The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-07-10
Camfaaenesnaena Exercises or enc state
ss5sses iiARvteulturfas a,aase<e.I gisf

Cemrnenesnaena Exerreisss Of enc STATE
,GAsiricu1turna Colleges.
MoRTG0NERY WHITE sULPHuR spRrNdst July
9:-The exercises; OF the first commence
rnent OF the State Agricultural College COM
meneed yesterday at Blacksburg. The
opening address was delivered by Professor
Charles Martin, Of Vrginia, on mental and
physical education. 3 Il, 'z. Z, e .;,.'
The Sophonian Society had their final
celebration last, night. !, Il. G.. Gilbert, OF
Augusta, was awarded the orators gold
inedal, ana e; W. Brock, Of Lynshburg, the
debater's medal. So g1
! To-day a large assembly were present to
hear 'GoYefnor Gilbert G. Walker deliver the
address before the literary societies on the
suDlece OF practical education, The Co
venor's address was . enthusiastically re.
celVed.f Touching the political issues OF the
day, among other things he said /: cannot
speak ID too laudatory terms Of the wisdom
ana foresight which enabled this College by
an advantageous investment to nearly double
the principal Of the, fund derived from the
congressional appropriation and to increase
lis IL, annual income In corresponding degree.
Inls latter will reach fully $4,000, two
tulrds OF which is, set apart for the
ma,nienance Of this College aud one.third to
Inc hampton, Agricultural Institute, school
founded upon the same theory as this Col
iege, out devoted to the education of our
coiored population, and right nobly is It
performing this necessary and important
duty. BY this division of the fund bet tween
tnese Two institutions Its benefits will be
shared IN by all the people of the State, and
the principle of separate schools for each
race, Which regard of vital importance to
eacn and absolutely essential to success in
eltiler, Will be maintained and perpetuated
Inc war resulted in the emancipation Of the
negro, but no sooner bad the sword been
sheathedt than the strife was transferred TO the
forum, and days and months even years
were spent in efforts to elothe the freedman
with rights he could not understand. and
load him with responsibilities which he was
unable to comprehend. Statute after sta
tute was enacted, and the fundamental law
OF the patton itself repeatedly amended.
to establish the civil and political rights Of
the negro; but where in the long catalogue
of legislation can be found any provisions
for. his education and elevation even to ia
partial comprehension of the duties and
responsibilities which these rights impose f.:
Why did not the mental and moral necessi.
ties of these wards of the nation excite the
same paternaI sollcitude as did their political
condition? shall not pause, nor is it ger.
main to my present purpose, to answer this
very natural inquiry. .l..-sa
The facts with which we have alone to
deal at the present moment are that, although
the negro was emancipated from physical
slavery, he was left bound in the more ter
rible chains of universal ignorance, and that
while the nation invested him with the
glorious rights and privileges of American
citizenship it not only failed to make any pro
visions for investing him with knowledge o.
the high duties and responsibilities which
that citizenship imposes, but left him in tht
depths of poverty and ignorance to be edu
Gated, if educated at all, by the white people
of those States whom the war had so utterly
impoverished that they were unable to edu
cate even themselves. That this wa!
unwise, unjust, and impolitic Il needs M
words from me to demonstrate. Ii
my opinion, the Government shouIe
not only have provided the mean.
for the education of these new
suffragans, but it should have gone further,
and aided the people of the South to fulfil
this high and holy duty to themselves. lfit
be true that one portion of the body-politic
cannot suffer in its mental, moral, or physi.
cal condition, without injury more or less to
the whole, aud if intelligence and virtue be
necessary and desirable in the individual
citizen of a republic, then the education oI
the whole people becomes a matter OF pub Lie
interest and national concern. 'rr'. .-a.
I am no advocate of a governmental sys-
tenn of education, except by the States, but
l do advocate the extension to all of the
States the policy which has uniformly OBJ
tanned in the organization of new States.
The public lands are the common property
Of the whole people of the Union, held by'it
in trust for their benefit and behoof, and if
there be reason and sound craftsmanship
in reserving portion of this property for edu-
cational purposes in the sparsely populated
but prosperous new States, does not the same
reason and craftsmanship in a far higher de-
gree dictate the appropriation OF portion
Of this property to. the education Of the
larger and poorer populations of the older
States of the South? ,11, s"ft
! But do not 60 to the length Of urging
even this very just and correct review of the
subject, based though it may be upon the
soundest and most substantial and patriotic
reasoning. All I seek and all | demand is
equality with all of the other States of the
Republic in this as in all other respects. |
merely advocate the performance of what
I believe to be q solemn and impera.
tive duty by the Federal Government to
the black race and to the people of
the whole country, and that duty consists
In appropriating the entire proceeds of che
sales of publiclan to educational purposes
and while would devote portion of these
proceeds to the further endowment OF col
leges of this character and the balance to the
support and maintenance of free primary
schools, would see to it that the whole was
placed where it would do the most good. :,
The manner in which this duty should
be executed, whether this property shall be
divided among the. several States equally, OF
according to population or illiteracy, OF
upon what should esteem the wiser, more
comprehensive, and equitable basis of pre-
sent needs and prospective demands, anc
how much should be apporttoned to- pri
mary and how much to technical schools, may
be safely confined to that Congress which
shall possess the wisdom aud integrity ano
patriotism 10 adopt this policy. :.
The Late Storm I'm the West.
CHICAGO, ILL, July photographic cror