542 



NEW YOKE. 



bounties, pensions, etc., and have collected the 

 sum of $665,000; 18,000 claims, involving 

 something like $2,000,000, still remain on their 

 hands awaiting settlement. The Bureau of 

 Military Statistics has continued its labor of 

 collecting and preserving memorials and his- 

 torical narratives respecting the late war, and 

 has received, during the year, $10,917 for the 

 "Hall of Military Record," which, added to 

 former .receipts, makes up a sum of $36,288 al- 

 ready received toward that object. The " Sol- 

 diers' Home," at the close of the year, gave 

 shelter to 279 inmates. A large proportion of 

 these consist of mutilated soldiers who are 

 unable, by their own unassisted efforts, to earn 

 a subsistence, while some are there for tempo- 

 rary treatment for sickness. Many of the for- 

 mer class supported themselves by light em- 

 ployment during the summer, but returned to 

 the Home on the approach of winter. 



The Insane Asylum at Utica has had 1,042 

 patients under treatment during thg year, of 

 whom 401 persons were received since January, 

 1867. Two other asylums for the insane are 

 now in process of construction: one at Ovid, 

 called the "Willard Asylum, the other at Pough- 

 keepsie, called the Hudson Eiver Asylum. 

 Neither of these institutions is yet so far com- 

 pleted as to admit patients for treatment. Com- 

 missioners are also at work upon the construc- 

 tion of buildings for an institution for the blind 

 at Batavia. In pursuance of an act of the last 

 Legislature, the Asylum for Inebriates at Bing- 

 hamton has been transferred to the State, but 

 remains in charge of the same trustees who had 

 the care of it before this change took place. 

 This institution is founded on the theory that 

 habits of intemperance produce a disease, which 

 can be effectually eradicated by proper methods 

 of treatment. Under the superintendence of 

 Dr. Albert Day, this asylum meets with con- 

 siderable success in reclaiming the unfortunate 

 class of persons consigned to its care. The in- 

 mate receives no alcoholic stimulant or any sub- 

 stitute for it, but is supplied with the most 

 wholesome food, engaged in rational employ- 

 ments and recreations, and, above all, treated 

 as a gentleman, and taught, by the highest 

 course of moral education, to respect himself 

 and aspire to respectability in the eyes of 

 others. In aggravated cases recuperative medi- 

 cines are resorted to for a time. All are at 

 liberty to go and come, but are put "upon 

 their honor "not to visit the city, and their 

 money is kept in the custody of the super- 

 intendent, who makes all necessary purchases 

 for them. Dr. Day has had this institution in 

 charge only since last May. 



The State prisons are said to be in a satis- 

 factory condition, though their expenditures 

 have exceeded their receipts for the year past 

 by about $170,000. At theDannemora Prison 

 the convicts are employed directly by agents of 

 the State, and that system appears to work 

 with great success. 



In April last the Legislature provided for 



the temporary, occupation of Barren Island, in 

 the harbor of New York, for quarantine pur- 

 poses, while a permanent station should be se- 

 lected and furnished with the necessary struc- 

 tures and appliances on Coney Island. The 

 commissioners appointed to carry into effect 

 the provision for establishing the permanent 

 station have been restrained by an injunction 

 from taking possession of sufficient land to se- 

 cure what they deem a proper isolation, the 

 court having decided that they had no authority 

 to take the question of isolation into account. 

 Hence this matter awaits the further action of 

 the Legislature ; 148 vessels have been placed 

 under quarantine since the beginning of the 

 year. The whole number of immigrants who 

 have landed at the port of New York in the 

 last twelve months is no less than 242,738, or 

 9,320 more than arrived during the previous 

 year. The Commissioners of Immigration col- 

 lect a tax of $2.50 from each foreigner, and 

 the fund thus created is devoted to the support 

 of the sick and indigent on their arrival. A 

 fine hospital on Ward's Island has been built 

 out of the resources of this fund, to afford shel- 

 ter and minister the proper care to such as re- 

 quire the beneficent offices of such an institu 

 tion. 



The amount of money raised by State taxa- 

 tion for the support of schools during the year 

 is $1,403,163, while the local voluntary taxa- 

 tion of the various school districts amounts to 

 $5,591,871. Funds realized from other sources 

 make up a grand total of $8,873,230, which 

 exceeds the expenditures of the year for school 

 purposes by about $1,192,324. The total num- 

 . ber between the ages of five and twenty-one, 

 who have availed themselves of the advantages 

 of public education in the 11,724 school dis- 

 tricts, is reported at 1,372,853, or 30.62 per 

 cent, of the entire number of such persons in 

 the State; 5,263 male teachers and 21,218 fe- 

 male teachers have been employed for their in- 

 struction. The amount of money to be appor- 

 tioned among the public schools for the current 

 year is stated at $2,400,134. The Normal 

 Schools at Albany and Oswego are reported as 

 in a flourishing condition, and four additional 

 institutions of the same character are in pro- 

 cess of construction at the villages of Fredonia, 

 Brockport, Cortland, and Potsdam. That at 

 Brockport (though not yet completed) is al- 

 ready in successful operation in one building, 

 while the others are rapidly approaching com- 

 pletion. 



The establishment of two more Normal 

 Schools besides those mentioned has been au- 

 thorized by law, at Buffalo and Genesee, and 

 no doubt is entertained that these, too, will be 

 put into operation at an early day. The Cor- 

 nell University has made rapid progress. One 

 large and substantial stone edifice has been fin- 

 ished, and another is in process of erection. 

 A large number of professors have been already 

 chosen, and it is announced by the trustees that 

 students will be received in September next. 



