THE

UNIVERSITY

MAGAZINE.

A special publication, issued on the first of each month, identified with the general interests of all nigher seats of learning.

Contributions, suitable for the columns of THE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE, will always receive careful attention. Manuscripts, when not accepted, will be returned.

JAMES WILTON BROOKS, LL. D.

WALTER GRAEME ELIOT, Ph. D., REPRESENTING THE PROPRIETARY INTERESTS, 70 South Street, New York City.

EDITOR.

Columbia was born in ante-Revolutionary times as King's College. But when the eagle of freedom, awakened by the rattle of musketry at Concord Bridge, stretched his wings and soaring aloft screamed a note that thrilled the soul of all the land and American independence was proclaimed, the patriotic mob tore down the iron crown from the cupola of the college-hall and the institution was born again as COLUMBIA.

There survive at the present time in the United States six institutions of learning of earlier origin than Columbia. Harvard, the oldest of all, dates its existence from 1650, the result of a movement begun fourteen years before. In 1693, the College of William and Mary,-(which has adhered to its monarchic name),-was founded. This was followed by the establishment, in 1696, of "King William's School," which became, in 1784, St. John's College. In 1701, Yale unfurled her blue banner, followed by the establishment of Princeton, (properly designated the "College of New Jersey "), in 1746, and the University of Pennsylvania in 1753; and in 1754, after more than half a century of varying effort, a college was founded at New York City and received its charter as "Kings."

The records of the Trinity Church corporation contain early men*Copyright, 1891, by Ruford Franklin. (Begun in December Number.)

tion of an effort made towards the foundation of a college in the colony of New York. A part of what was known as "the King's Farme" had been vested in Trinity Church for the purpose of supplying a site. for the proposed college which it was the royal design to build; and the records contain mention in the year 1703 of a direction to the rector and wardens to wait upon the Governor of the Colony, Lord Cornbury, to ascertain from him what was the further pleasure of the King in regard to the matter. There is no record of the outcome of this and the project was apparently abandoned for some time; though it seems that Berkeley, about the year 1729, contemplated placing in New York the institution. originally intended to have been established in Bermuda. New life, however, was injected into the scheme in 1746, in which year was taken the first practical step towards the actual endowment of the college. During that year the Assembly passed an act "for raising the sum of 2250 by a public lottery for this colony, for the encouragement of learning and toward the foundation of a college within the same." With this munificent amount, then, as a nucleus, the fund increased from various sources until, in 1751, it amounted to £3443 18s. or about $16,725 of present money. The Assembly then passed an act to appoint ten trustees to take charge of the fund, these trustees to be the "elder counselor, speaker of the House, Judges of the Supreme Court, mayor of the City, treasurer of the province and James Livingston, Benjamin Nicoll and William Livingston."

It will be interesting before proceeding further to gain a slight idea of what the City of New York was at this time, about 1750, and during the preceding fifty years in which the project for the college was ripening.

A survey by one Lyne--(appropriate name !),-made in the year 1728, shows that "the King's Farme" began, west of Broadway, at about where busy Cortlandt Street now is. East of Broadway was Maiden Lane. Broadway extended northwardly to about where Ann street now meets it, thence turned towards the north-east, past a “Common," windmills, ponds and swamps where now the massive Post-Office is and the towering homes of the great Metropolitan newspapers, and became a country-road, the King's highway to Boston-town. To the east of Broadway and south-east of the Boston road, north of Maiden Lane, streets had been laid out to the East River as far north as present Frankfort street (then Frankford). South of Maiden Lane, the next street was called Crown street, now with emphatic antithesis named Liberty; then came Queen, (Cedar), King, (Pine), and Wall Street. On Wall, facing Broad Street, stood the City Hali on the site now occupied by the United States Sub-Treasury Building.

An interesting extract from a letter of Professor Kalm, a Swedish traveller of the period, telling of the budding Metropolis in the year 1751, is given in Mrs. Martha J. Lamb's "History of the City of New York." "In size New York comes nearest to Boston and Philadelphia, but, with regard to its fine buildings, opulence and extensive commerce,

it disputes the preference with them. The streets do not run so straight as those of Philadelphia and have sometimes considerable bendings; however, they are very spacious and well built and most of them are paved, excepting in high places, where it has been found useless. In the chief streets there are trees planted, which in summer give them a fine appearance and during excessive heat afford a cooling shade. I found it extremely pleasant to walk in the town for it seemed like a garden. Most of the houses are built of bricks and are generally strong and neat and several stories high; and some have, according to the old architecture, turned the gable end toward the street, but the new houses are altered in this respect. Many of the houses have a balcony on the roof, upon which the people sit at evening in the summer time; and from thence they have a pleasant view of a great part of the town and likewise of part of the adjacent water and the opposite shore. There is no good water to be met with in the town itself; but at a little distance there is a large spring of good water which the inhabitants take for their tea and for the uses of the kitchen. Those, however, who are less delicate on this point make use of the water from the wells in town though it is very bad. This want of good water lies heavy upon the horses of the strangers that come to this place for they do not like to drink the brackish water from the wells.

New York probably carries on a more extensive commerce than any town in the English North American provinces. Boston and Philadelphia, however, come very nearly up to it. The trade of New York extends to many places. They export to London all the various sorts of skins which they buy of the Indians, sugar, logwood and other dyeing woods; rum, mahogany and many other goods which are the produce. of the West Indies. Every year they build several ships here which are sent to London and there sold, and of late years they have shipped a great quantity of iron to England. In return for these they import from London stuffs and every other article of English growth and manufacture, together with all sorts of foreign goods. England, and especially London, profits immensely by the trade. There are two printers in the town, and every week some gazettes, in English, are published, which contain news from all parts of the world." *

The Rev. Dr. Burnaby, writing at about the same time, says: "The inhabitants of New York in their character very much resemble the Pennsylvanians. Being, however, of different nations, different languages and different religions, it is almost impossible to give them any precise or determinate character. The women are handsome and agreeable, though rather more reserved than the Philadelphia ladies. The amusements are balls and sleighing expeditions in the winter, and in the summer, going in parties upon the water, and fishing, or making excursions into the country. There are several houses pleasantly

*There were two newspapers at this time; "The Weekly Post Boy" and the "Weekly -Gazette and Mercury."

situated up the East River, near New York, where it is common to have turtle feasts. These happen once or twice a week. Thirty or forty gentlemen and ladies meet and dine together, drink tea in the afternoon, fish and amuse themselves till evening, and then return home in Italian chaises, a gentleman and lady in each chaise."

Such was the city that yearned for higher culture and was imbued with a desire for pleasures less fleeting than turtle feasts and delights less transient than tête-à-têtes in Italian chaises. (As to the latter it must be borne in mind that the dames and damsels of Gotham were-then"rather more reserved than the Philadelphia ladies”!).

Of the ten trustees appointed under and in accordance with the act of 1751, seven were in communion with the Church of England, (and some of these seven held office as vestrymen of Trinity Church); of the three remaining, two were of the Dutch Reformed faith and the tenth, William Livingston, was a Presbyterian. The large preponderance of Episcopalians among the trustees caused the churches of the other denominations in the colony to take alarm, suspecting a design on the part of the Episcopal Church to engross the entire government of the college and thus make it a sectarian institution. Immediate the cry was raised that a church-establishment was to be introduced into the colony, probably for the undue support of royal prerogatives. Opposition arose to the plan of applying for a royal charter, and William Livingston became the leader of the anti-sectarian party. Livingston was a man of indomitable energy, witty and satirical, and a lawyer of marked ability. He fought the church party resolutely, backed by many, and if the scheme was such as was suspected, he and his followers succeeded in making it practically harmless; though he was never recon ciled to the result. In 1752 the vestry of Trinity offered to donate a plot of ground as a site for the college building, together with the necessary grounds to surround it. Livingston and his friends held that their suspicions were confirmed when a draft of a plan looking towards the procurement of a royal charter was laid before the trustees and it was found that the design was to exclude from the President's chair any one not in communion with the Church of England, and to require the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church to be used in all religious exercises. The story is told of Livingston, that one day meeting in the street Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey, (who favored the charter and who was to sign it), the latter said to him; "Will, you would be the cleverest fellow in the world if you were only one of us." "I will try to be a clever fellow and not be one of you," was the laconic reply as he passed on.

The struggle had an ill effect upon the prosperity of the college, and Livingston was charged with the intention of breaking up the project altogether. Action being delayed, it is said that half the accumulated fund was forfeited to the City Corporation with which to build a jail and a pest-house.

Finally, however, in spite of all opposition, the charter, as projected, passed the seals, and was signed by De Lancey on the 31st day of October, 1754; and it is from this date that the formal existence of the college is to be reckoned. The Governors of the college, as named in the charter, were to be the Archbishop of Canterbury and the first Lord Commissioner for Trade and Plantations, each of whom was empowered to act by proxy; the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province and several other public officers; the rector of Trinity Church, the senior minister of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, the ministers of the German Lutheran Church, the French Church and the Presbyterian Congregation; and the President of the college, all ex-officio; and twenty-four of the principal gentlemen of the city. The following were appointed to constitute the last-named class: Joseph Murray, Henry Beekman, John Watts, James De Lancey, Oliver De Lancey, David Clarkson, Joseph Robinson, Joseph Reade, Leonard Lispenard, Benjamin Nicoll, Archibald Kennedy, Josiah Martin, Paul Richard, John Cruger, Henry Cruger, William Walton, Philip Verplanck, Frederic Philipse, James Livingston, William Livingston, John Livingston, Nathaniel Marston, Joseph Haynes and Abraham Lodge.