Smith, Franklin Lafayette, d. 1835
According to promise I have set down to inform you the result the
election which took place on Tuesday last [May 30]. For the Professor of
Languages the votes were unanimous for a
Mr Hentz
a Frenchman. and
as you expected the election for the other professor terminated in favor of
Philipps
Five of the committee were present viz
Badger,
Hawkes,
Nash,
Polk and
Haywood
all of whom voted for
Philips
except
Haywood
.
3
Although I have no doubt this choice was a judicious
one and best suited the interests of the
university—yet I almost wish it was otherways. Poor
Mat
. I cannot look at him, without pitying his loss of the
election. His meritorious exertions had thus far allways been successful,
belonging to a distinguished class and being among the most distinguished of
it's members, since his entrance into the world, he has met the approbation and
received the applauses of nearly all his acquaintances, being in this situation
it must have been truly mortifying to his self pride (and like all other men I
expect he has some) to have been cut out, yet it must be gratifying to him to
know that he stood second among so many competitors for this distinguished
post.
Page 2
As I expected no sooner was the senior class
out of the way, than the faction in the
society which has been so often the subject of our
conversation, with
Sutton
as their head attempted a repeal of the whiskey
laws (as it is usually termed)
4 The
resolutions were rejected in the committee but nevertheless were brought
forward in the house, and supported by their author with his usual lengthy,
nonsencial
5
declamation, placing his principal argument on the rights of the society to
enact such laws.
Tom
Robards
made a flowery speech in opposition to the resolutions and as he
had much the best side done tolerably well.
Old
Erasmus
who had heard of the resolutions, attended that night and
succeeded
Robards
in the opposition. Although I well knew
North's
powerful reasoning, yet I never recollect to have
heard him speak before when he was much interested, at this time he appeared to
be intensely so, he left off leaning on the desk as is usual with him and stood
forth, a true and able defender of this law, he appeared to be at no loss for
words, and his reasoning was so very conclusive that when the vote was taken,
Sutton
himself was either withheld by shame or something
else and did not vote for the resolutions, and but one man in the house voted
in their favor and he, you will be surprised to learn, was
Crawford
Page 3
At the suggestion of
M
r Manly
6 I
introduced a resolution on last night for the purpose of appointing a committee
who in conjunction with a
Philanthropic committee are to devise some means for
choosing a person to deliver us an oration at our commencements.
7 Both
committees have been appointed and I have little doubt but the plan will
succeed and think it will add considerable interest to our commencements. Since
you left here I have become more and more impatient for the arrival of the time
when I shall set out to the lovelest of all places—
home—I have given you all the news of
College with the exception of a little scuffle which took
place the other morning in the
Chapel
between
Yarbrough
and
Jordan
about a seat. They were immediately parted and have
been reprimanded before the faculty
8—Ere you receive this you no doubt will have
visited
Charlotte
and spent some happy hours with our mutual friends there. May the time soon
roll round when we will again be
in
among our friends together and then—but perhaps I am anticipating too
much and if so in the words of
Webster, "I am willing to lay aside the dictates of
prudence and follow the feelings of my own breast"
9
Excuse my almost unintelligible hand as I had a bad pen at the beginning and
there is no knife
Page 4
on the passage
10
since
Bob
Allison
has moved away—