96 The Financial History of Connecticut. 



amount expended from April 1, 1830, until March 31, 1847, was 

 twenty-nine thousand eight hundred nine dollars, an average per 

 year of one thousand eight hundred sixty-three dollars. 



Another institution to receive aid at the hands of the state during 

 this period was the General Hospital Society of the State of Connec- 

 ticut. Using its favorite method of financial assistance, 

 Geueral ^j^g legislature required the New Haven County Bank, 

 Hospital r , ;• • , • , • , 



Society ^^ one of the conditions on which its charter was granted 



in 1834, to pay five thousand dollars to this society.^ 



The next institution for the physically infirm to which the state 



gave annual financial support was the New England Institution 



for the Blind. One hundred forty-three dollars was 

 for the Blind P^^^ ^° ^^ ^^ ^^^ state in 1835, six hundred fifty 



in 1837 and three hundred thirty-eight in 1838. In 

 this year the legislature followed the policy already adopted in the 

 case of the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. It appointed the 

 governor a commissioner to contract with the New England Insti- 

 tution for the Blind for the education of blind persons of the state 

 who were unable personally or by the assistance of friends to pro- 

 vide the necessary means. The age limit of persons who could receive 

 the benefit of this act was set at twenty-five. The governor could 

 contract for as many persons as he deemed expedient, provided the 

 expense did not exceed one thousand dollars a year, and he could 

 not make a contract for more than five years.^ Two years later the 

 age limit was extended to forty years, preference still being given 

 to persons under twenty-five, if, in the opinion of the governor, 

 there was a sufficient number of persons within the lower age limit 

 entitled to the benefits of the appropriation, but no other change 

 was made.2 In 1843 the resolution of 1838 was re-enacted for another 

 period of five years, thus restoring the age limit to twenty-five years."* 

 As in the case of the deaf and dumb, the appropriation allowed was 

 not entirely used. From April 1, 1838, to March 31, 1844, only two 

 thousand seven hundred sixteen dollars was thus expended. This 

 is an average per year of four hundred fifty-three dollars, which 

 is less than half of the appropriation. No outlay was made for this 

 purpose for the next two years. The reason for these small expend- 

 itures is that the number of persons who applied was too small 

 to exhaust the appropriations. 



1 Public Statute Laws, 1834, chap. 39, sec. 14. 



2 Private Acts, 1838, pp. 8, 9. 



3 Private Acts, 1840, p. 4. 

 * Private Acts, 1843, p. 26. 



