764 



VERMONT. 



to and made a part of the report In 1835 the State, 

 by the act of their Legislature, gave $10,000. 

 paid in five annual installments of $2,OUO each. In 

 18S6, the State granted an additional $2,000. In 

 1837, 94,000. In 1840, two annual installment* of 

 $2,000. In 184S, $8,000 ; making, in all, $28,000. We 

 do not find, since the irirt in 1-43 by the State, of 

 $8,000, that any oonuotnbb donation has 

 made to the institution bv the State, or by any cor- 

 poration, or by private in dividual* ; hence, fhepne- 

 ent property of the institution has grown from the 

 fund ot $33,000, received previous to 1844. In 1865 

 the centre building and wings of the institution wire 

 burned. They were Immediately rebuilt, and a^ain 

 occupied. The expense of rebuilding was abou' 

 000. The whole cost of the institution, as reported 

 by the Commissioner for the Insane, in his biennial 

 report of 1872, was $234,870.60, including 1,200 acres 

 of land. The present value of the property, as es- 

 timated by one of the trustees, is $500,000. The 

 committee estimate it at a very considerable excess 

 of that amount. The interest of the State in this 

 vast property is simply that, by the ocU of 1840 and 

 1843, if it ceases to be an insane asylum, tin 

 have a lion upon it for the security of the $23,000 

 lore invested. The property is owned by a 

 private corporation. 



The number of patients found by the com- 

 mittee lit the asylum when they first visited it, 

 was 485. They say that "there were accom- 

 modations really for only about 300. About 75 

 of the patients were, at the time of the visit, 

 confined in underground apartments, which 

 were damp, unwholesome, and entirely unfit 

 for occupation by human beings." They add 

 that " the whole of the asylum was inadequate- 

 ly warmed and ventilated." 



At the time of their last visit, June 24, 1873, 

 the whole number of patients there was 476, 

 of whom 80 were State poor, 2uO town poor, 

 and the rest were patients from outside the 

 State, 



The committee found the punishment known 

 as "bathing," to have been practised at the 

 asylum, and condemn, with indignation, the 

 infliction of such punishment upon the unfor- 

 tunate and irresponsible insane. 



The method in use at the asylum for the 

 admission of patients the committee aver to 

 be defective and unsafe, and that serious abuses 

 have taken place in that respect. The admis- 

 sion is regulated by the statute of 1865, which 

 provides ''that a medical examiner should lie 

 appointed by the Court of Chancery of Wind- 

 ham County, whose certificate of the insanity 

 of any person proposed for admission should 

 be conclusive proof of the fact." Under this 

 statute, the court appointed the physician thru 

 superintendent of the asylum, medical exam- 

 iner, which appointment opened the door tor 

 fraudulent practices on the p;irt of some among 

 the officers of the institution. The commit- 

 tee express their belief that, a* a cons.-i| 

 of these regulations and mode of admission, 

 " persons have been admitted to the said asy- 

 lum who were not insane." 



The committee recommend the repeal of the 

 statute of 1855, and suggest the enactment of a 

 law, instead, providing "that no person r.-i- 

 dent in the State, except each as shall bo 



brought, by virtue of the certificate of a court 

 of record, and under seal, shall be admitted 

 as a patient without the certificate of two phy- 

 sicians, one of whom shall be the patient's 

 family physician ; and further, that said cer- 

 tificate shall not bo received without the ad- 

 ditional certificate of a justice of tin- |. 

 that the phy.sic.iaus signing such ecrliticatc are 

 physicians of good and regular standing ; and 

 that medical examiners be selected by tho 

 -lature, to examine all persons from other 

 lor admission into the asylum." 



At the time of their lost visit, in .lune, 1873, 

 the committee found that extensive changes 

 and improvements were being made in the 

 asylum under the management of the new 

 superintendent. 



Tho death-rate of the asylum during tho 

 lost ten years the committee state to have 

 been ''less than that in any similar institution 

 in N'e\v Ku-rhind, except the one at Concord." 



Of much greater importance was the in 

 igation intrusted to another joint committee by 

 the Legislature at the last session. Humors of 

 bribery having been circulated, and specific 

 charges of corruption published, implicating 

 several members of the Legislature and the 

 State courts, with reference to the manage- 

 ment of certain railway lines and the inl. 

 of other corporations connected with them, 

 the General Assembly deemed an official in- 

 quiry into the grounds of the alleged 

 necessary ; and, to that end, both Houses 

 adopted the following resolutions: 



'(Ml.- 



That a committee of three Senators and three mem- 

 bers of the House be appoint v,lv by the 

 President of the Senate and Sm-ukcr of tin' House, 

 to inquire whether or not it fs true that in A. p. 

 1869, or at any time before or since, money was paid 

 directly or indirectly by any trustee, receiver, man- 

 ager, officer, or agent of any railroad or railroad 

 company in this State, to any member of . 

 House of the Legislature, for the purpose of influen- 

 cing legislation : whether or not it is true that under 

 any power derive 1 I'MIH either branch of the gov- 

 it of this State, any person connected with 

 tlie aforesaid railroads or companies, has pru< 

 frauds or peculations ; and finally to investigate 

 fully all and singular all the matter's above referred 

 to. and said committee to have power to send for 

 MS and papers, and to employ counsel to prose- 

 I investigation to its fullest extent and to make 

 report to the present session of the Li'ji-lMure. 



Also to inquire whether any r officers of 



either House of this ("lOncral Assembly have written 

 or aided in procuring to be published, the nr 

 in the Boston TrarrUfr touching any measure now 

 I'l-nili'iL.' I"-' r any 



<}:< T lli'l!" ot'Tl.i* (I. [|iT:d 



!ily nre in the pay and employment of any in- 

 dividuals opposed to th'o possaire of any such pend- 

 ing measures; also "to pursue thi-ir investigation 

 loiirmncnt of the limeral A~*cMiMy, and 

 make their report to the Governor on or before the 

 first day of July next." 



The joint committee presented to (lie (!ov- 

 crnor a detailed report on the several matters 

 inquired into. 



The charges made against the members of 

 the Legislature aro thus stated in the report : 



