474 STATE OF BROWN UNIVERSITY. 



the students have been diminishing in Brown University, 

 its income has fallen below its expenditure ; and, unless 

 a change take place, there is a prospect of its becoming 

 also an annual burden upon the Baptist body, under 

 whose direction it has always been. 



Under these circumstances, it appeared to Dr Way- 

 land, that the diminution in the number of students, and 

 the consequent decline of the college, must be owing to 

 one or other of three causes. Either the staff of teachers 

 and system of teaching and instruction were not such as 

 to obtain the public confidence or instruction of equal 

 value could be obtained at some of the other New 

 England colleges at a cheaper rate or, lastly, the article 

 they had to sell, as he expressed it, was not what the 

 people wanted, and therefore they did not come to buy it. 



If the first-mentioned were the right cause, the re 

 medy was, to remove the existing staff of professors, or 

 so many as were considered objectionable, and to replace 

 them by others more worthy of public confidence. 

 To test this point, he tendered his own resignation, and 

 thus forced the heads of the Baptist body to consider the 

 whole question. After carefully weighing the matter, 

 the professors, the discipline, and the mode of teaching 

 were by the ruling body pronounced to be unexception 

 able. The president was also prevailed upon to remain 

 in office, at least a year longer, with the assurance that 

 everything would be done to place the institution in the 

 most favourable relation to the public which, with the 

 aid of his experience and practical wisdom, the gover 

 nors should find possible to be accomplished. 



Was the remedy, then, to reduce the cost of education, 

 and make more of it purely gratuitous than before, with 

 the view of meeting the competition of other universities 

 in the adjoining States? If so, either large funds must 

 be raised by subscription, to provide a sufficient endow 

 ment to defray the ordinary annual expenses, or the 



