PENNSYLVANIA. 



617 



destined to attack Detroit. The attack failed, 

 and in November following the deceased was 

 ordered to the frigate Java, at the request of 

 Commodore Perry. His services from this 

 time were not of particular importance. In 

 1823 he resigned his commission, married, and 

 settled in his profession in Providence, E. 

 I. Dr. Parsons was at one time Professor of 

 Anatomy at Dartmouth College, Professor in 

 Brown University at Providence, President of 

 the Khode Island Medical Society, and first 

 Vice-President of the American Medical Asso- 

 ciation. He was also the author of several 

 medical works and other literary productions. 

 PENNSYLVANIA. The financial condi- 

 tion of this State shows considerable improve- 

 ment during the year. On the 1st of Decem- 

 ber, 1867, there was a balance in the treasury 

 of $4,661,836.46. The ordinary receipts for 

 the fiscal year ending November 30, 1868, 

 amounted to $5,216,049.55. The ordinary ex- 

 penses of the government for the same period 

 were $2,454,506.09 ; loans were redeemed to 

 the amount of $4,417,463.64, and $1,979,690.91 

 were paid in interest on the various State loans. 

 Other payments were made to the amount of 

 $12,800, and at the close of the year there were 

 $1,013,415.37 in the public treasury. The 

 State debt of Pennsylvania amounted on the 

 1st of December, 1867, to $37,704,409.77. 

 During the year following that date it was re- 

 duced to $33,286,946.13. The indebtedness of 

 the Commonwealth on the 1st of December, 

 1868, was made up of the following items: 

 Funded Debt. 



6 per cent, loans $25,311,180 00 



5 per cent, loans 7,749,771 56 



4^ per cent loans 112,000 00 



Total funded $33,172,951 56 



Unfunded Debt. 



Relief notes in circulation $96,415 00 



Interest certificates outstanding. 13,086 52 

 Interest certificates unclaimed... 4,448 38 

 Domestic creditors' certificates.. 44 67 



Total unfunded 113,994 57 



Total funded and unfunded $33,286,946 13 



The State has a sinking fund which, during 

 the last fiscal year, yielded the sum of about 

 $3,000,000. 



The last Legislature increased the State ap- 

 propriation for the support of public schools 

 from $355,000 to $500,000. The following 

 statistics relating to common schools are taken 

 from the official reports : 

 The number of school districts in the State 



Number of schools 



Number of graded schools ; 



Number of school directors 



Number of superintendents J 



Number of teachers 16,771 



Number of pupils 800,515 



Average number of pupils 508,104 



Cost of tuition for the year $3,273,269 43 



Cost of building, purchasing and renting 



school-houses 1,991,152 5o 



Cost of contingencies 854,253 21 



Total cost for tuition, building, etc., and 



contingencies 6,118,675 19 



Total cost, including expenditures of all 



kinds.! ..... 6,200,537 96 



Estimated value of school property 10,556,765 00 



The increase in these items, as compared 

 with those of last year, is as follows: 



In number of districts 29 



In number of schools 231 



In number of graded schools 137 



In number of school directors 155 



In number of superintendents 5 



In number of teachers 248 



In number of pupils 11,126 



In the average number of pupils 27,234 



In cost of tuition, building, etc., and contin- 

 gencies $1,037,136 08 



In total cost, including expenditures of all 



kinds 1,039,787 79 



The average cost for the tuition of each pu- 

 pil is about $7.74f . The average amount paid 

 to each teacher is 195.17i, the average wages 

 for male teachers being $37.28 a month, and 

 those of females $28.76. It is a noteworthy fact, 

 that, while the number of male teachers in the 

 State, exclusive of the city of Philadelphia, has 

 diminished by 1,256, the number of female 

 teachers has increased by 3,932. The average 

 length of the school term for the year is 5 

 months, 19 days. 



An inquiry was set on foot, during the past 

 year, by the board of controllers of the city 

 of Philadelphia, to ascertain how many chil- 

 dren in that city did not attend schools of any 

 kind. The census was taken by the police, un- 

 der the direction of the mayor, and revealed 

 the somewhat startling fact that, out of 150,000 

 children between the ages of six and eighteen, 

 20,534 attended neither public nor private 

 schools. A similar state of things has been 

 found in other places, and it is estimated that 

 in the whole State there are 75, 000. children 

 whose education is entirely neglected. In con- 

 nection with this subject of popular education 

 the following facts are of interest : 



There were admitted into the houses of ref- 

 uge of the State, during the past year, 536 

 children, whose average age was 14 years. 

 Of this number there were, who did not know 

 the alphabet, 57 ; who knew the alphabet only, 

 92 ; who could read poorly, 262 ; who coul'd 

 read well, 21 ; who could not write, 246 ; who 

 could write poorly, 177 ; who could write toler- 

 ably, 94; who could write well, 19. 



There were in the almshouses of forty-six 

 counties in the year 1867, when visited by the 

 county superintendents who made the reports, 

 2,809 persons over ten years of age. Of these 



The number who could not read was 1,181 



The number who could read a little 1,189 



The number who could read well 412 



The number who were good scholars 70 



There were in the jails of the same number 

 of counties, as reported by the same officers at 

 the same time, 1,601 occupants. Of whom 



The number who could not read was 434 



The number who could read a little was 540 



The number who could read well was 504. 



The number who were good scholars was 123 



There were received in the Eastern Peniten- 

 tiary, for the year 1867, 291 convicts. The 

 classification of these, by the officers of the 

 prison, according to their educational relations, 

 is as follows : 



