system. Mr. Moon (himself being blind) perfected a system by which persons of the dullest touch, and above eighty years of age, could learn to read; he stereotyped the old and new Testaments, a collection of hymns, the Pilgrim's Progress, and other books. The committee, as stated above, employed a home teacher from London, Joseph Dunn, and he succeeded in finding out and teaching 27 blind persons to read well, and 18 partially so, who were not so apt. At a meeting of ladies friendly to the institution, held on the 5th of February, 1858, at which the Rev. G. Lea, Mr. Unett, and Mr. Goodman assisted, it was resolved to establish a lending library of Moon's embossed books for the use of the blind in various parts of the town, and the Rev. H. Humphreys, chaplain to the general hospital, consented to act as superin tendent of the home teacher. The pupils during 1857-58 increased to 65; one of them, Edward Bennet, having reached the age of 21, was appointed assistant in the school-room; another, Henry Bywater, 16 years of age, was appointed organist of St. James's Church, Wolverhampton. In the first 12 months of the home teaching, 83 blind persons were visited by the teacher-the result being as follows: The liberality of the supporters of the institution this year was very marked-no less than £2110 being received from all sources, including a gift of £50 from a blind gentleman living at Kempsey, near Worcester-Theobald Butler, Esq., at the hands of his residuary legatee, J. Butler, Esq., of Killeah, County Cork. This year also is notable in the annals of the institution for its first endowment-a legacy of £100, under the will of the late W. H. Ricketts, Esq., Hill Court, Worcestershire, having been applied in the purchase of consols, according to the testator's request. The committee now owed but £121, and therefore resolved to build a residence for the master. The home mission also proved successful. The annual subscriptions and donations reached £73 in two months in 1858, and £64 subsequently. This sum enabled the committee to enlarge the adult blind library, and pay the teacher's salary for the succeeding year. The gifts of articles for the use of the institution were also liberal-amongst them being a cooking apparatus, with steam boilers complete, for 100 persons, presented by Geo. Haden and Son, of Trowbridge. We now come to the report of the state of the institution, ending at Lady-day, 1860. The Right Hon. the Lord Calthorpe had been president for five years. The institution had been 13 years in existence, and the in-door and out-door pupils numbered at Lady-day, 1860, no less than 187, viz., 62 in-door, and 75 adult blind at their own homes. The pupil assistant teacher, Edwin Bennett, was now appointed organist at Coleshill; and the first breakfast invitation meeting of the home blind was held at the institution in January; they were addressed by the Rev. H. Humphreys, and were much delighted at their reception. The master's residence was now built from a design by Mr. W. Martin-the cost of which left the charity £300 in debt. On reviewing the total admissions during the eight years from 1852 to 1860, they shew that whilst Birmingham contributed the bulk of the funds, it did not supply so many pupils as the neighbouring districts. The following is the analysis: RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS, YEAR ENDING LADYDAY, 1860. Subscriptions and Donations Pupils' Fees Pupils' Work Charity Boxes 45 0 0 45 0 0 409 15 0 176 1 2 3 15 10 Pupils' Work Rent and Taxes 22 17 3 9 17 10 689 12 10 44 6 40 4 10 14 12 9 Thus leaving due to the Treasurer, £300 10s. 5d.; but against this the stock of baskets, &c., materials, and book debts, were valued at £173 18s. 9d. William Botfield, Esq., Decker Hill, near Shiffnal (duty free) 1852-3.-Thomas Ford, Esq., Coventry (duty free) Mrs. Underhill, Moseley (duty free).. William Hoddinott, Esq., Legacy and Interest (duty free) Miss Soden, Henley-in-Arden Mr. William Coney, Edgbaston 1854-5.-Joseph Smallwood, Esq., Handsworth DEAF AND DUMB INSTITUTION. A suitable and convenient building, erected by Lord Calthorpe, upon part of his estate, in the parish of Edgbaston, in Calthorpe-street, which contained accommodation for forty children of both sexes, with play-grounds, master's residence, &c., was first established in December, 1812. The present building was erected in 1814, and entered upon January 4, 1815. Deaf and dumb children from all parts of the kingdom are eligible. The parents or guardians of the children are expected to pay at least four shillings per week for board and lodgings, and to find them suitable clothing. The pupils are admitted between the ages of eight and thirteen. The expenses, over and above what is paid by the parents, are defrayed by private subscription, the proceeds of a bazaar, conducted by the ladies of the neighbourhood, charity sermons, dividends, &c. A matron superintends the domestic department, and a committee of ladies attend to the employment of the girls. The science of instructing deaf and dumb persons was first introduced to the inhabitants of Birmingham, by the late Dr. De Lys, in a lecture delivered by him at the Philosophic Institution, in 1810; he illustrated his subject by the introduction of a little girl, eight years of age, who had been deaf and dumb from her birth. The audience was so impressed with the importance of the subject, that a society was immediately formed, to impart the benefits of this improvement in science to all who might stand in need. Mr. Thomas Braidwood, grandson of the celebrated master of that name, in Edinburgh, who founded in this country the art of instructing the deaf and dumb, was appointed first master to this establishment. Mr. Louis Du Puget, a |