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Doc. No. 31.] 
 
 
 [H. of R. 
 
 
 REPORT 
 
 FROM THE, 
 
 COMMITTEE APPOINTED AT THE LAST SESSION OF THE 
 
 LEGISLATURE TO INVESTIGATE THE AFFAIRS OF 
 
 INDIANA UNIVERSITY. 
 
 Read, laid on the table, and five hundred copies ordered to be printed 
 
 To THE HON. SAMUEL JUDAH, 
 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives: 
 
 The legislative committee appointed by a resolution of th'e General 
 Assembly, adopted 21st .day of Feb. A. D. 1840, to inquire into the 
 condition of the State University, and the causes of its decline, as also to 
 inquire into the proper means to be adopted to secure its prosperity, 
 and also to inquire into the expediency of establishing an agricul- 
 tural professorship, report as follows to-wit: 
 
 That a majority of said committed met for the purpose of disc harg 
 54 
 

 386 
 
 n g the duties imposed on them by said resolution, at the University 
 Chapel in Bloomington, on the 19th day of May, 1840, and commen- 
 ced the investigations necessary to meet the requisitions of said reso- 
 lution. These efforts of the committee were materially assisted by the 
 action of the board of trustees of said University, who appointed a 
 committee consisting of five gentlemen of their body, to meet the legis- 
 lative committee, and furnish them with such information in their pos- 
 session as might be found useful in the course of the investigation 
 then proposed. This committee consisted of Messrs. Hendricks, Ow- 
 en, West, Hester and Maxwell, and the committee deem it an act of 
 justice to these gentlemen, to state they co-operated efficiently by 
 promptly answering the calls made on them for information by the 
 legislative committee, during the whole of its session.. At the request 
 of the committee of investigation, they were furnished by the commit- 
 tee on behalf of the board of trustees, with a condensed historical ac- 
 count of the institution, -as alao a tabular statement of the funds of the 
 institution. 
 
 1 hese documents herewith submitted, (and marked No. 1 & 2) are 
 sufficiently explicit on the subjects of which they treat, and in the 
 opinion of the committee need but little comment. By these docu- 
 ments it appears that the total of the funds of the college, arising from 
 donated lands amounts to $1 17,821 84. In addition to other informa- 
 tion in relation to. the available funds of the University, and the 
 amount of unsold lands belonging to it, these documents contain a val- 
 uable and interesting abstract of the early enactments of the Territory 
 in relation to this institution. Your committee accord fully with the 
 deductions drawn by the committee appointed on behalf of the trus- 
 tees of the University from those enactments, and cannot express too 
 strongly their approbation of the liberal and enlarged views of the 
 thrm Governor, and Legislature (1807) ifl relation to education. Ma- 
 ny of the provisions of those enactments are worthy of imitation at 
 th<e present day. 
 
 The investigating committee - next directed their attention to the 
 causes of the decline of the' University in public favor. The conduct 
 of the President of the University, has been on more than one occasion 
 the subject of severe criticism in the public prints and elsewhere, and 
 the committee soon after their meeting, instituted an inquiry into the 
 justice of these complaints. This inquiry was conducted openly, and 
 in such a manner as to afford every legitimato means of accusation and 
 defence. The committee were induced to take a wider range in their 
 investigations into this matter, than they would otherwise have deem- 
 ed necessry or proper, from the fact that a previous investigation into 
 the conduct of Doct. Wylie had been had, and complaints had been 
 made by persons inimical to him, that sufficient latitude had not been 
 allowed the accusers in making and sustaining their charges against 
 him. 
 
 After the most patient investigation of the evidence adduced, the 
 committee unanimously concur in the acquittal of Doct. Wylie of all 
 the charges preferred against him, and see no reason whatever to 
 
387 
 
 suppose that any conduct of his has been prejudicial to, the institution. 
 On. the contrary they believe him to be eminently qualified for the sta- 
 tion which he occupies, and find from the investigation that he has 
 discharged the high trusts committed to him with an ability and fidelity 
 worthy of all commendatidn; although surrounded with almost insur- 
 mountable difficulties and embarrassments. The committee in the 
 course of their investigations called upon the petitioners, who preferred 
 those complaints to the legislature, which caused the. passage of the 
 resolution under which the committee of investigation acted, and none 
 of them (except one) made any statements calculated to. throw the 
 slightest suspicion of blame on the accused. On the contrary some 
 of those petitioners who had entertained suspicions injurious to Doct. 
 Wylie became in the progress of the investigation so well satisfied of 
 the injustice of those suspicions, as to be induced voluntarily to furnish 
 your committee with written statements expressive of their approba- 
 tion of his conduct. 
 
 The only one of the petitioners who gave it as his opinion that 
 Doct. Wylie had been to blame in the management of the institution, 
 did not support that opinion by any testimony. Your committee en- 
 tered into a minute inquiry as to the 1 causes of the decline of the Uni- 
 versity in the number of its students. Your committee refer to docu- 
 ment No. 3, as containing the opinions, of the President of the institu- 
 tion in relation to its decline. On the same subject your committee 
 also refer to document No. 4,. being a memorial of the citizens of 
 Bloomirigton and of the county of Monroe, remonstrating against the 
 removal of the University, stating their opinion of the causes of the 
 decline of the institution, and exempting the present faculty from the 
 censure of producing it. In the opinion of your committee the causes 
 which have produced the decline of the University may be divided 
 into two classes. 1st, Such as operate injuriously on most of the in- 
 stitutions of the country; and 4 2dly, Such as are peculiar to the circum- 
 stances of this institution and its peculiar organization and manage- 
 ment. Under the first head the most prominent of those causes is the 
 indulgence which the parents of the students have been disposed, to 
 grant to them in supplies of more money than is* sufficient for their 
 reasonable wants during the sessions of the university. This prac- 
 tice always induces, extravagance and excesses amongst the students, 
 the odium of which is by the community thrown on the institution. To 
 remedy this evil, the committee would suggest a legal provision re- 
 quiring the pocket money furnished by the parents to the students, to 
 be paid at the opening of each session of the University into the hands 
 of some officer, appointed by the faculty, to be by him paid out for 
 such outlays as might appear in his discretion to be reasonable and 
 proper, and in connection with this to make it penal for the shop-keep- 
 ers and other dealers in goods or groceries to sell to the students on 
 credit. Under the present head may also be stated those jealousies 
 and prejudices existing in every community against institutions of 
 learning which in the neighborhood of universities assume a personal 
 
 EB218B80 
 
388 
 
 character and are directed against the persons who have charge of the 
 institution. 
 
 The Indiana University and its professors have suffered in no small 
 degree, from the operations of this cause. 
 
 Under the second head, the most prominant one is in the number 
 of the board ol trustees, (21.) In order to avoid the influences of sec- 
 tarianism, it was thought best to have a large number of trustees. In 
 the choosing these trustees, men of different religidus predjudices 
 were thrown together in such a manner as to,combine all the elements 
 of religious discord. This method of choice has resulted in petty 
 bickerings and discontents, which have operated very injuriously on 
 this institution and the reputation of the professors. To remedy this 
 evil, the committee propose a reduction in the number of the board. 
 
 Your committee found on investigation, that this institution had 
 been injured to some extent, by several rival colleges and theological 
 seminaries, the management of which .had been placed in the hands 
 of persons belonging to some of the religious sects of the country. 
 
 While the committee approve of allowing the fullest latitude to the 
 various religious sects of the community in educating their children in 
 their own way, they believe it right for the public to sustain at least 
 one college in which the sciences are taught and the morality of the 
 bible inculcated, without any reference to the peculiar tenets of any 
 sect of Christians; and they therefore recommend to the guardian care 
 of the legislature our present State University. After a full examina- 
 tion of the subject, your committee can see no good reason at pre- 
 sent for the removal either of the University or the President. Your 
 committee believe the reasoning in reference to the removal of the 
 institution, in the document (No. 5) herewith submitted, to be conclu- 
 sive, and are indisposed to weaken those arguments by attempting to 
 expand them. 
 
 The present faculty have been selected with a view to their high 
 moral character and scientific acquirements, and the committee have 
 every reason to believe that the institution under their superinten- 
 dence, will be well and ably managed. We deem it unnecessary at 
 this time to form an agricultural pofessorship in the Indiana Universi- 
 ty. The public mind is already aroused on that subject, and societies 
 are springing up over the St^te, which will doubtless accomplish the 
 objects of such a professorship in an effectual manner. 
 
 Your committee herewith submit a bill embracing such provisions 
 as they deem necessary for the benefit of the institution, and recom- 
 mend its adoption. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 JAS. H. CRAVENS, Chairman. 
 JOHNSON WATTS, 
 JOS. S. JENCKES. 
 
I 
 
 389 
 
 
 HON. JAMES H. CRAVENS, 
 
 CHAIRMAN OF LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE. 
 
 SIR: 
 
 t 
 
 The committee appointed by the board of trustees of Indiana Uni- 
 versity, to meet and receive - your committee, having received from 
 your Secretary a resolution requesting that they would furnish to you 
 a condensed history of |he institution from its origin, have had that 
 subject under consideration, and vnow submit to you the result, in 
 the following 
 
 REPORT: 
 
 The reservation of land by Congress, whence the present endow- 
 ment of the Indiana University is derived, consists of two townships, 
 one in Gibson county, the other in Mpnroe county, both in this state. 
 
 The reservation of the Gibson county township, and its original ap- 
 propriation for the support of a University, are contained in some apt 
 of Congress, not to be found among the documents prefixed to our 
 revised code, nor in any other work of reference now within the 
 reach of the committee of trustees. The exact date of that act of Con- 
 
 fress is unknown to the committee; but it is dated before the 17th 
 eptember 1807. 
 
 For, among the "laws of Indiana .Territory" published by authority 
 in 1 807, occurs an "act to incorporate an University in the Indiana 
 Territory," approved September 17, 1807; the second section of 
 which commences as follows: "And whereas Congress has appro- 
 priated a township of land of twenty-three thousand and forty acres, 
 for the use and support of the University or a public school in the dis- 
 trict of Vincennes, and whereas the township is now located and the 
 boundaries designated &c." , 
 
 The preamble and provisions of the act above referred to, to "incor- 
 porate an University in the Indiana [Territory," afford striking proof 
 how liberal and enlightened, even in these-eiarly days, nine years be- 
 fore Indiana became a state or obtained a constitution, were the views 
 of her legislators, on the subject of education; and are well worthy of 
 preservation and remembrance. . ' 
 
 The close of the preamble reads thus: "And for as much as 
 literature and philosophy furnish the most useful and pleasing occupa- 
 tions, improving and varying the enjoyments of prosperity, affording 
 relief under/the pressure of misfortune, and hope and consolation in 
 the hour of death, and considering that in a commonwealth where 
 the humblest citizen may be elected to the highest public offices, and 
 where the heaven-born privilege, of the right to elect and reject, is re- 
 
390 
 
 tained and secured to the citizens; the knowledge which is requisite for 
 a magistrate and elector should be widely diffused," therefore be it en- 
 acted &c. 
 
 The further provisions of the act are in accordance with this noble 
 exordium. The sixth section provides, "That the trustees shall, as 
 speedily as may be, establish and erect an University, within the 
 limits of the borough of Vincennes, and shall appoint to preside over, 
 and govern the said University, a President and not exceeding four 
 Professors, 'for the instruction of youth in the, Latin, Greek, French 
 and English languages, Mathematics, Natural Philsophy, Ancient and 
 Modern History, Moral Philosophy, Logic, Rhetoric, and the law of 
 Nature and of Nations." 
 
 The same principal which is still incorporated in our present char- 
 ter, guarding against sectarianism, is set forth in the tenth section of 
 the above act, in the following words: "Be it further enacted, that no 
 particular tests of religion shall be taught in the said University, by 
 the President and ' Professors mentioned in the sixth section of this 
 act." 
 
 The next section provides, that the trustees shall "use their utmost 
 endeavors to induce the Aborigines to send their children to the Univer- 
 sity, for education, who when sent shall be maintained, clothed and 
 educated at the expense of the institution." And further, "that the 
 students, whenever the funds of the institution shall, in the opinion of 
 the trustees, permit it, be educated gratis at the said University, in all 
 or any of the branches of education which they may require." 
 
 Again, in the thirteenth section, is a provision of acknowledged im- 
 portance, yet, to judge by the charter of our University, beyond the 
 immediate views of our Legislature, even at the present day. In that 
 section, it is enacted, "that the said trustees, as soon as in their opin- 
 ion, the funds of the institution -will admit, are hereby required to es- 
 tablish an insti tut ion^ for the education of females, and to make such 
 by-laws and ordinances for the said institution, and the government 
 thereof, as they may think proper." 
 
 Finally, in further evidence of the extended views of those days, 
 we find, in the 15th section, the enactment, "That for the purpose of 
 procuring a library and the necessary philosophical and experimental 
 apparatus, agreeably to the eighth section of this law, there shall be 
 raised a sum not exceeding twenty thousand dollars." The means by 
 which this sum was to be raised, were less praiseworthy than the ob- 
 ject in raising it. It was to be "by a lottery." 
 
 As regards the amount of land which, by the above act, the trustees 
 were authorized to sell; the second section provides, that the Trustees 
 may dispose of "any quantity not exceeding four thousand acres." 
 
 By subsequent acts of Congress, to which the committee of trustees 
 cannot, at this moment, refer, the further sale of these lands to the 
 amount of thirteen sections (including the above 4000 acres) was author- 
 ized: and they were sold and the proceeds expended for the use of the 
 university. 
 
 So that, when, by act of Congress, approved April 19th, 1816, "to 
 
391 
 
 enable the people of Indiana territory to form a constitution and 
 state government" it was enacted "that one entire township which 
 shall be designated by the President of the United States, in addition 
 to the one heretofore reserved for that purpose, shall be reserved for 
 the use of a seminary of learning, and vested in the legislature of the said 
 state, to be appropriated solely to the use of such seminary by the said 
 legislature;" the total quantity of land thus appropriated, was two 
 townships, less thirteen sections; or fifty nine sections; or thirty-seven 
 thousand seven hundred and sixty acres. 
 
 This land, with the exception of about 4,800 acres, has all been sold 
 and the proceeds appropriated for the use and support of the present 
 institution, at first under the name of the "State Seminary," after- 
 wards as the "Indiana College," and now as the "Indiana University." 
 The above 4,800 acres, still unsold," are estimated by the Treasurer of 
 State as worth 2,500 dollars. 
 
 It appears by "an act to provide for the sale of the Seminary town- 
 ship in Gibson county, and for other purposes, approved January 2d, 
 1823," that, at some time previously, the board of trustees of the Vin- 
 cennes University had ceased to exist. The preamble to the seventh 
 section of the above act reads thus: "Whereas it is stated to this Gen- 
 eral Assembly, that the former board of trustees of the <Vincennes 
 University has expired by the negligence of its members," &c. 
 
 At what precise date this board expired, the committee have not 
 been able to discover: but it may be presumed to have been previously 
 to the year 1820; for by an "act to establish a State Seminary and for 
 other purposes, approved January 20, 1820," this institution was es- 
 tablished at. Bloomington and the trustees of the said State Seminary 
 were empowered to sell any quantity of land in the reserved township 
 in Monroe county, not exceeding in all one section. 
 
 The act referred to is very brief, and provides for little else except 
 the sale of the above lands, and the erection, out of the proceeds there- 
 of, of "a suitable building for a State Seminary and also a suitable and 
 commodious house for a Professor," Its tone and the limited charac- 
 ter of its provisions form a striking contrast to the liberal views incor- 
 porated in the qharter of the Vincennes university, granted thirteen 
 years before, in the very infancy of Indiana territory. 
 
 Various supplementary acts were -passed, from time to time aug- 
 menting the number of the trustees of the said State Seminary, per- 
 mitting them to loan money, and authorizing the renting and sale of 
 additional lands. 
 
 Of these the most important is an act approved January 25th, 1827, 
 appointing James Smith Commissioner to sell the Gibson county town- 
 ship, 'and James Borland Commissioner to sell the Monroe county 
 township, and fixing the minimum price of said land, if first rate at 
 three dollars and fifty cents: if second rate at two dollars and twenty- 
 five cents; and if third rate at one dollar and twenty-five cents per 
 acre. The same act, by its tenth section, provides that three sections 
 of the Seminary lands in Monroe county contiguous to the section 
 heretofore sold shall be reserved from sale. 
 
392 
 
 About the same time an act was passed, approved January 26th, 
 1827, appointing a board of visiters to the State Seminary at Bloom- 
 ington. 
 
 By an act approved January 24th, 1828, the State Seminary was 
 superseded by the "Indiana College," established "for the education of 
 youth in the American, learned and foreign languages, the useful arts, 
 sciences and literature." t 
 
 By that act it was provided (section 12) that "all moneys arising 
 from the sale of the seminary townships in the counties of Monroe 
 and Gibson, shall be, and forever remain, a permanent fund for the 
 support of said college, and the interest arising from the amount of 
 said sales, together with the thr-ee reserved sections in the seminary 
 townships situated in the county of Monroe, and all the buildings 
 which have been erected adjacent to the town of Bloomington, in 
 said county of Monroe, for the use of the State Seminary, with all 
 the real and personal property of every description belonging to or 
 connected with -said State Seminary, as the property of the State, and 
 all gifts, grants and donations, which have been or hereafter may be 
 made, for the support of the college, shall be and hereby forever are 
 vested in the aforesaid trustees and their successors." 
 
 By the same act, a board of Visiters consisting of five members, 
 was appointed; and it was made their duty annually to visit the col- 
 lege, inspect the course pursued by the trustees and faculty, examine 
 the books of the college, and make a report of their examination?, 
 inspections and inquiries, to the Governor, to be by him laid before 
 the General Assembly. Of these visiters three were to constitute a 
 quorum; but during the ten years' existence of the college, a quorum 
 was present but once; and during the latter half of the period refer- 
 red to, to wit: during the last five years of the existence of the college, 
 none of the board officially visited the college, or reported in connex- 
 ion therewith. 
 
 Finally, by an "act-to establish a University in the State of India- 
 na," approved February 15, 1838, the institution reached its highest 
 grade, and all the estate, funds, property, rights and demands, former- 
 ly vested in the trustees of the college, were transferred to the trus- 
 tees of the university, in whom they still remain vested. 
 
 This act incorporating the "Indiana University," is, in its general 
 provisions, a transcript of the charter of "Indiana College," with this 
 difference'., that no board of visiters is appointed, and that the number 
 of trustees 0f the University is increased to twenty-two, from the 
 number of fifteen, appointed under the college charter. Also, by the 
 charter of the university, the power of conferring degrees in law and 
 medicine is added to the power formerly vested in the college, of 
 granting degrees in the liberal arts and sciences. 
 
 The total funds of the university, originally derived from the re- 
 served lands, as above explained, are estimated by the trustees as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 Productive funds, including moneys at interest, 
 
393 
 
 moneys due or in hand, and a small amount 
 of lands for sale, (say $2,500 worth, not ac- 
 tually productive at this time,) $98,471 84 
 
 Deduct debts due by the University, chiefly to 
 the Branch at Bedford of the State Bank of 
 Indiana, - - 3,650 
 
 94,821 84 
 
 Unproductive property, chiefly real estate, in- 
 cluding the University Campus and buildings 
 thereon; including also the library and ap- 
 paratus, 23,000 00 
 
 Total, - $117,821 84 
 
 For the separate items which make up the above amount and ex- 
 hibit in detail the resources of the University, your committee is re- 
 ferred to document F, spread on the records of the Board of Trustees, 
 at pages 66, 67, and 68, with its accompanying documents D, C, and 
 B; of which accompanying documents the former marked D, is recor- 
 ded on the said records at pages 72 and 63; and of the two latter, the 
 first is recorded in the book entitled "Commissioner's Reports," and 
 the last in the book entitled "Treasurer's Reports;", all of which books 
 and reports have already been placed by the committee of trustees In- 
 the hands of your committee. 
 
 The committee of trustees further begs to refer your committee to 
 document G, on pages 70 and 71 of the records of the University, as 
 exhibiting in full the probable expenses and available means of the in- 
 stitution, for the ensuing year. 
 
 Any further information on these or other subjects which is within 
 the reach of the committee of trustees, they will cheerfully furnish. 
 In the meantime the above is respectfully submitted. 
 
 D. H. MAXWELL, Chairman. 
 WILLIAM HENDRICKS, 
 C. P. HESTER, 
 ROBERT DALE OWEN, 
 NATHAN'L WEST, 
 
 Committee of Trustees. 
 Bldomington, May 20, 1 840. 
 
 55 
 
 
394 
 
 TO THE INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE. 
 
 GENTLEMEN: By virtue of -certain resolutions passed by you, the 
 undersigned has been laid under the obligation of stating to you his 
 opinion, as to what have been "the causes of the decline of the Uni- 
 versity in the number of the students," and as to what legislative- ac- 
 tion he may think necessary k to secure and promote its prosperity:" 
 and by another resolution it is made his duty to submit to you "a brief 
 account of the paternal system" of government. 
 
 In compliance with the will of the committee, as expressed in those 
 resolutions, the undersigned respectfully submits the following state- 
 ment: 
 
 First, as to the decline of the University in regard to the number 
 of students: 
 
 In the sessions of 1837-8, there were students in actual 
 
 attendance, 105 
 
 In the ensuing winter session of 1839, there were in 
 
 actual attendance, 78 
 
 Shewing a decrease of, - 27 
 
 This diminution was, I think, owing to the following causes: 
 
 1. In the year preceding the diminution, several students had in- 
 dulged themselves in idle and extravagant habits, by which their pa- 
 rents were put to a great deal of unnecessary expense and the institu- 
 tion itself brought, to a considerable extent, into disrepute. 
 
 About all places to which youth resort, who have money to spend, 
 persons will be found who hesitate not to make use of dishonorable 
 methods to possess themselves of it: sharks, that prey upon the in* 
 discretion of the generous, the confiding, the inexperienced. And, 
 afterwards, when the natural consequence of their short-sighted sel- 
 fishness takes place, in the diminution of the number of their victims, 
 these very persons are first and loudest in their clamors and complaints, 
 attributing of course, the matter . which is the subject of their com- 
 plaints to any other than the true cause. 
 
 2. About the time when the cause just referred to was secretly prey- 
 ing upon the root of the institution's prosperity, dissatisfaction, jeal- 
 ousy and discord began to take place in a certain portion of the fa- 
 culty, which, as it covertly sent forth its influence among the students, 
 had a tendency to diminish, arid did, to my certain knowledge, dimin- 
 ish their number. 
 
 3. Simultaneously with the operation of these causes there rose up 
 other institutions within that region to which the Indiana University 
 naturally looks for a supply of students; one at Crawfordsville, one 
 at Greencastle, one at Hanover, and one at Vincennnes, three of 
 them colleges, the fourth a University; besides these, another insti- 
 
395 
 
 tution, designed I believe to become a college, situated at Franklin, 
 still less remote from the seat of the Indiana University than any of 
 the others; though all of them are within a circle of not more than 
 about an hundred miles in diameter. 
 
 The agents employed by some of these institutions have presented 
 their claims, not unsuccessfully, even in Bloomington itself, and among 
 the students of the University. The sectarian spirit, on the strength 
 of which these rival institutions depend, in part, for their support, be- 
 gan, about the tin?e to which this part of my narrative refers, to direct 
 a fervid and unkind influence upon the Indiana University: and with 
 what ultimate design this was done may be inferred from the fact, that 
 from statements made before the. board of trustees at their last meet- 
 ing, it appears the proposition is openly made to destroy the Indiana 
 University at once, by taking away its charter and dividing its funds 
 among the other institutions just referred to. 
 
 The undersigned simply mentions these things as historical facts, 
 and without any intention of reflecting censure upon the friends of 
 these other institutions, whose zeal in their favor and in opposition 
 to the Indiana University, proceeds, it may be charitably supposed, 
 from an honest conviction that no State institution can be made to 
 prosper, or at least, that there is "a more excellent way" for conduct- 
 ing the interests of education, than that which is prescribed by the 
 charter of the Indiana University. 
 
 Many good people think their children can be preserved from those 
 influences which they consider dangerous to their moral and religious 
 character, only by placing them in institutions which they, as a reli- 
 gious sect, can guard and manage as they think best. Such is their 
 honest belief; and they have acted and will act according to it. It is theiiv 
 right; and the. undersigned, although he thinks he has had some reason 
 to complain of the manner in which it has been exercised, has no dis- 
 position to say a word in opposition to the right itself. It is one which 
 he holds to himself most dear, and which he most cheerfully allows 
 in its legitimate exercise, to all others. 
 
 He might mention other co-operating causes, but it is unnecessary. 
 The above mentioned are, he thinks, of themselves sufficient to ac- 
 count for the diminution in the number of students which, to the 
 amount of twenty-five or twenty -six, had taken place in the winter 
 of 1 839. 
 
 There was, -indeed, another cause which had been operating in- the 
 board of trustees, to retard the growth of the institution while it was 
 a college, and which had done more than all others to produce the di- 
 minution in question. But it deserves a distinct notice by itself; be- 
 cause it has continued to exert, and still exerts at this moment, a pow- 
 erful influence in opposition to the best interests of the University, 
 and has produced a still further reduction in the number of its pu- 
 pils. 
 
 The. progress of your investigations, gentlemen, will, I trust, show 
 the following train of facts to have sprung from the agency of the 
 man who now stands before you in the character of an accuser. 
 
 ' 
 
396 
 
 That he had repeated quarrels with students; that he was a turbu- 
 lent member of the board; that his violence towards Mr. E. N. Elliott 
 drove from the institution that gentleman, who took with him Mr. D. 
 Maxwell, superintendent of the Preparatory Department; that when, 
 by extraordinary efforts to meet the emergency thus brought upon the 
 instisution, Mr. Ruter and Mr. Dodd were induced to enter into the 
 Faculty and give their aid in- carrying forward the business of instruc- 
 tion in the departments assigned them, he contrived to invade the 
 province of the Faculty and disturb the harmony of their operations, 
 by a resolution assigning a part of the duties belonging to one of these 
 professors to another who was less competent to perform them; that 
 by interfering with the office of Janitor, he, in concert with certain 
 other individuals, members of the board, so managed, that though the 
 Janitor's salary was doubled, the duties of the office were very imper- 
 fectly performed, leaving the Faculty and students to suffer great in- 
 convenience in consequence; that he contrived to produce further 
 difficulty and embarrassment to the Faculty, by usurping the power of 
 making laws for the government of the institution, that he exerted 
 himself to prevent the undersigned from carrying into effect the known 
 will of the President of the board, in particular, and of the whole board 
 collectively, in regard to the purchase of books and apparatus which 
 were essential to the very existence of the institution; and finally 
 that when, for pursuing this, course of conduct, he was left out of the 
 Board of Trustees, upon the occasion of its re-organization by the 
 Legislature, he adopted the resolution of being either reinstated in his 
 former place or "tearing down" the institution, he did, to carry out 
 and accomplish said resolution, exhibit before the Legislature in the 
 winter of 1838 9, certain false and scandalous charges against the 
 Board of Trustees and against the undersigned. 
 
 What must necessarily result from such a course of conduct on the 
 part of a Trustee of the institution is sufficiently manifest. I shall call 
 your attention particularly to one fact in the series: I refer to the fact 
 that the aforesaid charges were presented before the Legislature, by 
 one who had been a Trustee t and purporting to be endorsed by two 
 others, who were still Trustees, and acting, therefore, under the most 
 solemn obligation to promote the interests of the institution committed 
 to their care. 
 
 The news of a fact, so novel and extraordinary, flew, as on the 
 wings of the wind, all over the country. It was published in the news- 
 papers in the city of New York, not long after it happened, and was 
 speedily spread all over the Union. It produced, of course, different 
 impressions on different minds: but whatever might be the precise 
 character of the impression in each particular case it could not fail 
 to operate, for a time, to the detriment of the institution. The friends 
 of the undersigned would regard the charges as malicious and unfound- 
 ed: and they, of course, would have their faith in the institution shaken, 
 because, being a State institution, it is exposed to such attacks. His 
 enemies would, of course, consider them true, and be confirmed and 
 encouraged in their hostility. Others would not know what to think; 
 
 * 
 
397 
 
 and they, of course, while in this state of suspense, would give the 
 preference to any ojher institution which might present any thing like 
 equal claims to their regard. Others again who are governed not by 
 reason, but by proverbs, would shake their wise heads and exclaim 
 "Where there is so much smoke there must be some fire:" they would 
 condemn the undersigned, as did a certain member of the Legislature, 
 simply because "there should be no disturbance in a literary institu- 
 tion." These charges, it is true, were afterwards investigated by the 
 board, and pronounced false and unfounded. But what of that? The 
 mischief had been done. The poison was diffusing itself and had been 
 working, for months, in the public mind, before the antidote could be 
 applied. 
 
 The board, on investigation of the charges, though they pronounced 
 the undersigned not guilty, found, "in the course of their investigation, 
 cause for removing three out of the five professors then in the institu- 
 tion. The chairs thus vacated have but just been filled. The fact of 
 their having been vacated could have produced, in no conceivable cir- 
 cumstances, any other immediate effect than that which actually fol- 
 lowed it, a further reduction in the number of students. 
 
 As to the act of the board itself, the undersigned has nothing to say. 
 Right or wrong, expedient or inexpedient, such as has been stated, was 
 its inevitable consequence. 
 
 Another cause to which it may be proper just to advert is the fact 
 that the Department of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry has not been, 
 till very recently, that is, only two weeks since, furnished with a 
 Laboratory; the Professor being under the necessity of performing his 
 experiments at the fire of a common stove. Students coming hither 
 from abroad, and finding the institution^-though nominally a Universi- 
 ty deficient in so essential a part of its organization, would naturally 
 feel disappointed, and communicate their feelings', by letter, to their 
 friends: so that, if they should not go away, others, at least, would be 
 prevented from coming. So deeply has this consideration, with others 
 of a like nature, pressed on the mind of the undersigned himself, anx- 
 ious though he is to increase the number of students, that he never has 
 made any special effort for this purpose. Till now, it would have .been 
 premature: for, not till now has our organization, even as a college, 
 been complete. 
 
 And here the undersigned may be permitted to suggest a thought, 
 as to the principle assumed in the representations that have been made 
 to the legislature and the public, in regard to the number of our 
 students. It has been stated to be less at one time by twenty-five; 
 at another, by fourteen than it actually was. But . on this I make no 
 comment. I advert to the principle which assumes that the number 
 of students actually at a college, is a sure indication of its character 
 and prospects, at the time. Numbers however, taken alone, afford no 
 such indication. The causes which affect numbers, either in the way 
 of increase or diminution, operate slowly and often most effectually, 
 when, as yet, they are latent from the public eye. Our own history 
 affords a recent instance of.this. In 1837, when our number was the 
 
398 
 
 greatest, causes were at work which diminished it rapidly: and now, on 
 the other hand, when our number is reduced to about half of what 
 it was, it requires not the eye of divination to see in the condition of 
 the University the prognostics of a certain and a steady increase. 
 The institution has not indeed passed the crisis: but it has reached that 
 point in it, at which adverse influences having exhausted their force 
 "vitamquein vuinere ponunt" thoseof an opposite character will begin 
 to exert themselves. 
 
 4. To proceed, gentlemen, to the next question that, namely, which 
 respects the action of the Legislature three things, it seems to the 
 undersigned, ought to be regarded, as the elements of prosperity to 
 any literary institution the character of the board and faculty, the 
 character of the sphere within which the powers of the institution are 
 to operate, and the furniture of means with which it is supplied to 
 effect its objects. 
 
 By the "prosperity" of the Institution, it is taken for granted that 
 more than the mere number of students is intended. Institutions may 
 be so conducted as to attract numbers, and to keep up a succession of 
 numbers too, and yet generate nothing but pestilence and moral death 
 for the community. The moral capacities, as well as the intellectual 
 powers of the pupils must be educated. Their weaknesses must not 
 be flattered: nor their indolence soothed. Modesty of deportment 
 and deference to superiority in knowledge, virtue, and experience 
 must be inculcated. Honesty 'and simplicity of character and pur- 
 pose must be taught; as well as literature and science. That me- 
 thod which will best effect these ends will not, at first, attract num- 
 bers. In the long run it may. What is morally wrong grasps at 
 present advantages, which TIME, deified in ancient .mythology, de- 
 stroys. The poisonous mushroom springs up in a night: the growth of 
 the oak is marked by the lapse of ages. The good are content to 
 sow,- that others who are to come after them may reap the harvest. 
 
 To insure that kind of prosperity which is really desirable for a 
 literary Institution, the Faculty in' the first place, should be com- 
 posed of men whose characters are neither feeble through intellectual 
 imbecility, nor marked with moral turpitude. By the way, it should be 
 remarked, that when raised to a place above its proper level, intellectu- 
 al imbecility too -frequently becomes moral turpitude: for to sustain 
 itself it is constantly tempted to resort to dishonest and time-serving 
 expedients. 
 
 Such as cannot succeed in other professions are sometimes repre- 
 sented, as falling into that of a pedagogue. To you, gentlemen, I 
 need not say that the state of things should not be such any where in 
 our country as to justify such a mode of speaking as this. 
 
 Of the character of a Board of trustees the same remarks will hold; 
 though, perhaps, not with equal force. " 
 
 As to the population in the immediate vicinity, of the University it 
 should be such as to generate and maintain such a tone of moral sen- 
 timent as to keep in check those tendencies to corruption from which 
 no society on earth is altogether free. 
 
399 
 
 As to the more remote parts of the sphere, from which the Univer- 
 sity must derive its supply of students, it should be kept in mind* that 
 the larger religious sects occupy, with their influence, the greater 
 portions. The smaller sects, who either because they are not able to 
 sustain institutions of their own, or because they are liberal enough to 
 unite in common in favor of an Institution whose advantages were 
 intended for all, have not thought it necessary or expedient to provide 
 the means of educating their sons apart by themselves; these, added 
 to those more insignificant portions of society which are indifferent as 
 to sect, are the people who may be expected to send their sons to our 
 University. A few of the more liberal and enlightened of all sects 
 may also be expected to regard it with favor. The University may 
 be so managed as not to offend the prejudices of any liberal-minded 
 good man. But that it should suit v itself to the peculiar views, of any 
 sect or any party, is neither to be expected nor desired. Whatever 
 influence it exerts should be calculated to bring all good people, of all 
 denominations, into closer union. The spirit of the religion which Jesus 
 taught should live and breathe in its halls, or it will not prosper it 
 should not. As to the furniture of means fee., viz: Books, Apparatus, 
 buildings It is sufficient merely to name them on this occasion. 
 
 We are prepared, now, to ask, on which of these sources, whence 
 prosperity is to be .derived to the Institution, can the Legislature exert 
 an improving influence? Should the Legislature undertake to im- 
 prove the Faculty, on what would the question of appointment or re- 
 moval turn? On the qualifications of the individual? Or his creed? 
 Or would it depend on the amount of misrepresentation which at the 
 time might, t>y confidential letters, be injected into the Legislative 
 counsels? 
 
 It is an appalling fact that no Literary Institution has" ever yet 
 flourished under legislative management. This Institution, when the 
 undersigned took charge of it, ten years ago, was a mere Grammar 
 School, without a Library, without Apparatus, and with but two Pro- 
 fessors, having a strong tide of prejudice and opposition to stem. In 
 these circumstances, "none t was so poor to do it reverence." It was 
 with difficulty a quorum of the Board could be got together once a 
 year. Yet under all difficulties, it grew; till, in 1837, it numbered 
 one hundred and five students, and a place in its Board of Trustees 
 was thought to be an honor worth all that mighty agitation which the 
 .accuser has, by moving heaven and earth, excited on the subject. 
 Yet the Legislature no sooner began to be moved about it, than it 
 sank at once. And this is now cited, all over the land as another 
 proof that no Literary Institution can prosper, which is even liable to 
 Legislative influence. . 
 
 Bat, for his part, the undersigned is not yet prepared to give in to, 
 or give up to, this opinion. .He yet believes that this University, 
 though subject to Legislative interference, can be made to prosper. 
 He believes* further, that the Legislative interference, in this very in- 
 stance will prove most salutary. The manner in which this inter- 
 ierence was invoked and all the circumstances connected with it, 
 
400 
 
 show who is the person struck at, and why he has been struck at, 
 struck, at, now the third time. You, gentlemen, when you have 
 patiently examined into every alleged cause of complaint, will say 
 whether he is ; guilty, and OP WHAT; and he will remove himself forth- 
 with, from your Institution and from the state which contains it and 
 all will be well will it? Or on the contrary, should your report be 
 favorable will not all be well? There is some doubt. For the ac- 
 cuser, in his letter to Mr. Berry, says he will renew his efforts every 
 year till his object be accomplished: and should he be able to excite 
 another such commotion and tempest, his object will be accomplished. 
 And, gentlemen, should he have this power, the Legislature, with all 
 the resources of the State at their command, cannot save the Univer- 
 sity from prostration and ruin. 
 
 The undersigned does not feel himself competent to suggest, with 
 any degree of confidence, any preventive, which it is thought, the 
 Legislature would feel themselves authorized to apply. He has heard 
 it suggested, by some honest and good men of great experience, that 
 if any person undertaking to prosecute charges against the State Uni- 
 versity were to render himself liable for the costs of prosecution, in 
 case he failed to establish his charges, it would prevent the recurrence 
 of a case similar to that which has, in this instance, put the State and 
 the University to so much cost and trouble. 
 
 So far as the prosperity of the institution may depend upon the board 
 of trustees, the undersigned has nothing to propose. The history of 
 all literary institutions goes to establish the principle, that a board of 
 trustees having been appointed by the Legislature, should be left, in all 
 ordinary cases, to manage the trust committed to their hands, unless 
 the interference of the Legislature should be invoked by the Board 
 themselves, acting in their joint and .corporate capacity. 
 
 In reference to the wants of the state, it has long been the convic- 
 tion of the undersigned that a department of Didactics, such as is 
 sketched in his letters to Mr. Dunning, and such as corresponds in 
 most respects to the Normal Schools of Europe, is greatly needed in 
 the University. It would enable Farmers in moderate circumstances 
 to fit their sons for those positions and occasions, in which the inter- 
 ests and views of that highly' useful and respectable class of the com- 
 munity needto.be represented and 'advocated. 
 
 . In obedience to the resolution requiring the undersigned to lay be- 
 fore you a brief account of the paternal system of college government, 
 he begs leave to submit to the committee the following brief extract 
 from the annual catalogue for the year 1837 8, page 11, and an ex- 
 tract on the same subject from a discourse delivered before the Legis- 
 lature; and were it not for fear of trespassing too far on the patience 
 of the committee, he would be gratified to submit to their inspection a 
 still more expanded view of the same subject, contained in a discourse 
 delivered before the college of professional teachers, and published in 
 the 5th vol. of their transactions. 
 
 "The government is paternal, the reason and moral sense of the 
 student are called into exercise by frequent appeals in relation to the 
 
 
401 
 
 matter and- manner of his conduct; and he is thus taught to gov- 
 ern himself. 1 ' This I consider the fundamental principle of the Pater- 
 nal System. It is expanded in the following remarks, extracted from 
 my "Discourse on Education, delivered before the Legislature of the 
 State of Indiana, at the request of the joi nt committee of education, 
 and published in pursuance of a vote of the House of Representatives 
 Jan. 17, 1830." They are found on pages 20 and 21. "In the re- 
 marks which I have to offer, as to the methods proper to be adopted for 
 the purpose of guarding against the formation of evil habits, I can not 
 be particular. I may be allowed to specify one thing which, if I am 
 not utterly mistaken, has had a most pernicious influence, and must 
 have, whenever it is adopted. I allude to the practice of governing 
 students by a multiplicity of written laws, supported as they must be, by 
 a system of espionage. The laws of a state differ essentially from those 
 of a school. The former have for their object the protection of individ- 
 uals 'in their just rights: that of the latter is the formation of charac- 
 ter. Young men should be formed in character and habit, so as not 
 merely to shun vice, and to practice virtue, but to love the latter and 
 detest' the former. And this is what mere law and authority can not 
 do. No one becomes good by constraint. Besides, laws often pro- 
 voke to their own violation. A generous youth does not like to be 
 commanded to do what he knows he ought to do, and would do if left 
 to himself. What he does by constraint, or under the appearance of 
 constraint, he loses the credit of doing, further; the formation of char- 
 acter contemplates, a thousand things, which change their nature, if 
 enforced by authority. If you go about to make people religious by 
 compulsion, you make them hoypocrites. Who- would think of teach- 
 ing politeness by rules and penalties? Further still; if you lay down 
 a law, it must be invariable. But the dispositions of the young are 
 different, and demand a different treatment. Yet again: watch a 
 boy, and you do him an injury: you treat him as a slave; and such 
 treatment will gradually generate a base and servile spirit, which will 
 need to be watched. Too much government is always injurious, a 
 maxim which rulers are sure to learn. There is but one law fn heaven, - 
 the law "of love; and the Author of .our salvation has proposed no other 
 for the government of those whom He is forming for an eternal resi- 
 dence in that happy place. The society of a college ought to be a 
 family in which the faculty is the parent and the pupils the children 
 of different tempers and attainments, and therefore to be treated dif- 
 ferently, but all under the same kind and paternal government. And 
 those who cannot be governed in this way, 'it would be wrong to ed- 
 ucate, 'if it were possible/' 
 
 It will be observed from these extracts thaUh.e } Paternal System stands 
 opposed not to all laws whatever, but only to such "a multiplicity" of 
 them as would, in carrying them into effect, render necessary a system 
 of espionage^ For instance, in some Institutions, letters sent home by 
 the pupils must first be inspected by the Faculty. Let each professor 
 be strict in requiring the performance of the duties of the recitation 
 room, and he will soon find out who do not behave well out of it. And, 
 56 
 
402 
 
 
 let such, after sufficient trial, be dismissed, that they may, before the 
 season of youth be past, be set to some other employment, in which 
 they may *be useful in future life, to themselves and others. 
 All which is respectfully submitted, 
 
 A W Y -Ll-liu 
 
 Bloomington Sept. -25th 1840. 
 

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