Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-04-08

and noble enterprise, and we express
thanks to the energetic men who set the
proceeding on foot and have al
ready Accomplished the hardest part
of the undertaking. We intend
no unmeaning compliment, and in all sin
cerity declare, that though the institution
will of course be managed in the interest of
the church, that christian organization is
exceptionally free from bigotry and secta-
rianism. and the members, clerical as well
as lay, are distinguished for broad and lib
eral views. The Board of Trust appointed
BY the church government VIII, l am sure,
desire to have the supreme control Of ev-
erything connected with the working OF the
University-its funds, the appointment of
professors, conrse Of study, etc. certainly
they should have such control; and they
would, / know, be unwilling to divide re-
sponsibility, or submit to sny interference
in its management. That Board has never
directly or indirectly expressed a desire for
any union or combination with the Uni
versity, and the thought seems chiefly to
have found place in the minds of people
(their privilege so to think and express
themselves being not questioned)
who are not charged with the responsible
ties devolving upon either one or the other
Board of Trustees. The statement of the
case is an argument against the feasibility
and legality of union, or rather OF an alb
sorption of the present University into a
new corporation. A trust cannot be dele
gated, and even the State would not have
the right TO divert the trust of the Mont
gomery Bell funds. uf
You are correct when you say that our
institution is not, in the true sense of the
word, university. There are few such in
the United States. Harvard, Yale, and the
University Of Virginia may be classed as
such, and, perhaps, the University of Mich
igan and Cornell University have
arisen or may soon arise to such
a dignity. The difference between a good
school or college and q uni
versity is. chemically speaking, rather guam
titatiye than qualitative. At university a
student can find a professor to teach him
any art, science or language which he may
take fancy to learn. The range of study
is universal, but no one attempts to go
through the whole or tenth part of the
range of study, and oftentimes one profess
sor is profoundly ignorant of the art or
science taught by another. At Yale Mr..
Whitney will teach you Sanscrit or
Syriac, and though one cannot learn those
languages in any Western school, he
may at many of our schools under the
tuition of good professor learn the ele-
meDts of algebra, philosophy, Greek or
Latin as well and thoroughly as II he were
matriculant at Harvard or thu University
of Virginia. 1t is possible, therefore, for
an Institution to afford mental instruction,
thou. b it may not be in fact university even
if it bears the name out of the public defer
ence to high sounding titles.
Not to extend this communication, al
ready too long, the trustees have tried to
do all the good they could with the small
income at their disposal. The sentiment
of the board has not been unanimous, and
perhaps it is desirable that there shall be
variety of opinion. We assume no higher
pretensions than to qualify the youth Of the
country faithfully to discharge all the du-
ties Of life both public and private"
which instruction, as Milton truly says,
constitutes education. The writer Of this ar
ticle would desire that those branches of
education which fit youth for usefulness
in life be thoroughly taught, including of
course the classics, mathematics, philoso
ply, chemistry, etc +; the usual course for
the study Of which young men receive diplo-
mas at colleges and Universities; and this
foundation being laid, any student can if
he wishes TO prosecute q specially, resort to
the Cambridge or Charlottesville, or, if our
well. founded expectations are realized, TO
the halls of the Central . University, ana there
perfect his acquiremeuts in the minutie of
any art UT science. No young man, unless
he possesses fair education, should be al
lowed TO enter real university. With due
difference, our fault or error has been, that
we stretched out beyond our capabilities,
and, perhaps, thought, in compliance with
the spirit of the age, that the high sound
ing title Of university migh compensate
for more sterling. qualities.
l had intended to say something of the
present organization, which has not been
in operation sufficiently long TO determine
the question of its complete sue
cess, but will only add that the Professors
are l&boring faithfully and diligently, and
their Earnest efforts seem to meet with
favor. The number of stu
dents range from two hundred and fifty to
three hundred, as large or larg T number
than can be found in the under graduate
of three fouEths of the colleges
in the Union. That is certainly measure
of success so far as numbers 60; and be-
sides, the corps of professors will compare
favorably with that of any other college or
in the western country.
The sentiments declared in the foregoing
are the individual opinions
of one of the TRUSTEES
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