Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 19.djvu/170

 158 REVEREND EZRA FISHER Preached 19 sermons and addressed the Sabbath school in Oregon City twice and taught the Bible class when I have been at home on the Sabbath. Respectfully submitted, EZRA FISHER, Exploring Agent. Oregon City, Oregon Ter., May 13th, 1853. Rev. Benjamin M. Hill, Cor. Sec. A. B. H. M. Soc., New York. Dear Br. Hill: Yours of March 19th was received by last mail. I will now answer in brief the interrogations respecting our school, some of which I think I anticipated in one of my last. Br. Chandler holds no relation to the Oregon City College other than any other Baptist minister in the territory, except that he is deeply interested in the cause of education and religion in Oregon. He even declined becoming a member of the Board of Trustees while he taught and since he left the school the Board has had no annual meeting. We have no president of the school. I am president of the Board of Trustees. The school is in a feeble state of operation under the care of Mr. Shattuck, the principal of the county female seminary located at this place. He teaches the large boys and has an assistant who teaches the small boys and geography, etc. The school at present does not meet the wants of the community. But we see no way of doing better than to let it be in Mr. Shattuck's hands one quarter more. Brs. Johnson and Chandler have both requested me to go into the school again, but I cannot think of making teaching my business for life and, then, this season is a time which demands my services with the churches and the new portions of the territory to aid as far as possible in giving a healthy direction to the partially organized; and the un- organized interests in our rapidly increasing population. We would be glad to make no more changes in the school till