IN ASSEMBLY, February 15, 1833. REPORT Of the Trustees of the Capitol. The Trustees of the Capitol, in relation to their duties under the act entitled "An act relative to the Capitol, and the grounds connected therewith and belonging to the people of this State," passed April 14, 1832, RESPECTFULLY REPORT: That before the adjournment of the last Legislature, the Trustees had a meeting for the purpose of considering the provisions of the act, and making arrangements to carry them into effect. As, however, a number of the trustees did not reside in Albany during the summer season, and as a constant personal supervision of the work to be done would be requisite, the Board of Trustees made no other order than to appoint a committee of their body, consisting of the Secretary of State, the Attorney-General, and the Comptroller, with full power to draw the moneys appropriated, or so much thereof as it should be found necessary to draw, before the present meeting of the Legislature, and to perform all the acts required of the Trustees by the law in question. That committee have submitted to the Trustees the following report: The committee appointed by the Trustees of the Capitol, report, that at as early a day as their other duties would permit, they proceeded to take a plan of the Park, as it was formerly fenced, to obtain levels with reference to the City Park, to ascertain the quantity of excavation required to reduce the Capitol to the level of the City Park, and to consult with the city authorities and the [Assem. No. 150.] 1 citizens interested, with reference to such changes in the exterior line of the Capitol Park as might improve, to every practicable extent, its shape and appearance. The line finally adopted for the fence is seen by the line now occupied by the coping of the wall, and it was adopted, not because the committee supposed it the best which could have been laid down, but because it was the best in their judgment to the establishment of which the assent of the authorities of the city could be procured, and without their assent to a partial encroachment upon the then existing streets, no line so regular could be fixed without a material and entirely objectionable contraction of the limits of the Park. These points being settled, the committee immediately employed Herman V. Hart, then one of the street superintendents of the city, as their agent, to procure materials, employ laborers, oversee the work, and pay the accounts for the excavation necessary, and for the completion of the foundation of the fence, and the putting down of the coping ready for the rail. Mr. Hart published proposals for the excavation, and let the work to the lowest bidder. The work has been long since finished, but the account is not fully paid and settled, because no accurate measurement of the quantity has as yet been obtained. It was concluded not to let the foundation wall by the job, but to procure the materials for it and hire the labor by the day, that the materials and workmanship might be matter of exclusive direction with the committee and the superintendent. This course was preferred, because the committee were conscious that the stability and durability of the fence would materially depend upon the soundness of the materials and the faithfulness of the workmanship. of this wall, and as the whole was to be entirely covered in the earth, they believed that any saving in cost, which would be made, by letting it upon contract, would not be equal to the superior value given to the work by keeping within the control and under the personal inspection of a disinterested and competent superintendent. After they had proceeded thus far, and the excavation and foundation wall were vigorously commenced, the committee issued notices for sealed proposals for the fence or iron railing. But one proposition was made, and that one was to furnish and put up the railing at $3.621 per foot run, separate from the gates. No com petition having been excited by the public notices for proposals, and the committee having concluded to make some alterations in the plan, they ascertained as nearly as that could be done, the cost per foot run, of the railing to the City Park, and entered into contract with the person making the proposition, Mr. Bailey G. Hathaway, upon that basis, with the addition of a bottom rail to the plan of the City Park fence, but excluding wholly from this contract any provision for the gates. The contract is, to pay $3.53 per foot run, for the fence with two rails, which includes the cast iron posts and the setting of the rails and posts into the coping, and indeed, the entire completion of the fence, except painting, and not including the gates. As soon as the plan of the park fence was so far completed as to render it possible, a working pattern, together with a copy of the law, was sent to the agent of the Mount-Pleasant state prison, pursuant to the direction of the 2d section of the act, and he was requested to furnish the necessary coping and other stone, as fast as the business of the prison would permit. The committee are satisfied that the agent used every effort to comply with their request, and the first freight of coping came to them earlier than they expected, but the breaking out of the cholera in the prison suspended all labor of the convicts, and the committee received notice from the agent that it would be impossible to furnish more stone until the pestilence should subside, and the health of the men become sufficiently restored to enable them to go on with their labor. The labor at the prison was wholly or nearly suspended for about two months, and it was sometime in September before the work upon these stone could be resumed. Then more than eight hundred feet of the coping remained to be quarried and fitted, besides the columns and other stone for the gates. It was at once evident to the committee, that they must abandon the hope of completing the fence before the meeting of the Legislature, and as they were informed by the contractor to build the fence, and by others acquainted with the business, that it would not do to attempt to drill the coping stone when affected with the frost, for the purpose of setting the fence, they despaired of doing more until the opening of the spring, than to complete the foundation wall and the laying of the coping thereon. This has been done, with the exception of the coping for the wall on the north side of the Capitol; and in consequence of having made the working plan for he person before it was determined whether or not the iron fence should be extended along that line, that portion of the coping was not prepared before the close of the navigation. By the change of the shape of the park, the partial breaking up of the ground for excavation, and the action of the rains of the summer, the walk in front of the Capitol had become deranged, and required re-laying; and as a new walk would be necessary to conform the grounds to the new fence and other contemplated improvements, the committee concluded they should consult economy by the entire removal of the old walk, the conversion of the stone to other uses, and the laying of a new walk upon a plan which would not require alteration when the fence should be completed, and the other improvements made. The superintendent was therefore directed to procure the materials and lay the walk, which has been done. The change of the fence from the old to the new line also required the removal of several valuable trees standing in the park, and the committee directed the superintendent to have them transplanted, and placed in positions suited to the arrangements proposed, which has incurred a small expense, but they think fully justified for the preservation of the trees removed. The foregoing is a partial view of the labor undertaken, and of the progress made in it. The expenditures already made and paid for, with a general classification of objects, are as follows, to wit: The foundation wall is between 1260 and 1270 feet in length, is 3 feet at the bottom, and 11 feet at the top, and 4 feet in depth, and is laid of the best materials, and wholly in mortar. To construct this wall, dig the trench for it, fill in the sides after the completion, procure the materials and bring them to the spot, excavate the park to the proper level, remove such parts of the earth as it was not desirable to use, deposit such portions as were useful at the proper points, and to procure materials and lay the walk in front of the Capitol, the following sums have been paid, under the following heads, to wit: For excavation,. $220 00 stone for wall, 536 77 Carried forward,.... $756 77 Upon the contract for the fence there has been paid the sum of,.... To the agent of the state prison at Mount-Pleasant, pursuant to the 2d section of the act referred to, there has been paid for the subsistence of the men employed in quarrying and cutting the coping, and other stone required,. To the superintendent employed by the committee, they allowed for his services upon settlement, the sum of $250, of which sum he received from the corporation $48.75, for work done by the hands in his employ, upon the city park, and the balance was paid by the committee,... $3,060 18 2,968 28 1,069 77 201 25 Showing the total payments already made from the appropriation to be,!.... $7,299 46 The whole appropriation made by the first section of the act, and to be expended in fencing the park and improving the |