Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1857-09-02
F..,;n the Charleston Mercury.
TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA
Cn1IEGE.

TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA
COLLEGE
Although have not the honor to be ose OF
the thirty-six very distinguished gentlemen who
comprise the Board ui Trustees vi the South
Carolina College, ! may, nevertheless, trust. be
excused fr taking an interest IN thai institution.
! am L native Gt tic STATE: received my OWN
education at Columbia; an older than many OF
the Board; have seen more ot the pracrcal
workings OF the College than most ot them, and
have, think more SONS to educate than any OF
them; every one of whom it is the wish OF my
heart to educate within the State and no! one
of whom. pledge myself shall ever be educa'
ted north of Mason and DiSson'S line. Without
further apology, propose. then, to give my
views as to the present crisis i'll the affairs OF
the College, ana address myself 10 the Board
itself.
The College, it is said. has been proved g"
tuiiuye.' Is this true in ANY other sense than
the same Judgment may be pronounced upo"
I'LL human government-Npon all the institutions
of mau-upon civilization--nav. on Christianity
itself? Nowhere Ito We find perfection. W.
find. indeed, everywhere, not only im.'rrcl!'a.
but mach o! positive evil-of ar''r,! r:ac;i':it
mischice-mix,,l ,p with all that has am "ra'"i
or advanced the condition OF mn:lIinl ever
where and at all TINES. = :.'uHt and Topaz
are inseparabe in human l::.irA, a.,l there =
II "Srlmy sid. to every garr:cni. Old OX!ort
and veneratnl ClmJrilg" have npt ben with
ouf their s..,irist$ The German Universities,
with their be; drinking, their du@!!inS, Their
turbulence, anil rilcalism, ana secplcism, a:id
MYSTICISM have been rs much the subject cl
c;us,rr with S)inc. rs our own much crIt!c!Zcd
institution.
Whca q S,,:h Carolina yuul,. sometime
si:lcc. wai carriu h1:dswH;.i, bc:o7" Il E''ston
magistrate. for aa alleged breach Of the peace,
;xo Of the most worthy Of the cltlzaHs o that
place iuform2.l the writer of this article, that
such s.vcritv grcw OF a. the frequent scenes OF
rio. and iawlc.<a2SS enacted hv tn" students n
Harvard, AN! persons III u disIanr', they SAID
coull not JUICE Of the necessities ni boston.
Has Yale College no Deficiencies, and aie th"r"
no ,'.Hhi:irni there less innocent than the "ui-
breaks ut Columbia? lie: the parents o! sous
sent To Princeton enquire Of these SOFAS as 10
the irolics the secret expeditions to Ne% "rk,
and the low lebauc!trv much nearer the college
precincts. Ask OF the Junior class OF lSll-J2,
40 many Of whom went from Columbia TO the
Virginia University. whether there was less Ut
dissipation and more OF study in Charlottesville.
than in Columbia? We mav cuntrive us we
please, and sculd and rate after we ourselves
have settled down in lie. have ceased to SymPa-
thizr with the cxcasScs OF youth. and perhaps,
"Compnunl f,r sins are Inclined to,
By damnns t!o:c We have n mind 10,
Int there vii! be cakes and ale for the young.
for all thar, say, and ginger vii! be hot the
mouth, too
do not claim for the South Carolina Cullcg",
however, that it has been the best Of Colleges,
even as compared with other actual cXi:;ng
practical institutions. But do assert That 1t
has no: heen So decidedly r"rSr than others, IL
70 constitute u failure and that such as it is,
it has been Of incalculable benefit to South Caro-
lima, especially 10 the up-coantry; and most o;
all. to the midiling and poorer classes ot the
up-country.
Lon. before the College was established, the
sons of wealthy parents in the lower country
We're sent to Europe and received there cduca-
lions. which, 50 far as books alone were con-
ccrned, were far superior to the College e'luca.
ton attainable ut our own institution And
Charleston and Beaufort, from Il very early day,
have had institutions Of their own aflording Il
pretty fair classical ctucatun, at q cheaper rate
than the College at Columbia. But III the up
country, how few were the educated men before
the South Carolina College sent forth Crcnsllaw,
and Caldwell. and Evans, and Harper, and
Earle, and O'Neall, and McDu!iic, and their
successors! How much the relative position of
the up-countrv has been advanced by the cstab.
lishment of the College. no man can calculate.
BY means of the College It is that the upcoun-
try has been taught the value Of liberal cduca-
ton. Now that it has ht'"o'ne q want, the veal
thy would seek to supply j: To tiiei: sons, even
though VIC had no College within our borders
10 those Of more moderate means, however, It
would still he denied, bHt for the home institu.
tiou. Expensive as tha; may be, it is less 50
than Harvard, Yale, the Virginia University, or
any other place of education out o. the State.
likely to become the substitute. If it were prac.
ticable, it is not desirable, that every youth
should be sent to College and it is very certain
that all who are sent will not profit By it. But
there are some, in each successive year, to whom
the Military Academies, the Furman College,
and the Woiford College, Or other local or Sec
tartan institutions coa!l never supply the place
of the central College, with its libcralizing and
stimulating influence, its broad foundation 10:
future requirement, rs lessons Of seitdiscipl:ne
and scll:rcanc", and ii. opportunities lu; the
comparison and measurement Of S,'it, with youths
from every quarter engaged i'll the same par
Suits.
!By their fruits Va shall know them i H..
language of inspiration. ,;;::'l-c b: his siaml-
ard, can ANY same lna:l say that thu Sonth Caro-.
lima College has heen failure. tiIiy.onr years
AFRO tie College sent forth Il single graduate.
Anderson CrensIl.w, for many years u mos. rc-
spectacle pioneer Judge and Chancellor in Ala.
hama. Very soon after, there were Branlcv;
Harper; Miller; Evans; Murphy, an early Gov
crnor of Alabama; Bowie, Chancellor i'll the
same State: Robt. B. Campbell, for delightful
manners and high bearing, unsurpasSe,i-'lis
tinsuShcd alike among the diplomats at Wash
ius;on, the sturdy settlers of Alrhama, and the
mulliar.ous s,.rchants of the proniscuous mart
Of Havana; Wa. J. Grayson, wirl:iiag the rca'li-
.iics., the most polished ana among the ablc>t
peas OF the South Pc;isru, iurist As polished
md scholarly rs he is profound Ear', whose
legal opinions, for pcrjpicuiy, elegance and cor
rcc.ncss, would do honor to any jiari-prudencc;
O'Noall; Pincknoy: Preston, the most brilliant
rhetorician of his day; and honest, earnest clio.
u..eat slcDatlie, who, to the logic of Fox, and
the Passion of Mirabeau, united the virtues of
Cato of old.