GIFT OF 
 
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 •3'i3^ 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 To the Alumni and Friends of the 
 
 University of North Carolina : 
 
 The following extract is fiom the report of the Treasurer 
 of the University, in I^ovember, 1868: 
 
 *^ The indebtedness of the University is estimated to be 
 not much less than $60,000, though I have been unable 
 to ascertain the exact amount. To secure these debts, a 
 deed in trust was executed on the 30th of April, 1867, 
 conveying about one thousand acres of land and other 
 valuable property, in the county of Orange, belonging to 
 the University, and also about five thousand acres of land 
 in the county of Buncombe. The payment of these debts, 
 or the closing of the trust, will be enforced at an early day, 
 and it will be for the Legislature to determine whether 
 this valuable property shall be sold under the trust, or a 
 sufficient appropriation be made to satisfy the debts, and 
 thereby redeem the property." 
 
 It is hoped that a judicial determination will soon be 
 had which will more precisely fix the habilities of the 
 University. I deem the present a suitable time, when I 
 may, as an Alumnus^ submit a proposition for its relief. 
 Before doing so, however, it will not be improper for me 
 to recur briefly to some leading events that have marked 
 my connection with the Institution. 
 
 I entered the Freshman Class of the University in the 
 year 1849, at the age of seventeen, and graduated in 1853. 
 During the same year I was appointed by the Trustees to 
 the Tutorship of Mathematics and entered upon the dis- 
 charge of my duties in that department in January, 1854. 
 Six years thereafter I was appointed, without application, 
 to the position of Adjunct Professor of Pure Mathematics. 
 As there were at that time twb^,!BrpJfe{$80i*s of Mathematics, 
 
and my promotion left no Tutor ia that department, I 
 accepted this act on the part of the Trustees as a token 
 of theur favor; and having declined invitations to full 
 Professorships in tv^o other institutiong of learning, con- 
 tinued in the servicfe of the University. The vocation was 
 congenial to my feelings, and I regarded the position as 
 one of useftililess and honor. In 1866 I applied to the 
 Trustees for a fiirlough. The reason offered by me lor 
 this step^^, that, the scanty and insufficient sum derived 
 through the limited patronage which the University then 
 had,|aight air go to eke out the salaries of-^ny 6Mer col- 
 leagues in the Faculty. Th^ application "§rats promptly 
 g^ted, and I resolved to hold myself m readiness to 
 ,v;?' return to the Institution whenever the Trustees might 
 .[00 request my services. In 1868 I was appointed a Trustee, 
 ^-' and in January, 1869^ I was Invited to the Presidency. 
 
 I had observed the management and condition of the 
 University too closely to be ignorant of its great embar- 
 rassment at that time. I was not unmindful of the heavy 
 responsibilities with which my re-entrance upon duty, in 
 this new position, would burdeni^e. I saw that the 
 number of students had greatly decreased ; that the Insti- 
 tution had lost much of its former prestige; that its 
 endowment was gone; that its valuable property had 
 been mortgaged for heavy debts, some of which, especially 
 those due the estate of its former President, were legal 
 and entirely just; that the buildings were in need of re- 
 pairs, and their roofs leaking to such a degree as to imperil 
 the books and property in the Libraries; that although 
 the death of President Swain had occurred several months 
 before, and the Trustees, at a public meeting, held in the 
 Senate Chamber, in the City of Ealeigh, in IsTovember, had 
 taken action looking to the appointment of a Faculty on 
 the first day of January following, yet, so far as I could 
 ^ ascertain, there had been no applicant for the position, nor 
 was any one known to be willing to assume the duties and 
 responsibilities of the Presidency under such embarragsing 
 circumstances. I was recalled, and the position was 
 tendered to me. ; F014 Momena; I hesitarted. Some of my 
 
 
■'K-. 
 
 ■K 
 
 friends advised me to decline the offer. They believed 
 that my best efforts would pro;^e^ut a thankless task. 
 They reminded me of my duty IS; my family. I was 
 holding a quiet and remtiinerative office, from which I 
 realized an actual income much greater than I could even 
 hope, under the most favorable circumstanc^f sto receive 
 as President of the University. I '^s aware t^at my 
 predecessor had been a gentleman of rare talents ana long 
 experience, and that Iiis place would be difficult- to fill. I 
 foresaw that ^very act of mine would be the subject of 
 keen criticism, Vim dreaded to undertake the performance 
 of a task so hazardous. 
 
 On the other hand, the exercises of the Institution had 
 been suspended, and it was suggested that, should I refuse 
 my services, the day might be distant on which its doors 
 could be re-opened. I was convinced that the buildings 
 should be occupied, and was unwiUing that the superior 
 facilities for education, which could here be afforded, should 
 remain unoffered while so many of our youth were grow- 
 ing up in idleness or turning their steps to the Colleges 
 of other and distant States. Neither the former Board 
 of Trustees nor the present one, in their conduct towards 
 me, had given me any cause of complaint. Both had 
 seemed to manifest their partiality by tendering me posi- 
 tions which other gentlemen were more competent than 
 myself to fill. At my own request the Trustees of the 
 CTniversity had promptly granted me leave of absence ; I 
 returned at their bidding. 
 
 By some, my com'se has been severely censured. By 
 others, it has been warmly approved and applauded. It 
 has not yet occasioned me any regret or self-reproach. 
 
 I supposed that the present Trustees were a legally con- 
 stituted body, and that their offer to me was made in 
 good faith. When they invited me to my present posi- 
 tion, it was not distinctly stated that my services would 
 be required for only a limited time ; nor have I yet been 
 officially informed as to the precise date when my term 
 of office will expire. Yet it has been generously intimated 
 to me by other parties, from time to time, through the 
 
columns of our State papers, that my successor would 
 soon be chosen. I have recently had the honor of observ- 
 ing the nomination of several distinguished gentlemen for 
 my position. 
 
 I have always desired to see a fair and free discussion 
 of all questions pertaining to the University. In my first 
 public report, at the annual commencement in June, 1869, 
 I invited a careful public scrutiny of the Institution. I 
 have not objected to a just and respectful criticism. Mis- 
 representatiop, ridicule and scandal are resorted to only 
 by the consciously weak, but with the ignorant they are 
 often more potent than truth and reason. The vulgar 
 and unscrupulous deal blows which gentlemen of cultiva- 
 tion and refinement seldom condescend to give, and often 
 find themselves poorly prepared to parry. 
 
 I have not infi:equently found it difficult to distiuguish 
 the friends of the University from its eneuLies. Some who 
 should be its friends, by an indefatigable use of their pens, 
 have done much to turn the tide of patronage away from 
 the Institution and the State. It is to be regretted that 
 the efforts of anonymous writers, who claim to be its 
 Mends, have only tended to bring the University into dis- 
 repute. If their time and ingenuity had been more ju- 
 diciously expended, all differences might long ago have 
 been adjusted, all classes reconciled, and the Institution 
 ^ set forward upon a career of prosperity and usefulness. 
 If the immense service so freely rendered, had been dif- 
 ferently directed, and the labors of these professed friends 
 had been combined in some useful employment, in the 
 field or the factory, they might have earned enough money 
 to pay off the debt that now weighs down the Institution. 
 
 I have entertained the opinion that the present unfor- 
 tunate condition of the University has resulted mainly from 
 its financial embarrassment. Had it been free from debt 
 in 1869, and able to boast of an endowment yielding a 
 handsome income, the course pursued towards it would 
 have been very different. Prior to the war it was well 
 endowed and prosperous. Its Trustees were not compell- 
 ed to look long or far away for Professors to fill its vacant 
 
chairs. Its defects, though observed, were not eagerly 
 pnbUshed. The tongue of scandal was silent. True 
 Mends are sometimes more clearly revealed in the dark- 
 ness of adversity than in the light of prosperity. 
 
 While the debts of the University are unpaid, and it 
 continues to be made a theme of political discussion by 
 the press and upon the stump, there can be but little hope 
 of its real prosperity and usefulness. So long as it is felt 
 that the whole character of the Institution must be affec- 
 ted by the ascendency of this or that party, it cannot re- 
 ceive the confidence and support of the people. There 
 should be one place, at least, in North Carolina to which 
 our youth may retire from the din and heat of party strife, 
 to pursue in quiet the walks of Literature and Science. 
 That place should be the University. In reply to a letter 
 from me, one of the purest and most energetic men of the 
 State writes, under date of April 26th, 1870 : **Oordially 
 do 1 reciprocate your expression that political fervor and 
 partizan strife are the grand errors of our people at this 
 time. That they are not only the occasion of our barren 
 and desolate fields, but are sowing seeds of bitterness in 
 families and neighborhoods, and of irreligion and infidelity 
 in the hearts of our children. This quotation from your 
 letter should be emblazoned upon the doors of all our 
 public offices and institutions, and places of pleasure and 
 business, and its spirit cherished in the hearts of all our 
 fellow-citizens, and then would soon arise a brighter and 
 better day for the impoverished and struggling citizens of 
 our mother State. As long as her ripphng waters flow 
 from her mountains to the ocean, or the pine trees of her 
 eastern plains shall bend before impending storms, I shall 
 love her in all her parts, in all her interests, and in all her 
 population." 
 
 In the months of August and September, 1869, 1 pub- 
 lished in the Kaleigh Sentinel, over the signature of **A 
 ISToRTH Carolikian," a series of communications upon 
 the subject of the " University and the Public SchoolsJ'^ 
 In the last of these I took occasion to use the following 
 language : "During the decade beginning with the yeax 
 
6 ^- 
 
 1808, the University recorded 715 matriculates and 110 
 graduates. Beginning with the year 1818, there were 
 1,308 matriculates and 259 graduates ; with the year 1828, 
 there were 1,005 matriculates and 146 graduates ; with 
 the year 1838, there were 1,597 matriculates and 308 
 graduates ; with the year 1848, there were 2,923 matric- 
 ulates and 448 graduates ; with the year 1858, there were 
 1,872 matriculates and 410 graduates; making a grand 
 total of nearly 10,000 matriculates. 
 
 During the period of twenty years, beginning wit^June, 
 1848, nearly one thousand of these were my college 'mates, 
 and above three thousand have been my pupils. Man;fof 
 those who were dear to me in life's spring-time, and whose 
 increasing usefulness I watched with anxious and affec- 
 tionate interest, now rest quietly in their graves. Their 
 names are upon the record that lies before me, and their 
 memory is yet pleasant as the "fragrance of flowers fresh 
 fallen." Many still survive, and from them, scattered all 
 over the land, come frequent letters of congratulation and 
 cordial greeting. One of these, who fought bravely in the 
 Southern army during the late war, writes from a North- 
 ern State : *'l!^o one entering upon a field of duty so 
 conscientiously as yourself, need have any fears of ultimate 
 success ; and I am sure the University is far better off 
 than when it was first put into operation, after the revo- 
 lutionary war ; and I should judge the State authorities 
 intend it shall prosper. With my best wishes for your 
 success," &c. Another from the far South : "I hope, 
 my dear sir, you have not forgotten me, as I entertain a 
 most distinct and pleasant memory both of yourself and 
 your class room. Many of my class-mates were killed 
 near me in the army of Virginia, and I myself am writing 
 to you with my left hand, having had my right arm ampu- 
 tated at the shoulder joint at the battle of Gettysburg,'' &c. 
 And a class-mate writes, " The University must be made a 
 great power for good. Of its final success in your hands 
 I have no doubt ; not however without opposition. The 
 press will growl, prejudices will be excited, ridicule at- 
 tempted. But I trust that in the genuine spirit of the 
 
great Apostle, you may truly say, *iione of these things 
 move me.' " And from another class-mate, an intimate 
 associate in the morning of our youth, now filling a position 
 of usefulness and honor in Delaware; and recently from a 
 College-mate, a minister of the Gospel, residing in a sister 
 State, quoting in his letter to me a prayer he had just 
 been offering in his closet for the success and prosperity 
 of the University. And from ceijtral and eastern and 
 western North Carolina, come these messages full of hope 
 and encouragement." More recently a distinguished 
 graduate writes, *^My mind often recurs in moments of 
 leisure to my alma mater. It is the spot where the best 
 memories of my past centre. And I trust that under your 
 management, notwithstanding the prejudices that have 
 been excited against it, the University will eclipse its 
 former prosperity." And still more recently, from a class- 
 mate who stood side by side with me in our four years of 
 generous rivalry in the recitation room, and halls of the 
 Ph|j|inthropic Society, and who has since received a flat- 
 g popular vote for Congress, *'I have often recurred 
 with pleasure to my alma mater — ^her classic memories 
 and the generous rivahy of my^ fellows there. In a few 
 <^ years more, with God's blessing,^ shall have two sons 
 ^^ prepared for College. I wish them to be educated at the 
 University where their fether was. I conceive it to be the 
 duty of every patriotic and chivalrous !N'orth Carolinian 
 to build up and sustain the University, and to promote 
 the cause of education throughout the masses. Let us 
 correspond and remember the days of yore." And since 
 the opening of the present new year, from a gifted clergy- 
 man of the Protestant Episcopal Church, now residing in 
 5 a. distant State, but belonging to one of the tnost respect- 
 able and highly esteemed families in ij^Torth Carolina, **I 
 retain very high veneration for the University. And 
 although I left her under trying circumstances, and was 
 not able to reap the frill benefit of her training, still I 
 have endeavored not to bring her into 'disrepute." 
 
 The Alumni are dispersed over nearly every State of 
 the Union. By many of them their alma mater will be 
 
.'^••' n, y-^ ; v-" t - , -^ ;; t. > .'? -r ^ \ -^ ^ - 
 ever warmly cheiished. Should one of them ever wilfully 
 add to her embarrassment ? 
 
 Before the Institution can give promise of great pros- 
 perity and usefulness, the debt must be paid, the property 
 redeemed and the former endowment replaced. In the 
 .present impoverished condition of our people, it is doubt- 
 ful whether this should be done by taxation. As already 
 intimated, many of these claims, especially those due the 
 estate of the former President, and perhaps all others, are 
 entirely just and should be met. The doors of the Uni- 
 versity ought not to be closed for debt, nor should it be 
 allowed to languish. At this crisis in its affairs, I venture 
 as an alumnus, to submit the following propositions : 
 
 1. That the Alumni and friends of the University unite 
 in an effort for its rescue. That they address the Treas- 
 urer of the Board of Trustees, stating the amount they 
 will contribute to pay off its legal debts. Payment to be 
 made when there shall have been responses enough to 
 cover the entire indebtedness. I have this day addressed 
 such a letter to the Treasurer, offering to give one thou- 
 sand dollars ($1000) for this purpose so aoon as the remain- 
 der of the required sum shall be covered by contributions 
 of from $10 to $1000, or more. 
 
 2. I propose to such professed Mends as have mani- 
 fested so great concern for the Institution, and during the 
 last two years have honored me by their frequent notices, 
 that if each one of them who has borne part in the public 
 defamation of the University, will give more reasonable 
 and substantial evidence of sincere interest in its welfare, 
 by the contribution of a sum equal to that offered by my- 
 self, I will, at once, if they desire it, resign my position 
 and they may have control of the Institution. The debt 
 being thus paid, I would have the satisfaction of seeing 
 my successor enter upon duty with better promise than 
 was given me. For the present it will occasion no sur- 
 prise if I decline to quietly surrender the University to 
 any one of those whose friendship must be determined by 
 their zeal in defaming it, rather than by their liberality in 
 rescuing it from the grasp of its creditors. 
 
 SOLOMON POOL. 
 Chapel Hill, Jan. 26, 1871. 
 
Caylord Bros. 
 
 Makers 
 Syracuse, N Y. 
 
 PAT. Ml. 24. I9es 
 
 04777 
 
 LJ^ 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA UBRARY