeasance, or nonfeasance, and authorized to fill vacancies. The State superintendent was made the presiding officer of the State board; was given the general supervision of all public schools, with the power of visitation; was authorized to prescribe rules for the organization and conducting of the schqpls and to decide all controversies about school management; was required to provide for the holding of annual teachers' institutes in each Congressional district and to make full reports to each legislature. The county superintendents were given the general supervision of the schools of the county and required to visit them at least once in each term; were authorized to examine the applicants for employment as teachers and to grant certificates according to their grade of scholarship to be good for not more than one' year; were required to perform such other duties as the State superintendent or the State board might designate. In each school district a board of school directors was provided for, to which was committed the general management. The various boards of supervisors were required to levy annual taxes to meet the estimated expenses, which were to be collected by the county tax collector, provided that the schoolhouse tax should not exceed 10 mills on the dollar nor the teachers' tax exceed 5. The various county treasurers were made the custodians of the school funds and required to disburse them only on the warrants of the presidents of the school directors. These statutes were substantially reenacted in the Revised Code of 1871. At the first there was much opposition to the system. The opposition was not to the education of the negro. The resolutions of the State Teachers' Association already set forth and the later history of the State make that fact plain. It was to the means and the people by which that education was undertaken. However, even that opposition did not last long. Although very bitter in some sections of the State it soon died away, and in the 284 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI.! report of the State superintendent to the legislature of 1872 he bears witness to a most marvelous revolution in public sentiment favorable to popular education during the past year."' By the act of 17th April, 1873, certain very important changes were made in the system. The boards of school directors were abolished and their duties parceled out between the boards of supervisors and the county superintendents. The patrons of schools were empowered to elect school trustees, who were to serve without salary, were to select teachers, to exercise visitorial powers over the schools, and care for their comfort and welfare. County superintendents were given salaries. The subdistrict system was abolished. The practice of collecting taxes and other moneys destined for the common-school fund in State warrants (which led to the very awkward result that the school funds were largely absorbed in payment of'the general debts of the State) was discontinued and such collections required to be made in currency. A general and uniform State tax of 4 mills on the doliar, in addition to the other taxes, etc., was levied for school purposes, the proceeds of which the auditor was required to distribute among the counties according to the proportions of educable children. All schools were divided into two grades. In those of the first, orthography, reading, penmanship, arithmetic, grammar, geography, history of the United States, and composition were the prescribed studies, and the teachers' salaries were fixed at from $60 to $75. In those of the second were prescribed orthography, reading, penmanship, and the rudiments of arithmetic, grammar, and geography, the teachers' salaries being fixed at from $35 to $60. In the year 1875 there was a political revolution in Mississippi, but the new legislature, which met in January, 1876, notwithstanding the excitements and intense passions of the period, did not disturb the public-school system, except in the way of some economical reforms. It would be a weary and unprofitable task to trace this subject through all the statutes. It was a matter very close to the people and about which they thought much. Every legislature, consequently, had more or less to say about it, but their action was in respect to details mainly, and but little of it fundamental. The general scheme, as already explained, remained unchanged. To the legislature which convened in January, 1890, the Hon. J. R. Preston, State superintendent, made an elaborate biennial report, comprising 402 printed pages, and from it, as a final exhibit of the progress and present status of the public-school system in this State, the following statistics and remarks are taken: The public schools of Mississippi are making steady and substantial progress. The following facts indicate the lines and degree of improvement made during the two years embraced in this report. I Senate Journal, 1872, Appendix, p. 181. THE COMMON SCHOOLS. 285 Scholastic year 1888-89 compared with 1886-87. 1. Increase in enrollment (16 per cent).................................. 51,213 -2. Increase in average daily attendance (15 per cent).................... 28, 562 3. Increase in number of schools...........-...-................... 919 4. Increase in number of first-grade teachers...........-................. 1,018 5. Number of schoolhouses built.-........-...-..-............. - 826 6. Amount expended for country buildings, 1888-89...................... $116, 951 7. Expended for buildings last two years (approximate)................. 330,000 8. Increase in amount collected for public schools.............. 294, 465 9. Increase in amount expended, including $116,951 for building......... 276, 464 10. Increase of one day in the average length of term. Taking into consideration the increased attendance, length of term, and number of schools, the system has cost proportionately the same as in 1886-87. In 66 counties the collections exceeded the disbursements by $191,300, while practically only 8 counties exceeded their collections, incurring a debt in all of about $15,000. Twelve of our towns and cities within the past two years have erected school buildings costing in the aggregate $190,000. Estimating the 812 3ountry schoolhouses at $175 each, or $142,100 for all, we have expended for schoolhouses a total of $332,100. Our teachers have met in 1,954 institutes and devoted one day each month to the improvement of their qualifications. Through the influence of the institutes and the uniform annual examinations, much study has been done at home and in summer normal schools, resulting in an increase of 1,018 first-grade teachers. The State Teachers' Association has been revived, and meets annually at the capital to discuss educational topics, while three district associations have been organized and hold annual sessions during vacation in different portions of the State. These associations stimulate professional pride, inculcate higher views of duty, enlighten public sentiment, and popularize the school system. County and city superintendents have visited and inspected the schoolroom work, have corrected many defects, and greatly improved the teaching service, so that it is not an overestimate to say that the children are to-day receiving 25 per cent better instruction than formerly. These causes combine to express themselves in the concrete facts of 51,000 more children in the schools and 15 per cent more in average attendance in the twelve elegant buildings that have arisen to adorn our towns and to open the fountains of knowledge to their youth; in the 600 framed schoolhouses built for country boys and girls; in the extended terms of all separate school districts and of many of the country schools of every county. An era of improvement has manifestly begun; and though we are yet far from realizing the final aims of a great State system, still we find many causes of satisfaction in the achievements and evident progress of our free schools. White. Colored. Total. Educable children, from assessors' reports....................... 191,792 272, 682 464,474 Educable children enumerated by teachers (69 counties)'............. 175, 485 210,166 385, 651 Number enrolled in public schools.................................... 148,435 173, 552 321,987 Average daily attendance............................................ 90, 716 101, 710 192, 426 Number of distributees shown by auditors report................... 453, 24 Numlber of public schools......................................... 429 5, 777 1 There are 74 counties; 5 failed to report. 286 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. Number of pupils in average attendance for each school......................................... 33 Number of pupils in average attendance for each teacher...................................... 27 Per capita expenditures in country schools: For each educable child............$....9........,..,................... $1.97 For each enrolled pupil.................................................. $2.80 For each in average attendance........................................... $4. 70 Average cost per pupil per month............................................. $1.08 Average number of days taught (taking county as a unit)....................................... 85 Average number of days taught (calculated on the basis of average attendance)............... 87* White. Colored. Total. Number of institutes........................,,.... 528 427 955 Amount collected for institutes............$..................... $1, 917. 10 $1, 707. 50 $3, 625. 60 Number of first-grade teachers employed............................. 2,408 394 2, 802 Number of second-grade teachers employed............................ 1, 319 1,408 2,727 Number of third-grade teachers employed....................... 172 1,298 1, 470 tember. In May. Total. Number of teachers examined................................ 3, 865 2, 954 6, 819 Number of teachers licensed.......................................... 2, 670 2, 733 6, 403 Male. Female. Total. Number of white teachers employed................................... 1, 700 2,318 4,018 Number of colored teachers employed.................................. 1, 857 1, 240 3,097 'Total number of teachers employed................................... 3,557 3, 558 7, 115.. _Amount paid in salaries to white teachers............................................... $589, 400. 44 Amount paid in salaries to colored teachers......................................... 341, 268.16 Total paid in salaries during scholastic year.......................9................... 930, 668.60 Number of schoolhouses built in 1888-89: Log..................................................................................... 110 Fram ed........................................................................................ 359 Brick.................................................................................... 9 Total................................................................... 478 Private schools. White. Colored. Total. Number of private schools....................... 408 80 488 Attendance in private schools........................ 12, 990 2, 244 15, 243 Males. Females. Both. Average salaries per month in country schools: To white teachers............................................ $35.61 $31.53 $32. 94 To colored teachers................................................ 25. 73 20.15 23.44 Average salaries per month in city and country combined: To white teachers................................. 38. 77 32.09 33.97 To colored teachers. —................................ 26.83 20.48 24.16 Average salary per month in the State............................................ 29.16......... THE COMMON SCHOOLS. 287 Financial summaries. [Taken from reports of county superintendents.] Total receipts from all sources for public schools....................................... $1, 292, 273.53 Total expenditures...................................................................... 1, 117,110.82 Amount carried forward to next school year............................................. 191, 299.12 Miscellaneous expenses.......................................................... 28, 745.25 Amount paid in salaries of county superintendents...................................... 33, 307.21 Highest salary paid to county superintendents.......................................... 800.00 Lowest salary paid to county superintendents.......................................... 150.00 Average salary paid to county superintendents...................................... 450.10 Expended for building schoolhouses...................................... 116, 951.50 Itemized amounts of school reean ues for 1888-89. [From reports of county superintendents.] Brought forward from 1887-88............-................................... $139, 289.43 State distribution 7................................................ 259,735.26 County levies............................................................................ 341, 422.13 City levies............................................................................... 95, 960.67 Polls................................................................................ 163, 944.87 Fines and forfeitures.................................................................... 53,427.84 Chickasaw interest...................................................................... 56, 955. 30 Sixteenth-section fund...1.............................................................. 18,117.46 Railroad tax................................16, 279.49 Other sources (estrays, land redemptions, bonds, liquor licenses)..................... 78, 712. 03 Two and3 per cent schoolhouse fund....................... 78, 429.05 Total from all sources........................................... 1, 292, 273.53 THE SEPARATE DISTRICT SCHOOLS. These schools form an important feature of the system of common schools in Mississippi. They are more or less strictly graded, and in addition to their work as primary schools teach the higher classes to such an extent that they are destined apparently to displace the private high schools, at least in some localities. The act of 1870 provided that "any incorporated city containing more than 5,000 inhabitants should constitute a separate school district." By the Revised Code of 1871 this privilege was further extended to cities having more than 3,000 inhabitants and the administration of the separate schools committed to the city officials. In April, 1873, this privilege was extended so as to embrace cities of more than 2,000 inhabitants; and finally, in 1878, so as to include cities of more than 288 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. 1,000 inhabitants. Under these statutes the following schools have been established: Statement of separate district schools, 1888-89. Location. Aberdeen........... 11 Bay St. Louis......... -. Biloxi........... 7 Brandon (female)... Brandon (male)... 0 Brookhaven....... 9 Canton (female)... 8 Canton (male)...... 8 Coffeeville.......... 5 Columbus.......... 10 Corinth......... 8 Crystal Springs.... 8 Greenville....9.... 9 Grenada........... 6 Hazlehurst....... 8 Holly Springs...... 9 Jackson............ 10 Kosciusko........ 12 Macon............. 10 Meridian.......... 10 Natchez..... Oxford.............l 13 Okolona........... 6 Port Gibson....... 6 Sardis.............. 10 Starkville.......... No. Summit............. a Tupelo............. 6 Vicksburg(femnale) 8 Vicksburg (male). |. 8 Water Valley...... 10 Wesson........... 9 Westpoint.. --- —.-. 9 Winona (female).. -. Winona (male)...... Yazoo City......... ' 9 a S1 10 7 7 7 7 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 9 9 10 10 10 10 9 9 10 10 10 9 112 124 116 126..... 80 55 45 30 50 70 324 325 125 200 137 138 205 176 87 70 132 152 239 221 120 130 120 140 307 419 221 280 170 181 140 210 64 63 105 95 70 50 102 108 108 148... 410 301 251 255 255 275 168 187... 180 130..... 97 117.,4 0 Mills. 3 5 3 (a) 3 3 (a) 4 3 3 5 1I 4 4 5 3 6 3 3 5 5 3 4 (a) | 7i! 3$ 31 t-4 $6,200 $75 to $50 1, 295 60to 30 1,500 50to 30 (a) 0 to 30 2, 250 60 to 45 3, 234 55 to 35 (a) 55to 45 2,400 65 to 40 9,400 119 to 40 1,800......... 2, 200 125 to 40 5,100 75 to 40 1,740 100 to 25. O.... 10 to 40....1....100 to 50 5,000 150 to 20 2, 200 90 to 35 4,000 100 o 40 14,200 200 to 40....... l00to 40 4,000 120to 40 4,500 75 to 40 1,500 75to 30 3,300 1100to 40 1,100 60io 30........55to 35 4,000 100 to 35 12,286 125to 40 (a) 75to - - 5,267 125 to 35 2,837 11l to 25 6.050 150to 20 2, 500 75to 30 (a) 75to 30 6,493 130 to 45 Principal. $30, 000 5, 000 1,000 500 4, 000 6, 500 70, 000 3, 000 900 10, 000 11, 000 20, 000 5,000 40,000 2, 500 12,000 50, 000 40, 000 15, 000 35, 000 3, 500 5, 500 1,200 4, 500 12, 000 16, 000 7.500 10, 000 12, 000 20, 000 (b) 3, 000 20, 000 9 5 1, Mrs. Annie T. Sale. No report. C. D Lancaster. Miss F. A. Johnson. T. E. Lamb. R. E. A. Stuart. Mrs. Ann Webster. W. B. Jones. W. R. Mabry. J. M. Barrow. C. P. Elgin. H. J. Fry. E. E. Bass. H. J. Phillips. J. S. Perrin. W. A. Anderson. J. C. Brooks. W. D. Berry. W. F. Moncrieff. A. A. Kincannon. Wm. H. Ker. J. G. Wooten. Thos. C. Walton. Miss A. M. Kinnard. J. W. Tinsley. W. E. Saunders. Miss C. A. Lamkin. W. A. Belk. E. W. Wright. H. F. Simrall, jr. F. P. Elliott. E. L.Ragland. T. J. Woofter. J. T. Zealy. G. W. Smith, J. H. Leckev. 11 8 13 6 2 7 a Abore. b Rented NOTES OF INTEREST IN REFERENCE TO THE ABOVE SCHOOLS. The female school at Brandon is the Brandon Female College, established by Miss Frank A. Johnson in 1865. It has had a long and useful career. The Columbus school is the Franklin Academy, on which there is a special chapter. The Natchez school was established in 1845, on much the same plan as now, through the efforts mainly of Alvarez Fisk. Its branch for colored children cost $30,000. The Summit school is a Peabody school, and was once given $1,000 per annum from that fund. Organized in 1867. The Vicksburg school was opened in 1845. About 1850, Dr. J. G. Holland, the distinguished author and editor, was its principal. The Wesson school lost its handsome building by fire in 1890. Several of these schools are provided with valuable libraries and apparatus; 'the Meridian school has 5,000 volumes, and the Biloxi school a 6-inch telescope. As a specimen school of this class, a statement is appended of the THE COMMON SCHOOLS. 289 Greenville school. It seems to be about a fair average. The Meridian, Aberdeen, Columbus, and Jackson schools (especially the first, which has a main school and two branches for the whites) are on a grander scale; but, also, there are others much less extensive. In conclusion, it remains to say that nearly all of the schools described have branches for colored children, always in separate buildings, but generally under the same principal and trustees. The following statistical statement is from Superintendent Preston's report: Synopsis of statistics. Number of separate school districts in the State in 1888-89................................-...-. 34 Male. Female. Total. Educable children: W hite....................................................... 8, 9 8 9. 746 18, 714 Colored.............................................................. 7, 858 8, 579 16, 437 Both races...................................... 16, 826 18, 325 35,151 Number enrolled: White.......................................................... 4, 723 5,398 10,121 Colored................................................................ 4,044 4, 990 9,034 Both races -................................... 8, 767 10, 388 19, 155 Number enrolled out of every 100 educable children................ 52 56 554 Average daily attendance: W hite................................................. 2 9...... 2,944 3,508 6,452 Colored................................................................ 2,492 2,824 5,316 Both races..................................................... 5,436 6, 333 11, 768 Number in average attendance out of every 100 educable children........ 32 34 33 Number in average attendance out of every 100 enrolled............-.... 6 61 66 1 White. Colored. Per cent of educable children who were in schools....................... 54 55 Per cent of enrollment in average attendance. —..................... 63 58 Expended for each educable child........................................................ $4. 25 Expended for each enrolled pupil................................................$7.27 Expended for each pupil in average attendance --—....-........................ $12.64 Average number of months schools were in session............................................. 8 Male. Female. Total. Number of white teachers employed....................................... 50 18 233 Number of colored teachers employed................... 52 97 149 Number of teachers of both races...102 280 382 Amount expended in salaries of teachers....................................... $124, 811.16 Total expenditures in separate school districts..........................................16907 Average cost of tuition of one pupil for one month..................................... 1.33 Male. Female. Total. Average salaries per month: W hite............................................................. $90.22 + $41.19 $51.84.$90. 22 $41.19 $51.84 Colored............................................................... 27 26. 02 31.73 Both races.............................. --- —---------------------- 67..3u 35..94 42.69 Both races.67. 3u 35. 94 42. 69 Assessed valuation of all property in separate school districts................$28,462, 335 Assessed valuation of all property in counties containing separate school districts....... 90, 818, 985 Total assessed valuation of all property il the State in 1889............18..................., 000 21785-No. 24 -19 290 HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI. THE (GKEENVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOL. E. E. BAss, Superintendent. This is a two-story brick building, containing one large hall 30 by 60 feet, and ten recitation rooms about 24 by 25 feet. The original plan was for an H building having a large study hall on each floor with four recitation rooms (one at each corner) opening into it. This plan was for the time abandoned for want of means, and the rooms on the north end were not built until this fall and are now about completed. The entire building is well lighted -and ventilated. It might be much improved, yet as a whole it is very convenient and comfortable. The cost of building, very nearly $10,000; yard, 150 by 240 feet; coal and well house, and a shed constructed by the boys for gymnasium, which is not yet very well fitted up. Blackboards made of cement extend around every room. The entire building is furnished with patent seats and desks of oak. Upper floor, individual desks; lower, double; cost, $1,000. There are two complete sets of maps; one large one of Mississippi River; two reading charts, two sets of blocks, and other kindergarten materials. Besides the above, the school, from its own resources, has bought a library of 200 books, chemicals and apparatus sufficient for all text-book work, and some physical apparatus, and we have quite a beginning for a museum. Also have an organ for assembly hall. The Y. M. C. A. of our city have kindly granted the use of two large globes and a magnificent microscope. The teachers are elected annually by the board of trustees; a principal and nine assistants; highest salary, $75; lowest, $40; average, $56.87i; principal, $1,200. The entire school is divided into nine grades; each grade, except eighth and ninth, again divided into classes A and B. Grades one, two, and three constitute the primary school. Grades eighth and ninth, high school work: 1. R6sum6 of United States history with civil government. 2. English history with English and American literature. 3. Business arithemetic with algebra and geometry. 4. Physics and chemistry with laboratory work. 5. Botany, zoology, and physiology, with microscopic studies. 6. Writing business forms, elements of bookkeeping, drawing from objects. 7. German, Latin reader and Caesar and Virgil. 8. Rhetoric. The entire school sing, and are taught the elements of music; all are drilled in composition, elocution, and calisthenics. French and German are extra and are taught out of school hours. Boys. Girls. Total. _ Number enrolled 1888-89................................................... 205 176 381 Number remaining at close............ --- —......... —.. —....... ------ - 175 148 323 Average attendance daily............................................. —. 315 City school tax, 1~ mills. Salaries for school-teachers, 1889-90.... -.. -...-...... -:.................. $4, 840 Janitor and other expenses........................-.. --- —.........- 200 Coal.....-.. —....9..0......-...... —.. --- — ---.. --- —-------..... --- —---- ------ 90 FACULTY FOR 1889-90. White school.-E. E. Bass, principal; Miss Christian, first assistant; Miss Darling, second assistant; Miss Easley, third assistant; Miss Stern, fourth assistant; Mrs. Young, fifth assistant; Miss Finley, sixth assistant; Miss Trigg, seventh assistant; Miss Johnston, eighth assistant. [Whole Number 256 UNITED STATES-BUREAU OF EDUCATION. CIRCULAR OF INFORMATION NO. 2, 1899. CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. EDITED BY HERBERT B. ADAMS. N.2. No. 24. H ISTORY OF EDUCATION IN'. MISSISSIPPI. BY EDWARD- MAYES LL. D. Ex-Chancellor of the University of Mississippi, President of'the -State Historical As8ociation of Miesissippi. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1899.