432 MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTiaCT. 



CHAP. XXV. Towards the close of the year the Government of India 

 Educational, informed the Madras Government that unless the Committee 



agreed to adopt in principle or in entirety the rules of the 



Sundwar Asylum relating to religious institutions the Government 

 could not take over the institution. In January 1860 the 

 managing body accepted these conditions, " as they knew it 

 would be the desire of the late Sir Henry Lawrence/' subject to 

 a reference to the subscribers. Such reference however appears 

 never to have been made. Meanwhile, the Committee of the 

 Madras Military Male Orphan Asylum had under consideration 

 the expediency of transferring their asylum to the Hills and 

 amalgamating it with the Lawrence Asylum. The Committee 

 of the latter asylum were favourably disposed to the project 

 regarding the amalgamation '' as a very desirable object/' but 

 they were unable to pledge themselves on the subject in conse- 

 quence of their relation to Government. It was admitted that 

 there were very sei'ious obstacles in the way of the Government 

 adopting the Madras Asylum. The question of uniting the 

 asylums came before Government in November 1859 ; but 

 Government, though appointing the Director of Public Instruc- 

 tion (Mr. A. J. Arbuthnot) as their representative on a Committee 

 entrusted with the selection of a site in the event of the union 

 taking place latei", expressed no opinion on the desirability 

 of combining the institutions. The two Committees, however, 

 proceeded with their scheme, and after abandoning for the 

 time the proposal to unite the Female as well as the Male 

 Madras Asylum, determined to arrange for the maintenance and 

 education of 400 boys. This number they expected to be able 

 to provide for from the joint resources of the amalgamated 

 asylums if the Government granted monthly Rupees 1,000, a 

 sum equal to the income of the Lawrence Asylum (male branch). 

 The Government were also requested to contribute towards the 

 new building, for which the Committees of the two asylums 

 expected to be able to provide about Rupees 1,25,000. 



They proposed to appoint 8 Governors, 5 being ex-officio, viz., 

 the Commander-in-Chief, the Bishop, the Director of Public 

 Instruction, the Senior Civil and Senior Military Officers on duty 

 on the Hills. These five were in the first instance to select three 

 other members, and thenceforth the Board was to be self-electing. 

 It was urged that the an'angement would be far less costly to 

 the State than the adoption of the Lawi'ence Asylum as a State 

 institution. The scheme was before Government when the letter 

 fi'om the Government of India above alluded to was received. 

 The Lawrence Asylum Committee having accepted the Govern- 

 ment of India proposals, the Government resolved in February 



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