I. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, now met and sitting in General Assembly, and by the authority of the same, That the Hon. I. D. Witherspoon, Col. Wm. Wright, Maj. Jno. G. Euloe, George Steele, John S. Moore, J. H. Adams, Wm. Hanna, W. P. McFadden, Rev. R. A. Ross, Rev. P. E. Bishop, Rev. Wm. B. Davis, Rev. A. W. Miller, and Rev. J. M. Anderson, and their successors in office, be, and they are hereby, created and constituted a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of "The Trustees of the Yorkville Female Institute," a seminary of learning situated at Yorkville, in York District, in the State of South Carolina, and as such and by said name of "The Trustees of the Yorkville Female Institute," shall be capable and liable, in law and equity, to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded, to use a common seal, and to make such by-laws and rules for the regulation and government of said institute as they may deem necessary: Provided, Said by-laws and rules be not repugnant to the Constitution and laws of this State, or of the United States.

II. That the said Board of Trustees are, and shall be, authorized to appoint such officers as they may think necessary and proper for the organization and government of their own body, and also all the officers, professors, tutors, and instructors of and in said college: Provided, That Bethel Presbytery, a corporeal part of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America, together with any other ecclesiastical body whom the said Presbytery may be pleased to associate with itself in the direction of the institute, shall have the power of confirming or annulling such appointments, and of exercising a general control and supervision over the officers, affairs and government of said institute.

III. That the said Board of Trustees shall have power and authority to award diplomas to the pupils of said institute who shall graduate therein.

IV. That the said Trustees, and their successors, shall have and hold all the estate, property and funds now belonging to said institute, and all property, funds, money, donations, legacies and devises which may hereafter be granted, conveyed, bequeathed and devised or given to said institute, in trust, nevertheless, for the use and benefit of said institute.

V. That said Trustees shall be appointed or chosen for the term of three years, by Bethel Presbytery aforesaid, and any other ecclesiastical body to whom the said Presbytery may transfer a share of the direction of the institute; and said Trustees shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes, so that one-third may be chosen every year after such division takes place; and the said Presbytery, together with any other body by its own act associated with itself, shall have power and authority to fill all vacancies in said Board of Trustees, which shall occur by death, resignation or otherwise.

VI. That the said Board of Trustees may be increased to the number of nineteen at the pleasure of the electing body or bodies.

VII. Be it further enacted, That S. F. Gibson, L. M. Stevenson, William Evans, Horatio H. McClenaghan, Nathan Evans, C. D. Evans, John Wilcox, E. B. Wheeler, W. W. Durant, W. H. Crawford, Elly Godbold, John C. Bethea, R. C. Hamer, Robert Harllee, W. B. Rowell, Light Townsend, Charles Williams, J. P. Zimmerman, Solomon Coward, B. K. Hennegan, D. Gilchrist, James C. Mullins, D. Legget, H. D. Green, James T. Gibson, James Beaty and Asa Godbold, and their associates and successors, be, and they are hereby created a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of the "Marion Female College."

VIII. That the said corporation, by the name and style aforesaid, shall have succession of officers and members, and shall be capable and liable, in law and equity, to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, in any court of law or equity in this State, to use a common seal, and the same to change at will, and to make such by-laws for the regulation and government of the said corporation as may be deemed necessary: Provided, Such by-laws, rules and regulations be not inconsistent with or repugnant to the laws of the land.

IX. That the capital stock shall be twenty thousand dollars, with the privilege of increasing the same to the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, by vote of a majority of the stockholders, in a meeting duly convened, and that the said capital stock shall be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each.

X. That a majority of the capital stock shall form a quorum to do business, and each share shall entitle the holder to one vote, which may be given in person or by proxy, which said proxy shall be appointed in writing under the hand and seal of the stockholder.

XI. That there shall be an annual meeting of the stockholders of the company at Marion Court House on the first Monday in January, or at such other time and place as may be appointed by the stockholders, when a Board of Trustees shall be elected for the ensuing year.

XII. That the said Board of Trustees shall have power and authority to sell and dispose of scholarships in said college, for such time and upon such terms as the stockholders may direct, and to issue certificates for the same, under the seal of the corporation; and also to confer and award all such distinctions, honors, licenses and degrees as are usually conferred in the female colleges and universities of the United States.

XIII. That the said corporation shall have and hold all the estate, property and funds, now belonging to said company, and all property, funds, money, donations, legacies and devises which may hereafter be granted, conveyed, bequeathed and devised or given to said company: Provided, The same shall not exceed the sum of one hundred thousand dollars.

XIV. This Act shall be taken and deemed to be a Public Act, and continue in force for the term of twenty-one years, and from thence until the adjournment of the next General Assembly thereafter.

In the Senate House, the twenty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, and in the seventy-ninth year of the sovereignty and independence of the United States of America.

ROBT. F. W. ALLSTON, President of the Senate.
JAMES SIMONS, Speaker of the House of Representatives.