684 



RHODE ISLAND. 



that permit such a construction ; and of the national 

 Congress to prepare and submit a sixteenth amend- 

 ment to enfranchise women. 



On the 30th of November, thanksgiving day, 

 the introduction of water into the city of Provi- 

 dence, by aqueduct, was celebrated with much 

 enthusiasm. A marble statue of Roger Wil- 

 liams, executed for the State by Franklin Sim- 

 mons in Italy, was received in March, and 

 presented to 'the Federal Government to be 

 placed in the capitol. 



The financial condition of Rhode Island is 

 quite satisfactory. The State debt, which in 

 1865 was $4,000,000, has been reduced to 

 $2,702,500. About one-third of the bonds are 

 due in 1882, and the remainder in 1893-'94. 

 The present State tax produces about $75,000 

 over and above the ordinary demands of the 

 government, and it is proposed to devote this 

 to the purchase of the bonds, but no provision 

 has as yet been made for this purpose. On 

 the 30th of April there was in the Treasury 

 an unexpended surplus of $130,828.65. The 

 receipts from ordinary sources for the fiscal 

 year ending April 30, 1872, in part estimated, 

 amounted to $725,000, which gives a total fund 

 of $855,828.65. Out of this the payments for 

 the same period amounted to $717,000, leaving 

 a surplus of $138,828.65. 



On the 2d of October there were 62 national 

 banks in the State, of which the total resources 

 amounted to $46,271,282.23. The capital stock 

 of State banks on the 6th of December was 

 $3,144,400, and their total resources, $4,926,- 

 774.05. There were, at the same date, 33 sav- 

 ings institutions in the State having 79,676 

 depositors, or more than one-third of the popu- 

 lation. The deposits amounted in the aggre- 

 gate to $36,289,703.11, an increase of $5,581,- 

 201.73 during the year. 



The cause of public education in the State 

 is steadily advancing. The school year con- 

 sisted of over thirty-four weeks, and the at- 

 tendance was quite large. A free Polytechnic 

 Institute has been established at Providence, 

 and free evening schools have been opened in 

 nearly all the large towns. The Normal School, 

 which was provided for by the last Legisla- 

 ture, has been successfully established by the 

 Board of Education, and was opened at Provi- 

 dence in September. Teachers' conventions 

 have been held at several important points dur- 

 ing the year, and there was an annual conven- 

 tion of teachers, at Providence, in January. 

 Brown University is represented as being in a 

 flourishing condition. Rev. Dr. Ezekiel Gilmer 

 Robinson was chosen as its president, to succeed 

 Rev. Dr. Oaswell in January, 1872. A free 

 public library, art gallery, and museum for the 

 city of Providence was chartered by the last 

 Legislature, to be established under the com- 

 bined auspices of the Providence Franklin So- 

 ciety, the Rhode Island Horticultural Society, 

 the Franklin Lyceum, the Providence Asso- 

 ciation of Mechanics and Manufacturers, and 

 the Rhode Island Society for the Encourage- 



ment of Domestic Industry. These several 

 bodies have appointed committees to cooperate 

 in the establishment of the new institution, 

 and important preliminary steps toward that 

 object have already been taken. 



The most important eleemosynary establish- 

 ment of Rhode Island is the State Farm, where 

 there are reformatories for criminals, and 

 asylums for the insane. In past years, the in- 

 sane have been sent to the institutions of other 

 States, but the accommodations at the State 

 Farm are gradually increased, and it is intended, 

 in time, to establish facilities for taking care 

 of all classes dependent on the State for sup- 

 port. The Rhode Island Hospital is supported 

 mainly by voluntary contributions of individ- 

 uals and private bodies. The cost of conduct- 

 ing it for the year ending September 30th was 

 $24,489.56. In the course of the year there 

 were 251 patients cared for in the hospital 

 itself, while 1,827 living elsewhere received 

 treatment there for a greater or less length of 

 time. The Butler Hospital for the Insane, at 

 Providence, received 99 patients during the 

 year, of whom 80 were discharged as cured. 

 The total number under treatment during the 

 year was 194, there being 95 inmates at the 

 end of 1870. The expenses of the year were 

 $45,183.18, and the receipts from all sources, 

 $55,311.69. This institution is maintained 

 chiefly by a private endowment, personal con- 

 tributions, and payments from patients. 



The State-prison at Providence is said to be 

 in a good condition. It contained 65 convicts 

 on the 31st of December, of whom 26 were 

 committed during the year. The income from 

 the labor of the prisoners, which is farmed out 

 on contract at 70 cents each per day, was 

 $12,627.82, while the expenses of the institu- 

 tion amounted to $7,833.45. The jail, which 

 is under the same management, had, at the end 

 of the year, 82 prisoners, 1,613 having been 

 committed, and 1,616 having been discharged 

 during the twelvemonth. The income from 

 the jail amounted to $9,514.27, while the ex- 

 penses were $11,289.18. There are evening 

 schools maintained in the prison. New build- 

 ings are proposed to be located on the State 

 Farm, with separate accommodations for female 

 convicts. 



There are 136 miles of railroad in the State, 

 none of which was built during the past year. 

 An important new road is, however, projected, 

 to be known as the Woonasquatucket Railroad, 

 extending from Providence to East Thompson, 

 which is in Connecticut, just beyond the north- 

 west corner of this State, a distance of about 

 33 miles. The Federal Government has made 

 appropriations, amounting to over $100,000, 

 for the construction of a breakwater at Block 

 Island, for the protection of commerce. 



The latest statistics of crops for this State 

 are those of 1870, the principal items of which 

 are as follows: Indian corn, 10,769 acres, 

 yielding 280,000 bushels, an average of 26 

 bushels per acre, valued at $1.06 per bushel, 



