Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1876-06-09
of which have spoken, and to which


that Colonel Waddell certainly POI
sesses. The address was sucdess
and Colonel Waddell at once became
the hero of the hour. The body OF
the address was devoted first to a cons
sideration of the changed social and
economic relations of the So tn at the
present day and the duties and obliga-
tions growing therefrom and resting
especially upon the fortunate few who,
like the young gentlemen then present,
were enjoying the inestimable advant-
age of acquiring a liberal education.
By an easy transition the speaker
passed to brief but mastery sketch
of the progress of the science of gov
eminent. / had heard Colonel Wad
dell before upon different occasions
and though upon every occasion he
fully met my every expectation, yet to-
day L found myself saying, as looked
and list ened at him, You are greater
man than thought you were" His
power over an audience is unquestion-
ably very great. His taste in mere
diction is critically good; his elocutlon
is very fine. He has the happy knack
of saying the right thing at the right
time and too. above all, he possesses,
that wonderful electrifying but indie
scribable gift, the gift of eloquence;
and not only that but he has the rare
faculty of summing up i'll few words
what other men would fail In express
ing in many pages. DIR. Pritchard,
the eminent Baptist Divine from
Raleigh, who delivered the commence
ment sermon this afternoon, was very
much struck with Colonel WaddelPs
power in this respect and referred III
his sermon to the mastery, cOmpre-
heRsive presentation of the relations
between modern science and the truths
of the Bible. Afterwards, in private
conversation, heard him say that the
ablest divine in America could not, in
the most exhaustive and extended es-
say, have presented the question more
fully or more clearly or more cOmpre-
hensively than did Alfred Waddell i'll n
few brief sentences. But compliments
we're showered from every side, from
the bar, from the bench, as we'll as
from the pulpit, and from plain I'M
learned men as we'll as from the most
highly cultured i'll all the land. The
occasion was a grand one, but Colonel
Waddell was fully equal to it's ev, ry
demand, and to-day may be set down
as one of the trinmphs of his life.
Colonel Waddell concluded his adj
dress with a stirring appeal to the
Trustees to come lully up to the
great DIRK entrusted to them by the
Legislature, work that should be
discharged only when the University
should occupy the rightful position i'll
the educational system of the State.
Said he {:
o.
peal to you with all the earnestness OF
my nature to redonble your efforts III
behalf of this ancient and venerable
institution. l beseech you not to SUI
fer it to lauguish and fail into decay,
but to put forth every energy to aus-
trim and cherish it. We all feel Just
ly proud of it's past history and anX-
ious to restore it to prosperity. Let
us give expression to our anxiety in
deeds, not words. Let us seize any
and every opportunity to raise an en-
dowment fund, and once more crowd
these buildings with students. Let us
take advantage of any proposition look
ing to that end. In this era of enlight-
enmeut when educational facilities are
will be, indeed, q shame and a re-
| ing cannot re-establish it on a respect
able basis.
We are poor, it is true, but not poor
enough for that. Earnest, systematic,
continued effort will result in success,
and, if it is made, we will soon see
this our honored, but afflicted mother
once more proudly Lift her h cad, and
| take her rightful position in the front
of American colleges. In the educa-
| tionnl system of North Carolina her
people arc not to be forever dependent
upon other States for their education,
now is the time for you to act.
There is no time to be lost. If we
fail now III giving stimulus to our
University our opportunity is lost, and
lost perhaps forever. For the sake of
our own honor and the good name of
the State, therefore, let not the finger
of scorn and contempt be pointed at
us for abandoning at the critical mo-
ment one of the highest duties of our
citizenship. L coniure yon. then, by
the memories of the past, aud the
hopes Of the future, by your pride as
North Carolinians, by the imperilled
interests and honor of your children
to go to work and build up these waste
places.
The afternoon was assigned to the
REV. THOMAS II. PRITCHARD, d. D.,
of Raleigh, for the delivery of the COM
mencement sermon. The service of the
occasion We're begun by prayer from the
Rev. b. f. Long, OF Graham. DIR.
Pritchard then read the thirty second
chapter of Deuteronomy, n portion of
which served as his text. TIE words
were, ''For their rock is not as our
Rock, even our enemies themselves
being Judges
had never before had the pleasure
of hearing the gentleman selected to
deliver the sermon at this the first
commencement after the reorganizas
ton Of tie University. OF course,
however, ] we'll knew in what high es-
TEEN he was held as a man and as O
preacher, and the occasion being one
likely to call forth his best efforts,
was more than anxious to hear him. I
now speak advise dly when l speak of
"the pleasure" of hearing him. The
sermon following the lead of the text
was a refutatlon of many of the most
prominent objections urged against
the truth of divine revelation. The
subject was selected as appro-
pirate to the occasion because
the speaker recognised the fact that
at some time or other harrassing and
perplexing doubts come to most men
of brain and intellectual culture and
the audience that he had been specially
invited to address consisted of young
men whose pathway in the search of
knowledge it was scarcely probable
would be entirely free from such
dangers. Such subject did not
promise, thought doubtless many a
nearer beside myself, much room for
eloquence. I confess that squared
myself for an address that no matter
how rich it might be in ability would
possess little attraction because of it's
eloquence; but never was man more
thoroughly mistaken. It was indeed
an able and complete survey of the
ground occupied by intidelity in
the most prominent of it's protean
phases but it was eloquent too.