Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1869-01-28

From the COMMERCIAL Of the 23d inst, it APP
pears that Major John jones has just paid visit
to Dover, for the very generous purpose Of en-
deayoring to defeat the renewal of the charter Of
Delaware College, and TO have the Government
grant oil public lands to the State fnr the purposes
Of education in agriculture and the mechanic arts,
diverted TO the purposes Of general education.
The nrst anomaly which strikes one ia tlis
matter is to see man who has always lIoiessed
the greatest interest in agriculture in our State,
endeavoring to divert from its proper purpose
this fund and the second ie, the ab.urdity that
he should endeavor to induce the Legislature 10
attempt TO turn this grant from the purpose fol-
which 1t is especially donated by Congress The
express condition Of It's appropriation by Con.
gress being, that it should be accepted in two
years from the renewal of the law, which two
years has, believe, expired, and IN three year.
| more have cercted at the State expense propui
buildings for the purpose Of teaching a.iirnlur,
and the mechanic arts or IN default ui this The
donation lupses into the L. = Government. I'll,
State allowed the first term to pass, and il would
havc lost the benefit Of the appropriation had moi
| Congress heightened the term two years more
| The Trustees Of Delaware College, having u lag,
| building with very extensive and excellent PHI
losophcal apparatus offered The use Of all thl'
and TO put the building Into go5d repair, if Il {
| State would accept the lr!ut aud carry ont The
design of the appropriation through this coirg'
ut Newark, instead II either allowing tue gran
again to lapse, or to put the State to Tie expense
OF building college and furnishing j! with suila
bic apparatus.
| be done-were that the State should he rrprescn
ted by fifteen Trustees chosen by the Governor
and the college by an equal number from the ol,
Board--and that tue Sate should be privileged t
send thirty students annually without charge 10
| tuition who should be selected according 10 til
ordering OF the General Assembly.
| The question Is not whether college educatD,
il letter than public school AID high school edu
cation, for Congress has assumed to d eide tina
az regards this fund by declaring that it SHALL b
principal shall be intact, In pcrpetuo. Nplthu
Mayor Jones, nor any body else, except Cuugres,
can divert this to any other purpose, but al til
peril Of at once torfcitng the whole
At lis last session the Legislature showed Is or
probation OF the proposition Of The Trustee. {
Delaware College, by passing law 10 carry gu
the above conditions; the Trustees On The part q
the State have been appointed, and have mt N
old Board, and committee was appointed to q
ter and amend the old charter TO correspond wit
the requirements Of tile aforesaid law. Their
seems to be no reason to anticipate any chang
OF mind in the Legislature, us regards the law
and II not the case is plain one, that is, mrrel
to alter the charter so rs TO enable the Trustee
10 carry out the intent Of the aw, aud thus brio
within reach OF the people OF The State the bent
1T, Intended by the wise legislation of Congress
The remark TINT the colleges established und,
this law have proved failures, ia without fOundi
3 dation, inasnluch us the fund has not been Ion
enough in the hands Of any State to test the ma
ter-whch can only be determined by a trial of
least ten or fifteen years. Besides, thcrc is moth
q ing inherently wrong, or inconsistent with
knowledge OF agricultural or the mechanic art
that their principles and practice should he taug
by intelligent and educated persons sustain,
r mainly by the State, rather than in the mode
t which they are usually acquired