Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1870-05-11
THE EAST TENNESSEE UNIVERSITY.

sembly, to convene next week in Nash
vile, to hold an adjourned Session, We
would plead earnestly, in behalf of what
we conceive to be justice, due TO the time
honored University in our midst. If not
on account of it's present honored Presi
dent and efficient Faculty, at least because
Of its creditable past history, 1t deserves
some consideration in its present extre-
nifty.
BY an Act Of the lsst General Assembly,
the University was given the Agricultural
fund, due the State from the munificent
donation for school purposes, made by the
Congress of the United States. That act,
if it had any force and effect whatever,
amounted to contract between the Uni
versity and the State. BY its provisions,
the University was required to do certain
things: among others, to own lands of a
certain value; to provide accommodations
for certain number of students, and to
give bond for the preservation and faith
full application of the fund.
The requirements of the law have been
fully complied with, and the University,
on every principle of right and public
faith, is entitled to the fund. A commit
tee of the Legislature or rather portion
Of it, has endeavored to establish the con-
trary; but we believe it is generally conce-
ded that it failed. There is not q fair-mind-
ed man in the State, who will say that
the present General Assembly is acting
honorably, or even legally, in this matter.
The question to be considered now, Is
not whether the former General Assembly
should have divided the fund.- or given it
entire to an institution at Murfreesboro or
jackson, but whether this Assembly will,
in good faith, carry out a contract made by
its predecessor The whole matter, view
it as you may, resolves itself at last into
this question: shall the present Assembly
violate the faith of the commonwealth?
The State might as well repudiate its debts,
as to refuse to comply with the terms of its
contract with the East Tennessee Univer-
sity.
But the point to which we ask the atten-
ton of the community is the necessity | of
action, to the end that our legislators may
feel that their course in this matter does
not meet with the appreciation of their
masters-the people. This community is
deeply interested in this question, and we
cannot afford to allow such sen timents az
those advanced by Citizen" through the
columns of the Wing, to pass unrebuked.
There is no need of concealing the fact that
the real, active, bitter enemies of the Uni
versity are residents Of our own city. The
men who are gripping this institution of
learning, destroying it's influence and ac-
tually preventing the distribution of tens
Of thousands of dsllars among our people
are living in our midst, calling themselves
citizens of the community. Can there be
any doubt as to the great advantages Knox
vile would derive from the University if
the State would comply with its obliga-
tions? If the College can have the money
now justly due, we believe it, students
next year would number fully three han
dred. Looking at the matter only in the
light of dollars and cents, cannot the COM
munity see how its interests are prejudiced
by this uncalled for, ungenerous opposi-
ton? As this secret proscriptiye spirit of
opposition comes from men claiming to be
of US, it il eminently proper that we should
have an open, manly ayowal of the real
sentiments of our people. Let US publicly
rebuke the spirit possessing such contract
ed souls as "Citizenn and his friends, and
make known to the General Assembly that
they do not reflect the views ofithis COM
munity.
There is political interests involved in
this matter. If a Republican Legislature
had acted as has our present Assembly.
our contemporaries would have double
loaded their editorials, and exhausted their
vocabulary of epithets. But we do not
feel like carrying politics into this contro-
yersy. 1t is a question affecting US as a
community and as section, and we cannot
afford to prejudice it by dragging it into
the arena of politics. East Tennessee is
vitality interested. Under proper eneour-
agement, our University will become the
center of an influence which will be felt to
the good of the people throughout this di-
vision of the State. The Legislators from
East Tennessee have not heretofore mani
tested the interest in this matter that we
feel they should. We hope that when the
Legislature meets next week our East Ten
nessee members will make united effort.
and see that the interests of the University
are protected.
The present Faculty was employed by