Page:History of the University of Pennsylvania - Montgomery (1900).djvu/402

398 any of its managers except Dr. Franklin. The latter's paternity, as it were, of these valuable prizes, the first offered to the students, may in part account for the tardiness in offering them to the students, as Dr. Alison and Dr. Ewing, to whom the design was committed at this February meeting, reported at the March meeting the present want of ability of the students to compete for them, and it was, as we have before seen, nearly two years after Dr. Smith's return to his post that finally steps were taken to secure competition for them. On 24 March, 1763, Dr. Franklin, with his fellow Trustees, Hamilton " his honor the Governor," Duche, Phineas Bond, Chew, Strettell, Peters, White, Thomas Bond, William Shippen, Coxe, and Redman attended " the publick Examination of the Students held in the public Hall before a large audience of People, and the Students acquitted themselves to the satisfaction of the Trustees." In the middle of April Franklin set out for Virginia on post- office duties, 8 but returned in time to attend, as we have also seen, the Commencement exercises of 17 May following, "the Trustees, Professors, Candidates for Degrees and Scholars walking in Pro- cession to the Publick Hall, and as soon as seated a Mandate under the lesser seal authorizing the Faculty to hold a Com- mencement and confer the Degrees agreed to at the last meet- ing was delivered to the Vice Provost ;" it being by a singular coincidence the only Commencement he could attend. And he attended the meeting of 27 May, and gave his approval to the ' draughts of the Addresses to his Majesty and Lord Bute," prepared by a committee consisting of Dr. Peters, Mr. Stedman and Mr. Duche, conveying the thanks of the Trustees for their royal and noble aid and countenance ; and also Dr. Peters' draught of his reply to Dr. Smith's letters of 8 January, 12 February, and I March. We find him early in June starting on a tour to the Eastern States, again on postoffice claims, his daughter accompanying him, from which he did not 8 " I am going in a few days to Virginia, but expect to be back in three or four weeks." Letter to Jonathan Williams, 13 April, 1763, Bigelow iii, 237.