REPORT. To the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee: The Trustees of the Tennessee School for the Blind respectfully report that, by an examination of the last report which they had the honor to submit to your Honorable Body, it will be seen there was an unexpended balance of $5,204.21, being the remainder of the sum of $30,000 appropriated by an Act of the General Assembly passed the 18th day of March, 1875, for the purpose of erecting additional buildings for the use of the Tennessee School for the Blind. This sum was increased by the receipt of two small items, viz.: $52.27 on the 7th day of March, 1878, and $99.60 on the 15th day of March, 1878-the former of which was the amount refunded by the Walworth Company, of Boston, being the original cost of some articles not needed for the operation of the heating apparatus purchased from said company, and the latter being the price for which some broken stone, left on the premises after the completion of the foundation, was sold. The entire amount of the fund, therefore, to be accounted for, is $5,356.08. The Act of the 18th of March, 1875, expressly required any remainder of the appropriation after building the north wing, the center wing, boiler house, and the purchase of heating apparatus, to be expended in grading, fencing and ornamenting the grounds, the purchase of furniture, books, apparatus, maps, etc., deemed necessary for the use of the Institution. The disbursements have been as follows: Work on boiler-house and fixtures..... $421 00 643 00 239 25 238 41 675 30 1,000 00 2,106 36 $5,223 32 Which amount being deducted from $5,336.08, leaves $132.76. This small amount was, by a resolution of the Board, in order to close the account, turned into the Treasury of the Institution, to be used for general purposes. The vouchers evidencing the payments aforesaid, duplicates of which have been filed in the office of the Comptroller, as well as all other vouchers connected with this or the former appropriation, contain specifications of the items for which charges are made, or else refer to contracts in which prices were agreed on. The school premises are situated near Cumberland River, and higher up the river than the locality of the City Water-works. The Board of Health properly required as a sanitary precaution, that the sewer should be so constructed as to fall into the river at low water mark below the point at which water is drawn into the Reservoir for general distribution throughout the city. The requisition entailed much labor, and, in one sense, considerable expense, as the line of sewer was thereby lengthened, and much of the excavation had to be made througn solid stone. The city authorities liberally granted the right of way through their ground, and as the most feasible and economical route lay between the City Engine House and the Reservoir, along a rugged hill intersected with water-pipes, the property of the city, it was thought best, in order to avoid any future complaint as to improper location or defective workmanship, to place the construction under the supervision of the City Engineer, who surveyed the line and specified the size and quality of pipe. The job we consider most excellent, and safe for many years against any necessity for repairs. The length of the sewer involved an additional outlay for pipe, the sum being embraced in the item of $238.41, and also, besides the cost of excavation, a portion of the sum of $675.30 is properly chargeable to this account. The remainder of the sum of $675.30 was expended in blasting and removing a high bluff, largely consisting of rock, running close to and parallel with the entire northern side of the building, and in grading along the southern line of the front lawn and fixing the road-way. The difference in the appearance of the grounds and buildings before and since the improvement will show that the few hundred dollars was most judiciously spent. The amount of $239.25 was used in levelling the front of the lawn, removing the loose and bedded rock and in planting trees. The in terior and exterior ornamentation of all public institutions is now justly deemed a necessity, an index of the general taste, and a help to refining influences over the people. We regret that some of the trees, all of which were a gift from Colonel Irby Morgan, one of our most worthy and public-spirited citizens, whose liberality we take pleasure in acknowledging, did not survive the protracted drouth which prevailed during the late autumn; but their places can be easily supplied at an inconsiderable cost, and, we fancy, that the grounds will soon present an attractive and tasteful appearance. The item of $243.00 was spent for carpentry work, painting, etc., of the boiler-house, and for the purchase of some fixtures connected with the machinery. The basement, or rather cellar, under the north wing, owing, perhaps, to its proximity to more elevated grounds, in which layers of horizonal rock are imbedded, became very damp, and in seasons of continued rainy weather water rose in ⚫ some places to a height of more than a foot. Apprehensions for the health of the pupils forced the Trustees at once to remedy the evil. We therefore thought it our duty to dispense with the painting and plastering of the center building, the estimates for which amounted to $1,320, and use the money in putting the basement into a condition free from any danger on the score of health, and at the same time useful as a part of the establishment. Drains were made into the sewer for the purpose of carrying off any surplus water, floors were laid, the doors and windows painted, and all the rooms are comfortable and apparently healthy. The improvement was demanded as a necessity for health, but that is not the only advantage, for the rooms can be turned to good acccunt, and the space thus gained, if the school increases in numbers, will soon be indispensable. The sum of $2,406.36 represents the cost of work on the north wing. There is not a debt of the smallest magnitude nor any outstanding claim unsettled against the Institution growing out of any contract for building or improving. The expenditures were kept strictly within the limits of the appropriation, and of the two appropriations, large in one sense, we do not believe one dollar has been uselessly expended. The plan of the building as approved by the Governor, and as contemplated by the Acts of Assembly, requires, in order to complete the conveniency of arrangement, as well as to give to the building architectural beauty and proportion, that the front center building should be elevated one story higher, with tower, etc., as set forth in the original design of elevation. The cost is estimated at $11,734.98, and we hold the obligation of the contractors who finished the other part of the Building, to do that work for this sum. That being done, and the necessity for it is well set forth in the report of the Superintendent, the State would possess accommodations ample for educating all the blind children in the State. Whether an appropriation shall now be made for that purpose, or the pleasure deferred till a more prosperous era dawns upon the community, is a question for your Honorable Body to decide. As Trustees of the School, we shall always try to effect as much good as we can with the means, whatever may be the amount, generously placed at our disposal by the State. For the domestic management of the Institution we respectfully refer to the report of the Superintendent, who has so long and so faithfully served in that laborious and responsible capacity. Much· must necessarily be left to the good sense, business management and integrity of that officer, and we take pleasure in stating, that in no instance have we found him faithless to his trust. There was, we regret to say, a complaint brought against him by a pupil in the work-shop department, who alleged that the money drawn for his support and education from the Treasury was not fully expended for his benefit, and also, that money was drawn from the Treasury on the faith of his name, while in fact he was not then a pupil of the Institute. The facts. are fully detailed in the report of the Superintendent to be rendered to your Honorable Body, to which we invite special and particular attention. As soon as the charge was made, an inquiry was ordered, a special committee appointed, composed of Messrs. Lindsley, Watkins and Smith, who reported that every cent received on the quarterly statements, covering the entire period involving the matter of complaint, was properly expended for the benefit of the Institution. It may be well to state the mode of procedure by which the quarterly appropriations come into the Treasury of the Institution. The law appropriates $200 for the support of each pupil per annum, and this sum, dependent, of course, upon the number of pupils and the time that they remain at the Institution, coupled with the general appropriation of $5,000, constitutes the fund, out of which the salaries of teachers and servants are to be paid, fuel, provisions and furniture bought, medicines furnished, and innumerable expenses paid incidental to the support of so large an establishment. The general appropriation is usually paid at the beginning of the year. At or near the close of every quarter the Superintendent presents to the Comptroller a list of the pupils and receives from him a warrant, the amount depending, of course, upon the number at the school, the appropriation allowing at the rate of $200 per annum for each pupil. This warrant is made payable to C. W. Nance, Secretary of the Board, who deposits the proceeds in bank to the credit of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. At every quarterly meeting of the Board, the Superintendent presents his vouchers for payments made on account of salaries, provisions, wages, fuel, gas, etc., which are examinednot taken for granted-but scrutinized, and if found correct, the Board orders the Chairman to check for the money which may be due. A standing resolution authorizes the advance of one thousand dollars on the estimates for the current quarter, and this advance is always taken into the account on the final settlement at the close of each quarter. The checks against improper management on the part of the Superintendent, it seems, are as good as could be devised. The charge, we think, is based on a misapprehension of the objects and purposes of the law. The appropriation of $200 per annum for each pupil surely does not imply that that sum must be set apart and specially expended for the personal and exclusive benefit of each pupil. No personal account is or could be kept with every pupil. The entire fund is a general support to the Institution. Occasionally, when, for satisfactory reasons, the pupil boards elsewhere than at the Institution-a very rare instance—the Superintendent in his discretion, pays for such boarding out of the general fund, and of this the pupil cannot complain, for he gets just as much benefit as if he were domiciled with the other pupils. Such cases sometimes occur with persons learning trades in the workshop. The receipt of the $200 per pupil is expended in salaries, provisions, fuel, servant hire, and for other useful purposes, in the enjoyment of which the pupils equally participate. 'An accidental or intentional misstatement of the registry of pupils at the Comptroller's office could bring no benefit to the Superintendent, for the warrants are not payable to his order, and he gets no money unless he brings a voucher evidencing previous disbursement for a similar amount. The only possible way in which he could profit individu |