BOOK II.

CHAPTER XII.

The history of the College continued from Chapter I. Its state under the rectorship of Mr. Williams, Donations made to it while he presided. He resigns, and the Rev. Thomas Clap was chosen president. A new charter granted. A new college, or Connecticut hall, built. Professor of Divinity settled. Labors and donations. Enemies of the college write against it. Petition the assembly to take it out of the hands of the corporation, appoint visitors, &c. The president appears and pleads the cause of the college before the assembly. Chapel is built. An account of donations is interspersed.

ECTOR WILLIAMS, was a gentleman of solid learn

ing, great prudence, and popular talents. He was rector about thirteen years, during which period, the college enjoyed peace and flourished. A number of valuable donations were made to it. In 1730, the trustees received a deed of 628 acres of land in Salisbury, of Messrs. Fisk and Leavins, in exchange for lands given them many years. before, by major James Fitch. The title to it had been controverted, and it was supposed that the trustees had expended nearly half the value of the land in defence of the title.

1730.

Connecti

cut, 1732.

In October, 1732, the General Assembly made a gene- Grant of rous donation of 1500 acres of land to the college; 300 acres in each of the new townships of Norfolk, Canaan, Goshen, Cornwall and Kent. A patent was given in confirmation of the donation in May, 1741.

donations.

The Rev. Dr. GEORGE BERKELEY, then dean of Derry, Dean in Ireland, afterward bishop of Cloyne, made a number Berkeley's of donations to the college. He came into America, with a view to found an episcopal college. He made a purchase of a country seat, with nearly an hundred acres of land, at Newport, in Rhode-Island. He resided there about two years, in which time, he formed a correspondence with rector Williams, and became acquainted with several other principal gentlemen in Connecticut. From them he learned the state and genius of Yale College. He, therefore, while he resided at Newport, made a present of all his own works to the college. He finally gave up the design of founding a college in North America, and returned to London.

After his return, in 1732, he gave the rents of his farm

Book II. to the college, to be appropriated to the maintenance of the three best scholars in the Greek and Latin languages, 1732. who should reside at the college, at least nine months in a year, in each of the three years, between their first and second degrees. He directed, that on the 6th of May, annually, or in case that should be the Lord's day, then on the 7th, the candidates should be publicly examined by the president or rector, and the senior episcopal missionary within this colony, who shall be then present; and in case none be present, then by the president only. And that in case the president and senior missionary should not agree in their sentiments, who are the best scholars, the case should be determined by lot. It was further directed, that any surplusage of money which should happen by any vacancies, should be distributed in Greek and Latin books, to such under-graduate students, as should make the best composition, or declamation in the Latin tongue, upon such a moral theme as should be given them.

This donation happily answered the design of the donor, proving a great and lasting incitement in the students to excel in the knowledge of the classics.

At, the same time, Dr. Berkeley, in pursuit of his benevolent and noble designs, transmitted to the college the finest collection of books which had ever before, at any one time, been sent into America. It consisted of nearly a thousand volumes, including those which he had sent before; 260 of these were folios, and generally very large. It was estimated that the collection cost at least four hundred pounds sterling.

Mr. Williams, though highly acceptable to the students, and to the colony in general, was nevertheless obliged to resign his office, and leave the college, on account of bodily indisposition. The sea air and southerly winds at New-Haven, so affected his constitution, as, sometimes, to Incapacitate him for business. He resigned his office the Fast of October, 1739. He received the hearty thanks of the trustees, for his good services to the college.

After his resignation, he retired to his seat at Weathersfield. He soon became a member of the assembly, and speaker of the house of representatives. He was further promoted, to be one of the judges of the superior court, and to the command of a regiment, in an intended expedition against Canada. He afterwards went to England, to receive the wages due to himself and his regiment. Having contracted an intimate acquaintance with Dr. Doddridge, and several other gentlemen of distinction, in that country, and married a lady of superior accomplishments, he re

turned to Weathersfield. Here, after a pious, useful and Book II. honorable life, he died, July 24th, 1755.

He received his education at Harvard college, in Cam- 1732. bridge, in New-England, where he was graduated, Anno Character Domini, 1711. He was well furnished with academical of rector Williams. literature, was a thorough calvinist, and is characterized as one of the best of men. Dr. Doddridge, in a letter to a friend, writes thus of him: "I look upon Col. Williams to "be one of the most valuable men upon earth: he has join"ed to an ardent sense of religion, solid learning, consum"mate prudence, great candor, and sweetness of temper, "and a certain nobleness of soul, capable of contriving "and acting the greatest things, without seeming to be "conscious of his having done them."

The trustees, sensible of the great inconveniences which the college had suffered, by the long intervals in which it had been without a rector, proceeded immediately to a new choice, and the Rev. Thomas Clap, minister of Windham, was chosen successor to rector Williams. A council of neighboring elders and churches, advised Mr. Clap to accept the appointment. Mr. Clap viewing it, as the council had done, as a call to greater and more extensive usefulness, complied with their advice.

tion of rec

At a meeting of the trustees, on the 2d of April, 1740, Installahe was installed. He first gave his consent to the confes- tor Clap, sion of faith and rules of church discipline, agreed upon April 2d, by the churches of the colony of Connecticut, assembled 1740. by delegation at Saybrook, in the year 1708; and also gave the trustees satisfaction, with respect to the soundness of his principles, according to their act in 1722.

The trustees and students were then assembled in the college hall, and the Rev. Mr. Whitman, moderator, made a prayer, and one of the students delivered an oration adapted to the occasion. The moderator then made a speech, committing the instruction and government of the college to rector Clap; and he concluded with an òra

tion.

The committee of the first society in Windham, made application to the trustees to give them a recompense for the removal of their pastor. Upon this, they mutually agreed to refer it to the judgment of three gentlemen of the General Assembly, what compensation they should have. Those gentlemen, considering that the Rev. Mr. Clap had been in the ministry at Windham fourteen years, which in their estimate, was about half the term of a minister's life in general, judged that the society ought to have half the price of his settlement. This was about fifty-three pounds

BOOK II. sterling. Upon the memorial of the trustees, the General Assembly granted that sum to the people of Windham, as a 1740. compensation.

Arrangement and catalogues

of the library. 1742.

No sooner had rector Clap entered upon his office, than he endeavored, by all means in his power, to advance the college to as great a degree of perfection as possible. There had never been made a complete body of laws, for regulating the college, nor had the customs and manners of other colleges been sufficiently made known. On the first founding of the college, it was agreed, that where no special provision was made by the trustees, the laws of Harvard college should be the rule. About the time the college was fixed at New-Haven, a short body of laws was drawn up. But this was only in writing, and each scholar, on his admission, was put to the labor of transcribing it. This, upon trial, was found defective, and several of its laws were become obsolete. Rector Clap, therefore, considered it as a business of prime importance, to compile a complete body of laws for the college.

As soon as he was fixed in his post, at the desire of the trustees, he began this business. A large body of laws was drawn up, partly out of the ancient laws of this college, partly from the principal and most important customs which had obtained, partly from the laws of Harvard college, and partly from the university of Oxford. To these, there was an addition of some new ones. This was pe

rused by a committee of the trustees, and by most of them at their own houses; and after several readings before the board of trustees, in 1745, obtained their sanction.

The rector also, about the same time, collected and wrote under proper heads, the customs of the college which had from time to time obtained, and had been established by practice. By these, the rules by which the officers and students of the college should conduct themselves, became better known and fixed, and the government of the college became more steady and uniform, and less sovereign and arbitrary.

Before this time there had been no convenient arrangement, nor catalogue of the books. The rector arranged all the books in proper order. In honor to the Rev. Dr. Berkeley for his liberal donation, his books were placed by themselves at one end of the library. He also made three catalogues of the books; one as they stood in their proper order on the shelves; another in alphabetical order; and a third, in which the most valuable books were placed under proper heads, according to the subject matter of them; together with figures referring to the number and

place of each book. By which means it might easily be Book II, known what books were in the library upon any particular subject, and where they might be found with the utmost ex- 1744. pedition. This catalogue was printed, and had a happy influence on the diligence and industry of the scholars in reading them.

About this time the college received another considerable benefit. The legislature augmented their annual grant to the college, by which the rector was enabled to support three tutors; one to each class, including himself. This removed a considerable inconvenience which the college had before suffered, by one tutor's hearing two classes. It had another benefit; the scholars studied and recited much more than they had done in the preceding years.

Mr. Anthony Nougier, of Fairfield, in 1743, by his last Mr. Nou will, bestowed on the college twenty seven pounds sterling, gier's donation, to be put out at interest, the amount of which was princi- 1743. pally to be appropriated to the maintenance of the rector and tutors forever. This donation was received the next year, and was employed according to the direction of the donor.

The college was now become numerous and respectable: it had educated a large number of men, who were pillars in the commonwealth and stars of distinguished lustre in the firmament of the church. The under-graduates amounted annually to eighty or more: as many as twenty upon an average were graduated each commencement. The rector and trustees conceived the idea that their powers ought to be enlarged; and that a new charter should be given, in which the founders and officers of the college should be named, more agreeably to the forms and usages of other colleges. It was imagined that this would make them and their respective offices better known abroad, and give the college a greater importance and respectability. The rector, therefore, who had a very accurate and extensive knowledge of the forms, powers, and usages of colleges, made a draft of a new charter, in which the trustees were incorporated, by the name of the president and fellows of Yale College, in New-Haven. This draft was

revised by the honorable Thomas Fitch, Esq. afterwards governor of the colony, approved by the trustees, and ordered by them to be presented to the honorable general assembly for their sanction. It was granted at the session in May, the next year. A copy is here exhibited.

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