University of the South Papers Series A, No1

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At 4 P. M. the Trustees assembled for organization. On motion of the Rt. Rev. N. H. Cobbs, D. D., the Rt. Rev. Jas. H. Otey, D. D., was unanimously elected President, and was conducted to the chair.

On motion of the Rt. Rev. Leonidas Polk, D. D., it appeared that the following Presbyters and Laymen had been duly appointed by the Conventions of the several dioceses to represent them in this body, viz:

North Carolina – Rev. M. Ashy Curtis, D. D., Mr. Thomas Ruflin, Mr. Thomas D. Warren.

South Carolina—Rev. Alexander Gregg, Mr. I. L. Manning, Mr. Wm. Allston Pringle.

Alabama—Rev. Henry C. Lay, Mr. C. T. Pollard, Mr. L. H. Anderson.

Mississippi—Rev. W. W. Lord, Mr. G. S. Yerger. Mr Eugene Hinton.

Louisiana—Rev. W. T. Leacock, D. D., Mr. Geo. S. Guion, Mr. Wm. N. Mercer.

Texas—Rev. J. W. Dunn, Mr. E. B. Nichols, Mr. J. E. Nicholson

Tennessee—Rev. David Pise D. D., Mr. Francis B. Fogg, Mr. John Armfield.

The Bishops of Georgia and of Florida, mentioned the providentail causes which had prevented the election of Trustees in their respective dioceses.

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The roll being called the following Trustees answered to their names, viz:

Rt. Rev. Jas. H. Otey, D. D., Rt. Rev. Leonidas Polk, D. D., Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, D. D., Rt. Rev. N. H. Cobbs, D. D., Rt. Rev. Wm. M. Green, D. D., Rt. Rev. F. H. Rutledge, D. D., Rt. Rev. T. F. Davis, D. D.

Rev. M. Ashly Curtis, D. D., Rev. Alex Gregg, Rev. Henry C. Lay, Rev. W. W. Lord, Rev. W. T. Leacock, D. D., Rev. J. W. Dunn, Rev. David Pise, D. D.

Mr. Thomas D. Warren, Mr. C. T. Pollard, Mr. L. H. Anderson, Mr. G. S. Guion, Mr. Francis B. Fogg, Mr. John Armfield.

Whereupon, the President declared, that a quorum was present, and pronounced the Convention duly organized.

On motion of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Polk-Resolved, That the rules of order of the last Convention of the diocese of Tennessee, be adopted as the rules of order of this body.

On motion of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Elliott-Resolved, that the Sessions of this Convention be open to the public.

The Rt. Rev. Bishop Polk gave notice of a motion to appoint the following committees:

1. Of Location. 2. To obtain a Charter. 3. Of Ways and Means. 4. Of Organization, of Programme, and Working Machinery. 5. Of Construction and Building.

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On motion of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Polk, the Convention adjourned until Monday morning, at 9 o’clock.

SECOND DAY

MONDAY, July 6, 1857.

The Convention met pursuant to adjournment, and prayer was offered by the Rt. Rev. President.

The roll being called, the members were found to be present as on Saturday.

On motion of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Rutledge--

Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention be tendered to the Rt. Rev. Bishop Otey, for the very appropriate address delivered before them on the morning of the 4th of July, and that he be requested to furnish a copy of the same for publication.

Which motion, being propounded by the Secretary, was unanimously adopted.

Whereupon, the Rt. Rev. Bishop Otey briefly responded, expressing his acknowledgments, and assenting to the wishes of the Convention.

On motion of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Polk--

Resoved, That the Secretary be requested to prepare, at his earliest convenience, an account of the meeting of this Convention, embodying the events of the 4th of July, and including the proceedings of this body, and the address of the Bishop of Tennessee.

On motion of Mr. Thomas D. Warren--

Resolved, that a committee of six be appointed to raise the necessary funds for the publication of ten thousand copies of the above account, and that they be charged, in conjunction with the Secretary, with the circulation and distribution of the same.

Messrs. Warren, Pollard, Anderson, Guion, Fogg, and Armfield were appointed to said committee.

The Rt. Rev. Bishop Elliott proposed the following preamble and resolutions, to be adopted by the Convention as a declaration of principles, being substantially the same with those announced by the Bishops in their address issued at the last General Convention viz:

We, the undersigned, Bishops and delgates of the dioceses of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Miss-

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issippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee, do hereby resolve to establish a University upon the following principles:

1. The University shall, in all its parts, be under the sole and perpetual direction of the Protestant Episcopal Church, represented through a Board of Trustees.

2. The Board of Trustees shall be composed of the Bishops of the dioceses above named, ex-officio, and one clergyman and two laymen from each of said dioceses, to be elected by the Convention of the same. The joint consent of the Bishops as an order, and of the Clerical and Lay Trustees as another order, shall be necessary to the adoption of any measure proposed. The senior Bishop by consecration shall always be President of the Board.

3. This University shall not be put into operation until the sum of at least five hundred thousand dollars be actually secured.

4. The funds subscribed to this University shall be all considered as capital, to be preserved untouched for any purpose connected either with the organization or management of the University.

5. There shall be a Treasurer appointed in each diocese by the Convention of the same, to whom shall be delivered the cash, notes, bonds, stocks, or titles to land, obtained as subscription in that diocese; whose duty it shall be, under the advice of the Standing Committee, to invest the cash, and all money which shall be derived from the realization of the above private securities, in the best possible securities, or other safe investments—paying over annually to the Treasurer of the University the interest of the amount subscribed.

6. There shall be a Treasurer of the Corporation, who shall re {sic} ceive the interest annually, from the Diocesan Treasurers, and expend it under the direction of the Board of Trustees.

7. The amount subscribed in any diocese, and secured as above, shall, in case of the dissolution of the corporation, revert to the diocese subscribing it, to be disposed of as the Convention shall determine.

8. The location of this University shall be as central to all the contracting dioceses, as shall be consistent with the necessary con {sic} ditions of location.

9. No diocese shall be bound by these principles to furnish any particular sum of money, but its contributions shall be voluntary according to its pleasure and ability.

10. The signature to this declaration shall not bind the dioceses any further than they may have already bound, or may hereafter bind themselves, bu their respective Conventions.

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The first, second, and third resolutions were successfully adopted.

Mr. Pollard moved to amend the fourth resolution by adding thereto the following words: “Save that the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, when collected, may, at the discretion of the Trustees, be appropriated to the purchase of lands, the erection of buildings, and the organization of the University; which amendment did not prevail.

The Rt. Rev. Bishop Green moved to amend by adding the following proviso: “provided that donations and legacies may be received for such objects as the donors may indicate;” which amendment prevailed, and the resolution amended, was adopted.

The fifth and sixth resolutions were adopted.

The seventh resolution being under consideration, the Rt. Rev. Bishop Davis offered the following as a substitute:

“The amount subscribed in any diocese as above, shall in the event of the dissolution of the corporation, be returned to the donors or their legal representatives, and in case of their being no legal representatives, then it shall revert to the diocese.”

The substitute prevailed, and the resolution was adopted.

The eight, ninth, and tenth resolutions and the preamble were successively adopted.

On motion of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Elliott--

Resolved, That the Secretary be directed to engross the preamble and resolutions just adopted, and that the members of the Convention will affix their signatures to the same, during the afternoon session.

The Rt. Rev. Bishop Polk offered the following resolutions:

Resolved, 1. That a Committee be appointed, consisting of one from each diocese, to collect information on the subject of a location of the proposed University, and report to this Board at an adjourned meeting to be held at [blank] on day [blank] of [blank].

Resolved, 2. That a Committee of three be appointed to prepare a Charter, to be submitted to said adjourned meeting.

On motion of the Rt. Rev..Bishop Elliott, the first blank was filled with the words, “Montgomery, Ala;” and,

On motion of Mr. Warren, the second blank was filled with the words, “Wednesday, the 25th day of November next;” and both resolutions were, thereupon, adopted.

The Rt. Rev. President submitted a number of communications from the people of various localities, inviting the Convention to

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consider the local advantages which they offered—which communications were all referred to the Committee on Location.

The Rev. Henry C. Lay introduced the following resolution, and moved its reference to a Committee of the whole house, which reference was ordered:

Resolved, That in the judgment of this Convention, it is expedient to place the proposed University in an isolated position, and within a large domain, under its exclusive control.

On motion of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Elliott--

Resolved, That the Convention will resolve itself into a Committee of the whole, on the foregoing resolution, at four o’clock this afternoon.

On motion, the Convention took a recess until 4 p. m.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

The President announced the following Committees:

On Location.—Rt. Rev. Bishop Polk, of Louisiana, Rt. Rev. Bishop Elliott, of Georgia, Rt. Rev. Bishop Cobbs, of Alabama, Rt. Rev. Bishop Rutledge, of Florida, Rt. Rev. Bishop Atkinson, of North Carolina, Rev. Mr. Gregg, of South Carolina, Rev. Mr. Dunn, of Texas, Mr. Geo. S. Yerger, of Mississippi.

On a Charter.--Mr. F. B. Fogg, Mr. G. S. Guion, Mr. J. L. Manning.

On motion of Mr. Warren, the Rt. Rev. President was added to the Committee on Location: and,

On motion of the Rev. Dr. Leacock, Mr. G. S. Yerger was added to the Committee on a Charter.

The House then went into Committee of the whole; presently the Committee rose, and through their Chairman, the Rt. Rev. Bishop Rutledge, reported back the resolution referred to then, without amendment, and asked to be discharged from the further consideration of the same; whereupon, the resolution was laid upon the table.

The Secretary presented to Declaration of Principles, en (sic) grossed according to the order of the house.

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It was then signed by all the members present, and is as follows: (See Appendix.)

The Rt. Rev. Bishop Green offered the following resolution:

Resolved. That the Institution, proposed to be established, shall be called “The University of the South”; which resolution, on motion of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Cobbs, was laid on the table for the present.

On motion of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Elliott, it was

Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention be tendered to the citizens of Chattanooga, and to the inhabitants of the Lookout Mountain, for their kind attention to the comfort of the members of this Convention.

On motion of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Green, it was

Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention be tendered to the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, for the use of their Church edifices, for divine service on Sunday last.

There being no further business before the Convention, a motion for adjournment prevailed.

The members and visitors present, rose and united in singing the Doxology--

“Praise him from whom all blessings flow;”

Prayers were offered, and the Benediction pronounced by the Rt. Rev. President; and the Convention stood adjourned to meet at Montgomery, Alabama, on Wednesday, the 25th day of November next.

JAS. H. OTEY, President. HENRY C. LAY, Secretary.

APPENDIX.

DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES

SET FORTH AND SUBSCRIBED

BY THE TRUSTEES IN CONVENTION ASSEMBLED.

We, the undersigned, Bishops and Delegates of the dioceses of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,

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Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee, do hereby resolve to establish a University upon the following principles:

1. The University shall, in all its parts, be under the sole and perpetual direction of the Protestant Episcopal Church, represented through a Board of Trustees.

2. The Board of Trustees shall be composed of the Bishops of the dioceses above named, ex-officio, and one Clergyman and two Laymen from each of said dioceses, to be elected by the Convention of the same. The joint consent of the Bishops as an order, an of the Clerical and Lay Trustees as another order, shall be necessary to the adoption of any measure proposed. The Senior Bishop, by consecration, shall always be President of the Board.

3. The University shall not be put into operation until the sum of, at least, Five Hundred Thousand Dollars be actually secured.

4. The funds subscribed to this University, shall be all considered as capital, to be preserved untouched for any purposes connected either with the organization or management of the University; provided that donations and legacies may be received for such objects as the donors may indicate.

5. There shall be a Treasurer appointed in each diocese by the Convention of the same, to whom shall be delivered the cash, notes, bonds, stocks, or titles to land, obtained as subscription in that diocese; whose duty it shall be, under the advice of the Standing Committee, to invest the cash and all money which shall be derived from the realization of the above mentioned private securities, in the best public securities or other safe investments, paying over annually to the Treasurer of the University the interest of the amount subscribed.

6. There shall be a Treasurer of the corporation, who shall receive the interest annually from the diocesan Treasurer, and expend it under the direction of the Board of Trustees.

7. The amount subscribed in any diocese, as above, shall, in the event of the dissolution of the corporation, be returned to the donors or their legal representatives, and in case of their being no legal representatives, then it shall revert to the diocese.

8. The location of this University shall be as central to all the contracting dioceses, as shall be consistent with the necessary conditions of location.

9. No diocese shall be bound by these Principles to furnish any particular sum of money, but its contributions shall be voluntary, according to its pleasure and ability.

10. The signatures to this Declaration shall not bind the diocese

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further than they may have already bound, or may hereafter bind, themselves by their respective Conventions.

Signed at the Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tennessee, this sixth day of July, A. D. 1857.

JAMES H. OTEY, Bishop of Tennessee. LEONIDAS POLK, Bishop of Louisiana. STEPHEN ELLIOTT, Bishop of Georgia. N. H. COBBS, Bishop of Alabama. W. M. GREEN, Bishop of Mississippi. FRANCES H. RUTLEDGE, Bishop of Florida. THOS. F. DAVIS, Bishop of South Carolina. DAVID PISE, FRANCIS B. FOGG, JOHN ARMFIELD, } Tennessee. W. T. LEACOCK, GEORGE S. GUION, } Louisiana. HENRY C. LAY, CHARLES T. POLLARD, L. H. ANDERSON, } Alabama. W.W. LORD, of Mississippi. ALEXANDER GREGG, of South Carolina. M. A. CURTIS, W. D. WARREN, } North Carolina. J. WOOD DUNN, of Texas.

ADDRESS OF THE RT. REV. JAMES H. OTEY, D. D., BISHOP OF TENNESSEE, ON THE SUBJECT OF A PROPOSED SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY, Prepared and delivered at the request of the Bishops associated in the enterprise, and published at the unanimous call of the Convention.

Address.

When St. Paul, on a certain occasion, as we read in Holy Writ, was about to be scourged, he claimed the privilege of a Roman

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citizen. “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman?”

The Chief Captain, surprised to hear one, in appearance so contemptible, assert the prerogatives of Roman citizenship, exclaimed, “with a great sum obtained I this freedom.” “But I was freeborn,” said St. Paul.

And who is there here to-day, breathing this life-giving air, enjoying the blessed sun-light of heaven, looking from this lofty eminence, and surveying the goodly heritage which reposes around us in silent grandeur, or is spread out in quiet beauty, but feels his spirit bound within him, and exults in the thought, “I was freeborn?”

It suits well the occasion to discourse to you of the singular blessings, which, by the favor of Divine Providence, we enjoy in this happy land.

1. If any people on earth may refer the distinguished privileges, which they possess, to the favoring hand of God, we are that people. When we review the prominent events of our history, we realize that the hand of the Lord has wrought mightily and wondrously for us; that it was He, who endued our counsellors (sic) with wisdom, and our warriors with courage, to meet in the conflict one of the most formidable powers of the earth, and to pass with success and honor through the dangers of so perilous an encounter, to the achievement of INDEPENDENCE; to the high and glorious distinction of a name and place among the Nations of the Earth.

A little more than seventy years (the period allotted to the age of man) have passed away, since the clouds of war rolled darkly over all our land, the thunders of battle reverberated along our hills, and the crimson vesture of the plains shewed where brethren had me tin mortal strife. A nation’s freedom was the prize for which they struggled. The God of armies beheld the contest, discerned its merits, and determined on which standard victory should rest.

To His name be all Glory, the Honor, and the Praise!

For, surely, we had not been “free-born” had not He interposed to deliver us from the strong and remorseless grasp of tyranny.

At the close of this contest, well might our Fathers say, in the language of the Roman officer, “with a great sum obtained we this freedom.” It was at the expenditure of an immense amount of treasure and of blood. We assert, without the fear of contradiction, not in the spirit of boastfulness, but of truth and soberness, that the purest blood that ever flowed in freedom’s cause, the least