Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1868-09-22

On the 10th inst, Commodore Matthew f.
Maury was installed Professor Of Physics in the
Va Military Institute at Lexington, on which
occasion he delivered the following address
Gentlemen of the Faculty of the Institute: I
have been recalled from exile and invited back
to fatherand, and am here to be harnessed up
tor service ~ this institution, upon which your
labors and the labors Of your predecessors have,
under the guidance of your able slperintan
dent, she'd SUCH lg,sre.
let US be brothers and act together like men.
The duties to which am invited call for at
talnments of high order. Conscious Of my
own deficiencies should have lacked courage
for the work had l not felt persuaded that |
might at all times, under all CIRCUMSTANCES and
upon all occasions, rely implicitly upon you for
ADVICE, assistance and co operation,
a physical survey even ct what is left to .us
of the Old Dominion, is by no means the work
OF day. 1t requires time, labor and expense,
and every one OF these In no stlnted measure.
Such a survey seeks to accomplish many obs
jectS, and to subserve many purposes Of State,
but the first ;Gtens aud the grand aim of this,
is to encourage enterprise, stimulate industry
and advance the material prosperity OF our peo-
pie, who now, throughout the length and
breadth Of our broad inheritance, are present
ing to the world the most sublime moral specta-
Gle ever recorded in hlstory-a gallant people
nobly struggling with adversely
10 ask theu 10 wals tog s3te completion OF
the survey BEFORE announcing any OF Its results,
would be Imposing rnluous delay upon men
who rlsked all and suffered much In a common
cause.
Therefore, our superintendent with that wise
appreciation of the useful, and that aound and
practical judgment Whleh have marked with a.
bility, spa crowned with such signal success,
his administration of the Virginia Military In
stitute, has decided that the first duties OF this
chair shall be to collect all the existing infor-
nation within reach as to the climate and pro
duqtions Of Virginia as to her industrial re-
sources and commercial advantages that sueh
survey will In the end develop, and to embody
1t forthwith in a preliminary report, to the end
that strangers desiring TO purchase lands or
embark In industrial enterprises OF any sort a.
mong us, may be provided, in an authentic
form, with just such information as capital
seeking investment always requires and to the
end also that the emgrant In Fatherand, as
! he there casts about for new home, may Judge
fairly as to the peculiar advantages which our
own Sunny South affords, for they are nlaay
and rare.
Though this report will, from the nature of
/ the case, relate chiefly to Virginia, 1t Will be
claims to tava.a able consideration on behalf OF
other States. We are ali III the same boat
and whatever lnures to the prosperity OF one
State Is beneficial t. all.
This is our first work. | have Eeen absent
from the country nearly SIX years During that
time great revolutions have taken place. others
are still goins on In ihc meantime, business
| has sought new styles, commerce has been fore
ed into new channels, aud many changes have
been wrought in the industrial pursuits OF our
! people, which, In such a report, ought to be
carefully studied.
| TO post me up in these matters, | invoke
your assistance and the aid OF observant men
generally Information as to the industries ct
this State, the price Of Iabof the value oi lands,
! their yield ta tie acre, he staples to which
! they are especially adapted, Nc, will be espe-
oially acceptable.
| Such, gentlemen, hastily sketched and rough
| ly drawn, are the outlines and the ann or the
| first attempt to be eSsayed from our Char OF
Physics The field is broad and new. May
we not hope to pluck tgonl il at least one little
sprig Of evergreen for that hallowed wreath
With which the labors OF the faculty., and the
deeds, both in peace aud in war, OF the alum
nj el the Virginia Military Institute have CROWN
ed this their beloved Alma Mater
| YOUNG GENTLEMEN, We are here, novlces
| W.
you are here in the flower and bloom OF youth
to be trained and exercised and prepared tor
the great battle Of lite. /, a raw recruit, al
ready in tAe sere and yellow leaf Of age to fight
it out, just SO.
1t is never too late for any ofus to form good
resolutions but this, the beginning Of a new
scholastic year, is peculiarly the time to form
them, and to reinforce them with noble asplra
| tions.
Select asyour model some one who has risen
to eminence from the condition in life IN which
it has pleased God to place you; compare Your
self continually with the wise aAd good, ano
with your fellows not yaing,orlousy to see
hoy mach better you are than they, but Sc ssret
ly, with emeekness and humility, to see hoV
much better they are than you, to discover
your own faults and correct them:
There is no educational establishment In th'
land, and considering its age, believe mi gh
truly say in the wide world, that is richer thar
this with it's memories, its traditions and 1t
catalogue Of good and great men,
Go to the studio Of Mr.. Washington, and yo'
will see there in preparation the portraits o
our gallant dead, who fell in the war, and who
as teachers and scholars, once graced thes
halls with their presence. Our superintendent
with an affectionate interest and wisdom Q
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