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The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, May 04, 1855, Image 1

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__ BIV0T1D TO UTBRATURS, THB ARTS, SCIINGS, AGRICULTURB, M1BWS, POLITICS, ?J., *Q.
TERMS??ONE DOLLAR PER ANNUM,] "Lot it bo Instilled into the Hearts of your Children that the Liberty of the Press is the Palladium of all your Rights."?Junius. [PAYABLE IN ADVANCE*
VOLUME 2?NO. 52. . ABBEVILLE C. II., SOUTII CAROLINA, FRIDAY MORNING, MAY 4, 1855. WHOLE NUMBER 104.
MISCELLANY.
_ AN address,
Delivered before the South Carolina Institute,
at Charleston, April 1*7, 1855,%
Hon. James L. Our.
Ladies and Gentlemen: This is an
occasion of lively interest to the city of
Charleston, as well as to the State of South
Carolina. The commodious building we
occupy has been erected by their united
liberalityj and is now dedicated to developing
the mechanic arts.- and tl>? <???#. i? '
industry of South Carolina. Its giant timbers
groan beneath the weight of their combined
production;*, brought and exhibited
here as tangible proofs of superior skill in
their varied departments?to contest the
prizes offered by your liberality, and to
stimulate still higher perfection in useful
and ingenious labor. The mechanic is hero,
the artisan is here, the manufacturer is here,
and here is the farmer and planter, and
here too are the fair daughters of Carolina,
the noble matron, and tho blooming damBel?all
are hereto tender you their offerings
of industry, of skill, of artistic, taste.
Their contributions not only charm the eye,
but gladden the heart of all who feel a
proper solicitude in the progress and permanent
prosperity of our much cherished
commonwealth.
The founders of the Institute have achicv
eu a iriumpti which concedes tlieir segacity
and public spirit, and may justly congratulate
themselves on tho eminent success of
tlieir praiseworthy experiment, when they
see around, arranged in faultless order, the
various works, fabrics, and inventions,
for supplying man's wants and ministering
to his comforts.
A new era has dawned on the productive
energies and capabilities of South Carolina,
and through the determined enterprise
of her patriotic citizens, she will go hand
in hand with the foremost, in this progressive
advance in national development. May
the sun of her prosperity never set.
Agricultural Fairs for a long while have
bcci'i no novelties in this country or in Europe,
and the quality and quantity of its
productions have doubtless been sensibly
augmented by the knowledge imparted, and
the spirit of rivalry awakened among Agriculturalists.
Within the last thirty years,
however, the initiative has been taken in the
United States, of encouraging the mechanic
arts, by the organization of Mechanic Institutc?,
and adding to Hie exhibition and
comparison of mechanic labor, lectures on
such practical and scientific subjects, as educated
the artisan and mechanic in his profession.
Wherever the poliev has been
...i?i?.i <i... 1?- i 1 "
me iu^uiw iitivt*uccn most gratifying
in the social elevation and enlightenment
of this numerous and useful class of
society, and we may confidently assume
that Charleston and the State will be most
bounteously rewarded for their patronage of
this Institute in the professional, social and
intellectual elevation of the mechanic, nnd
tho citizen in general.
Great Britain at the World's Fair in London,
has not only eclipsed all former exhibitions,
but through her patronage of that
Fair, has accomplished more in stimulating
mechaic skill?in giving greater impetus to
the inventive genius of her subjects, and in
jqinarting thought and knowledge in the
arts ana agriculture, than all the acts of her
<V,I. !:?lf o /.??!<.?
Her example was followed by this country,
but with results f:ir less satisfactory.
And yet the Crystal Palace at New York
lias accomplished jjood. The paintings,
statuary, and machinery, were visited by
thousands; they were observed, studied, crit*
cised,and many useful ideas were impressed
on the elastic minds of our countrymen,
which may in future be fully developed to
the permanent advantage of tins great country.
>
An imposing exhibition, after the London
model, is projected for this year at Paris,
under the immediate patronage of the Emperor.
It is not merely the pageant that
prompts him. He Jias the sagacity to avail
himself of tho occasion, to spread out before
(lis subjects their own productions of
artistic and mechanical skill, and the finest
-specimens and models of ingenious work'manship
in all the countries of tho civilized
world. Will hot the 'generous rivalry inci'ted,
and the information attained byhis&ub:
. jects, amply reimburse tho small national
outlay for its construction and inauguration ?
Such facts prove the deep interest taken
<by these three principal nations in fostering
and promoting every variety of mechanical
'industry, and nearly all the goyernments of
society as well as tHese, have manifested a
like solicitude by cofnerring franchises on inventors,
allowing them the exclusive use and
monopoly of new inventions by letters patent
for a series of years. Nor can their solicitude
awaken surprise, when we consider
'the vast amount of labor employed, other
'thnn agriculturnV-in supplying the* natural
and acquired wants of the human family.
Dr. Ure, in his invaluable Dictionary of
Arta, Manufactures and Mines, defines operative
industry to be "to produce, transform,
rand distribute, all such material objects as
Are suited to satisfy the want* of mankind)
^he primary production of theae 'objeCU U
.assigned to the husbandman, the fisherman,
?od the miner ; theirlrantforjnalien, to the
fnnraCicturer and artisan, and their distri
I
or." Mechanical labor enters into mining,
and is eminently useful to the husbandman
and fisherman in production; its transformation
employs exclusively that species of labor
; and its distribution, except the muscles
and sinews of the sailor, and the winds
of heaven, is lilccwi.se accomplished by the
same labor. How important then is it to
man, that such aggregation of necessary labor
by one class, should be directed by education,
facilitated by science, stimulated by
exciting generous emulation among its members,
fostered by wise legislation, and patronized
and encouraged by the sympathy
and kind offices of the good citizen?
No service more acceptable to the State
of South Carolina could have been rendered
by her most sagacious and patriotic citizen,
than the organization of this Institute,
the object of which is to devclope a species
of labor greatly needed throughout her
limits. The meagre supply of mechanical
industry is a serious impediment to our prosperity.
We should possess it in such abun|
dance as to have every want supplied in that
department by mechanics residing among
us, unless from some natural or adventitious
cause, it can be more cheaply produced else
where?and this distribution of labor is as
necessary to advance agriculture as other
branches of industry. Do we now possess
it? Who can answer affirmatively? In
1850, the artisans and mechanics numbered
9,993, whilst all other occupations amounted
to 58,550, showing that less than onesixth
of our while population are engaged in
tins extensive branch of industry, and if the
labor of our slaves be taken into the estimate,
it may safeley be assumed that less than
one-fifteenth of all (he labor in the State
is thus employed. In New York, the artisans
and mechanics numbered 252,747, and
all other occupations 035,933, giving nearly
one-third of her population to the mechanic
arts?and let it be borne in mind,
that New York is a great agricultural
State. In Maryland, there are 28,010 artists
and mechanics, and all other employments
number only 80,800, showing that
iiniu ui iici viimio mmti JJU[mi!UIOIl
are pursuing tbe mechanic arts. Tliere is
another comparison which the late census
suggests. Maryland's population is 683,034,
whilst that of South Caroling is 668,
507. The improved lands in Maryland are
2,797,905 acres, in South Carolina 4,072,G51
acres; the unimproved lands in Maryland
arc 1,836,445 acres, and South Carolina
12,145,049 acres ; and yet the remarkable
fact is exhibited that the cash valuation
of the improved lands in Maryland is
greater than in South Carolina, although
tbe quantity is less by nearly, one-half. The
valuation in the former is $87,178,545, and
in the latter $86,568,038. This indicates
a high state of agricultural prosperity in Maryland,
which may well be emulated. What
is in the soil or agricultural productions
mere, bo superior to South Carolina? There
is a more judicious distribution of labor
there, and her large city, Baltimore, has
appreciated the value of lands by furnishing
a ready cash market for agricultural products
grown on lliein. It is the labor and
enterprise of Baltimore mechanics that has
swelled her area and wealth in a few years
from a small town to a majestic city.
In 1*790 the population of Baltimore was
13,503, and Charleston 10,359; in 1850
Baltimore had grown to 109,054, and
Charleston to 42,985. At the period when
this comparison commences, the exports of '
Charleston were more varied and valuable;
the commerce she enjoyed more enriching;
the interior country supporting her more
fertile and extensive ; lier geographical position
more favorable by reason of freedom
from the competition of other cities t in nil
these respect* Charleston had the advantage
of Baltimore, Now their 'situations
have changed, and Baltimore quadruples
the population of our favorite city, and her
commerce, tonnage, and prosperity have gone
on increasing in the same wondrous' manner
as her population.
Why is it so ? Let a stranger; visit the
two cities and he will assign you the reasons.
He will first tell you that no great city cart
be built up aimpfy by exporting great sta{>les;
she must give employment to other
abor and pursuits than to commission merchants.
Sho must have her artisans and
mechanics. He will see in Baltimore extensive
ship yards enclosing her harbor, hundreds
of ship carpenters actively employed
in constructing new boats and vessels, ard
jo repairing old ?nd crazy hulks, and perhaps
whilst admiring the active industry of
the scene around, lie will discover a vea?,
sel sailing into port with ship lumber from
Charleston. Baltimore ship wrnenters are
to realize all the profits arisft^from Working
the lumber. If a Charleston merchant
desires to purchase a vessel for the foreign
or coasting trade* fie sends to Baltiuioreand
pays the *60t000/denmpd^d for it, when his
owp city has received fui; every stick, of timber
iu it, but #1 Q,600,' To \yhpso' Support
aua gain uoeaifia (Utterance ot $4tf,OOUgaJ
' How many b!iip carpenters would be employed
a whole year on snch a BUhj I^Wnat
activity wouUl be infused in every branch of
" busiae^'in^TOi^^Uy,if twenty BUcb'vettejB
r wer| anniiafly, f^aetructed Jp ydifrfyvfh h&r'i,
-2m*.
barrier in your way. The season of your
epidemic disease, should it return unfortunately
every year, is shorter than the rigors
of an inhospitable winter at Kittery, Portland,
Boston or New York, when labor is
almost entirely suspended bv the workmen.
The lumber they use is taken from your
I wharves. Why not put the labor on it before
committing it to the strifes of ocean,
and build up and enrich your own mechanics?
The stranger will see in Baltimore
thousands of mechanics at, their forges, furnaces
and found lies, in their shot towers,
marble and stone yards, shops, and machine
shops. Nearly every square supports its
tall chimney with black smoke issuing from
the furnace of an engine driving machinery
ntilcUn T-T?. 1?
..V ...? uiuv, liijil lllilllj MHUllV SIHVK3 WOIIK1
the stranger count in Charleston? How
many engines, propelling machinery, would
he be able to enumerate ? Was not the
steam engine some years back a mala proliibita
within the corporate limits of this
city? How many carpenters at your ship
yards, mechanics at your forges and foundries,
and machinists at your work shop?,
would he count? These hints furnish some
of the prominent reasons why Baltimore
has outstripped Charleston, and indicate
means of speedily and permanently promoting
her languishing prosperity.
The demand for engines and locomotives
is now imposing, and annually augmenting
throughout the State. Engines are being
extensively introduced for saw, merchant
and grist mills, as well as for various descriptions
of machines to save or facilitate
labor. Eight hundred miles and more of
Railroads traverse the State, and the locomotives
used cost the companies not less annually
than 8150,000. Have you machinists
enough in Charleston to execute
supplies for the demand from all sources?
If you have not strive to obtain them.
How vivifying and refreshing to every industrial
interests' if the ?250,000, annually
expended abroad for engines and locomotives,.
could be retained at homo to pay
home mechanics ?
It is unnecessary that I should point out
other branches of mechanical industry.
ine examples given establish your greatest
want; and until artisans and mechanics
crowd your city, I fear that your hopes of
a greatly enhanced prosperity are illusory.
In many localities in the country the deficiency
in the mechanic arts is even greater
than here, and with a less sufficient excuse
for delinquency. Town ami village property,
taxes, rents and provisions are lower
than in the city, and the climate is
healthful and salubrious?exempt from all
malignant epidemic maladies?and yet some
of our villages can boast of no higher attainment
in tho mechanic arts than the possession
^of a blacksmith, who can shoe a
horse and lay a plow, or a house carpenter,
who can jack plank artd saw lumber; and
wlmt is tho result ? Tn traveisinrr the conn
- C5
try-we too often sec huge piles of lumber
thrown together witout regard to convcuience
or comfort iu light or ventilation?
without symmetry, and without consulting
a einglo point of architectural taste or beauty,
and tlic expense incurred by the builder
equal to its const ruction and completion with
neatness and even elegance. Unless some
improvement is made in rural architecture,
another order will be added to the existing
list, which a cynic might denominate the
"Carolina," as descriptive of the locality of
its origin. The dwelling placcs of the dead
manifest the same absence of taste, care and
attention ats those of the living. ' A church
yard is generally selected as the depository
of the remains of the deceased. It is enclosed
and is shrubbed out, until the plat
covered over with graves ; then commences
an unpitying . neglect?the paling decays'
and tumbles to the ground?the
briars and brambles spring up and become
a covert for the hare, the fox and the serpent!
No stone rises to? mark the spot
where a loved one reposfcs. In private burial
grounds the picture is even more revolting.
The homestead passes into the hands
of thoughtless,'.end, perhaps, heartless strangers;
tli? enqjosqre falls, and time and seasons
level the little-mound. Sdon it is forgotten
that the dea'tl^leep there ' and over j
the, bones of the once owner .of the man- j
sioji, groves and, broad fields around, cotton
and corn grows. .Oh! what desecration, of
the dead. The aboriginal^ savage marked j
by more dnduring^fhonnments the resting j
places of their loved dead. They heaped |
earth and stone togetber^so.fi.igh that ages
did not efface the memorial,,and all future
generations trod lightly over the ppot where
the venerated sleepfir reposed-EVery town
and village should have its ceraetcry?^-enj
closedwith sitbMantiai ^ron'railing?laid out
ip plate ami walks, apd planted fn flowers
an^ ^vergfecn6, andssome ft^at and simple
monument be^ereeted over everjr gcavfe.
Thts^would. be showing that respect' andiflftertion
for the memory oflhe ^e<id, ^iie't>y
mechanics toxmnroyethiitvle 6f ouHhtiil&'l
stone cutters to.b^tUV^na/ owametit* the
cheapest of all motors yetdiscovered, is furnished
in the greatest abundance rear the
city, over the shoaly beds of the Broad, Saluda
and Congareo rivers. An unlimited
amount of machinery could be propelled,
and a great variety of works and fabrics produced.
It is easy of access by the railroads
gn>g niiuiii no iuuiu?t ana is piacea
thereby within a few hours of every description
of raw material furnished by the
State. Nearly all the upper districts are
likewise prodigally supplied with water-power.
The streams have their sources in the
mountains and are fed by bold unfailing
springs yielding in their channels a uniform
regular current, exposed neither to congelation
in the winter, nor to evaporation or absorption
in the summer. This secures us a
striking and important natural advantage
over tho northern and eastern States, for the
severity of their winters freeze the streams
and ice-bind their wheels so as to suspend
for several months the working of all machinery
driven by water, and as a conse3ucnce
curtails profit by suspending all labor
epending upon such agency, to the detriment
of the stockholder. Our operations
may uu continued uie year tlirough without
any such iuterruption or draw baok on the
profits of the investment. The extraordinary,
low price at which water power may
be purchased, being really little beyond the
intrinsic value of the land usually annexed'
to it, should induce enterprise and capital
to cover the base of every shoal in South
Carolina with machinery, for the extensive ,
and economical manufacture of all useful
fabrics and implements. If this picture :
could be converted into a reality, how many <
happy light-hearted mechanics, artisans and <
machinists would find employment, and
what new prosperity would be diffused with- i
in our borders? The answer may be found
by estimating how much of our wealth?
hard-earned wealth from tho laborious til-'
lage of cotton and rice in a soil once rich, I
Out now gradually impoverishing?is annually
expended in remote sections for the ;
commonest implements and utensils. ,
W.benco comes your axes, hoes, scythes,
reapers, chains?yes even your plows, harrows,
rakes, axe and auger handles ? Your i
liusey, brogans, blankets, and much of your <
domestics? Your furniture, carpets, calicos
and muslins? The cradle that rocks your
infant to sweet slumbers?the top your boy
spins?the doll your little girl caresses?the i
clothes your children wear? tlic books from !
which they are educated?the cnrriago you !,
ride in, and the guns and fishing tackle you !
sport with, are all imported into South Car-. i
olina, and the products of the soil are borne I
away to pay for them. In despite of all i
this the Suite has prospered, but how much
more exalted would have been her progress
and improvement, if her -wants had been i
supplied fit home by the labor'of her own
citizens ? Growing towns and - smiling villages
would greet the eye?no gullied fields
or dilapidated mansions would tell that agriculture
languished, if vre had siisely diversified
labor.?Can a policy bo. obviously at
war with every precept of political economy,
and so fatal to every principle of social
progress be longer persisted in? There 'is
no natural obstacle to supplying ourselves
with every article I have enumerated, by
pioperly directed labor in our own State.
We have genius,education, industry and the
material; and if our citizens would estimate
the advntage8 to flow from a changed policy
soon, we would have capital seeking invest
went, in practical manufacturing schemcs.
None others should be encouraged. I would
not urge my fellow-citzens to establish an embargo
on all foreign industry?to refuse to
purchase abroad such articles and materials
for use and pleasure as from soil, climate,
cheap labor, great skill, largo experience or
other cause, could be obtained at a less cost
than they could be matured at within our
own limits. 'I would not controvert the
sound political and social-axiomr"to buy in
the cheapest,- and Bell in the dearest markets"
But I am foP* stimulating enterprise,
ho as to make it our'interest to buy at home,
when there is no natural impediment in
making the home market as good as nny
other. It inspires a sense of independence
and brings freighted in its train wealth, happiness,
qud contentment.
Some or the deficiencies of long duration
are now being repaired by the active energy
and enterprise of oqr citizens. Cotton
manufactories .are sponging up, and stockholders
who have scoured prudent supervision
of their establishment*, are now, "and
have for sotne year? past, been realizing a
greater-per cenU on the oapital invested,
than has been yielded, by investments in
agriculture. Experience .and the enlarged t
skill it brings, will pertainly ensure even
larger dividends in the future. -This branch
of manufactures should bo extended until |
the markets of the whole world are supplied
with cotton yarn and ^atseZ/abrics, produced
in the manufactories of -the 'Southern
State*..t w<tAre wanting fa no singular natiu%l
advantage to compete successfully with
every rival. The cheap rxjot<?r, a healthful,
yluBtlou^ cJj
amount of the manufactured fabric, but the
pound of the latter brings into the country
three times the amount of cash brought in
by the former. Why may we not embark
extensively in this branch of industry, with
the positive assurance of our ability to undersell
all competitions in these articles in
every market ?
Other experiments in manufacturing have
crowned the hopes of their authors with
gratifying success, and have illustrated genius
and capacity of a high order in our
mechaliics. Paper mills in various localities
have been erected, and iheir fabrics
?i! l -
.?v. ^uib ujyuu me upcrtiuives, ana establish
the triumph of the experiment.
Much of the letter and cap paper used in
tho State, and most of the paper for the
newspaper press in this and other Southern
States, is manufactured in South Crifclina
mills, and at a fairly remunerating profit to
owners and stockholders.
.The machine shops in Charleston are
going in popular favor; the finely finished
machinery, 6uch as engines and locomotives,
turned out of the shops is the highest recommendation
to tho skill of your workmen
?it is their best advertisement?they require
no other eulogist of their merit, and
the day is not far distant, I trusty when the
last engine and locomotive shall bo landed
on a Charleston wharf?the. necessities of
the State being supplied by our own enterprising
and industrious mechanics.
YDill* fnnnrlrtoo l.ow* nn/J ?
... .wv.,.%4.41.U *IVI? UUU III LIIVJ lULCriUI
are beginning to comp etc with older establishments
in other States?let them make
a character by the elegance and durability
of their works?increase their force and
capital?press the enterprises with becoming
energy, and they will bo munificently
appreciated by a discriminating public.
There is one branch of mechanical manufacture
which, from its rapid advance and
high perfection, is entitled to the special
laudation of every friend of improvement?
thousands *of dollars, annually expended
a few years back, in New Jersey, New-York
and Connecticut for carriages and other
wheeled vehicles, are now expended in our
midst to pay domestic mechanics for the
same work executed in their shops. Maqy^
of the towns in the State, can bear testimony
to the streams of prosperity turned upon
ihem, by the establishment.of such manufactories
in their midst. If you doubt the
il.. ' * * * *
skiii oi mo mecnanios engaged in tins ,
branch, look at the specimens on exhibition
here. Will they puffer in a comparison 1
with any model vehicles from any foreign
shops, in the elegance of finish, skill and
fidelity in construction, durability of material,
symmetry of model or economy of cost?
May I not go farther, and challenge any foreign
shop to produce a specimen equal to
3omc now on exhibition here ?
[to be continued.]
Interesting from Kansas. '?*
The following extracts are from a long
and interesting letter received by a gentleman
of Columbia from liis relative in Kanpas,
and published in the Times. The way
they "do up" free soilers and towns out
there is truly praiseworthy. If anybody
would like to have Abbeville represented in
the picture, just give us a few "niggers"
and land warrants:
"Our election hrts at last come offV Friday,
the 30th of March, was tho day that
decided the future destiny of our Territory,
which ranged it alongside with tho glorious
South, and saved, it from tho baneful
effects of abolitionism. The freespilers
were routed, overwhelmed, perfectly Annihilated.at
the recent electibn. The indomitable
Southerners marched boldly up to the
struggle, and completed victory had crowned
their efforts. We have elected every member;,
to the Legislature, and we have beaten
the enemy at least ten to one. We have
demonstrated to our Southern, brethren
what wo can do and what we wilj do in the
future, v ' < .
"Leavenworth is the largest and most
important town in the Territory, and will,
unquestionably, rank in a short time among
the nrst cities or the West, it is handsomely
situated on the Missouri river, about
two miles below Fort Leavenworth. The
site of the town is acknowledged to be the
most excellent on the river. It is on a sufficiently
high eminence to escape, at all
times, the overflowing o?> the river, and
that it is a healthy location no one cqif
doubt who once sees it.' It commands a
beautiful view of the river.,for a long distance,
both ti|> and down,1 and has a very
excellent and superior .boat landing. Its
commercial advantage* are great* and although
I mako no pretension^ to prophecy,
vet f^but epeak.the-publio sentiment in say
Ifig that it Will in?ll probability bo t|ie
largest oity in point' of population,; wealth
and commerce, west of St. Lonta. jta beauty
o(a&uitionr-its* natural iUJvantRgea-?tW'ftirtile;
and productive country which
skirts i% and which will in a abort time be
settltfl bya tbnfty/'energetie?i Wealthy
population; and its cppliguity'toFort L?flVenwortjL
from whjchitwill derive incalculable
advantages, will undoubtedly make
raonthmgo. the g^un^^fei tfhich U no*
W** *.
. - ' .' V\ '
ik/? # i * ' ? > 'SPPi\L \.i. *V.vt! *
civilization and of the "pale faces;" and
we hear on every side the sound of the carpenter^
hammer and the busy hum of industry.
We have now between seventyfive
and one hundred houses in the town,
and between three hundred and four hundred
inhabitants. Everv day new house*
are erected, and ere the lapse of two, or even
one year, our houses and population will bareckoned
only by thousands."
[From the South. Christian AdrooflU.]
Wofford College.
Mr. Editor,?I desire to acknowledge^
with many thanks, a valuable donation recently
made to the Library of this Institution
by the Rev. F. A. Mood, of Colombia.
It is a quarto, more than two hundred and
fifty years old containing in black letter, th?
entire works of GeofFry Chaucer?the morning
star of English poetry. This gem of a volume
is in excellent preservation, and is a
handsome addition to the literary treasure*
of a Library. To Mr. Senator cutler, and
the Hon. J. L. Orr, of the House of Representatives,
we are nnder obligations for similar
favours. A complete and beautiful cabinet
of minerals has been presented to tho
College by Dr. Dogan, of Union C. H., oneof
the Trustees; for which also, we are laid
under special obligation.
It gives me great satisfaction to say that
the Institution is doing well. There are in *
attendance in the collegiate and preparatory
departments, between seventy and
eighty students; and we have reason "to anticipate
that this number will be largely
increased at the beginning of the next term^
on the 4th Wednesday of August, when a
new Freshman class will be formed. Th?
endowment left by the venerable founder
of the College,?$60,000,?was paid over to
the Board of Trustees' by the Executors, on
the 1st of January, and invested without.
delay. The proceeds of the amount funded,
with the patronage already secured, will meet
the expenses of the institution the present
year. Professor DuPre is now at tha ' North
for the purpose of purchasing an extensive
chemical and philosophical appa- - ?
ratus, which will be here bv the time it ft I
.needed. ^
Without any appeal to public
an Institution of learning, ot' high graded _~f
fully officered, furnished with an extensive
Buite of buildings, has come into existence *
and with -flattering prospects has enteredUpon'its
course of public usefulness. This#.
as far as my information goes, is unprecedented
in the history of our Church. It"
calls for special gratitude to God, the giver'
of every good and perfect gift. It is cheer*
inrr to t.llilllr tlmf. vaA wnrV nn in
noble vocation of Christian Education, freefrotn
the embarrassments and backsets
which scanty means at the beginning generally
entail. We may count on efficiency
and vigour from the very outset We may
confidently iqvite the young men from the
families of our members and friendsthroughout
the extent of the Coherence, to our halls
of institution, offering them all the facilities
of mental culture possessed by older
Colleges, assured that a long career of usefulness
lies before the Institution, and that'
it is destined by God's blessing to promote
to a largo extent. the highest good of man.
HI Liinu una eternity.
It is our hope it will be both a centre of*
letters and a shrine of religion, sending putits
influence, deep and diffusive, not only
over classes of society possessed of wealth,.,
but also over those in more limited circum
stances, to whom the blessings of sanctified;
learning may prove an inheritance ricHer than
go)d,'roore precious than all other worldly
advantages.. W. M. Wiohtman..
Wofford College, April Qtk.
i' ' :r
Geoboe Washingtoh wrote the fbl1
lowing letter some time after the Constitution
was made, and addressed it to-the
"General Committee of the United Baptist
Churches in Virginia."
. Gentlemen?I? I could have entertained:
the slightest apprehension that the constitution
framed by the convention -where 1 had
the honor to preside might possibly endanger
the religious righta of any ecclesiastic^} . '
socicfy, certainly 1 would never have pitted
my sir/nature to it; and if I could not conceive
that the general government might
even b^ boiriniimstered as to render th?liberty
of conscience insecure, 1 beg you?
will be persuaded (hat no one would bo
more zealous than myself to establish ef- .
fectual banriei^ agaipst thehorrors of spiritual
tyranny, and every species of religion*.
traraeuuvioD. ror you aounness rernefHDe*1
have ofjen expressed my sentiments that
any man conducting himself as a good oiti?
ren, and.beihg i<&countable to God plow*
for his feligioiia opinions, oUff^t to. be
tooted mworehipirig the >DeTty according.
to the dictates ot hi? own con*dehde*y ^^ ^
Homioib*.?An
liarri and -John, lying-at PotUi^swIUT^m 4 ^
which a
P' j1I jljf | jj
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