REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS.

To the Patrons and Friends of the American Asylum.

In any review of the fifty-fifth year of the Asylum, which has just closed, the first thought which occurs to any of its managers is, the special losses we have lately sustained by death.

Rev. Collins Stone, who had ably and most successfully filled the office of Principal of the Asylum since August, 1863, while driving with a friend, on the 23d of December, 1870, was struck by a train from New Haven, at the Sigourney Street railroad crossing, in Hartford, and almost instantly killed. Our whole city, the great circle of the deaf and dumb throughout the country, and the widely scattered friends of Mr. Stone were shocked and deeply grieved by this tragic and deplorable event. To the members of this Board, and to all who were in any manner personally interested in the Asylum, or responsible for its management, the loss of Mr. Stone seemed almost irreparable. There were other learned and skilful instructors of the deaf and dumb, but none whose health, age and knowledge of the history and requirements of our institution appeared to qualify them to fill completely and satisfactorily Mr. Stone's vacant place. After much consideration, Mr. Edward C. Stone, the oldest son of our late Principal, then at the head of the Wisconsin Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, was chosen to succeed his father. The trustees of the Wisconsin Institution were reluctant to part with their chief instructor and manager, but kindly yielded to our request, and Mr. Stone was able to assume the duties of Principal of the Asylum about the middle of February last. So far as the Directors are permitted to judge from the short experience of Mr. Stone in his new position, as well as from his previous training and labors elsewhere, among the deaf and dumb, they feel disposed to congratulate themselves and the friends of the Asylum upon their choice, and to anticipate for Mr. E. C. Stone a career of increasing usefulness and success.

Many tributes to the character and services of the late Mr. Collins Stone have been brought to the notice of the Directors. Those of a public or official nature are appended to this Report, together with the resolutions passed by the Directors at their special meeting, held December 26, 1870. Mr. Samuel Porter, an old friend and associate of Mr. Stone, has recently contributed to the "Annals a memorial paper, some extracts from which may also be printed in the appendix, as the latest and most carefully prepared estimate of Mr. Stone's life and labors.

There will also be found appended, the resolutions of the Board, in March, 1871, on the occasion of the death of Mr. Barzillai Hudson, one of the original corporators of this Asylum in 1816. Mr. Hudson, though originally one of the youngest members of this society, was from the outset a zealous and efficient. worker in its behalf, and continued in its active service to the last, surviving all but four of his early associates. He was Sec

retary and Clerk from 1834 to 1860, and chairman of the Directing Committee from 1836 to the time of his death. About eight months before his decease, he was attacked by a disease which incapacitated him from constant and active discharge of his official duties; but they were still performed under his superintendence, and only the day before his death he conversed with much animation on matters connected with the Asylum. His full acquaintance with the history of this Institution, from its very inception, and his intimate knowledge of the details of its business affairs and local interests, make his death a peculiar and serious loss to the Board. His warm interest in the Asylum and the cheerfulness of youth, which he never lost, will long keep his memory fresh among his fellow-laborers in this place.

Aside from these changes which death has made in our ranks, nothing has occurred during the past year to call for special notice. The report of the Treasurer is encouraging, and the statement of the fund shows, when compared with previous statements, that the encroachments upon it several years since, caused by the sudden and unprecedented increase of the expenses of living, have been made good. The income of the fund, however, though considerably increased by judicious and prosperous management, is relatively less than formerly in proportion to the necessarily greater expenses of the present time.

Owing to the temporary absence of Dr. Hunt, the usual report

of the Physician has not been presented. We are, however, able to say, that the health of our inmates, during the year, has been remarkably good, and that we have seldom had greater reason for thankfulness in this respect.

The accompanying reports and tabulated statements will interest all connected with this or similar institutions, and we refer to these documents with more than ordinary satisfaction.

In behalf of the Directors,

HARTFORD, April 29, 1871.

J. C. PARSONS, Clerk.

RESOLUTIONS.

At a meeting of the Directors of the American Asylum, at Hartford, for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, held at their office on the 26th day of December, 1870, Calvin Day, Esq, President, in the chair, the following resolutions were adopted :

"WHEREAS, This Board has been convened to express our sorrow at the sudden and melancholy death of the Rev. Collins Stone, who was for nineteen years a teacher in the Asylum, and has been for the past seven years its Principal:

"Resolved, That this calamity, which has filled the hearts of this community with grief, touches this Board in an especial manner, and that we sadly record our appreciation of the great loss which the Asylum has sustained by the death of the Principal. He brought to his responsible position an intellect of much vigor and force, thorough and earnest convictions of duty, great industry and executive ability, quiet firmness of character, dignity and courtesy of demeanor, a love for the unfortunate, and a willingness to work in their behalf with enthusiastic constancy. In the administration of the affairs of the Asylum, he labored earnestly and unweariedly, and with most gratifying success. His long experience in the profession, and his thorough acquaintance with its principles, eminently qualified him for the position he occupied, and placed him among the most distinguished instructors of the deaf and dumb. While we cannot but deeply mourn his departure from among us as a personal no less than a public loss, yet the life of Christian activity which he led, inspires in our hearts a blessed and comforting assurance that, though his summons came without note of warning, he received the Master's promised welcome to a rest eternal and crown unfading.

Resolved, That as a token of our respect, we will attend his funeral in a body, and that the Clerk of the Board transmit a copy of these resolutions to the family of Mr. Stone.

J. C. PARSONS, Clerk."

The Instructors of the American Asylum desire to express their sense of the great loss which the institution has sustained in the death of its late Principal, the Rev. Collins Stone. To their deep feeling of personal bereavement is added a sense of public calamity which none others can realize so fully as they. None can know, as they do, how tireless was his energy and vigilance, how conscientious and unshrinking his faithfulness in every duty, and how his own earnest personality pervaded the entire institution, inciting and impelling all-yet in the least obtrusive manner-to similar promptitude and faithfulness. He was indeed to them in daily duty, and will ever be in memory, a most beloved associate and friend, whose loss is well nigh irreparable. AMERICAN ASYLUM, December 27, 1870.

The following extracts are presented from the brief Report of the Principal:

"In the intellectual department, the results attained are believed to be fully equal to those of former years; and, although the progress is often slow, and the labor of instruction arduous and perplexing, the difficulties imposed upon our pupils by their misfortune are gradually overcome, and we see them going out with their minds cultivated and enlightened by truth, restored to society, and fitted to be a blessing to their friends and to reflect honor upon the institution. Thirty-nine pupils left at the close of the last term, three of whom are pursuing their studies further at the National Deaf-Mute College, at Washington. The two hundred and sixty-two pupils now under instruction are divided into fourteen classes, two of which are composed of new pupils who entered last fall. The class in articulation has been continued as it was organized the previous year. Instruction in lip-reading and speaking, as an art, rather than as a means of imparting knowledge, has been given, to those most likely to profit by it, for a portion of each day, while their education has been carried on by means of the sign language in their regular classes. Thirty-five pupils have been so taught during the year; several have been dropped as unpromising subjects; and at present the class consists of twenty-two, most of whom are semi-mutes. The improvement made in this branch of instruction is commendable.