In 1837, Hanover College's tenth year of operation, a tornado inflicted heavy damage on several campus structures. This damage left the institution with a sizable debt. The Board of Trustees was in search of a President who could raise the funds necessary to retire this debt. The Board chose Rev. D.D. Macaulay. Macaulay was inaugurated as the second President of Hanover College on March 28, 1838. The new president would soon find himself embroiled in a bitter controversy with respect to his past, his ability to raise funds, and his methods of administrating the College. On July 20, 1838, the Executive Committee of the Hanover College Board of Trustees accepted Macaulay's resignation as President of the College.
The first document in this selection is a letter from a Rev. Witherspoon, a Philadelphia minister who had previously accepted the Presidency of Hanover College but immediately resigned. In this letter, addressed to College founder Rev. John Finley Crowe, Witherspoon expressed his fears that the newly inaugurated Macaulay "was popular but a man of superficial learning" and that he was the same Duncan Macaulay who had been deposed by the Presbytery of Quebec. The remaining documents are a series of letters to the Madison Republican Banner. These letters, authored by Macaulay, Crowe, the Board of Trustees, and others, made public the debate surrounding Macaulay's tumultuous tenure as President of the College and his resignation from that office.
Philadelphia May 25th 1838
Rev. and Dear Brother
I fear my friends at South Hanover have regarded me as Dunce (?) ever since declining their flattering invitation to become the presiding officer in their institution. My attachments to your seminaries is strong & unabated and in the providence of God, I am now called to give you proof thereof.
I address this letter (to) you at the request of Brother Matthews & others from your region, now here with a purpose of revealing some facts bearing strongly on the interests of your beloved institution - that I shall state will occasion you pain and distress - but may result in good. Sometime since I observed from the papers, the appointment of Dr. McCaulay from Scotland & last from Canada, a learned & pious man to the President's Chair in your college. In 1836 when the assembly sat in Pittsburg, three Scottish brethren from Canada visited that place & were invited to sit in the assembly, & had seats assigned to them. They were grateful for the attention I paid them in making them acquainted with our brethren & on their return home mentioned my poor name among their brethren. This year at the opening of one session, the Rev. John Macar, of Kingston Upper Canada, was present, & soon called at my room & introducing himself as the friend and brother minister of Mintoul (?) and Mc Gill who were at the assembly of 1836. He also gave me a copy of the Minutes of their Synod which met at Toronto on the 31st of August 1837, which copy I herewith send you - In looking over it in the interval of the Assembly, my attention was strongly and unaccountably (and as your brethren think providentially) drawn to a minute on the 10th page - recording the deposition from the Holy Ministry of the then Duncan Mc Aulay - he being found guilty on his own confession of prevarication, fraud, & wilful falsehood - That He was absent from Synod -- & was reported to have removed to the United States.
I again saw brother Matthews & conversed with him & painful suspicions were confirmed. That Dr. Mc Aulay, your president - is this very man. Your brethren are of the same opinion & therefore urged me to make this communication to you - first confidentially- that feeling your way & proceeding with caution, you might find out the truth, & act advisedly. Rev. Jno. Machar made to me the following statement - viz. 1st That more than 3 years ago, nearly 4, Duncan McAulay was sent out to Canada as a minister of the Gospel, by the Colonial Society of Glasgow. That after he had sailed from Scotland, things transpired [57] which had they been known before he left, would have prevented the society from sending him.
2-- That he settled near Quebeck in the Quebeck Presbytery in teaching a school of high order, somehow connected with the English Church. That he had delivered lectures in Quebeck on different branches, mentioning particularly Natural Philosophy - was popular but a man of superficial learning - that he had never seen him.
3rd That Mc Aulay did not attend the Synod at Toronto but passed thru that place a short time before Synod met in the United States.
4 -- Synod directed the Presbytery to depose him as minutes show--
5 - That he had heard it laughingly observed by someone in Toronto -"Duncan, I hear, has dropd the Uncan & taken the the Ds and goes into the States as D.D. -
6 - That said McAulay had been 3 years living in Canada previous to his Deposition from the ministry. That there was no other McAulay in Canada, a Presbyterian minister-that they had never had as yet a D.D. in their Synod -That he knows no such named & titled minister in Scotland and that he himself had been residing in Canada ever since the year 1827- and moreover added, that he felt firmly convinced from all the circumstances that your president is the said Rev. Duncan Mc Aulay deposed in Canada from the ministry in Toronto in [illegible]. Now my dear brother, these are painful things, if so, requiring great caution & prudence to prevent injury to the college.
Dr. Hoge remarked to me that there were some things strange about the man - Your brother Matthews of Madison I presume - thinks there was something suspicious about his not having Credentials or presenting them to the Presbytery - I have marked the names of clergymen in Canada, of high standing - some of whom I know personally, Rev. Rhintoul of Streetville - Ferguson of Esquessing (?)- Mc Gill of Niagara & I know & am known by Rev. Black D.D. of Montreal, by reputation thru my Scottish friend. Mr. James R. Douglas - elder in my former church at Camden S.C. Mr. Macar is at Kingston & refers you to any of the above named gentlemen, all ministers - also Rev. Mr. Gale of Hamilton.
It is thought however that you can readily bring conviction home to this gentleman, if these things be true - That is if he be the person concerned - Meet him in your study - pray and then give him a plain statement of facts & add -concealment is useless.
If he lived the past 3 years in Canada & from Canada came into your region any time last fall - He is the Duncan Mc Aulay deposed from the ministry at the meeting of Synod In Toronto in August 1837 - Please state these facts to your friends & counsellors without my name. Let them judge - as we have done, from the circumstances of the case-
And afterwards make what use of my name you may please. I vouch for the truth & correctness to a word, of the above statements. I hope the copy of the [58] minutes of the Synod mailed with the same time with this letter, may reach you the same day. Immediately after the Assembly adjourns, I set out for Illinois by the route thro New York & a letter from you would find me at Newark Illinois about the 1st of July. Michigan City or Buffalo N.Y. - 20th of June or 25th. The Warm Springs in Virginia from the 1st to the 20th or 20th of August. Columbia S.C. after the 10th of October - possibly I may pass thro Madison & East Hanover on my route from Illinois to the Warm Springs in Va. or even on my way out to Illi. If I can find company - a week after the assembly rises. All well & going well. Beecher, Beman & co have acted like rude and foolish boys.
Yrs truly,
(signed) Jno. Witherspoon
(On outside)
May 25 - I shall remain in this city a few days after the assembly rises -- & may leave about the 3rd of June. Letter would reach me here at that date. J.W.
It is with reluctance and deep regret that we present the character of the above named gentleman before the public. Feelings of commiseration for his interesting family, induced the Board of Trustees of Hanover College, through aware that he had deeply injured the Institution by imposing himself upon them, - to maintain a profound silence on the subject of his character. And now we solemnly declare that nothing but a sense of duty to an important Literary Institution, and a regard for the interests of society induce us to make the painful expose.
It is known to the community that Hanover College had, for some time previous to the commencement of the present session, been without a President. Early in the last winter Dr. Macauley, who was then teaching a high school at Columbus, Ohio, was recommended in strong terms to some of the members of the Board, as a gentleman well qualified for the presidency of a College. An agent was consequently sent to open a negotiation with him on the subject. By this [59] agent, the Dr. was frankly informed what the condition of the College was: That its public buildings had been prostrated by a tornado; that it was considerably in debt, and that the Corporation has no prospect of being able to liquidate that debt, unless they could obtain a President who would have sufficient weight of character to make that agency successful. Without a moment's hesitancy, Dr. Macauley remarked, that should he be appointed president, he would be pleased to take such an agency, as it would give him an opportunity of forming acquaintances in the principal cities in the United States, and of bringing the College into notice.
During this negotiation with Dr. McA., a letter was received by the president of the Board from a clerical gentleman in the neighborhood of Columbus, recommending Dr. McA. To the presidency of the college, in the most exalted terms, representing him as a graduate of the two celebrated universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh - the pupil and friend of Dr. Chalmers, and as having been recommended by Chalmers, Wilson, Jeffries, and others, who stand first among the literati of Scotland. Supposing that this eulogy was founded on written testimonials from Scotland, the Board were induced, without looking for further evidence of his standing and qualifications, to elect the Rev. Duncan Macauley, D.D., President of Hanover College.
After some feeble efforts in an agency during the Spring vacation, the proceeds of which did not defray its expenses, Dr. McA. Entered on the duties of his office as president of the college with the commencement of the current session. In the early part of June a letter was received from a friend in Philadelphia, accompanied by the printed minutes of the Synod of Canada, in which there was a record that "the Rev. Duncan McAuley was convicted on his on confession, of prevarication, wilful falsehood and fraud." That there may be no charge of misrepresentation, we will here insert the minute. It is under head of
"The Synod has transmitted a reference from the Presbytery of Quebec for advice respecting the case of the Rev. Duncan McAuley, appellant against a sentence of theirs funding him guilty, on his own confession, of prevarication, wilful falsehood, and fraud; and liable to deposition from the office of the holy Ministry."
"It was stated in behalf of the Presbytery, that no reasons of appeal had been lodged by the said Duncan McAuley, and that, according to common report, he has removed to the United States. The Synod found that Mr. McAuley had fallen from his appeal, and instructed the Presbytery of Quebec to follow out their own sentence, by deposing him from the office of the Holy Ministry; and appointed them to meet for this purpose in Toronto, on Monday next at 4:00, p.m. with instructions to them to notify the committee on Colonial Churches of the General [60] Assembly of the church of Scotland, and the committee of the Glasgow Colonial Society, of the deposition of Mr. Cauley, and to make such notification of it to the churches of Christ on this continent as to the Presbytery may seem meet."
The intelligence thus communicated was, to the members of the Board, and to the friends of the Institution, absolutely astounding. They could scarcely believe it possible that the man who had been so highly recommended by his friend in Ohio, and who had introduced himself among them, not only as a minister of the Gospel, but as a Dr. of Divinity, was a deposed minister, and consequently an imposter. The individual to whom the communication was made, after consulting with the President of the Board and one other member, in accordance with their advice, went to Dr. Macauley, and showed him the document. He acknowledged that he was the man implicated, but asserted that the decision was an unrighteous one, and prompted by a spirit of persecution. He appeared very anxious that the report should not be made public, and when told that it had already obtained an extensive publicity at Philadelphia and other places, he enquired whether he might not ""be able to live it down"" This idea was not encouraged, - and in a few days he sent to the Secretary of the Board a written resignation of the presidency of the College at the end of three months.
The resignation was laid before the Executive Committee, who deemed it important that the Board should be called together, to take such measures as the interests of the college, and the circumstances of the case might demand. They fixed on a day for the meeting, but instructed the Secretary to call on Dr. Macauley and inform that if he desired time to obtain from Canada any documents necessary for his exculpation, the meeting would be postponed to such time as would suit him. This intelligence was communicated to him, and he said that he did not wish the meeting postponed one hour on his account. When the day arrived, however, and the Board met, Dr. Macauley appeared before them, and requested that an investigation of his case might be postponed for a few weeks, as he deemed it important to have certain papers from Canada, which he had not yet obtained. - This request was cheerfully granted, and the Board adjourned to meet again on the 15th of August, which would be five weeks form the time of adjournment.
Shortly afterwards the Dr. was informed by a respectable and venerable member of the Board, that no document could be of any avail to him before the Board, which would not give him a seat in Presbytery.
Up to this time the business of the college seemed to move on smoothly; but all at once the President took exceptions to Prof. Butler's mode of giving instruction in the Latin language, and so violent and overbearing was his treatment of the Professor before his class, that he refused to hear them again, unless he could be protected against a repetition of the abuse.
The day following a paper was received by the chairman of the Executive [61] Committee, signed by the four professors of the College, respectfully requesting an investigation of the official conduct of the President. The Committee was called together, and the parties heard. In the course of his remarks, Dr. Macauley stated that if they thought that they could get along without him, he could open a school the next day in Madison, as he had received a call to do so from that place. After the parties had retired the Committee passed the following resolution, and directed their clerk to present a copy of it to Dr. Macauley. "Whereas Dr. Macauley has previously signified his intention to resign at the close of the present session; and whereas it appears, by his own showing, together with that of other members of the Faculty, that his services will no longer be useful, nor his situation comfortable; therefore, resolved, that he have leave to retire."
This resolution was communicated to Dr. Macauley, and he availed himself of the privilege thus granted him of retiring from the Presidency and from his connection with the college; and consequently appeared no more in the house. Five days afterwards he wrote to the Secretary of the Board under date of the 25th July 1838, as follows: - "As my connection with the college has been dissolved by the Executive committee accepting of my resignation on the 20th day of this month, I thought it proper to hand you an&c." The doctor then proposed to take scholars into his own house and instruct them privately, and two were actually received. Things remained in this situation till the meeting of the Board; when Dr. Macauley appeared before them. The minutes of the preceding meeting were read, and also the minutes of the Executive Committee. The reading of certain papers which were in the hands of the Executive Committee they would "raise another thunderstorm." He moreover warned them, that if they turned aside from the proper business of the meeting; which was to hear his defense, and took up the doings of the Committee; - he would in a forth-coming pamphlet inform the community of the imposition practiced on it by the college, in taking money out of the pockets of students for noting, but they if they would take the other course, he would publish noting against them." The Board however preferred taking the course which their own judgement pointed out as the correct one, and consequently enquired into the doings of the Committee and approved them by a public vote. Dr. Macauley then refused to enter on his defense, unless the Board would recognize him as being the President of the Hanover College and hear him as such. And when they refused by vote to do so, he bid them good night and retired.
Such is a concise statement of the facts of the case, as can be made appear before any court of justice.
As stated in the commencement of this article, commiseration for the family of Dr. Macauley led the board to the determination to permit him to retire without exposure, but his imprudence has compelled them to abandon that ground, and to appear before the public on the defensive. Several fugitive pieces, breathing hostility to the college and its faculty; some of them anonymous and some of them signed "Dr. Macauley," have appeared in the newspapers of [62] Madison. It was supposed that the bad feelings of the Dr. and his friends would evaporate in those abortive efforts to injure the character and standing of men so well known to the community around as are the members of the faculty of Hanover college. But in this they find they are likely to be disappointed. From an article in the "Republican Banner" of the past week, over the signature of Dr. Macauley, the reading community are not only encouraged to expect this whole mater but the topics which will be discussed are given.shortly to "be laid before the public in a permanent form,"
But the topics which will be discussed are given. "The reasons why I have resigned that situation" (the Presidency of Hanover College) so very soon," - and these with remarks on the state of education - the paying of teachers, salaries -the qualifications of professors - the system of education which should be pursued in places of learning, authorized by the state to grant degrees &c.&c. The Dr. then closed the communication wit the following postscript: which we present as giving additional evidence of his determination to put down the Board. - "P.S. I beg leave to state, that as I am in possession of the documents which the trustees requested me to furnish them with, in order to satisfy them on other points; and as I appeared at the meeting of the Board on the 15th current, with said documents, for the purpose of having them read and examined, I was prevented from opening them up, by the (to me) extraordinary course which was then pursued; but no time will be lost, on my part, to satisfy my friends through another medium."
We beg leave to add a single additional evidence of the necessity that is laid upon us of noticing this man, if we would not have our institution prostrated and our reputations covered with calumny. The following extract is from a letter addressed by Dr. Macauley to the Secretary of the Board, under date of the 20th inst.
"Since you were the cause of stopping letters to me as President, which as a mean act, I will have it in my power to explain this to parents at a distance, and so let them know, even before my pamphlet comes out, the true state of education, and your conduct; you may put this down if you please to revenge. I put it down to strict justice, being all my life a decided enemy to quackery and humbug, of which I have seen far too much practiced here."
In conclusion we remark that to us it appears very evident, that Dr. Macauley's object in this whole matter is to turn away, if possible, public attention from his own character, by raising a clamor against Hanover College and its professors. He will no down endeavor to make the public believe, as is clearly intimated in the abstract given above from this week's paper, that his leaving the College was not in consequence of any objection to him or his character on the part of the Board, but in consequence of his dissatisfactions with the college. He moreover states in a letter to the Secretary of the Board that he "gave such explanation to a 'certain' gentleman as he was prepared to give to the Board" (respecting [63] charges brought against him from Canada),"which was deemed most satisfactory." But to us it appears passing strange, if Dr. Macauley is able to exculpate himself from all blame in this matter, that he has not instituted a suit for slander against the members of the Quebec Presbytery, who have published to the world that he was found "guilty, on his own confession, of prevarication, willful falsehood and fraud."
JOHN MATHEWSP.S. - The Above named are members of the Board of Trustees of Hanover College, who have signed it as individuals, because circumstances required a publication sooner than a constitutional meeting of the Board could be held.
JAMES BLYTHE
GEORGE LOGAN
T.H. BROWN
ANDREW SPEAR
VICTOR KING
J.W. G. SIMRALL
ROBERT MARSHALL
South Hanover, August 27th, 1838
Friday, September 7, 1838
In the article published by the Trustees of Hanover College last week, after the words "unless they could obtain a President who would," in the 2d paragraph, the following were accidentally omitted: "take an agency in behalf of the college, and who would," &c. The error was not discovered until too late to correct.
To the
Rev. John Matthews,
James Blythe
George Logan
Tilly Brown
Andrew Spear
Victor King
J.W. G. Simrall
Robert Marshall
[64] Gentleman,- it becomes me now, agreeably to promise, to answer your communication of last week; and it will require no ingenuity to be exercised, to unravel and expose your numerous and glaring misrepresentation; and show that in your trying to expose me, you have unhappily exposed yourselves. Considering circumstances, I am constrained to adopt, almost verbatim, your own language to myself, and say, "it is with reluctance and extreme regret, that I shall have to present the conduct of the above named Gentleman before the public."
Much has been said about injuring Hanover College, as if it were a thing of yesterday; but in my humble opinion, let me tell you, that a more effectual way to number its days, and make it among the things that were, could not have been devised by man than the one you have yourselves adopted; and perhaps, I may venture to assert, that intelligent, reflecting men, when they impartially consider, not he garbled statements you have given, to answer a purpose, but look at the whole facts of the case, will be very apt to disapprove of the course you have, from the first pursued. I regret that your production does not carry on its forehead, as will afterwards be shown, that simplicity one would have expected from you; and still further, you have displayed considerable dexterity in quibbling and shuffling to evade a difficulty, and get out of a scrape, as regards cents; and you have also artfully tried to identify things that were, toto coelo, distinct. In short, there is, in too many cases, I am sorry to say, a complete departure from the truth; but that I may be understood, and that you may see the propriety of the above introductory remarks, I shall proceed at once to examine your production in detail.
1st. As to the subject of an agent having been sent to negotiate with me, it is asserted "that I was frankly informed what the condition of the College was. That I deny for had I known its real condition, I never would have been here. Your Secretary did not inform me of its great difficulties. True- he told me of the tornado, and that was well known to me through the medium of the newspapers; but did he tell me of the extent of the debt which was hanging over it, crippling it in all its operations - did he tell me how, or by what way, it had got so deeply into debt - did he tell me that some of the causes of accumulating this debt had rendered the Institution somewhat unpopular - did he tell me that one Professor, who had removed from the college could not be paid his salary, owing to the want of funds; - but above all, did he tell me that, in all probability, my own salary, should I accept the office, would be very irregularly paid? No such thing. But he told me its buildings were prostrated by tornado, and that was about the amount of it: and I readily conceived that the havoc made by the tornado would be a mere temporary inconvenience, and the more particularly the whole buildings were not levelled to the ground, the tornado having only partially injured them. But your agent told me, my salary would be $800 more per annum, than that of the former President, in all $1000 - that would be paid me half yearly, and in advance - and also, that I would have a free house and garden - that the society in Hanover was good - and the village moral - and also that the Trustees had a [65] memorial before Congress for a Township of land, which application he hoped would be successful. He, in short, represented Hanover College in flattering terms to me, and in a letter says, "it is one of the most important in the 'Great West'". He next ascertained my views on Phrenology, Abolition &c; and I showed him, at his suggestion, some certificates, not from Scotland, but from the United States, with which he expressed his entire satisfaction.
Out of several letters, which I received from your Secretary, I might make extracts, showing an encouraging state of affairs, but will here make abstract only from one letter, of date 11th of January, in which he says, "Our number of students was somewhat increased during my absence, and all things are moving on quietly and well. We trust you feel a deep interest in our institution and hope that you may find your way clear to accept. I shall be happy that you will find it convenient to write, and also that you make any suggestions for the promotion of the interests of the college." Now, all such statements, tending to inspire confidence, induced me, ultimately to give up a flourishing High School, for Hanover College.- Here then we are at issue. But, gentlemen, I call your attention particularly to the following gratuitous statement; and which shows what a strange view you entertain, of the qualifications of a President. "The Doctor was frankly informed by this agent that the Corporation had no prospect of being able to liquidate the debt unless they would have sufficient weight of character to make that agency successful." Such language, gentleman, I am bold to say, was never expressed in my bearing. Your agent never insinuated that the "weight of character" for a president was to be measured by his talents in obtaining money; for had he done so, I never would have listened to proposals made on such terms. I could lay claim to no weight of character for such an employment. I thought the Trustees of "an important Literary Institution" fixed upon me, in consequence of knowing, that I had had long experience in teaching youth, and superintending seminaries of learning.
I proposed, as I was a stranger in the United States, and there would be no necessity for my presence in the College till the next session, that I would travel, and also lecture on education, because, by doing so, I would have an opportunity of becoming acquainted, and bringing the College, if possible, into notice; and I did devote about two months to an agency, an employment of all employments, the most disagreeable.
You are next pleased to say that "after some feeble efforts, the proceeds of which agency did not defray his expenses &c &c." Here, again, you are under a mistake. Feeble as my efforts were on your estimation, they did more than defray the expenses; but had they not done so even, you should have said nothing, if you had known that I paid a part of the travelling expenses out of my own pocket and that for the two months, travelling I charged you only $30; and for my time from the 26th of February to the 8th of May, $100, a small compensation indeed for the time and labor. But let me ask you, how did you know my efforts were feeble? [66] Did you follow me in every step to hear me plead the cause of your institution? How had you the means of judging? You have I suppose been estimating my efforts on a wrong principle, not taking it into the account that the times were bad, and that your institution is not a particular favorite off places I visited. But granting I did not collect as much money as you wished, I am not the only one that has been unsuccessful. I am told that some time ago agents were dispatched to the east for money, but could scarcely obtain what would pay expenses; and was also told that a President of a College not a hundred miles from Madison, made a tour to the east as an agent; and getting little or nothing to prove "the weight of his character," the result was he was though no longer qualified for the important office of President, "and had liberty to retire." So much for the agency business."
So far as I have gone, in reviewing your discredcible production, I must say, its chief peculiarity consists, in a perversity of understanding, to take the most charitable view of the matter which facts in themselves harmless and insignificant, are distorted, and misapplied, and are made to serve purposes, and to be the ground of inferences, for which they are totally incompetent. As you have been artfully trying to identify things that are completely distinct, and laying down promises in such a convenient form that a conclusion may be drawn, favorable to the particular object you have in view, in coming forward at this time of day, before the public. I shall now lay before you the true causes of my resigning the office of President, because it is proper for you to know them, I offered to resign, because I saw no prospect of my salary being paid as was agreed upon. It cannot be denied that this offer to resign was made to your Secretary, before the reports which some of you have been so industrious in circulating were heard of. Now I wish you to notice the fact, and the particulars connected with it. Having met your Secretary Dr. Crowe, one afternoon on the College Hill, I complained to him with a degree of earnestness that I was surprised my salary was not paid according to the agreement. He said that the funds would not admit of it at present or something to that effect. I then said, that on no account would I hold the office of a President unless the agreement entered upon was implemented. I said I was ready to tender my resignation. The Doctor made a remark that doubles more money could be made by me in some other situation, and looking at he College at the time, added, "if your resigned your Presidency, we may sell that building". The remark
Made by your Secretary considerably impressed my mind, and I felt sorry for the state of the Institution, and for those connected with it. To ascertain, in order to satisfy my own mind, the real state of its financial affairs, I made the following calculation, which went a good way to deepen the impression on my mind, that without some interposition on it could not sustain itself. There are five professors, for ninety students; to pay these professors would require a sum of $3700, annually, with the addition of $50 to the man for keeping the rooms clean. Ninety students at $25 per annum, yields a sum of $2200, and if that calculation is correct, the college would become minus every year, $1500, supposing the number [67] never to be smaller than ninety, and that they all paid.
2d Reason for offering to resign was - the state of education did not come up to my idea of what it should be in a college. This was an important affair, and no easy matter to settle. The majority of the faculty, composed of young men, graduates of Hanover College - who had never, so far as I can understand, attended any of the most distinguished of the universities, and whose views on important points of learning, and the best modes of teaching did not coincide with mine, were facts which silently operated on my mind, and made me believe I would have difficulty in introducing what I considered improvements in each, which turned out to be the case, as will be shown. You are aware, and you seem to be considerably annoyed at the idea, that I am about to write on the subject of education &c. But that fact makes it unnecessary for me here to enlarge, but I will only state without giving particulars, that I had urged upon Prof. Butler to employ his scholars in translating from English into Latin which was not done -that I pressed upon him the importance of attending more to the quantity in the aching that language, the errors in which were great and numerous - that I gave him various hints, as to the advantages of his pupils systematically writing exercises, and committing to memory portions of the classics, none of which was attended to in the way I wanted. I visited the preparatory schools, and received impressions there, which convinced me still more, of the difficulty there would be in getting education to be attended to, according to my views of it. In such circumstances I had no inducement to hold my Presidency for the chief pleas rearising from the office in the improvement of the pupils.
3d Reason for resigning. Dr. Crowe called upon me, mentioning the reports, which had got into circulation, and here again your statements were very incorrect. You have tried to represent that little in review in an unfair point of view to answer your purpose. You may be very anxious that he report should not be made public, and when to do that it had already obtained an extensive publicity, he inquired whether he might not be able to live it down. That is not a true statement of the case. I was not very anxious because I knew that the act was an unrighteous and illegal one, as will be shown, and I was therefore perfectly cool. Moreover I anticipated Dr. Crowe when he called upon me, by telling him I had a letter on the subject from a Rev. friend of mine of great worth, and entirely free from jesuitical movements. The Doctor then seemed surprised, and said he thought there seemed to be a curse hanging on the College. He says I was anxious: well I was anxious, for the fate of the College, not for myself, and did not ask the question "whether I might not be able to live it down" but simply said ' "I would outlive it," and my meaning was, that when the whole was explained it would be a very different thing and coupling the former impression made, I said I would now resign. Then your Secretary proposed a meeting of the Board and said if the Board were satisfied with my explanations statement of them might be made to the public. He then spoke something about Editors of the Newspapers of an importance in the church taking hold of the reports but I made no remark, [68] being conscious that I was persecuted and unjustly treated by the Presbytery. Two days after I wrote to Dr. Crowe as follows, 17th June:
Rev. & Dear Sir.-As I have had more correspondence with you on the subject of the College than with any of the other Trustees, I write you at present requesting you to inform the Board at their meeting that I now resign my situation as President of the Institution on terms to which I subscribed, namely that three months previous notice be given before leaving, which is hereby done. With every good which for your own happiness and the welfare of the College, I am Rev. & dear Sir.
with christian regard,
yours very sincerely,
D. MACAULAY
Gentlemen: The above was sent to your Secretary. In a letter which appeared lately, I said I had more reasons than one for resigning and does not the word now in my letter refer to the previous offers to do so, before the reports were ever heard of. I am sorry you should have attempted to give such a mangled, distorted view of everything, and that I shall yet have to notice in my next, and expose, other unfounded statements in your communications. As you have mentioned taking a seat in the Madison Presbytery, and as I have to treat of the conduct of a Canadian one, I hope you will not consider me impertinent in speaking very briefly about Presbyteries. Meantime, I am, gentlemen, with every good wish for your College,
Yours, faithfully,
D. MACAULAY
South Hanover, 3d Sept, 1838.
THE HANOVER CONTROVERSY - We are sorry to see a disposition manifested protract this unprofitable controversy.-When we opened our columns to the subject it was with the intention of giving an opportunity for a plain and brief investigation of the reports said to be in circulation detrimental to the interests of the college. The subject has taken another turn and is now a sort of squabble between the late President and the Trustees. But little if any good can grow out of it, and it is out of the question to let this controversy occupy our paper to the exclusion of other important matters, much longer, we shall feel at [69] liberty to close our columns to the subject. It is due to Macaulay that we should publish his answer to the Trustees - but we hope he will consult brevity as much as possible.
To Rev. John Matthews, Rev. James Blythe, George Logan, Tillay Brown, &c. &c.
Gentlemen: I an former communication I replied to a few of your unfounded statements, and having promised to animadvert upon the remaining ones, I shall now do so, in as few words as possible. I regret exceedingly that the whole tenor of your uncalled for, and short-sighted production has given me much to do, in the way of exposing it. Permit me then to call your attention to some of your statements, which have no foundation in truth.
My letter of resignation, of which I gave you a copy in my last, was laid, it appears, before the Ex. Com. "who deemed it important that the board should be called together." Your secretary afterwards called upon me to ascertain if I wished time to obtain documents, &c. and that the meeting of the Board would be postponed. My resignation having been in, and my mind up, it appeared to me inconsistent to speak of more time, that I had no wish the meeting would be postponed one hour on my account.
But in your usual way of misrepresenting facts you next say, "When the day arrived; however, and the board met, Dr. Macaulay appeared before them, and requested that an investigation of his case might be postponed for a few weeks, as he deemed it important to have certain papers from Canada which he had not yet obtained." That your names should be attached to such an untruth is a matter of regret, for many reasons. I neither said to your board, that I deemed it important to have certain papers from Canada, nor did I request an investigation by you, nor did I even wish to attend your meeting. In short, I thought my connexion with you was dissolved by giving in my resignation. Let me remind you that I did not go near the meeting till your board sent Dr. Spear and Tilly Brown as a deputation, requesting me to attend. Common civility, then called upon me to wait on the board, to hear what they wanted with me. Had the deputation not waited upon me, I would never have thought of attending, because I knew you were bound to accept my resignation on the terms I gave it. When at the meeting, the chairman of the Ex. Com. Proposed, "that an opportunity might be given me to produce papers, and more time might be granted for that purpose;" next Tilly Brown rose and said, that Dr. Macaulay might perhaps give some explanation at the time; and Mr. Simfall said, "the board had nothing to do with reports till something official would be before them." I then rose up and said I was perfectly prepared to give and explanation at the moment; but perceiving as I did no disposition on the part of the board, to accept of my resignation, but the reverse, I complied with their suggestion, from courtesy, and promised to produce certain papers on the 15th. How disingenuous on your part is such a specimen of misrepresentation; and do you not recollect that I objected to that language, at the last meeting of your board? I never requested any favor or friendship from you, but the fulfilment of the bargain as to the payment of the salary. [70] Than the above assertion then, nothing more is false.
The day for producing the papers having nearly arrived, I was reminded by the venerable chairman of the Ex. Com. That I must be sure to attend the next meeting of the board, as they would not send for me as they had before; and he added, the board may reverse the sentence of the Ex. Com. For "you have liberty to retire only till the board meet." As the meeting was an adjourned one, and finding at the opening that some of the members were disposed to depart from the proper business of the meeting, by introducing some got-up grievances by the Faculty, of such a frivolous nature as scarcely worthy of notice, that I immediately rose, and asked permission from the chairman to address the meeting. It was granted; and I insisted on the propriety of first examining my papers, for which the meeting was expressly called. It was all in vain. I then, in the way of joke, said, if they would take up such extraneous matters, alluding to the paltry grievances made by the faculty, before examining my papers, there would be another "thunderstorm," which actually took place, and lasted, with a little intermission, [illegiblel, and as no business was done, and my papers never read, and the matter of dispute being brought to the vote, and sides equal, and the chairman prudently declining the privilege of giving the casting vote I thought it high time to retire at the late hour.
In these circumstances, I thought my next duty was to lay my papers before the public, in consequence of the (to me) extraordinary course your board pursued, and you seem to have taken great offence at me for saying so; and for presuming to write upon education, the paying of professors' salaries, the duties of a President &c. &c. Why should my writing upon such subjects call forth your displeasure? But of that again.
I will not occupy your time about the trifling affair of the Faculty; as that will come in better in another place. It was got up; no doubt, to serve a purpose; and as I mentioned, you will recollect that I regarded the mover of it, like a drowning man catching at a straw; and like a man, making mountains of mole hills. Finding fault with me, bringing in the Rev. Mr. Hunter to aid in teaching French; and gravely objecting to the way the catalogue was called, and some other "usurpations" as they were called; are mere bagatalles. If however; they are referred to, I shall then come forward, and you must not blame me for exposing what I really have not a wish to do. I will however in meantime maintain that your saying "that I took exceptions to a certain gentleman's mode of teaching Latin all at once" is not correct. I may state, I can name some of the Trustees to whom I complained, and may here give an extract of the substance of a letter addressed on the subject.
Dear Sir: I presume you are persuaded, what I do is for the improvement of the students. I am sorry to say I am dissatisfied with the mode of teaching you pursue; and have no hesitation in saying, that unless you change your mode you will never make thorough classical scholars. I write this to you, from no personal feelings towards you, but from a desire to improve the students, and unless the mode be changed, I shall be under the disagreeable necessary of bringing the mat-ter before the Trustees &c. &c. &c. Such was the substance of a letter sent to Prof. Butler; and the fact is, I was all along anxious to bring the subject of the teaching [71] before your board, and had at the same time had great doubts if any good would result from it. As to Mr. Butler's employing your Secretary and Tilly Brown to examine his class in order to report progress to your boards, I will make no remarks, in the meantime, as I wish to study brevity; and begin anxious to take up another part of your communication, let me just make a few remarks before I draw to a close in way of explanation. I want to explain why I said, "if you can get along without me; I can go to Madison." It is this, Dr. Crowe having said to me when I spoke of resigning "that, should you resign your presidency, we may sell the College."-the saying, fresh in my memory, and looking the Doctor full in the face, I said at the meeting, "if you can get along without me I shall go to Madison." The Doctor seemed to dwell much about my about my going to Madison as if he had taken a fatherly charge of the good folks of that place. Now after all, was it worth the notice of your Board to throw in my teeth that I said I was going to Madison, particularly after your Secretary spoke of the sale of College.
Again: It has been asserted, that I have injured your Institution. That I again deny. I never wished to injure it. How could I injure it? Are your memories so feeble as to have forgotten already what the venerable chairman of the Ex. Com. said, with some warmth; upon that subject, on the 15th ult. When discussing the extent of power which the Ex. Com. possessed? Did he [illegible]? Did he not say [illegible] upon his knees, and beseech the board, that if the idea of money was any way in their minds, to let it have no weight in deciding the merits of the question at issue, or something to that effect? He said the power of the Ex. Com. was omnipotent and they were ruining the College. Now gentlemen, if the venerable chairman, whose experience is great, so expressed himself publicly at your meeting of the board; was it like men for you to come forward after that, and insinuate that I ruined your Institution? To "ruin" is certainly worse than to injure. If ruined, it is beyond repair; and whoever heard of a man killing a claf after it was dead?
For your own sakes as men-for the cause of education, of which you are the professed guardians, I am sorry that your short-sighted, ill got-up propuction, should compel me to make such disclosures, and that your own language condemns you.
You may perhaps say it is imprudent in me to bring the conversations of the boards before the public. In doing so, I am only following your example, and had you not adopted such an unwise course, I would never have necessitated to answer you as I have done. Besides, some of you have made a puling and a whining about prudence. This was all very pretty. Prudence is a very good old lady, and deserves to be respectfully spoken of but she is not to be relied upon always, as a guide, and she makes but a poor counsellor wherever truth and justice are concerned .
Let me say, nothing has given me greater surprise than the fact, that in all discussions which I have had with the Ex. Com. and your board, or with any of the members individually, the great subject of education never formed a part; and unless that has been made the grand object, from the very founding of the College up to the present moment; if considerations of a pecuniary nature have insinuated [71] themselves as motives for its erection, it cannot, in the nature of things, be expected, that it can ever rise to eminence or usefulness. Motives are everything.
I said, in my former communication, that as the act of the Canadian Presbytery was an illegal and unconstitutional one; I was perfectly cool when your Secretary called upon me on the subject. Let me briefly state a few facts: I resided, for a short time, within the bounds of the Quebec Presbytery, and was a member of it. On application, I was released from my charge; and having received the offer of principal of a Literary Institution at Toronto in the Upper Province, I accepted of it, and left the Lower Province of Canada. Having left not only the bounds of the Presbytery, but the Province, I considered that the Quebec Presbytery had nothing to do with me. For upwards of two years, I officiated, as an ordained Clergyman, in the Upper Province, baptising, marrying, &c. which by law, I could not have done, had there been any just charges against me. To marry a couple, in the Upper Province, if you are not an ordained minister, and in good standing, is transportation for life. I have the [illegible] of evidence to show, that for two years and five months, after I left Quebec, I officiated as a minister of the church of Scotland, and was in good standing.-I shall speak nothing at present of the Presbytery which consisted, when I went to meet their charges, of only two ministers and two elders, few of the members [illegible] a distance at ending; and will only quote for you the law which is well known. Hill is the best authority; and in his compend for the judicatories of the church, page 49, on Presbyteries, it is said, "The facts charged against a minister must not only be distinctly stated, but time and place must be condescended upon; and the time mentioned should in no case exceed the period of one year," For two years and five months, had I been away from that Presbytery; and during that time was performing all the duties of the sacred office. The act was an illegal one in the first place, and goes for nothing. To the charges I confessed, I shall call your attention in my next, and you will see, that there is a vast difference, between confessing acts, and confessing crimes. Having a number of remarks to make on Presbyteries, I shall reserve the remainder for my next, although properly speaking, I should on this head have addressed myself to the public, and not to you.
I am gentlemen,
Yours Faithfully,
D Macaulay.
South Hanover, Sept. 8, 1838.
For the Republican Banner.
Mr. Webb: In respectfully asking for the insertion of the following letter in your paper, I hope you will not regard me as entering either into a "controver sy" [73] or a "squabble" with Dr. Macaulay. In that gentleman's reply to the simple statement of facts published by a number of the members of the Board of Trustees, he positively denies that he was informed by the agent sent to negotiate with him, "what the condition of the college was"-"that it was deeply in debt, and that the corporation had no prospect of being able to liquidate that debt, unless they could obtain a President who would take an agency in behalf of the college, and who would have sufficient weight of character to make that agency successful."
Now as I am the agent alluded to, and as Dr. Macauley tells you "he is bold to say such language was never expressed in his hearing." T feel called upon by a regard to character, and truth and justice, to make public the evidence which I have on these points. There are some other points on which the Dr. comes out in opposition to my statement; but as they relate to a private conversation, no evidence can be had in the case. The community must, consequently, judge for themselves where the truth lies.
I would just remark further that the writer of the following letter is a young gentleman of unblemished character, well acquainted with the state of things at Hanover, and who was at the time my interview took place with Dr. Macaulay, a member of his family. He was the only person present during the interview.
John Finley Crowe.
Columbus, (Ohio) Aug.28, 1838.
I received your letter this evening, and will answer it as circumstantially as possible. I recollect the conversation held between you and Dr. Macaulay, to which you refer; and although I cannot give the language, yet I can your statement and his remarks, in substance, as I understood them at the time, and as I have no doubt were meant. 1st. You did state distinctly that the college buildings were very much injured by a tornado, and that the corporation was involved to the amount of $12,000 to $14,000. 2d. You stated to Dr. Macauley that considerable effort had been made to liquidate this debt and that what the Trustees now wanted, was, a President uniting talent and the weight of character, together with zeal and that a special effort must be made by the President to collect money for the liquidation of the said debt. You state I think in language not to be misunderstood this would be required of him, should he become your President. A conversation in reference to the extent of his efforts was held, that impressed me with the belief that Dr. Macaulay would not enter upon his duties as President, till he had made an extensive tour in the United States. 3d. I know Dr. Macaulay not only expressed a willingness thus to be employed, and seemed flattered with the hope of great success, but he if I mistake not, mentioned that he knew I could richly endow the college, if he were to go to Europe as its agent-or something to that effect. He alleged it would afford him great satisfaction and instruction to travel through the United States. 4th. He did state distinctly several times while you were there, and afterwards to me, that the debt was small and could be easily canceled. In addition to all this, I most positively assured Dr. Macaulay that the [74] President of your college would have to live very economically, for the institution was very poor. He seemed perfectly aware of the condition of Hanover College. In all is conversations with me and others, in his remarks at the time he took up a collection in our church, he spoke of the college as in great need; and all the statements made by yourself to him, were strictly true, and as I thought at the time, if there was any misrepresentation, it was unfavorable to the institution.
Yours, &c.
South Hanover, 13th Sept. 1838.
To Prof. Crowe-
Sir: I have seen your letter to Mr. Webb, and also the communication of Mr. Jewett, your pupil, to yourself. I have no wish to enter into a controversy or squabble with you, or any one; but you ought to know, as a professor of logic, that to refute falsehoods is not squabbling, and I must be allowed the liberty of con-tradicting mis-statements even though you and your friends should falsely call it "squabbling." Peace is a very good thing; and as a preacher of the gospel, you ought also to know the order in which it is to be maintained-for "we are to be first pure, then peaceable."
Notwithstanding the evidence of this young man Jewet, I am still bold to say that you as an agent, did not, by any means fully inform me of the real condition of the college. Your applying to that young man to corroborate your testimony, convinces me your case is surely desperate. This old scholar of yours was not admitted to hear what conversation I had with you on the subject, and the fact is, insignificant as is the young man's evidence, he had the good sense to retire before we talked on business; and any casual conversation which took place during dinner should not have been seized upon by you in attempting to certify what never existed. The lad was not present when you gave me the details about your college; and how can you say so. I cannot persuade myself that you are deliberately falsifying the truth, but to say the least of it, I cannot but suspect the accuracy of your recollection, as it is some time since the conversation took place. When memory is put on the rack by passion and prejudice, it is possible that bother master and pupil may think they recollect things, and next avow what was never said, and that which never took place. As to Mr. Jewett's statements, I may safely say of them, what the old English poet said of the Catholic plot: "Some truth there was, but mix'd and dash'd with lies."
He spoke truth when he stated that were I to go to Europe as an agent, the college might be richly endowed. I said so; but to obtain funds to endow a college is quite different from paying off old debts. Does Mr. Jewett not know what is meant by endowing, and that it is no uncommon thing for wealthy individuals to endow particular professorships. I have no doubt rich men in Europe would have been found who would have given a sum for a specific purpose, but [75]who would have refused contributing anything to pay outstanding debts, the way in which they had been contracted not being, perhaps, satisfactorily known. The tornado would have called forth sympathy; and I think I mentioned to yourself that there were many rich old maiden ladies in England who, to immortalize their names, might endow professorships, and thereby benefit your college. You then remarked that the professorships so endowed would be called after the name of the donor, and concluded [illegible].
. . . of the debt, that were a sufficient [illegible] by one individual, the name of [illegible] now Hanover, might be changed and transferred to that of the person, who would endow it. Such a scheme was not visionary and had the professorships been once endowed the salaries could have been regularly paid to the teachers, and the fees from the pupils might go to liquidate the debt.
To Mr. Jewett I must confess I have been indebted for some information concerning you, and your college. If he is correct in all his statements, you are a peculiar people, and that may account perhaps for your strange way of proceeding at times. He spoke feelingly of the tornado; but mentioned two other reasons which operated against the popularity of the college, and by the by, you hinted to me yourself regarding them. He told me mental science was not popular in the college, and that phrenology (2) was every thing. This was important for me to know, and I thought it my duty, as I was to lecture on Ethics, &c. to study seriously the subject of Phrenology, before I entered upon my duties. Your friend told me, and perhaps you know it, that his head underwent a phrenological examination, and was declared to be a good one, and the bumps in fine order. The flattering account was enough to make a wiser man than Mr. J., a believer; but I think I profited by inquiring into the subject, which as yet may be regarded as a fanciful science and I am almost disposed to adopt Blumenbach's opinion of it as expressed by him to Gall, notwithstanding what your friend believes: "The new of it is not good, and the good not new."
He certainly told me some things about abolition, and the excitement which followed it, and the serious injury done to the college by means of it; I thought such could only have a temporary influence on the prosperity of the Institution; but it would scarcely be fair to say all he said on the subject of abolition. He spoke something of some great literary giant from the south, a Dr. Mutherspoon, who had accepted the Presidency, but instantly resigned; of that however I thought nothing. The simple facts are, both you and your pupil represented the Hanover College as one of the most important in the West; and being told that about fifty thousand dollars had been collected to erect and sustain it, I fancied that the generous public who had done so much for the institution, would aid it after its visitation by the tornado. Why make such a fuss about this matter? It is plain you were not sufficiently candid with em, but I hope if again sent to negotiate with some other individual, you will speak in the language of a member of the Indiana Theological Seminary, in a letter to me a few weeks ago, "that [76] years of toil and privation must be endured in the situation of the President."
I have a few questions to ask you , and one at a time. How does it come to pass that the article signed by the 8 Trustees and dated Hanover 27th August, in which the agency &c, referred to in their publication should be attempted to be corroborated by the evidence of a young man of Columbus, Ohio, dated August 28th leaving only one day to travel and return such a distance. Perhaps your pupil required instructions, and you had been previously drilling him, before he penned his letter for publication. You say the young man is one of "unblemished character." Be it so but let me give you only one specimen of how little reliance can be placed on his evidence. He says, "I took up a collection in his church, and spoke of the College as in great needs." Hundreds can testify I never spoke one word about the College and far less that it was in great need, and therefore the assertion of your young friend is a positive untruth.
A collection was taken up, but not one word was spoken of the college by me. You, and the Board with which you are connected, have so demeaned yourselves from first to last, that I have been necessitated to make disclosures which I never wished; and by your bringing forward Mr. Jewet in the affair, you have done neither him nor your cause any good. The publication, to suit your own purpose, of part of a letter of mine to you, referring to your "quacker and humbug," I shall notice again. Meantime I am, sir, yours faithfully,
D Macaulay.