transverse division were finished, and the remainder of the extreme wing slated and fitted with copper eaves and conductors; the cupolas were built, tinned, painted and sanded and put in connection with the foul air-ducts; stairways were built in the extreme division, three iron tanks were placed in the attics, two large cisterns of brick, laid in water-lime, (30 ft.x8 ft.x 7 feet 6 in.) were built in the rear of the building; also four hundred feet of ovoid sewer (3 ft.x1 ft. 6 in.) with branches and traps complete; an engine and boiler house (178 ft.x26 ft.) of brick, slated, with tin eaves and connections; a pipe-duct 100 feet long, 4 feet high, and an air conduit, two hundred and twenty feet long, and eight feet wide, to connect the fanchamber with the wards.

The report closes with an earnest appeal for the immediate completion of the south wing, and the reconstruction of the centre building, that the Institution might be prepared to receive one hundred and forty-four patients; also to complete the north wing as soon as possible thereafter. In reference to its organizing or enabling act, they remark: "In addition to this appropriation, there will also be required the necessary statutory provision for the administration of the affairs of the Asylum, and the control of the officers. This is a matter of the highest importance, as upon the proper organization of the Institution, its success solely depends. It defines the position of the officers, assigns their duties, and creates those close restrictions upon the exercise of power, essential to the perfect disci'pline of the Asylum, and without which virtue, talent and fidelity, however well directed and combined, would labor under every possible disadvantage.

"Experience, when available, is the surest and safest guide in all these matters; and we are fortunately enabled to secure that of the entire profession devoted to the treatment of insanity in America. As the result of years of observation, they have given us two series of propositions, the one on construction,' and the other on organization,' to serve as a guide in the establishment of institutions for the insane. By the use of the former,

we have secured a building acknowledged to have no superior; and as the more important matter of organization is left with this Legislature, we advise a close adherence to the principles embodied in the latter."

III.-From the Organization of the Institution to the present time.

The report of Messrs. Gorham, Woodbury and Montague, just referred to, after stating that the Asylum was nearly prepared for the reception of ninety patients of one sex, suggested an appropriation of $90,500, to extend its capacity to one hundred and forty-four, and also the necessary statutory provision for the government of the Institution. A very liberal appropriation was made by the Legislature to which this report was addressed, and by a vote certainly indicative of a strong and enlightened interest in its success. On the morning of the 16th of February, the Governor requested the attendance at the Executive Chamber, of the President of the Board of Trustees and the Medical Superintendent. At this interview he referred to the affixing of his signature to the appropriation bill; spoke of the liberality of the appropriation and the flattering support it had received, and said he had requested the interview expressly to urge the greatest possible expedition in announcing its opening. A majority of the members of the Board being at Lansing, the Medical Superintendent was instructed to go east at once and perfect certain arrangements, previously under consideration, preparatory to opening the Asylum in May. He proceeded to discharge this duty without delay. During his absence, on the second day following the adjournment of the Legislature, a communication was received from Lansing, stating that "the balance reported in the State Treasury was not then available; that no moneys could be expected for some time, and directing that no warrants be made until advices had been received to that effect, from the Treasurer's office." This, it may be remarked, was directly contradictory to statements made, and assurances given, even as late as the day previous to the adjournment.

The Medical Superintendent returned a few days subsequently, having engaged the necessary assistants and attendants, and purchased the required bedding, supplies and fixtures. Most of these articles had been shipped, and payments therefor were of course expected.. These facts were communicated to the State officers, and copies of letters, remonstrances, and protests of private individuals were forwarded to the GovThis led to several interviews between the State Board, and the Trustees and Treasurer of the Asylum; none however, with any very satisfactory results.

ernor.

Early in May a letter was received from the Governor, stating that a small sum would soon be placed in the hands of the Trustees, and still more warmly urging the announcement of the opening of the Asylum. It was soon followed by a communication from the Treasurer, Mr. McKinney, announcing that he had succeeded in borrowing $15,000 for the Institution, and that the Trustees would be expected to repay to him interest thereon; to which they gladly assented. This sum was received in three equal payments, on the 11th and 19th of May, and the 21st of July.

ACCEPTED WARRANTS.-At one of the meetings of the State board, it was decided as a last resource, to make the appropriation available by means of loans. Warrants in accordance with the requirements of the act were prepared by the State Treasurer, and brought to the Asylum for the signatures of the Clerk of the Board of Trustees and the Medical Superintendent. Subsequently, countersigned by the Auditor General and accepted by the State Treasurer, they were taken by the latter to New York for negotiation. A legal examination of these proposed securities caused sufficient distrust of them to lead to their rejection, and the State Treasurer on his return, forwarded them to the Institution with a report of his failure.

A short time afterwards, when the needs of the Asylum had become pressing, they were taken by its treasurer, and their

payment having been personally guaranteed by the Trustees and himself, were eventually discounted.

The Trustees of course could take no exception to this scheme of rendering the appropriation available by means of "accepted warrants" as devised by the State officers. It was considered the best and only course which could have been adopted. The only question was, "shall the work upon the Asylum be suspended and the Institution remain closed, or shall the means be secured and the end attained at this great cost?" It was promptly answered by the Governor and his advisers, and the course just detailed was pursued. It was a costly, and to the officers a very unpleasant mode of securing funds. As an instance of the difficulty experienced in negotiating them, it may be stated that as late as May, 1862, on an occasion of pressing want in the Asylum treasury, it was found impossible to dispose of one of these accepted warrants drawn upon the appropriation for 1860 for as small a sum even as $2,000, payable in September following, at a less discount than 10 per cent., and even then it was effected only through the personal assurance of the State Treasurer that it would certainly be paid at the time specified.

Early in the month of June, (1859,) the amount of work accomplished upon the building, its proportion to the entire Institution, and the moneys already expended were carefully compared in detail; and it was fully established that the expenditures were, at that date, within the original estimates. It furthermore appeared that if the appropriations of 1859 and 1860 had been available, according to the act, at the then prevailing cost of labor and material, a balance of several thousand dollars would remain on hand after the completion of the portions specified and the purchase of the furniture contemplated therein.

The impossibility of securing the appropriations of '59 and 60 was a serious blow to the Asylum-far more so than the burning of the centre building. Indeed, there seems to be no way of correctly estimating it; it came at a peculiarly unfortun

ate period in its history; it necessitated radical changes in plan and policy, and it compelled large expenditures for temporary fixtures and arrangements. The uncertainty of payments, prejudiced contracts and proposals, and outlays and purchases were deferred, which when finally forced upon the Institution, were made at a great advance--that upon the centre building, for instance, being more than doubled.

It has been no pleasant task to recall this chapter in the history of the Asylum. Perhaps there may be no absolute necessity for it; but it affords the only correct explanation of certain departures from original design, of several expenditures not previously contemplated, and of failure to meet justified expectation. Its influence continues to be felt, and has often to be measured even now.

To the very natural inquiry, why these facts were not fully presented at the time, it may be said that statements were prepared, but at the suggestion of Gov. Wisner, by letter, abridged to a simple mention of the fact, with however, very full and accurate statements in figures, as will appear by a reference to the report. His remark, that the whole subject would come before the public and the Legislature from another source, led the Trustees to refer to it thus: "As the nature of these embarrassments will be presented through another and more appropriate channel, it will be necessary for us simply to make mention of the fact."

Still another thought has suggested the propriety of embracing these details in this report. The members in attendance at the legislative session immediately following the difficulties in the Treasury Department at Lansing, were perfectly familiar with its relations to the embarrassments at the Asylum for the Insane. They fully understood the causes of the failure on the part of the Trustees to apply the appropriations exactly as they directed, and hence no exceptions were taken thereto. This fact is each year becoming less generally known. Since the effect must be felt until the completion of the building,