President Alexander conferred the diplomas in a brief address of commendation, encouragement and advice.
The school year has been too short to accomplish all that was desirable. Eight months, our usual time, seems a short school year, but to reduce this one-quarter is almost a disaster; and furnishing school-rooms and supplying furnaces, out-buildings, cisterns and much needed plank-walks after school opened, was for a time a great hindrance. But the end of the year shows, in many respects, favorable results, and leaves more hopeful impressions and anticipations for the future.
The need of buildings for a boarding department is as urgent as ever, but this need we hope may be met by the donation from the Stone estate. These accommodations will bring in a large addition from the country of just such material as we desire——young men and women from the better families who are unwilling to come to the city and board away from the influences of the teachers.
The unsettled condition of the public schools, too, is likely to add largely to the number of students here next year.
We can only hope that our good friends at the North will see, as we in the field see, the importance of not only keeping up our present work, but of extending it and making it better each succeeding year.
New buildings will certainly bring many new pupils. More pupils will require more teachers, and more teachers will increase the expenses of the A. M. A. But now is the time to do good among this people, and we trust the churches who sustain this work will not be weary in well-doing, but will furnish all the means that are needed to extend this work wisely.
TOUGALOO UNIVERSITY.
Sunday-School Convention——Farm and Normal Work——Compliments.
MISS ORRA A. ANGELL, TOUGALOO.