262             JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS         [Feb. 5,

Walker,	Harding.	Mountz,
Allender,	Bo wins,'	McKinstry,
Lynch, of Balt. co.	Root,	Reindollar,
Smith, of Balt. co.	Hobbs,	Day,
Goldsborough,	Bacon,	Welling,
Moore,	Baker,	Dorsey—48.
	Negative.
Landing,	Ford, of Balt. co.	Kilgour—3.

The said bill was then sent to the Senate.

On motion of Mr. Lynch, of Baltimore county,
The rules were suspended, and he offered the following

REPORT:

Your joint committee appointed on the part of the Senate
and House of Delegates to visit and inspect the site of "The
Maryland State Lunatic Asylum for the Insane and examine
into the progress of the buildings, performed that duty Mon-
day February 1, accompanied by Doctor R. S. Stewart, Chair-
man of the Board of Commissioners.

The object had in view by the Commissioners in selecting
a site was to secure one which would combine these essential
features: I. Perfect freedom from malaria and every local
cause of disease. II. Ease of access. III. Proximity to an
abundant and cheap market. IV. An open and cheerful
scenery, having such prominent points as would promptly
attract the eye, even of a casual observer. V. An intelligent
neighborhood, likely to feel a philanthropic interest in the
important design of the institution, and such as would be free
from the encroachment of any large manufacturing establish-
ments; each and all of these requisites were deemed essential
to the efficient operation of so beneficent a work, as reclaiming
the minds of those who have been bereft of reason, the best
gift of God to his creatures.

In furtherance of their object the commissioners visited every
available section of the State, and after long and anxious ob-
servation and deliberation, selected Spring Grove. A farm
of 130 acres in Baltimore county, near Catonsville, and dis-
tant four miles from the western boundary of the Metropolis.
The farm cost the State $5,000, the balance of the purchase
money having been furnished by private donations from citi-
zens of Baltimore: viz. $9000. It is the decided opinion of your
committee that a better site could not have been found, and
also it combines in a remarkable manner the five requisites as
stated above. Upon these points, as the question of location
is of prime importance for such an object, and indeed for any
object demanding large appropriations from the State Trea-