College of William and Mary - Colonial Echo Yearbook (Williamsburg, VA)

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There are two uotable things embodied in the charter of William and Mary, and demonstrated by its subsequent history ; the pious spirit with which it began and continued its career, and the close connection it has always had with the State. The motives for founding the College were the same in if o;, as in 1619, to edu- cate ministers and to propagate the Christian faith. The first words in the oldest record-book of the faculty are, nominee Dei I at) is, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. . linen. The religious character was shown by the selection of officers. Rev. James Blair was the first president, and the Bishop of London, and Archbishop of Canterbury were the holders of the chancellorship down to the Revolution. After this time the College was presided over by Bishops Madison, Johns, and other eminent divines. Although after the Revolution all connection between College and Church and State was severed by Jefferson, some of the most distin- guished divines of modern days have been sons of William and Mary. William and Mary, like Harvard, had no private ends to subserve : it has lived for the State. The privileges granted in the charter of 1693 had great influ- ence in bringing the College into close connection with the State. By being situ- ated in Williamsburg, which, for a long time was the social and political center of the colonies, it had every opportunity for sending out the men who should shape the destinies of our country. By holding the office of Surveyor-General, it practically controlled the land system, and thus the wisest statesman that America can boast of — George Washington — received from William and Mary his first commission as a public land surveyor. It exercised the duties of this office until is 19, and among the other surveyors appointed by the College, were Zachary Taylor, grandfather of the late General Taylor, and Thomas Jefferson. Prior to the Revolution, the College consisted of six schools, including the Indian school, supported by the donation of Hon. Robert Boyle. The average number of students was about sixty. These were not excep- tions to the general rule of young men of their time, and the Faculty was often considerably exercised to control their restless natures. A few quotations from the old records may be of interest and amusement. In the first place, it would appear that some of these young gentlemen had unbounded love for horse-racing, billiards, and other amusements, which, if indulged, was naturally calculated to detract from the performance of College duties. Therefore, we find that at a meeting of that august body in 1752, it was ordered that no scholar belonging to any school in ye College of what ; ge, rank, or quality soever, do keep any race-horse at ye College, or in ye town, or any- where. If the student dared to break the rules of the Faculty, or was in any way concerned in making races and abetting those made by others, he should be ' ' immediately despatched and sent off and never again brought back under pain of severest animadversion and punishment. Having put its foot down on horse-racing, the Faculty then proceeds to order 14