The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-01-29
COLONIAL CULTURE
JNSJRUCJITE ADDRESS BY MR..
UINDHAM n. MEREDITH
Under the Auspices of the Association Tor
the Preservation Of Virginia An'iqut-
ues-outiine OF the Lecture.


city. including @ remarkably large num-
her OF gCntit men. Among the latter Voc
REV. DIT Moses Hcge Mr.. Joseph Bryan
Hon W. W. Henry, Mr. j. Aston can
eli. Air. Charles r.. Smith. Mr.. W. q.
Stanard. Mr. Henry Landon Iap'H anu
MI j. Stewart Bryan. In the outss''
Mr.. Meredith made witty ailusloh 10 '',
fact tha. he must introduce himset anu
then preceded 10 give brief outline Oh
the character of ths forthcoming lec-
turc. Il see some of you looking ASK
ance at that big pile OF manuscilp sa'u
he "hut you needn't be IN inc io'
alarmed. l shaut use onc-thlfd OF '.. -.
stated that the Lecture was pracu,'''y
the same as that delivered on another oc-
casion al william and Mary College ac-
knowieaginr his debt Tor tho adiitional
matter used % Mr.. ". O.. StanaIo Hi'
Alex. Brown and MT Edward JAMES.
lie would BE- said, present only 'lc -
OF his manuscript. Ia this connectioh no
foid a humorous anCcdotc OF an v'u
darby. who. whom asked who was tnS
greatest General in the army, rcpheu'
doaa know. boss. but heard 4o' apo"'
Central Results. .,.,,.t
II win eivo YOU" said Mr. Msredi'h'
.tho general results. This he oio 30
dollghimllv that the Lecture Ooi'iil''.oo
share the enthusiasm of the audience ~
gaidlug this first lecture OF ihs CoD'7''
"a synopsis bcing as follows
MIR. MEREDITHs ADDRESS.
Mr. Meredith began by saying that he
would offer from the original recoIos anu
cofcmporancous writings some la..o
which would enable his audience 10 JUS
Of tho degree Of knowledge posstsscu ~
the Nirgnians of the last hail oil inc
seventeenth century and of the iral ha'.
OF tbe eighteenth century lie would
then sketch with some degree OF minute
moss Colonial education. the legislation
upon tho subject. the facts which SHOW
our forcfathcrs' strong desire for H. the
character OF the education. which nndiiY
was obtained here. the number OF reFo-
muonarv schools libraries and colleges
with some comparison, OF The advantages
oGcred iu this state with those OF other
countries about thc Same period.
The learning scholarship and inteiiec-
uA culture of the Virginia leaders or
l116 would lead u- 10 suppose that they
were products Of soil saturated win
educational opportunities yet authors
hitherto had treated this group II I'M
telloctuai giants. worthy OF Athens IA the
OF Perecles. as miraculous and as al
excresence rather than Development
lie quoted Mr.. Morse. when speaking of
the Virginia Revolutionary patriots. and
o. what that author claimed was The
ignorant state of Virginia society about
that date. as saying that 10 seemed as
if for once men had gathered grapes from
fhorus and figs from thistles. The oXpe-
rience OF mankind iu an history, however,
rcfuted the notion that from commu-
nifty shrunk I'm ignorance and without edu-
Catonal advantages would produce "a host
OF leaders i'm almost every sphere Of po-
litical thought and broad craftsmanship
on tho contrary DO was but a fair deduc-
ton from the presence of so many ac-
COmplished actors 90 assert that there
must have been more Intellectual influence
abroad in The colony shan these anita
gonlstic writers would lead us % sup
pose Yet following the lead OF such his
torIaus as Sell. cabot Lodge. Morse. and
SO distinguished 20 Virginia educator as
Captain W. Gordon McCabo in his adj
dress delivered at the University of Viz
ginia asked pardon for dwelling ON the
dcplorable lack of educational advantages
in Virginia. not only throughout the whole
Colonial period, bat many years after
the Revolution
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.
In considering the educational oppor-
tuntics of Colonial Virginia. Mr.. Mere
dith warned his audience that the stand
ard of comparison must not be- OF the
nineteenth century. bur that which pre-
vailed in America. England and Ger
many BOO tho seventeenth century Com
pared with the facilities az other countries
at tho same period of time. 10 would seem
that the quality DO NOT the quantity, Of
Virginia. instruction was superior % The
other Colonies and would bear compare
AZ. ss.. D.
who these historians describe as "illite-
rate and no education" we would expect
10 find an enormous percentage of thcm
unable to read and write. yet oven Mr..
Neil is forced To- admit that the genera
tiors from 1920 90 1115 at loast. had this
rudimentary knowledge. Then We find
from the marriage bonds on ale I'm Nor
folk county az that period chat NOR
than ef per cent. could Tcad
and write IN other words not
quite four out Of every one hundred
marriageablc men were Ahtorate. II
must Doe remembered. too. Chat Norfolk
county was not among the rich. wci-to-
do counties OF Colonial Virginia. and bad
quite q proportion OF se0-iarins' ldeal
men,
In Hcnrico county the same records
show that even after the revolution from
90 only 10 j. per cent. which, accord
ing 90 the census of 1880. was no greater
Than in the whole state OF Virginia.
Whilst ip Massachusetts,. after enjoying
Tor two and "a hall centuries the benefits
of public school system. the percentage
IS 2-l0 From these figures We are JUS
titled In saving THAI Mr. Nei's unwilling
admission that the people Of the Colony
were not wholly ilitcrato is sustained
by the records which have been pre-
served
Mr. Meredith then proceeded with
most instructive account OF the primary
schools beginning with an account Of the
East India school az Charles City. found
Cd IN 1871, having 100 acres OF land hve
fcryans and an oversccr allotted 20 IT,
The Free School founded 10y Mr. Bcnia-
min Symmcs in 1884. near Yorktown. was
established four years before John Har-
ward made his bcquest TO the University
which now bears his name. 4 writer IN
1919 speaking OF this school SAYS that n
IS worthy 20 be chronicled. having 200
acres OF land. a fino house upon IL and
otoher accommodations 10 g.. This one
school al the time Of the beQuest was
sufficient 20 instruct all the children in
Elizabeth City county, INC total popula-
ton Of that county Ina 1914 being $50. The
success OF this endowment was continu-
Gus. and after our civil war the sum Of
SO 900 was realizeo ana was used 20 build
the free school az Hampton. The other
petty schools. hy the writer first quoted.
was also described. including the devise
OF Henry Peasicy In 1910 90 found free
school in the county of Gloucester OF
shese schools the account given by Bev-
orly. native historian. is the best. who