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QUERY XV. 



The colle^res and public establishments, the roads, 

 buildings, &c ? 



The college of William and IMary is the only public 

 seminary of learning in this stale. It was founded in the 

 time of king William and Queen Mary, who granted to it 

 20,000 acres of land, and a f)enny a pound duty on certain 

 tobaccoes exported from Virginia and Maryland, which 

 had been levied by the statute of 25 Car. II. The as- 

 sembly also gave it, by temporary laws, a duty on li- 

 quors importefl, and skins and furs exported. From 

 these resources it received upwards of 3000/ conununi- 

 bus annis. The buildings are of brick, sufficient for an 

 indifferent accommodation of ])erha|)s an hundred stu- 

 dents. By its charter it was to be under the govern- 

 ment of twenty visitors, who were to be its legislators, 

 and to have a president and six professors, who were 

 incorporated. It was allowed a representative in the 

 general assembly. Under this charter, a |)rofessorship 

 of the Greek and Latin languages, a i^rofessorship of 

 mathematics, one of moral philosophy, and two of di- 

 vinity were established. To these were annexed, for a 

 sixth professorship, a considerable donation by Mr 

 Boyle of England, for the instruction of the Indians, 

 and their conversion to Christianity. This was called 

 the professorship of BrafFerton, from an estate of that 

 name in Englanrl, })urchased with the moneys given. 

 The adfuission of the learners of Latin and Greek filled 

 the college with children. This rendering it disagree- 

 al)le and deiirading to young gentlemen already prepar- 

 ed for entering on the sciences, they were dis(;ouraged 

 from resorting to it, and thus the schools for mathemat- 

 ics and moral i)Iiiloso[)hy, wliich might have been of 

 sortie service, became of very little. The revenues too 

 -were exhausted in accommodating those who came on- 

 ly to acquire the rudiments of science. — After the pre- 

 sent revolution, the visitors, having no power to change 

 those circumstances in the continuation of the college 



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