Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-03-06

And nowhere do we find their de-
termination more plainly expressed
| than it was in their first utterance on
the 18th day of December, 1776, when
thei r duly elected representatives, then
| assembled in the town OF Halifax,
adopted the first constitution Tor their
! government as freemen. So lmpor-
tant did the people then regard tins
matter OF State University that one
! Of their very first acts as free people
was to incorporate into the fundamen-
tai law Of the land the command that
s.all useful learning shall be duly en-
courased and promoted inone or more
| Universities.
It is worthy Of remembrance that
the people who appreciated the ad-
vaDtaces of q State University 80 much
a, to incorporate this command IN
their first constitution, all told, men,
women and children, did not number
AS many rs two hundred thousand
souls, and did not have within all their
borders more than three schools in
which any pretence was made to teach
| the rudiments even OF classical educa-
! ton.
| It is to be remembered also that this
| command was issued by this handful
| Of people when just entering upon
struggle witt. q nation acknowledged
| to be one Of the most powerful On
| earth, q struggle for property, for
liberty, for lie itself, let iii the very
n.;.is! Of preparation for certain war.
with tie very clash OF arms ringing in
their ears. they were calm enough and
cool enough, and wise enough to put
uDon record IN the most solemn man
ner, an injunction to promote and en-
courage all useful learning, SIN one
or more Universities. That was
North Carolina OF one hundred years
ago. and in the Grst exercise Of her
new bonn sovereignty.
Thirteen years later, the first war OF
i Independence being happily ended, we
find lie Legislature IN obedience to
the constitutional command, passing
an act TO establish q University, rs the
! best wy to 1t rising generation fol the
! discharge OF the duties Of life. At ti:e
same session also an act was passed 20
! secure The erection Of the necessary
t buildings, and tn provide for the vel
fare Of the University. Five years
later the Legislature passed Hi act
| more literally to en,low the CEiysf l.
sity -Four years later still. we find
furih = leg :slation, and again in 1904,
! in 1Sjil aud IN 1907, and u5.cin il 92f
and il 1924!
| II 1885 there wes q convention Of
the people and the constitution was
| anelded, but 10 man suggested even
any change ia tie command, that all
! useful learning shall be duly ercoas-
| aged, and promoted IL one or more
! Universities" and untouched and III
changed, that command Of the sover-
eign people of North Carolina re-
NAMED, whether III peace or III war,
until the accursed days OF subiugation
and internal radical rule, the days
when carpet-baggers and scallawags
and negroes rode rampant throughout
the State, protected from righteous
vengeance and from just punishment
! by Federal bayonets.
One of the first acts OF this horde Ct
dcstroycrs, the second Hur Of iEGe-
pcndcnce being ended unhappily, was
! t. blot out this command and to strike
! down the University. rs one Of the
/ first acts Of the men Of the Revolution
! had been to build it up.
f! Bat thank Heaven these people I'D
! not represent North Carolina. They
represented only themselves and the
! tyranny of the Federal Government,
! and thanks to the indonlitabie viii Of
true North Carol;nians, and to Con
serv tive Legislation, we are now come
! upon better times. The people of
! North Carolina have once more de
| c.ared their viii IN regard to the Uni
versit,y, ard have by an overwhelming
| majority ordered its management and
| control to be taken from the hands of
| the mel who brought It to ruin. If
the people had desired its death, they
! had only to vote down the ame ndment
for its revival; but they refused to vote
! it down, knowing full well that the
Il J I,
revival of the University.
! At no time then, for the last
hundred years, if We may cred
! it the oft repeated and always
uniform declarations of their duly
elected representatives =; If We may
credit their own more recent and
equally emphatic declarations express
| ed in plain words at the ballot box,
have the people OF North Carolina
failed to look to their University as the
best means to encourage and promote
al useful learning"
The question then, as we said at the
outset, Is no longer an open one.
And yet, in the face of this hundred
years OF emphatic declaration of their
will by the people of North Carolina,
when the lawfully constituted author
tiles Of the University, the Trustees
elected by the Legislature in pursu-
ance OF express authority given by the
constitution, elected too, without q
single dissenting Eoice-electel by
members of all parties alike and tier
ally without regard to the race, colo, or
previous condition of servitude of tie
| voters; when these Trustees thus
elected, propose to 60 to work to dis
charge the trust conided to them by
taking measures for the revival
of the University, Tod r. Caldwell,
Governor of North Carolina, himself a
graduate of the University, interposes
and seeks, as far as in his power may