COMPTROLLER. OF THE TREASURY. xvii

with care, and in the most substantial manner. The institution, when
completed, will, I feel certain, be one .of the strongest and best
appointed of its class, in the United States. It is a source of gratifi-
cation, that the selection for the site of the institution has met with
almost unqualified approval from those who are best acquainted with
the subject. Tt is further a source of gratulation, that the site has
been secured, and the building will be erected, at a cost less than
the amount of the appropriation for that purpose.
NEW TOBACCO WAREHOUSE.

The General Assembly, at its last Session, directed the Governor,
Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney-General and Supervisor of Ware-
houses, to cause a new Warehouse to be erected for the inspection of
tobacco, to take the place of the Warehouses which had been destroyed
by fire, and appropriated the sum of fifty-nine thousand dollars for
this purpose,

The Board were successful in securing a contract for the erection of
the building at a co&t of $39,900. A variation from the original
plan was subsequently agreed upon, with a view to increase the
capacity of the building for storage, and at the same time add to its
strength and security from fire. To these ends, an alteration was
made in the foundation, and an additional centre-wall running the
wbolc width and height of the building, and an additional floor, were
contracted for, adding considerably to the original cost. These altera-
tions, however, render the building capable of being used as two dis-
tinct and separate houses, and although they will increase the costs of
the work, the difference in capacity for storage, and security from
fire, by means of the erection of the thick centre-wall, will more than
counter-balance the additional expenditure. The building is now
approaching completion, and will be finished at a cost considerably
less than the appropriation for the purpose.

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

Since the making of my last Report, this building has been com-
pleted and handed over to the State Board of Education. It is, I
believe, universally esteemed as a substantial and beautiful structure,
ample to the purposes of the Normal School, for an indefinite series of
years, if not for all time. It is a source cf pride to the Board of
Public Works, that this building has been completed and delivered
over with all its appointments, at a cost inside the original appropria-
tion made for it by the General Assembly.

FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE STATE.

I take pleasure in calling the attention of your Excellency, and of
the people of the State, to the satisfactory, and, I may say, prosper-