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Caption: Book - History of the University (Powell)
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Illinois Considers Disposition of Donation 208 under their contract they should have received in February, 1861 six thousand dollars in cash, fifteen per cent of the subscribed forty thousand dollars, to use for incidental and current expenses. In this they had been wholly disappointed; they had paid out between eight and ten thousand dollars and had received less than twelve hundred dollars. Worse than this failure to pay on the part of the subscribers was the refusal to sign notes which could have been used as collateral security. They admitted the times were difficult and declared their intention to carry through the project as soon as at all practicable. Thus work on the seminary building was suspended.46 After the land grant act of July 2, 1862, had been signed, Dr. C. A. Hunt of Urbana suggested again that they take advantage of the situation and attempt to secure the location of the proposed agricultural and mechanical college for their unoccupied and as yet unfinished building. 47 This suggestion was taken up by the local papers and adopted by the people as the policy to be followed. I t was right in line with the course they had already entered upon, but from this time on it assumed new importance because Champaign county, through its board of supervisors, backed this project of its citizens to secure the state agricultural college. On May 4, 1864, Supervisor Bailey offered resolutions that were adopted to the effect that Illinois having accepted the donation of congress "of 150,000 acres" (it was 480,000 acres), that they ask the legislature to locate the college in Champaign county, and that they use all honorable effort for the accomplishment of this object.48 Before definite offers could be made to the state it was found necessary to make satisfactory arrangement with Stoughton and Babcock. At a meeting of the seminary company on Monday evening, December 12, 1864, Mr, Stoughton gave the people to understand that before any donation could be effected the rest of the stock would have to be sold. This would amount, he said, to some thirty-five or forty thousand "Probably no more than the foundation had been completed for only eight to ten thousand dollars had been expended on it up to this time. "Stated on authority of Judge J. O. Cunningham. "Beeord of the board of supervisors, I I I : 298, May 4, 1864.
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