History of Randolph-Macon College, Virginia Part 30

At the annual meeting of the Board, held June, 1875, the announcement was made of the death of two of its most useful and venerable members, viz., D'Arcy Paul, of Petersburg, and Rev. Henry B. Cowles, of the Virginia Conference.

It would be meet and right to give the tributes paid to these Trustees, so worthy of them, if s.p.a.ce allowed. The first had served most faithfully for a period of thirty-five years, and the other thirty-three.

The annual report of the Financial Secretary was not so satisfactory as to current receipts, the number of students at the College having fallen down to 215, instead of 235. There had been deficiencies in other items.

All these deficiences were caused, in the main, by the financial condition of the country, which was so sadly affected by the panic of 1873. There were some cheering signs, however, to offset these deficiencies. The largest donation ever made to the College up to this time had been received the past year. This was made by Mr. James B.

Pace, of Richmond, Va., viz., $10,000 in Virginia State bonds. This was given to build the Pace Lecture Hall, a building so much needed, and which is now, and will be for years to come, a monument to the liberal donor.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JAMES B. PACE, _Trustee, and Founder of Pace Hall._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE, 1880 to 1886.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: PACE HALL.]

Another donation of $5,000 was made by the old and fast friend of the College, Thomas Branch, president of the Board; by others, $808.50--total, $15,808.50.

The financial statement for this year is given in the comparative statement furnished by the Financial Secretary in his annual report:

a.s.sets. Liabilities. Balance.

1872, . . $58,729 65 $23,216 49 $35,513 16 1873, . . 74.611 13 26,377 14 48,233 99 1874, . . 72,496 47 31,538 12 50,958 35 1875, ...91,660 78 20,974 36 70,686 42 Increase, 99-1/4 per cent.

The degree of Master of Arts was conferred on John W. Redd, of Virginia.

Rev. A. G. Brown reported the building by him as a private enterprise of the hotel near the southwest corner of the campus. This was a much-needed improvement.

Notwithstanding the increase in a.s.sets during the year, the current receipts were not sufficient to meet current expenses.

At this meeting Rev. John C. Granbery, who had served the Board faithfully as secretary since 1868, resigned the position, on account of his having accepted a professorship at the Vanderbilt University. He also resigned his place as Trustee of the College.

Rev. Paul Whitehead was elected to succeed him as trustee and secretary, and he has been secretary of the Board from that meeting to the present time (1898).

[Ill.u.s.tration: JOHN B. WARDLAW, _Of Georgia; Sutherlin Medalist, 1874._]

At a called meeting of the Board in October, 1875, President Duncan informed the Board that the condition of his health was such that he felt unable to do the heavy work devolved on him. An arrangement was therefore made to lighten his duties, and he was requested to travel as much as practicable in the interest of the College.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JOHN W. REDD, A. M., 1875. _Prof. Centre College, Ky._]

At an adjourned meeting of the Board, held November, 1875, Rev. A. G.

Brown, Financial Secretary, tendered his resignation. A portion of his letter is here given, partly as history, and in justice to him:

"That my labors have not been more efficient, I deeply regret, yet in what has been accomplished I am not without cause for grat.i.tude to G.o.d, to whose merciful kindness I am infinitely indebted.

[Ill.u.s.tration: REV. PAUL WHITEHEAD, D. D., _Secretary Board of Trustees, 1875-'98._]

"The a.s.sets of the College have been increased in value about one hundred per cent.; nearly fifteen thousand dollars of its debt has been paid; valuable additions and improvements have been made to the grounds and buildings; the State stock owned by the College has been materially increased in value; the annual deficit on account of current expenses, ranging from twenty-five hundred to three thousand dollars a year, has been provided for; all claims for interest on College debts, amounting to about eighteen hundred dollars per annum, have been promptly paid; the salaries of the professors and employees have been paid in full to October 1st, as well as all bills on current account. In no instance has the credit of the College been allowed to suffer. Its business has been systematized so as to be easily understood. The patronage of the College has been largely increased; its interests have been faithfully represented in the patronizing Conferences.... I have never hesitated to use my personal means and influence in financial circles whenever exigencies required my so doing. Meanwhile the country has pa.s.sed through a period of unprecedented financial depression. The wisest schemes have failed; the ample fortunes of wealthy citizens and corporations have been swept away; the active industries of the country have been fearfully impaired, and the shrinkage in the marketable value of property of all descriptions has scarcely been less than one-third.

This sad condition of business, without a parallel in the history of this country, has seriously hindered all our efforts in behalf of the College. I have done what I could. That I have not accomplished more has not resulted from any lack of love or zeal for the College, but is mainly referable to the mysterious adversity which has come upon us.

"In resigning my office as Financial Secretary, I do not abate one jot or t.i.ttle of my interest in the College. No! I love the College as I love the church; and fidelity to the church enjoins upon me and upon all fidelity to the interests of this inst.i.tution. Be a.s.sured of my hearty prayers and co-operation in the future as in the past. As a member of this Board, I shall stand shoulder to shoulder with you to make Randolph-Macon a permanent and ever-increasing blessing to church and state."

The following resolution, offered by Rev. Paul Whitehead, was then adopted:

"_Resolved_, That the resignation of Rev. A. G. Brown as Financial Secretary be accepted, to take effect December 1, 1875, and that the Board hereby express their appreciation of the fidelity, ability, and integrity with which he has discharged the duties of his office."

This resolution was not any too flattering. It may be truly said that it is doubtful whether any man in the Conference could have brought the College through the trying period of the panic as well as the late Financial Secretary.

It was "_Resolved_, That the presiding bishop be requested to appoint at the ensuing Virginia Conference an agent for the College."

At an adjourned meeting held at Danville, November, 1875, the Board abolished the office of Financial Secretary.

William Willis, Jr., of Richmond, was appointed Treasurer, and Prof.

William A. Shepard, Proctor.

At the request of the Board, the Bishop appointed Rev. Thomas A. Ware, agent.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WALTER H. PAGE, _Of North Carolina; Sutherlin Medalist; Editor Atlantic Monthly._]

At the annual meeting in June, 1876, the Building Committee reported the Pace Lecture Hall as being about half completed, with funds on hand to meet expenses of completion. This was the second brick building erected on the campus.

The following received the degree of A. M.: John M. Burton, of Virginia; Howard Edwards, of Virginia; Robert Sharp, of Virginia; R. Bascom Smithey, of Virginia.

The President, in his annual report, does not give the statistics as to the number of students in attendance, but the catalogue for the year gives it as 167. He, evidently regarding this as the last he would make, takes the occasion to speak in the kindest and most commendatory terms of his a.s.sociates of the Faculty. He was on the most cordial terms with them, and his kindly regard was fully reciprocated. Referring to his resignation, which he was about to tender, he said:

"And now I approach a matter which it gives me very great pain to announce. Many reasons combine to make it best, however, that I take the step now; but these reasons I do not propose to open for discussion, because I have become satisfied and decided in my convictions.

"I have worked earnestly, in all good conscience, before G.o.d for eight years to promote the cause of Christian education in connection with Randolph-Macon College; nor have I spared myself till my health demanded it. I have done what I could. Eight years ago, in a critical moment in the history of the College, your flattering representations of the service you believed I might render to Christian education induced me to sacrifice my own inclinations and to accept the presidency of Randolph-Macon.

"What has been done is too well known to you to make it necessary for me to recount the familiar facts. My rejoicing in it all is the blessing the College has been to our young men, and the fact that, by abundant labors, I have also had a personal share in the rebuilding and re-establishing an inst.i.tution whose work is its best witness. In G.o.d's providence these labors have, I trust, been blessed unto permanent good.

"But in the meanwhile I have found that to repeat or continue them would be a tax on my health and strength too great for me to bear. I am fully satisfied that the confining duties of College life are entirely incompatible with my future health and consequent usefulness; but I cannot consent to be a nominal president of an inst.i.tution whose funds are not sufficient for the support of all the active officers she needs.

When invitations to more lucrative positions were extended to me I have not entertained them for a moment, simply because I could not allow my duty, as a minister of Christ, in relation to this work to be governed by monetary considerations. But now, when unembarra.s.sed by any invitations whatever, after calm reflection on all the reasons which favor or oppose it, after careful and prayerful meditation upon it as a question of duty as under G.o.d's guidance, I am fully persuaded that the moment has come when I may and ought dutifully to return to the position I formerly occupied as a preacher in the church of G.o.d. This conviction is too firmly and clearly fixed for me to alter it at present.

"I hardly need to say that my devotion to the College is unchanged. My readiness to do whatever I can to advance its welfare, I know you will believe and appreciate. Therefore, most respectfully, with the warmest wishes for your success personally and officially, I feel it my duty to tender my resignation as President of Randolph-Macon College. This I propose shall take effect at the beginning of the next session, or at the meeting of the Virginia Conference.

"With many prayers for the prosperity of the great cause, which I must now serve less efficiently, but not less earnestly, and with immutable love for Randolph-Macon, I am, most respectfully and sincerely yours,

"JAMES A. DUNCAN."

[Ill.u.s.tration: REV. JOHN D. BLACKWELL, D. D., _Vice-President Board of Trustees, and President Elect, 1877._]

The resignation of President Duncan was most reluctantly accepted, with resolutions of highest regard for him personally and commendation of his great services to the College. It may be stated here that he continued to act as president in the interval between the annual meeting and the adjourned meeting, held in Richmond, July, 1876. At this meeting Rev.

John D. Blackwell, D. D., was elected President. He declined to accept the office. At the adjourned meeting, in November, Dr. Duncan was re-elected, and he consented to serve again, under the most pressing solicitation of the Board and the evident urgency of the case.

It has been said that "coming events cast their shadows before." So this resignation of Dr. Duncan, on account of the consciousness of failing health, was a shadow, and a very dark one it was, of the event of the coming year, which was to cause mourning in all Southern Methodism and in regions beyond.

The annual meeting adjourned, in sadness and gloom, to meet again in Richmond, July 25th.

The financial condition was not satisfactory, and the old embarra.s.sment of former years was again felt.

At the adjourned meeting, held in Richmond, Va., July 25, 1876, the resignations of Professors Thomas R. Price and James A. Harrison were tendered. Professor Price had been elected to the chair of Greek at the University of Virginia, and Prof. Harrison to the chair of Latin at Washington and Lee University.