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history of Delaware College. HE statesmen of Delaware, during the early part of this century, were usually men of scholarly instinets. Many of them were graduates of Yale, Princeton, and other leading colleges and uni- versities. These men at the head of a state which had been the first to adopt the Constitution and among the first to learn the art of self-government, were not con- tented that their state should lack those educational facilities which, as they knew, are the chief ornaments of safeguard of a nation. Many families whose financial re- sources permitted them, engaged tutors, whose education had been secured at the best colleges in the country, to prepare their boys for Northern colleges. This contrib- uted somewhat in bringing before the public the necessity of having a college within their own state. Numerous appeals were made to the General Assembly from time to time to establish a college, but nothing definite was done until January 15, 1818, when an act was passed to enable the Trustees of Newark Academy to raise $50,000 by a lottery for the purpose of erecting and establishing a col- lege in Newark. This effort was supplemented from time to time by acts of the General Assembly. Finally, Newark College was established under a charter granted February 5, 1833, and buildings were at once erected. The members of the Board of Trustees were named in the charter, and the Board, at its first meeting, April 1, 1833, elected E, W. Gilbert as president. Before the end of this year, the main portion of the structure of what is now the dormitory was completed, and arrangements were made for the reception of students. On December 23, 1833, the trustees elected Albert Smith and Nathan Monroe to professorships in the new institution. Upon the refusal of Albert Smith to accept the professorship, John Holmes Agnew, a relative of D. Hayes Agnew, the famous surgeon, was elected to fill the vacancy. By the influence of Andrew Gray a third profeszor was appointed, N. Z. Graves. Two courses of instruction were offered: the Aca- demic Course and the Collegiate Course. The Academic Course was equivalent to the courses offered by Newark Academy, which institution was absorbed by the college the following year. The doors of the college were thrown open to stu- dents May 8, 1834, and during the first term 64 students were enrolled, 42 of whom boarded in the college. During the first term the relation of the Faculty and Board of Trustees seems not to have been clearly compre- hended by either party and from the fact that almost
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every page of the minutes of the Faculty records shows a law broken and that seven students were suspended dur- ing the first term, it appears that the students did not understand their relation to the Faculty. At the beginning of the next term, the Board elected E. W. Gilbert. I.ID., as president of the coilege. Before accepting the office, he addressed a letter to the Board of Trustees, outlining the policy which he thought should direct and govern the relation of the Trustees to the Faculty, and he said that be would accept the office if this policy was adopted. The Board adopted this policy and Dr. Gilbert asumed the duties of President. The method of discipline adopted by the new presi- dent was a decided improvement over that which had been exercised during the previons term. Good order and studiousness were maintained. Dir. Gilbert held conscientious scruples against rais- ing the principal fund of the college from a lottery. Thinking the college rested on an immoral basis and not having an elastic conscience, he therefore resigned his office as President, August 11, 1835. Dr. Gilbert was followed by R. S. Mason, D.ID., who served a term of five years, On his resignation, in 1840, Dir. Gilbert was recalled, but he would not accept unless the board would refuse to receive aid for the college from the lottery. The trustees, after some discussion, decided that they would not accept the money directly from the lottery managers, but would tum the mouey over to the state treasury amd have it appropriated by the legislature to Newark College. Dr. Gilbert reassumed the duties of president of the college. He was supported by a very able faculty, and important improvements were made in the curriculum. He held his office until 1847, when he resigned. Dr. Gilbert was succeeded by Jas. P. Wilson. For some years there was no marked change in the running of the college. The Presidents during this time were William Augustus Norton, the Hew. Matthew Meigs, the Rev. Walter S. F. Graham, Daniel Kirkweood, LL.D., afte:- wards widely known as an able astronomer. It was under Dr. Kirkwood s administration that the college had enrolled the highest number of students in its history. Two hundred and nine students were enrolled at one time, The saddest event in the annals of the college ac- cared during Rev. E. J. Newlin's administration, the homocide of John Edward Roach. Roach had been chosen to deliver an oration at the Annual Exhibition of the Junior and Sophomore classes, which was to be given that evening in the College Cratory. The members of thie other classes, according to custom, had prepared sham programmes, tidiculing the exercises. Roach and his friends, on learning of the sham programmes and their virulent character, perhaps exaggerated, determined to destroy them. At noon, previous to the evening of the exercises, while the students whe boarded with different familiez of the town were at dinner, a committee organ- ized to destroy the programmes broke into a room and
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