HISTORICAL RETROSPECT.

The subject of national aid for the development of agricultural interests in America seems to be almost as old as the country itself. The following is taken from an excellent address by Prof. Alex. Hogg. In his annual message of December 7, 1796, George Washington says:

It will not be doubted, that with reference to either individual or national welfare, agriculture is of primary importance. In proportion as nations advance in population and other circumstances of maturity, this truth becomes more apparent, and renders the cultivation of the soil more and more an object of public patronage.

Again, in a letter to Sir John Sinclair, the father of British agriculture and British statistics, Washington further says:

I fear it will be some time before an agricultural society with Congressional aid* will be established in this country. We must walk, as other countries have done, before we can run. Smaller societies must prepare the way for greater; but, with the light before us, I hope we shall not be so slow as other nations have been.

In the years that followed these words many memorials were presented to the State legislatures and Congress. In 1844 an able article by Sir Jonathan Scherer appeared in the Michigan Farmer advocating more thorough education of farmers. In 1849, Hon. E. H. Lathrop, in the first annual address before the Michigan Agricultural Society, strongly advocated the teaching of botany, chemistry, zoology, physiology, and mechanics, on account of their direct bearing on the science of agriculture. In December of this year the society adopted a resolution by Hon. Bela Hubbard, requesting the legislature to establish an agricultural college and model farm, as follows:

Resolved, That our legislature be requested to take such legislation as shall appear necessary or expedient for the establishment of a State Central Agricultural Office, with which shall be connected a museum of agricultural products and implements and an agricultural library, and as soon as practicable an agricultural college and model farm.

A committee consisting of Mr. Hubbard, Mr. Dort, and Mr. Holmes were appointed to memorialize the Michigan legislature in behalf of the foregoing resolutions. By the efforts of this committee, the legislature, in 1850, passed a joint resolution calling on Congress for a gift to the State of 30,000 acres of land for the support of agricultural schools in Michigan. This seems to have been the origin of the agitation which led in 1862 to what is known as the Morrill bill. this same session of the legislature the educational committee reported as follows:

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The legislature shall encourage the promotion of intellectual, scientific, and agricultural improvement; and shall, as soon as practicable, provide for the establishment of an agricultural school.

In accordance with this report the legislature, in 1855, did provide for the opening of such a college, though the college was not formally opened to students until May, 1857, when Joseph R. Williams, M. A., had the honor as well as the difficult task of being the president of the first State agricultural college in America.

Not until 1858 did the matter of Congressional aid for agricultural colleges take definite shape, and the science of agriculture, as a science, receive its greatest impetus. Hon. Justin R. Morrill, of Vermont submitted to Congress his famous bill, the far-reaching effects of which will be felt for ages yet to come, setting apart a portion of the pubi:c domain (30,000 acres of land for each Senator and Representative in Congress) for the permanent endowment in each State and Territory— of at least one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, * in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life.

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After much discussion during two sessions, this bill passed both branches of Congress, but was vetoed by President Buchanan. Noth ing daunted, however, Mr. Morrill again brought up the bill under Abraham Lincoln's Administration, and it was enacted into a law July 2, 1862. To this bill all agricultural colleges in this country owe their existence, with the single exception, I believe, of the Michigan Agricultural College, which, as previously stated, claims the distinction of having been the first established in America; the next being the Kansas State Agricultural College, organized in 1863; then one in New Jersey, in 1864, and one in Kentucky in 1865.

The Morrill act provided that the land grant must be accepted, and provision made for the establishment of the colleges, within five years, but that no State or Territory in a state of rebellion should be allowed to take advantage of the provisions of the act. It thus occurred that some of the States were deprived of the privilege; but this difficulty was obviated by an amendatory act, approved July 23, 1866, which extended the time of acceptance three years from date of amendment, and stipulated that the colleges must be provided for by the State within five years of the filing of such acceptance with the Commissioner of the General Land Office.

In November, 1866, Texas passed an act accepting the national grant, and having two Senators and four Representatives in Congress received 30,000 acres for each, or a total of 180,000 acres. The scrip for this land was sold by James P. Newcomb, secretary of state, under authority of Governor E. J. Davis, at 87 cents per acre. The proceeds of this sale, $150,600, were invested in 7 per cent frontier defense bonds to the amount of $174,000. These bonds are in the State treasury with interest coupons attached which are promptly paid semi-annually.

ESTABLISHING THE COLLEGE.

By an act of the legislature approved April 17, and an amendment May 30, 1871, provision was made for the establishment of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, to be controlled and managed in accordance with "An act to establish the University of Texas," passed February 11, 1858, until otherwise directed by law; and an appropriation of $75,000 was made out of the school fund for the erection of college buildings and professors' residences. A part of this act provided that the governor of the State should appoint three commissioners, who should, within thirty days of such appointment, select a location for the college. Governor E. J. Davis appointed on this commission Senator Slaughter, of east Texas, Senator John Bell, from south Texas, and Representative Grotehouse, of west Texas. The commissioners advertised for bids and bonuses from the places desiring the location of the college. They were invested with full authority to locate the college where, in their opinion, the most favorable inducements (locality, bonuses, etc. considered) were offered. Hon. W. A. Saylor, at that time senator from Brazos County, suggested to the citizens of Bryan that if sufficient efforts were made the location. of the college might be secured for Brazos County. In accordance with this suggestion, the commissioners were invited to stop at Bryan on their tour of inspection of places applying for the location. After visiting San Antonio, San Marcos, Austin, Waco, Tehuacana Hills, and other places, they came to Bryan, where they were entertained by her enterprising citizens, and shown a number of eligible sites for the location of such a college-among others, the present site of the college. At the outset the commissioners decided that the college must be situated in a central locality, as regarded the then most populous portion of the State, and be easily accessible to all parts of the State; it must be on a railroad, not proposed to be built, but in actual operation; and, above all, it must be a healthy locality. The present site of the college was considered to satisfy all these requirements in a high degree (so the committee intimated) and the Brazos County delegation were advised to put in a bid for the location.

The prize was secured for Brazos County, notwithstanding this was then considered one of the poorest counties in the State, and its bid was the lowest made. The centrality of the situation, the healthfulness of the location-being situated on the dividing ridge, the greatest elevation between this place and the Gulf of Mexico, midway between the Brazos and Navasota rivers where the surplus waters from the west of the college elevation flow to the former, while the waters from the east flow down the gentle slope to the latter-where the chilling blasts from the north and the balmy breezes from the south dispel all miasmal germs; where runs the Houston and Texas Central

Railway, which by its numerous connections furnishes easy access to the whole of Texas's vast territory-these considerations secured for Brazos County the coveted prize. In order to make the location certain, however, the legislature commissioners stipulated that they be furnished within forty-eight hours with complete and satisfactory title papers to the land.

Colonel Mitchell, to whom I am indebted for much of the early history of the college, said to me:

I, with my daughter, was on my way to New York; but finding Brazos County had so much at stake, gave up my trip, returned to Bryan by first train, hastily called another meeting, and myself appointed John N. Henderson, now district judge, and Mr. N. W. McCraw, to raise by private subscription sufficient money to make the first payment on the land and secure the deeds from Rev. J. Fred Cox, Nelson Rector, and Harvey Mitchell. The money thus raised, together with satisfactory notes signed by Messrs. Mason D. Cole, J. M. Robinson, E. L. Ward, William and Dave McIntosh, Dr. J. P. Mitchell, Col. Harvey Mitchell and others, secured the absolute warranty deeds required by the commissioners.

(The original deeds have been lost; but they are matters of record in Brazos County, Book M, as follows: Nelson Rector, 210 acres, $3,000; J. Fred Cox et al., 1,226 acres, $6,130; Harvey Mitchell, 980 acres, $12,000.)

Previous to the payment of these notes, on which suit had been brought, an election was ordered to be held to ascertain whether or not the money should be raised by taxation instead of by private subscription as first contemplated. The vote was practically unanimous, but three dissenting votes having been cast in the contest. Thus the college was located in Brazos County, about 5 miles south of the thriving town of Bryan, on a tract of land containing 2,416 acres.

The legislature had provided, act of 1871, that as soon as the commissioners should decide on the location of the college, it should be their duty to construct the necessary buildings under the supervision of a competent architect. The acts of April and May, 1871, had appropriated $75,000 for the erection of necessary college buildings and professors' residences. The plans were prepared and W. H. Dean, of Bryan, was employed to furnish 150,000 bricks for the main building. Colonel Mitchell was offered an appointment by Governor Davis on the committee to construct the necessary buildings to put the college in successful operation, but declined the honor. The work of erecting the main building was begun at once, and foundation completed to the grade line, also one cistern was finished, at which time about $38,000 had been used by the board of commissioners for the work rendered and said commissioners made application for the balance of the appropriation.