CONNECTICUT. 



207 



riage dissolved in every ten contracted within 

 ,!iu< |'i-rioil of tiiiu-, the (ioM-ruor urged 

 on tin- I.eui-l.-ituro at its session tlu- |>ro|iri.ty 

 .n- their serious attention to the subject. 

 II,- r. commended a careful examination into 

 t IK* reasons assigned in the above-mentioned 

 to the. end of ascertaining whether 

 ::n\ means can be found capable of mitigating, 

 curing, this steadily-growing evil, either 

 I iy limiting the grounds on which divorces are 

 to In- sued for, or by restraining the liberty of 

 omrtsin granting them, lie also recommended 

 a thurough revision of the laws concerning di- 

 vorce as they existed in the State. A move- 

 ment in this direction was made by the Legis- 

 lature at its last session, and the matter rather 

 warmly debated, but without any decisive 

 result; except the passing of a law which 

 prex-ribes that "no decree of divorce shall be 

 grunted during the first term of the court after 

 the bringing of the petition there, or unless 

 the court shall find that the respondent has 

 actually received notice that the petition is 

 pending." 



As to the marriages reported for 1860, 

 though their total number appears to have 

 been larger than in the preceding year, they 

 were in reality less, so far as regards mar- 

 riages contracted between persons born in the 

 State. This excess was entirely due to the 

 number of marriages where both parties were 

 of foreign birth. 



Public instruction of youth seems to be care- 

 fully attended to and provided for in Connect- 

 icut. During the session of the Legislature in 

 1868, a law was enacted, abolishing the " Rate 

 Bill " system, till then in use, and substituting 

 the " Free School " system in its place. Every 

 thing connected with public schools has since 

 developed itself in so satisfactory a manner as 

 fully to prove the wisdom of the change. The 

 whole number of children between four and 

 sixteen years of age, on January 1, 1870, was 

 125,407 ; and the number of children registered 

 as in attendance, for a greater or smaller por- 

 tion of the year, on the public schools was 

 102,005 ; which is above 5,000 in excess of the 

 attendance on public schools in the previous 

 year, and more than four-fifths of the whole 

 number of children within school age; not- 

 withstanding the fact that there are numerous 

 private schools and academies open for instruc- 

 tion throughout the State, all of which are 

 reported to be in a more or less flourishing 

 condition. 



The number of pupils above sixteen years of 

 age, not entitled to share in the benefits of the 

 State School Fund, but who attended public 

 schools last year, was 8,808. 



The school fund, as appears from the records 

 of the last biennial examination in 1868, is 

 $2,044,058.87. A portion of this, to the 

 amount of $86,425, was paid into the Treasury 

 during the previous year, and reloaned on 

 bond and mortgage, within the State. Out of 

 this fund a per capita dividend of one dollar 



for each child of school age was declared and 



paid last \.-ur to the several school districts in 

 the sum of $120,056.65 ; and $8,808.15 were 

 l>:iil tor salaries and expenses. 



The total receipts for school purposes from 

 all sources, during the year, amounted to 

 $1,269,152.82; which was $226,066.12 more 

 than the receipts of the preceding year. The 

 aggregate expenditures for public schools in 

 the same year were $1,278,827.01. This out- 

 lay, though it is greater than in former years, 

 was amply compensated by the advantages 

 resulting from the working of the new system ; 

 as the public schools have now become abso- 

 lutely free, instruction being open to all alike. 



With a view of increasing the usefulness of 

 public schools, a revision of the act in the 

 General Statutes of 1866, entitled "An act 

 concerning education," was suggested espe- 

 cially for the purpose of amending its section 

 103, so as to include drawing among the pre- 

 scribed branches of elementary instruction. 

 The object was that plain drawing might be 

 taught in some uniform and practical system 

 of mechanical and object-drawing; to the end 

 that children, being thus early imbued with 

 the rules of proportion and correctness of de- 

 sign, might be able, when practical artisans, 

 to execute their work in a more finished and 

 perfect manner, whatever should be their me- 

 chanical profession. 



The Sheffield Scientific School at New Ha- 

 ven, which is regarded as "the Connecticut 

 College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts," 

 was attended in 1869 by 141 students, 71 of 

 whom were from the State, and the remaining 

 70 from twenty-one other States. All of the 

 scholarships in the gift of the State are now 

 taken up. 



The Normal School at New Britain, which 

 had been closed two years, was reopened in 

 September, 1869. Since its reopening it had 

 fully resumed its regular course of training 

 teachers, and fitting them properly to perform 

 the laborious task of imparting instruction to 

 youth in the public schools. Within the short 

 time elapsed from its reopening to May, 1870, 

 there had been received 130 students. 



There are not a few public institutions 

 established in Connecticut having distinct 

 objects of charity for their purpose; and all of 

 them are tenderly cared for by the State. In 

 the General Hospital for the Insane, at Middle- 

 town, there seems nothing to be wanting to 

 make it perfect in all respects, except an en- 

 largement of its present capacity, which is 

 ample, but not enough to accommodate all the 

 patients for the reception of whom application 

 is made. The total number of patients on the 

 1st of April, 1870, was 232, being an increase 

 of 23 during the year. Of this number, 114 

 were male?, and 118 females. There were 

 admitted into the institution during the year 

 134 new patients, of whom 43 were discharged, 

 recovered; 18 discharged, much improved; 

 27 discharged, not improved; 21 died (mostly 



