Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1845-10-01
MISCELLANEOUS.
From the Mercury.
THE SOUTH CAROLINA COL
L.EGE,


ardeth sore that waxeth wise by experl.
ence.-RoaER AscHAM's "roxornILus.'
THE iberaIity allowed by latter Gay
grants each one the right TO express HIM
SELF freely under particular condIllons,-
Discussion will often produce good. by
eliminating aud thereby exposing evil, ye'
there is no voluntary acl requiring more
room for deliheration aud extreme eau
rion, than an exposure in the pnollc jour
mails of supposed imperfeclions 10 Puoiic
Institutions of particular class. a
healthy restriction is given to The lnroad
of looseness in irresponsible power ny
timely notice-but we must be assured OF
the truth OF every point OF our accusation,
where so much harm is likely 10, ensue
from conveying false impression to lne
public mind, depending as they 40 lor
support on lis favorable opinion. 1t IS OBJ
rious ths, its Officers cannot with pioprle-
iyreply IN defence Of themseives-an ed.
uca,ional establishment OF a high grace
from salutary deficiency 10 the alten
dance on, its public examinations, cannol
shew demonslratively its superiority It's
qualifications, or its capabilities for the
purposes intended-t must ultimately
be determined by lis fruits. TO none
then can unnecessary or false blame be
attached with more irreparaole INJURY !;
and the incest discrimination Is therefore
requisite in condemning either lls mea-
sures or ills men. Now tha! the Sou'h
Carolina College has mol refrigerated. Dut
is superior. both as respects the course OF
instruction, its Professors, and lis numbers,
10 what we fiud at its earliest date and Tor
many years succeeding, is NOT only de-
termined by fact, but is otherwise The re-
sui, of thirty years advance 10 the n'ne'
teenth cenlury,-atlended win all the
benefits acquired by experience aud the
accumulated facilities derived from wise,
generous and continued support. lis
fruits await but time 10 develope them.
We are ap,, in quest Of something, TO
cavil at the present and venerale The past
and from this very principle draw com
parsons between the scholarship oi few
of its early alumni, aud the want OF 1t IN
those of a latter day. An adherence TO
early aud by gone days is commondabl.
in research Tor legal precedent, anu thInss
sanctfed by hoary tradition may he re-
vered by anliqua.ians, but assureuiy the
South Carolina College hes no' tins 10
boast, land il does not apply, when the
living witnesses OF even its remOlesl III.
ception are uelore usi II Is lnvldious aud
unfair, lor their locks are ~hllened ~
nI win q
years Of industrious study and laDorIuus
research. There are those oil an ad
vaneed day hat can compete ard are last
hasling eminenty 10 vindlcaIe, their gen
sFaliaR and their Alma Mater: l,IsMsll
advanced cias, twenty years since, con-
slilute those OF one far interior nuw, anu
If our halls OF learning are not as crowd
ed as those IN regions more denseiy pop
uIated, II is the Unavoidable effect oI tIIe
halo thrown around them by age, greater
variety ul branches aud nunDer Ql lu-
struclors, lrequenIly IN donations from
private Individuals lor the endowment o.!
particular schools. combining at au ear
" period to alract our sIudenIs and their
wealth iu lar greater numbers Than al
present. That we can expect 10 rival
lhem, eau only be accomplished by lhe
steady perseverance, Of a wise and palrI
Otic Legislature, assisted by an eulIgnteu-
cd and attentive Board vi Trustees, pur
suing course that would cnsure repu-
table contrast with the most favored
most certainly no, by curtaillnS The mum
ber Of Professors. abrIdsing tho means ot
instruction, or weakening public contl-
dence. If the Press Or lis correspondents
are to take cosulzauce III order ~ con
demu, why did the Slate III It's wisdom
see ft 10 enrusl i. specially 10 Board Oi
Inspectors, selected IRON The Learning aud
the parents OF the land. 10 ccnsure It's
Professors because torSoUth Ibis one is dis
liked tor that iolble, and that rldiculed lur
another, This holds private opinion OBJ
noxiOus 10 second, The other 10 tnIrd.
When can a sci Of nlen, The wisesl aud
most competent, be ever free from tile
abiurations ot population comprising
some three hundred thousand. Where
would we ask was lheIe ever depot
where Young men are consresate in
numbers aud there be NOT dissipation
among a portion? Is there less a, the
Northern Colleges because We do not see
it?-consul, those who have graduated
elsewhere and they Will lell you infinitely
more. A comparison belweeU them is
strlkingly in our favor; 50 alrocIuus are
the records of their extravaganza and vice
that We meet them in the public press. -
Aud when has il here occurred thai war 10
The knife has been maged against con-
ssitutional authority, either civil or collie
giate. Aud YET, Ill the veins OF the one,
is the staguanl blood oI a frozen reglon,
and in the other courses, that Ol the 'ex-
citable Soulhron.' If within our own
limits disturbance is more frequent than
heretofore, 1t can only be referred 10 an
increase Of number, and the lI5erality of
The sge-those of an earlier date Iucon
lestibly evidence thai il is far less.
We would refrain from referring 10 iu.
dividuals composing lis Faculty, we're il
not 10 correct impressions thai have gone
forth. Silence is less 10 be Iauded than