nil 
 
DUKE 
 UNIVERSITY 
 LIBRARY 
 
 FRIENDS OF 
 DUKE UNIVERSITY 
 LIBRARY 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
Digitized by tlie Internet Arcliive 
 in 2015 
 
 https://arcliive.org/details/memorialsoflifepOOdanv 
 
MEMORIALS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Life, Public Services and Character 
 
 OF 
 
 William T. Sutherlin, 
 
 As Furnished by his Friends • 
 and Published by his Family. 
 
 HAEC OLIM MEMINTSSE JUVABIT. 
 
DAIMCE BROS. & CO. 
 PRINTERS AND BINDERS 
 1894 
 
: - ^ PREFACE. 
 
 That a record of a useful life should be perpetuated, is 
 manifest from many considerations, which need no specifi- 
 cation here. When, however, that life was characterized by 
 splendid mental endowments and achievements ; when it has 
 touched the public in many relations, calculated to advance 
 its interests, the duty of preserving its history becomes im- 
 perative. 
 
 Nor should we be satisfied with anything short of an au- 
 thentic and durable form for the preservation of its achiev- 
 ments, while they are fresh in the public mind, and while 
 documentary evidence is easily accessible ? It is with im- 
 pressions akin to these that the following pages have been 
 written ; nor can it be denied that the career of the late 
 William T. Sutherlin touched not only his native city and 
 county, but the entire State, and left the imprint of his abil- 
 ity and genius in many and varied forms, honorable to Vir- 
 ginia as well as to himself. 
 
 Of course in a compilation like the present, no attempt 
 will be made to go into the petty details and circumstances 
 which made up the daily existence of the subject of these 
 memoirs. / 
 
 We know a man truly when we know him at his greatest 
 and best. We realize his significance for ourselves and for 
 the world, when we see him in the noblest activity of his 
 career, on the loftiest summit and fullest glory of his life. 
 
 4134(16 
 
Fortunately for a work of this sort, the material is abund- 
 ant, so much so that what to reject and not what to use, is 
 the more perplexing problem of the two. 
 
 This volume, thus prepared for his family and his personal 
 friends, will, we trust, preserve for them the mental portrait- 
 ure of their friend as they admired and loved him in life ; 
 as the promoter of the public weal ; the counsellor in times 
 of trouble and perplexity ; the fond husband and loving 
 parent, the good citizen and the liberal Christian gentleman. 
 
CHAPTEK I. 
 
 William Thomas Sutheelin, eldest son of George S. and 
 Mary Norman Sutlierlin, was born on liis father's farm near 
 Danville, April 7th, 1822. In giving the history of any one, 
 who by virtue of unusual intellect has risen into prominence, 
 there is always a desire to know something of his parent- 
 age, beyond the mere mention of his father's and mother's 
 names. Happily in the present instance we are warranted 
 in saying that Geo. S. Sutlierlin was an active, upright man, 
 enjoying the esteem of his neighbors, and the fullest confi- 
 dence of his friends. It is said a child partakes more of the 
 characteristics of its mother than of its father. But whether 
 this be true or not in every instance, it seems to have been 
 so in the present case, for Mary Norman Sutlierlin was a 
 woman of superior intellect. She took an interest in public 
 affairs, and conversed upon them with all the incisiveness 
 which was so characteristic of her distinguished son. 
 
 George Sutlierlin's means were limited, and William be- 
 ing the eldest son, liis father needed his assistance on the 
 farm, which he cheerfully rendered. It was a source of 
 much regret to his father that he could not give his promis- 
 ing son all the educational advantages afforded by collegi- 
 ate training. He, however, did the best he could. He was 
 first sent to a school near home, afterwards to a male school 
 in Danville, and finally, he attended for a short time the 
 
 [5] 
 
 4134(16 
 
noted Private School of Joseph Godfrey, of Franklin county. 
 
 Of this gentleman, Major Sutherlin often spoke in terms 
 of endearment, and to the very last, retained for him an ar- 
 dent affection, and only a few years ago, expressed a desire 
 in a public letter, that a monument should be erected to his 
 memory. . Knowing his affection for his old friend, and 
 teachei', we cannot refrain from publishing a portion of a 
 letter detailing his eccentricities and virtues, written by 
 Thomas T. Tunstall, of Tensaw, Alabama. The letter is ad- 
 dressed to the Editor of the Pittsylvania Trihmie, and reads 
 as follows : 
 
 Marion, Perry Co., July 10, 1879. 
 
 Mr. Editor : — Through the kindness of one of our old Pitt- 
 sylvania friends, Mr. Chas. M Lovelace, who resides here, 
 my attention has been called to several paragraphs and ar- 
 ticles in the Tribune in reference to the last resting place of 
 Joseph P. Godfrey, whose virtues and memory we now pro- 
 pose to perpetuate. 
 
 Any movement to promote so laudable a project will find 
 an echo in many a generous heart, from the Potomac to the 
 Eio Grande. 
 
 The Peniis, the Whittles, the Hairstons, the Dandridges, 
 the Taliaferros, yea ^11 of his pupils who survive him will 
 cheerfully respond to do honor to his memory and unite in 
 any effort to rescue from abscarity and oblivion the hallowed 
 spot where Joseph P. Godfrey reposes. 
 
 As for my ^lart whatever I can contribute will be done as 
 a grateful a;id affectionate task, "a labor of love." Nay, I 
 would gladly make a pilgrimage to old Virginia to pay a 
 tribute to his worth and lay a wreath on his tomb, for I 
 knew him better than them all. Our associations were of 
 the tenderest nature. He was my Fidus Achates — mj "'boon 
 compcmion' as well as preceptor, and I was his room-mate 
 and bed-fellow for nearly three years at old uncle Billy Mills' 
 
in Henry, and I parted with him in June, 1839, to go to 
 Chapel Hill, whither I was sent by cousin Whit Tunstall, 
 who had the direction of my education and whose name is 
 so dear to us all. 
 
 The letters of W. T. Sutherlin, of Danville, and E. H. 
 Pritchett, of Haynesville, Ala., to wdiich I have referred, 
 carry me back as you will see over a chasm of forty years, 
 and by some strange magnetism I find myself again in the 
 presence and fellowship of "old Joe." 
 
 How well do I recall all his tastes and peculiarities — his 
 characteristic devotion to his boys, his great tenderness of 
 heart and his love of the classics. Indeed he was refined 
 and classic in all things. 
 
 Under the tuition of Mr. Godfrey, Maj. Sutherlin com- 
 pleted the brief record of his school history. 
 
 To call it his educational history would be a misnomer 
 for William T. Sutherlin was a close student to the last 
 year of his life. What he may have lacked in mere book 
 learning he more than supplemented by observation and re- 
 flection. This, however, more properly belongs to an analy- 
 sis of his character, which will be given later on, and we re- 
 turn to the narrative of his life. 
 
 Until he was twenty-one years old he remained upon his 
 father's farm doing every class of farm work and thus laid 
 the foundation for the vast stores of practical knowledge 
 of agriculture for which he was so pre-eminent in after years. 
 Upon reaching his majority he became a leaf tobacco dealer 
 in Danville, and such was his capacity and energy that long- 
 before the civil war he had amassed a handsome fortune, 
 and become one of the most prominent citizens of his town 
 and section. 
 
 On the 18th October, 1849, in Greensboro, C, Major 
 
 ['J 
 
SuTHEKLiN was united in marriage with Jane E. Patrick, the 
 daughter of Wm. and Martha W. Patrick. Two children 
 were born to them, Janie Lindsey and Martha Ella. The 
 last named died in infancy. The former grew up to be a 
 beautiful and accomplished woman, whose lovely Christian 
 character endeared her to every one who knew her. She 
 was united in marriage Nov. 22nd, 1871, with Col. Francis 
 L. Smith, of Alexandria, Ya., and died in this city August 
 24th, 1876. Their only living child. Miss Jariie Sutherlin 
 Smith, has ever made her home with her grand-parents in 
 this city. 
 
 Such is a mere outline of the childhood, youth and early 
 manhood of one who for forty years afterwards was destined 
 to fill so large a place in business, both private and public, 
 and whose power for good was made manifest, in so many 
 relations touching his seciion and State. 
 
 \ 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 The public life of Major Sutherlin properly begins with 
 his election as Mayor of the town of Danville, in the year 
 1855, although he had held the office of Alderman and had 
 been President of the Board as early as the year 1851. That 
 his administration was acceptable to the people of Danville is 
 proven by the fact that he held the office for six years, and 
 only resigned it to serve his people and his State in a posi- 
 tion requiring the greatest sagacitj^ and patriotism. We re- 
 fer to his election as a member of the historic \ irginia Con- 
 
 [8] 
 
vention of 18(11. While tlie proceedings of that body have 
 passed into history we may confidently state that never be- 
 fore with perhaps the solitary exception of the Convention 
 of 1829, was so much ability represented as on that occasion. 
 From beyond the Alleghanies came Carlisle Geo. W. Sum- 
 mers and T. Willey. The Yalley sent Jno. B. Baldwin 
 and A. H. H. Stuart. From Tidewater, Eobt. L. Montague. 
 From Albemarle William C. Eives. From Culpeper, Jas. 
 B. Barbour. In fact every section of the State seemed to 
 vie with each other in sending its brainiest sons to this 
 mighty asseml)ly of intellectual giants. That Willlui T. 
 Sftheelix, along with William M. Tredway should have 
 been chosen to represent the town of Danville and Pittsyl- 
 vania county in such an assembly is all the proof that is nec- 
 essary that both were recognized as men of the very highest 
 ability. 
 
 It is proper at this point to state that previous to the late 
 war Ma.t. Si'THEELIX was an inlluential member as well as a 
 prominet leader in that grand organization, the Old Line 
 Whig party, whose ranks furnished many of the greatest and 
 purest men the Fuion has yetluiown. In Tirginia alone, to 
 say nothing of Clay and Webster from Kentucky and from 
 Massachusetts, there was a constellation of talent of the 
 very first magnitude. It is a matter of history that the 
 Whig party as an organization was opposed to secession, 
 and only countenanced it at last as a dernier resort. In the 
 calm light of dispassionate history w]]o will deny they were 
 right? Xor can it be gainsaid, that in the great debates 
 
 [9] 
 
which necessarily ensued on this question in the State Con- 
 vention that they had the best of the argument. 
 
 Hon. William M. Tredway, Majok Sutherlin's colleague 
 in the State Convention, was a Douglas Democrat, and held 
 the same opinion in regard to the dissolution of the Union. 
 They both contended in their speeches that the mere elec- 
 tion and inauguration of Mr. Lincoln without any overt act, 
 and with the express declaration on his part, that he did 
 not intend to interfere with the rights of the States, did not 
 justify Virginia in leaving the Union, nor do we think it 
 will be disputed, that had the President made no attempt 
 to coerce the States which had already seceded, Virginia 
 would have ever left the Union. But when Mr. Lincoln 
 issued his celebrated proclamation, calling upon Virginia to 
 furnish seventy-live thousand troops to assist in forcing her 
 sister Southern States back into the Union, there was no 
 longer any hope or expectation, that the Convention would 
 be prevented from passing the ordinance of secession. Nor 
 was it otherwise. ■ , 
 
 The patriots in that Convention , Democratic as well as 
 Whig, who had made so many concessions in order to save 
 the Union, who had endorsed the Peace Conference held 
 in Washington the same year, were if anything more out- 
 raged than the original secessionists themselves. No one 
 who ever knew how ardently Major Sutherlin loved his 
 native State, would doubt for a moment how he would act 
 in such a crisis in her histor}^ He at once followed her for 
 weal or for woe, and voted for, and signed the Ordinance of 
 Secession, a copy of which is now in the possession of his 
 
 [10] 
 
family, signed in a clear bold hand by himself as well as his 
 colleague. 
 
 No portion of Majoe Sutheelix's varied career is more 
 honorable to himself than his membership of this Conven- 
 tion. Brought into close contact, as well as collision, with 
 the ablest minds of Ante-Bellum Virginia, he not only held 
 his own, but left that body, as subsequent events will show, 
 with the reputation of being one of Virginia's ablest and 
 most patriotic sons. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 As might ba anticipated, the talents of the subject of this 
 memoir were better adapted to civil and political life than 
 war. But that he would throw himself, heart and soul, into 
 the cause of his State, no one could doubt. And so the se- 
 quel proved. He at once entered the Confederate States 
 army, but impaired health prevented his taking an active 
 part in the field, and he was appointed Major and Quarter- 
 Master, being stationed at the post of Danville, where he 
 served until the close of the war. He displayed his usual 
 activity and energy in gathering and forwarding supplies 
 to the army, and was frequently highly commended for his 
 work, by Gen. Lee, and others of his superior officers. Nor 
 must it be omitted that while he was so prompt and ener- 
 getic in trying to prevent the pangs of hunger and cold from 
 dispiriting the Confederate soldier in the field, he was no 
 
 [iij 
 
less concerned as to his spiritual condition when wounded 
 and sick in the hospital, for out of his own purse, he em- 
 ployed Rev. J. H. Forbes, of Danville, for nearly three years, 
 at an expense of fifty dollars per month, to care for all such 
 in the hospitals of his own town. And thus was he employ- 
 ed in furnishing not only the sinews of war (for such are 
 food and clothing as well as money) but in affording conso- 
 lation to the sick and dying, until the end came. But be- 
 fore it came, the home of Major Sutherlin on Main street, 
 Danville, Ya., was destined to become historic, and to be 
 associated in the most pathetic manner with the closing 
 hours of the "Lost Cause." How this came to be so, is a mat- 
 ter of so much interest that we cannot in justice to Major 
 Sutherlin' s memory be content with anything less than a 
 full statement of all the facts in the case. As every student 
 of history knows, when Richmond fell, the seat of the Con- 
 federate government was speedily transferred to Danville. 
 
 During its continuance in this city, Mr. Davis made his 
 headquarters at the home of Major Sutherlin, but why he 
 did so and what transpired while he was there can best be 
 told in Major Sutherlin's own words, written by special 
 request of the Richmond Dispatch, a few months before his 
 death. They are as follows : 
 
 To THE Editor of the Dispatch : — In response to your 
 telegram of yesterday requesting me to furnish you a per- 
 sonal reminiscence of Jefferson Davis, I send you the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 It was generally understood here on the 2nd of April, 
 1865, that Richmond was to be evacuated by the Confeder- 
 ate government at once, and that the next headquarters would 
 
 [12] 
 
be establislied at Danville. Early in the day of the 3rd, large 
 numbers of people in Danville and the surrounding country 
 commenced assembling at the Richmond and Danville de- 
 pot to witness the arrival of the President, his Cabinet, and 
 in fact the Government. Soon after noon the train arrived 
 and a great throng of people pressed ftn-ward to see the Pre- 
 sident and his associates as they left the train. I met Mr. 
 Davis with some friends and brought him directly to my 
 house, with Mr. Geo. W. Trenholm, Secretary of the Treas- 
 ury, and his wife, and Mr. Mallory, Secretary of the Nav}^, 
 and some others, and they remained with me some eight or 
 nine days. President Davis seemed a little careworn, but 
 in other respects looked as well as usual. A few days after 
 his arrival he selected a building and had offices fitted up 
 for himself and other departments of the government, but 
 at the solicitation of my vvife and myself he decided to re- 
 main with us during his stay in Danville, M^iich he did. 
 
 I was at that time in feeble health, which necessitated 
 the spending of most of my time in the house. This gave 
 me a fine opportunity of being with Mr. Davis most of the 
 time while here, and finding him a most agreeable and en- 
 tertaining visitor, conversed with him upon quite a variety 
 of subjects. He recounted many of the incidents connected 
 with his departure from Richmond — seemed to have formed 
 a great attachment for the people of that city, and was 
 greatly distressed at having to leave them exposed to the 
 enemy. For the first day or too he could talk of little else 
 than the people of that city and their uniformly kind con- 
 sideration of himself and family while tliere. He had 
 strong hopes that General Lee would be able to reach Dan- 
 ville with his army and often spoke of the great confidence 
 he had in his ability as a commander and his great admira- 
 tion and love for him as a man. Being with Mr. Davis 
 much of the time, and becoming better acquainted with 
 him, 1 ventured to ask him a great many questions, which 
 he most cheerfully answered, and being anxious to know 
 his views in reference to all the matters relating to the 
 
 [18] 
 
causes and progress of the war, etc., I inquired if lie did not 
 tliiuk the war could have been averted. He said that was a 
 question which in time past had given him a great deal of 
 concern. I told him that as he was a member of the Senate 
 of the United States and had been for a long time connected 
 with the Government of the United States, I would be glad 
 if he would give me his views in reference to the question I 
 had propounded to him. 
 
 Mr Davis said the differences that were existing between 
 the North and the South were of long standing, and he had 
 hoped the Missouri compromise would have given perma- 
 nent satisfaction to the country, but the leading Abolition- 
 ists of the North continued to agitate the question, and they 
 were met in debate and otherwise by the extreme represent- 
 atives of the South, and in this way these differences were 
 continually before the people until Mr. Douglas finally sub- 
 mitted his proposition of "squatter sovereignty," which was 
 to give to the people of each Territory the right to decide 
 for themselves whether slavery should be established or not 
 when the Territory was admitted as a State. He said for a 
 time this seemed to quiet the country, but it served also as 
 a means of continued agitation of the question of slavery, 
 and the extreme men of the North, in and out of Congress, 
 seemed determined to continue the agitation of the question, 
 and the conservative men of both sections were unable to 
 pacify or control the extremists. 
 
 He said he had great attachment for the Union, and dis- 
 liked very much the idea of its dissolution, and did all in his 
 power to avert it. He even remained in his seat after many 
 of the Southern Senators bad left and returned to their 
 homes, until his own State (Mississippi) had passed the or- 
 dinance of secession. When this was done lie gave up all 
 hope, resigned his seat in the Senate of the United States, 
 and returned to his home and united his fortune with that 
 of the Southern people. Having done this, his greatest de- 
 sire and ambition was to see the Southern people united 
 and happy under a government of their own choice. 
 
 This conversation induced me to ask him the question, 
 
 [14] 
 
what he thought of secession, and if the State had the rigbt 
 to secede, and if there was any doubt in his mind as to the 
 right of secession, and if a doubt upon this question had 
 anything to do with his adopting that mode of redress ear- 
 lier. He said he had always believed in the rights of the 
 States and their absolute right to withdraw from the govern- 
 ment whenever the Government of the United States sought 
 to injure rather than protect them. I asked him to tell me 
 in what he considered that right existed. He said, "when 
 the Government of the United States was formed the rights 
 of the States that were not surrendered at that time were 
 leserved, and the States never surrendered the rights of self- 
 preservation, and when in the judgment of the people it be- 
 came necessary secession was their right. I never had any 
 doubt upon this question, and it had no influence upon me 
 whatever in making me slow in leaving the Union, but I was 
 slow to leave the Union because I was attached to it — be- 
 cause I believed that if we could live in peace the people of 
 the country would be better off by the Union as it was than 
 by a division." 
 
 "Well, then, Mr. President," I remarked further, "if this 
 be your opiuiou you do not, of course, think yourself and 
 other citizens of the South who engaged in the war are 
 rebels." 
 
 "I know that we are not rebels," Mr. Davis replied. "I 
 know that not only myself, but that every southern man who 
 is engaged in this war had a right to do so in defence of the 
 rights of the State and the people." 
 
 "Mr. President, I would like to know ycmv opinion of the 
 war. Do you think anything could have been done that was 
 not done that could have secured success?" 
 
 "I think under all the circumstances we have done the 
 best we could. The enemy had access to the world from 
 which to supply men, arms, and supplies ; while we were 
 shut in and were only overcome by overwhelming numbers. 
 I often discuss the matter in my own mind as to the propri- 
 ety of taking boys and young men under serviceable age, 
 whose enthusiasm might have been of service in the armv, 
 
 [15J 
 
but, as I have said before, I could not take these young men 
 into the army ; that it was too much like grinding seed-corn, 
 and in any event they were the chief hope of the country in 
 the future." 
 
 "Mr. President, I have heard it said that there were offers 
 of compromise made, and that Mr. Lincoln offered to pay 
 1300 per head to slave owners for their slaves if they would 
 lay down their arms and terminate the war. Will you please 
 tell me something about this?" 
 
 "No such offer was ever made to me, and I had no author- 
 ity under the Constitution, or by any act of Congress, or by 
 the people to negotiate any terms of peace except upon the 
 recognition of the Southern Confederacy, and could not, nor 
 never would, have entertained, myself, any proposition of 
 peace on any other basis." 
 
 Mr. Davis gave me a very interesting narrative of the Mex- 
 ican war ; of the various conflict of arms in which he was 
 engaged, and especially that of Buena Yista. He seemed 
 quite familiar with the climate, soil, and products of that 
 country, and his description of them in detail was very in- 
 teresting. I inquired of him about his farming in Missis- 
 sippi, and he seemed very much interested in cotton-plant- 
 ing and other crops. His description of his farm products, 
 stock, horses, cattle, hogs, and even his fowls was to me ex- 
 ceedingly interesting. He expressed great fondness for fine 
 horses, and seemed perfectly familiar with all the breeds of 
 horses as well as all other stock. In speaking of his fowls 
 he expressed great preference for the game chicken, and said 
 that the time spent upon his farm were the happiest days of 
 his life. 
 
 President Davis was not only an exceedingly pleasant and 
 agreeable visitor, but one of the best conversationalists that 
 I ever met. He was well informed upon all subjects and 
 possessed a clear, forcible, and attractive mode of expressing 
 himself. During the period of some eight or nine days that 
 Mr. Davis was at my house he never at any time within my 
 hearing expressed any concern for himself, but his whole 
 heart and soul seemed to be absorbed in his feeling for the 
 
 [16] 
 
people of the South, and I believe he would have cheerfully 
 laid down his life at any time if it would have saved them 
 from defeat. 
 
 I might have written much more, but fear you may not 
 have space for a longer contribution. 
 
 Respectfully yours, 
 Danville, Va., May 30, 1893. W. T. Sutherltn. 
 
 When the war closed the South presented a scene of des- 
 olation, indeed, not only had she been drained of rivers of 
 blood and millions of money, but even her property values 
 that remained had been so depreciated as to be hardly sala- 
 ble at twenty-five cents in the dollar. Miles of her railways 
 had been torn up, their bridges burnt, while grass was grow- 
 ing in the road-beds, of what remained. The negroes, newly 
 emancipated, forsook the farms and flocked to the cities. 
 The situation of the South was appalling as to the present, 
 while the future seemed to contain no promise of better 
 times. Many Southern people despaired of the Republic, 
 and thought of migrating to other lands. Agents wei e sent 
 to Mexico and South America to look at the country and 
 select localities suitable for Southern colonies. The scheme 
 was favored by some of the most prominent of Virginia's 
 sons, including Prof M. F. Maury, Gen. J. A. Early, and 
 others. Not so, however, with Major Sutherlin. By his 
 voice, by his pen he opposed the scheme. Never did his 
 masterful common-sense display its power more than at this 
 juncture. He contended that Yirgiuia, even with all the 
 horrors of Reconstruction saddled upon her, was the best 
 place upon earth for Virginians. '*Work" work" he said 
 was the one thing needful. He took his own prescription. 
 
 [1^1 
 
As soon as he had regained his health, which had been 
 greatly impaired, he began farming, not only on a large scale, 
 but using all the improved methods for so doing. His 
 energy was contagious. His people felt its inspiriDg influ- 
 ence, and in less than five years after the war, his whole 
 section seemed to have risen Phoenix-like, from the very 
 ashes of despair. That such a man as this would be per- 
 mitted to pursue the even tenor of his own way, without 
 interruption was impossible. That he, who had always 
 shown so much public spirit would decline to serve his peo- 
 ple when called upon, was also out of the question. As an 
 evidence of his willingness at all times to do all that lay 
 in his power to advance the interests of Danville, and the 
 surrounding country, we need only to refer to the fact that 
 he was the originator and promoter of the Border Agricul- 
 tural Society, and was its President for two years. The 
 address delivered by him on that occasion will be seen aloug 
 with other addresses on various subjects in the appendix 
 to this volume. But while he was devoting his talents to 
 the service of his State along industrial lines, and trying to 
 build up her material interests, at the same time in concert 
 with eight others, he rendered Virginia a service which 
 should never be forgotten. The work done by this famous 
 committee has passed into history already as OL-e of the 
 great factors in determining the future political condition of 
 the State. But as Major Sutherlin's good sense, and 
 sagacity were so conspicuously displayed in its formation, 
 line of procedure and complete success, a re-statement of 
 the causes which induced him to do so will not be amiss. At 
 
 : [18] 
 
the time of its formation, Virginia was threatened with 
 absohite ruin. The Underwood Constitution framed and 
 passed by the infamous Underwood Convention, so full of 
 atrocious features, and test oaths, as to virtually turn the 
 wdiole State over to scalawags, carpet-baggers, and negroes, 
 had already passed the House of Representatives and was 
 in the hands of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The situ- 
 ation was alarming. 
 
 A public meeting was held in Richmond composed of 
 representative men from different parts of the State. At 
 this meeting Major Sutherlin and eight others were ap- 
 pointed a Committee of Nine to go to Washington to prevent 
 the passage of the bill, through the Senate. 
 
 By sheer force of ability, and the justice of their cause, 
 they prevailed, and Virginia was saved. For such services as 
 were rendered by the nine men composing this committee, 
 the Roman Republic would have perpetuated their names 
 forever. But Major Sutherlin was not given to complain- 
 ing, and the fact that he had rendered such a signal service 
 to his State was a reflection more pleasing to him, than 
 outward honors. But as we have ah^eady shown, Major 
 Sutherlin long before the Committee of Niue had an exis- 
 tence, was one of the foremost men in Virginia, in trying to 
 place the State on a secure footing in the Union. In the 
 summer of 1868, Gen. W. S. Rosencrans, a noted Federal 
 general, who was sojourning at the White Sulphur Springs 
 was so much impressed with the then chaotic condition of 
 affairs in Virginia, that he addressed the following open let- 
 ter to Gen. R. E. Lee : 
 
 [19] 
 
White Sulphur Speingh, West Virginia, Aug. 26, 1868. 
 
 General — Full of solicitude for tlie future of our country, 
 I come with my beart and hand, to learn the condition, wishes 
 and intentions of the people of the Southern States — espec- 
 ially to ascertain the sentiments of that body of grave, 
 energetic self-sacrificing men. who, after sustaining the Con- 
 federacy for four years, laid down their arms and swore 
 allegiance to the Government of the United States, whose 
 trusted and beloved leader you have been. 
 
 I see that interpreting "State's right" to conflict with 
 national unity has produced a violent reaction against them, 
 which is drifting us towards consolidation ; and, also, that so 
 great a country as ours even now is, certainly is to be, must 
 have State governments to attend to local details, or go 
 farther and fare worse. 
 
 It is plain to us at the West and North that the continu- 
 ance of semi-anarchy, such as has existed for the last three 
 years in ten States of our Union, largely increases the clan- 
 ger of centralization, swells our national expenditures, dim- 
 inishes our productions and our revenue, inspires doubts of 
 our political and financial stability, depreciates the value of 
 our national bonds and currency, and places the credit of 
 the richest below that of the poorest nation in Christendom. 
 
 We know that our currency must be depreciated so long 
 as our bonds are below par; and, that, therefore, the vast 
 business and commerce of our country must sufier the terri- 
 ble evil of a fluctuating standard of value, until we can remedy 
 the evil condition of things at the South. We also see other 
 mischief quite possible if not prob ible to arise ; such as from 
 a failure of crops, a local insurrection, and many other un- 
 forseen contingencies, which may still more depreciate our 
 credit and currency, provoke discontent and disorder among 
 our people, and bring demagogical agitation, revolution, 
 repudiation,^^anda thousand unnamed^evils and villainies upon 
 us. We know that the interest of the people of the South 
 are for law and order, and that they must share our fate of 
 good and ill. 
 
 I believe — every one, I know, who reflects, believes — that 
 
 [30] 
 
if the people of the Southern States could be at peace, and 
 their energy and good-will heartily applied to repair the 
 wastes of war, reorganize their business, set the freedmen 
 peacefully, prosperously and contentedly at work, invite 
 capital, enterprise and labor elsewhere to com^ freely 
 amongst them, they would rebuild their ruined fortunes, 
 multiply manifold the value of their lands, establish public 
 confidence in our political stability, bring our government 
 bonds to premium, our currency to a gold standard and as- 
 sure for themselves and the whole nation a most happy and 
 prosperous future. Seeing this, and how all just interests 
 concur in the work, T ask the officers and soldiers who 
 fought for the Union — every thinking man of the great West 
 and North asks — why it cannot be done. 
 
 We are told by those who have controlled the Government 
 for the last four years that the people ot the South will not 
 do it ; that if ever done at all, it must be done by the poor, 
 simple, uneducated, landless freedmen and the few whites 
 who, against the public opinion and sentiment of the intelli- 
 gent white people, are willing to attempt to lead and make 
 their living of the ignorant, unexperienced colored people, 
 mostly men who must be needy adventurers or without any 
 of those attributes on which reliance for good guidance or 
 government can be placed. We are told that this kind of 
 Government must be continued at the South until six or 
 eight millions of intelligent, energetic white people give into 
 it, or move out of the country. 
 
 Now, I think, the Union army thinks, and the people of 
 the Jsorth and West, I dare say, believe there must be, or 
 there ought to be, a shorter and surer way to get good gov- 
 ernment for all at the South. 
 
 We know that they who organized and sustained the 
 Southern Confederacy for four years against gigantic 
 efforts, ought to be able to give peace, law, order, and pro- 
 tection to the whole people of the South. 
 
 They have the interest and power to employ, protect, ed- 
 ucate, and elevate the poor freedmen, and to restore them- 
 selves and our country to all the blessings of which I have 
 
 [21] 
 
just spoken. The question we want answered is — "Are tliey 
 willing to do it ?" 
 
 I came down to find out what the people of the South 
 think of this, and to ask you wh^it the officers and soldiers 
 who served in the C )nfederate army, and the leadiug people 
 who sustained it, think of these things. 
 
 I came to ask more. I want to ask you, in whose purity 
 and patriotism I here express unqualified confidence, and so 
 many good men as you can conveniently consult, to say what 
 you think of it, and also what you aie willing to do about it. 
 I want a written expression of views that can be followed by 
 a concurrence of action. I want to know if you and the 
 gentlemen who will join 3'ou in that written expression are 
 willing to pledge the people of the South to a chivalrous 
 and magnanimous devotion to restoring peace and prosperity 
 to our common country. I want to carry that pledge high 
 above the level of party politics, to the late officers and 
 soldiers of the Union army, aud the people of the North and 
 West, and to ask them to consider it, and to take the nec- 
 essary action, confident that it will meet with a response so 
 warm, so generous and confiding that we shall see in its 
 sunshine the rainbow of peace in our political sky, now 
 black with clouds and impending storm. 
 
 I know you are a representative man — in reverence and 
 regard for the Union, the Constitution and the welfare of the 
 country, and that what you would say would be endorsed by 
 nine-tenths of the whole people of the South ; but I should 
 like to have the signatures of all the representative South- 
 ern men here who would concur in your views, and expres- 
 sions of their concurrence from the principal officers and 
 representative men throughout the South, w^hen they can be 
 procurred. 
 
 This concurrence of opinions and wills, all tending to 
 peace, order, and stability, will assure our Union soldiers 
 and business men — who want substantial and solid peace— 
 and cause them to rise above the level of party politics, and 
 
 [22] 
 
take such steps to meet yours as ^vill insure a lasting peace, 
 with all its countless blessings. 
 
 Tery truly your friend, 
 
 W. S. EOSECEAXS. 
 
 Gen. E. E. Lee, White Sulphur Springs, West Yirginia. 
 
 The reply of Gen. Lee to this letter shows in what light 
 Ma.joe SrxHEELix was regarded by him, as well as others. 
 Gen. Lee knew Ma.joe Sutheelin personally, haying come 
 in contact with him frequently during the war in the latter's 
 capacity, as one of the Confederate Quarter-Masters. The 
 reply was as follows : 
 
 White vSulphue Speings, West Yieginla, Aug. 26, 1868. 
 
 Geneeal. — I haye had the honor to receiye your letter of 
 this date, and in accordance with your suggestions I haye 
 conferred with a number of gentlemen from the South in 
 whose judgment I haye confided, and who are well acquaint- 
 ed with the public sentiment of their respectiye States. 
 They haye kindly consented to unite with me in leplyiug to 
 your communication, and their names will be found with my 
 own appended to this answer. With this explanation, we 
 proceed to giye you a candid statement of what we beiieye 
 to be the sentiment of the Southern people in regard to the 
 subject to which you refer. 
 
 Whateyer opinions may haye prevailed in the past in re- 
 gard to African sLiyery or the right of a State to secede 
 from the Union, we believe we express the almost unani- 
 mous judgment of the Southern people when we declare 
 that they consider that those questions were decided by the 
 war, and that it is their intention in good faith to abicle by 
 that decision. At the close of the war, the Southern people 
 laid down their arms and sought to resume their former rel- 
 ations with the United States Government Through their 
 State Conventions they abolished slavery and annulled their 
 ordinances of secession, and they returned to their peaceful 
 
pursuits with a sincere purpose to fulfill all their duties un- 
 der the constitution of the United States, which they had 
 sworn to support. If their action in these particulars had 
 been met in a spirit of frankness and cordiality, we believe 
 that ere this, old irritations would have passed away, and the 
 wounds inflicted by the war would have been in a great meas- 
 ure healed. As far as we are advised, the people of the 
 South entertain no unfrienuly feeling towards the Govern- 
 ment of the United States, but they complain that their 
 rights under the Constitution are withheld under the admin- 
 istration thereof. 
 
 The idea that the Southern people are hostile to the ne- 
 groes, and would oppress them if it were in their power to 
 do so, is entirely unfounded. They have grown up in our 
 midst, and we have been accustomed from childhood to look 
 upon them with kindness. The change in the relations of 
 the two races has wrought no change in our feeling towards 
 them. They still constitute the important part of our labor- 
 ing population Without their labor the lands of the South 
 would be comparatively unproductive. Without the emplo}'- 
 ment which Southern agriculture affords they would be des- 
 titute of the means of subsistence, and become paupers, de- 
 pendent upon public bounty. Self-interest, even if there 
 were no higher motive, would therefore prompt the whites of 
 the South to extend to the negroes care and protection. 
 
 The important fact that the two races are, under exist- 
 ing circumstances, necessary to each other, is gradually be- 
 coming apparent to both, and we believe that but for the in- 
 fluence exerted to stir up the passions of the negroes the re- 
 lations of the two races would soon adjust themselves on a 
 basis of mutual kinduess and advantage. 
 
 It is true that the people of the South, together with the 
 people of the North and West, are, for obvious rea- 
 sons opposed to any system of laws which will place the 
 political power of the country in the hands of the negro race. 
 But the opposition springs from no feeling of enmity, but 
 from a deep-seated conviction that at present the negroes 
 have neither the intelligence nor the qualifications which 
 
are necessary to make them safe depositories of political 
 power. They would inevitably become the victim of dema- 
 gogues, who for selfish purposes would mislead them, to the 
 serious injury of the public. 
 
 The great want of the South is peace. The people earn- 
 estly desire tranquility and the restoration af the Union. 
 They deprecate disorder and excitement as the most serious 
 obstacle to their prosperty. They ask a restoration of their 
 rights under the constitution. They desire relief from op- 
 pressive misrule. Above all, they look to their countrymen 
 for the establishment in the Southern States of that which 
 has justly been regarded as the birthright of every Ameri- 
 can — the right of self government. Establish these on a 
 firm basis, and we can safely promise on behalf of the South- 
 ern people that they will faithfully obey the Constitution 
 and laws of the United States, treat the negro with kind- 
 ness and humanity, and fulfil every duty incumlDent on peace- 
 ful citizens loyal to the Constitution of their country. 
 
 We believe the above contains a succinct reply to the gen- 
 eral topics eml^raced in your letter, and we venture to say in 
 behalf of the Southern people and of the ofiicers and soldiers 
 of the Confederate army, that they will concur in all the 
 sentiments which we have expressed. 
 
 Approaching the patriotic motives which have prom23ted 
 your letter, and reciprocating your expressions of kind re- 
 gard, we have the honor to be, 
 
 Yery respectfully and truly, 
 K. E. Lee, of Ya., G. T. Beauregard, La., Alex. H. 
 Stephens, Ga., A. H. H Stuart, Ya., C. M. Conrad, La., 
 Linton Stephens, Ga , A. T. Caper ton, W. Ya., John 
 Echols, Ya., F. S. Stockdale, Texas, F. W. Pickens, S. 
 C, Wm. J. Eobertson. Ya , Jos. R Anderson, Ya., 
 Wm. F. Turner, W. Ya., C. H. Suber, S. C, E. Fon- 
 taine, Ya. Jon Letcher, Ya., R C. Adams, Miss., W. J. 
 Green, N. C, Lewis E. Harvie, Ya., W. T. Sutherlin, 
 Ya., P. Y Daniel, Jr , Ya., A. B. James, La., T. Bure- 
 gard Texas, M. O. H. Norton, La , T, P. Branch, Ga., 
 [25] 
 
H. T. Eussell, Ga., Sam'lJ. Douglas, Fla., Jeremiah 
 Morton, Ya , John B. Baklwin, Ya.. Geo. W. Boiling, 
 Ya , Thos. S. Flournoy, Ya., James Lyons, Ya. 
 To Gen. W. S. Eosecrans, Minister to Mexico, White Snl- 
 phur Springs, West Ya 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 It has already been seen that Majoe Sutherlin was al- 
 ways willing to serve his people, but he believed the office 
 should seek the man, and not the man the office. In conse- 
 quence of this feeling and opinion he never tried conclusions 
 with political hustlers. He was called upon in 1871 to serve 
 his people in the Legislature, and while there signalized 
 himself in his efforts to create an Agricultural College in 
 which he was eminently successful as the college at Blacks- 
 burg, now in full operation, attest. 
 
 When the Yirginia Agricultural Society was organized 
 Major Sutherlin was elected its President and held this 
 office for two years. Upon the creation of the Yirginia State 
 Board of Agriculture he was made its President, and held 
 this office at the time of his death. Of his services to the 
 State in that lelatiou his confreres upon the Board will at- 
 test upon another page of this memoir. 
 
 There are some men whose intellects seem to find happi- 
 ness alone in colossal labor in many different spheres at the 
 same time. Major Satherlin was one of these. No man 
 perhaps in Yirginia ever was employed in so many gigantic 
 enterprises at the same time as he, and came out of them all 
 
 [26] 
 
with flying colors. To enumerate them all and describe the 
 parts minutely, taken by him, would swell this volume to 
 unwonted proportions. And so we must content ourselves 
 with an enumeration of his most striking efforts and enter- 
 prises. That he Avas an able financier, was exemplified by 
 every financial transaction of his entire life, from the first 
 trip he took South with a two-horse load of manufactured 
 tobacco, when he was a mere youth, and upon which he 
 cleared $700.00, down to his last business transaction. 
 Failure was never written on anything he undertook. He 
 was the organizer of the old bank of Danville, having gotten 
 up the stock, much of which stood in his own name and was 
 its President. He also organized the Border Grange Bank 
 of Danville, and was its first President, and in consequence 
 he was one of the best posted men of Virginia, concerning 
 the operation of State banks, and his speeches in advocacy 
 of the same were lucid and powerful. And we may add 
 here that his speech on the benefits arising on State banks 
 delivered at the request of a large number of influential 
 citizens of Pittsylvania at Chatham in June 1893, created a 
 profound impression on its favor, the leading papers com- 
 menting upon it favorably, wliile petitions came from other 
 sections of the State, asking for its repetition, among which 
 was one from Bedford county, so numerously signed that he 
 had agreed to address the citizens of that county at a date 
 only a few days after his death. 
 
 As a railroad builder and organizer also, Majoe Sutheh- 
 LIN signalized his career. It will be remembered that dur- 
 ing the late war no road in the State suffered so much as the 
 
 [2TJ - • 
 
Eiclimond & Danville. It was the one great thoroughfare 
 between the Army of Lee and the South. In consequence 
 its rolling stock was subjected to the most continuous wear 
 and tear of any other line. At the close of the war it was 
 literally "run down," and was even threatened with confisca- 
 tion by the United States Government. At this critical 
 juncture in its history Majoe Sutherlin became one of its 
 Board of Directors, and for thirteen years was a leader in 
 its developments, and it is a matter of record that his sa- 
 gacity and foresightedness had much to do with bringing 
 it from the wreck in which the war had left it and placing 
 it in a position to become the great highway it is. 
 
 Scarcely however, had he accomplished this mammoth un- 
 dertaking before he was called upon to undertake a simi- 
 lar, and even more difficult enterprise— the building of the 
 Milton & Sutherlin Road— a branch of the R. & D., extend- 
 ing from Sutherlin Station, in Halifax county, to Milton, N. 
 C. But as if there could be no rest for such a man as Wil- 
 liam T. Sutherlin, the cross-ties on the last named road 
 had hardly become seasoned before he was urged to under- 
 take the completion of an independent line extending west- 
 ward from Danville, and now known as the Danville & 
 Western. He did so and it was agreed on all sides that in 
 building this road Major Sutherlin overcame difficulties 
 and obstacles that no other man could have done at that 
 time. 
 
 During all these busy years, requiring the energies it 
 would seem of a dozen able men. Major Sutherlin was 
 called upon to serve the Democratic party as a member of 
 
 m 
 
the State Executive Committee, and altlioiigli we know that 
 "Honor's voice cannot provoke the silent dnst, nor Hattery 
 soothe the dull cold ear of death," — jet, simple justice re- 
 quires one who would trulj' write his life to say, that no 
 party ever had one more competent to advise it, to outline 
 its policy, and map out its progrnm of action than Major 
 SuTHEELiN. When the factions of the Democratic party in 
 May 1892 were ready to rend the organization to pieces on 
 account of rival candidates for the Presidency, the voice 
 of Major Sutrerlin was for compromise and peace in the 
 great Democratic family and it prevailed. But a whole 
 chapter on this phase alone of his career, could be written, 
 showing that he was equal to almost any emergency that 
 could arise. 
 
 Having so far in a cursory manner given an outline of 
 Major Sutherlin's public career, it is now time to turn at- 
 tention to his own beloved home — the city of Danville, where 
 monuments of his goodness and munificence abound, where 
 his whole life was spent ; where he reared his family ; served 
 his God, and at last sleeps with his fathers. 
 
 CHAPTEK V. 
 
 A knowledge of the home life of any one who has left an 
 impression upon the age in which he lived is always of sur- 
 passing interest, and no biography is complete without it. 
 When we say home life, we do not mean the petty details 
 of domesticity, but home surroundings, home activities and 
 
 m 
 
borne achievements in a larger sense. And we may say that 
 no one was ever more entitled to call his whole city his 
 home, than Major Sutherlin. Danville was to him the 
 apple of his eye ; the city of his love. With an almost eas- 
 tern devotion, he knelt at the shrine of her idolatry. There 
 was never a time from early manhood, to old age, that he 
 did not strive for her interests, and try to promote her wel- 
 fare. 
 
 We have already briefly alluded to some of the enterprises 
 iuangurated by him before, and since the war. In this chapter 
 dealing almost exclusively with his career as a citizen of 
 Danville, we feel warranted in speaking more at length, 
 concerning home affairs. 
 
 Any one who is so fortunate as to possess a file of a Dan- 
 ville newspaper published before the war, will not fail to 
 notice in perusing it that in every enterprise of those days 
 of any significance, the name of William T. Sutherlin is 
 prominent, either as President, Committee-man, or Director, 
 thus showing his public spirit and the estimation in which 
 he wrts held by his fellow-citizens. 
 
 No enterprise, we dare say before the war, when Danville 
 was struggling for a foot-hold in the financial world ever 
 elicited more interest than the establishment of a bank, and 
 the part undertaken by Major W. T. Sutherlin, can best be 
 told by those who were living at that time, and who were 
 familiar with all the facts in the case. From the Danville 
 Regisii'V and Milton Chronide of June the 10th, 1858, we 
 make the following extracts : 
 
 It will hardly be believed that the stock in the Dauville 
 
 [30] 
 
Bank, chartered by the Legislature of Virginia only a few 
 Aveeks ago, has all been taken thus soon Such, however, is 
 the fact. And it is truly astonishing, when we consider the 
 cry of hard times. But what is there in the power of mortal 
 man, that Wm T. Sutherlin, Esq.. of Danville cannot ac- 
 complish when he wills the undertaking ? To him, we learn, 
 is the institution indebted for almost every dollar's worth of 
 stock obtained. But few, if any one besides himself, deemed 
 it possible to get half the stock taken, in vieAv of the finan- 
 cial pressure ; and we believe that all the other Commission- 
 ers, despairing of success even before they made a trial, left 
 the whole matter to his hands, To work he went, and al- 
 most before the members of the Legislature that chartered 
 the Bank, return home and get warm in their seats, Mr. 
 Sutherlin gets $2000 worth of stock taken more than is 
 needed. Extraordinary man, truly ! The word "fail," is 
 not in his vocabulary. Ye croakers, on whose lips dwell the 
 word "can't," see what energy and perseverance will do ! 
 
 We learn that nearly two-thirds of the stock was taken in 
 the county. — Milton Chronicle. 
 
 From News and Advertiser : ■ 
 
 On Thursday, the 10th inst , the Commissioners of the 
 "Bank of Danville" met at the Masonic Hall, when it was 
 ascertained that $130,000 had been subscribed, ten ])er cent 
 on this amount was promptly paid, whereupon the Stock- 
 holders assembled, and proceeded to organize by appointing 
 Bobt. Lawson, Esq., of Kockin^ham, N. C, to the chair, and 
 Dr. N. Koane and Eobt. Richardson, Esq., of North Carolina, 
 Secretary. 
 
 The following gentlemen were then elected Directors for 
 the ensuing year to wit : W. T. Sutherlin, Levi Holbrook, 
 Jno. O. ^ lass, W. P. Graves and S. H. Holland. The Board 
 of Directors then elected W. T. Sutherlin, President of the 
 Bank. 
 
 A large number of the Stockholders paid the whole amount 
 of their subscriptions : others paid forty, fifty and sixty per 
 cent, it having been determined to pay interest on advance 
 
 [81] 
 
payments, and charge interest on delinquents. The whole 
 stock however, is required to be paid within six months 
 from the 10th June, 1858. 
 
 We only bestow a simple of justice in stating that W. T. 
 SuTHERLiN, Esq., was voted for as Director by every Stock- 
 holder except himself, and the votes of every director were 
 given him for President except his own. This remarkable 
 token of appreciation, was more than won by Mr. Sutherlin 
 in his strenuous and untiring exertions in securing the new 
 Bank, from the first start of the enterprise until its organiz- 
 ation. 
 
 We have heretoforere frained from any commendtoary re- 
 marks of Mr. Sutherlin in regard to his services in tliis 
 matter, fearing that prejudice might unfortunately grow out 
 of it to the injury of the cause or the disparagement of the 
 gentleman. The feeling of the public has now been expi essed 
 by the unanimous voice of all that are interested, and well 
 and properly may we congratulate our worthy and esteemed 
 townsman on his success both in accomplishing good for 
 the public and in ascending to the pinnacle of popularity. 
 Those who are best acquainted with Wm T. Sutherlin know 
 that the ruling element in his nature is to do good — it is his 
 ambition to raise his community to the highest standard of 
 moral and political worth, and bestow upon his fellow-man 
 such blessings as it becomes the hand of mortal to dispense. 
 "The laborer is worthy of his hire." Hence we see the 
 poor young Sutherlin a few years back, treading the path 
 that leads upward and onward, now seemingly the favorite 
 of fortune and the honored of fame. There is a great and 
 valuable lesson to be learned in this man's progress, and if 
 we are personal in speaking of him we must be pardoned. 
 It must be spoken of. Every public work that Danville 
 can boast of speaks iu his praise, and the present prosperity 
 of our town emanated to a great extent from the influence 
 and energy of Mr. Sutherlin . 
 
 The Bank of Danville is in good hands, and we bespeak 
 for it a prosperous career. 
 
 [32] - 
 
From the Danville Register : 
 
 We have all along been well aware that the establishment 
 of the Bank of Danville would be clue alone to the exertions 
 of this gentleman. When the Bank bill passed the Legisla- 
 ture, there was no one else in this town or vicinity bold 
 enough, in view of the disastrous financial pressure and the 
 general prostration of credit, to lay hold of the project and 
 take an active agency in procuring subscriptions to the cap- 
 ital stock. We have from the very first believed that the 
 scheme would be crowned with success, and so we have ex- 
 pressed ourselves ; but the majority of the persons in this 
 community, and especially the monied men, thought differ- 
 ently. We based our belief upon the known energy, self- 
 confidence and untiring zeal of W. T. Sutheelin. 
 
 We have, from good and obvious reasons, heretofore re- 
 frained from rendering this gentleman the just and merited 
 congratulation due to his success in the establishment of the 
 Bank. The Stockholders have fully appreciated the service. 
 In the election of Directors last Thursday, Mr. Sutherlin 
 received every vote cast except his own ; and when the Di- 
 rectors assembled in the afternoon to elect the President of 
 the Bank, he again received every vote save his own. This 
 speaks for itself, and in terms not to be misunderstood. 
 
 This is, however, not the first evidence of public spirit in 
 the interests of Danville which Major Sutherlin had given, 
 as the following incident will show : 
 
 On Sunday evening, August 25tli, 1850, about sundown, an 
 accident occurred, which proved, for the time being, almost a 
 calamity to the town, so great was the inconvenience it oc- 
 casioned, but which resulted — as similar accidents are in 
 the habit of doing — in direct and permanent advantage to 
 the locality, by causing a much needed deficiency to be 
 promptly supplied. Tlie old wooden wagon and foot l)ridge, 
 which was supposed to have been erected about seventy 
 
years previously, and had long been in a dilapidated and 
 unsafe condition, was waslied aAvay by tlie river, which had 
 become an angry torrent during a storm of unprecedented 
 length and violence. No other bridge spanned the river at 
 that time except the railroad viaduct of the Richmond and 
 Danville Eailroad Company, and this was useless for the 
 purpose of general traffic. The old ford was therefore re- 
 sorted to once more, as affording the only remaining means 
 of communication between the opposite banks of the Dan, 
 and even this was available only at such times as the river 
 was free from freshets. 
 
 Something must be done, and that quickly, to repair the 
 loss, as it was evident that the trade of the town would 
 otherwise suffer seriously. Ma.jor Sutherlin, then largely 
 engaged in the manufacture of tobacco and other local en- 
 terprises, came to the rescue in this emergency, with the 
 public spiritedness which had always distinguished him, and 
 purchased the sight and privileges of the demolished bridge 
 for $4,500. As soon as practicable, he secured the co-opera- 
 tion of Messrs. A. G. Walters, Francis Williams, Daniel 
 McLaughlin, J. W. Pace, Wm. R. McCoy and Sanders Slate, 
 and these gentlemen together built another bridge in 1851 
 at a cost of about $12,000 — Mr. Daniel McLaughlin doing 
 the stone work of the piers, and Messrs. Joseph Yarbrough 
 and Dribney Terry adding the wooden superstructure. The 
 brid<j;e was sold to the City Council and the Virginia Mid- 
 land Railroad Company, jointly, in 1873, for $20,000, and 
 thrown open to the public as a Free Bridge. 
 
 Major ^Sutherlin was ever an enthusiastic Mason, and 
 
 m 
 
was one of the main promoters of the fraternity in Danville. 
 A few facts in regard to the establishment of the Order, will 
 show the prominent part taken by him in this matter. 
 
 The same year that saw the completion of the bridge 
 across tbe Danyille rapids, 1851, witnessed also the com- 
 mencement of the Masonic Temple, on the corner of Main 
 and Union streets— still a handsome and imposing structure, 
 and at the time of the erection, the finest building in the 
 town. A few enterprising members of the Roman Eagle 
 Lodge, A. F. & A. M., determined to have a new hall, if 
 vigorous united effort couki accomplish that desirable end. 
 The Lodge owned a lot on Craghead Street in the rear of 
 Banner Warehouse, with a building on it which at that time 
 was used as a Court House. This lot was sold for $2,000? 
 and a Committee of Ways and Means appointed, consisting 
 of the Eev. Geo. W. Dame, D. D., Worshipful Master; Dr. 
 Thos. P. Atkinson, Senior Warden, and Wm. Sutherlin, 
 Junior Warden. With the aid of a few subscriptions on the 
 part of those citizens interested in Main Street and Union 
 Street property, these gentlemen purchased the corner lot 
 and erected the Temple at a total cost of $13,000, without 
 calling upon any member of the Lodge to contribute as 
 much as one cent. With the revenues of the Hall and the 
 three fine stores which occupy the first floor the debt has 
 been paid off and the value of the property to-day is esti- 
 mated at $15,000. 
 
 But as a convincing proof of the aid he not only then, but 
 at all other times rendered the Lodge, the following letter 
 copied from tbe Record, fully attests: 
 
 ■[35] 
 
Office of Seceetary, Eagle Lodge, No. 122, A. F. and A. 
 
 M., Chaiteied Dec. 13th, 1820, A. D., 1820. 
 
 At tlie regular stated Communication of Roman Eagle 
 Lodge, No. 152, A. F. and A. M., held in the Masonic Tem- 
 ple, Danville, Ya., July 13th, 1879, A. L.. 5879, the following 
 Preamble and Resolutions were adopted : In view of his 
 valuable services rendered to this Lodge in times past, and 
 when Masonry was in its infancy in this community, and 
 desiring to show some expression of appreciation of the lab- 
 ors of our esteemed brobher, especially so, as there has 
 never appeared upon our Records, any recognition of the 
 same. Therefore be it 
 
 Resolved, That whatever dues are now standing against 
 Bro. W. T. SuTHERLiN, be, and the same are hereby remitted, 
 and 
 
 Second, That no annual dues be hereafter charged to him. 
 
 Third, That the Secretary be instructed to furnish Bro. 
 SuTHERLTN with a copy of this Preamble and Resolutions. 
 
 It is well known every where that Danville's rapid growth 
 and pre-eminence was due in the first instance to her tobacco 
 industry. With the promoters of this industry the name of 
 William T. Sutherlin is indissolubly linked, anil at the 
 time of his death he was the oldest member of the Tobacco 
 Association. This primitive industry was well nigh crushed 
 by the great panic of 1837, and it only dragged its slow 
 length along for nearly twenty years afterwards. About this 
 time Major Sutherlin, who had been a leaf dealer, went into 
 the manufacturing business, and in a short time was in con- 
 trol of one of the largest tobacco factories in the State, with 
 
 [36] 
 
but one exception, that of James Thomas, of Richmond. He 
 was also tlie pioneer in applying steam to Hydraulic To- 
 bacco Presses. 
 
 Along religious lines the light of Ma.toe Sutheelin's life 
 shone brightly. Here, as elsewhere he was a man of affairs. 
 When it was found that Wilson street church was too small 
 to accommodate its membership, and a proposition either 
 to make the church larger, or select another site, was to be 
 decided, the judgment and generosity of Ma.tor Sutheelin 
 were both exercised, the one sagaciously and the other lib- 
 erally. The site on which Main Street Methodist church 
 now stands, was selected, purchased and paid for by him. 
 In addition to all this, he was not satisfied until he had 
 contributed several thousand dollars more to the erection of 
 the building. Mount Yernon (Methodist), another beauti- 
 ful church edifice in the immediate vicinity of his home, 
 and in which he held his membership at the time of his 
 death, and of which he \\as a Steward, felt his liberality. 
 Education was also an engrossing theme with this public 
 spirited man. He was not content with urging its import- 
 ance with his pen and his voice, but used his means, as well 
 as his time in promoting it. It was mainly owing to his 
 ability, zeal and liberality that the Danville College for 
 Young Ladeis was organized, and built, and started on 
 its career of usefulness. Randolph Macon College also 
 had in him a generous friend, and we know of no better way 
 in which this can be told, than the following letter of Capt. 
 Richard Irby, Secretary and Treasurer of the College, written 
 to Mrs. Sutherlin, a short time after her husband's death. 
 
 [87] 
 
Mrs. W. T. SufJierlin, Danville, Va. — Dear Madam : — Kan- 
 dolph-Macon College has good cause to keep in remembrance 
 the name of W. T. Sutherlin. 
 
 At a time when it was in great need, he generously made 
 a donation of $300 per annum for five years toward its cur- 
 rent expenses, thus enabling it to bridge over a gulf which 
 threatened its continuance. 
 
 About the same time, 1872, he founded the "Sutherlin 
 Prize for Oratory." The medals given as prizes in the con- 
 test, annually held since, are now owned by some of the firrt 
 men of letters and public life in the South. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 (Signed) Eichard Irby, 
 
 Secretary and Treasurer. 
 
 In concluding this brief sketch of a valuable life, in which 
 even the greater events of his career are but cursorily men- 
 tioned, leaving untouched hundreds of other things of which 
 he was the promoter, as well as benefactor, the reader can- 
 not fail to be impressed Avith the grandest feature in his 
 character, which was usefulness. It was said of Goldsmith 
 that he touched many things, and ornamented everything 
 he touched. With equal propriety, it may be said of the 
 subject of this Memoir ; that whatever he undertook was 
 useful, and whatever he touched he improved. Major 
 Sutherlin, although possessing a master mind, was free 
 from the idiosyncrasies and weaknesses that often mar the 
 brightest geniuses. His mind did not move spasmodically, 
 but was at all times alert and penetrating. His power of 
 concentration was intense. "His thoughts never broke 
 ranks," nor his ideas straggled from the line of march his 
 mind had mapped out. For his age he was the most prog- 
 ressive of men. 
 
 [38] 
 
He used the past only to read the future. His interest in 
 current events was surpassing, and liis mind like a mer- 
 chant's ledger, was posted up to the very last date, with every 
 thing going on at home and abroad. His mind was com- 
 prehensive, and was stored with a vast supply of common 
 sense, which was the source of great ready wit, whenever 
 occasion demanded it. As an instance of this, when the Com- 
 mittee of Nine met in Washington to prepare an address to 
 "the powers that be," they had a very difficult undertaking 
 before them. If the address should be made too plain, they 
 were fearful of giving offense, if too obscure, they ran the 
 risk of being misunderstood. Major Sutherlin who was a 
 natural born diplomat solved the difficulty, by drawing up a 
 paper, embodying the idea sought after. Two of the gen- 
 tlemen on the Committee, if not more, were graduates of the 
 University of Virginia, and one of them remarked, "Major, 
 you have hit the idea exactly, but the grammar is incorrect." 
 To which he instantly rejoined "If a plain farmer like my- 
 self can furnish the idea, it certainly seems that two gradu- 
 ates of the University ought to be able to supply the lan- 
 guage." 
 
 Major Sutherlin was eminently practical in his views 
 and methods, and in the execution of his plans, he evinced 
 the firm purpose of a determined and resolute man. Al- 
 though he was a brave man, possessing the courage of his 
 convictions, he was broad, charitable and liberal in his 
 opinions ; a cautious and sagacious counsellor. He was 
 seldom impulsive, but was persistent, and capable of sus- 
 tained effort. He was too broad to be a bigot; too intelli- 
 
gent to be a zealot, and too rich and generous in his nature 
 to be revengeful. He may have had, and perhaps did have 
 enemies, but this fact could only be learned from them, as 
 he never spoke of them in terms whose severity would reveal 
 them. His treatment of political adversaries, was most 
 magnanimous. He never criticised them harshly, but always 
 paid them that measure of respect due to one whose opinions 
 differed from his own. As a leading citizen of his section 
 he served many from whom no return could be anticipated. 
 He was a wise man, and in all the fierce conflicts of party 
 war-fare ''never lost his head." In debate he was powerful, 
 and when he had fully fortified his positions, it seemed well 
 nigh impossible to dislodge him. Like the late Governor, 
 Jno. M. Morehead, of North Carolina, whom he resembled 
 in many respects, the crowning feature of his life, as we 
 have before stated, was usefulness. He was useful to the 
 community in which he lived, useful to his county, his State, 
 his family and his friends. As an adviser and counselor, 
 he was pre-eminent, possessing a sound judgment, and a clear 
 insight into human nature, whose correctness was well nigh 
 infallible. His mind was a vast store-house of valuable in- 
 formation, garnered by years of close and deep reflection. 
 All his great powers were at the service of the humblest of 
 his friends. 
 
 In the home circle the character of Majok. Sutheelin 
 shown resplendently. He was a kind husband, a most af- 
 fectionate parent, and the hospitable host. 
 
 What was said of another may be fittingly said of him. 
 His genius for affairs made monuments in the public and 
 
 [40j 
 
business walks of men, while his humanity made gratitudes 
 among the poor, which will follow like angels guarding him 
 to the tomb. 
 
 The personal appearance of Ma.joe Sutheklin was impos- 
 ing and calculated to draw attention anywhere. He was jast 
 six feet in height, and was in all respects well proportioned 
 and symmetrical. His head, while not massive, was large, 
 and his forehead, high, and broad, a noble dome of thought. 
 His eyes were dark, luminous and beautiful always. His 
 face was an index of the prevailing mood of his mind, 
 and heart, and was written all over with the pale cast of 
 thought. In many respects, it was remarkable. Refine- 
 ment and strength are seldom united in the same face. 
 Indeed, ruggedness and power by association have almost 
 become synonymous. The case of Ma.joe SuTHERLI^Mvas an 
 exception to this general rule. Every line of his strong 
 face was toned down and softened by refinement. Indeed it 
 may be truly said of him, 
 
 "His life was gentle, and the elemeots, 
 
 So mixed in him that nature might stand up, 
 
 And say to all the world. This was a man." 
 
 It is with an emotion of positive pain that we ap- 
 proach the closing scene of such an immense career. Nor 
 is this feeling unmixed with awe as the curtain falls, and 
 veils forever from human sight the imposing presence of 
 our titanic friend. It is as if a granite column had given 
 way, which for so many years had borne like an Atlas with 
 seeming ease such colossal responsibilities. But the fiat 
 has gone forth. "Man that is born of a woman is of few 
 days and full of trouble. 
 
He Cometh forth as a flower and is cut down. / 
 He fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not. 
 
 Major Sutherlin had shown within the past five 
 years that old age was in some slight degree, telling on him, 
 and periodical attacks had weakened his physical frame 
 somewhat, but for the past year his health was good, his 
 physical condition improved, and his giant intellect unim- 
 paired. Only a few days before his death in speaking to a 
 friend, of a contemplated trip to Bedford county, he said he 
 never felt better. Thursday night, July 20th, about three 
 o'clock, he had an attack of what the doctors at the time 
 believed to be indigestion, due to slight trouble with the di- 
 gestive organs, but what proved to be angina pectoris or 
 organic heart disease, something near akin to, or resemb- 
 ling neuralgia of the heart. This seemed to pass away in a 
 short while, and on Friday he was up. 
 
 A similar attack came on Friday night, Jnly 21st, about 
 the same hour, and though it was more severe than the at- 
 tack of the previous night, it was not thought to be serious, 
 and like the other, would readily yield to the physician's 
 treatment. About 2 a. m. the Major grew much worse, and 
 relatives and friends were sent for. 
 
 It was then he expressed the opinion that he would die, 
 but the doctor and his wife did not think his condition was 
 in any way critical, and indeed up to within fifteen minutes 
 of the time of dissolution no one in the room deemed that 
 a serious termination of the attack was probable. About a 
 quarter to 3 o'clock the pains which had been so severe in 
 the chest and side ceased, but it was evident that they had 
 
done their work, and just at 3 o'clock, Major Sutherlin, in 
 the full possession of his intellect, with every facult}^ in full 
 play and with a full knowledge of all that was going on 
 around him, quietly, gently, peacefully closed his eyes in 
 death. 
 
 His soul passed away as peacefully as a little child falling 
 asleep in its mother's arms. 
 
 His death was entirely unexpected, and created a shock 
 of sadness and surprise throughout the city. At an early 
 hour scores of sympathising friends began calling at his res- 
 idence to pay the last tribute of respect to the distinguished 
 dead. Hundreds of telegrams of condolence from his own 
 and adjoining States, were received during the day. A 
 meeting of citizens was at once called by Mayor Wooding to 
 give expression of the severe loss sustained by the people 
 of Danville, in the death of Major Sutherlin. 
 
 Mayor Wooding was called to the chair, and the members 
 of the press were elected secretaries. 
 
 On taking the chair, Captain Wooding stated the object 
 of the call of the meeting, and paid a glowing tribute to 
 Major Sutherlin. 
 
 Judge Cireen moved that a committee (the number to be 
 fixed by the chair) be appointed to draw up suitable resolu- 
 tions and present the same to the meeting for ratification. 
 
 The chair appointed the following gentlemeu as said com- 
 mittee : Messrs. Berryman Green, J. P. Harrison, G. C. 
 Cabell, H. W. Cole, W. E. Boisseau, J. T. Watson, Sr., J. K. 
 Jopling, Daniel Coleman, H. A. \^'iseman, J. N. Wyllie, J. M. 
 Neal and James Wood, Sr. 
 
 [43] 
 
After a short retirement, the committee returned and pre- 
 sented the following resolutions through its chairman, 
 Judge B. Green : 
 
 Whereas, God in His Providence, has again suddenly 
 summoned from our midst one of our most prominent fellow- 
 citizens, we, the citizens of Danville, having met together in 
 response to the call of the Mayor to give due expression to 
 our sorrow as a community and as individuals, do hum- 
 bly bow in submission to God's will, and recognizing 
 in' the death of Major AVilliam T. Sutherlin the loss 
 of one whose life has been spent here, we bear testimony to 
 the fact, that as Mayor, Alderman, and in all the various re- 
 lations of public and private life, he proved himself fore- 
 most in services, the value of which will long outlive his 
 memory, and to him we owe a debt of lasting gratitude. 
 
 We would especially emphasize his zealous labor to effect 
 public enterprises to which our city owes much of its pros- 
 perity, and at the same time his never failing hospitality 
 and courtesy so graciously shown to strangers in our midst 
 at his handsome home. 
 
 Finally, we deeply deplore the death of Wm. T. Sutherlin 
 as a loss not only to his community, but to our State and 
 country at a time when his counsels are needed and the ben- 
 efits of his wisdom much called for. 
 
 We reverently tender to his bereaved family our sorrow- 
 ing sympathy. 
 
 After the reading of the resolutions, Mr. Harrison said it 
 gave him pleasure to second the resolutions, and he desired 
 to lay especial weight upon one or two points of Major 
 Sutherlin's character, that all present would endorse as 
 true of him, and all might well imitate. 
 
 In the first place, as a man he possessed one crowning- 
 virtue ; he did not bear malice however vigorous and bitter 
 the contest, and because of his prominence he was engaged 
 in many. The speaker from observation and experience 
 
 [44] 
 
could testify tliat after the fight was over, whether Major 
 SuTHERLiN was the victor or was vanquished he forgot all 
 the bitterness, and burying the past would stand shoulder 
 to shoulder with his recent opponent. He was a foe worthy 
 of any man's steel, and in nothing does he deserve our praise 
 and remembrance more than in this. 
 
 In the next place he was public spirited, and always kept 
 open house at his hospitable home to entertain prominent 
 people who visited Danville, in this, as a city, we shall 
 miss him more than we would miss any other citizen. Re- 
 cently when Gov. McKinney and his staff came to Danville to 
 meet President Davis' remains, Major Sutherlin came to 
 the depot with his carriage and took the Governor and his 
 staff to his house ; no one else did so. This was character- 
 istic, and no man can tell how much in this way he did for 
 his city. We hope there are those here upon whom his 
 mantle may fall. 
 
 Finally, Major Sutherlin is not only a loss to us as men 
 and as citizens of Danville, nor even to Yii'ginia, whose 
 Lieutenant Governor by common acceptance he bid fair to be 
 but for his untimely death, but to the whole country. To 
 him, more than to any other, is due the insertion in the 
 Democratic platform at Chicago, of the plank removing the 
 tax upon State Banks. It was his pet scheme. I heard 
 him expound it in his speech at Chatham, and confess I bp- 
 came a thorough convert. He was to have spoken by spe- 
 cial invitation at Bedford City next Monday, on this all im- 
 portant topic, and was busy preparing himself for the 
 occasion. His death at this crisis is a public loss to our 
 whole country. 
 
 I must heartily second these resolutions. I have said 
 this much as due to his memory, and deserving of your im- 
 itation. 
 
 After the remarks of Mr. Harrison, Mr Montague arose 
 and said : 
 
 Mr. Chairman: 
 
 [45] 
 
I desire to accentuate another manifestation of the admir- 
 able trait of Major Sutherlin's character just spoken of by 
 Mr. Harrison. 
 
 The same generous fellowship that made the lamented 
 dead so abound in hospitality, made him a ready and 
 staunch friend of young men. For I do not think the great 
 observation of Bacon that the old, in order to retain their 
 youth, should associate with the young, was a controlling- 
 factor in determining Major Sutherlin in forming so many 
 acquaintances and friends among the young men of this city 
 and country. But on the contrary it was due to the callings 
 of a nobler principle. It was due to his catholic sympathy, 
 liis broad and deep humanity, and the buoyant vigor of his 
 progressive intellect. He was no IrDulafor ieni'poris act). 
 The past was memorable and dear to him ; but the future 
 most thought of and most valued by him. He was a man 
 of action. And in this future did he see the opportunities 
 for the doing of deeds, the field for the oper ition of the 
 masterful, constructive qualities of his make up He was 
 hopeful ; never despairing. So he stood naturally and gladly 
 in the ranks of the young men in his older days. And 
 he stood in those ranks rather as a wiser and cheering com- 
 rade, than as a censor or carping critic. To the young man 
 trudging the hills of life's roadway, Major Sutherltn al- 
 ways shouted the lusty shout of cheer and hope, and oftener 
 than is commonly known to the earnest struggler he lent an 
 Herculean hand of help. But when the hill was mounted 
 his hand was steadying, and his wisdom was temperative. 
 
 1 must observe, before taking my seat, upon one strong 
 quality of Major Sutherlin's strong intellect. He was a 
 great adviser. For a man of educational opportunities, so 
 limited in early life, his powers of analysis were almost phe- 
 nomenal. He was the most earnest and patient listener I 
 ever conversed with He absorbed statements of facts with 
 method, accuracy and rapidity. His discernment was most 
 acute. And his judgment upon any given proposition was 
 rarely at fault. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, Danville has lost a most remarkable man, 
 
 m 
 
and public spirited citizen ; our common country, a sincere 
 patriot ; and his friends, a strong, sympathetic and helpful 
 companion. 
 
 Judge Berryman Green also spoke of the many good qual- 
 ities of Ma.toe Sutherlin, and in giviog an analysis of his 
 character, said Danville had lost its best citizen, and the 
 greatest intellect the town had ever produced. As one who 
 knew his worth, he mourned his loss. Hon Geo. C. Cabell 
 also spoke in the highest terms of Major Sutherlin's char- 
 acter and usefulness, and said he feared his loss could never 
 be replaced. Touching remarks were also made by Messrs. 
 James Wood, and J. R. Jopling. 
 
 Senators Hunton and Daniel, the one by telegraph, and the 
 other by letter, also bore testimony to Major Sutherlin's 
 cliaracter as follows : 
 
 Mrs. W. T. Sutherlin km deeply distressed at the death 
 of your distinguished husband. We have been warm friends 
 for thirty years. He was able, patriotic, generous, and brave. 
 Virginia has lost one of her best, and ablest sons, his 
 community its leading citizen. The poor a generous bene- 
 factor, and his family its devoted head. Accept condolence 
 from one who knew him well, and loved him. 
 
 Eppa Hunton. 
 
 I enjo3xd a most agreeable acquaintance with Major Wm. 
 T. Sutherlin, and he was so well informed on all public 
 questions, that his conversation was always interesting and 
 profitable. A short time before his death, I had the pleas- 
 ure of a visit from him at my home, in Lynchburg, and was 
 impressed with the vigor and gr^sp of his mind, and with 
 the fullness of information with which he discussed matters 
 now engaging public attention. From his eager interest in 
 
economic affairs. I anticipated most advantageous results to 
 our State. 
 
 Major Sutherlin was one of our most enlightened and 
 public spirited citizens. The energy and sagacity with 
 which he prosecuted whatever commanded his attention in- 
 sured success, and his ability was such that he would have 
 made his mark in any legislative or public body. The great 
 interest that he took in agricultural and economic affairs 
 gave him much influence, and his loss will be deplored, not 
 only in the community where he lived, but throughout the 
 State whicii profited by his counsel and services. 
 
 I mourn the death of Major Sutherlin. not only as a 
 friend, but also as a leading citizen whose life was most use- 
 ful to the State. 
 
 Jno. W. Daniel, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Those who had known Major Sutherlin intimately as 
 
 pastors and friends, also contributed willing and generous 
 
 testimonials to the w^orth of thier departed friend, as will be 
 
 seen from the following letter : 
 
 I esteem it a very precious personal privilege to have a 
 small space in a mem )rial volume of the life and character 
 of so true a man, and faithful a friend, as Major Wm. T. 
 Sutherlin. 
 
 Our friendship began at the session of the Virginia Con- 
 ference, 1865, when I was so kindly and generously enter- 
 tained as his guest, and by appointment became his pastor. 
 
 To him, through the blessing of the Great Head of the 
 church, I was largely indebted for whatever of success at- 
 tended my pastorate of three years in the city of Danville. 
 His active co-operation, his wise counsel, and his princely 
 contributions of money and land, enabled the Methodist 
 brethren and friends to move from their old dilapidated 
 church building at the corner of Wilson and Lynn streets, 
 and establish themselves in the large new house of worship 
 
on Main street. To this church extension enterprise he 
 gave thousands of dollars and no little of valuable time and 
 judicious supervision. While Danville Methodism owes 
 very much to many others for her wonderful growth, and 
 development, to Bro. Sutheelin not a little is due for the 
 magnificent results of the last quarter of a century. We are 
 profoundly thankful that his work abides in the helpful in- 
 vestments he made for the prosperity of the church. He 
 was passionately devoted to the Methodist church, and that 
 devotion so provoked adverse comment as to occasion suf- 
 feriog of which few had knowledge. He endured no little 
 that he might advance his church to the front place occupied 
 by sister churches of other denominations. 
 
 He was a remarkably liberal man, ever giving privately 
 and publicly, aiding in benevolent enterprises, relieving the 
 personal need and distresses of the suffering poor, espec- 
 ially ministering to tbe widows and orphans. Yet he was 
 wisely discriminating in his benefactions, and therefore was 
 sometimes wounded by the unkind and unfriendly criticisms 
 of those whom he refused. How often it could have been 
 written of him, he ''delivered the poor that cried, and the 
 fatherless, and him that had none to help. The blessing of 
 him that was ready to perish came upon him, and he caused 
 the widow's heart to sing for joy." 
 
 In his home life he was almost faultless as husband and 
 father. In reviewing three years of intimate association, 
 memory fails in noting an unkind, unpleasant look, word or 
 tone in the happy Christian home of Bro. Sutherlin, where 
 his pastor and friend had freely, and fully, the right of way 
 at all times. There were no scenes in that home. 
 
 Nature favored him with mental endowments far above 
 ordinary — not brilliant, but strong and vigorous and extra- 
 ordinarily resourceful He was in almost every instance 
 fully equal to the expected and unexpected demands made 
 upon him in the various relationships of business and po- 
 litical life. His ability to manage successfully large and 
 complicated business interests, and to control men, was a 
 continual surprise to his friends and neighbors who knew 
 
 [49] 
 
of the comparative meagreness of his early advantages. At 
 no time was he untrue to his gifts, but ever utilized them 
 for their enlargement, ami his increasing usefulness. ' 
 
 He knew men thoroughly, and with a will of unusual 
 power, he influenced them as opportunity offered and occas- 
 ion required. A man of strong character, he was devotedly 
 loved by his friends, and most strangely misunderstood by 
 those who disliked him, because they could not use ]jim, 
 
 I have nothing to regret in the many years of our broth- 
 erly love and intercourse, save, that I was not more helpful 
 to the one who had so greatly blessed one with his friend- 
 ship. AV. W. Duncan. 
 
 The best view point as both to clearness and comprehen- 
 siveness, from which to study the life and character of an 
 individual, is that of the family. Among those next best, 
 especially where the individual is active and prominent in 
 church matters, is the pastoral relation. Such, from the 
 intimate association herein assured, is the nearness of view, 
 and such the many sidedness of view that a pastor's estimate 
 of a person is worthy of high rank among those factors that 
 make up the judgment as to what he is or was. It is as his 
 pastor at, and for some time before, Major Sutherlin's 
 death that I speak of some of the salient features of his 
 character, and as these features appeared to me. 
 
 Among the first things that impressed me, an impression 
 deepening as I knew him better, was that Major Sutherlin 
 had a brain of unusual size, and of superior quality. His 
 mental grasp was strong, his perceptions acute, and his 
 vision clear. He had an unusual amount of common sense. 
 Upon many subjects lie was an oracle. Knowing him, no 
 one had need to be told tliat he was a leader among men. 
 
 Major Sutherlin's public spiritedness was prominent, yea, 
 as a mountain among hills, overshadowing. Whatever con- 
 cerned his country, his State, his section, his city, his neigh- 
 bor and friend, concerned him. Exempted by his simple 
 means, particularly in the latter part of his life, from con- 
 
 [50] 
 
stant business, he gave more time to the interests of others, 
 than to his own successes, numerous, and of every kind, 
 many political, many in connection with the building np of 
 the material interests of his State or section, many of ad- 
 justing difficulties between neighbors, or of helping a friend 
 out of financial straits, owe their being to him. 
 
 The hospitality of Ma.joe Sutheelin was large and gener- 
 ous. A traveller relates that in Bokhara, he saw a great 
 building, the gates of which were open, and fastened back 
 to the walls with large nails. The house had not been shut 
 night or day for a hundred years. All who came were am- 
 ply entertained by the hospitable owner. This descripiton, 
 in all of its essential features, was equally applicable to 
 Major Sutherlix's princely home. To his many guests his 
 bearing was, what is mine is thine. 
 
 In the family, as a husband and father, or grand-father, 
 Major Sutherlin impressed me as unusually considerate 
 and devoted. What a wealth of affection there was, ready 
 to be expended as their welfare might demand ! I can well 
 believe that m a married life for nearly forty-four years, not 
 a speck of cloud ever marred the sunshine of a loving com- 
 munion with her whose heart beat to his heart in sorrow as 
 in joy, in conflict as in triumph. And what tenderness, yea, 
 more than woman's tenderness, he alwavs evinced to his 
 grand-daughter, the light of his eyes ! Upon the Wcdls of 
 my memory, painted in colors that fade not, are heart-felt 
 pictures of that sweet home life. 
 
 As a member of the Methodist church, Major Sutherlin, 
 I am assured, was in the early days of Danville, its foremost 
 man, the author of a larger and broader policy in church 
 work, which proved so fruitful of good. When I first knew 
 him, he was still the all-hearted man of his earlier life, still 
 ready for every good word and work. The crucial period 
 of many a great enterprise lool^ed not to him in vain. He was 
 wise in council, and of great breadth of view. In ad.vocat- 
 ing the liberal support of his pastor, he once made, in my 
 hearing, a remark that deserved to be written in letters of 
 gold. "When I cannot take good care of my preacher, I 
 
 [olj 
 
shall take in my sign at home." Bountiful living and large 
 expenditures, at home, did not, in his judgment, comport with 
 a niggardly support of the church. 
 
 As a Christian, Majok Sutheelin was a man of the finest 
 impulses. The trend of his life was upward. If at any 
 time through business, or other cares, there were deflertions 
 or less religious action, he took noble revenge upon such 
 states by being more earnest afterwards. It was to be ex- 
 pected that a man of his type, would, in his large and varied 
 contact with men, have now and then antagonisms. 
 But here, as elsewhere, he was a broad guage man. He was 
 above petty spite and rancor There was observable a sin- 
 gular freedom from bitterness, as he talked to me incident- 
 ally of some of those old experiences. Children, who in- 
 stinctively recognized worth, were devotedly attached to 
 Major Sutheelin. His religion was of a practical turn The 
 poor found in him the warmest and most helpful friend. 
 He made many a ''widow's heart sing for joy.'. 
 
 He highly valued prayer. "Let us pray together, before 
 you leave," not in a cold and perfunctory spirit, but with 
 warmth and genuine interest, often fell upon my ears. If 
 one's favorite hymns are suggestive of creed and character, 
 then such favorite hymns with him as "Jesus lover of my 
 soul," "Rock of Ages," "How firm a foundation," etc., hold 
 out before us the correctness of his belief, and at the same 
 time his trust in Christ as his full, and all-sufficient Saviour. 
 I am thoroughly assured that when the Master called him, 
 he was growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 
 Take him all around, Majoe Suj herein was a remarkable 
 man. His loss is humanly speaking, irreparable. The writer 
 accounts himself happy in having enjoyed intimate fellow- 
 ship with Major Sutherlin. While memories of him are 
 tender and precious, Hope distinctly whispers that one of 
 the richest unfoldings of the future will be the renewal of 
 that communion in the glorious home above. 
 
 J. S. Hunter. 
 
At a session of the Yirginia Annnal Conference, held in 
 Petersburg, November, 1892, I first formed the acquaintance 
 of Major Sutherlin, whom I had Tnown for years by repu- 
 tation as a wealthy and very influential citizen of Danville, 
 and of his native State. Commanding in appearance, with 
 force marked in every line of his striking features, he then 
 impressed me that he was one fitted for leadership, a very 
 Saul among men, from the shoulders upwards taller than his 
 fellows. From that Conference I was sent to Danville, as a 
 pastor, when his carriage met me at the depot and conveyed 
 me to his beautiful home, which ever afterward I entered 
 as liis firm friend, and welcome guest. When I last entered 
 it, my beloved brother had left earthly scenes for a brighter 
 and more beautiful Home in the skies. 
 
 Maj. Sutherlin was a man of unusually high endowments, 
 so much so, that it is doubtful, if in natural vigor of intellect, 
 he had a superior in the State. He was a wise, rather than 
 a brilliant man. Clear in his conception, (and perception), 
 patient and thorough in investigation, remarkably accurate 
 in his conclusions, forcible and convincing in argument, con- 
 servative and reliable in his opinions, he was fitted for the 
 gubernatorial chair, and would have graced the Senate 
 chamber of the United States. These qualities, added to 
 an integrity that no temptation could successfully assail, 
 enabled him forcibly to impress himself upon his associates, 
 acd command their highest respect. He easily ranked 
 among the first citizens of his State, and for his own com- 
 munity, perhaps, no other ever did so much to advance its 
 material interests. Danville owes to him a debt it can never 
 repay, and Yirginia unites in the obligation, for the services 
 he rendered, the contributions he raade to city and State, 
 by his energy, his liberality, his far-sighted and progessive 
 ideas. 
 
 The esteem in which he was held by his fellow-citizens, 
 is partially shown by the ofiices of trust and honor to which 
 they voluntarily called him. Mayor of his town, State Legis- 
 lator, member of the State Secession Convention, Bank and 
 Railroad President, and Director, President of State Agri- 
 
cultural Society, member of the State Board of Agriculture, 
 member of the Virginia Board of Public Works. All these 
 places he filled with credit to himself, and honor to his 
 constituents. In addition to these, the distinguished services 
 he rendered on the celebrated Committee of Kine, in the 
 dark reconstruction days, should cause every citizen of the 
 Old Dominion to revere his memory, and write as his epitaph, 
 "Well done, good and faithful servant.' 
 
 Major Sutheelin was ever the warm friend of liberal ed- 
 ucation. He was largely instrumental in building the Dan- 
 ville College for Young Ladies, and for many years was a 
 Trustte of Randolph Macon College, contributing liberally 
 to its endowment fund, and also establishing the Sutherlin 
 Prize Medal for Oratory. 
 
 But the character of the man was far greater than his 
 services as here recorded. He had a heart of pure gold. 
 His cordial hospitality welcomed with equal warmth to his 
 palatial home, the President of the Confederate States, and 
 the poorest visitor. His courtesy to the humble was marked 
 and unvarying. His contributions to relieve the indigent 
 and distressed, were frequent and large. No cry for aid 
 could reach his ear from the deserving, that did not arouse 
 the sympathy of his generous heart. 
 
 But the trae man could only be know^i by those who par- 
 ticipated in his home life. How cordial his greeting, how 
 unstinted his hospitality. He could welcome the coming, 
 but was from very nature reluctant to "speed the parting 
 guest." We enter the domestic shrine with unaffected dif- 
 fidence and sincere reverence. We may hold supended, but 
 for a moment the curtaiu of the Holy of Holies, for how can 
 we speak of his devotion to his cherished wife, who for so 
 many long years was the worthy help-meet and trusted 
 friend and adviser of this great man ? How can we speak 
 of his ardent love for the daughter, whose funeral service it 
 was our sad duty to conduct, Mrs. Francis Lee Smith, one 
 of the most beautiful, amiable and accomplished women we 
 have ever known. How tell how the tendrils of his heart 
 twilled about his darling grand-daughter, the lovely child of 
 
a noble mother ? These are themes too sacred for the pub- 
 lic gaze. We may only say, his home was more tlian the 
 abode of wealth and luxury, it was a reflection of heavenly 
 love, peace and happiness. 
 
 Of the Methodist church, in Danville, Major Sutheelin 
 may justly be called the father. Even before he was a pro- 
 fessing Christian, he secured the first Methodist minister 
 who ever held a pastorate in the town, and under his preach- 
 ing the Major was converted in 1855. In his Christian 
 character he was not demonstrative nor intrusive, but he 
 was sincere, and his feet were firmly planted on the Eock of 
 Ages. From the year of his conversion, until the day of his 
 death, the church was dear to his heart. He evinced his 
 interest by deed and word, by cheerful liberality, by active 
 effort, by fervent prayer. Main Street and Mount Vernon 
 church both record his generous contributions, and his ear- 
 nest zeal in their behalf. He died in full membership in 
 the church of Christ, and from its door soard upward to his 
 eternal reward. 
 
 He has gone, but his infiuence survives to bless mankind. 
 He is dearl, but the record of his life is ineffaceable and im- 
 perishable, and "by it he yet speaketh." The State, the 
 city, the church, each, has suffered what man calls an irre- 
 parable loss, but our consolation aboundeth when we think 
 of our dear frieod who has left us for a little while ; for 
 
 "Faith looks beyond the tomb, 
 And Heaven's bright portals sparkle through the gloom." 
 
 * S. S. Lambeth. 
 
 Mount Vernon, the church in which Major Sutherltn 
 held his membership, passed the following resolutions : 
 
 Whereas, In the Providence of God, Major W. T. Suth- 
 ERLIN, a member of the Official Board of Mount Vernon M. 
 E. church, South, and oue of our Stewards, departed this 
 life on the morning of the 22nd of July, 1893. 
 
 Besolved, That in the death of Major Sutherlin, our 
 
 [55] 
 
brother, the Board of Stewards has lost one of its most es- 
 teemed and valued officers ; our church one of her most 
 honored and respected members, our city one of the most 
 intelligent and public spirited residents, and the State of 
 Virginia one of her most prominent and reputable citizens. 
 
 Resolved, That the death of Major Sutherlin, so sudden 
 and unexpected, was to the members of the church, and to 
 the Official Board, a personal loss and grief, but to him, our 
 departed brother, ripe in life's work, and in love of the 
 church and membership, it was only the beginning of a higher 
 and better life with the Master whose servant our brother 
 had been for years. 
 
 liesolved, That to the widow and family of our deceased 
 brother, in this hour of bereavement and sore trial, we ex- 
 tend our love and sympathy, and invoke upon them the con- 
 solation and support of a dear Saviour, who has promised 
 to remember and care for the widow and the orphans. 
 
 liesolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the re- 
 cords of the Official Board, and that the Secretary send a 
 copy of these resolutions to our sister, the wife of our de- 
 ceased brother. 
 
 (Signed) Aug. 7th, 1893. 
 
 E. B. WITHEES, ) 
 
 K. L. DlBPiELL, V Committee. 
 
 J. H. SCHOOLFIELD, j 
 
 The Masonic Lodge also passed the following touching 
 resolutions : 
 
 Headquarters Dove Commandery Knights Templar, 
 
 Danville, Ya., July 28th. 1893. 
 
 Whereas, Our honored and beloved f rater Sir Knight, 
 W. T. Sutherlin, has been removed from us by death, there- 
 fore be it 
 
 Resolved, That we acknowledge with all humility the wis- 
 dom and providence of God in all his dealings with us, and 
 bow in humble submission to his divine will. 
 
 [50] 
 
Besolved, That in the death of Sir Knight Sutherlin, this 
 Commandery has lost one of its most useful and influential 
 members. One who was ever ready to respond to the call 
 of duty, and one who gave to it freely the fall benefit of his 
 valuable experience and wisdom. 
 
 Besolved, That we recognize his devotion and loyalty to 
 the Masonic fraternity in all its departments, and especially 
 do we acknowledge the debt of gratitude we owe to him 
 for the intelligence with which he planned, and the sagacity 
 with which he executed in the years long passed, in order 
 to establish the fraternity on a solid, financial basis, so that 
 it could carry on the works of philanthropy and charity, for 
 wliich this fraternity has been noted in this community. 
 
 Besolved, That we respectfully tender to his family our 
 earnest and tender sympathy, in this, their hour of desola- 
 tion. Respectfully submitted, 
 
 W. W. WADDILL. ) 
 J. I. PRITOHETT, V Committee. 
 F. B. GRAVELY, ) 
 Copy test, A. T. Barr, Jr., Recorder. 
 
 At the regular stated communication of Roman Eagle 
 
 Lodge. F. & -A. M., held in Masonic Temple, Danville, on 
 
 the 14tli day of August, 1893. the following preamble and 
 
 resolutions were adopted : 
 
 By dispensation of Providence, this Lodge has been 
 brought to mourn the death of Wm. T. Sutherlin, our es- 
 teemed brother, who departed tliis life on July 22nd, 1893, 
 at the age of seveny-one years, three months and fifteen 
 days. 
 
 The many valuable public services wliich our deceased 
 brother rendered to his community and his State, are mat- 
 ters of history, and as such will receive due record, while 
 his work and influence as a Mason, will be commemorated ' 
 in the archives and traditions of our Lodge. 
 
 On the 16th of May 1844, brother Sutherlin became a Mas- 
 
 [57J 
 
ter Mason. From the first, he took an active interest in the 
 affairs of his Lodge, and rendered important aid in the 
 building of the temple now occupied by it. In 1851, the 
 ground upon which the temple stands, was deeded to the 
 Worshijjful Master and Wardens, to be held by them as 
 trustees for the Lodge, our deceased brother being then one 
 of the Wardens, and from that time till his death, he was 
 one of the trustees by whom the property was held. He 
 gave his sound judgment to its care and management. In 
 his charities he exemplified the tenets of our order, by ready 
 response to appeals for relief of the needy and distressed. 
 For nearly half a century, he was among the foremost in the 
 good work of our order, and now that he has passed from 
 labor unto rest, as a mark of our appreciation of his services 
 and bereavement at his loss, be it 
 
 Resolved, 1st. That Roman Eagle Lodge deeply laments 
 the death of brother Wm T. Sutherlin, one of its oldest 
 and most useful members, who was wise in counsel, as he 
 was energetic and liberal in promoting the welfare of this 
 institution. 
 
 2nd. That while our deceased brother was zealous as a 
 Mason, he was also patriotic and public spirited, and we 
 recognize that the results of his labors in behalf of our or- 
 der, our community and our State, will be a fitting monu- 
 ment to his memory. 
 
 3rd. That these Resolutions and Preamble be spread up- 
 on the records of this Lodge, and a copy thereof be sent to 
 the family of our deceased brother, with the assurance of 
 our sincere sympathy in their affiiction. 
 
 ABNER ANDERSON, ) 
 H. W. COLE, V Committee. 
 
 FRANK S. WOODSON, j 
 J. L. TYACK, Secretaey. 
 
 On motion, the city papers were requested to publish the 
 resolutions, and a copy be forwarded to the family of the de- 
 ceased. 
 
 On motion adjourned. 
 
 [58] 
 
A called meeting of the tobacco association was held the 
 same afternoon at 2:45 o'clock, at Planter's warehouse, and 
 was called to order by President James G. Penn. 
 
 Mr. Penn stated that the association had been called to- 
 gether on account of the death of Major W. T. Sutherlin, 
 one of the oldest members of the association, and in order 
 that the association could take suitable action in regai d to 
 his death. 
 
 On motion of Mr. Dudley, a committee of three, consisting 
 of Messrs. O. W. Dudley, E. H. Miller and D. J. Holcombe, 
 was appointed to prepare and present suitable resolutions. 
 
 The committee retired, and after a short absence returned 
 and reported the following, which were unanimously adopt- 
 ed. 
 
 We your committee appointed to draft suitable resolutions 
 on the death of Major W. T. Sutherijn, beg to submit the 
 following : 
 
 Whereas, In the providence of an Allwise God, death 
 has again invaded our ranks and taken from as our oldest, 
 and one of our most honored members. Major W. T. Suth- 
 erlin, who, although not continually in the trade, has for 
 the past forty-seven years been prominently identified with 
 the tobacco industry of our city and community, first as 
 manufacturer, then as planter, and at the time of his death 
 at the head of the Sutherlin Meade Tobacco company, aud 
 recognizing the loss our trade, city and community have 
 sustained by this visitation of Providence, we, the Board of 
 Trade, desire to express our deepest sorrow at his death, 
 and to this end be it 
 
 Resolved, 1st. That we bow submissively to the will of 
 God in summoning from amongst us by the hand of death, 
 our associate, Major W. T. Sutherlin, a leader whose judg- 
 ment was sought, as a counselor wise and sagacious, ever 
 
 m 
 
willing and ready to lend bis influence and energy for the 
 upbuilding of our trade and city, and a helping hand to those 
 in distress. 
 
 2nd. That we tender to his bereaved family our heart- 
 felt sympathy in his death, and pray that God will shield 
 and protect them in this their sad affliction. 
 
 3rd. That these resolutions be spread upon our records, 
 and the same published in our city papers, and resolved 
 further, that the trade attend the funeral in a body. 
 
 It w^as moved and adopted that the members of the trade 
 meet at the residence of the deceased at 5 o'clock in the af- 
 ternoon, and attend the funeral in a body. 
 
 The State Board of Agriculture resumed its session at the 
 Exchange Hotel at 10 o'clock yesterday morning, with Mr. 
 Corbin in the chair. The other members present were 
 Messrs. Mallory, Gaines, Lyman, Palmer and Commissioner 
 Whitehead. 
 
 The committee appointed the evening before to draft res- 
 olutions touching the death of the late president of the 
 Board, Majok W. T. Suthehlin reported through their chair- 
 man, Mr. H. Lyman, as follows : 
 
 Your special committee to whom was referred the resolu- 
 tion of respect to the memory of our lamented late presi- 
 dent, Major Wm. T. Sutheelin, beg leave respectfully to re- 
 port : That the sudden announcement of the visitation of 
 Providence, by which our State has been deprived of a man 
 so thoroughly in sympatViy with its agricultural interests, 
 has filled us with profound sorrow. 
 
 He was a man wise in t\\e counsels of this Board toward 
 the direction of measures for the advancement of the agri- 
 cultural prosperity of each district, and it ever seemed to 
 be his determined effort to do everything which would se- 
 cure to any individual or locality every benefit of improve- 
 ment by which land could be made more valuable, farm la- 
 bor dignified and farm homes happier. 
 
 His genial disposition a:iJ pure character impressed itself 
 
 [GOJ 
 
upon all wlio came in contact with liim, and especially did 
 it seem to shine forth in his intercourse with the Board. 
 
 We grieve over the loss of one of the most able and patri- 
 otic sons of Virginia, who had distinguished himself in 
 every sphere of useful endeavor, the loss of a highly appre- 
 ciated and much cherished friend, a noble colleague and a 
 true Christian gentleman. 
 
 We recommend that these resolutions be spread upon the 
 records of this Board, and that a copy be sent to the be- 
 reaved family. We further recommend that the clerk of the 
 Board be instructed to furnish copies of these resolutions to 
 the press. 
 
 (Signed) HENEY L. LYMAN, Chairman, 
 S. AYELLFORD CORBIN, 
 EICHAED V. GAINES. 
 Following the reading of the resolution each member of 
 the committee took occasion to refer in tender and touching 
 terms to the life and character of their esteemed late presi- 
 dent of tbe Board. The references to their associations 
 with him in their capacity, and the deep interest he had al- 
 ways manifested in the promotion of agriculture of Virginia 
 were of the tenderest character. 
 
 All Sunday morning and afternoon people poured into the 
 late residence to take a last look at the dead as he lay in the 
 casket. 
 
 Long before the time set for the cortege to move to the 
 church, people gathered on the spacious grounds, and in the 
 hallways at the mansion, waiting for the arrival of the Ma- 
 sonic bodies whom the deceased, when in life, so much 
 honored, and who were to take part in the funeral obsequies. 
 
 On the casket was the following simple inscription. 
 
 Majoe William T. Sutherlin. 
 Born, April 7, 1822. 
 Died, July 22, 1893. 
 
 [01] 
 
A few minutes after 5 o'clock, the lid of the casket was 
 drawn, and the face and form of him whom the people ad- 
 mired, 8nd who had dwelt so long among them, were bid 
 from view forever, and the casket borne to the hearse. 
 
 The march was then taken up to the church in the follow- 
 ing order : 
 
 Knights Templar. 
 
 Morotock and Roman Eagle Lodges of Masons. 
 
 Tobacco Association. 
 
 Pall-bearers and flower-bearers. 
 
 Hearse. - 
 
 Carriages containing family and friends. 
 
 The funeral cortege was flanked on both sides by a large 
 concourse of people. On arriving at the church, the casket 
 was met at the entrance to the audience room by Rev. J. S. 
 Hunter, the pastor, assisted by Rev. Dr. S. S. Lambeth, 
 Rev. Dr. T. B. Thames, Rev. Dr. W. E. Edwards, Rev. C. B. 
 Bryan and Rev. W. T. Doggett The reverend gentlemen 
 preceded the casket to the cliancel, the pastor reading, "I 
 am the resui'rection and the life," and as it was deposited in 
 front of the chancel, the choir sang "How firm a foundation 
 ye saints of the Lord," which was followed by the reading 
 of the Scripture lessons by Rev. Dr. Edwards. 
 
 Hymn, "He Leadeth Me," was then sung, Mrs. John N. 
 Wyllie rendering the solo part. 
 
 Rev. Dr. T. B. Thames then offered a fervent invocation 
 
 which was followed by a solo by Mrs. G. G. Temple, "I 
 
 Would Not Live Always," air. Home, Sweet Home. 
 
 Every seat in the church was occupied, and people crowded 
 into the aisles. 
 
 [u2] 
 
Rev. Dr. Lambeth, of Norfolk, a former pastor and 
 firm friend of the deceased, wlio had come on to Danville 
 on hearing of Majoe Sutherlin's death, arose and in beau- 
 tiful language paid a splendid tribute to his life and charac- 
 ter. 
 
 Rev. J. H. Forbes related several incidents in the life of 
 Major Sutherlin, and at the conclusion of his remarks, Rev. 
 J. S. Hunter preached a short sermon from Lamentations, 
 iii, 33 ; For he doth not afflict willingly. 
 
 As the choir sang "Abide With Me," the remains were 
 borne from the church, the following being the pallbearers : 
 Knights Templar : G. K. Griggs, E. H. Miller. W. F. Pat- 
 ton and W. W. Waddill ; Master Masons : Robert Brydon, 
 J. L. Tyack, G. C. Cabell and F. S. Woodson. 
 
 The flower-bearers were : H. W. Cole, T. J. Talbott, John 
 H. Schoolfield, Wm. Rison, D. Ayres, W. T. Law, J. S. Meade, 
 A. Douthat, E. B. Withers, F. M. Hamlin, A. Anderson, 
 Judge B. Green, Judge A. M. Aiken, E. E. Bouldin, J. M. 
 Neal, P. W. Ferrell, M. P. Jordan, Green Penn, C. C. Dula, 
 J. T. Watson, Sr., C. H. Hickey, A. J. Montague, J. O. Foy, 
 Duval Porter, W. E. Meade, P. Bouldin and J. P. Harrison. 
 
 Just as the sun disappeared behind the western hills, the 
 body was lowered in the grave at Green Hill cemetery the 
 Masonic ceremonies closing the burial services. 
 
 The floral offerings were numerous and beautiful, among 
 them being Gates Ajar, inscribed my Uncle William ; Pillow, 
 My Husband ; square and compass, Masonic emblem ; h-re 
 and harp. 
 
 A large number of strangers were present, among them 
 
 [63] 
 
being Colonel Thomas Whitehead, Colonel J. S. Cunning- 
 ham, Major R. Y. Gaines and H. G. Buchanan. 
 
 CHAPTER YII. 
 
 As a matter of course, it might be expected that the press 
 would comment widely on the death of such a distiuguished 
 citizen as Majoe Sutherlin. And so it did. Out of many 
 hundreds which appeared we have only space for a few of 
 the leading ones. 
 
 From the Danville JJaibj Begisfer : 
 
 In the death of Major Wm. T. Sutherlin, the South, Vir- 
 ginia, the city of Danville, and the church of God have sus- 
 tained a loss not easily repaired. 
 
 For more than a half a century he had been prominent as 
 a public spirited citizen, a promoter of good and a patriotic 
 lover of his country and his people. 
 
 For more than forty years Danville has been engnged in 
 no public enterprise of which lie was not the originator or 
 an active promoter. Danville has known no educational, 
 church or charitai^le enterprise to which he was not a lib- 
 eral contributor of means, time and talent. 
 
 Though Major Sutherlin had completed his three score 
 years and ten, it was frequently said of him that in all 
 things requiring energy, sagacity, public spirit and a genu- 
 ine American progressiveness, he was the youngest man in 
 the community. This was literally true, and as his years 
 increased his public spirit grew instead of diminished. 
 
 His long experience in public and private business, his 
 unbounded knowledge of men and methods, his liberal views, 
 his quick perception, capacity for getting at the very bottom 
 of everj^thing, his broad and never failing wisdom, and above 
 
 [64] 
 
all, liis kindlT inclination to hold all these powers at the 
 command of his friends made him a friend and a gnide to 
 the struggling yonng man, the weak business enterprise, the 
 feeble church, the cramped charitable institution, that was 
 worth more in the end than a large bank account. 
 
 He loved Virginia and Danville, and his time and talent 
 ' were ever at their command ; he loved the people of Vir- 
 ginia, and he served them well ; He loved the church, and 
 in his unostentatious way he did as much as any one man in 
 Virginia or anywhere else to promote her welfare and in- 
 crease her usefulness. 
 
 Truly, the commonwealth has lost a noble son, this city 
 one of its noblest and most patriotic citizens, and the church 
 a pillow of strength. 
 
 But the severest loss of all is that sustained by the loving- 
 wife, who has cheerfully shared with him in his early strug- 
 gles and his reverses, and rejoiced with him in his many 
 triumphs and successes, and for nearly a half century has been 
 to him a helpmeet in the truest sense of the term. 
 
 To her, and to the devoted grand-daughter, the heartfelt 
 sympathy of this community, which loved and honored 
 Majoe Sutherltn goes out. 
 
 From the Danville Evening Star : 
 
 Our entire community was inexpressibly shocked by the 
 announcement early this morning of the death of our distin- 
 guished fellow-citizen, Major Wm. T. Sutheelix, which 
 occurred from angina pectoris at his residence, in this city, 
 at 3 o'clock this A. M. The news of this great public 
 calamity spread rapidly, and the gloom which overshadowed 
 every face and the large concourse of friends and admirers who 
 gathered at his doors with anxious inquiries and deep sym- 
 pathy, were in themselves the strongest testimonial of the 
 high esteem and respe t in which the deceased was held by 
 all classes of his fellow-citizens. 
 
 As a man and citizen, Majoe Sutherlin was a marked 
 character, possessing many oi the mental and moral attrib- 
 utes which characterize the world's greatest men. His mind 
 
 [05J 
 
was suggestive to an extraordinary degree, and at the same 
 time far-reaching and profound, while acute and prompt to 
 decide. He was quick and ready in forming his opinions, 
 and bold, aggressive and alert in maintaining them. He 
 wrote with great force and clearness, and was an able and 
 persuasive speaker. He was ever keenly alive to his duties, 
 as a citizen, and ready to advance by pen, speech and hand 
 the public interest. As a financier, he had few equals, hav- 
 ing accumulated a large private fortune, and been always a 
 leader in the financial discussions of politics. At the very 
 time of his death he was preparing to address the citizens 
 of Bedford county on the present financial condition of the 
 country, and his views on this subject have alw^ays carried 
 weight in Virginia. 
 
 In private life he was gentle and urbane, generous and 
 hospitable beyond any person we have ever known, and no 
 man, rich or poor, was ever without a kindly welcome in 
 his beautiful home. 
 
 With all these elements of greatness and popularity, 
 Major Sutherlin might easily have secured the highest po- 
 litical honors, but he preferred the quiet ways of life and 
 the pleasures of home and family, with acts of daily public 
 usefulness, to the turmoil and worries of ofiice, and the wis- 
 dom of his choice is to be found in the grateful remem- 
 brance of his fellow-citizens and the tears and sorrow of the 
 many who have been recipients of his bountiful generosities. 
 
 Taken all in all Danville has lost her leading and greatest 
 citizen, and it will be long, if ever, before his place can be 
 filled. 
 
 To have been followed to the grave by so large a number 
 of sorrowing friends is of itself proof sufficiet that Major 
 Sutherlin held a strong hold upon the hearts of the people 
 of Danville. It seemed to have been a proud privilege of 
 thousands to call him their friend. Major Sutherlin died 
 in the eventide of a happy and useful life, with the setting 
 sun falling full and fair upon his face, without a shadow of 
 regret to obscure its splendor as it sank in a sea of sapphire, 
 gleaming in its own glory, shooting level lances of golden 
 
light over the western hill-top. He had accomplished his 
 life work, filled the measure of his earthly mission. When the 
 death angel touched his heart and said, "Peace be still," he 
 was ready to drop his weapons with which he had fought 
 the battles of life, and lay down to that dreamless sleep. He 
 fell like the autumn leaves in the winter of old age, like the 
 ripened grain before the reaper's sickle. 
 Peace to his ashes, in Heaven rest his soul. 
 
 From the Eichmond Dispatch: 
 
 The death of Major W. T. Sutheelin of Danville, is a sur- 
 prise and shock to the country. Though well advanced in 
 years, he seemed to be in fair health, and had made an en- 
 gagement to address a public meeting in Bedford on Monday 
 on the monetary situation. AVe, ourselves, were having a 
 tilt with him on that subject, in the friendly and candid 
 spirit which had cliaracterized our intercourse for two-score 
 years, and were making ready to parry the blows which we 
 knew he had the ability to deliver. 
 
 He was a man whom we esteemed highly. His home life 
 was beautiful, and he was one of the most public spirited of 
 Virginia's sons. In politics, business and church work he 
 was an active spirit. He had a vigorous mind and a gener- 
 ous heart. He might have seemed brusque to strangers, but 
 that which could have been mistaken for brusqueness was 
 really nothing more than directness of purpose and not from 
 lack of consideration for the feeling of others. 
 
 He was ever aiming at the development of the resources 
 of this commonwealth. Though possessed of a fortune 
 which was the product of his own energy and capacity, he 
 was not content to be a mere looker-on in life. He h id 
 served as a legislator, president of the Agricultural Society, 
 president of the State Board of Agriculture, president and 
 director of railroads, director on many boards, Ac., and 
 freely gave his time and labor to the public. 
 
 At his house in Danville, President Davis held his last 
 Cabinet meeting. In reconstruction times the Major rend- 
 ered this State services of inestimable value as a member of 
 
 [67] 
 
1 
 
 that "Committee of Nine" citizens who steered Virginia out 
 of the quagmire of reconstruction into the Union again. In 
 the House of Delegates he impressed his fellow-members 
 with the breadth of his views, his earnest and far-seeing pur- 
 pose, and capacity, to consider and discuss nearly all of the 
 questions which came before that body. Here inKichmond 
 the people knew him well. He was one of the best presi- 
 dents the State Agricultural Society ever had. Indeed, he 
 was a man whose character, intelligence and industry com- 
 manded public respect, whilst his warm-hearted sympathies - - 
 endeared him to a wide circle of friends. 
 
 Lately the name of Major Su i heelin had been coupled 
 with the nomination for the offi.ce of lieutenant-governor, 
 and thousands of our Virginia people had felt that it would 
 be a handsome thing for the Democratic party to do to con- 
 fer this honor upon him who had done so much for it and 
 asked nothing of it. But it was not to be. Death came and 
 claimed him for another sphere, where, we trust and be- 
 lieve, he is enrolled am )ng the blest. 
 
 From the Norfolk Vinjinian : - - 
 
 In the death of Major W. T. Sutherlin, of Danville, Virgin- 
 ia, suffers the loss of one of her most prominent sons, and Dan- 
 ville a most distinguished and public spirited citizen. 
 Throughout the length and breadth of the commonwealth 
 he was known and respected. He was a man of the highest 
 type and character, whose rare good sense rendered his ad- 
 vice and judgment important in all matters appertaining to 
 the welfare of his section or his State, in business or in po- 
 litics. His death will be lamented throughout the State. 
 
 From the Richmond State : 
 
 Danville and that section of Virginia will miss Major W. 
 T. Sutherlin. He was looked up to as the leading citizen. 
 It was a responsible position, requiring executive talent and 
 disinterested devotion. Major Sutherlin had both. The 
 man who occupies that unique place as the leading citizen 
 in a community has a position of great responsibility 
 
 [68] 
 
From the Danville Times 
 
 In our local columns we give an account of the death of 
 MajokWm. T. Sutheelin. 
 
 A few weeks ago, while we were at his house, we well re- . 
 member how sadly he said : "Bouldin, there are very few 
 of us left." Little did we think that, so soon he too would 
 pass away, making the number one less. Major Sutheelin 
 was our friend, and although we differed widely at times, on 
 public questions, it made no difference with him ; his 
 friendship for us individu illy and his support to our paper, 
 continued to the Inst. 
 
 Saturday morning when his manly form was laid out for 
 the grave, as we gazed upon the placid features of his face, 
 the life and animation all gone, and his voice hushed in 
 death, a spell of sadness came over us such as we have sel- 
 dom experienced in this vale of tears. 
 
 Major Sutherlix had a kind heart, and his crowning vir- 
 tue was, ( what that of every other man, who is like him, is,) 
 that he made a good husband. Nor was this kindness of 
 heart confined to his family ; he was a friend to the poor, and 
 helped a great many people. 
 
 He was hospitable and entertained strangers to a greater 
 extent, we dare say, than any man in Danville. 
 
 He was public spirited, aiding in all measures which were 
 calculated to build up the town and country. One thing has 
 struck us, and that is, sometimes when the people of Dan- 
 ville wanted a measure put through, and were doubtful of 
 success, they called upon Major Sutherlin, and even those 
 who didn't like him, joined in. What greater tribute 
 could be paid to his talent, tact and energy. 
 
 He was not only active in building up the material inter- 
 ests of the country, but he helped the cause of religion and 
 education. Among the instances of his aid to the latter, 
 we will mention the fact that he encouraged oratory by 
 awarding what is called the "Sutherlin Medal," every year, 
 to the best speaker at Randolph Macon College. 
 
 He was not a worshipper of the past, but a man of pro- 
 
gress. Nor was his a speculative mind : it was eminently 
 practical. The abstruse metaphysical questions which 
 have perplexed a large portion of mankind from the days of 
 Job down to the present time, never disturbed him For 
 instance, the individual who introduced such a question as, 
 how can God's foreknowledc^e be reconciled with man's free 
 agency, was soon interrupted by his asking, what is Congress 
 doing? or what do the farmers say about the tobacco crop ? 
 His mind was on the practical affairs of life. 
 
 Yery few persons ever got the better of Major Sutherlin 
 in debate, for the reason that, in the first place, he was a 
 m;in of ability and weighed his subject well before he rose 
 to speak. Besides, he was very cautious and never allowed 
 his temper to get the better of him. 
 
 Too many persons tell the first man they meet what you 
 reveal to them in confidence; but Major Sutherlin was not 
 that way. He was the safest man to talk to, we ever met. 
 
 The farmers of Virginia regarded him as a valuable friend 
 to their class, and had he lived to the 17th of August (the 
 time for the State Convention,) they would have backed him 
 strongly as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor. 
 
 Major Sutherlin's value to the community never appeared 
 to greater advantage than it did S"on after the riot, when he 
 acted as chairman of the "Committee of Forty." We have 
 not space to enlarge ; but many of our readers remember 
 the important part which he took on that memorable oc- 
 casion 
 
 There is, in the life of Major Sutherlin, much to encour- 
 age the poor young man who is ambitious of success. When 
 he started out in life on his own hook he had nothing but 
 the clothes which were on his back and seventy-five cents 
 in his pocket. His great success was owing to the fact he 
 wanted to succeed and had the power of self-denial. 
 
 The death of such a man is not only a great loss to Dan- 
 ville, but also to the State of Virginia. 
 
 Danville Southern Tobacco Jotirnal : 
 
 The Tobacco Journal is called upon to announce the sud- 
 
 [70] 
 
den death of another prominent member of the Danville 
 Tobacco Association, in the person of Majok W. T. Suther- 
 LIN. This sad death occurred this morning at his residence 
 on Main street in this city at 3 o'clock. 
 
 Notwithstanding the ripe age that Major Sutherlin had 
 attained, no death that has occured in our midst comes more 
 unexpected to the community, it was indeed a shock. He 
 was yesterday morning about on the streets apparently in 
 usual health and great activity for one of his age. His ill- 
 ness was of a few moment's duration. It is supposed the 
 immediate cause of death was heart failure. He was 71 
 years of age, was born a few miles from Danville, April 7th, 
 1822. 
 
 Few men were know^n more extensively throughout the 
 South than was the subject of this sketch. He was prompt 
 in every movement, christian, social, material or political, 
 that he thought would advance the interests of the South, • 
 and volumes of interesting and profitable reading matter 
 could be written upon the character and life of Major Suth- 
 EELIN, but we will only attempt to give our readers an out- 
 line of his life as a tobacconist. 
 
 When a mere youth he was engaged in steaming tobacco 
 in one of the first manufactories started in Danville. After 
 clerking for a while, he embarked in business on liis own 
 account by procuring a one-horse team and peddling tobacco 
 in the South. It is said that from the start in those pioneer 
 days of tobacco manufacturing, he was recognized as poss- 
 essing, in a high degree, the qualifications requisite for a 
 successful business career, and was admitted a partner in a 
 tobacco manufacturing firm about 1845, and w^as continu- 
 ously engaged in the manufacturing business until 1861. In 
 the successful prosecution of his chosen avocation he had 
 risen almost from obscurity to become one of the largest 
 manufacturers in the South before the war. 
 
 He has from youth to old age been connected with the to- 
 bacco interests in the capacity of grower, manufacturer or 
 dealer. 
 
 He was the prime mover in the organization of the Dan- 
 
 [71] 
 
ville Storage AVarehouse, and many other enterprises of the 
 trade that have so greatly tended to build up this city. 
 
 At the time of his death he was an active member of the 
 Sutherlin Meade Tobacco Company of this city. 
 
 He was an honored and the oldest member of the Danville 
 Association. 
 
 From the Lynchburg News : 
 
 A telegram was received in this city from Danville yester- 
 day announcing the sudden death, at 3 o'clock A. M.. of Ma- 
 jor AV. T. Sutherlin, with an^jina pectoris. 
 
 Major Sutherlin was born in Pittsylvania county, near 
 Danville, about sixty-five years ago. Prior to the war, he 
 was engaged in the manufacture of tobacco, by which he 
 amassed a large fortune. He was a member of the conven- 
 tion which passed the ordinance of secession from the Fed- 
 eral Union, and upon the opening of hostilities entered the 
 army as major quartermaster, and remained on duty at Dan- 
 ville in that capacity until the close of the war. When the 
 evacuation of Richmond drove President Davis and his Cab- 
 inet from the Confederate Capital, the President and several 
 members of the Cabinet were for a time Major Sutherlin's 
 guests, and it was in his house that Mr. Davis penned his 
 last proclamation to the people of the Confederate States. 
 
 At the close of the war Major Sutherlin turned his atten- 
 tion to agriculture, and purchased several valuable farms in 
 Pittsylvania. He was elected a member of the House of 
 Delegates, and as a legislator impressed his characteristics 
 of enterprise and energy upon the legislation of the State. 
 He declined a re-election and retired to private life, but has 
 since figured several times in Democratic conventions, and 
 was an alternate from Virginia to the Chicago Convention 
 which nominated President Cleveland. 
 
 During the present gubernatorial campaign, as is well 
 known. Major Sutherlin has been put forward by his friends 
 for the position of Lieutenant-Governor, and has made sev- 
 eral speeches, his specialty being the currency question. 
 
 Socially, no citizen of Danville, or Pittsylvania county, 
 
 [72j 
 
was more generally popular or more hospitable. He leaves 
 a widow and one grand-child, the latter a young lady well 
 known in social circles throughout Virginia and the South, 
 a daughter of Colonel Frank L. Smith, of Alexandria. 
 
 From the Richmond Christian Advocate : 
 
 On the 22nd inst., this prominent and well known Metho- 
 dist of Danville passed suddenly away. At the age of 
 seventy he fell a victim to a heart affection of which he had 
 suffered some serious attacks at different times. He has 
 been a leading figure in business, political and religious cir- 
 cles in the society of his section of Virginia, and a repre- 
 sentative man of the State at large for many years. From 
 the time of the transfer of that section of the old North Car- 
 olina Conference to Virginia, in 1858, he has been identified 
 with the progress of Methodism in Danville ; and the large 
 educational movements and important measures for the de- 
 velopment and strengthening of our interests as a Christian 
 denomination have been assisted by his council and sup- 
 port. He established the "Sutherlin Prize Medal," for 
 oratory, at Randolph-Macon College, and contributed liber- 
 ally in other respects to that institution of which he was, 
 and had been long a trustee. At the time of his death he 
 was President of the State Board of Agriculture, having al- 
 ways been a foremost patron and practical promoter of that 
 noblest of occupations by which men gain a living. He had 
 been largely engaged in railroad construction, chiefly for 
 the opening up of regions around Danville. His beautiful 
 and elegant home in that city was the seat of a generous 
 and courteous hospitality, and none were more welcome to 
 its halls or received there more attention than ministers of 
 the Gospel. We tender to his bereaved family our most 
 heart-felt sympathy, and pray that they may abundantly re- 
 ceive the supporting grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 
 The funeral took place at Mount Vernon Methodist Epis- 
 copal church at 5:30 o'clock Sunday afternoon, and was at- 
 tended by a vast concourse of j)e()ple The services were 
 conducted by Rev. Joshua S. Hunter. A eulogy was deliv- 
 
 [73J 
 
ered by Dr. S. S. Lambeth, a former pastor of the deceased. 
 The body was escorted to the cemetery by Lodges of Knights 
 Templar and Master Masons, and buried with Masonic 
 honors just as the sun was sinking in the western sky. 
 
 From the Reidsville, N. C, Webster s Weeldy : 
 
 The Weeldy is grieved to chronicle the death of Major W. 
 T. SuTHERLiN, of Danville, which sad event occurred at his 
 home last Saturday morning about 3 o'clock. His malady 
 was heart disease, and he died very suddenly. Our news 
 columns contain an account of his death and a brief sketch of 
 his life. 
 
 Major Sutherlin was a clear-headed, broad-guage man, 
 and exerted a wide influence in his State. His death is a 
 great blow to Danville and a loss to the whole State. 
 
 We have known him many years and found him a true 
 friend and safe counsellor. His opinions were always valu- 
 able because he went to the bottom of whatever he turned 
 his mind upon. His great energy and remarkable power of 
 concentration were the secret of his magnificent success in 
 the business world. 
 
 Better than all, our honored friend made preparation for 
 the life beyond, and the memory of his good deeds will ever 
 be fragrant. 
 
 May the devoted wife, and grand-daughter, who composed 
 his family, find divine comfort in their dark hour of afflic- 
 tion. 
 
 [74] 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 During the course of his life, Majok Sutherlin never failed 
 to serve his fellow-citizens when requested to do so. And 
 as his ability was well known, he was frequently solicited to 
 deliver addresses in different sections of the State. As his 
 style of speaking, and subject, were nearly always of a prac- 
 tical nature, and as the advice in them is so sound, and so 
 much in keeping with their author, we hardly deem it nec- 
 cessary to re-publish them with any apology for so doing, 
 for we conceive the perusal of these addresses will give 
 the readers of this memoir a clearer conception of their 
 friend intellectually than the}^ otherwise could have had. 
 
 It is well known that Major Sutherlin was always in 
 sympathy and touch with the Agricultural and Mechanical 
 classes. In consequence he was willing at all times to assist 
 them in any way he could. Only two years after the late 
 war, he was requested by the Mechanical Association of the 
 city of Danville to address them. He did so, and the fol- 
 owing correspondence will show how it was received : 
 
 Danville, Ya., March 12th, 1867. 
 Major W. T. Sutherlin — Dear Sir : In compliance with 
 the unanimous wish of the Mechanics' Association, as ex- 
 pressed in the resolution below, I have the honor to request 
 for publication a copy of your excellent Address, delivered 
 
 [75] 
 
before us on the 11th instant. Hoping that you may be in- 
 duced to yield to the earnest desire of the Association, in 
 thus allowing us to place this admirable production in a more 
 enduring form I am very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 SAMUEL PILSON, Prest. 
 
 On motion of W. T. Eainey, 
 
 Resolved, That the thanks of the Association be tendered 
 Major W. T. Sutherltn, for the very able and instructive 
 Address, delivered before us this evening. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of that Address be requested, with 
 permission that it may be published. 
 
 Danville, Ya., March 15th, 1867. 
 Dear Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
 of your letter of the 12th inst., desiring for publication a copy 
 of my Address before the Mechanics' Association, at Dan- 
 ville. 
 
 In complying with your request, allow me to express my 
 thanks to your Association for their very complimentary 
 resolutions, and also to yourself for the flattering terms in 
 which you have been pleased to communicate them. 
 Yery respectfully. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 W. T. SUTHEBLIN. 
 
 SAMUEL PILSON, Esq. 
 
 President 3Iechanics' Association, DanviUe, 
 
 Mr. President, and Qentlemen 
 
 of the Mechanics' Association of Danville : 
 
 I appear before you, in compliance with your invitation, to 
 give what aid I may to yonr praiseworthy effort to elevate and im- 
 prove yourselves as members of the various mechanical pro- 
 fessions. 
 
 I feel honored by the ii vitation to address you ; honored by 
 
the confidence it expresses, that what concerns yon, is of interest 
 to me. That confidence is not misplaced. I regard yonr society 
 with no careless feeling. Properly guided, to proper ends, it will 
 be productive of great benefits both to you and others. Associa- 
 tion itself is power; but when that power is supplied with wheels 
 and cogs, springs and levers, fire and steam, which the mechanic 
 should know how to place and apply as well intellectually as 
 physically, then it can influence to mighty results and move at 
 will the masses of society. 
 
 There are many topics that present themselves to the mind as 
 suitable themes for an occasion like this. Indeed, the great diffi- 
 culty is to select from the many, such as are of chief importance 
 and of general and acknowledged interest, so as to avoid taxing 
 the hearer to weariness. 
 
 One thought over which many, if not the most, of mechanics 
 brood, until it bears bitter fruit, is connected with the social 
 position awarded to working men. Why is it, they ask them- 
 selves, that mechanics are not entitled to positions as elevated in 
 society as those accorded to other classes of citizens ? Is not a 
 mechanic as worthy of respect as any other man ? But these 
 questions cannot be satisfactorily answered by a simple assent or 
 denial ; and it is important as now, that we give to them a proper 
 consideration. 
 
 It would be idle to say to you that distinctions in society are 
 either useless or improper. They are necessary. There will be, 
 there must be, social distinctions while man is man. The world 
 of mankind, reaches from the lowest grade of barbarism to the 
 highest of polished civilization. Every diversity is a separate 
 link in the long chain, and every step in human progress is a 
 ground of distinction. Out of these variations arise discrimina- 
 
tions and associations ; classifications and groupings that grow 
 out Qf the fitness that almost compels companionship. Naturally, 
 like seeks like, and so society organizes itself, and settles into 
 classes, each of which has some strong bond of affinity, some cen- 
 tral idea ; wealth in some, pride of birth, intellectual tastes, 
 scientific researches, similarity of pursuits, political accord, any 
 common trait or liking that secures to those within the particu- 
 lar circle, community of interest and harmony of sentiment. 
 These classes of society remain ; they are permanent. But of the 
 individuals that compose them, many are constantly passing from 
 one to another as changes occur in their circumstances and for- 
 tunes ; and to secure such change and transfer from a lower to a 
 higher sphere is one of the great struggles of life. This is man's 
 great ambition — a pride of soul neither to be derided nor des- 
 pised. It makes him economical and industrious, and inspires 
 him with a noble effort to rise above his present condition and 
 reach something higher and better. Such earnest effort makes 
 the true man, and distinguishes men from men, both as to moral 
 strength and mental capacity. This animated motive inspired the 
 poor shepherd boy of Scotland, when lying at night beside his flock 
 in the secluded valley, and wrapped in his coarse plaid, he looked 
 up to the bright stars above him, to rouse his young strength to 
 scale the scientific heights to which their beauty and their glory 
 pointed him, and stand successfully at the top in sight of won- 
 dering men as Ferguson, the Astronomer. v 
 
 Yours is an association naturally growing out of a similarity 
 of pursuits; the employmEnt of your thoughts and toil upon 
 mechanical art in its various forms. 
 
 And what is a mechanic ? A working man ; one skilled in 
 some art of value to the world, at which he works with his own 
 
 [78] 
 
hands as a calling. And what is there here that of necessity is 
 either low or degrading ? It was not in wrath, bnt in mercy, 
 that God said to the man who had lost his Paradise, ''In the 
 sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread." Was Socrates, the 
 world- renowned philosopher of the olden time, degraded because 
 he had worked as a mechanic ? His memory is immortal. Was 
 Paul the "tent-maker" degraded when he said, "These hands 
 have ministered to my necessities ? Let his Apostolic pre-emi- 
 nence, and the undying glory that rests upon his name, be a suffi- 
 cient answer. Benjamin Franklin the printer, who was not 
 ashamed, with his own hands to trundle through the streets of 
 Philadelphia, the wheel-barrow that contained his little lot of pa- 
 per, all that in his poverty he conld purchase,and Eoger Sherman, 
 the poor Connecticut shoemaker, each by sobriety, industry and 
 intellect, became a member of that Congress which ushered a na- 
 tion into being; and both of them, as members of the committee 
 that framed the Declaration of Independence, stood side by side, 
 acknowledged equals, with Jefferson, Livingston and Adams, who 
 belonged to the most aristocratic classes of society. Sheffey too 
 could rise from his hammer and lap-stone in the Valley of Vir- 
 ginia, and fearlessly cope with the sarcastic wit of the aristo- 
 cratic Randolph, of Roanoke, in the halls of Congress ; and 
 Andrew Jackson, rising from the humble position of a county 
 constable in South Carolina, by dint of energy and intellect, be- 
 came the hero of New Orleans, and the idol, not merely of a 
 powerful party, but of the whole people. 
 
 Farther back in the world's history we see a poor and obscure 
 sailor, possessed of nothing but the body and mind that God 
 gave him, and who, at the time referred to, was even fed by 
 charity at the gate of a convent, yet standing before an assembled 
 
 [79] 
 
council of the learaed and the noble, "pleading the cause of a 
 new world," as Irving eloquently expressed it ; stood there not 
 merely to plead a theory, but determined to work out the problem 
 of an unknown hemispere, beyond an ocean over which human 
 courage had never ventured. And farther still in the distant past, 
 we seethe messengers of the proud Roman Senate entering the 
 precincts of a small farm where a poor man was ploughing his 
 little field, and saluting him, not merely consul, but dictator, to 
 control by his single will the destinies of war and peace of that 
 powerful republio; and to-day, the once obscure ttiilor of North 
 Carolina, is the energetic President of a great nation. None of 
 these men were great when they began their course. And it is 
 for you to determine, each man for himself, what position he will 
 occupy in the scale of social distinctions. This cannot be given ; 
 each individual man must work it out by his own toil and intel- 
 lect. 
 
 Before I pass to other themes, there are some thoughts of pecu- 
 liar point in this day of change in our social fabric, which I will 
 present in this connection. The more favored classes of our 
 young men, those who have had early advantages of education 
 and position, have been in the habit of looking to the professions 
 of law and medicine, or to the merchant's counting room, as the 
 only eligible and desirable means of obtaining a livelihood or 
 seeking fortune. Agriculture, when the work was to be done by 
 other hands than their own, has also been considered as proper for 
 youths of this description ; but all kinds of mechanical pursuits 
 have been sedulously avoided, and the sight of a boy to whom 
 other avocations were open, apprenticed to some handicraft trade, 
 with the intention of following it as a life profession, is so very 
 rare that we may pronounce it almost unknown. Why is this? 
 
 [80] 
 
History is full of evidence that meclianical labor is no barrier to 
 either social or political distinction. To my mind there are two 
 main reasons for it. First, it has grown into a maxim that it 
 degrades the boy to apprentice him to a trade. I do not mean 
 the simple idea that labor is considered degrading; for the same 
 boy that would spurn a jack-plane, and look with horror on a 
 hand-saw, is very willing to sweep out a merchant's store, or dust 
 the goods on the counter, and will even take a pride in enconn- 
 tering a pile of greasy bacon for the accommodation of any 
 chance customer. Noble and true boys, they will work till mid- 
 night if necessary; but from the idea of being apprenticed to a 
 blacksmith or a carpenter, they shrink back appalled. 
 
 What is the canse of this strange difference? The words trade, 
 apprentice, mechanic, are what seem to them degrading; not 
 mere labor. They have been educated to look on a trade as un- 
 genteel — not proper work for a gentleman. AVhy shonld not a 
 gentleman be a mechanic, and a mechanic be a gentleman? No 
 one can give a reason. Who looks more like a man, such as God 
 made in his own likeness, — he who stands out in the open snn- 
 light, and with healthy, ruddy conntenance, beaded with the 
 sweat of toil, and well knit sinewy frame, hurls his good axe into 
 the stubborn forest tree, or he who with feeble frame, the inheri- 
 tance of a hot-house childhood, stands in the shade behind the 
 merchant's counter, and smilingly measures off, for some fair 
 customer, ten 3^ards of calico, which he positively assures her 
 "will wash?" Which seems the more elevated position, to ham- 
 mer the red iron on the ringing anvil, and to forge the un wieldly 
 mass, and lit and frame the thundering locomotive, or to sit 
 lazily in some professional office and talk politics, or study idly 
 at the street corner and discuss with learned criticism the dresses 
 
 [81] 
 
of the ladies as they pass ? Gentility, — a gentleman, — none of 
 these things make np either the one or the other. These grow 
 out of elevated principle in a man, not the trade or profession he 
 may happen to have adopted. ^ 
 
 The other principal reason why apprentices look so ap- 
 palling to a boy gently reared, is the failure of those who have 
 mechanical shops to respect their own calling, and maintain its 
 proper dignity. Men have combined to assign mechanics a low 
 position in the social scale, and mechanics have too often as- 
 sented to the unjust verdict. Let the mechanic, feeling that he 
 is a man, manifest the same respect in his shop, that the merchant 
 and the professional man exibit in the office and the store. Not 
 by written rules only, but let him show in his conduct and bear- 
 ing that he respects himself. No man, tradesman or other, need 
 expect, that when by his own course he rates himself at a small 
 figure, the world or any one in it, will count him as a large one. 
 Such has been the weight of this incubus, this wight-mare of 
 opinion, that very few of the mechanics of our country have ever 
 served a regular apprenticeship. There is so little care by the 
 master of the shop, to give the boy at the work- bench the consid- 
 eration shown by the merchant to the clerk in his store, that it is 
 little wonder the better class of boys, who have been taught to re- 
 spect themselves, shrink from apprenticeship as they see it in 
 practice. 
 
 As I said in the commencement, there will always be social dis- 
 tinctions ; but no law, no power on earth, no division-fence, can 
 prevent a poor man being a gentleman, as fully developed as a 
 rich man, and from being houored as such by all whose respect is 
 worth the seeking. This word,"gentleman," has come to be strange- 
 ly applied, and means in ordinary u^e anything or nothing. My 
 
 [82] 
 
meaning when I use the term is, a man of integrity and moral 
 worth, who shows by his course to others, and his care of himself, 
 that he values what is honest and true and lovely and of good re- 
 port, both in himself and them. Let a man, mechanic or not, 
 spend his time in lewd and drunken company ; let his choice re- 
 sort to the bar-room, or let midnight find him at the gambling 
 table or the brothel, and he will be sure to find a level far below 
 the respect of the worthy, and where he is certain to reap all the 
 blight and ruin that come to the degraded. Mechanics have no 
 magic shield, any more than other men, to ward off the injuries 
 they invite by their own imprudences. He that deliberately goes 
 down into the valley, need have no surprise that others are above 
 him, who have patiently toiled up hill and mountain. 
 
 If we have not yet learned the important lesson, we cannot learn 
 it too soon — for it is a trath — that it is honorable to labor. Learn, 
 that the drops of sweat from that labor, which cluster about thy 
 brow, may be made to prepare it for a wreath of fame ; that the 
 mechanic at the forge may harden his muscular arm to wield a 
 sceptre of power ; that he who chips the rough granite into form 
 may none the less be able to fashion human thought ; and he who 
 with patient skill at the work-bench smooths the gnarled and 
 cross-grained wood, may be the man to bring order, beauty, and 
 value out of the conflict of human opinions. Believe me, the time 
 is fast passing away when any man can secure honor and position 
 through idleness. Let the dainty kid glove look in scorn on the 
 toil-worn hand ; — answer the scorn with pity. For nothing in the 
 teachings of an all-wise Providence should we feel more thank- 
 ful, than the fact that God has stamped it on everything of earth, 
 that there are dignity and honor in labor. Henceforth, wealth, 
 distinction and success, if we achieve them, must be wrought out 
 
 [83] 
 
by our own brain and muscle. They who lie clown on roses to 
 dream, will wake up to find that thorns have pierced them. 
 
 The day has been when the master mechanic could look into 
 his work-shop and see many hands that he could call his own, em- 
 ployed for his advancement in wealth and influence ; and when 
 the farmer could ride over his many acres well tilled by laborers 
 that the law said were his property. But these things, too, are 
 with the past. To cast odium upon the laborer now, is but to 
 dishonor us all. We must gird ourselves for the struggle that is 
 before us ; for it will be fierce and strong. Life is no pastime 
 now, but a stern reality ; and the theatre on which we must play 
 our parts, will fully tax our skill and test our endurance. The 
 world, with the altars of God and the market places of mammon ; 
 its truth and its falsehood, its solid gold and its glittering tinsel, 
 its wealth and its poverty, its honor and its shame ; — all warn us 
 in thunder tones that this is no place to dream. It may be that 
 to win success you will have to burn the midnight lamp. Let it 
 be so. If you are ambitious for distinction, if you are determined 
 to assert the fullness of your manhood, take any one calling, know 
 no change, and inscribe on your banner success I Be patient, en- 
 dure fatigue, and if it come disappointment; but never falter, 
 for with fortitude and constancy and singleness of purpose, the 
 goal of your ambition will be surely reached. 
 
 I speak to you as mechanics, not laborers merely. There are 
 very many of the latter who never seek more than to make a liv- 
 ing. They rise up in the early morning, and breakfast secured, 
 with a'small bucket in hand, they go whistling and singing to 
 their work. These are happy in their station when employed and 
 in health, and are useful in their place. They will most likely 
 remain in that condition an ] never have a thought above it. But 
 
 [84] 
 
yoa are mechanics, and that term implies both skill of hand and 
 capacity to think. 
 
 Many of you doubtless:, while your hands are occupied, send out 
 your thoughts in search of knowledge and wisdom. You are 
 studying how to invent something to sujDply a need, how to im- 
 prove something already known, how to cheapen or more readily 
 execute even the work you have in hand ; for thus the mind of 
 the thinking mechanic is ever actively at work. 
 
 80 it was with that man of our own time, whose memory is 
 revered for the contributions which his researches have made to 
 human knowledge — the humble stone-cutter of Cromarty. He 
 stood by the rough granite day by day, with the mallet in one 
 hand and the chisel in the other, moulding, polishing, fashioning 
 to his will, his eyes fixed on his labor, as the chips and fire tiew 
 from the rock ; but his mind was as busy as his hand, and reason 
 following where thought led him, he gathered and gave to us in 
 the "Old Eed Sand Stone" and "The testimony of the rocks," a 
 monument to himself more enduring, than piled np granite could 
 ever be, with the name of Hugh Miller deeply graven upon it. 
 
 But, you say it is only the few who can expect to attain high 
 distinction. The great principles you lay down are true, but we 
 are more concerned to know^ how men of ordinary minds may 
 achieve independence or Avealth and such success as the mass of 
 mechanics may hope for. 
 
 This opens up a wide field for praatical thought. AVell direct- 
 ed ambition is laudable in any man. AW men may rise to some 
 height now above them by proper effort. Should we aim to ele- 
 vate ourselves by pulling down and depressing others, that is not 
 ambition but envy — one of the very vilest of the human passions, 
 more dangerous and pernicious than the sting of a scorpion. Ani- 
 
bition that aspires to excellence in all that is good and pore, is a 
 virtue. You should be ambitious to excel in whatever you un- 
 dertake. If you are a brick- layer, you should be ambitious to 
 lay more brick, with better mortar and smoother points, and make 
 a well finished job in less time than any other man; if a carpen- 
 ter, to have better tools, make better joints, a smoother surface? 
 and do more work of better quality than any other carpenter ; if 
 a blacksmith, to temper your metal to stand both heat and cold, 
 learn to weld heavy masses of iron with ease, use better iron and 
 steel and do better work and more of it than any other in that 
 business ; if a shoemaker, to use the best materials aud make 
 work that will not rip, make a better shoe and boot, in better style 
 and in less time, than any other workman ; if a printer, to learn 
 to set more type and more correctly in a given time, than other 
 printers. Thus might I go through the whole catalogue of trades. 
 The ambition I have described is a laudable ambition, and will, 
 with a proper regard to economy, lead any and all who are guided 
 by it, to independence and success. 
 
 It may be said that to insure success, capital is as necessary as 
 skill; and you wish to know how that is to be obtained. I would 
 answer that nine times in ten, the best way to get it is to work for 
 it. Gained in this way, it comes home to stay at home, and to 
 strengthen and encourage the owner. It is not like that which is 
 borrowed. That belongs to another, to be returned probably 
 when very inconvenient, and it may be with usury in addition. 
 If you will adopt the plan and adhere to it, of spending less than 
 you make, you will soon find your earnings accumulating on your 
 hands ; and these small savings will be a nucleus, around which 
 will cluster other gains, increasing to an amount that will both 
 surprise and encourage you. No man in the posession of his lib- 
 
 [8G] 
 
erty, spends so little but that he might spend less, and would, if 
 he were in earnest to become independent. For the want of such 
 a system of economy and thrift, many are like a man once in my 
 employ, who consumed all his wages and at the end of the year 
 complained that he had nothing. I told him he had one impor- 
 tant lesson to learn, which was, that he could not both eat his 
 cake and have it too. 
 
 You often hear men say they cannot understand how some peo- 
 ple get along in the world so well and so rapidly. They say "I 
 work as constantly and as hard as they do, yet I remam poor. 
 Mr. a few years ago was as poor as I am, but now he car- 
 ries on successfully a large business and is making money, and I 
 am actually working in his shop for my daily pay, which barely 
 supports me. How is that ?" This would be a hard case if it 
 could not be mended. Perhaps after all, the fault may be in him 
 who complains. I remember visiting a large machine shop one 
 day on business, and observed some of the employees stop work 
 and spread out on the benches before them, sumptuous dinners. 
 Generally, besides other meats, they had chicken, several kinds of 
 vegetables, and some of them had pastry. Presently a small ne- 
 gro boy stepped up to the proprietor who was himself a working 
 man, and said to him "Here is your dinner, sir." This dinner 
 consisted of two rolls, and a pint tin bucket full of buttermilk. 
 He drank his milk and eat his rolls with a good relish, sopping- 
 even the particles of butter from the sides of the bucket, and 
 when done his frugal meal, smacked his lips and seemed as well 
 satisfied and as ready for business as any man in the house. Now 
 were there no other reason, this difference in the cost of living — 
 a difference of from twenty-five to forty cents in a single dinner — 
 in that shop, would soon make one a proprietor and the others 
 
 [87] 
 
toilers for their daily bread, if even by labor they could pay their 
 way. A great many men remain poor, because they are unwilling 
 to make the necessary sacrifices of comfort and ease to become 
 rich. They too have yet to learn that they cannot eat their cake 
 and have it too. 
 
 There is another cause of dissatisfaction with many. They en- 
 deavor to commence life at the point, and in the style, their fath- 
 ers arrived at only after long years of toil ; and finding it very 
 difficult to do, they complain bitterly of the hardness of the times, 
 and think it strange they cannot get along smoothly. Unless 
 they can at one stride, reach the position which it has taken an- 
 other 20 or 30 years to attain, they think everything is wrong 
 and the world sadly out of joint. John Jacob Astor was consid- 
 ered a man of very good sense in his day; but he could not do 
 that, though from as poor a man as the poorest, he did become 
 the richest of the rich in the United States. But his progress 
 was step by step. He said "the first thousand dollars he ever 
 made gave him more labor than all the balance of his fortune." 
 Go surely, young man! If you ^o slowly, by patient toil you will 
 reach the summit. 
 
 I regret to see around me, and connected with your society, so 
 few of the young men of this section. This should not be so. 
 Many of you I know to be competent and reliable; and you should 
 have under your instruction a large number of the young men 
 of this country, devoting time and talents to mechanic arts. The 
 most of you know fi om experience, that early training, instruc- 
 tion, and discipline, are very important to success. If you, in- 
 telligent mechanics, do not interest yourselves in the welfare of 
 the young men growing up around you, your plrces must ere long 
 be filled by the stranger. Will you leave our native boys to be- 
 
 [88] 
 
come mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, in that stern 
 future which must be a future of labor to the masses of men ? 
 Shall they be left without resource beyond the pittance of a com- 
 mon laborer? You that are masters of shops, should have as 
 many sprightly lads apprenticed as your business will jnstify, and 
 teach them by precept and example the trades that will give them 
 an ample and honorable livelihood. The boys of the more fa- 
 vored classes may still seek professions, or refuse a place at the 
 work-bench or the forge ; but the indigent boy is at your hand, 
 and while the heart is right, will never be spurned for his pover- 
 ty. From this humble condition the brightest jewels of our man- 
 hood have been polished ; and industry, intellect and moral worth 
 have fashioned their setting of the purest gold. Indeed there are 
 but few of our prominent men, few of mark and power in place 
 or out of it, who if they undertook to trace their genealogy, would 
 not soon run into the mud ; while there are many imbeciles now 
 in the mire, who can easily trace their ancestry back to aristocra- 
 cy. If the more affluent classes will not give their children to 
 your training, take the humble and the poor. Treat them kind- 
 ly, and as far as you can educate them ; raise them up to self-re- 
 spect by your friendly counsel and gentle care ; teach them mor- 
 als and manners and prepare them to be men. They will amply 
 repay all you can do to the Virginia of the future. 
 
 This is more needed now than ever before. The many that 
 yesterday were rich, are poor to-day. The prosperity and compe- 
 tence they thought secure have broken like a bubble in the hand. 
 The very foundations of our social fabric have been upheaved as 
 by an earthquake ; and the roof-tree, under which our fathers 
 rested in confident pride that it would be forever, gives no longer 
 a shelter to their children. The past is to us like a dream, and 
 
 [89J 
 
it will never return. Regrets are idle and tears are useless. 
 Bend all your energies to the present need, and labor in hope for 
 a new prosperity. 
 
 In this connection it may be well to call attention to a fact by 
 no means unimportant, yet frequently forgotten ; I mean the re- 
 lation of the various classes of society to each other. This can 
 neither be a world of farmers, nor of merchants, nor of mechan- 
 ics, nor of professional men. It requires them all to make one 
 world, and to provide the comforts necessary to one ordinary 
 household. There is, there mast continue to be, a mutual de- 
 pendence of classes, as of individuals ; and the only true interest 
 that all require, that, while they work separately — and it in- 
 volves no paradox — they must work together. Such a view of the 
 great human family was well exhibited in that splendid vision of 
 the Jewish prophet, "a wheel in the middle of the wheel," and 
 all moving one way, and "when those went these went," and 
 "when those stood these stood." 
 
 But there is a wider range of thought, of grave importance to 
 all classes of our people, and of especial interest to the mechanic. 
 
 We are now in a state of transition. Socially as well as polit- 
 ically everything is unsettled, and as yet there is no intelligent 
 plan of progress, no practical principles agreed on for building 
 up prosperity. Staggered by the shock of the tempest that so 
 fearfully swept over us, there yet lingers an apathy that is slow 
 to realize the terrible truth of the ruin around us, and paralyzes 
 every effort for concert of action. We must nerve ourselves to 
 meet the occasion. Let us learn first of all that disaster is not, 
 of necessity, the herald of despair. The very ruins will give ma- 
 terial to the builder, and the ground has other uses than for 
 graves. If we would be a great people, we must consent to the 
 
 m 
 
changes that have come, and direct to advantage those that will 
 rapidly follow. The sudden and complete destruction of a sys- 
 tem of labor which by education and habit w^e had regarded as 
 permanent, has been met by a stubborn indisposition in the great 
 mass of the people, even to accustom their thoughts or adapt 
 their habits of life to the new order of things. The few who have 
 been able to comprehend the situatioQ and act upon it, are to- 
 day realizing larger profits than at any former period of their lives, 
 and in proportion to the rapidity with which we wisely follow 
 them, will be the return of general prosperity. 
 
 The greatest hindrance perhaps of any other to our success is, 
 that the larger portion of the laud of Virginia — all that was left 
 us as property of value — is owned by the aged and infirm, or men 
 beyond middle life, most of whom have no recuperative power, 
 and who from the long habit of looking in one direction and 
 using only on© means, cannot possibly conceive of anything but 
 poverty and distress in the future. And yet from agricultural 
 products must come our first real gain, and from energetic and 
 improved farming, our fi^rst solid advancement. Thus you will 
 see that the development of the State chiefly devolves on the 
 young, the ardent, and the hopeful. Our country abounds in 
 fertile but uncultivated lands. Even in those portions of the 
 State penetrated by railroads and navigable streams, the returns 
 are very meagre, compared with the capacity of the soil under 
 proper cultivation. The old system of labor destroyed, and the 
 uncertain labor now^ in reach, employed in the main without sys- 
 tem or thrift, make the prospect for the future gloomy indeed. 
 
 But this, you may think, is the farmer's business. What has 
 the mechanic to do with it ? You have much to do with it. 
 You can, and must, by your skill and energy, place in reach of 
 
 [91] 
 
our people, improved labor-saving machinery of every description 
 for the farm and the household. We cannot afford to indulge 
 any longer in the whims of prejudice. If you do not supply 
 these necessities, others must. If you cannot invent, you must 
 adopt the invention of others. You have no choice left. If you 
 falter, the rush of the tide of progress will sweep you away. We 
 look to you for labor-saving machinery that will make the ivork 
 of one man equal to that of two, three, or even four men. 
 
 If you do not furnish this aid others mast. The great interest 
 at stake cannot be permitted to languish for want of facilities so 
 necessary to its existence. I commend the subject to your care- 
 ful consideration. Why should the farmer of Virginia be com- 
 pelled to rely on foreigners for any implement of agriculture, 
 when his own State abounds in iron and coal, with water power 
 in almost every neighborhood, and no laok of the best timber in 
 the world ? Do you answer, we have always looked to foreign 
 supply, and how can you expect us now to meet an emergency for 
 which none are prepared, and when we are impoverished and des- 
 titute of means, both in labor and capital ? I answer, there will 
 be found enough of both for the necessity. Integrity and ener- 
 gy, never yet have failed ! 
 
 If unfortunately, Virginia, now as heretofore, shall direct her 
 energy and intellect to politics, and to study of legislation for the 
 nation at large, and if her population spend all the leisure their 
 new condition of poverty may leave them from the struggle for 
 bread, to the discussion of principles and tactics for party victo- 
 ries; why then a long farewell to her greatness. There has been 
 more than enough of this already. The great intellects of our 
 noble old commonwealth have aimed to make her proud, rather 
 than prosperous and rich, j' hey have devoted their strength to 
 
 m 
 
her jiolitical rather than her material interest. Beyoud the mem- 
 ory of this gvneratioii her great men have stond before the people 
 with a banner in each hand, slavery inscribed on one. and the 
 maxims of their respective political creeds on the other. AVith 
 these they rallied the excited mas.-es to many a victory : bnt the 
 victory was rnim and the success desolation : for there was no 
 science or skill in the workshops, and the lields were wilds for 
 the want of tillage. 
 
 The staves of these old party banners are broken now : and the 
 march of events in the past tive years lias torn to shreds the proud 
 emblems which they bore. AViil the sons of Mrgiuia engage now 
 in a wild cru>ade to recover a dead past, and galvanize into life 
 the corpse of dead systems r AVill they rally to the uplifting of 
 the tattered fragments of these banners of a "lost cause,"' and in- 
 sanely resolve that what is left of the Old Dominion shall be a 
 wilderness? Xo, never I 
 
 The banner of progress is lifted now. and the multitude is on 
 the march. Stand aside ye who are palsied by the prejudices of 
 the pa-t — or you will be trampled under foot without mercy I 
 
 Just here I will say. I have been often asked whether a contin- 
 uance of our political troubles will not have a very injurious ef- 
 fect upon the general prosperity of the State, and whether we can- 
 not and ought not to make some effort to bring about a practical 
 restoration of the country. 
 
 I do not consider this a tit occasion to make a political speeeh, 
 even if I were so dis^^osed. However, amidst the deep gloom that 
 hovers around our political horizon at this time, it may not be 
 improper for me briefly to refer to the subject. 
 
 I feel confident that great benefit would result to the State from 
 the speedy settlement of the political troubles of the country, 
 
and the permanent establishment of her political status. But, 
 however desirable this consummation may be to us, the time that 
 will be required, and the many disagreeable tests to which we may 
 be subjected ere it is effected, no one can now foretell. 
 
 While it is not my purpose to dwell on this subject it may be 
 well to make a few practical suggestions in this connection. 
 
 When two sections or countries have war, and one conquers 
 the other, the terms imposed for adjustment are the terms of the 
 conqueror, and not of the conquered ; and such terms reflect only 
 the character of the conqueror ; and if degrading or humiliating 
 are accepted because the conquered are powerless to do otherwise. 
 
 As a rule for our conduct, we should look at things as they 
 are, and not as we would ha^e them. 
 
 Whatever may be the desire of the President in this crisis, he 
 is powerless to relieve us from its pressure. 
 
 Those who look to Northern Democracy for any immediate re- 
 lief, or for the restoration of our political rights, will be as much 
 disappointed as those who look to negro slavery for the restoration 
 of our industrial interests. 
 
 For years to come majorities will make and execute the laws, 
 and minorities North or South will be the sufferers. 
 
 For weal or woe the Southern people should stand together. 
 
 However disagreeable, we should realize the fact, that, abstract 
 rights are among the things of the past. 
 
 A little common sense is sometimes as useful in politics, as in 
 mechanics or agriculture. 
 
 But as I say to you, let political issues continue or change as 
 they may, the great interest of Virginia and indeed of the whole 
 South is, to look to individual effort for material advancement, 
 
 [94] 
 
and to push with all the vigor we possess, the hammer and the 
 plough. 
 
 Before passing from this subject, I would direct your attentioH 
 to a serious evil, from which very few, if any, are entirely exempt. 
 
 This evil is the continual croaking, in which the press and the 
 people have so long indulged, that it has become almost universal. 
 One of the principal causes that have tended to aggravate this 
 restless and unhappy spirit has been the failure of Congress to 
 present any plan as -di finality, for the practical restoration of the 
 country. In this particular the plan now proposed is defective ; 
 because it leaves the people in dou1)t as to what will be the final 
 result. While many believe that if the present plan be accepted 
 by the South, restoration, peace and quiet, will be practically se- 
 cured, yet there are others who express fears and apprehensions. 
 Whatever be the result, we should not be unmindful that noth- 
 ing but evil can come from this constant manifestation of hope- 
 lessness and despair. 
 
 Those of us who have made up our minds to share the fate of 
 Virginia, whatever may be her destiny, cannot look with indif- 
 ference on the continual drain from the State of her noblest and 
 best young men. Many of these are induced to this course by 
 the repeated declarations of older heads, that their native State is 
 ruined beyond the hope of redemption ; that Negro Suffrage will 
 render her uninhabitable for white people ; and that nothing but 
 poverty and desolation will be left her. 
 
 This should not be so. We have other interests than those of 
 politics. We should remember that whatever may be the changes 
 in our political condition, our soil remains, and our glorious cli- 
 mate is beyond the influence of legislation. 
 
 We should not forget, that, in many portions of the State, well 
 
 [95] 
 
directed labor in the field never gave larger net profits than at 
 present ; and there is a fair prospect for a continuance of this in 
 future, whether she be Virginia or District No. 1. No country 
 in the world offers greater inducements for industry and enter- 
 prise in agriculture and the mechanic arts than does Virginia at 
 this time. 
 
 I say it here, and would say it the world, that Virginia is 
 not, and carunot be ruined, proscription or no proscription, ne- 
 gro suffrage or no negro suffrage. The day will come Avhen her 
 fields will blossom as the rose; when the mechanic arts will 
 flourish, and the locomotive's whistle be heard within her bord- 
 ers, where they were never known before. 
 
 I would appeal to our noble young men. We would speak to 
 them in words of affection and truth. Be not driven by these 
 croakings and evil prophecies, from your dear old mother State, 
 in the extremity of her need. However great the political op- 
 pressions may seem, that now test your indurance, they cannot, 
 they will not, last always. 
 
 We must devise systematic plans for progress. . The great (jues- 
 tions, how to secure labor and capital, must be met practically ; 
 and especially the question of labor in its broader aspects. It is 
 clear that we cannot develope Virgiuia without a suitable and 
 sufficient population. The negro labor must soon pass away or 
 be less available to us, and we must adopt some feasible and prac- 
 tical plan to increase our population. 
 
 We shonld, with as little delay as possible, make arrangements 
 to secure large numbers of the better classes of European emi- 
 grants, to settle and cultivate our unoccupied lands. It is not 
 the mere labor we want ; for if we only sought how to replace 
 the negro with white working hands, we would necessarily get a 
 
refase popnlatioD, the very dregs of the old world, that would be 
 of little value as hireliugs and might prove a serious disadvant- 
 age. ^\e want an intelligent class of immigrants who will come 
 with their families, and bring capital suflQcient to purchase and 
 stock small farms, and who will help to make np an industrious 
 and moral population. This is the most important subject be- 
 fore the people of Virginia to-day. Let the Legislature establish, 
 under the fostering care of the State, an Immigration Bnreau, to 
 be administered by the best talents of the commonwealth. Let 
 that burean, by proper system, procure a reliable map of each 
 county with a full description of soil, minerals, &c. Let these 
 maps and descriptions be as exact as possible, and show plainly 
 the character of soil, the products adapted to each, the minerals 
 if any known, and how situated, the water power, and how lo- 
 cated, with the roads, canals and all the facilities for transporta- 
 tion. From these it would be easy to get snch a description and 
 such a view of the whole State as immigrants could understand. 
 Accompanying these, I would invite a description, with location 
 and quality and price, of all the lands in the State for sale or 
 lease, and evidence of title. Provided with such a fund of relia- 
 ble information, let the bureau be empowered to send efficient 
 agents to Germany and other countries of Europe to invite and 
 influence the right kind of immigrants to Virginia. Let provis- 
 ion be made for bringing these immigrants directly here, without 
 passing through any Xorthern State, and thus avoid any contest 
 for their posession ; for such as we could thus secure would be 
 very desirable any where. Such a system would soon bring pur- 
 chasers of our surplus lands, and thickly dot the face of the 
 country with pleasant and thrifty homes. These agents might 
 also induce men of science and men of capital, to bring machine- 
 
 [9TJ 
 
ry and develope the mineral wealth of the State, and save the un- 
 told strength of water power from wasting, for want of skill, en- 
 tei'prise and capital to turn it to account. 
 
 It is also certain that we cannot reach the height of prosperity 
 which belongs to a great people, until we provide for the interests 
 of internal improvement and commerce, on broad and liberal 
 principles. Eailroads should be made wherever the people desire 
 them and have the means to build them. The selfish policy of 
 monopolists, and the petty jealousy of local rivalries, will always 
 impede such improvements ; but the intelligence of the people 
 must be directed to foster the largest public good. 
 
 The great Southern ports of entry, particularly the port of 
 Norfolk, must invite by energetic and sustained effort, a direct 
 commerce with the trade of the world, and must secure without 
 the intervention of any Northern agency, all the supplies that the 
 uses of men require. Much has been already lost to us because 
 our attention and energies have been confined to agricultural sta- 
 ples ; and the very idea of entering the race with the Northern 
 States for commercial development, is one so new to us that we 
 scarcely know where or how to commence. But we must begin 
 somewhere. The facilities of transportion, and a free choice of 
 markets are as necessary as the products of the soil, and the in- 
 dustry which cultivates it, in augmenting the profits of our en- 
 terprise. We do not propose to enter on this new course of action 
 from any political motive, based on hate of any other section, 
 but because it is the true interest of our own State and section. 
 
 The course of trade during our old system of slave labor, was 
 entirely through the agency of Northern harbors, ships, and even 
 roads. It is so now ; and under the new condition of things, its 
 continuance must be fatal to any real independence. If we ship 
 
tobacco from Virginia to any Southern city it must first go to 
 E"ew York there to be re-shipped, because there are no Southern 
 ports that offer the facilities of a direct trade. Our necessities 
 compel us to this double shipment, and our very interest makes 
 us pay this tribute to swell the wealth of other States, because 
 even under this burden we get to our market at a cheaper rate 
 and in a shorter time than we can without their agency. But 
 why not do the work onrselves, and instead of giving the enormous 
 profits of the carrying trade to others to build up their wealth 
 and power, save it to enrich our own people? It we would pros- 
 per we must have the means of direct transportation for South- 
 ern products to Southern and foreign ports, in Southern vessels. 
 When the outer world sees that we are in earnest to help our- 
 selves, it will come to aid, in that only way in which help is de- 
 sirable — by working with us. The ships of other nations would 
 load and unload side by side with ours, in the same harbors, and 
 exchange friendly greeting as they hurried past on the ocean, 
 highways. This is a great work in itself, and demands vital and 
 fundamental changes in our habits of thought and action. 
 
 We need not suppose that those who have so long held us in 
 commercial vassalage, will be so ready to give up that system as 
 they were to abolish African slavery. They will struggle to 
 retain the commercial mastery ; but in this matter our freedom 
 is in our choice. While we should be energetic, we should wage 
 no other than a generous rivalry; but they are strong of hand 
 and of will, and we shall require all the strength we can fairly 
 command. We should not spurn help from any quarter. When 
 good and true men come to settle among us, from any section, 
 bringing energy or capital, or both, we should welcome them as 
 w^orkers with us for Southern prosperity. It matters not what 
 
 [99] 
 
may be their prejudices of education or habit, or even their sec- 
 tional jealousies. Soon, very soon^ under similar influences and 
 laboring for common ends, as the same fire prepares two pieces of 
 iron far a welding heat, and sends one glow and one temper 
 through the whole uniting mass, as laid on the same anvil, the 
 merrily ringing hammers announce the progress of an enduring 
 union — so shall these differences yield to a common interest and 
 a common feeling, until tnose whojn they once separated will al- 
 most forget that they had ever been other than united. The 
 same laws that would protect our interest would protect theirs 
 also, and there could exist no reason why their presence or their 
 citizenship should not promote and strengthen the prosperity and 
 real greatness of the State, and aid and stimulate all in the great 
 work we have to do. 
 
 At the hazard of two great length, I must ask indulgence for 
 a few remarks on the subject of education. The South has never 
 come up to the measure of duty in this regard. In the schools 
 we have founded, but little care has been taken to provide for the 
 poorer classes. The colleges have been appropriated generally by 
 the rich, and the academies have been wholly inadequate to meet 
 the wants of the people. To none is a sound education more im- 
 portant than to the mechanic. How often for the lack of early 
 mental training, has he been compelled with all the odds against 
 him, painfully to toil at self -instruction ; while many, disheart- 
 ened by the difficulties that beset them, have consented to remain 
 ill igDorance. Now that Congress has made liberal appropria- 
 tions to be used for education, they should not be disposed of 
 without proper consideration. Some wise plan should be devised 
 that will place in reach of all classes the opportunity of sound 
 instruction in practical know 'e Ige. All our educational resources 
 
 [100] 
 
from whatever quarter should be directed to work out the ideas 
 of a new and living age. To make the Federal endowment most 
 available, it should be appropriated to a new educational enter- 
 prise, designed to secure practical benefits to the masses. 
 
 Locate a college at some central point, easy of access — either at 
 Richmond, Petersburg, Lynchburg or Staunton, but for mauy 
 re^isons Richmond might be regarded as the most eligible — with 
 single and sincere purpose so to educate the young men of the 
 State, as to prepare them to lead off in the development of all the 
 material interests of Virginia. Attached to this college might 
 be a small farm so provided that the students could experiment 
 with seeds, soils, and fertilizers, and see and practically learn the 
 value of all the different kinds of labor saving machines. Such 
 an education should be provided for, as will best prepare for use- 
 fulness. And while careful for this practical knowledge, we 
 should not neglect the advantages that are found in the old sys- 
 tems of instruction. We w^ould not give up science for the 
 plough, but plough scientifically. We would not neglect math- 
 ematics in order to study machinery, but teach the youth the de- 
 pendence of one upon the other. How necessary for the farmer 
 to know the constituents of the soil he cultivates, and w^hat it 
 needs to realize the largest harvest ; but scientific knowledge is 
 required for such analysis. 
 
 A gentlemen of Virginia, who, before the war, was an able pro- 
 fessor in the Military Institute, seeing the great need of increas- 
 ing the production of the soil, as the best means of bringing hope 
 and prosperity to the people, determined to devote himself to this 
 end, and is now applying his educated mind to the compounding 
 of fertilizers adapted to the various soils and productions of Vir- 
 ginia and the whole south ; and is thus probably doing more th^n 
 
 [101] 
 
any other one man to speed the progress of our agricultural in- 
 terest. This gentleman is Col. William Gilham, chemist of the 
 Southern Fertilizing Company of Richmond. Such knowledge 
 as he possesses should be made, through the schools, the com- 
 mon possession of our people. Every farmer should know how 
 to apply to his own soils, the tests that science furnishes and feel 
 that he is not bestowing labor and capital at random. 
 
 Let us establish a college such as referred to, under the foster- 
 ing care of the State. Then, when she shall be relieved of her 
 present political troubles, and start out on a new career of pros- 
 perity and power, she can with small expenditure extend a uni- 
 form system over the whole State, by the establishment of pri- 
 mary schools, and thus put new life into the masses of her people, 
 as education shall become the common posession of all. 
 
 Let these things be done and Virginia would soon show signs 
 of improvement that would be permanent ; and soon, in place of 
 bushes, briers, broom grass and ruins, as seen along many of our 
 railroads and public highways at this time, there would be wealth, 
 strength, capital and influence, even though she still remained 
 politically powerless. 
 
 But I must close this address. Your association now in its 
 infancy, has, we may hope, a future of prosperity; and I trust 
 that its riper experience will exhibit rich returns to its members, 
 in accumulated stores of wisdom, and the practical knowledge 
 that benefits the moral life, elevates the character, and leads to 
 independence. I doubt not you will seek to lay your plans wise- 
 ly but plan as you may, without the co-operation of woman you 
 cannot succeed. The kindly, gentle influence of woman is too 
 little regarded as a power ; and yet to her must we look not mere- 
 ly to adorn and grace the pageant when we are victors in the life 
 
 [102] 
 
struggle, but to go with us, step by step, up every weary hilL 
 Full often the only brightness in the gloom, comes from her 
 smiles, and the only word of cheer that lightens labor comes from 
 her lips. That man knoAvs but little of the springs of human 
 action, who does not give to woman a large place as a worker 
 with him in his plans for success. The wdfe keeps the key of the 
 house, and as she wills, it is often determined whether prosperi- 
 ty or adversity shall come in. A poor man struggling and saving, 
 with a wife carelessly or extravagantly squandering, is a sight al- 
 most as much to be deplored, and Avhich as much precludes all 
 ideas of success in life, as if he were to be seen worse than wasting 
 his earnings in revelry, while her youth aud affection were fading 
 out in the lonely toil, of a dreary home. They must work to- 
 gether. When he saves she must save. When care and toil bear 
 heavy on him, she can inspire him with strength for the need. 
 Seldom will woman fail to be a helper to him who is worthy of 
 her. It is not just to her nature or her worth, to treat her as a 
 mere thing of beauty, or as a toy for pleasure. Give her, as be- 
 longs to her, a higher position than this. Her place is by your 
 side te strengthen, to encourage, to labor wdth you in the dusty, 
 sultry heat, and comfort and sustain you when the way is cold 
 and dreary. The true woman will not thank you for making her 
 an idol for romance to worship ; but she asks to share whatever 
 is of value and honor to man in the struggles and in the homes 
 of earth, as both her right and her glory. Let woman feel that 
 you honor her for her worth, that you respect her rights and wdll 
 defend them, and with the certainty of intuition, she wdll honor 
 and respect you. And when with this feeling, she goes with you 
 in the joyousness of her youth from the vows of the altar to the 
 dnties of a new home, with the constancy of the sun she will 
 
 [103] 
 
cherish and comfort you. And the fair maidens, the danghf-ers 
 of guch mothers, who look to you, young men, so lovely ; who 
 bring back to you your dreams of angels ; for whose smiles you 
 sigh, and whose hearts, it is your first and most fervent wish to 
 possess ; when these look on you and think of you as mechanics, 
 it will be to honor you. They will know that they can lean with- 
 out fear: where there is strength to support, and feel that their 
 earthly happiness will be safe in the keeping of your energy and 
 truth. 
 
 Addressing you both as mechanics and as men, I make as a last, 
 but by no means the least important suggestion, that you should 
 carefully remember the truth which the homely old adage teaches 
 us : "What is worth doing at all is worth doing well." There 
 is much more in this than appears on its face, to the careless ob- 
 server. Doing, and doing loell, are not always comp;inions. It is 
 doing well that makes results valuable. It is this which makes 
 that superiority in men which we call greatness. It is this which 
 invites and then secures confidence in a man's integrity, and 
 stamps on his pretensions the seal of ability. There is no one, 
 however humble, who may not elevate his character by adherence 
 to this maxim, and the wisest and best may profit by its truth. 
 
 Thus, with what ability I possess, I have presented thoughts 
 that appear to me of value to us all. Another standing in my 
 place, might counsel you in phrase of better choice, but none with 
 more earnest desire for your welfare and improvement. I feel 
 that our interests are one, and that w^e are mutually dependent. 
 Why should we not take counsel together in the darkness that 
 envelops the land ? We may caution each other of the perils of 
 the way, and even through the gloom may call to one another 
 with words of cheer, and natural encouragement patiently to toil 
 
 [104] 
 
on u-ntil we emerge into the better light that will reward our 
 waiting and working, and bid ns rejoice together at the return of 
 gladness and prosperity. 
 
 It has been recorded that Majoe Sutheelix took a warm 
 interest in Randolph-Macon College. In 1872 he establish- 
 ed the "Sntherlin Medal" for oratory. He was for many 
 years a trustee of the College, and was a trustee at the time 
 of his death. He was invited by the members of the Wash- 
 ington and Franklin Literary Societies to deliver an address 
 before them in the Commencement session of 1880. He 
 did so, and the following is a copy of the Address : 
 
 Officers finrJ Memher-^ of flie WasJiinglon and FraMin Literary 
 Societies, and Lodies and Gentlemen : 
 
 It was with much hesitation that I accepted your kind invitation 
 to address you on this interestiug occasion : not that I was reluc- 
 tant to serve you in any way that I felt able, but from a distrust 
 of my ability to meet the requirements of the occasion. 
 
 Your invitation naturally brought to my mind the extended 
 renown of this time-honored seat of learnino-. I thouo-ht of her 
 many distinguished sons scattered throughout the land, in nearly 
 every State of this Union, Xorth, South, East and AVest, and 
 some in foreign lands, who have achieved honors and fame, whose 
 reflected lustre illuminates the renown of their beloved Alma 
 mater. 
 
 I thought, too, of the intellectual, cultivated and appreciative 
 audiences usually attending your commencement exercises, and I 
 
 [lOoJ 
 
considered how difficult it would be for me to give you an address 
 which, in interest and entertainment, would measure up to the 
 expectations of such an audience. I could not but feel the disad- 
 vantages under which he labors who has not had the good fortune 
 to share in the great benefits which this noble insiitution of learn- 
 ing confers upon those who have been educated within her walls ; 
 as I naturally shrank from the comparison of my efforts with the 
 brilliant abilities of the college-bred speakers who have addressed 
 you on former-like occasions. 
 
 And yet it is a pleasing reflection, that, although my youthful 
 days were spent in the arduous pursuits of life far different from 
 the refining influences of college halls, yet, the devotion of my 
 maturer years to the present of dear old Eandolph-Macon, has 
 proven my appreciation of her noble character. 
 
 Though she was not the "cherishing mother" of my youth, 
 yet, I hope that my twenty-five years of sincere devotion to her 
 welfare may allow me to claim her as my alma mater by adop- 
 tion, and to hold her in the tender regard of at least an affection- 
 ate step-son. 
 
 As my life has been devoted almost exclusively to business 
 enterprises, having for their object the development of the mate- 
 rial interests of the country, I take it that you have ventured up- 
 on a new departure in inviting me to address you on this occas- 
 ion, and that you expect me to give you a practical talk rather 
 than a literary or a scientific address. However far I may fall 
 short of your expectations in other respects, in this particular, at 
 least, I hope I shall not disappoint you. 
 
 Virginia has been distinguished for her devotion to higher ed- 
 ucation from her earliest days till the present. Even when she 
 was but a Colony under allegiance to the British Crown, the col- 
 
 [106] 
 
lege of William and Mary was established at her Colonial Capi- 
 tal; and more than a century ago it was her pride to nourish and 
 send forth her sons, fully equipped to grapple with the intellect- 
 ual giants of the old world. Steadily since then has she pressed 
 forward in the noble cause of education, and to-day she can boast 
 of her University, her Military Institute, her Agricultural and 
 Mechanical college, and her several Normal Colleges, established 
 and supported by appropriations from the treasury ; and I may 
 extend the illustrious list, by adding the name of Washington 
 and Lee University, Emory and Henry College, Hampden Sidney, 
 Richmond College, Eoanoke and other colleges, besides dear old 
 Eandolpli-Macon ; and also her numerous colleges and other in- 
 stitutions, in all parts of the State, for the education of her 
 daughters, besides her many High schools for both sexes, of less 
 prominence, perhaps, but of no less value and usefulness in the 
 cause of education. With such an array of seats of learning and 
 facilities for education, our old Dominion may justly claim to be 
 the peer of any sister State in educational advantages, and boast 
 the honor and benefit of possessing some of the most eminent 
 scientists and educators in the world. 
 
 In addition to her Universities and her numerous colleges and 
 high schools. Virginia has established and maintains at public 
 expense, a most extensive and enlightened system of public free 
 schools, which are gradually growing in favor among all classes 
 of her people, and give promise, at no distant day, to supply the 
 place of the private schools of corresponding grade. For the 
 support of these free schools, Virginia expended $1,535,289.11 
 out of her revenues last year: 7,161 male and female teachers 
 were employed, and 325,184: children, white and colored received 
 instruction. 
 
 [107J 
 
These numerous and valuable educational facilities must, in 
 the near future, produce a wonderful improvement in the intelli- 
 gence, progress and growth of the State. 
 
 In view of the fact that the University, the Military Institute 
 and the Normal colleges are supported in large part by direct ap- 
 propriations from the State treasury, and that the State makes 
 liberal provisions for the education of a large number of her 
 sons at those institutions without change, comparatively speak- 
 ing, for tuition, and it is sometimes asked what necessity is there 
 for Kandolph-Macon and other denominational colleges, which 
 have to be maintained in such large part by private contribu- 
 tions ? I think I can truly say for Eandolph-Macon that she is 
 supported mainly by the Methodists of Virginia and Baltimore 
 conferenc3S, because they feel it to be important that there shall 
 be a seat of learning like this, where young-men identified with 
 the church of their fathers cannot only secure a thorough colle- 
 giate education, but at the same time receive a faithful training 
 in the truths of revealed religion under the guidance and instruc- 
 tion of an able and God-fearing faculty, who not only strive to 
 store the student's mind with secular learning, but also fill his 
 heart with the love of our Heavenly Father. If this reason for 
 the existence of this grand old institution needed any Qudorse- 
 ment, it would be found in the fact that she has furnished the 
 private walks of life with many illustrious examples of piety, 
 and the pulpit with many of the noblest, purest, and ablQst 
 preachers of their day. That the blessing of God has been be- 
 stowed upon the colleges of the Methodist and other churches, in 
 all parts of the country filled by her devoted sons. 
 
 Not only do her sons fill many of the highest, as well as the 
 most useful positions in the church throughout the country, but 
 
 [108] 
 
they are also found in the halls of legislation, on the bench, in 
 all the learned professions, and in every prominent and honorable 
 position and vocation, many of them carrying through life the 
 religious impressions made upon their youthful minds by the 
 teachings and examples of the Christian men from whom they 
 received their daily instruction within these walls. 
 
 The college is entrenched in the affections of its patrons and 
 supporters, and stands forth to-day in all her glory, surrounded 
 by her admiring friends, a bright star in the galaxy of the insti- 
 tutions of learning, with a future as brilliant as the noon- day 
 sun. Verily, she is a child of providence: "a house built upon 
 a rock" and cannot fall. 
 
 The earliest history of education in Virginia, to which I have 
 already referred, is a proud monument to the glory of her peo- 
 ple, but it may be useful to remember that the educational ad- 
 yantages of those early years were sought almost exclusively by 
 such young men as were destined for what were called the learned 
 professions, such as law and medicine. For a farmer's or mer- 
 chant's son, who intended to follow the vocation of his father, the 
 simplest rudiments of education were considered sufficient. But 
 many and rapid have been the changes in Virginia in this res- 
 pect since those early days. And while a higher order of educa- 
 tion has become more general among our people, it is especially 
 gratifying that the great benefits derived therefrom are enjoyed 
 by the masses in the aid afforded for the development of their 
 practical interests. Higher education has thus become the re- 
 fined and refining hand-maid of industry, and is made subservi- 
 ent to the advancement of the people in the common affairs of 
 business and domestic life. 
 
 In this view, I do not think I could do you a better service 
 
 [109] 
 
than to direct your attention to the great value of education as a 
 help to success in the practical pursuits of life. 
 
 In former days, as I have already remarked, it was not deemed 
 necessary that a young man should receive more than an ordinary 
 English education unless he intended to devote himself to pro- 
 fessional pursuits ; yet, even under those conditions, there were 
 many young men who received a college education but could 
 find no field at home for the employment of such advantages, 
 and it was only by emigrating to more inviting fields in the great 
 west, that they could utilize the advantages their liberal educa- 
 tion gave them. 
 
 Many of them did, in this way, find positions in remote regions 
 where they made themselves useful and became eminent and 
 Taluable citizens, reflecting great credit upon their mother State, 
 by filling stations of the highest honor and trust, both State and 
 national, in the homes of their adoption. But those large and 
 inviting fields in other sections are now being pretty generally 
 filled by their own sons, who are educated at the numerous col- 
 leges established in the last few years within their own borders, 
 and this necessarily curtails the draft upon Virginia and the 
 other older States for educated men to fill the various positions 
 and professions there required. 
 
 It is true that Virginia is now supplying many of these new 
 institutions in other sections with valuable and useful members 
 of their faculties, but it is only natural to presume that even 
 those positions will hereafter be filled by men brought up and 
 educated in the several localities in which these new colleges are 
 situated. 
 
 But it is equally true, that whilst the opportunities elsewhere 
 for the educated young men of Virginia may have been lessened? 
 
 [110] 
 
such has been the progress and growth of the country in all its 
 material interests, that new fields for their employment have been 
 opened. The railroad lines and the numerous manufacturing 
 enterprises springing up in every part of the country, present un- 
 numbered opportunities and make unlimited demands for young 
 men of the highest order of education and scientific knowledge 
 for their perfect development and success. The assurance thus 
 afforded that their services w^ill be needed should stimulate the 
 young men of the present day to strive for the highest attain- 
 ments in knowledge and learning. 
 
 In railroad construction lines have been opened and are in suc- 
 cessful operation that were regarded in former times as utterly 
 impracticable, and this has been done by means of scientific 
 knowledge, heretofore unknown, or at least not applied. In fact, 
 engineering and architecture have been so advanced in recent 
 years that their seems to be no difficulty in their line that cannot 
 be overcome. No higher honor can be attained by any man than 
 to become a master in these professions. The knowledge and 
 skill of the engineer and architect are not only useful and neces- 
 sary in the construction of railroads, but they are also absolutely 
 essential in the successful establishment of every plant for manu- 
 facturing and other enterprises. Xo individual or company will 
 entertain the idea of engaging in such industries without first se- 
 curing the aid of some engineer and architect, eminent in his 
 profession, to examine the site and furnish plans for the super- 
 structure and machinery. 
 
 There are also to-day thousands of men of the highest learning 
 and scientific knowledge Avho are constantly employed in the in- 
 vestigation and study of new devices and means to cheapen the 
 cost of production and increase the profit to the producer of the 
 
 [111] 
 
various articles made and consumed in this and other coimtries. 
 
 Geology is also furnishing one of the largest and most import- 
 ant fields for tne scientific research of man, and it is through his 
 intelligent and laborious investigation in that field that the vari- 
 ous articles created by God for the use of man, but hitherto hid- 
 den in the bosom of the earth, are being brought to light and 
 utilized. 
 
 The great advance in the science of chemistry is enabling us 
 to-day to use many and various substances with great profit that 
 were heretofore considered valueless. 
 
 The manufacture and practical use of electricity seem to have 
 been left for the most part to the men of this generation, and 
 they have discovered its utility and applied it. 
 
 It is only within recent years that scientists have advanced suf- 
 ficiently in the knowledge of nature's laws as to be able to fore- 
 tell with some degree of accuracy the changes of the weather 
 twenty-four hours and more in advance of their coming. 
 
 By like advances, the telephone, the art of stenography, type- 
 writing and other like inventions have been discovered and 
 brought into practical, every-day use. 
 
 I might goon and enumerate many other useful discoveries, 
 which are the products of the educated and scientific mind, to 
 cheapen and improve the facilities for transacting business in 
 every department of life. 
 
 Not only have the discoveries thus made by the industrious 
 and laborious efforts of the man of education and scientific 
 knowledge been attained and applied to the urban arts of life, 
 but we also see that by the same process improved machinery and 
 implements have been provided for the agriculturist by which he 
 is enabled to vastly increase the production of the soil at greatly 
 
 [112] 
 
reduced cost. By this higher order of education and scientific 
 investigation the tiller of the soil has not only been enabled to 
 improve his methods of cultivating, but he has also been enabled 
 the better to select his seed for planting and to improve their 
 quality. He has also been enabled to improve the breeds of the 
 various domestic animals with which his farm is stocked. 
 
 So marvellous, indeed, is the success of recent increase in pro- 
 duction and improvement in modes of cultivating, that a few 
 years ago it would have been regarded as incredible and impossible. 
 
 In view of such astonishing results by enlarged learning in 
 these last few years in the respects mentioned, we are led to 
 think that the mind of man is capable of accomplishing almost 
 anything in the future. 
 
 Who can tell what new discoveries may be made in the next 
 few years? 
 
 Our Universities and Colleges are straining every energy to ad- 
 vance all the various branches of learning, and are vieing with 
 each other in their efforts to attain the highest possible standard 
 in all branches of educational and scientific knowledge. I might 
 enlarge upon this view of the situation, because it embraces the 
 very foundation and basis of the moral structure, which in the 
 future is to give to the American people the ascendency over all 
 other countries in progress, kno wledge and the arts of civilization. 
 
 May I not pause here to ask, is it any wonder that I, and other 
 men who did not share in early life in the benefits and advan- 
 tages conferred by these noble institutions of learning, should 
 advocate and desire their greatest prosperity and usefulness? 
 
 But, young gentlemen, we must remember that wliile the op- 
 portunities to reach the highest poiut of eminence in the various 
 professions and scientific pursuits of life are open t© all in this 
 
 [113J 
 
free country of ours, the great mass of mankind, including a vast 
 number of the most highly educated men, fall far short of suc- 
 cess in life. 
 
 In many cases this results from the failure to adopt some fixed 
 profession or calling. Few men ever attain eminence in more 
 than one thing. To attain success it is necessary to adopt some 
 one calling and study and iabor to succeed in that, supplement- 
 ing, of course, your knowledge in such other matters as will as- 
 sist you in the prosecution of your one single calling. Your edu- 
 cation should be directed, as far as practicable, along such lines 
 as will assist you in accomplishing the greatest usefulness and 
 success in your chosen pursuit. It may, indeed, be not unwise 
 to study and acquire a knowledge of all the various branches of 
 learning, if abundant time and opportunity will permit it, but 
 you should never fail to economize your time so as to devote most 
 of it and expend your most ardent energies in prosecuting those 
 branches of study which relate especially to that vocation which 
 you intend to adopt. It is but too frequently the case that we 
 see young men who have graduated in all the branches of edu- 
 cation usually taught in the colleges, and yet are unfit for any 
 one of the practical duties of life. A friend of mine not long 
 since, desired the services of an assistant to aid him in the dis- 
 charge of his daily routine business. A college-bred young gen- 
 tleman, who had just graduated, proudly presented his diploma 
 and offered for the place, but my friend had to decline this young 
 gentleman's offer because he was not qualified to perform any of 
 the duties required of him. It is not always a fact, as is gener- 
 ally supposed, that education makes tht^ man. It sometimes 
 makes the fool. It no more makes the man than declamation 
 makes the orator. - 
 
 ■ ^ [114] ■ 
 
I once employed a young man because he was a graduate of an 
 Agricultural College, but I very soon ascertained that there was 
 nothing about the farm which he could do. He had a good 
 knowledge of the theory of farming, but had none of the qualifi- 
 cations to put it into practice. He had mistaken his calling. 
 
 It might not be amiss to say right here, that I think many of 
 jOur colleges would be materially improved if they would enlarge 
 their curriculum so as to embrace more of the subjects of study 
 relating to practical life, so that a young man might select such 
 studies as would best fit him for the business in life which he 
 intends to follow. Especially does this seem necessary to me be- 
 cause so many of our young men are without the means to take a 
 full collegiate course. 
 
 While all these things are true, it is admitted that no one can 
 become really great in all the elements which constitute the high- 
 est type of man without a thorough education. 
 
 The real man is like the rough granite, and it takes the chisel^ 
 the hammer and the polish to give him a perfect finish. 
 . And yet, some of the most eminently successful men that this 
 country has produced never went to college at all. It may not 
 be out of place for me to mention a few of such men, who, with- 
 out the aid of collegiate education, have rendered their names 
 distinguished by their eminent success in life. 
 
 George Peabody, w^ho neveir attended a college, stands at the 
 head of the list as the greatest philanthropist who ever lived or 
 died in this or any other country. His name will ever live in the 
 history and in the hearts of the people as the most generous and 
 liberal benefactor of this or any other age. His great financial 
 ability enabled him, through a kind Providence, to accumulate 
 an immense fortune. During his lifetime he donated several 
 
 [lloj 
 
millions of dollars for the relief of suffering and destitute hu- 
 manity. He also appropriated millions of dollars to educational 
 purposes, the chief part of which he appropriated for "the pro- 
 motion and encouragement of intellectual, moral, and industrial 
 education among the young of the more destitute portions of the 
 Southern and Southwestern States of the Union." 
 
 Cornelius Vanderbilt, commonly called Commodore Vander- 
 bilt, of New York, was a man of great natural abilities, but of 
 so little education that he could not write a note of ten lines 
 without misspelling several words and committing many inaccu- 
 racies of grammar. 
 
 One night he was deploring this deficiency to his friend and 
 pastor. Rev. Dr. Deems. The Doctor asked him if he found his 
 lack of education an embarrassment to him in his business inter- 
 course? He said he always felt it when dealing with men who 
 had not a fourth of his natural sense, but could express their 
 ideas properly. This, he said, was especially the case with him 
 when he was in England. 
 
 "Then it is unfortunate" said the Doctor, that you have such 
 sentiments, for I do not know any man who stands in the way of 
 popular education as you do. The Commodore was surprised 
 and pained at this remark of his pastor, and asked him what he 
 meant by it. Dr. Deems told him there were hundreds of young 
 men, some of whom he knew personally, who said that an educa- 
 tion was not needful, and appealed to the immense success of 
 Commodore Vanderbilt to prove it, as he had been an uneducated 
 boy who had made himself a millionaire, and founded a rich 
 family. The Doctor also told him that thousands would take 
 refuge behind his name to neglect education after he was dead 
 and gone. - . . • 
 
 [116] 
 
The old Commodore protested that he would not have that to 
 occur on any account ; he did not want generations to think him 
 a lucky fool. He appealed to Dr. Deems to tell him how such a 
 catastrophe could be avoided, and the Doctor told him that the 
 most complete, conclusive and permanent refutatioji would he 
 the setting aside of a million of dollars to found a Universitv 
 bearing his name. 
 
 He afterwards determined to do so if the proper men could be 
 found to take charge of the enterprise, and we know that Dr. 
 Deems did find the right man in a distinguished alumums of 
 Eaudolph-Macon College, Bishop McTyeire. The accumulated 
 wealth of this uneducated, but eminently successful man, was esti- 
 mated at between $80,000,000 and $100,000,000, at the time of 
 his death. 
 
 The philanthropist, Johns Hopkins, of Maryland, died at the 
 age of seventy eight years, possessed of more than $10,000,000, 
 acquired by his own efforts. He worked upon his father's farm 
 near Baltimore, until he was eighteen years of age, and never had 
 any of the advantages of education. About six years before his 
 death he gave $3,500,000 to found the Johns Hopkins University 
 at Baltimore, which embraces schools of law, medicine, science 
 and agriculture and publishes the results of the researches of 
 students and professors. 
 
 Samuel Miller, of Lynchburg, Va., was an orphan boy born in 
 Albemarle county. When quite a young man he located in Lynch- 
 burg, and by his industry and frugality, but without education, 
 he amassed great wealth and died a millionaire, at the age of 
 seventy-seven years. By his will he left the bulk of his wealth, 
 amounting to over a million and a quarter of dollars to his native 
 pounty, in a fund which he denominated "The Miller Fund" to 
 
 [117] 
 
found that magnificent monument to his philanthropy which has 
 been established in his native county and is known as '^The Mil- 
 ler Manual Labor School." 
 
 To this institution are admitted the poor orphan children and 
 other white children whose parents are unable to educate them. 
 Now there are eleven teachers and two hundred and forty pupils 
 in the school — one hundred and seventy-four boys and sixty- six 
 girls, all of whom are clothed, fed, taught and cared for wholly 
 at the expense of the school. 
 
 Mr. James Thomas, of Richmond, was another Virginian, who, 
 without the advantages of collegiate education, died a million- 
 aire. In addition to large donations to his church, he contributed 
 |50,000 to the endowment fund of Richmond College. 
 
 Governor David L. Swain of ^^orth Carolina, never had any 
 college training but he raised himself to such eminence in the es- 
 timation of his fellow citizens that they made him their Governor 
 and afterwards president of their State University at Chapel Hill. 
 It has been jocularly said of him that North Carolina made him 
 Governor and then sent him to her University to be educated. 
 
 This honorable list might be lengthened out by adding many 
 like instances, but I have confined myself to a few persons who 
 have lived and died in our day. These are sufficient, however, to 
 show that these men who have achieved noted success in this coun- 
 try without the advantages of collegiate education, have, without 
 an exception as far as I can recall them to memory, left unmis- 
 takable evidence of their desire to promote the liberal education 
 of those who were to come after them. 
 
 I may be permitted to state that I was present, many years ago, 
 at a meeting of a committee to prepare a very important paper. 
 Several of the committee were men of the most thorough educa- 
 
 [118] 
 
tioii, but one short sentence gave great trouble in expression of 
 the thought and idea intended to be conveyed, and many were 
 the efforts made to convey the exact idea desired, all of which 
 failed, and the only uneducated man present constructed the sen- 
 tence to meet the views of all, and the most brilliant man in the 
 committee remarked "You have struck exactly the idea but it is 
 bad grammar," when the uneducated man remarked "If I have 
 furnished the sense you can supply the g7'cmimar.^^ 
 
 I think I can truly say that the more ^education a young man 
 has the better are his chances for success in life. 
 
 Young gentlemen, some of you close your collegiate course with 
 the end of this session. You will receive your diplomas and go 
 forth into the world to contend with the labor, care, and conflicts 
 of life. If you have not already done so, I would respectfully 
 recommend that, after carefully considering the question, you se- 
 select such calling as will be best suited to your taste, physical 
 strength, general capacity, and disposition, and then pursue it 
 with such energy and devotion as will bring success. It is some- 
 time the case with beginners in life that they are not content un- 
 til they have tried almost every pursuit. This is not judicious 
 or wise and, in many cases, results in great waste of time. 
 
 Another important matter is to secure such location for your 
 future home, as will give you the greatest advantages for the bus- 
 iness you intend to follow. 
 
 John Jacob Astor, one of the most successful men in the accu- 
 mulation of wealth of his day, said that the flrst $1,000 which he 
 accumulated was the most difficult, and this has been the expe- 
 rience of many men who commenced life poor. Your greatest 
 difficulty, in this day will probably be, not to accumulate the 
 
 [119] 
 
$1,000, but to keep it; Most men in this age find it more diffi- 
 cult to keep than to make the first $1,000. 
 
 Many people in this country estimate a man's success in life by 
 his accumulation of wealth, and make that the standard of his 
 worth. We know instances where the largest accumulations of 
 wealth have been made, according to the public estimation, at the 
 sacrifice of all the higher qualities of man. In many cases the 
 greater the accumulation the more sordid and harder have the 
 feelings become, and where this is the case the better parts of the 
 man are never manifested, or if ever, not until just before his ca- 
 reer is ended. I would urge upon you not to allow the accumu- 
 lation of wealth to become your standard of excellence, but re- 
 member, if you should be more fortunate than your fellows in 
 the acquisition of money, that a kind Providence has bestowed 
 upon you this distinction, and you should repay as you go this 
 obligation and not take the chance to redeem it in bulk at the 
 close of your existence. Those who succeed to your hard-earned 
 gains, might defeat your wishes. 
 
 Young gentlemen, I have thus hurriedly presented to you some 
 facts which I hope you may be able to make useful to yourselves 
 in future years. 
 
 It has been jocularly suggested that I ought to make some ref- 
 erence to a subject that often occupies much of the thoughts of 
 students before and after graduating. Students in some respects 
 are not unlike other boys, and in arranging their plans for future 
 life, they seldom fail to consider the beautiful as well as the prac- 
 tical, and there is nothing that relates to the beautiful that does 
 not point to woman! There is no state or condition of life that 
 exempts a man from the contemplation of securing a partner to 
 share his troubles and joys, and it is not unfrequently the case 
 
 [130] 
 
that this is the first and greatest question with him ; and whether 
 rich or poor, high or low, educated or not, the mind of the youth 
 and man as uaturally turns to woman as the sparks fly upward. 
 And this we would not change if we could, for the most beauti- 
 ful, lovely, attractive object created by God is woman. 
 
 It may not be out of place to relate for your information and 
 instruction a little history in the life of a friend that came under 
 my direct observation. Soon after my friend reached his teens, 
 he, like most boys, concluded he must look around among the 
 fair sex for some one to share his love and be a companion for 
 him in life. With buoyant spirits and the hopes of youth he 
 
 soon made the acquaintance of Miss Patience , who was 
 
 the personification of loveliness, her figure, hair, eyes, complex- 
 ion and disposition far exceeded^ in his estimation, all others on 
 earth. His visits to her were generally about once in two weeks 
 and sometime oftener ; he would labor on his father's farm all 
 the week, but when Saturday came he was restless until mounted 
 and on his way to the home of this lovely girl. His constant 
 study was to invent some way by which he could make her his 
 wife, but he and she both were poor and proud, the combined 
 wits of both failed to develop the ways and means of a respecta- 
 ble living for them by daily labor, and the prospect of poverty 
 weighed so heavily upon them that, by mutual cousent, they fin- 
 ally agreed to break the engagement and mend their fortunes be- 
 fore they ventured upon the uncertain, though attractive, sea of 
 matrimony. 
 
 My young friend turned his mind again to the plow, but the 
 hot sun and the fatigue and labor of farm life soon caused him 
 to look around for a more rapid way of accumulating a comi^e- 
 tency that would relieve him from the burdens of labor in the 
 
 [121J 
 
fields, and he heard of a nice young lady in a neighboring State 
 who, though not possessed of any of the peculiar charms that es- 
 pecially attracted him at first, was rich. After one or two visits 
 to her father's house, where he saw the broad acres, the large 
 number of slaves, the fine crops, splendid stock, elegant residence 
 and beautiful yard, and large oak trees that furnished such de- 
 lightful shade, the contemplation that one day this might be- 
 come his own home took hold upon his mind. So thoroughly 
 impressed was he with the idea of this beautiful home and its 
 surroundings, that his mind turned away from the home of his 
 father's and the labor and cares of farm life, as he saw it. The 
 object of his visits began to lose her homely looks ; her manner 
 became more attractive, and instead of the ugly and unattractive 
 appearance which she first presented to him, with her freckled 
 face, pug nose, grey eyes, big feet and bungling step, she was 
 rapidly becoming beautiful. That uncomely appearance she first 
 presented to him, was fast passing away, and the more he saw of 
 her delightful home, the rich lands, many slaves, the shade trees, 
 and the prospect of acquiring a fortune so cheap and so easy, the 
 more beautiful they made the young lady of his affections grow 
 at every visit. He was young, handsome, and, for one of his at- 
 tainments, very attractive, and with a power of will equal to his 
 ambition. She postponed her decision, but he saw evidences of 
 the impression he was making and felt encouraged to press his 
 suit with all the energy and vim he possessed, and at times im- 
 agined himself already seated in the grassy yard surrounded by 
 flowers with the rich foliage of the noble old original forest trees 
 protecting him from the scorching sun. 
 
 While reflecting on this beautiful landscape, he became, at 
 times, almost wild with excitement and enthusiasm. His old 
 
 [122J 
 
home was fast losing its attractions for him. With him old 
 things were fast passing away and all things were becoming new. 
 His heart was light and he was rapidly approaching the zenith 
 of his ambition. He was steadily and rapidly marching on to the 
 day when he would say : "Sonl take thine ease." His visits were 
 in rapid succession and he was all devotion and love, giving great 
 care to his dress and personal appearance. He was leaving noth- 
 ing undone that would contribute to his chances of success. 
 
 At last he reached a point when a final answer was to be given 
 on. his next visit. For the first time his spirits began to droop, 
 and for the first time his mind began to ponder what he was 
 doing. Eeflection and thought only added to his intense interest. 
 He had but a few days for reflection before he w as to receive the 
 final decision. He became restless and impatient, and the pano- 
 rama that had so dazzled his mind and thoughts began to open up 
 to him in its true light, and so intense was the agony that he 
 sprang to his feet and exclaimed to himself: "Am I a man? 
 Have I the spirit of a man in me ? Yes, I have now passed the 
 age when the law says I am a man. My father recognizes my 
 claim to manhood. Then, if I be a man, why am I seeking to do 
 that which is unmanly by marrying a womar I do not love sim- 
 ply to become rich quickly? It is not just to her, and it is not 
 just to myself. I have health, energy and strength to make my 
 own fortune, and, so help me God, I will never marry that woman, 
 even if she accepts me, without first telling her I do not love her, 
 and that my desire for a fortune quickly is my greai object in 
 seeking her hand." 
 
 In this state of mind he made his last visit, and, to his great 
 
 relief, in a firm but gentle way she said to him, "Mr. I 
 
 have carefully considered the question and have decided not to 
 
 [123] 
 
accept your offer of marriage. Yon are yonng, without any fixed 
 business or habits of life and I have thought it best to decline 
 your offer." 
 
 He quietly accepted the decision and once more returned to his 
 old home, a wiser and better man, with the full dt-termination to 
 go to work, establish himself in business, and make a reputation 
 for himself that would entitle him to the confidence and respect 
 of the community, and never again to seek a fortune through 
 matrimony, and when he had accomplished that purpose, he would 
 seek to marry a woman of his choice with whom he could go 
 through life with success and joy. 
 
 True to his pledges, he did, after a few years, establish himself 
 in a good business, making some money with fair credit, and a 
 future that attracted the attention and admiration of his friends; 
 and then he sought the hand of a lady who appreciated him for 
 his worth, accepted his offer, and they were married and have 
 lived happily together for about forty years, without a jar between 
 Jier and him to mar the pleasure of a happy and joyous life; and 
 tha;t lady is here to-day and if, after saying this, I dared, I would 
 introduce you to her. 
 
 May this blessed old college continue to grow and prosper un- 
 til she shall attain the eminence in numbers and usefulness con- 
 templated by her noble founders more than a half century ago. 
 
 May the officers and members of the Washington and Franklin 
 Societies connected with Eandolph-Macon each become a man 
 of great power and value for usefulness in all that is good and 
 pure in the land ; and may success attend you in all your efforts 
 to reach this end. 
 
 And to you, young ladies, and my audience generally, I will 
 say that I hope I have not v orried you, and if you have gotten a 
 
single idea from anything that I have said that will help you 
 through life, T shall feel that I have been amply compensated 
 for my feeble efforts on this occasion. 
 
 Address of Major Sutherlin on the Bill providing for a 
 distribution of the Land Scrip donated Yirginia by Congress 
 for Educational purposes. . ' ; 
 
 In the House of Delegates on Wednesday, Jan 24th, 1873, the 
 question being open the bill providing for a distribution of the 
 proceeds of the sale of the Educational Land Scrip, Major W. T. 
 Sutherlin addressed the House as follows : 
 
 Mr. Speaker — It is well known that I have always felt a deep 
 interest in the questions involved in the bill now before the 
 House. It is no new subject to me. Four years ago I advocated 
 in a public address, and last winter before the committee of the 
 General Assembly, a proposition almost identical with that which 
 I now have the honor to present. I have examined the law with 
 care, and I shall, therefore, take the liberty in the outset to quote 
 liberally from it, in order that gentlemen may understand its 
 objects as they appear to me, for I feel sure they are not properly 
 appreciated by many members of this House. 
 
 I will first read the law and then place upon it the construction 
 which I deem not only justifiable, but unavoidable. The fourth 
 section of the act expressly defines the purpose of the grant. It 
 says : -'The money so invested shall constitute a perpetual fund, 
 the capital of which shall remain forever undimished (except so 
 far as may be provided in section 5 of this act), and the interest 
 of which shall be inviolably appropriated by each State which 
 
may cjaim and take the benefit of this act to the endowment, 
 support and maintenance of at least one college where the lead- 
 ing object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classi- 
 cal studie?, and including military tactics, to teach such branches 
 of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, 
 in such manner as the Legislature of the State may respectively 
 prescribe, in order to promote liberal and practical education of 
 the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of 
 life." 
 
 It will be observed that the benefits of the act are confined to 
 colleges whose leading object is instruction in branches of learn- 
 ing which relate to agriculture and the mechanic arts. Now, in 
 all sincerity and fairness, I ask the gentleman from Albemarle 
 (Mr. Hill( who ably represents the University on this floor, and 
 the gentleman from Rockbridge (Mr. Poague), who spoke so elo- 
 quently for the Virginia Military Institute, whether it is the de- 
 sign of either of those institutions, if it obtains the appropria- 
 tion, to make those branches of learning paramount to all others. 
 I ask because I wish an answer. If the answer is "yes," they 
 come within the sphere of the language of this act: "if "no," they 
 have no right to its benefits. To give it to them under other cir- 
 cumstances would be a plain violation of the spirit of the law. 
 Congress has already ordered an investigation into cases in which, 
 according to good authority, the fund has been diverted from its 
 legitimate uses. What action Congress will take it is not for me 
 to say, but we ought to consider whether we shall act in the teeth 
 of the law, and make ourselves liable to a similar investigation. 
 
 I am satisfied, Mr. Speaker, that it is not the intention of 
 either of the worthy institutions which I have named to perpe- 
 trate a wrong in this regard. I have too high an opinion of theni 
 
 [136] 
 
for that. The University, for instance, is an institution of the 
 highest order of literary merit, and occupies a proud position as 
 such, but can it be claimed that after existing sixty or seventy 
 years on a purely literary basis, it will set aside and destroy its 
 curriculum, and make mechanics and agriculture a pre-eminent 
 specialty ? Surely that will not be claimed ; and yet, if not, it 
 has no right whatever to any part of this appropriation. 
 
 But let us review the history of the action of other States un- 
 der the act of Congress. In some the fund has been applied to 
 universities, or made to build up other purely literary institu- 
 tions, and their course is now a subject of inquiry. But I pro- 
 pose to notice a few instances where it took a different and proper 
 direction. 
 
 In Illinois, (I quote from the report of the Commissioner of 
 Agriculture for I860,) "the Illinois Industrial University has been 
 established. Strong efforts were made by parties acting in the in- 
 terest of certain institutions to secure the appropriation of the 
 Congressional grant for local purposes, but the Legislature wise- 
 ly refused to unite the proposed college with any other." It is 
 now, therefore, independent, and conducted entirely in the inter- 
 est of the industrial classes. 
 
 In Iowa an earnest effort was made to divert these lands from 
 the agricultural college, and to use them to increase the endow- 
 ment of the State University, upon the condition that a depart- 
 ment of agriculture should be established, an experimental farm 
 be purchased, and an agricultural course in the University be 
 provided for such as wish to pursue it. It was urged, as it has 
 been elsewhere, that by adopting this course, there could be a 
 large saving of the expense of buildings, Professors' cabinets, li- 
 braries, &c., and that in no other way could desirable and neces- 
 
 [127] 
 
sary funds for the University be so easily procured. The friends 
 of the Agricultural College resisted this attempt to divert the 
 grant from its original purpose, contending that it belonged to it 
 from the terms of the act of Congress, that the industrial classes 
 comprised a majority of the people and tax-payers of the State, 
 and they desired to build up an institutien that should be devot- 
 ed to their interest. After an able and earnest discussion of the 
 subject, the entire grant was given forever to the Agricultural 
 College. From the judicious location of the lands, they consti- 
 tute a fine additional endowment of an institution in which the 
 people of the State have a great interest." 
 
 In Michigan a purely agricultural college received the grant 
 and it is now in a prosperous condition. The report of the Com- 
 missioner of Agriculture for 1867 says: "This college proposes, 
 1st, to impart a knowledge of science and its application to the 
 arts of life. The instruction given in the class-room will be il- 
 lustrated by experiments in the garden and on the farm. 2d. To 
 afford the students the privilege of daily manual labor, not merely 
 because it is remunerative, but because it is educational, being- 
 planned for the illustration of the principles of science, and be- 
 cause a taste for the pursuits of agriculture can be fostered in no 
 other way. The students who pursue a college course without 
 labor rarely engage in industrial pursuits. They are wholly re- 
 moved from sympathy with farmers and mechanics at a period of 
 life when tastes are rapidly formed. The trustees of the college 
 act on the principle that if a farmer is to be educated for the life 
 and pursuits of a farmer, it must be on the farm itself. Three 
 hours work daily on the farm or in the garden are required of 
 each student; and, while health is preserved by manual labor, he 
 
 becomes interested in every department of farm and horticultural 
 
 [128] 
 
work." This college also prosecutes an extensive course of agri- 
 cultural experiments from year to year, and the practical appli- 
 cations of science are pursued in directions desirable for the far- 
 mer — such as surveyiug, levelling and laying out ground. 
 
 In Ohio a similar course was pursued. "After several years of 
 conflict between various colleges of the State to secure the pro- 
 ceeds of the grant, the Legislature passed a law pi'oviding for the 
 establishment of one independent college, to be styled The Ohio 
 Agricultural and Mechanical College, the leading objects of which 
 are the teaching of such branches of learning as are related to 
 agriculture and the mechanic arts." I read this particularly, 
 however, to call attention to the manner of the appointment of the 
 managers, which is similar to that provided in the bill which I 
 shall have the honor to present. The government is vested in a 
 Board of Trustees, consisting of one member from each Congres- 
 sional district, to serve for a term of six years. I propose that 
 this board shall be elected by the people at a general election, 
 when all the people will have an opportunity of voting for whom 
 they desire to represent them in the management of the institu- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Matthews, of Petersburg : I would like to ask the gentle- 
 man a question. If the money is appropriated to the support of 
 an independent college, where will he get the means to erect 
 buildings and obtain an outfit ? 
 
 Major Sutherlin : I will give that information to the gentle- 
 man soon, but I remark here that the fund is not too small for an 
 i]idependent college, as is alleged, but is more than was adequate 
 to establish some of the most prosperous institutions in the State. 
 But, I resume the line of my ai'gument. In Pennsylvania it is 
 said the Agricultural College appears to be ermerging from its 
 
 [129j 
 
depressed condition, a condition caused, it is thought by its trus- 
 tees, by an attempt to elevate it into a literary institution, in 
 which "scientific agriculture was sunk into a secondary object, 
 and practical farming left optional with the students." It is now 
 doing better, because its policy has been changed. 
 
 I think, Mr. Speaker, that I have now shown to the satisfaction of 
 impartial minds that Congress had a definite and specific purpose 
 in making this appropriation, and that it cannot properly be di- 
 verted for other uses. I have shown also that efforts have been made 
 in many instances by State institutions and others to get hold of 
 the fund, and divert it from its legitimate purpose. A¥hat has 
 taken place here, therefore, is no new thing, nor is it to to be 
 wondered at that men and institutions elsewhere will take all they 
 can for their own use, or that legislators will look out for their 
 constituencies. Only a day or two ago a delegate remarked to me 
 that he really cared very little about this matter; that he only 
 wanted his constituents to have a chance to "grease their fingers 
 wdth the annuity. " 
 
 Mr. Bagwell : Will the gentleman state who the delegate was, 
 or what institution he represented ? 
 
 Major Sutherlin : I prefer not ; but those who did not may 
 stand up and say so. 
 
 Mr. Bagwell : I surely did not. 
 
 Major Sutherlin : No doubt, though, you would not object to 
 your constituents being greased, if practicable. 
 
 Mr. Bagwell: Yes, I would, under those circumstances. 
 
 Mr. O'Ferrall: I would like to ask the gentleman a question. 
 Does the Hampton Normal School, to which, I believe, he pro- 
 poses to give a third of this appropriation, come within his (Mr. 
 Sutherlin's) idea of the purview of the act of Congress ? In other 
 
 [130] 
 
words, is it sncli a college as he thinks Congress had in view ? 
 
 Major Sutherlin : Well, if it does not. my hill provides that it 
 shall not get it. 
 
 Mr. Hill: Does that school, in yonr judgment, till the bill any 
 more than the University ? 
 
 Major Sntherlin: I repeat, my hill provides that it shall con- 
 form to the Congressional recpiirement. Otherwise it cannot get 
 it, and the gentleman from Albemarle (^h\ Hill ) thought it did. 
 or he would not have reported from his committee a bill giving 
 a third to this same Hampton school. 
 
 Mr. Hill : I do think so. 
 
 Major Sutherlin : AVell, you think that the University will 
 agree to meet the requirements of the act of Congress ? 
 Mr. Hill : I Avill answer that in due time. 
 
 ]\[r. Sutherlin: But will you not say whether it will make ag- 
 ricultural and mechanical instruction the leading feature in its 
 course ? 
 
 Mr. Hill: Xot to the exclusion of other branches. 
 
 Major Sutherlin : I had hoped you would say yes or no, but 
 you will not undertake to say. Shall we, then, violate the very 
 spirit of the act, by giving it to an institution which gives no 
 guarantee of the fulfilment of the contract ? What is the design 
 of the scheme ? It is to place education within the reach of the 
 masses who propose to follow agriculture and the mechanic arts 
 as a means of livelihood. Does any mail suppose, then, that Con- 
 gress meant to give the grant to an institution which cannot 
 reach that class of people at all? I say emphatically that the 
 University of A^irginia is such an institution. It is not the place 
 for a poor stndent. I have a friend in this body, whom I regret 
 not to see present, to sustain this assertion, who, I understand, has 
 
 [131] 
 
said that it cost him eleven hundred dollars per year for neces- 
 sary expenses at that institution. It is due to him to say, too, that he 
 is a gentleman of good moral character, and not at all inclined to be 
 dissipated. I repeat, T do not mean to attack the University, nor 
 to underrate it. It has a great work to perform. It is designed 
 to prepare a certain class for the active duties of life. It is an 
 institution for the benefit of those who propose to devote their 
 lives to literary pursuits, whereas the college contemplated by 
 Congress is for the yeomanry of the land — the tax-paying masses, 
 who live by the sweat of their brow, and not by their wits. It is 
 designed to increase those products of the land upou which we 
 subsist, by teaching our young men to cultivate the soil on scien- 
 tific principles. 
 
 I appeal to the farmers on this floor, Mr. Speaker, to know 
 what it costs each enterprising farmer to experiment for himself ? 
 how much time and money is thrown aw^ay in running after every 
 new seed, fertilizer, and agricultural implement? An agricul- 
 tural college should make these experiments for us, and lay the 
 result before those whom the information will benefit. Has the 
 University ever promulgated a cent's worth of information on 
 such subjects and can it give any ? I have tried the experiment, 
 but do not choose to tell the result just now ; but if I were to de- 
 tail my agricultural experience with the University, it would 
 create some surprise. 
 
 Mr. Hill : The friends of the University have no objection to 
 your making any statement of fact in regard to it. 
 
 Major Sutherlin : I do not suppose they have, but for reasons 
 satisfactory to myself, I don't choose to make any statement just 
 now. I feel kindly towards the University, but when it is held 
 up as a great agricultural school, and as of value to the people in 
 
this respect, T must enter my protest. That it has failed in this 
 capacity is not for the lack of an extensive laboratory, nor of ac- 
 complished professors. The chair of the agricultural department 
 is to-day filled by one of the most scientific and learned theoretic- 
 al agriculturists in the country. But one thing he lacks, and 
 that is a practical knowledge of agriculture, so as to utilize his 
 scientific attainments. I do not suppose, Mr. Speaker, that it is 
 the design of the legislature to prepare men for professional life 
 at the expense of this grant. We have already institutions dedi- 
 cated exclusively to the education and improvement of the mind 
 to that end. A short while ago I met a friend (a member of 
 Congress from ^Xorth Carolina), who, wishing to give his son a 
 good collegiate education, had been urged to send him to the 
 Kentucky Agricultural College. He declined and sent him to 
 the University of Virginia. Why ? Because, as he said, the 
 young man was not to be a farmer, but to learn a profession. 
 For this purpose there was no better place than the University, 
 but if life on a farm was to have been his future occupation, he 
 would have sent him to the Kentucky College. I had the curi- 
 osity to ask what the boy's expenses were at the University. His 
 reply was the young man was steady, and had no bad habits, and 
 got along very well on eight hundred dollars per annum. If my 
 friend had not been a member of Congress he could hardly have 
 sent him to such an institution, but members of Congress get 
 about ten thousand dollars a year. 
 
 A member : Five thousand dollars a year. 
 
 Major Sutherlin : The perquisities make it amount to ten 
 thousand. [Laughter.] I now ask, Mr. Speaker, that the farm- 
 ers on this fioor will look for a moment at the scheme w^hich I 
 propose. How many farmers in Virginia are now conducting 
 " ■ , " [133] 
 
their business on a proper agricultural basis ? I admit that there 
 are some few exceptions, but as a rule, farming in Virginia has 
 become very unprofitable. The great mass of farmers are intel- 
 ligent, well read, and informed upon every subject except that 
 upon which their living depends. Some may even write well for 
 the agricultnral papers, but make a poor showing in their own 
 garden, fields and orchards. I once knew a worthy man in South- 
 side Virginia who contributed for fifteen years most interesting 
 and instructive articles to the Southern Planter, and a gentleman 
 who had read them all this time, came to the conclusion that the 
 man who wrote so well and learnedly on agriculture must be the 
 greatest and most successful farmer on the continent. Holding 
 him in such high esteem, he had his carpet bags packed and rode 
 seventy- five miles on horse- back to see the great agriculturist at 
 home. When near the place he inquired for it, and was told that 
 it was only half a mile further on, and that he would recognize 
 it by the house being on one side of the road and the stable on 
 the other. Sure enough, he found it as represented, and calling 
 
 at the door, was greeted by a lady, whom he asked if Mr. , 
 
 the great agriculturists, who contributed to the Southern Planter 
 lived there. She said that a gentleman of that name (her hus- 
 band) did live there, and he sometimes contributed to that jour- 
 nal. This stranger was in doubt. He looked around and saw a 
 dilapidated stable, a half-starved calf in the barn yard, some 
 hungry pigs rooting in the yard, and a forlorn cow strolling down 
 the lane, while the fences were down, and everything wore the 
 appearance of neglect. He asked again if the agriculturist lived 
 there, and was answered as before, at the same time being invited 
 to dismount. But no ; he said he must be mistaken in the man 
 and the place, and as he was a long ways from home and wanted 
 
 [134] 
 
to be getting back, rode away disgusted with theoretical farming. 
 
 Our great need is practical education. The young men must 
 be taught how to lay off land, to judge of its quality, to tell what 
 manures it needs and how much should be put on a given num- 
 ber of acres. How few know these things now ! It is all guess 
 work. They must be taught, too, the benefits to be derived from 
 the introduction of improved machinery — how it tends to cheapen 
 and lessen manual labor. Now, not one man in fifty who buys a 
 reaper or mower knows how to set it up and run it. Indeed, I 
 doubt whether there is hardly a gentleman at the University who 
 know these things, or who can conduct a dairy, harness a horse, 
 or run a straight furrow. I would go the University to see him 
 do it. Agriculture should also be made attractive to the student. 
 It is anything else now. Country homes should be beautified 
 and adorned. You may now go fifty miles in almost any direc- 
 tion and not find a single handsome farm house, with neat and 
 attractive surroundings. Go in doors, and you will find hospital- 
 ity and plenty, but no real comfort and happiness. But suppose 
 we have five hundred men to-day ready to leave an agricultural 
 college — intelligent men, who had learned landscape gardening, 
 and not only how to raise wheat, corn and tobacco, but to culti- 
 vate orchards, vineyards and gardens. Then, indeed, we would 
 have more attractive country homes. What is so pleasant as to 
 ride up to a farm-house and find it Avell constructed, with a neat 
 yard, flourishing garden and orcliard, and stock well fed by some- 
 body who knows how to handle and provide for stock. The Ag- 
 ricultural Society makes a great show of fat cattle at every State 
 Uair, but how few of us know how they are fattened. What 
 means are used to do it cheaply ? Hundreds of dollars are fre- 
 quently spent in improving the breed of hogs, but how few farni- 
 
 [135] 
 
ers gain a knowledge of this branch of their business without 
 making experiments for themselves ? 
 
 From what I have thus hastily said I deduce the value of a 
 well conducted experimental farm, which could only be attached 
 to a purely agricultural college. Not only would the students be 
 benefited, but every farmer in the State would have the right to 
 go to such a college and examine the stock and crops, and profit 
 by the experiments of men who are both theoretical and practi- 
 cal agriculturists. Such an institution would test the various 
 seeds, and distribute the best throughout the State. Virginia has 
 lost millions by the want of good seed wheat, specially adapted 
 to the climate and soil of this State. A large amount is also 
 thrown away in the indiscriminate purchase of agricultural im- 
 plements. If such a college and such a farm as I have sketched 
 w^ere in existence, all might profit by the experiments and obser- 
 vations there made, and it would soon come to be understood 
 that unless approved by the College, such implements would 
 meet with no sale in Virginia. In plows alone we lose a great 
 deal. At this College we propose to teach the boys not only to 
 direct the plow, but to understand its construction and the use 
 of every part, and then to apply scientific knowledge, as well as 
 his own hands, to the handles. Now, nearly every farmer has 
 worthless plows, having no means of knowing until he tries them 
 for himself whether he has the right ones. Some of tlie most 
 enlightened farmers in my sections of th^ State, who own im- 
 mense quantities of land, who are graduates of the Tniversity of 
 Virginia, and can talk well on almost any subject, yet say they 
 can't make any money in the pursuit of agriculture. They are 
 behind the times. Rather than purchase a mower, which will 
 do the work of eight hands at half cost, they will cling to the 
 
 [1361 
 
old and tedious manual labor system. I asked one of these es- 
 teemed gentlemen, who has not an improved agricultural imple- 
 ment on his plantation, why he did not buy a mower and reaper. 
 The reply was that he did not know what kind to buy. Here 
 was another instance of the necessity of a State institution upon 
 the plan I have indicated. 
 
 I regard the establishment of an agricultural college as one of 
 the best means of improving our waste lands, and of thus enrich- 
 ing the State, so that the public credit may be re-established 
 upon the firm basis of material wealth. A succev'sful system of 
 agriculture will enable us, with a tax of only fifty cents on the 
 hundred dollars, to pay with ease, if necessary, the interest on a 
 debt of a hundred million dollars instead of thirty millions. 
 
 Mr. Poague: Did I understand the gentlemen to say that the 
 friend whom he mentioned was a poor farmer because he went to 
 the University ? 
 
 Major Sutherlin : Xo, sir I by no means I But with all the ed- 
 ucational advantages of the University, he was a failure as a 
 farmer in these times. 
 
 Mr. Kincheloe : I wish to ask the gentleman a question. Does 
 not high academic or collegiate education tend to make men 
 averse to following agricultural pursuits? Are not farmers 
 whose education is defective often the best in his opinion ? 
 
 Major Sutherlin: That is a question often debated, but I can- 
 not discuss it now. I cannot, however, bring my mind to the 
 conclusion indicated by the gentleman who asked the question. 
 Give a young man the right kind of agricultural education, in- 
 terest him in his studies, and I hardly think that he can become 
 averse to farming. The tendency in too many institutions of 
 learning, particularly, I fear, in our State, Mr, Speaker, has been 
 
 [137j 
 
to look upon professional life as preferable to any other, and 
 when the farmer's son leaves such institutions he is too apt to wish 
 to make his living in some other manner than by tilling the soil. 
 But in a college such as I propose the result will be very differ- 
 ent. The student will go there with a farmer's or mechanic's 
 life in view. He will be trained to the business, and will become 
 attached to and take a pride in it. Farming and the mechanic 
 arts will be dignified in his eyes, and labor be considered respec- 
 table. At present the laboring classes, although the bone and 
 sinew of the State, have too little to do with the management of 
 public affairs, and unless some provision is made for the improve- 
 ment of this class, as can be done by a proper use of this appro- 
 priation, the agricultural interest of the State will continue to 
 decline, and farming become less profitable year by year. Many 
 of our best citizens are now leaving the homes of their childhood 
 and going to other parts of the country, or to the cities of our 
 own State, hoping to better their fortunes. The young men are 
 abandoning their farms and seeking more congenial and remu- 
 nerative employments. What will the credit of Virginia be 
 worth if the cry continues to come up that farming is unprofita- 
 ble? Our towns, too, must suffer ; for they cannot flourish un- 
 less sustained by a successful system of agriculture. Our inter- 
 nal improvements must languish and depreciate in value. I tell 
 you, sir, that this state of things onght not to be allowed to con- 
 tinue. We must extend the hand of encouragement to the labor- 
 ing classes, that they may be induced to remain in Virginia, and 
 not leave us, as thousands are doing every year. We cannot blame 
 them for leaving if the soil refuses to yield. It must be made to 
 yield if prosperity is to dawn upon the land. 
 
 But it is said that the fund is too small to establish an Agri- 
 
 [138] 
 
taral and Mechanical College, such as the necessities of the State 
 demand. The Virginia Military Institute was established, I un- 
 derstand, on an annuity of not over six thousand dollars. It was 
 not enough of itself to make it the great institution it is today^ 
 but enough to give it a start. Shall it be said, then, that twelve 
 thousand dollars per annum is not enough to start the institution 
 proposed in my bill ? In addition, however, the bill proposes a 
 source of revenue not conptemplated by the act of Congress, and 
 outside of my State appropriation. Wherever located, the college 
 will be worth a great deal to the surrounding country, and I pro- 
 pose that in choosing the location we shall consider not only the 
 advantages of climate, soil, productiveness and accessibility, but 
 that we shall also ascertain what city, county or section will con- 
 tribute the largest amount by endowment, or otherwise, towards 
 making the institution a success. Thus fifty, seventy-hve, or one 
 hundred thousand dollars may be added to the donation of Con- 
 gress, and who will say that we will not then have enough money 
 to put this great enterprise into successful operation ? There are 
 many men all over the State who would contribute in one way or 
 another to the success of a scheme fraught with such promise of 
 prosperity to the Agricultural and Mechanical interests of the 
 State. There are men in my section who would clieerfully give 
 two or three hundred dollars a year for the education of three to 
 five poor pupils, on condition that they return to farming and 
 make it profitable. One gentleman of my acquaintance, who 
 owns a large estate, employs three managers, neither of whom can 
 read or write. What would it be worth to such a man to get ed- 
 ucated agriculturists to take charge of his plantations ? Now it 
 is almost impossible to get such men, and under these circum- 
 stances can any but unprofitable farming be expected ? 
 
 [139] 
 
I am confident, Mr. Speaker, that the proceeds of the sale of the 
 grant, with the contributions which will certainly be realized 
 from the sources I have indicated, will suffice to lay the founda- 
 tion and rear the superstructure of a great Agricultural and Me- 
 chanical College, and place it in operation. We can then see to 
 it that it be placed under proper management, attract to its sup- 
 port men of character, standing, culture and real worth — men 
 who have labored and understand labor, and men who know how 
 to put the most approved theories into practice. Then it will be 
 not only a success, but it will be the great institution of Virginia. 
 Its friends will be found in every city and county, and on every 
 farm and in every workship. It will encourage, foster and sup- 
 port the industrial classes, upon whom our future so greatly de- 
 pends. And why it should receive less aid from the State than 
 her literary institutions are now receiving? Why should it be 
 less cared for? What institution can confer so many benefits 
 upon the people at large ? 
 
 I have not failed, Mr. Speaker, to indicate, in the course of my 
 remarks, the part which the mechanic arts are to take in the 
 course of instruction in this institution. Everybody will admit 
 that to manufacture, as well as to agriculture, we must look for 
 prosperity. The great natural resources of the State, now almost 
 hidden from view, are to be touched by the hand of skilled labor, 
 and made to contribute to the wealth of the Commonwealth. Our 
 water power is unsurpassed, our forests are treasures in them- 
 selves, and our mines will yet be made to yield a golden harvest. 
 This work should be done by natives of Virginia — by the rising- 
 generation as far as practicable — and yet outside of Kichmond 
 city to-day there are not more than one hundred boys learning 
 trades. An interest must be awakened in this great subject. Let 
 
the young men be taught that manufactures present an attractive 
 road to wealth. Let, then, the friends of agriculture and the me- 
 chanic arts, unite in building up an institution which will en- 
 courage our own people to engage intelligently in these pursuits. 
 It may be said that our resources are to be developed by immi- 
 grants. That is very well. I would encourage immigration ; but 
 shall we wait for forever for straugers to do this work, when we 
 have intelligent and talented young men in abundance, whose en- 
 ergies need only to be directed into the proper channels ? 
 
 Mr. Speakei, this is a subject in which we should all be deeply 
 interested. If we fail to take advantage of the opportunity now 
 presented, we shall always regret our folly. Virginia, it is said 
 by many, is not as well off to day as she was five years ago. Ag- 
 riculture and mechanics languish almost everywhere. It is urged 
 that we have not money enough to pay the interest on our State 
 debt. The literary institutions of the State, while doing a great 
 and good work, have not bettered our material condition. Let us 
 now try the college whose features I have presented in outline to- 
 day. I implore you, gentlemen, to consider this subject dispas- 
 sionately, to discard all local prejudices, and forget that they have 
 constituencies to be ''greased." For myself, I ask nothing, ex- 
 cept what I believe to be for the best interest of the State; for 
 my constituents I ask nothing that I would not grant to others. 
 I propose to place this institution in the hands of a Board of Di- 
 rectors chosen by the people, and they shall have the power to lo- 
 cate it as they think best for the good of the greatest number. 
 
 It is needless, Mr. Speaker, for me to say more with regard to 
 the Hampton Normal Agricultural College than to state that it 
 is a college established by authority of the General Assembly of 
 Virginia, and designed for the instruction and benefit of the col- 
 
 [141] 
 
ored people of the State, and I am glad, also, to say that I have 
 been informed that it is in su<';cessful operation. It has been ad- 
 mitted by all the applicants for the Congressional Land Scr^ip 
 that the Hampton Normal Agricultural College is entitled to one- 
 third of the same, and I have recognized this principle in the bill 
 presented by me, and I will also state that so far as I have been 
 able to learn, that division of the fund will be entirely agreeable 
 to the colored people. 
 
 I fondly hope, Mr. Speaker, to live to see the day when the 
 Virginia State Agricultural and Mechanical College shall be a 
 thing of the present and not of the future — when its halls are 
 thronged with the sturdy sons of toil, studying those branches 
 Av hich Avill lead to usefulness in life, and when Agriculture and 
 the Mechanic Arts shall occupy the proud position to which, by 
 their importance, they are entitled. The sons of toil must not be 
 forgotten. They are becoming a power in the land. They have 
 many friends in Virginia to day, and though they are not all men 
 of the learning and ability of those who seem to disregard their 
 wants, they know that if Virginia is to be made worth anything, 
 it must be by the education and consequent elevation of those 
 who are not afraid to work day in and day out, to bring prosper- 
 ity to our beloved Commonwealth. I hope, Mr. Speaker, that the 
 amendment of the gentleman from Richmond city (Mr. Gilman) 
 will prevail. ■ ; . , 
 
 Address of Major Sufherlin upon the opening of the 
 Border Agricultural Society of Danville, Va., Oct. 1st, 1867. 
 
 Fellow Citizens: — An Agricultural Society has been recent- 
 ly formed in the town of Danville, composed of individuals liy- 
 
 [142] 
 
ing in the border counties of the two States, the object of which 
 is to unite the efforts of our people in the improvement of our 
 lands, our stock, our implements, of farming, our system of la- 
 bor, and, in short, to stimulate its members, and all around them, 
 to energetic and persistent exertions to place our noble calling in 
 the high position which it should ever have occupied, and to re- 
 store the fallen fortunes of our country, now prostrate through 
 the wickedness and folly of ambitious and misguided politicians. 
 
 We desire to appeal to every citizen of Danville and the sur- 
 rounding country, of whatever profession or calling, to unite with 
 this society in its efforts to give a fresh impulse and an increased 
 vigor to the energies of our people, and, as far as possible, to aid 
 in reclaiming the waste places in this portion of our country, with 
 the hope that its influence will be felt for good, not only in our 
 own section, but throughout the entire South. The subject 
 w^hich we bring to your consideration, at this time, is of the 
 highest interest to the people of Virginia and North Carolina. 
 Indeed we know of not one of equal importance. 
 
 We often hear it asked, not in a captious spirit, but in earnest, 
 and with great concern : Is it possible for us to live here ? Shall 
 we continue our efforts to cultivate our lands ? Shall we lease 
 them in small farms, since to sell them is impracticable : or 
 shall we abandon them altogether, and seek homes in a new coun- 
 try, and make a fresh start in a strange land ? 
 
 It is not surprising, in such times as we now experience, that 
 these and similar enquiries are made by our suffering and bewil- 
 dered people. We would not venture to answer them, for it is 
 known only to an Allwise Providence what is best for each indi- 
 vidual, since only He knows how or when the terrible struggle, 
 now waging for political supremacy, will end. 
 
 [143] 
 
We will, however, suggest a few practical thoughts in this con- 
 nection. To what section or country should we go ? The same 
 God ruleth everywhere. Here we have a soil unsurpassed in fer- 
 tility, and in the variety of its production — a climate unequalled 
 the year round, by any of which we have knowledge ; with pure 
 water gushing from every hill, and a people of acknowledged in- 
 telligence and hospitality. Here, too, lie the bones of our depart- 
 ed loved ones. Shall we give up all these, to go, we know not 
 where, in search of that we may never tind ? Let us rather for- 
 get the past, make the best of the present, dismiss evil forebod- 
 ings, catch fresh inspiration from the hope of better times to 
 come, and start afresh liere^ in our own native land. 
 
 Let us unite with others more hopeful, and make an earnest 
 and continued effort to improve everything around us ; to attract 
 immigrants who shall occupy and cultivate our waste lands, that 
 thus we may be enabled to live comfortably, and to provide for 
 the future wants of ourselves and those depending on us. 
 
 We invite y©u, then, to become members of our Society, that 
 you may aid us by your counsel and your example, in introducing 
 new ideas in the management of our farms, and new and improved 
 implements in the cultivation of our soil. 
 
 Let us abandon the unprofitable and corrupting study of poli- 
 tics, and devote our leisure hours to the reading of agricultural 
 journals. We may thus become well informed and successful 
 farmers. 
 
 It may be thought by some that every effort in this direction 
 will be premature; that in the present unsettled condition of the 
 country, the great body of the people cannot be induced to take 
 an interest in the subject ; that we cannot hope for success until 
 
 [144] 
 
the clouds that now haug over us shall be scattered, and we shall 
 see more of what is now in the future. 
 
 Who can tell when all this shall come to pass? or whether even 
 then we shall be in a better condition to provide for our material 
 interests than we are now ? We would not undervalue the im- 
 portance of our political interests. Every Anglo-Saxon heart 
 longs for such form of government as Avill afford ample protec- 
 tion to life, liberty and property, and none that fails to secure 
 these can, for any length of time, command the confidence and 
 support of that race. 
 
 Whatever changes may be in our political condition, we have 
 an abiding hope and trust that the day will come (and it should 
 be the constant endeavor of every good citizen to hasten the con- 
 summation) when all good people (I^orth and South) will unite 
 on a common basis, which will insure equal and impartial justice 
 to all of both sections. 
 
 In the meantime let us all demean ourselves as law-abiding cit- 
 izens ; go to work, and patiently wait for that '-reconstruction" 
 which shall bring about this desirable result. 
 
 We should remember, however, that no laws or form of govern- 
 ment can relieve us from the necessity of labor. Our future suc- 
 cess will depend upon our individual effort. Those who make 
 nothing will have nothing ; whilst each citizen will be allowed 
 the proceeds of his own labor, none being allowed to claim the 
 proceeds of another's earnings without just compensation. Some 
 are enabled, by their capital, skill and energy, to give employ- 
 ment to others less favored than they, and in this way to impart 
 life and energy to the business operations of the country. 
 Changes are daily taking place in our system of agriculture. 
 They will continue to be made until a complete revolution shall 
 
 [145] 
 
be effected, and we should be prepared to meet and successfully 
 encounter them. 
 
 It is admitted by all, that our first real and substantial gain 
 must come from the successful cultivation of the soil. Our 
 mother earth, though proverbially beneficent, denies her products 
 to the sluggard and the drone. 
 
 It is also an undeniable fact that the present labor of this sec- 
 tion, and indeed of the entire South, is wholly inadequate, as at 
 present employed, to cultivate properly one-third of our open 
 land ; and we may reasonably calculate on a constant reduction 
 of the present available force. 
 
 In this view of the subject, is it just to ourselves and our pos- 
 terity, that we should fold our arms and spend our lives in la- 
 mentations over the past, or drag out a miserable existence in 
 contemplating a hopeless future ? 
 
 We say no, emphatically no. We should, like men, rise above 
 the difficulties that now impede our progress, and demonstrate to 
 the world that if we cannot commcmd, we can do more, we can 
 deserve success. 
 
 It was with such views and feelings that a portion of the 
 friends of agriculture, in this town and neighborhood, made a 
 move to establish the "Border Agricultural Society," and the suc- 
 cess of their efforts thus far, has inspired them with fresh hopes 
 for the future. 
 
 It is now confidently expected that the association will be per- 
 manently established amongst us, and that it will be successful 
 in infusing new life and energy into the friends of agriculture 
 throughout this entire section, so that their influence shall be 
 felt by those at a distance. 
 
 It is not doubted that by means of the social intercourse which 
 
 [146] 
 
will be fostered by our meetings, and the spirit of commendable 
 competition, which will be encouraged by our proceedings, this 
 honorable calling will be rendered more attractive to the young 
 men of our country, whilst the attachment of those already en- 
 gaged in it will be greatly strengthened. 
 
 Our semi-annual fairs will attract the best stock, and the most 
 improved implements of all kinds. It is thus that the latest in- 
 ventions in the various departments of the mechanic arts will be 
 brought to the notice of our people, and they will have it in their 
 power to supply themselves with the most desirable article, best 
 adapted to the cultivation of the soil and gathering of their crops. 
 
 If there are any of our people who entertain the delusion that 
 the lands of North Carolina or Virginia can be profitably culti- 
 vated upon the old system, with hired labor, they are destined 
 soon to wake up to learn their error, when it may be too late to 
 retrieve their losses. Let us, then, with the least possible delay, 
 learn to adapt our customs and our views to the altered condition 
 of the country. 
 
 We feel assured that the introduction of the improved imple- 
 ments used in other sections of the country, would save twenty- 
 five per cent, of the labor now expended in the cultivation of our 
 farms. 
 
 To secure the exhibition of such articles to the people of this 
 section, is one of the chief objects of this organization. 
 
 It is expected that there will also be exhibited at our semi- an- 
 nual fairs a great many other interesting articles, such as the 
 best horses, mules, cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry, together with the 
 best products of the farm, the loom and the dairy. Liberal 
 premiums will be offered for the best articles in each department 
 of enterprise. 
 
 [147] 
 
In addition to the benefits already indicated, as likely to accrue 
 to our people from the operations of this society, we hope to be 
 instrumental in supplying the growing deficiency of labor, and 
 also introducing amongst us, intelligent and thrifty purchasers, 
 who will occupy and cultivate, on an improved plan, our surplus 
 and unproductive lands. 
 
 Having, fellow citizens, thus given you an outline of the pur- 
 pose and aim of our Society, we leave it to you to give or to with- 
 hold your co-operation. 
 
 It can scarcely be necessary to say to those of you who live in 
 Danville and the neighboring country, that you have never had a 
 more favorable opportunity offered you, to improve your condi- 
 tion, than through the success of this organization. There is 
 not an individual of your number who is not interested; whilst 
 to the merchant, the manufacturer, the mechanic and the owner 
 of property, it will, if properly encouraged aud wisely managed, 
 be a source of no inconsiderable profit. We therefore confidently 
 expect your hearty co-operation and support. The success of the 
 Fair this fall will much depend upon the response which you 
 shall give to a committee who will call on you in a short time, 
 for your contributions to that object. 
 
 In conclusion, fellow citizens of the border counties of the two 
 States, we earnestly invite you not only to become members of 
 the "Border Agricultural ^Society" but to come to our semi-an- 
 nual Fairs, and to bring with you your best specimens of stock, 
 implements, farm, loom, and dairy products. For these last, we 
 confidently rely on the acknowledged skill and enterprise of the 
 ladies of Virginia and North Carolina, who have never been 
 known to withhold their hand from any good work, 
 
 [148] . • 
 
WILLIAM THOMAS SUTHERLIN. 
 
 [duval porter.] 
 
 He is gone I Tli imposing presence no more 
 Shall move among us : The giant mind, 
 That could the future as the past explore, 
 Must live forever: Death has no poAver to bind 
 The immortal part : Upon a brighter shore 
 'Tis kindled afresh to shine forever more. 
 
 His vision was prophetic, he foresaw 
 The coming event ere the shadow came ; 
 Seem'd to know by instinct tli' inexorable law 
 That would fulfil itself and put to shame 
 The idle fancies of all who prophesied, 
 Or merely guessed, but his were justified. 
 
 His city mourns the loss of such a son, 
 The most illustrious in her annals found ; 
 The triumphs he has for her commerce won 
 Shall speak for him, though silent in the ground 
 In trumpet tongues throughout the coming years 
 Will Danville claim this mighty son of hers. 
 
 He was the poor man's friend, who better knows 
 That this is true than he to whom was given 
 The boon to know him well. He did disclose 
 A heart of tenderness to such as driven 
 By cruel fate their miseries to plead, 
 And find in him a friend in all their need. 
 
 Alas ! ! No more shall trusting friend invite 
 The counsel wise he was so free to give, 
 No more the fond wife in whom he did delight, 
 Nor lovely grand-child for whom he seemed to li\ 
 Hear his voice again until they meet once more 
 Beyond the veil upon that blissful shore. 
 
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