Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1863-05-12

of the superintendent, VOWS he is e1eytsing Major
Gereralof Engineers ought to be! And so they were
| together OF one accord, s'a happy family ("
On these pleasant aud satisfactory the
committee report back to the Senate the three amia
BILE resolutions, quoted with much JUNCTION by Gen
Smith In the eounns of the Gazette the effect thai
every ything at the ''Y H. l. was perfectly 30. K.
and Gu f0it
But travel too fast The smoothness of the road
and my agreeable companions have carried me little
The Board of Visitors were not unanimous. There
was who differed from them and that one their
in years excepting the Adjutant General and
hesthe President Of the Board The President testi
fes that the breaking out of the war in the Spring
of 1861 the Visitors assembling and finding this
new Gothic structure going up, ordered its arrest
not the arresto suspension OF further work upon the
large wing designed for barracks for the cadets
that they felt legitamate work under the 500,
Quo act; but ordered the stopping short of the new
palatia private mansion that was then, "risng
to their view like exhaation" from out of the
depths of one of those 'tgreat limestone sinkhoes
which the Major General of Typographical Engineers
describes IN his testimony before the committee and
which he says had cost him much labor and time
to fill up and smooth off. Verify the Rockbrdge pub
lie have had shrewd suspicion of holes some
0here about that Irstitute but they 4Fe abiding
faith ia TIE Ganosl, that if S1owe2coaSfhaed free
access to the public hsc ne will IN time fill them all
up.
But did the Superintendent arrest the work on his
new residence ordered? The Board dispersed and
assembled the following year. 1882 and when they
met, theY 'fOunQ tn0 SAID QWeIlng mousse nnShed or
nearly So" On questioning the Superintendent on
this violation of ORDERS his reply was ''that having
the lumber on hand and contract made he thought
it best to go with the work" Had that lumber
been used to carry forward the work the wing
of the barracks, had the money expended upon that
private mansion been devoted to the object which
was in the mind of the Legislature when they appro
prated the $4,000, VIZ tte enlargement of School
Of Cddets,) then had not been caught now with
huge unfinished structure, the walls up, without
roof, without windows, the cadets without barracks
then had we not been beset as now In legislative
halls, with petitions from this Superintendent Z" for
the humanesobject" of enlarging the hospital, &c.
&c. But ought not the good and patient and long
suffering people of this old Commonwealth to be well
content and satisfied with these trhng needs of well
cadets and sick cadets when they reflect that thereby
Gen. Smith gets out of very good house into far
better one and that the old desplsed mansion (tho
only some twenty years old after al) shall be torn
down and hustled out of sight if only the good dev-
il" of legislature will authorize "Cayalry drill.
For if we do have 'cavalry drill' then have
enlarged parade grounds; and if enlarged parade
grounds then the quondam residence must be torn
down-and If that be torn down then the view from
the new "GOthic" will be wholly unobstructed. @
E. D. and "a consummaton deyoutly to be wished. p
But the President of the Board, Gen. Raymond will
keep on obstinately insisting [but then he's an old
fogg1 that he cannot think 1t wise to have erect
ed that Gothic mansion-"my own own opinion was
and is yet that 1t ought not to have been bulltand
can by means agree to tearing down the former
house Sat least until the Legislature shall authorize
Cavalry tactics to be introduced and shall ''prcvide
the means Of paying the additional expense to be in
Cured by the introduction of Cavalry drill'' And
suspect if closely questioned and examined the
sturdy old General would say (apropos of haresl
first ''catch your Cavalry horses and if caught feed
them. But h0aO feed them? ''Oh It's easy as lying
Simply by bing the army horses OF their rations-
the thing is done In Richmond every day Why ifl
Cadets may be kept out of their barracks and sick
diets deprived of 'Aospltat facilities there is much
in words and much their right ordering, may not
army horses starve in the field and the march, If
only thereby may have gay prancings and dress
parades and 'scaYalTy drill on Institute hill and all
the world of passersby may look upon the beautiful
new house with admlrlng eyes and unobstructed
gazs
But to proceed, the Senate have gotten the report
from the Committee with the three amiable resOlu-
tlOns before them What snail they do With them P
Gen. S. says-now what think you, voter does Gen
Smith say they aSU do with them? What would he !
have he Senate do with these pleasant resolutions P?
He says(b ''riSU81 tea1eGtiS GmaoG )''they were
laid upon the table is usual with such reports p
All indeed The chairman of the COmmttes pressed 1
the resolutions to vote as IT was has parliamentary
duty to do. But the Senate said mo, not till see
and read the testimony and so they ordered not on
ly the report but the testimony to be printed When
the document thus printed laid upon the desks of
members and time allowed them to peruse it, the |
chairman again called the report and pressed the
exculpatory resolutions to vote. Another Senator
less for his ght of character than
.or his intellectual ability declared himself salts
fed with this Investigation or its results and moved
to lay the report and resolutions the table. And
upon that motion the Senate voted and carried it and
tabled the Ohoe SUBJECT and there 1t lies to this day
and will lie till qllckened into life by new Senate
And Gen Smith is satisfied with this result is he p
He leaves it to be inferred from his card WE'LL if
he is he is surely thankful for small favors and is
at least beginning to grow modest in his demands.
When this hospital bill came up, on the final pas
sage called on the Chairman of the military COM
mittee to divide and parcel out the appropriation of
$4,000, to designate b0a0 much OF 1t was to be
used for the purchase of medicines &C., and how
much go to building purposes, in order that the
v1te might also be divided and taken separately
each. But he declared himself without the infOrma-
ton necessary for that purpose. Thereupon, the Sen
ator from Aug gusta proposed ryder the BILL to the
effect that whenever building should be undertaken
or commenced with this appropriation, 1T should be
completed with the same that no further applications
be made to the money tor that purpose
This amendment engrafted on the bill by the
Senate, and the bill amended passed. your Senator
voting in the affirmative. And this is the only vote
l gave in relation the Military Institute, about
which had have any doubt or misgiving as to
its proprety. felt myself voting under sort of du-
ress-tor wished to vote the purchase OF medicines
and other hospital supplies but did not wish to
vote money for building, because said if further
room was temporarily needed, it could be rented
and all know there are larger schools and colleges
in the land before the war,-iarger IN point
of numbers of scholars, which have no hospitals at all
But the TWO objects of buying medicines and building
houses, were so blended and welded together In the
bill. that one needs vote for both Or against
both. | incline to think the House OF Delegates did
righ in voting against and rejecting the bill
The next occasion on which the affairs OF the lns-
tute came up, on the memorial OF ex-cadet, w a
Daniel of Cumberland, Va. His written statement Ill
substance is :'''The cadets in the habit of NAL
treating all new cadets. They TO my bed on llth
Nov. last, and ordered me to get up-but refused:
knew not what to do, unarmed and defenceless as
was. When they came nearer arose upon my feet
and warned them against mOesting me, threatening
at the same time to inform Col Preston. They I'M
mediatey took hold of me, as many as could, bound
and laid table and struck me about three hun
dred strokes as suppose with bayonet-scab bbards-
A bout i2 O clock went to Col p. and informed him
of it and offered TO give him their names, TWO three
times but he refused to take them Therefore being
unable to defend myself against AN unbridled mob,
and seeing that my wrongs would not be redressed,
deserted This statement, and the same somewhat
bOre minutely and circumstantlaiy repeated by the
ksher of young Daniel IN a letter to General Smith,
1t attempted to be contradlcted, eontroverted or
id by Gen. Smith any other officer IN the
compass of lengthy document written by |
al Smith, and by him submitted with accompa-
papers 40 the House Of Delegates. 1t may be
that both Delegates and Senator from that
and d strict bore emphatic testimony to the
ent and unmpeachable character and standing
Daniel the father-and likewise of his son, so
youth can have established reputation.
Gen Smith late publication he very briefly
isses this matter by saying, 'It IS not necessary
late the views IF the Superintendent IN reference
aaltreatment of new cadets. Ihey are well known
b. Speakiug only for myself the best, If not the
means have Of knowing what are Gen. Smith s |
on this important point, are the practical work
of hs system and his abored defence IL tn case
NOW in hand He is the authorized responsible head
0f State school, and, such, Is clothed with even
than the usual powers OF natat1Ty eutlory anu
discipline. Thus armed with power little short of
despotic it is notorious to the country that he has
suffered to grow up under his eye and hand system
of conduct not known or praetlced at any
other seminary III this State or the whole South, an
example of which is the now before US. Of that
n parilv IN