Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1904-02-18
UNIVERSITY LAND GRANTS.
versity of Mississippi Magazine.


UNIVERSITY LAND GRANTS.
rom the University Of Mississippi Magazine.
There are several facts connected with the dona-
ton of two townships of land the State OF MISSISSIPPI
p for her University which would be Of considerable
intesest to all friends of the institution, ii fully under
stood. The Board of Trustees some time ago request
ed Chancellor Fulton to write out history of these
grants of land made by Congress to the State for the
University The correspondence, public material and
other documents relating to this business file
are being colated and will be worked into shape in
due time when the final settlement for the sale of the
last of the University land is completed.
About 1892 the National Bureau of Education be-
gan the publication of series OF monographs dealing
with the history of education in the several states
One OF these treated of the history of the Federal land
grants to the in aid of education In the casual
reading of this while studying the history of the Uni
versy, Chancellor Fulton's attention attracted to
the state that the State had received two town
ships Of land for the University knowing that only
one township had thus been received an investigation
made which finally convinced him that Mississippi
justly entitled to at least more township of
land for the University The matter presented to
the Board of Trustees in the Chancellors annual re-
port in 1892. The Board passed it by without action
Further investigation during the following year gave
fuller assurance and the matter again presented
to the Board of Trustees in 1898. The Board then
gave the Chancellor authority to proceed in the mat
ter, and to present Memorial to Congress in the
of this Board regarding the right of the State to
an additional township of land. This Memorial was
duly prepared and presented in the first part OF the
year 1854. 1t enlisted the interest of the Congress-
and Senators from the State and resulted in the
one additional township of land for the use OF the
University. supplemental act of Congress allowed
the selection Of certain valuable pine lands in the
Southern part of the State and the grant for the Uni
versity was finally located chiefly upon these lands,
and after proracted investigation, and full compliance
with the law patents duly issued and filed. The
sale of timber upon these lands four years ago turned
then into the State treasury in cash Si35 O0O0 The
value OF the remaiag timber and the land which has
been reserved is now largely over S50.0oo0o. This
does not represent the total outcome of the State
sung from the discovery of the deficiency in the land
grants to the University. Immediately following the
grant of township to the University the friends of the
Industrial Institute and College and the Agricultural
and Mechanical College introduced bills which final
y granted township of land each to the l. l. c. and
the A. NJ College at Starkvle, and the Alcorn a. &
M College, The land grants to these three institutions
brought into the State Treasuryabout $780, 10000 The
arguments made for these land grants were based
chiefly upon the plea developed in the original Memo
rial presented to Congress- that the State had not
ceved its full share of lands in aid of higher educa-
ton.
Within the last four years the total amount Of cash
put into the State Treasury arising out OF the sa es OF
these lands summed up about S450,000.00. One
markable feature in connection with this work IS that
every apparently had ignored, since the beginning
of the history of the State 1919 thereafter,
the fact that the State entitled to two town hips OF
land instead Of Confusion arose out of the Pc
cuiarity of the language used in the act OF Congress
which admitted Mississippi into the Union in 1910,
which, while intending to convey two townships OF
land to the State, in reality conveyed only one
The act provided that there should be granted to the
State of Mississippi by Congress one township OF land
Gin addition to the township heretofore granted to
to Jefferson College, Jefferson College, private
corporate institution existing near Matches had
previously received, in 1903, township OF land by
direct grant from Congress to its board of trustees 1t
seems to have been assumed by Congress in 1919 that
Jefferson College public institution and logically
would be the State University. In the discussion
which arose regarding this matter and while efforts
were being made to settle it nothing was done toward
founding state university or selling tho town.
ship received for the University until 1888, and the
University not chartered until 1874 AT the latter
date it duly chartered and it's first session opened,
as is generally known, in 1840.
In the long study and investigation and develop
ment Of the claims of the State for these additional
lands, which investigation extended through several
years, many interesting points developed In
the State Of Indiana almost identically the
ditions existed as in Mississippi The State took pos
ton organized like Jefferson College, Finally that in
stituton, the old Vincennes University recovered its
lands from the State through decision Of the Supreme
Court Of the United States, in which decision the Su-
preme Court by majority of one ruled that the
preston sin addition to- in the above act quoted and
which identical in form with an act relating to
Indiana did not carry the two townships of land to the
State After this decision in 1862 similar acts used
the expression together with instead of the express
sion ''in addition to- This is unique in which
the Supreme Court of the United States has settled two
doubtful expressions which are usually considered
equivalent.
In the early years of the State the Legislature
tried to secure possession of Jefferson College with
view of making it the state university That venera-
BILE college still preserves its autonomy as prepara-
tory school. Would it not be something more and
better than poetic justice now the two insttu-
tons could form alliance. Why not have Jefferson
College transferred to Oxford and established near the
University, say in the buildings of the Womans Col
ege, and use its funds in carrying on first class fit
ting school for boys at the doors of the University?
This proposition seems well worth the consideration of
the trustees of jefferson College and all concerned.
Another interesting inquiry might be made to find out
just how far the land granted to the State mentionedin
this article has helped ard building up the several
educational institutions and how far they have ena-
bled the State build its capitol. The total sum