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The Independent Reflector THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 1753 A Continuation of the same Subject Tros Rutulusve fuat, nullo discrimine
habebo. I HAVE in my last Paper shewn, from Reason, Experience and History, the vast Influence of a College, upon the civil and religious Principles of the Community in which it is erected and supported. I shall now proceed to offer a few Arguments, which I submit to the Consideration of my Countrymen, to evince the Necessity and Importance of constituting our College upon a Basis the most catholic, generous and free. It is in the first Place observable, that unless its Constitution and Government be such as will admit Persons of all protestant Denominations, upon a perfect Parity as to Privileges, it will itself be greatly prejudiced, and prove a Nursery of Animosity, Dissention and Disorder. The sincere Men of all Sects, imagine their own Profession, on the whole, more eligible and scriptural than any other. It is therefore very natural to suppose, they will exert themselves to weaken and diminish all other Divisions, the better to strengthen and enlarge their own. To this Cause must in a great Measure be ascribed, that Heat and Opposition, which animate the Breasts of many Men of religious Distinctions, whose intemperate and misapplied Zeal, is the only Blemish that can be thrown upon their Characters. Should our College, therefore, unhappily thro’ our own bad Policy, fall into the Hands of any one religious Sect in the Province: Should that Sect, which is more than probable, establish its religion in the College, shew favour to its votaries, and cast Contempt upon others; ‘tis easy to foresee, that Christians of all other Denominations amongst us, instead of encouraging its Prosperity, will, from the same Principles, rather conspire to oppose and oppress it. Besides English and Dutch Presbyterians, which perhaps exceed all our other religious Professions put together, we have Episcopalians, Anabaptists, Lutherans, Quakers, and a growing Church of Moravians, all equally zealous for their discriminating Tenets: Which-soever of these has the sole Government of the College, will kindle the Jealousy of the Rest, not only against the Persuasion so preferred, but the College itself. Nor can any Thing less be expected, than a general Discontent and Tumult; which, affecting all Ranks of People, will naturally tend to disturb the Tranquility and Peace of the province. In such a State of Things, we must not expect the Children of any but of that Sect which prevails in the Academy will ever be sent to it: For should they, the established Tenets must either be implicitly received, or a perpetual religious War necessarily maintained. Instead of the liberal Arts and Sciences, and such Attainments as would best qualify the Students to be useful and ornamental to their Country, Party Cavils and Disputes about Trifles, will afford Topics of Argumentation to their incredible Disadvantage, by a fruitless Consumption of Time. Such Gentlemen, therefore, who can afford it, will give their Sons an Education abroad, or at some of the neighbouring Academies, where equally imbibing a Zeal for their own Principles, and furnished with the Arts of defending them, an incessant Opposition to all others, on their Return, will be the unavoidable Consequence. Not to mention, that Youth may become strongly attached to the Places at which they are educated. At this season of Life they receive the deepest Impressions: And, for the Sake of a Wife or a Friend, and a thousand other Reasons that cannot now be enumerated, a Gentleman may turn his Back upon the Place of his Birth, and take up his Residence where the Morning of Life has been agreeably passed. Hence, besides the Expence of such Education prejudicial to us, we may frequently lose the Hopes of our Country, lose perhaps a Man every Way qualified to defend its Interests, and advance its Glory. Others, and many such there may be, who not able to support the Expence of an Education abroad, but could easily afford it at Home, thro’ a Spirit of Opposition to the predominant Party, will rather determine to give their Children no Education at all. From all which it follows, that a College under the sole Influence of a Party, for want of suitable Encouragement, being but indifferently stocked with Pupils, will scarce arrive to the Usefulness of a Schola illustris, which being inferior to a College is, I hope, much short of what is intended by Ours. Another Argument against so pernicious a Scheme is, that it will be dangerous to Society. The extensive Influence of such a Seminary, I have already shewn in my last Paper. And have we not reason to fear the worst Effects of it, where none but the Principles of one Persuasion are taught, and all others depressed and discountenanced? Where, instead of Reason and Argument, of which the Minds of the Youth are not capable, they are early imbued with the Doctrines of a Party, enforced by the Authority of a Professor’s Chair, and the combining Aids of the President, and all the other Officers of the College? That religious Worship should be constantly maintained there, I am so far from opposing, that I strongly recommend it, and do not believe any such Kind of Society, can be kept under a regular and due Discipline without it. But instructing the Youth in any particular Systems of Divinity, or recommending and establishing any single Method of Worship or Church Government, I am convinced would be both useless and hurtful. Useless, because not one in a Hundred of the Pupils is capable of making a just Examination, and reasonable Choice. Hurtful, because receiving Impressions blindly on Authority, will corrupt their Understandings, and fetter them with Prejudices which may everlastingly prevent a judicious Freedom of Thought, and infect them all their Lives, with a contracted turn of Mind. A Party-College, in less than half a Century, will put a new Face upon the Religion, and in Consequence thereof affect the Politics of the Country. Let us suppose what may, if the College should be entirely managed by one Sect, probably be supposed. Would not all possible Care be bestowed in tincturing the Minds of the Students with the Doctrines and Sentiments of that Sect? Would not the Students of the College, after the Course of their Education, exclusive of any others, fill all the Offices of the Government? Is it not highly reasonable to think, that in the Execution of those Offices, the Spirit of the College would have a most prevailing Influence, especially as that Party would perpetually receive new Strength, become more fashionable and numerous? Can it be imagined that all other Christians would continue peaceable under, and unenvious of, the Power of that Church which was rising to so exalted a Pre-eminence above them? Would they not on the Contrary, like all other Parties, reflect upon, reluct at, and vilify such an odious Ascendency? Would not the Church which had that Ascendency be thereby irritated to repeated Acts of Domination, and stretch their ecclesiastical Rule to unwarrantable and unreasonable Lengths? Whatever others may in their Lethargy and Supineness think of the Project of a Party-College, I am convinced, that under the Management of any particular Persuasion, it will necessarily prove destructive to the civil and religious Rights of the People: And should any future House of Representatives become generally infected with the Maxims of the College, nothing less can be expected than an Establishment of one Denomination above all others, who may, perhaps, at the good Pleasure of their Superiors, be most graciously favoured with a bare Liberty of Conscience, while they faithfully continue their annual Contributions, their Tythes and their Peter-Pence. A Third Argument against suffering the College to fall into the Hands of a Party, may be deduced from the Design of its Erection, and Support by the Public. The Legislature to whom it owes its Origin, and under whose Care the Affair has hitherto been conducted, could never have intended it as an Engine to be exercised for the Purposes of a Party. Such an Insinuation, would be false and scandalous. It would therefore be the Height of Insolence in any to pervert it to such mean, partial and little Designs. No, it was set on Foot, and I hope will be constituted for general Use, for the public Benefit, for the Education of all who can afford such Education: And to suppose it intended for any other less public-spirited Uses, is ungratefully to reflect upon all who have hitherto, had any Agency in an Undertaking so glorious to the Province, so necessary, so important and beneficial. At present, it is but in Embryo, yet the Money hitherto collected is public Money; and till it is able to support itself, the Aids given to it will be public Aids. When the Community is taxed, it ought to be for the Defence, or Emolument of the Whole: Can it, therefore, be supposed, that all shall contribute for the Uses, the ignominious Uses of a few? Nay, what is worse to that which will be prejudicial, to a vast Majority! Shall the whole Province be made to support what will raise and spread desperate Feuds, Discontent and ill-Blood thro’ the greatest Part of the Province? Shall the Government of the College be delivered out of the Hands of the Public to a Party! They who wish it, are Enemies to their Country: They who ask it, have, besides this Anti-Patriotism, a Degree of Impudence, Arrogance, and Assurance unparallel’d. And all such as are active in so iniquitous a Scheme, deserve to be stigmatized with Marks of everlasting Ignominy and Disgrace. Let it, therefore, ever remain where it is, I mean under the Power of the Legislature: The Influence, whether good or bad, we shall all of us feel, and are, therefore, all interested in it. It is, for that Reason, highly fit, that the People should always share in the Power to enlarge or restrain it: That Power they will have by their Representatives in Assembly; and no Man who is a Friend to Liberty, his Country and Religion, will ever rejoice to see it wrested from them. It is farther to be remarked, that a public Academy is, or ought to be a mere civil Institution, and cannot with any tolerable Propriety be monopolized by any religious Sect. The Design of such Seminaries, hath been sufficiently shewn in my last Paper, to be entirely political, and calculated for the Benefit of Society, as a Society, without any Intention to teach Religion, which is the Province of the Pulpit: Tho’ it must, at the same Time, be confessed, that a judicious Choice of our Principles, chiefly depends on a free Education. Again, the Instruction of our Youth is not the only Advantage we ought to propose by our College. If it be properly regulated and conducted, we may expect a considerable Number of Students from the neighbouring Colonies, which must, necessarily, prove a great Accession to our Wealth and Emolument. For such is our Capacity of endowing an Academy; that if it be founded on the Plan of a general Toleration, it must, naturally, eclipse any other on the Continent, and draw many Pupils from those Provinces, the Constitution of whose Colleges is partial and contracted: From New-England, where the Presbyterians are the prevailing Party, we shall, undoubtedly, be furnished with great Numbers, who, averse to the Sect in vogue among them, will, unquestionably, prefer the free Constitution, for which I argue, to that of their Colleges in which they cannot enjoy an equal Latitude, not to mention that such an Increase by foreign Students, will vastly augment the Grandeur of our Academy. Add to all this, that in a new Country as ours, it is inconsistent with good Policy, to give any religious Profession the Ascendency over others. The rising Prosperity of Pennsylvania is the Admiration of the Continent; and tho’ disagreeing from them, I should always, for political Reasons, exclude Papists from the common and equal Benefits of Society. Yet, I leave it to the Reflections of my judicious Readers, whether the impartial Aspect of their Laws upon all Professions, has not, in a great Degree, conduced to their vast Importation of religious Refugees, to their Strength and their Riches: And whether a like Liberty among us, to all Protestants whatsoever, without any Marks of Distinction, would not be more commendable, advantageous, and politic. A. Source: Klein, Milton, ed., The Independent Reflector...by William Livingston. (Cambridge: Harvard University, 1963), pp. 178-183. |