The Oxford intelligencer., 1860-09-12
ere will be a very large and full attendance

ST nts air .y Skids 5heir apr Fancs,
lin 6ktore and &omN W TIT we cal earI
there will be very large and full attendance
at the opening of the session. For some
4yeas past tie ustitdtionh has been gradually
working its way into the pnblic confidence
and, we doubt not aS its real attractions be-
conc hore- wideI au6snloAhS people of
Mississippi. they will Continue to manifest
their appreciation of its merits by a steady
increase, Of patronage From the many in
teIIigent gentlemen, who, from time TO time,
within our knowledge, have visited the Uni
yersity,, we have heard only expressions Of
gratifed surprise in regardto what fell under
their observation there. With the recent en-
larged facilities for travelling in this region,
which have rendered Oxford more readily ac1
cessible from almost every portion Of the
State, the number Of visitors to the pniver-
sity has very largely increased; aud the pub.
lie mind is thus becoming gradually impress
ed with aprofound and ,appreciative sense Of
the nature and value of those great advanta-
ges which the University holds ont for the
higher education of the young men Of Mis-
sissippi. Large sums of money-such as no
other institution Of learning in all the South
West has been able to communicative, been
expended here, not merely, in the erection of
the buildings required for the operations of
the University, but, also, in the acquisition
Of Libraries, and of supply---unsuIpasscd,
in America, in the perfection of its details
Of those material means and aids which serve
to illustrate the physical sciences, and facil-
tate the work of instruction, Not because
we are an alamngs of the University, nor be-
cause we would willingly dsparagc other in
situations of learning, but because we believe
it to be. fact, and know that it is conceded
by the most intelligent friends of Southern
education in the land we do not hesitate to
declare, that, in all those great essentials
which constitute the highest value of such an
institution, the University of Mississippi
stands, to-day, without a peer in the South
Western portion Of our coniederacy. There
is but a single drawback 10 her prosperity.
That consists in the fact that her real merits
are not known to the great body of our peo-
pie, This, however, cannot long continue TO
be the case, for not only is correct inforna-
ton being constantly disseminated through
the medium of the visitors to whom alusion
has been made, but tho corps of her alumni,
now numbering three hundred and twenty
one, and scattered throughout every portion
of the State, constitute a large and effective
band, whose members, almost without sol
itary exception, will advocate her claims with
an intelligent zeal which cannot fail to pro-
duce a marked aud favorable effect upon the
public mind. Many of them will read these
remarks of ours, and we feel that it is scarcely
necessary that we should remind them of the
duty which they owe to their alma mater.
A nobler brotherhood exists not on the broad
face of EARTH We know them too well to
dream that they can be faithless to the'obi-
cations that rest upon them.
The University is already an accomplish
ed success" After struggling, for years,
under pressure of adverse circumstances,
she has triumphed oyerallthe disadvantages of
her position, aud now stands forth so strong
in the confidence and regard of our pcople,
that she need not fear recurrence of such |
difficulties as have DISTRACTED her career
in former days. But greater success is I'M
doubtedly in store for her. The future is as
certain as the past. 1t is simply question
of time. Sooner or later, the day will come
when the University of Mississippi will oe-
cupy the rank to which she is entitled, aud
when the many hundreds of students who
shall throng her halls will attest, by their
presence there, the prevalent belief of Mis-
sissippians that they possess, within their
own borders, an institution of learning which
is worthy Of the patronage of Southern men.