A Lottery for
History’s Sake
Legislators approved, but many Tar
Heels hail scruples against Murpliey's
plan.
By IILKBLKT S. TURNER
The inscription on the south side of
the monument erected to the memory
of Archibald DcBow Murphcy in Hills¬
borough mentions the three great ob¬
jectives for which he is best known in
the State.
“Early and enlightened advo¬
cate of Public Schools and Inter¬
nal Improvement — Diligent ex¬
plorer of North Carolina His¬
tory."
In a recent issue of Tilt State. Joe
Jones mentioned Archibald D. Mur¬
phcy ’s unsuccessful effort to finance his
History of North Carolina by means of
a lottery. Murphcy 's lottery intensified
the controversy over the morality of
raising funds by this method. It was
publicized in the newspapers through¬
out the state and created quite a stir
in the Legislature.
For years Murphcy collected ma¬
terials for a History of North Carolina
at his own expense, until it became a
projected work of five or six volumes.
On December 8. 1823. he wrote to
Bartlett Yancey, who had been his law
student, and who was now a member
of the Legislature, suggesting that the
Legislature assist him in collecting ma¬
terials by a loan of SI 0.000 for eight
or ten years, secured by a mortgage
on real estate. There is no record of
such a request being presented to the
Legislature, and evidently Bartlett
Yancey did not think it advisable to
accede to his request.
Two years later he prepared a
lengthy memorial to the Assembly in
which he outlined the proposed His¬
tory, and expressed the hope that it
would be disposed to patronize the
work and give him access to the public
records of the State.
Just before the Assembly met, the
Raleigh Register carried an article call¬
ing attention to the projected History
and gave a broad outline of its con¬
tents. The article concluded by saying:
"A History of North Carolina has
long been a desideratum among our
most intelligent men. and we heartily
congratulate them on the prospect of
receiving one at the hands of their dis¬
tinguished compeer. Mr. Murphcy. . . .
It is in our view, an object so desirable
to have a good work on North Caro¬
lina, that the attention of our Legisla¬
ture would not be improperly directed
to this subject,"
The Memorial was presented in the
House of Commons by John Scott, the
representative from Hillsborough on
December 12. It was referred to a joint
committee of the Senate and House
which proposed a bill authorizing Mur¬
phcy to raise $25,000 through a Lot¬
tery. The Senate amended the bill by
cutting the amount to SI 5.000 and re¬
stricted the drawings to three. Lotteries
had long been a favorite means of rais¬
ing money for public enterprises, but
many people had come to believe that
they were immoral and there was a
growing sentiment against them.
The bill finally passed the Legisla¬
ture and Allen J. Davie of Halifax
wrote to Murphey:
"Permit me to congratulate you on
the resolution which passed the Legis¬
lature. authorizing you to have a Lot¬
tery. Your old friends throughout the
State feel the greatest solicitude for its
success and I am persuaded will make
every exertion to promote it, when you
have it under way."
Wide Support for Murphcy
During the summer of 1826 the His¬
tory and the Lottery were widely dis¬
cussed throughout the State. The North
Carolina Journal of Fayetteville said:
"We take great pleasure in calling
the attention of our readers and the
public to the lottery: in general, we
are no advocates for raising money in
this way, but the object is so laudable,
so desirable, the benefit to be derived
to the whole community is so great,
and the plan seems so fair and unex¬
ceptionable. that we must dismiss our
scruples and bespeak a favorable re¬
ception for it from the public.”
The Western Carolinian said:
"We feel assured that it is sufficient
for a North Carolinian to become ac¬
quainted with the object of the lottery,
to secure it his hearty approval and
support. But even should that avail
nothing, the respect and affection
which the people of the state cherish
for the amiable and talented individual,
to whom personal relief the profits of
the Lottery are intended to minister,
cannot fail of securing the universal
patronage of our citizens."
In August, Charles Fisher of Salis¬
bury wrote to the editor of the Raleigh
Register:
"I am gratified to learn that the
Legislature of North Carolina has. in
some degree, seconded the laudable
views of Judge Murphey, by granting
him the privilege of raising funds by
way of a lottery to enable him to com¬
plete his History of North Carolina. . . .
I wish him success, and entertain the
THE STATE. JUNE 1. 197
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