greatly improved by judicious teaching, is universally admitted; and this has been done in some of the schools of this country, with perhaps as good success as in the German schools. [See Appendix B.] If aught is left undone in this particular in the several institutions, the remedy is simple and easy. We have but to send a competent person to Europe to gain a knowledge of the methods pursued there, who may on his return impart his acquirements to others, and within a short time classes for special instruction in articulation may be made sufficiently numerous in the existing institutions of the country to meet all cases likely to be benefited by this kind of training.

It has been established, we think, beyond a question, that the vocal organs cannot be made to perform their complete and proper functions without the aid of the ear.

We do not hesitate to affirm that when deafness is congenital, or when it supervenes before the auditory nerve has had opportunity to perform its wondrous and subtile training of the muscles of the throat, lips, and tongue, no amount of teaching or effort can produce more than a very imperfect and limited power of articulation, much less can it suffice to the acquirement of fluent and correct Vocal utterance.

The real benefits of the system so highly lauded in certain quarters are, therefore, restricted to the few semi-mutes who had, before losing their hearing, secured a partial control of their organs of utterance.

It would then hardly seem wise to abolish a system of instruction which has long been practiced with entire success in this country, and which has also the indorsement and approval of many of the European schools, that in its stead might be introduced a system which can at the best confer advantages of secondary importance on but a small proportion of the class it proposes to educate.

We take it as very weighty if not decisive evidence as to the superiority of our Franco-American system (as it may be appropriately termed) over all others now in use, that during a period of fifty years, in twenty-four separate institutions, in as many distinct States of the Union, under the management of organizations entirely independent of each other, it has been adopted and is now maintained, omitting nothing that was deemed an essential feature thereof by Dr. Gallaudet, when he introduced it into America in 1816.

Two public institutions only in this country have ever attempted to carry out any other system. And these, soon convinced of the inferiority of their methods to that of Dr. Gallaudet, made haste to substitute his system, attaining thereafter the highest success. We refer to the institutions at New York and Philadelphia.

This unbroken unanimity of governors of States, congressional and legislative committees, boards of directors, and hundreds of educated men engaged in the instruction of deaf-mutes, representing all parts of the land, and extending through half a century rich beyond comparison in scientific discovery and educational advancement, ought, we think, to satisfy every reasonable mind that no method of instructing deaf-mutes hitherto devised is equal in excellence to that followed in our American schools.

And yet, so far are we from being wedded to any particular method to the exclusion of others and so willing are we to add at the suggestion of any respectable and intelligent persons anything which may seem likely to benefit the class (or any portion of it) for whose advancement all our efforts are put forth, that we are now maturing plans for extending increased facilities in the study of articulation to semi-mutes, thereby meeting the proper demands of those of this class attracted in considerable numbers to our college.

A practical test may thus be made of the value to the deaf of instruction in articulation, and at the same time the unhappy consequences be avoided which would be sure to follow an abandonment, even in a single State, of our present system and methods. Appended to this report, marked B, will be found a paper to which we would invite special attention, as presenting, in the experiences of

two intelligent youths, an instructive comparison as to the relative value of the German and American systems.

Kaufmann, the German, was four years in the school at Pforzheim, the largest and one of the best schools in Germany.

Parkinson, the American, was three years in the Hartford school, the oldest and one of the best in this country.

Both these young men are now pursuing their studies here-one in the college, the other in the primary department.

THE COLLEGE.

The success attending our efforts to afford deaf-mutes an opportunity of securing the advantages of college training has been greater than was anticipated. Twenty-five students are now gathered here from fourteen States of the Union, representing the eastern, western, middle, and southern sections of the country, and coming from eleven different institutions for the deaf and dumb.

Two of these resigned eligible situations as teachers, and two others declined proffered positions of a similar character, that they might fit themselves for higher usefulness hereafter.

As an evidence of the value set upon the course pursued here in fitting young men to become capable teachers of the deaf and dumb, it may be stated that our single graduate of last June received three invitations to teach, with one of which (in a western institution) was tendered a larger salary than has ever been paid to a deaf-mute teacher of mutes in this country.

With results so satisfactory at the very outset of our efforts in this direction, we feel confident the time is not distant when each institution and every State of the country will have its representatives here, to bear back, in due time, to the communities in which they dwell whatever of good may be derived from a thorough systematic course of mental training, in literary and scientific studies, equally valuable, if not precisely identical, with that pursued in our best American colleges.

Thinking it possible that there may be those, having an interest in educational efforts, who, through lack of information, may incline to question the practical value of a college for deaf-mutes, we append to this report an extract (marked C) from a pamphlet published last January relative to the college, to which we would invite attention, in the belief that the arguments therein set forth will make plain the desirableness of placing within the reach of deaf-mutes the higher courses of study, which among hearing and speaking persons have ever been deemed essential to a finished education.

We have been encouraged in this special feature of the institution by assurances of approval from prominent educationists, both in this country and Europe. Among those from countries other than our own, one from Canon De Haerne, member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and director of the Royal Institution for the Deaf and Dumb at Brussels, will serve as an example.

In a recent treatise, after detailing the incidents of the foundation of the college, he makes the following pertinent remarks on the influence it will have. among the great body of deaf-mutes in the world:

"It is evident that the number of deaf-mutes qualified to enter these advanced courses will be small and must be chosen from the primary schools. If, then, these have not a common method of instruction, the persons selected must encounter difficulties and embarrassments in the central institution. * * * Yet who will dare deny the high benefits of this institution both to those who, not being able to rise above the level of elementary instruction, thus acquire the consoling conviction that they are not to be considered the pariahs of the world, but that they partake, through the scientific degrees of their companions in misfortune, of all the rights and dignity of mankind."

The course of study marked out by the faculty for the college corresponds in general to what is known as the academical course of the best American colleges. Such modifications, however, have been made as seemed desirable and necessary to adapt it to the peculiar wants of the deaf and dumb.

In the ancient languages, while special attention is paid to their construction and analysis, and to their etymology in its bearings upon our own tongue, and while a thoroughness, extent, and variety in translation is aimed at, which, it is believed, will enable the student to render any classical author with readiness and ease, the amount of Latin and Greek read in college is considerably less than in the ordinary course. More time is thus gained for French and German, which are made regular studies of the college course, and for the critical study of the English language, in the history of its origin and growth, its derivations, analysis, and construction, and its matchless literature. To these branches and the grand philological principles underlying all language a greater prominence than usual is accorded.

A thorough course of instruction in the natural sciences and in mathematics is given; history, metaphysics, and political science also receive a full share of attention. Art studies are likewise pursued, but these latter are at the option of the student.

ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS.

The laws regulating the admission of pupils into the institution secure free education only to the residents of the District of Columbia who are unable to pay the expense of their tuition here, and to children whose fathers are in the military or naval service of the United States.

Whether it would be proper to extend the limit of free admission, so that poor students coming from the States to secure the advantages offered in our collegiate department, may be admitted without charge, is for Congress to de

termine.

It would seem, perhaps, no more than just that an institution sustained by the States, and offering advantages to a peculiar and afflicted class of persons which are not and cannot be afforded in the local institutions, should be as free to citizens of the States as to those of the federal District and to children of the army and navy.

But without waiting for legislation, which at a future period may become necessary, steps have been taken to secure the means of support for those seeking admission from the States, who are unable to meet the whole expense of their education here.

Solicitations of funds have been made from private individuals for the endowment, either by pledge or by actual payment, of scholarships, which shall yield an annual income of one hundred and fifty dollars each; this sum being sufficient to meet the actual cost of supporting a student during the forty weeks of our academic year.

Eleven of these scholarships have been secured, from which an aggregate income of one thousand six hundred and fifty dollars per annum will accrue, and upon them have been placed eleven worthy young men, representing the States of Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Iliinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

The founders of these scholarships, are as follows, viz:

Hon. Amos Kendall, Washington, D. C.

Messrs. Jay Cooke & Co., Washington, D. C.
Thomas Sinith, Esq., Hartford, Connecticut.

Edson Fessenden, Esq., Hartford, Connecticut.

Each of these agrees to endow one perpetual scholarship with the principal sum of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500,) provided ten similar endowments are obtained.

The following gentlemen have each subscribed scholarships of one hundred and fifty dollars per annum:

George W. Riggs, Jr., Esq., Washington, D. C.

Hon. B. B. French, Washington, D. C.

Charles Knap, Esq., Washington, D. C.

Wm. W. Corcoran, Esq., Washington, D. C.

Hon. Wm. Sprague, Rhode Island.

George Merriam, Esq., Springfield, Massachusetts.

A friend who desires his name and residence withheld.

Four youths in the college, from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, are yet without means of support here. Their cases, however, will undoubtedly soon be provided for, and it is our purpose to extend solicitations for our scholarship endowment, until the necessity therefor shall cease to exist.

INSTITUTIONS FOR DEAF-MUTES IN THE UNITED STATES.

The national character and relations which this institution has come to sustain in the enlarged sphere of operations incident to the establishment and progress of the college, render it important, in order to a proper comprehension of the scope of our work, that Congress should understand somewhat of the existing condition of the various State institutions.

Appended to this report, marked D, will be found a table of statistics bearing on this point, from which it appears that the number of institutions established in the country is twenty-four; now in operation, twenty-two, with two thousand four hundred and sixty-nine pupils in attendance, under the tuition of one hundred and nineteen instructors.

From this it will appear that we may reasonably expect, and should be prepared to receive in the collegiate department a considerably larger number of students than we have now under instruction. Probably accommodations for one hundred would not be in excess of the demand likely to arise within a few years.

The

The buildings of the institution have been greatly improved during the past year. The extension to the primary department is finished, and this portion of the institution may now be considered as complete. The first section of the college building is also finished and occupied. Drawings are herewith subnitted showing the ground-plans and elevations of these buildings. internal arrangements are in accordance with designs prepared by the president of the institution. The exteriors were planned by Emil S. Freidrich, Esq., architect, of Washington city, who has superintended the execution of the work with great faithfulness and to the entire satisfaction of the board.

The contracts for the buildings were awarded to Mr. James G. Naylor, builder, of Washington city, whose proposals were much below those of his competitors; and it is but simple justice to him to say that he has fulfilled his engagements in a manner both creditable to himself and pleasing to the authori

ties of the institution.

The new stable and carriage-house, the shop, and the gas-house estimated for in our last report, are now in process of construction. They will probably be completed and occupied by the first of January next. Drawings of these buildings are also submitted herewith.

The improvement of the grounds, in pursuance of an appropriation made at the last session of Congress, has been commenced, after a plan furnished by Messrs. Olmsted, Vaux & Co., the well known architects of the Central Park, New York. Their design for the grounds and for the completion of our buildings is submitted herewith, together with a report, marked E, in the appendix, embodying important suggestions in relation to the proper arrangement of our premises.

Their plan, although prepared within the past four months, includes all the buildings we have heretofore erected, retaining them in their present locations, and so arranging the necessary additions thereto as to make a most perfect and suitable grouping of the whole.

The amount necessary to complete the institution, according to Messrs. Olmsted, Vaux & Co.'s design, cannot be exactly estimated in the present unsettled state of prices. Enough, however, can be determined to make it certain that, with a moderate annual appropriation, the work may be finished within three or four years, involving, in the total outlay, a sum not greater than that expended by the single State of Ohio for her deaf and dumb institution, and considerably below the cost of the Insane Asylum in this District, although that work was mainly effected when the expense of building was fifty per cent. less than at the present time.

It will be noticed that Messrs. Olmsted, Vaux & Co. recommend in their report the enlargement by the purchase of a strip of ground two hundred feet in width on our western boundary. The desirableness of this acquisition will be apparent on an inspection of the drawing, and we have included in our estimate for next year an amount deemed to be sufficient to cover the cost of the land.

ESTIMATES FOR NEXT YEAR.

For the support of the institution, including one thousand dollars for books and illustrative apparatus, twenty-five thousand dollars.

For the erection, furnishing and fitting up, of additions to the buildings of the institution, to furnish additional accommodations for the male and female pupils and for the resident officers of the institution, fifty-four thousand six hundred and seventy-five dollars.

For the enlargement and further improvement of the grounds of the institution, seven thousand five hundred dollars.

In preparing our estimate for the support of the institution, we have based our calculations on a continuance of present prices, and an increase in our numbers of about twenty-five per cent. It is believed that the amount asked will

not be too large for the required outlays, and, at the same time, that it will be sufficient to cover all expenses actually necessary to the well-being of the institution.

The amount asked for the extension of our buildings will be needed to enable us to provide accommodation for those likely to seek admission here during the year ending June 30, 1868.

Taking the action of Congress in the past as evidence of an intention to carry forward the benevolent work placed under our direction, until the institution shall, in its completeness, be a faithful exponent of the Christian philanthropy of a generous and enlightened people, we respectfully recommend that appropriations be asked at the approaching session, in accordance with the foregoing estimates.

By order of the Board of Directors:

Hon. O. H. BROWNING,

Secretary of the Interior.

E. M. GALLAUDET, President.