Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1864-10-28
:. The College Qnestion.-
WHAT The ACT OF CONGRESS REQUIRE,

1.-The College Question:
WHAT The ACT OF CONGRESS REQUIRES.
The Act Of Congress has many provisions
some of them quite onerous; but we need
look only at Its fourth section, quoted in the
address; and at mainly the last half of that
which regards the use to be made of the annual
income derived from the fund. The language
used is a remarkable example of loose and
indefinite expression-so much SO that we
can hardly avoid suspicion that it was made
so. purpOsely. 1t cannot be interpreted truly
from one or two clauses discovered from the
rest. Each phrase must have its due weight
in determining what is meant by the whole
Section tour Of the act is as follows
SEC. 4. find be 1t further enacted, That all mo-
MES derived from the sale Of the lands aforesaid by
the States to which the lands are apportioned,
and from the sales Of the land scrip here4nbefore
provided for, shall be invested in stocks of the
United States, or Of the States, or some other
safe stocks, yielding not less than five per cent
um upon the par value Of said stocks; and that
the monies so invested shah constitute perpet-
ual fund, the capital OF which shall remain for
ever undiminishel, Except so far as may be
provided in Section 9th Of this Act,) and the
interest Of which shall be inviolibly appropriated
by each State which may take and claim the
benefit of this Act, to the endowment, support
and maintenance Of at least one College, where
the leading object shall be, without excluding
other scientific and classical studies and includ-
ing military tactics, 10 teach such branches Of
lsa~uirfr -a1a4pF 70 r1+rtr. o-I .la
mechanic arts, IN such a manner as the Legisla-
lures OF the States may respectively prescribe,
in order 10 promote the liberal and practical
education Of the industrial classes in the several
pursuits and professions in life
Let US examine this in detail
l. The phrase 40 the endowment, sup
port, and maintenance, is Of itself very
broad, but it is limited in the 9Th section of
the act, which provides that 81 sum, not ex
ceeding ten perccntum upon the amount re-
ceived by any State under the provisions of
tins act, may be expended for the purchase
of lands for sites or experimental farming.
whenever authorized by the respective legis-
latures of said States" 1t also provides
that ''no portion Of sand fund, nar the inter
est thereon, shall be applied, directly or in
directly, under any pretence whatever, to
the Archase, erection, preservation, Or re-
pair OF any buIlding or buildrngs." These
checks on the application of the money are
very decisive ones. The endowment, sup
port and maintenance of 81 least one col
lege is confined By them t. tie use (s.,yIag
the possible application OF the ''fen percent
um,' aforesaid) Of the entire income for the
payment Of personal services, und the pro
curement Of books, maps, drawings, models,
in briei, Of any objects natural and artif-
cial, any kind OF apparatus whatever. which
can be made seryiceable for such instruction
as the act contemplates.
.. But what Of the term, college, - as
used in the section? The term itself is 4 We
~ general one-used to designate an assem-
blage or organization Of persons who are to
cooperate for certain purposes. Many il
lustrations will at once suggest themselves,
where the object Of the organization is not |
one of instruction. Of colleges for instruc-
tion there are also many-such as law collie !
ges, medical colleges. military colleges, COM
mercial colleges, colleges to teach ancient or
modern languages, to teach mathematics,
drawing, engineering, natural history, &c,
&c
These colleges are sometimes found exist
ing separately, sometimes, and more often.
combined to a greater or less extent; and when
SO combined they are spoken of as colleges
departments, schools institutions, or by some |
other kindred term according to the pleasure
of those who are conc rned with them. The
mere name carries with it no precise mean
ing. The character Of the organization is
determined by what is to be effected by It,
and not by its name. No one can suppose if
in the section we are considering instead Of
the word college, the word institution, semi
nary, school, or the like, had been used, the
meaning and purpose of the act would have
been, in a single particular, different from
what il now is
Moreover, there is in our country nothing
clearly distinctive in the use Of the terms,
University and College, commonly applied
to the higher institutions of learning Of
comprehensive sort. OF the one hundred
and thirty or more of these in the United
States, some are called by one name and
some by another-the popular names being
often different from those used to designate
them in their respective acts of incorporation.
Yet, in the main, the purposes for which
they are instituted and The potrers given to
them, vary very little. As to the extent aud
number OF the branches of learning and sci
ence taught in them, that in each case is
bounded only by the means which the corpo-
ration has at its disposal There are no
bounds to knowledge. No one, young "
old. has learned SO much that he cannot,
proftably, be taught more. The Institution
which began in days of poverty, with but an
armful of books and one or two teachers,