A.DDRESS 
 
 7 
 
 ON 
 
 Httwwitg 
 
 DELIVERED 12$ THE 
 
 BEPBESE]<rTATITES J 
 
 AT DES MOINES, FEBRUARY Oth, 1860 , 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV, SILAS TOTTZEIsT, 33. ID. 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 DES MOINES, IOWA. 
 JOHN TEESDALE, STATE PRINTER. 
 
 1860. 
 
ADDRESS 
 
 ON 
 
 (^duration, 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE 
 
 I2/EI :> I^ESE2<rT^.TI'VES 7 HALL, 
 
 \ 
 
 AT DES MOINES, FEBRUARY 6tii, 1860, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV, SILAS TOTTEN, ID. ID., 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 JAES MOINES, IOWA. 
 JOHN TEESDALE, STATE PRINTER. 
 
 1860. 
 

 7 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 On University Education, delivered in the Hall of Represen¬ 
 tatives, at Des Moines, February 6th, 1860, by the Rev. 
 Silas Totten, D. D., Pres’t of the Iowa State University. 
 
 Gentlemen of the Senate and 
 
 House of Representatives: 
 
 I am here, at the request of the Board of Trustees of your Uni¬ 
 versity, to address you on the subject of Education; and more 
 particularly on that kind of education which it is the province ot 
 the University to afford. In behalf of the Trustees, I thank you 
 for the use of this Hall, and for the opportunity to speak in a cause 
 which I deem the most important that can engage the attention of 
 legislators, one in which I have ever felt a deep interest; and to 
 which I have devoted nearly thirty years of unremitted labor. My 
 subject has not the attraction of novelty; and I can hardly hope 
 to offer anything entirely original, or anything with which many 
 of you are not already familiar; but it I can succeed in eliciting 
 your earnest attention to the subject itself, by presenting the con¬ 
 clusions to which I have arrived as the results of reading, observa¬ 
 tion and experience, my object will be accomplished. 
 
 One of the most distinguished scholars that modern England has 
 produced, was the son of a gardener, and followed his father’s 
 occupation till he was eighteen years of age. At that period of 
 his life, his employer found him, one day at noon, sitting in the 
 shade, and reading the Greek poet, Eschylus. When asked when 
 and how he had learned to read Greek, he replied, that he had 
 
4 
 
 been taught to read English by the servants on the estate, and had 
 borrowed books from the old school master who lived near. When 
 further questioned, it was found that he could read and translate 
 any Greek or Latin author with ease; and he seemed surprised 
 that any attainments, further than the ability to read, should be 
 thought necessary, in order to acquire a knowledge ot classical lit¬ 
 erature, or indeed any knowledge which might be derived from 
 books. And the learned gardener was right. The ability to read 
 puts the diligent student in possession of the means of acquiring 
 all knowledge. It is the key with which he may unlock the store¬ 
 house of knowledge. It introduces him to an acquaintance with 
 the learned of all ages. Difference of language opposes no insur¬ 
 mountable barrier, for with the help of books he can easily pass 
 over it. The wisdom of past ages, the discoveries of modern times, 
 the sciences of the whole world, lie open to him who can read. 
 Knowledge can, indeed, be communicated otherwise than through 
 books, but not then without the voice of the living instructor. 
 
 But the art of reading makes the learner independent of his 
 master, and gives him for instructors the great teachers of all ages. 
 And these great teachers are ever ready at his call. When rest¬ 
 ing from labor, when needing recreation, when kept from his usual 
 occupations by indisposition, these masters may be summoned like 
 spirits from another sphere to instruct or to entertain. And there 
 is no profession, business or occupation, which may not derive 
 advantage from a resort to the recorded experience ot the past. 
 By it even the laborer or the artizan may improve his skill, lighten 
 his toil, and increase the product of his industry. 
 
 Of what inestimable value, then, is the ability to read. Inesti¬ 
 mable to the individual whose interests and happiness it promotes, 
 and inestimable to the State as an aggregate of individuals, the 
 wealth of which must be greatly increased, by applying to the in¬ 
 dustry of a whole people, the knowledge treasured up by the expe¬ 
 rience of past ages. 
 
 Well then has it been regarded as the business of the State, to 
 see that every child shall be taught to read. It is the business of 
 the State, because it is the interest of the State, not only because 
 it promotes the welfare of all its citizens, but because it provides 
 for the increased productiveness of labor, by taking care that the 
 muscular power of the multitudes who toil, should be directed by 
 intelligence, and used to the best advantage. 
 
5 
 
 Expensive, indeed, must be a system of education, it it costs one 
 halt the amount which is annually returned to the State by the 
 increased productiveness ot labor, which the education of the masses 
 insures. 
 
 It has been urged as an argument for education at the public 
 expense, that the security of property is so much enhanced by the 
 moral effect of universal education, as to be a full equivalent for 
 the tax on property necessary to support the system. There is 
 doubtless force in this argument, but there is another which ought 
 to have still greater weight with those who sometimes complain of 
 the burden of sustaining a system of public education; and that is 
 the increased value of capital, arising from the increased intelli¬ 
 gence of the mass of the people. Capital and labor enter into the 
 value of all the products of a country. If the laborer be directed 
 by intelligence, the joint product of the two will be much greater, 
 and both the laborer and the capitalist will be benefitted. 
 
 The skillul mechanic, merchant, or farmer, can afford to pay 
 higher rates of interest than the unskilful, and still make a better 
 profit for himself; for the profits of his own labor are greater. He 
 who has land to rent will find, other things being equal, that the 
 rent will be in proportion to the intelligence of the people, in the 
 district where his land lies. If he would invest capital in manu¬ 
 factures, he will find that the profit depends much upon the knowl- 
 elge of the operatives he employs. The ignorant operative wastes 
 the material, breaks the machinery, and spoils the product of his 
 manufacture. I have heard an experienced manufacturer say that 
 where complicated and expensive machinery was used, he could 
 afford to pay the American operative double the wages of foreign¬ 
 ers, on account of his superior intelligence and skill in the man¬ 
 agement of machinery. 
 
 In our own state, we have still a better argument for a system 
 of universal education. We have a broad extent of fertile land 
 lying waste for want of cultivators. The natural increase of our 
 population would not be sufficient to occupy them, for a century to 
 come. They must still lie waste, or be filled up with emigrants 
 from the east. The best class of emigrants will find a judicious 
 system of public instruction a strong inducement for coming among 
 us. The first question asked, by this class, when thinking of re¬ 
 moving to the west, is, can I find schools for the education ot my 
 children ? The common impression is, that they cannot. This 
 
6 
 
 impression will, in time, be corrected, by giving permanency and 
 efficiency to a judicious system of education. The land holders 
 among us, if they understand their own interests, will not com¬ 
 plain of the burden of taxation necessary to support it; for it will 
 bring their lands into market, and enhance their value. For the 
 same reason, the non-resident land holders ought willingly to bear 
 their part of the expense. It might save them from heavy losses. 
 Everything which makes the State a desirable residence, will be 
 especially beneficial to them. 
 
 Nothing could be more unwise and unprofitable than to cripple 
 the system of public instruction lately put in operation in this 
 young State by an untimely parsimony. It has in it elements of 
 development, which with slight modifications, will adapt it to the 
 condition of the State, when it shall have quadrupled its popula¬ 
 tion. If it have defects, they had better be borne with, till a fair 
 trial has been made. Even a defective system, faithfully adminis¬ 
 tered, is to be preferred to those continual changes, which destroy 
 public confidence, and give the impression abroad, that there is no 
 element of permanancy, in the educational institutions of the 
 west. 
 
 The remarks which I have made, apply, mostly to our system 
 of common schools; a system which aims to teach every child 
 to read, and thus puts everyone in possession of the key ot knowl¬ 
 edge. Heading is the main thing to be taught in the common 
 schools, but much more is necessary, as auxiliary to this. Perhaps 
 not one in ten thousand, could be found, who, like the distin¬ 
 guished professor of oriental languages in Oxford, mentioned 
 above, could proceed from the mere knowledge of reading, unaid¬ 
 ed to higher attainments. The studies of the common school are, 
 properly, reading, writing, arithmetic, English grammar, geogra¬ 
 phy, and such knowledge of history as the exercises in reading 
 may afford. Higher than this the instructions of the common 
 school should not go ; for the benefit of a higher education than 
 this, cannot be common to all. The poor man cannot afford to 
 have the time of his children employed upon higher branches ; for 
 he needs their services at home, and while the teacher is engaged 
 with his more advanced scholars, the children of the poor are de¬ 
 frauded of the attention which belongs to them. 
 
 A strictly elementary education, gives every one the power to 
 profit by the means of knowledge within his reach ; and if in addi- 
 
tion to this, he wants farther discipline, and further assistance from 
 his instructors, it should be at his own cost. And it should be at 
 his own cost, because it is for his own individual benefit. It forms 
 a part of his capital in business. It gives him social and intellect¬ 
 ual superiority; and it is unjust, that the income of the school fund, 
 and the money of the tax payer, should be expended for the benefit 
 of those who for the most part, can well afford to pay their own ex¬ 
 penses. 
 
 But has the State then no interest in institutions of learning, 
 higher than the common schools ? This by no means follows 
 from what I have said. It should not it is true expend its 
 funds, and tax the property of its citizens, in sustaining high 
 schools and colleges, simply for the purpose of benefiting those 
 who resort to these schools for education ; for this would be expend- 
 ing the public funds, tor the benefit of a few ; a course of action 
 utterly at variance with the spirit of our institutions. 
 
 But the State has an interest in higher institutions of learning ; 
 and in proportion to this interest, should the public funds be freely 
 granted. Let us inquire what is the amount of that interest ? We 
 may divide educational institutions into three classes ; the elemen¬ 
 tary, the intermediate, and the highest. The first is the common 
 school, the second high schools and colleges, and the third, the 
 University. In the first, and last, of these, the State has the most 
 direct interest. In the intermediate, it is interested only as far as 
 they contribute to the perfection of the other two. The common 
 school prepares all the citizens for the reception of knowledge. 
 The University originates the knowledge to be received. Without 
 the first, there could be no general diffusion of knowledge ; with¬ 
 out the second, there would be no advance in knowledge. What 
 would avail the art of reading, if there were nothing to which it 
 could be applied ? If there were no advances in knowledge, so¬ 
 ciety would remain stationary, and our civilization would become 
 like that of the Chinese, a petrification of the civilization of past 
 ages. The highest educational institutions have ever taken the 
 lead in the advancement of learning. The universities of Europe, 
 established in the dark ages, were the pioneers of modern European 
 civilization. The universities and great schools of modern Europe 
 and America, have been the originators of those vast improve¬ 
 ments iu physical science, which have distinguished the nineteenth 
 century above all others. The great inventions of modern times, 
 
8 
 
 which have added so much to the physical comfort of the human 
 race, which have subdued the elements of nature to our control, 
 and annihilated time and space, had their origin, either directly or 
 indirectly, in the higher seminaries of learning. In them were in¬ 
 vestigated those principles of science, which when applied to prac¬ 
 tical purposes, have been productive of such happy effects on the 
 material condition of mankind. They have scattered throughout 
 the civilized world multitudes of learned men, and careful observ¬ 
 ers, eager to notice every phenomenon which might reveal the 
 mysteries of nature, and teach mankind to imitate and control 
 her secret operations. 
 
 There is a common belief that practical men, with little learn¬ 
 ing or cultivation, have been the great discoverers and inventors ; 
 and that to them alone we owe, all the improvements in the prac 
 tical arts. But this is a great error. The learned must investi¬ 
 gate the principles of science, before the ingenious artizan can apply 
 them to the purpose of life. 
 
 Watt, and Whitney, and Arkwright, did nothing more than 
 apply principles, which had been investigated long before by 
 learned men, either belonging to the Universities, or trained in 
 them ; and without these principles, they never could have pro¬ 
 ceeded one step in their inventions. Watt could never have per¬ 
 fected the steam engine, had not Dr. Black, of the University of 
 Glasgow, first investigated the laws of steam. George Steers could 
 never have modeled the beautiful curves of his swift sailing ships, 
 had not mathematicians investigated the properties of curves, and 
 philosophers discovered the laws of Hydrostatics. 
 
 Allow me to give an illustration from history, to show how the 
 labors of the learned, are combined with skill of the practical ar¬ 
 tist, for the benefit of mankind. 
 
 Sixty years ago, Galvani, a learned physician, educated in one 
 of the Universities of Europe, and a curious observer of nature, 
 noticed that the muscles of the legs of a frog, which his cook was 
 preparing to dress for dinner, suddenly contracted, when touched 
 by two different metals in contact with each other. Alter repeat¬ 
 ing the experiment, which at first was the result of mere accident, 
 he came to the conclusion, that some power was developed by the 
 contact of two metals, which acted upon the nerves of the dead 
 animal, and caused the contraction of the muscles. This power 
 he called animal electricity ; and after a series of experiments 
 
9 
 
 with many different metals, he gave the results to the world. Im¬ 
 mediately the subject was taken up, and investigated in the Uni¬ 
 versities of Europe, and also in our own country. Twenty years 
 passed away, during which time, hundreds of experimentors 
 strove to improve and perfect the science of Galvanism, as it was 
 called from the discoverer. By these experiments it was shown, 
 that the phenomena produced by the contact of two metals, were 
 identical with those of electricity. Galvanic batteries were con¬ 
 structed which produced wonderful effects. Intense light was 
 produced, metals were burned, and new chemical decompositions 
 effected by the Galvanic current, but nothing eminently practical 
 had been accomplished. 
 
 But twenty years after the discovery thus accidentally made by 
 Galvani, a similar accident revealed another property of the Gal¬ 
 vanic current. Professor Oersted, of Copenhagen, was making 
 experiments with a small galvanic battery, placed on a table in 
 his laboratory. A magnetic needle balanced on a pivot, happened to 
 be standing near the wire used to connect the poles of the battery. 
 When the connection was made,he observed that the needle was de¬ 
 flected from the magnetic meridian, and took a position at right 
 angles to the connecting wire. This circumstance, which might 
 have been deemed a matter of little importance by many, revealed 
 to the learned professor, trained to question nature, a new and 
 important law. After a few experiments, he made public his dis¬ 
 covery, and the learned of all countries, set themselves to woik, 
 upon this newly discovered law of nature. Hundreds of minds 
 trained to scientific pursuits, bent their attention to this one sub¬ 
 ject, and little by little the laws ot electro-magnetism were dis¬ 
 covered, and classified into a science. Faraday in England, and 
 Henry in our own country, were the most eminent discoverers in 
 the new science. Henry made magnets which sustained more 
 than a ton, and proved that the magnetic force induced by a cur¬ 
 rent from a galvanic battery, was not sensibly diminshed by the 
 length of the wire through which it passed. 
 
 The laws of electro-magnetism, thus happily developed by the 
 learned, gave opportunity for the exertion of mechanical genius, 
 in applying them to practical purposes. The Galvanic current 
 was found to be a powerful agent in the laboratory of the chemist. 
 Then followed the art ot Electro-plating, by which, without loss 
 
 of material, the precious metals are spread with perfect evenness 
 2 
 
10 
 
 over the surface of any metal whatever; preserving the minutest 
 figures and lines engraved on the original. A beautiful and use¬ 
 ful art, which has both perfected and cheapened the plated uten¬ 
 sils used in our houses, and reduced the price within the means of 
 almost every family. The same principle was next applied by a 
 lucky thought of some practical mind, to the art of printing, and 
 wood engraving, so as to make exact copies of types and engra¬ 
 vings in copper, and thus render the plates from which books are 
 printed, almost indestructible by use. 
 
 In another branch of the science, Prof. Morse, by a happy me¬ 
 chanical contrivance, applied the law discovered by Henry, and 
 constructed the Magnetic Telegraph; that wonder of the age, 
 which brings near distant countries, and sends the thoughts of 
 men coursing around the world, with a speed equalled only by a 
 ray of light from the sun. And we have no reason to think that 
 we have yet reached the limit of the application of this newly 
 discovered power in nature, and it is not extravagant to say that 
 it may yet light our cities, warm our dwellings, drive our ma¬ 
 chinery, and drag, with fabulous speed, the heavily laden car upon 
 our Railroads. And all this is the result of a law of nature, indi¬ 
 cated to a philosopher by the leaping of the leg of a dead frog, a 
 circumstance which an ignorant man would have regarded with 
 stupid astonishment; or, if superstitious, have attributed to the 
 agency of the Devil. The benefits, and I mean merely the pecu¬ 
 niary benefits, secured to mankind by the development and appli¬ 
 cation of this one law of nature, would overbalance the cost of 
 founding and maintaining all the Universities in Christendom, 
 since the period of the dark ages until now. 
 
 I have given you an illustration, from the discovery and appli¬ 
 cation of the principles of a single science. I need not for my 
 present purpose, mention particularly any other. I would only 
 remark, that in most cases, a long series of investigations and ex¬ 
 periments seem to be required in order to bring a new discovery 
 to the point necessary for practical application. 
 
 That beautiful art, by which the sunlight is made the limner in 
 depicting natural objects and even the lineaments of the human 
 countenance, on various substances, was by no means the conse¬ 
 quence of a single happy thought of the individual, whose name 
 has been given to the process. Daguerre worked with materials 
 made ready to his hand, by experimentalists who had gone before 
 
11 
 
 him. The chemical effect of light in changing colors, was noticed 
 as early as 1802 , and attempts were made to apply the principle. 
 Diepce, in France, labored more than twenty years for this pur¬ 
 pose, and died just after he had made a discovery which had 
 nearly perfected his pictures. Daguerre, more fortunate, by a few 
 slight additions to the discoveries of his predecessor, brought the 
 art to a degree of perfection which rendered it practical. But 
 neither of these men were solitary workers in their respective de¬ 
 partments of knowledge. Discoveries simultaneously made in 
 the laboratories of Europe, were applied by them, in their inves¬ 
 tigations, and without these discoveries their success would have 
 been impossible. And their art has, ever since its discovery, 
 been progressive, and is still advancing from the continued appli¬ 
 cation of new principles, furnished to the artists by the discove¬ 
 ries of the learned. And let no one suppose that the discoveries 
 of the nineteenth century have exhausted the domains of nature, 
 leaving nothing farther to be explored. We have only begun to 
 penetrate into her secret mysteries ; and new wonders meet us on 
 every side as we advance ; and the farther we advance, the wider 
 appears the region to be explored. Of that mysterious substance, 
 the effects of which science has lately opened our eyes to behold 
 in the lightning, in the telegraph, and in the magnetic engine, 
 and a hundred other forms, we as yet know comparatively little. 
 There are indications ot its agency in light and heat, and in veg¬ 
 etable and animal life; and who can tell what benefits may not 
 accrue to mankind, from a further investigation of its properties 
 and its laws ? 
 
 All the sciences seem to be iinked together by innumerable con¬ 
 nections. An advance in one, paves the way for improvements 
 in all subjects which a century ago it was deemed presumption to 
 approach, are now open for investigation and experiment. The laws 
 of vegetable life, once deemed so mysterious, are beginning to be 
 discovered, and may yet be so well known that by their application 
 to agriculture, as to increase four-fold the products of the earth. 
 And may we not hope, also, that the light which other sciences 
 are beginning to throw upon the mysteries of our own physical 
 frame, we may learn, if not to lengthen out the span of mortal life, 
 yet to remove or relieve much of the pain and suffering which at¬ 
 tend it? 
 
 But not only do all the sciences afford mutual aid in the devel- 
 
12 
 
 opement of each other, but every region has its own peculiar ad¬ 
 vantages, for the cultivation of particular branches of science, 
 climate, soil, varieties of vegetable and different conditions of ani¬ 
 mal life, give each region peculiar facilities for investigating the 
 laws of nature. These laws are more easily discovered by observ¬ 
 ing their results, under different aspects and relations, and the 
 application of them to practical purposes, can be successful only 
 when the conditions under which they operate, in different re¬ 
 gions, are taken into the account. 
 
 Hence, every part of our country needs its well trained minds, 
 laboring for the advance of knowledge, adding their tribute to the 
 common stock, and enriching at the same time their own section, 
 by adopting the science of the whole world to its own peculiar 
 condition. Our own region, with its wide extended plains, its 
 fertile soil, enriched with the vegetable deposits of centuries, with 
 its mineral riches, its climate, modified by the distant but lofty 
 chain of mountains on the west, with its varieties of vegetable and 
 animal life, opens a wide field for scientific investigation, and de¬ 
 mands a band of well trained scholars, educated upon its soil and 
 familiar with its peculiarities to develope its resources. 
 
 But, besides the advances of science resulting from a careful ob¬ 
 servation of nature, there is knowledge to be gained from the ex¬ 
 perience of the past. There are mines of intellectual wealth in 
 the volumes which record the wisdom of those who have gone 
 before us. Those grave and important questions which relate to 
 law, policy and government can be settled only by a recourse to 
 the records of the past. “History is philosophy teaching by ex¬ 
 ample,” and the only true philosophy of man is deduced from the 
 records of history. In this department of knowledge the student 
 cannot make his own experiment. The experiments have been 
 made for him, and it is for him to search and compare the records 
 of their results. What may be the best form of government, 
 what the wisest system of laws, and the most efficient method of 
 executing them, are still problems for solution. They are pro¬ 
 blems affecting our dearest interests, and yet the wisest and best 
 of men have given attention to them generation after generation, 
 without arriving at anything more than approximate results.— 
 There has been progress, indeed, but there is room for further 
 advancement. Grotius, and Bacon, and Bentham, — Hamilton, 
 Madison, and Webster, and many others of like character, have 
 
13 
 
 begun the work and bequeathed it to us. We have a rich inheri¬ 
 tance of knowledge from those who have gone before us, and we 
 have only to cultivate it with industry and zeal in order to add to 
 it still more valuable acquisitions. 
 
 But is is mostly on our universities that we must depend for 
 the advancement of knowledge; for, in them only, as a general 
 rule, can be found the means and appliances for investigations. 
 We cannot depend upon individual enterprise, for few have means 
 adequate to procure the apparatus, purchase the books, and make 
 the collections necessary for extensive investigations in science. 
 And besides, those who are born rich, seldom have the disposi¬ 
 tion ; and those who have accumulated wealth by their own exer¬ 
 tions, seldom have either the time or the taste for scientific pur¬ 
 suits. Money invested in these pursuits, would evidently be a 
 bad speculation. 
 
 The nobility and the princes of Europe, have sometimes been 
 munificent patrons of science; but we hope the time is far distant 
 when such inequality of condition shall exist among us, and such 
 large estates be accumulated, as to allow of the same patronage 
 here. With us, the people are the rulers, and they should take 
 the place of the kings of the old world, in promoting the advance 
 of knowledge. It belongs to the people, or to the government of 
 the State, which is the same thing, to provide for the advance¬ 
 ment of knowledge by providing means for the support of a State 
 university. 
 
 And here the question arises, what is a university, or rather, 
 what ought it to be? It is not only an institution where knowl¬ 
 edge is disseminated, but where it is also originated. It is a place 
 both for instruction and investigation ; and for its complete effi¬ 
 ciency would require, first, substantial buildings, not gaudy and 
 expensive buildings, but buildings suited to the purpose; ample 
 enough to contain all the appliances of learning, and furnish ac¬ 
 commodations (or those who resort to it for instruction. Second, 
 a library, selected with reference to its uses, rather than to the 
 rarity or beauty of the books which it contains; a library which 
 may help the student to the knowledge of all that has been done 
 by the generations before him ; one in which the student of every 
 science, and every profession, may find whatever aid the wisdom 
 and experience of past ages may furnish. Thirdly, a chemical and 
 philosophical apparatus sufficient to illustrate all the main princi- 
 
14 
 
 pies of science, and furnish the means for experimental investi¬ 
 gations; and a cabinet of natural history, containing specimens of 
 all the principal productions of nature, whether mineral, vegeta¬ 
 ble, or animal, and properly arranged for the inspection of the 
 student. 
 
 To these material riches ot the University should be added, a 
 corps of living instructors, learned in their several departments of 
 instruction ; and not only enthusiastic in their several pursuits, but 
 capable of inspiring enthusiasm in their pupils. A prolessor in a 
 University should be more than the mere teacher, the drill master 
 of the recitation room. He should be an earnest worker for the 
 advancement of human knowledge, and be ambitious to add his 
 own contribution, to the discoveries of the age. Such in brief 
 would be a complete University, and such an institution ol learning 
 when in successful operation, would supply another important aux¬ 
 iliary in the cause of human progress ; a body of learned men 
 thoroughly educated and prepared to understand and appreciate 
 the discoveries ot the votaries of science. Such a body of scholars 
 is indispensible to the progress of knowdedge. 
 
 Many valuable discoveries, made in the dark ages of the world, 
 were lost to mankind, for the want of those who could understand 
 and appreciate them. Men have frequently arisen among uncul¬ 
 tivated nations, and given utterance to thoughts so much in ad¬ 
 vance ot their age, that they were regarded as visionaries and mad¬ 
 men. The telescope, and many other useful optical instruments, 
 were probably invented by Roger Bacon, in the 13th century, but 
 he was accounted a wizard for his pains, and was fortunate in es¬ 
 caping being burnt at the stake. And how could the votaries of 
 science be rewarded, and encouraged, were they not well educa¬ 
 ted men, who could understand and duly value their labors. Men 
 who have most benefitted the world by their scientific labors, have 
 cared little for pecuniary rewards ; and they could not command 
 it if they desired it. The products of the labor of the brain are 
 immaterial. They cannot be made merchandize of, and sold and 
 bought, for the benefit of the producer. The thoughts which have 
 cost years of painful toil to arrange and perfect, when once pub¬ 
 lished, are equally the property of all. There can be no process 
 by which the multitudes who are benefitted by them, can be com¬ 
 pelled to give an equivalent in return. The discoverer of an impor¬ 
 tant principle may starve, while thousands grow rich on the fruits 
 
15 
 
 of his labors. The inventor, who applies the law, which the phi¬ 
 losopher has discovered, may have the right to his invention se¬ 
 cured to him, by letters patent from the government, and realize 
 a fortune by the means ; while he, without whose labors the inven¬ 
 tion could never have been made, goes unrewarded. Professor 
 Henry after years of patient research discovered the laws of Elec¬ 
 tro Magnetism; and never received sufficient tor his pains to 
 pay one tenth part of the cost of his experiments. Mr. Morse, 
 with far less labor and expense, contrives an ingenious piece of 
 clock work, which beautifully applies the law to practical purpo¬ 
 ses, in the magnetic telegraph, and makes a fortune by the inven¬ 
 tion. The latter receives his reward in money—the tormer must 
 be content to take his in reputation ; and for want of sufficient in¬ 
 formation in the public, must even share that with the inventor; 
 for how few know, or care to know, that without the discoveries 
 of Henry, Morse never would have made his invention. Gratuities 
 and pensions from Government are in many countries, the rewards 
 of discoverers ; they have never been so in this; and on account of 
 the abuses to which they are subject, perhaps ought not to be. Nor 
 does the true worshipper at the shrine of knowledge, demand or 
 desire them. He is amply paid, if he knows that his labors are 
 appreciated; and he is stimulated to new exertions, by the assur¬ 
 ance, that he is acting in the presence of competent judges, who 
 know the value of his labor, and will award the due meed of praise. 
 The mean man labors for money ; the high minded for glory ; but 
 the scholar’s glory, can only arise from the approval of intelligent 
 and cultivated minds. 
 
 And I see not how this higher education, so important to the 
 interest of the State, can be better encouraged and secured, than 
 by the establishment of a State University. As I have intimated 
 before, money invested by an individual in scientific pursuits, 
 would not be profitably invested. Still less profitably could it be 
 invested in supporting an institution of learning, of the first class. 
 All institutions of this kind, are supported either by funds supplied 
 by government, or contributed by individuals zealous in the cause 
 of education, without expectation of any return. Few could incur 
 the expense of a complete education, if the fees for instruction were 
 high enough to pay full salaries to the professors, and the interest 
 on the investment in buildings and other fixtures. 
 
 In Harvard University the tuition would exceed $225 per annum; 
 
16 
 
 in Yale College, $200; in the University of Virginia, $150; in 
 the University of Michigan, $100. 1 have named these Universi¬ 
 
 ties because they have large numbers of students, and consequently 
 the cost for each student is less in proportion to the outlay in cap¬ 
 ital. In the two last named, the amount invested in fixtures is 
 much less than in the others, and the cost of tuition is less. In 
 smaller institutions, where there has been a great outlay in capital, 
 and a limited number of students, the cost is from $250 to $300 
 per annum, for each student. 
 
 These figures, while they show that the higher educational in¬ 
 stitutions cannot be sustained by the fees paid by the students, 
 show also the great importance of concentrating in a single one, 
 the whole patronage of a State. The lecture-rooms, libraries, ap¬ 
 paratus, and professors needed for fifty students, would suffice for 
 one hundred and fifty. Increase the number to three hundred, 
 and but a moderate additional expense would be incurred, and 
 that almost entirely for the increase of the number of instructors. 
 In the older States, no regular system of public instruction was 
 adopted, and colleges were injudiciously multiplied. They were 
 established mostly by the different religious denominations, 
 and occasionally aided from the public funds. The result has 
 been a great waste of money; while in some of those States, rich 
 and populous as they are, no first class institution exists. In the 
 State of New York there are no less than ten institutions, some 
 called colleges, and some universities, all claiming to belong to 
 the highest class. The outlay necessary for buildings, libraries, 
 apparatus, cabinets, &e., to make these institutions what they 
 claim to be, would be at least a million and a half of dollars. One 
 half of this w r ould be a magnificent endowment for a State univer¬ 
 sity, which would be worth more to the cause of education than 
 all of them put together. Instead of ten small libraries, ten im¬ 
 perfect sets of apparatus for the illustration of the sciences, and 
 ten diminutive cabinets of natural history, there might have been 
 one of each, worthy of the name, to which the scholar might re¬ 
 sort for whatever information he could desire. And one first-class 
 university would be sufficient tor the whole State of New York. 
 We will suppose these ten colleges and universities, as some of 
 them are called, have an average of two hundred students each,— 
 which is rather above than below the actual number,—making two 
 thousand in all; this would not exceed the number in some of 
 
17 
 
 the European universities. But of these two thousand students, a 
 small portion only are prepared to be benefited by the instruction 
 which should be given in a university. In the first two years of 
 the course of study, prescribed m these colleges, nothing is taught 
 which requires the aid either of an extensive apparatus or a large 
 library. In the greater part of them, chemistry, natural philoso¬ 
 phy, and natural history, are reserved for the last year. The low¬ 
 er classes are usually the largest, and we may safely assume that 
 not more than one-fourth part of the students of these institutions 
 are profited by the large out lay made in apparatus, libraries, <fec. 
 Five hundred students would not be too large a number for a sin¬ 
 gle university, and we have a right to infer that these would en¬ 
 joy superior advantages, and receive better instruction in a well 
 arranged university, the cost of wdiich would not equal a third 
 part of what is laid out in these ten institutions. As regards the 
 remaining three-fourths, they need not such costly arrangements. 
 Languages and pure mathematics require few books, and no cost¬ 
 ly apparatus, and can as well be taught in schools, where those 
 disposed to be idle can study under the eye of the teacher. 
 
 The great schools of Eaton, Rugby, and Harrow, in England, 
 and the Gymnasia in Germany, are fully equal to our colleges, 
 in teaching languages and pure mathematics; but they have ex¬ 
 pended but little in such fixtures, as more properly belong to the 
 universities. Such schools as these, should occupy the post be¬ 
 tween the common schools and the university. They need not 
 be expensive. They are properly schools for the discipline of the 
 faculties, rather than for the acquisition of great stores of knowl¬ 
 edge. Their teachers should be men of learning in their several 
 departments; but great learning would be less essential than the 
 tact to call out and direct the mental powers of their pupils. 
 
 There are properly three stages in a complete education. They 
 may be called that of reception, or cultivation, and of acquisition. 
 The first is particularly characterised by the reception of knowl¬ 
 edge. It begins in early childhood, when the parent communi¬ 
 cates to the trusting child, those rudiments of knowledge, which 
 enable it to guard itself from danger, and enjoy its little pleasures. 
 It is continued through the early school days; while the boy 
 looks upon his teacher as a prodigy of learning, and receives as 
 unquestioned truth, whatever he communicates. When rules are 
 3 
 
18 
 
 committed to memory, and applied without a knowledge of the 
 principles on which they are based; when books are regarded as 
 infallible, and printed matter as undoubted truth. This stage of 
 education belongs to, or rather ends with the common school. 
 
 The second stage of education, which I have called the stage of 
 cultivation, begins with the development of the reasoning pow¬ 
 ers ; and is mostly employed in the discipline of the faculties of 
 the mind, preparatory to the acquisitions of riper years. It is 
 the stage when the memory, the judgment, and the imagination 
 should be cultivated, and disciplined to act in harmony; when 
 order and method should be acquired, and habits of application 
 formed; when moral principles should be inculcated, and religious 
 impressions confirmed, and self-control acquired; when, in short, 
 the whole character, intellectual, moral and religious, is in a state 
 of formation. 
 
 This is doubtless the most important stage of education, and 
 may generally be completed, or perhaps I ought to say, is com¬ 
 pleted, at the age of eighteen or nineteen years. To this impor¬ 
 tant stage belong the high school, academy, or college; their busi¬ 
 ness is the same, by whatever name they may be called. The 
 object is discipline, not knowledge; but whatever knowledge may 
 be acquired along with the discipline, is so much gain to the 
 scholar. Languages, mathematics, logic, and the elements of rhe¬ 
 toric, answer well the purposes of mental discipline; while they 
 lay the foundation of more extensive acquisitions after this stage 
 of education is completed. 
 
 The great error is to mistake the object of this period, and en¬ 
 deavor to make its principal object the acquisition of knowledge. 
 On account of this error, your will often find this period crowded 
 with studies, in such number and variety, that no human mind, 
 however active, can acquire more than the most superficial knowl¬ 
 edge of each; so superficial as to be utterly worthless for practical 
 purposes. And while the time of the student is wasted, in re¬ 
 spect to useful knowledge, the hours which should have been 
 given to discipline, are worse than wasted. There has been dis¬ 
 cipline, indeed, for since it is the period of life during which the 
 mental character is formed, discipline cannot be avoided; but it 
 is the discipline not of order, but ot confusion; not of method, but 
 of dissipation. Many'books are a nuisance in this stage of edu- 
 
19 
 
 cation. The great readers in the lower classes of our colleges, are 
 invariably the poor scholars, and will be found the worse educated 
 at the close ot their course. 
 
 It you would improve the mental powers, they must be put in 
 energetic action, and contined at the time to a single subject; tor 
 thus only can habits ot close attention and thorough investigation 
 be formed. Whatever, therefore, has a tendency to turn the at¬ 
 tention from the main pursuit, to subjects unsuited for mental dis¬ 
 cipline, is injurious. The schools designed for this period of culti¬ 
 vation, have no need of large libraries, expensive apparatrfs, and 
 cabinets of natural history; and the money laid out for these is 
 worse than wasted. The most successful institutions of this kind 
 with which I am acquainted, have them not. 
 
 The third stage of education, is that of acquisition. When the 
 powers of the mind have been duly developed, and trained to ac¬ 
 tion, the acquisition of knowledge becomes easy. This is seldom 
 the case till the pupil has reached the age of eighteen or twenty 
 years. He then no longer needs the drill of the recitation room, 
 or the careful oversight of a master. If he cannot then study 
 without constraint, or acquire knowledge without the constant 
 inculcation and repetition of an instructor, his case is hopeless, 
 and he should be advised to abandon his purpose, and betake him¬ 
 self to some pursuit in which little attainment is required. But 
 if he have received the proper discipline, he is prepared to profit 
 by all those appliances of learning, which should properly belong 
 to the University. He now ceases to study text books, and stud¬ 
 ies subjects. The lectures of the Professor, or some judicious 
 compend of a science, may direct the order of his studies, but he 
 consults other authorities, examines and weighs the evidence and 
 arguments, forms his own opinions, and rests upon his own con¬ 
 clusions. His knowledge then becomes, in a peculiar manner, his 
 own. It is not simply an act of memory referring to the pages of 
 a book, but it is a part ot his own intellectual consciousness. It 
 is knowledge, which he can with confidence, apply to practical 
 purposes. And the University should be a place, where knowl¬ 
 edge of this kind, on all known subjects, could be acquired. Not 
 that every student would be expected to perfect himself in all 
 knowledge, or give his attention to all the subjects of knowledge. 
 This would be folly, unless he had reason to hope, that he might 
 reach the age of the antediluvians. But the means should be 
 
20 
 
 provided for the acquisition of every kind of knowledge, and the 
 student allowed to select the studies which his taste, inclination, 
 or peculiar talents fitted him best to pursue. It would be useless 
 here to enumerate all that should be taught in an University, but 
 the leading studies, and such as should be pursued to some extent 
 by all, may be comprised under the heads of ancient and modern 
 languages, and literature ; pure and mixed Mathematics, Natural 
 Philosophy, Chemistry, and Natural Sceince, Metaphysics, Politi¬ 
 cal Economy, History, and International law. Professional schools, 
 for law, Medicine, and Theology, would be improved by a connec¬ 
 tion with the University, as they might enjoy all the advantages of 
 its library, lecture rooms, and historical collections, without addi¬ 
 tional cost to the Institution. Schools of this kind need not be 
 supported at the public expense. They are schools designed for 
 the sole benefit of individuals, who can well afford to pay the ex¬ 
 pense of lectures, while they enjoy all other advantages of the 
 University. Theological schools, in our country, must of necessi¬ 
 ty be supported, wholly by the several religious denominations; 
 but they might all have equal privileges in the University ; each 
 Christian denomination might establish its own separate school, 
 and support its own teachers ; and who can doubt that a spirit of 
 true Christian liberality and charity, would be promoted by the free 
 intercourse of students of different creeds and modes of w r orship, 
 in the same general Institution. 
 
 In speaking of the three successive stages of Education, and 
 the schools proper to each, I have sketched a system of public in¬ 
 struction which I should deem the most efficient, and at the same 
 time the most economical, that could be adopted. It would re¬ 
 quire, as has been shown, these classes of Educational Institutions, 
 Common Schools, Intermediate Schools, and Universities ; and a 
 single University would be sufficient for a State, even after its 
 population should amount to three or four millions. I believe it 
 would be most efficient, as it would be calculated to call forth, and 
 develope, and discipline, the best talent of the State, and open 
 for it a wide field in which to act. I believe it would be the most 
 economical, because it w r ould save the expense of a great many 
 small libraries, and a great many diminutive cabinets, and imper¬ 
 fect sets of philosophical apparatus, and collect, at a far less ex¬ 
 pense, in one institution, all these means of knowledge, in a quan¬ 
 tity sufficient to be eminently useful. It would save also the sal- 
 
21 
 
 aries of a large number of professors, who would otherwise be 
 wanted to teach in a great number ot Colleges, what properly be¬ 
 longs to the course of studies in the University. 
 
 One question still remains, and that is, what provision could be 
 made tor the moral and religious instruction of the youth of the 
 State, in such a system as is here proposed. I do not disjoin 
 moral, from religions instruction and training, because I believe 
 them to be inseparably connected. I have never known morale 
 to be successfully taught without religion; or a religion, that was 
 worth anything without moral practice. Had we all the same re¬ 
 ligious belief, there could be no difficulty whatever in carrying on 
 intellectual and religious training at the same time, and by the 
 same instructors. But where we have so many creeds, and so 
 many separate religious bodies, not at all times on the best terms 
 with each other, and always a little jealous of each other’s influ¬ 
 ence, it is not easy to construct a system free from objections. In 
 the common schools, it is evident that but one course can be 
 taken. The children of all the different religious sects must meet 
 in the same school, and the peculiar creed of no one can be taught 
 in the school. The teacher must enforce the rules of Christian 
 morality, in which all agree, and leave religious instruction to 
 others. The attempt to have schools established by each religious 
 persuasion, would destroy the schools, except in large towns, hfor 
 is it particularly important that religious knowledge should be 
 communicated in these schools. The children are, for the most 
 part, too young to understand the differences which separate the 
 various religious sects. They are but a few hours in school, and 
 the remainder of the time they are at home with their parents, 
 who can either teach them the principles of their own religion, or 
 employ persons of their own way of thinking, to do it. The Sun¬ 
 day Schools of the different Christian denominations, may well 
 give the religious instruction, which in a country where uniformi¬ 
 ty of faith prevailed, would be given in the common schools. It 
 would be difficult, however, in the intermediate schools. These 
 schools could not be established in every neighborhood. Children 
 and youth must be sent from home to attend them, in most in¬ 
 stances. It is natural for parents to desire that their children, 
 when, from home, should be subject to the religious influences 
 which they approve. It is right that they should do so. This is 
 not bigotry, it is simple sincerity. I honor them for it. And the 
 
22 
 
 religious influence of tlie the teacher is most important in these 
 intermediate schools, for it is in this stage of Education, that the 
 moral and religious, as well as the intellectual character is in a 
 state of formation. There is, therefore, no objection to denomi¬ 
 national character in these schools. Among the number which 
 are sure to be established, the parent will always be able to find 
 one of his own type of religion. If he sends his child from home, 
 it matters little, with our present facilities for travel, whether he 
 send him twenty miles or an hundred. If the school be in his im¬ 
 mediate neighborhood, so that his son lodges at home, he can him¬ 
 self attend to his religious teaching. If this class of schools are 
 to receive anything from the public funds, no difficulty need arise 
 from their religious character, for the amount can be impartially 
 distributed, either according to the whole number of pupils, or in 
 proportion to the services rendered the State in educating teach¬ 
 ers for the common schools. This much will suffice for the reli¬ 
 gious instruction in the intermediate schools. But in the Univer¬ 
 sity a different system must prevail. The University is for the 
 whole State, and for all religious denominations. It can, there¬ 
 fore, teach the creed of none. Nor is there a necessity that it 
 should afford any religious instruction, whatever. By the time 
 the student has progressed far enough for the Uuniversify, his re" 
 ligious education may be supposed to be complete, and his reli¬ 
 gious character formed, so far as it can be done by instruction. 
 He is then, like any other citizen, free to choose for himself, the 
 religious influences to which he will be subjected. As in our 
 towns the citizens mingle through the week in business, or social 
 intercourse, and then go to their separate places of worship on Sun¬ 
 day. I see not why the students of the University could not be 
 associated in the pursuits of science during the week, and wor¬ 
 ship, each where he might please on Sunday. If the parent still 
 wished his son to have a religious monitor, he could commit him 
 to the care of the minister of his own church. The University 
 could not have a denominatioal character, and no one ought to 
 desire that it should ; and I see no difficulty in establishing it upon 
 the same broad principles of religious liberty, which are recog¬ 
 nized in our civil institutions. 
 
 Having sketched these general features of a desirable educational 
 system for a State, it remains to be shown how far they can be 
 applied to the circumstances of our own State. It is by no means 
 
23 
 
 derogatory to the honor of our growing State, to say, that we are 
 not sufficiently advanced to adopt such a system, in all its parts, at 
 the present time. That part which refers to common schools, is 
 already in successful operation. Many intermediate schools have 
 been established by various religious bodies in our State; and 
 some of them are in a flourishing condition. Hut we have as yet 
 no University, worthy of the name; nor is it probable, that a 
 complete institution of that kind, requiring high attainments for 
 admission within its walls, could, at once, be put in successful 
 operation. In a new r country the demand for high scientific and 
 scholastic attainments, is not sufficient to induce many persons to 
 spend a long time in acquiring them. The number of students 
 who would be desirous of pursuing a strict University course, such 
 as has been described above, would be too few to warrant the 
 establishment of an institution for that course alone. Neverthe¬ 
 less, it is wise that legislation should, from the first, look towards 
 the perfection of the system, and shape its course with a view to 
 its final completion. 
 
 If we cannot establish an University of the first class at once, we 
 should aim to put in operation an institution which wfill supply the 
 highest educational wants of the State; and thus take away the 
 necessity of a resort to the institutions of other and distant States, 
 for the completion of the education of our young men. 
 
 What w r e have now to do, is to lay well the foundation, and 
 build upon it, as the exigencies of the country may demand. We 
 may begin, by fixing the qualifications for admission to the Univer¬ 
 sity at a very moderate standard, and raise the standard as the 
 demand for higher scholarship increases, and the intermediate 
 schools prepare their scholars more perfectly for admission. The 
 University, from the beginning, should be made the best institu¬ 
 tion in the State. It should be provided with able professors, in 
 the leading departments, and with means to make their instructions 
 efficient in the way of books and apparatus. It should have such 
 accommodations for students as to make it a desirable residence, 
 and the expenses of board and instruction should be within the 
 means of persons of moderate circumstances. 
 
 Such an institution, if conducted with prudence and energy, 
 would not only concentrate the patronage of the whole State, but 
 would attract students from abroad. It could easily be enlarged 
 so as to meet the growing wants of the community, and become 
 
24 
 
 both an honor to the State and a blessing to coining generations. 
 If now we can put the University considerably in advance of the 
 Colleges already founded by private liberality, it can, with the 
 funds already provided by the General Government, easily main¬ 
 tain its superiority. It will not be a rival, but an ally of these in¬ 
 stitutions. It will complete the education which they begin, and 
 which they cannot well finish, without an outlay much beyond 
 their means. It will stimulate their students to industry, who will 
 be desirous of taking a high rank in the University, and gradua¬ 
 ting with honor from the first institution in the State. It will fix 
 a standard of scholarship for all the inferior schools. It will edu¬ 
 cate professors for the Colleges, and teachers for the high schools; 
 and these in turn will prepare teachers for the common schools, so 
 that its influence will be felt in the whole educational system of 
 the State. It will be a centre of light in the midst of the system, 
 sending iorth its rays on every side, and illuminating, with its 
 cheering beams, the humblest school house by the way-side. 
 
 What I have said in favor of a State system ot education, with a 
 University as its head, is clearly supported by the experience of 
 those who have put such a system in operation. 
 
 In Virginia, a State University was established about forty years 
 ago, and the bounty of the State, with a few exceptions, has been 
 confined to this one institution. Its success has been triumphant. 
 It is now the first institution in the South, and boasts a large body 
 of professors, as able as any in the land, and numbers above seven 
 hundred pupils. 
 
 At a later date, Uorth Carolina established her State institution 
 at Chapel Hill. It, too, has been eminently successful, and now 
 sends forth large numbers of well educated men, whose influence 
 is felt in that spirit ot improvement which of late has begun to 
 pervade the State. 
 
 The Western States were provided by the liberality of Congress 
 with the means for founding Universities. Two townships, or 
 seventy-two sections of land, were given to each for that purpose. 
 In only one of these States has the experiment of a State Univer¬ 
 sity been fully tried: and there it has succeeded even beyond the 
 most sanguine expectations of its founders. The State of Michi¬ 
 gan, at an early date in her history as a State, made provision for 
 a State University. The lands given by Congress were sacredly 
 set apart as a fund for that purpose, and a school was established 
 
suited to the wants of the State. This school, which was always 
 in advance of all the institutions ot the State, has been constantly 
 improving, and may now justly claim the name of University. It 
 has now twenty-four professors and assistant professors, and four 
 hundred and thirty students; and its course of studies compares 
 favorably with any similar institution in the land. The funds, with 
 careful management, now yield an income exceeding $30,000 per 
 annum. 
 
 In Wisconsin the same wise policy has been pursued, and the 
 gift of Congress has been forever secured for the purposes of the 
 State University. With a spirit which is honorable to that young 
 State, the Legislature added to the fund seventy-two sections ot 
 land subsequently ceded to the State by Congress, so that the 
 University has for its foundation one hundred and forty-four sec¬ 
 tions of land, valued even now at $300,000. 
 
 From the University of Wisconsin we have yet no right to ex¬ 
 pect the same success as that which has been achieved in Michigan. 
 It has not been so long in operation by near twenty years, and the 
 State being new, there is not so great a demand for a high standard 
 of education. Other circumstances have also retarded its growth. 
 It had not the necessary buildings and fixtures. The town in which 
 it is located was rapidly built up, and crowded with inhabitants, 
 and there were no accommodations for the board and lodging of 
 students. These deficiencies have been remedied by the erection 
 of suitable buildings, and the University of Wisconsin, with her 
 able chancellor and professors, will soon take her stand among the 
 first educational institutions of the West. 
 
 IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 Our own State University has partially failed for like causes. It 
 was organized and put in operation in 1855, but it had, at the time, 
 neither buildings, apparatus nor library, at all adequate to the wants 
 of such an institution. It became a mere local school, for there 
 were no accommodations for students from abroad. For the re¬ 
 sults of this experiment, of establishing a University with such 
 limited means, I quote the language of Mr. Fisher, the accom¬ 
 plished Superintendant of Public Instruction, in his repert to the 
 (jfeneral Assembly in 1858. 
 
 “-The whole number of students in the University, is one 
 
26 
 
 hundred and twenty-four. Of this number 65 are in the preparato¬ 
 ry, and 40 in the Normal department. Some students are both in 
 the preparatory, and in the Normal departments ; and some from 
 both these departments, receive instruction in the departments be¬ 
 longing to the University proper; but there are probably not 
 thirty of the whole number pursuing a regular University course. 
 
 This is indeed a small number. But of the whole number of stu- 
 
 % 
 
 dents, 103 are from Iowa City, and of the remainder, 14 are from 
 Johnson county, and only seven from other counties in the State. 
 Thirty students may be a small number for a whole State, but it 
 is sufficiently large lor a single city. We come then to this result, 
 that the benefits of the University are almost exclusively confined 
 to Iowa City. This is not the fault of the people of that city. The 
 University is established there by law ; and they avail themselves 
 of the advantages which it affords, as they have a right to do. 
 
 We have a University munificently endowed, with faithful and 
 able professors ; yet our young men are obliged to resort to other 
 States to obtain a classical education. And the reason is this, we 
 have made no provision to accommodate them with suitable rooms 
 for study. It costs a young man, seeking a liberal education, more 
 to procure board and a suitable room for study in Iowa City, than 
 his whole education would cost in most of the colleges of other 
 States. But let there be a suitable building erected to accom¬ 
 modate students with rooms, and a liberal education may be ac¬ 
 quired with as little expense here, as at any College in the United 
 States. It now remains only for the State to defray the expense 
 ot erecting the proposed building. It is indispensible that this 
 should be done, in order that the people of the whole State, may 
 participate in the advantages of the University ; if not it must be¬ 
 come a local institution, devoted to the education of the boys and 
 girls of Iowa City.” 
 
 Such was the language of the report, made to the General As¬ 
 sembly in 1858, and for the reasons given in the report, the Trus¬ 
 tees closed the University, except the Normal department, until the 
 means could be obtained to erect the necessary buildings. They 
 estimated the cost of a building tor students’rooms, and the repairs 
 and alterations necessary on the State House at Iowa City, (which 
 had been given to the University); at twenty-five thousand dol¬ 
 lars ; and asked the legislature to make an appropriation of that 
 amount in order to enable them to put the University in success- 
 
27 
 
 ful operation. Thirteen thousand onty was granted. Three thou¬ 
 sand for the repairs on the State House, and ten thousand to be 
 expended in the erection and completion of another building. 
 Neither of these appropriations was adequate to its object. 
 
 The three thousand dollars appropriated for the repairs of the 
 State House, were expended in putting a new roof on the building, 
 in place of the old one, which was leaky and rotten ; and in fitting 
 up rooms for the Library and Cabinet of Natural History. The 
 ten thousand for students rooms, were laid out in a building 
 designed for that purpose. That building remains in an unfinish¬ 
 ed state, being simply enclosed and roofed, and no rooms finished 
 within ; the appropriation being insufficient to finish it. In un¬ 
 dertaking to do what they designed in the way of repairs and build¬ 
 ing, the trustees fell into the common error of under-estimaing the 
 cost. The repairs on the old building were essential to its preser¬ 
 vation, and the new building is no larger than the necessities of 
 the University demand. It is of good architectural proportions, 
 and built in the most substantial manner. While this building re¬ 
 mains unfinished, there are the same reasons for keeping the Uni¬ 
 versity closed, that there were for closing it in 1858. If students 
 from abroad cannot be accommodated with rooms for study, and 
 there is no provision for lecture rooms, and suitable apparatus, the 
 University, if re-opened, can be nothing more than a mere local 
 school for the benefit of a single city. It was not designed to be 
 such. Its funds were not given for that purpose by Congress, and 
 provision should be made for carrying out the full design of the 
 trust. 
 
 I repeat what I said before, the University is not an institution 
 for the benefit of any particular locality. It must of necessity have 
 a location, and will be an incidental benefit to the people in the 
 vicinity ; but it belongs to the State,—it is lor the benefit of the 
 citizens of the whole State, and they have an interest in putting it 
 in such a condition as will make it a benefit to all. When the 
 University opens next September, as the trustees hope it may, let 
 it not open as a mere local school for boys ; but as a well appoint¬ 
 ed institution of learning, to which young men from all parts of 
 the State may resort; an institution which will recall from the col¬ 
 leges and Universities of other States, the hundreds of our young 
 men, who have been compelled to go abroad to complete their ed¬ 
 ucation. 
 
28 
 
 
 APPROPRIATION ASKED FOR. 
 
 From the report of the board of Trustees to the General Assem¬ 
 bly, I learn that I am expected to express my opinion as to the 
 means required to enable them to re-open the University in Sep¬ 
 tember next. I have already stated what was necessary to be 
 done. After a pretty careful examination I should not differ from 
 their estimate in the aggregate. Fifteen thousand dollars econo¬ 
 mically expended would be no more than sufficient to complete the 
 new building, finish the repairs on the old, and put it in a proper 
 condition, for the purposes required. Ten thousand dollars was 
 the estimate of the architect, for the completion of the new build¬ 
 ing, and it is not generally safe to go much below such estimates. 
 But if on account of the reduction, in the price of building materi¬ 
 als, this estimate should prove too high, the excess and more than 
 that, could be profitably spent, in addition to the $5000 asked for, 
 to fit up the old building and to procure necessary apparatus. The 
 old Hall of Representatives, is to be fitted up for a Chapel; the 
 Lecture Rooms are to be provided with seats, and cases are to be 
 made for the reception and sate keeping of the apparatus. Pro¬ 
 vision is to be made for a chemical laboratory, and when all this 
 is done, there will remain but a very small sum for the purchase of 
 chemical apparatus. The department of chemistry is one of the 
 most important in a State University, for besides affording instruc¬ 
 tion in that most useful branch of science, it affords the means of 
 analyzing soils, earths and minerals ; thus aiding in the geological 
 survey of the State, and helping to develope its resources. A much 
 larger amount than that asked for by the trustees could be expended 
 to advantage, but I am still of the opinion that $15000 judicially 
 expended, would put the University in a condition to meet the 
 present educational wants of the State, and render further appro¬ 
 priations unnecessary for some years to come. 
 
 If a less sum than this is appropriated, the University will be 
 crippled in its operations, and will be obliged to apply for further 
 aid at a future time. If no appropriation is made, I see not how 
 it can be opened at all, and it must remain closed for three years 
 to come; two years, till at another session of the General Assem¬ 
 bly the necessary funds may be granted, and one year after that, 
 until the work can be done. The Trustees have no election in this 
 
29 
 
 matter. There are no funds in their hands which they can legally 
 apply to the erection or completion of buildings. The Constitution 
 of the State declares that the lands granted by Congress shall be 
 tor the support of the University, and a law of the State restrains 
 the income of the fund to the same purpose. 
 
 With respect to the further appropriation of five thousand dob 
 lars to replace the money- borrowed from the interest fund, I have 
 nothing further to remark, than that the University cannot well 
 spare anything from its capital, nor anything from its funds, which 
 the law designed should be added to its capital. Whether the 
 Trustees had a right to borrow this fund for building purposes, or 
 whether the appropriation of 1858 was expended according to law, 
 it is not for me to decide. The present Board of Trustees have no 
 responsibility in the matter. By the law passed by the Board of 
 Education in December, 1858, the Constitution of the Board was 
 remodeled and an entire new Board appointed. I have never con¬ 
 versed with the members of the old Board, on the subject of the 
 buildings, and know not how they regarded the law under which 
 they acted. I believe, however, from an inspection of the build¬ 
 ings themselves, that the money expended was faithfully and judi¬ 
 ciously applied for the benefit of the University. It is all on the 
 grounds in substantial brick and mortar, and when fitted for the 
 residence of students, will be no larger than the wants of the Uni¬ 
 versity demand. But if the old Board of Trustees did err in the 
 application of the appropriation of 1858, it should be borne in mind 
 that the Trustees are not the University. They are but the agents 
 of the State to execute a certain trust. They die, but the Univer¬ 
 sity survives. Their office expires, or they are removed from it, 
 and others are appointed in their places; but the University re¬ 
 mains one and the same. They are individually accountable for 
 the manner in which they execute a trust confided to them, but 
 the University cannot be involved in their acts. To visit upon a 
 public institution the errors of the agents acting for that institution 
 in behalf of the State, would only be multiplying the evil. 
 
 UNIVERSITY FUND. 
 
 I have one other subject to bring to your notice, and then I 
 shall close. I have already remarked that nothing could be spar¬ 
 ed from the capital funds of the university. The capital is much 
 
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