ffiJUJL (HJ) THE a $6/^. MEMPHIS MEDICAL JOURNAL. Vol. L] MAY, 1852. [No. 2. EXPOSE, This is due the citizens of Memphis. The vast population of the South and South-West, and especially the medical pro- fession generally, to whom we are responsible, as well as to Him who ruleth over us all. We presume that it is well known, that God has in every age of the world, raised up men who had the boldness to declare the whole truth, and point to the scale of Justice, Be it known, therefore, that we believe that we should dis- close, as far as consistent with truth and justice, the following corollaries : 1. That the Mayor and Aldermen loaned, in all, to the Medical College of Memphis, the sum of twelve thousand dollars, and t'nat said College Faculty under the guidance of its present Trustees, exploded and disbanded, about the third session, leaving the city minus some two thousand dollars and some rooms in the north ^nd of Exchange Buildings, for the balance of the ten thousand (dollars—said rooms, are now called, by some, the College Halls. 2. At this particular crisis the Memphis Medical Institute organised, and commenced lecturing in said unoccupied rooms. In a short time thereafter, said Faculty memorialise the city authorities, to donate said rooms to the Trusiees of the Institute, which the Dean of the College considered they had a legal right to do, inasmuch as he had importuned said city authorities the second time, for the same rooms. The Mayor and Alder- men seeing the Faculty of the Institute complete, with able lec- turers, and a respectable class, naturally inferred that the inter- est and credit of the city and her chartered institutions, would be promoted by encouraging the Institute, and desiring, to res- tori; if possible, the lost confidence occasioned by the failure of the college, they donate said rooms to the Trustees of the Institute, and at the same time they propose to help the Dean of the College upon certain conditions, which were deemed proper for tin; safety and harmony of the city against the evili of biennial setting u:>, and perennial putting down Mo-!i- ■j Expose. cal Schools in Memphis—on no better plea, than to gratify private ambition ; or to encourage restless innovating aspirants. 3. In consideration of the unanimous and liberal donation4 which was regarded by the Board, Faculty, Trustees and oth- ers, as valid and in good faith, the Faculty of the Institute propose to give a large sum for the benefit of the city, the institute, and the community generally. Thus—to educate worthy young men with limited means. To encourage and obtain the good will of editors and publishers of newspapers; said Institute Faculty issue a written contract or certificate of scholarship, including a statement, of the donation, of said rooms to the Trustees of the Institute by the Mayor and Alder- men. In view of said donation, the Faculty propose to pay in tuition in the Institute the sum of $105 to any editor or pub- lisher who would advertise for the Institute one year, or at that rate, from year to year, until ordered out. Last fall, said pub- lishing debt was estimated by one of the Faculty, to be not less than forty-six thousand dollars. Can any intelligent man believe, that 200 or 250 editors and publishers, scattered through the dill'erent States in the Union, would have thus contracted, and actually proceeded to spend their time, money and labor, for the benefit of Memphis, or her institutions, (by keeping them constantly before the public.) upon the mere isolated faith in any Faculty, however honorable, whom they well knew were liable to be removed at ihe end of any session by the Board of Trustees, or by death, or by incidental and unavoidable circumstances, and especially in Memphis, a notable example of which, they had in the complete dissolution and failure of the Faculty of the Medical College. Upon what then was their confidence based? We answer? Upon the donation of said rooms to the Trustees of the Institute by the Mayor and Aldermen, which not only inspired confi- dence in the permanency of the school, but would be some indemnity for their time, labor and money thus expended, as city acts, and legislative acts are usually considered valid. Even in Memphis we find that the city authorities issued city bonds to the amount of several thousand dollars, to meet city demands; but by some mishap, perhaps, the first set were misplaced, and a second set was issued. Finally, however. both set of bonds were sold, but the city only obtained the money for one set of bonds. Nevertheless, the present Board have assumed the payment of both—because, as they say, those bonds were sold to innocent purchasers—to which we do not demur. From this fact, however, we are led to infer that the present Board have not investigated the claims of the Institute; and Expose. 3 especially of the 200 or 250 editors and publishers of newspa- pers who have published for the Institute, who are equally innocent contractors, upon the faith of the city act, or donation of the aforesaid room to the Trustees of the Institute; inasmuch as it was published again, and again, in our city papers, and which should have been contradicted then, if not true, in order to protect the innocent. At all events, there is no escape from placing innocent publishers for the Memphis school, upon a level with innocent purchasers of spurious bonds. As for those rooms, they belong to the city, and arc subject to the omnipo- tent will of the vox populi; but if the childs play of the past. relative to said rooms, is any data for the future, we shall expect the next Mayor and Aldermen to convert said rooms into a Lunatic Asylum, which will be perhaps in more demand, than the present Medical College. For the present, we must briefly pass by the notorious bargain and intrigue between Byrd Powell and the College Faculty, and said Powell's effort to destroy the Institute for 500 pieces of silver. Let it be distinctly understood, however, that Byrd Powell resigned officially on the 1st day of August 1851, and is so recorded upon the Institute Journal. But strange indeed, said Powell sends a written proposition to the College Faculty, dated August 10th, 1851, ten days after his resignation, and said Faculty accept of it, and state that they appreciate the motives, of the six out of the seven professors, whom they say, !- aid Powell, represented and published the same to the world. Now I state positively from two letters in my possession from the Dean of the College, that, they knew that Powell had resigned, and therefore represented no one at that time ; moreover. Prof. Sanders, King, Wilson and others, flatly deny the charge; nor can we give in full, the college effort to retain the Institute property, which they were compelled to surrender (in the pres- ence of their cln^s.) to Sheriff Gilmore for the Institute. Said property was left in said rooms which we occupied, with the understanding from the Mayor that we should have it when called for. Allow us to ask if such an example is proper to set before young students from under their parental charge, and whose morals at this plastic period are easily defaced. 4. Again, August 15th, 1851, from a letter to the Trustees of the Institute, we extract the following, verbatum : "The Faculty of the College are still willing to redeem the scholarships, upon the conditions (as I understand proposed by Byrd Powell, after lie resigned for S500,) and free the Institute from those liabilities, and if the conditions arc not acceded to by the Institute, the Faculty of "the College WILL BE FORCED for their OWN PRESERVATION AND SUCCESS, to conciliate the 150 or 200 newspapers, by notifying their publishers that i Expose. 'hey ?/7/7 receive their scholarships for tickets of admission to :heirlectures. In this event, it is proper that the Trustees of the Institute should now be informed as to the result of the best legal opinion, tuat it they fail to furnish a satisfactory Medical Faculty and other facilities for instruction, the holders of the scholar- ships will have speedy legal recourse upon the parties embraced ..'i. the bond \'c. Respectfully, LEWIS SHANKS. Dean." Now mark said letters were sent to two of the most prominent •I< igvinen of this city, who were selected as Trustees of the institute, threatning to involve them in a law suit, evidently in- vnded to deprive them of their privilege and duty as citizens. ■las not the same College company the same right, if the\ choose, to meddle and if possible destroy the business of every merchant in the place, upon the plea that they will be forced for rheir own preservation and success, to destroy or annihilate any or all the merchants or any one that may be in their way. In Net 1 appeal to every candid citizen of Memphis, or in the •vorld, to look into the entire course or conduct of the College, and then judge whether they are not constantly thundering at the gate s and posts of power, which if encouraged will soon sa.p the vital current of our civil and religious liberties. What! :.hey olliciallv announce, that they will be forced for their own ;-r:;si:kv.\ik)n and success, to deprive us of our legitimate rights, to deMro\ the Institute, to sue, and harrass innocent men who ire laboring to protect the rights of editors, in order to make room ibr their college—thus admitting our superior claims and merit to public confidence and patronage. Talk about the dark ages, glory in a land of Bibles—talk about the Inquisition and the secret policy of Jesuitism—pray ! what do you call the Memphis Colli ge scheme and conduct. -Nthers and mothers, can you risk your sons here. Oh! Tcm- yrc, Oh! Mores! Can it be possible, such men will be encouraged in a land of bibles. Who is safe upon such principles,—no one ? I repeat that if we encourage this spirit of intolerance, this monopoly through the gates of partyism, this securing of every prom- inent post belonging to the citadel of our liberties. Then we shall >ee every torch-light of civilization and religion feebly glimmer over the waste of human ignorance and superstition. and every star that now feebly twinkles in our literary and professional horizon, will be eclipsed by the moral degradation that will mantle the triune relation to our God, viz : life, libertv and happiness. In reference to the 53 matriculants and 16 graduates, we .-hail remark that we have no reason to doubt that the highest, number counted on the College benches lait winter, did u-jL Expose. 5 exceed 24. and from the statement of one of their faculty. 18 or 20 of that number were certificate or Institute students.— Now, by subtracting 18 or 29 from 24, would only leave (■ students, barely one for each Professor. You may ask why the Institute or Certificate Students went to the College, perhaps justice requires us to wave for the present. The idea of a college family or Memphis monarchy, who regardless of *he Memphis publishing debt for the Institute, helped themselves. * But we do say, and desire it should be distinctly remembered, that the Dean of the Institute did not resign until the 1st day of August, not until he supposed and reported to the Trustees of the Institute, that he had failed in his effort to reorganise a Faculty, and that if he had not. it wa< now too late in the season to be in time for that session IS)! Moreover, at this late period, I had not only to obtain a Facul- ty in a i'vw weeks notice, and of course not such as I would have selected with more time, but a house at my own expense and to cap the climax of difficulties and malevolent trouble-. I he former Deans of the Institute and the Dean of the College endeavored to force me to repudiate the publishing debt, even after the development of the $500 pieces of silver and the disgraceful bond of $15,000 for their redemption. which was a second thought, after being caught in their own pit. Seeing tliat I would not allow them to thus boldly swindle the Editors, they think of this bond to appear honest, provided i could give the requisite security, but if not. they still had the repudiating keys in their own hands. Being foiled in all of their miserable schemes, they proceed to throw every possible obstacle in my way, by meddling with the Trustees of the Institute, and sending a loose printed slip to the different Edi- tors who had published for the Institute, stating that they had made arrangements to redeem the certificates of the Institute. when they positively know that the Trustees of the Institute and all who had any right to act, absolutely disclaimed any sucli arrangement, (from this there is no escape,) and for which the Pickens Journal gave them a severe rebuke, moreover, their misrepresentations to students and friends, (yes.Hulce is alone. all the former Faculty have left, and now let us boldly combine against and crush him at once. The 40 thousand dollar- worth of certificates are pa}*able in tuition only in the insti- tute, according to the seal and the contract; therefore by stopping that school, said certificates will be worthless, and we will have a clear field and no one in our way.) This is self evident for no one ever paid §40,000 unasked. or unbound for another, but on the contrary, they were repeat- edly admonished to attend to their own business, and start then- own bankrupt and contentious school, upon their own merits and industry. But alas? for their professional merit, ih