760 



TEXAS. 



THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS. 



$15,000; buildings, etc., at Sam Houston Nor- 

 mal School, $10,000; university grounds and 

 buildings, $100,000, and school-houses in many 

 of the counties belonging to the State. The 

 scholastic census shows a population of about 

 310,500, to which is to be distributed about 

 $1,375,000, or about $4.41 per capita, which 

 will probably support a term of 5 months. 

 The change in the Constitution separates the 

 school-tax from that for general purposes, and 

 will permit an increased school revenue. 



The State University was opened in the au- 

 tumn. The State, by the last Constitution, 

 gave a million acres of land to the institution, 

 which was located in the pastoral regions of 

 southwest Texas, and which will probably be 

 leased and produce a handsome income. Also, 

 at the last session of the Legislature, a fur- 

 ther donation of a million acres of land was 

 made, which is in Northwest Texas. The uni- 

 versity permanent fund now comprises about 

 $539,198.40 in bonds and 2,000,000 acres in 

 lands. 



The Agricultural and Mechanical College, 

 endowed by act of Congress, has a permanent 

 fund in State bonds of $209,000, and enjoys 

 annual appropriations from the State treasury, 

 supporting 93 State students. At the last ses- 

 sion of the Legislature the sum of $40,000 was 

 appropriated to equip the agricultural and me- 

 chanical departments. 



The two permanent normal schools, one at 

 Huntsville for white, and the other at Prairie 

 View for colored students, are liberally sup- 

 ported. Not only are the students provided 

 free tuition, but their bourd and lodging are 

 paid for out of the State treasury. The State 

 also, during one or two months in the sum- 

 mer, supports thirty-one normal schools for 

 whites, and eleven for colored teachers. The 

 average attendance is about 25 each, or 

 about 1,000 teachers preparing for the public 

 schools. 



The Penitentiaries. During the year the Legis- 

 lature made a change from the system of leas- 

 ing the penitentiaries and convicts so long in 

 vogue. Under the new system contracts are 

 made for working 1,500 of the 2,300 State con- 

 victs in the walls of the two penitentiaries. 



Railroads. The following figures relate to 

 the close of 1883 : 



Total miles of railroad (including side tracks) 6,465-24 



Total miles of wood bridges 154-07 



Total miles of combination bridges 2 - 50 



Total miles of iron and steel bridges 5 50 



Total number of locomotives : 601 



Total number of passenger-cars 26!) 



Total number of baggage, express, and mail cars. . . Ill 



Total number of freight-cars 18.242 



Total miles of steel rails 2,243'20 



Total miles of iron rails 4,222-04 



There is little prospect of railway construc- 

 tion being resumed to any very great extent 

 during 1884. 



Crops and Shipments. The following is an ex- 

 hibit of the amount and value of State prod- 

 uctsprincipally exports for the year ending 

 Aug. 31, 1883: 



Values. 

 Cotton, 1,513.310 bales $75.6(55,500 



Wool, 22,780,230 pounds 4,100,441 



Hides, 13,312,746 pounds 1,464,402 



Cattle, 703,642 head (including the drive) 16,346,950 



Horses, 19,224 head $480,60 



Lumber and shingles 9,226,413 



Grainandhay 5,674,815 



Cotton-seed, cotton-seed cake and oil 8,428,516 



Miscellaneous products 2,876,419 



Sugar and molasses 642,210 



Total $119,906,296 



THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS OF THE UNITED 

 STATES. The early New England colonists 

 brought from the Old World their Puritan 

 doctrines and customs. Many of the first 

 preachers had received their training in the 

 English universities. When the earliest col- 

 leges were founded, the prime object contem- 

 plated was the fitting of young men to preach 

 the gospel, which accounts for the fact that 

 the colleges on this continent are mostly de- 

 nominational. No professors of divinity were 

 appointed, nor were theological topics intro- 

 duced into the courses of study ; but the presi- 

 dents of the colleges were expected to be able 

 to give timely and special counsel to young 

 men who might contemplate devoting them- 

 selves to the work of the ministry. Dr. D wight, 

 at Yale College, taught theology in his Sunday 

 sermons, which were so arranged as to form a 

 body of divinity. Rev. Charles Backus (born 

 1749, died 1803), while a pastor in Connecticut, 

 educated nearly fifty theological students. The 

 first actual experiment in public theological 

 instruction was begun by the Rev. Dr. John 

 M. Mason, of New York. Dr. Mason was 

 graduated at Columbia College in 1789, went 

 to Edinburgh to study theology, and in 1793 

 assumed the pastorate of the Reformed Church 

 in New York city. He gathered ministerial 

 candidates about him, and for some years 

 gave them regular instruction in Greek and 

 Hebrew exegesis, and kindred topics. At 

 length he projected the plan of a theological 

 seminary, which (the first on this continent) 

 was established in New York in 1804, Dr. Ma- 

 son being its professor of theology. In 1808 

 the Congregationalists organized a theological 

 seminary at Andover, Mass., which was the 

 first in the United States having a fully 

 equipp'ed faculty. In 1812 the Presbyterians 

 founded a theological seminary at Princeton, 

 N. J. In 1817 the Protestant Episcopal Church 

 founded the General Theological Seminary in 

 New York. Since the above dates such insti- 

 tutions have multiplied rapidly, and now all 

 the larger denominations have well-organized 

 theological schools. 



The regular course of study in all the fully 

 organized theological schools extends over a 

 period of three years. A few of the semi- 

 naries have recently added a fourth year, for 

 post-graduate study. The curriculum is de- 

 signed for College graduates, but others are 

 admitted if their previous studies enable them 

 to pursue it profitably. Young men who have 

 not enjoyed the benefits of liberal culture are 



