In the year 1816,     $ 1, 250
                      1817,        2, 360 
                      1818,        2, 185
                      1819,        2, 835
                      1820,        1, 780
                      1821,        1, 280
                      1822,        1, 100

                    Total,       $12, 790

GLENVILLE.

   There have been cases in towns, where strangers having property with them, to a considerable amount, have attempted to throw themselves on the towns, under the excuse that they were out of money and could not go on to their places of settlement, and have, in some cases, put towns to great expense, when their property which they had with them, if a portion had been disposed of, would have aided them, on to their places of settlement.  The present acts do not, I believe, make any provision for disposing of property in cases of this kind.  In the spring of 1820, the paupers belonging to the four wards of the city of Schenectady, were ordered to be brought and kept in the alms-house, since which time our poor expenses have been less than they were before the establishment of that alms-house. [Letter from the supervisor of Glenville.]

CITY OF SCHENECTADY.

   An alms-house was completed in this city, in the year 1819, since which time, the great proportion of the paupers belonging to the city, have been supported in the same. During the year embraced in this report, 19 out of the 27 paupers, have been supported in the alms-house, and there are at the date of this report, in the same, eight paupers.  The alms-house is regulated agreeable to the rules, a copy of which accompanies this report. The number of our poor, and of course the expense of supporting them, has diminished greatly since the establishment of the alms-house in 1819. This diminution I think I may safely state at one third. The original plan was, unless in extreme cases, not to afford any relief out of the alms-house, and thus oblige all paupers, who required support, to resort to it. Were this rule rigidly enforced, there is no doubt the number and expense would decrease in a greater degree. It has been found, however, impossible to adhere to this plan, and it has accordingly been relaxed in may instances.
   I have only to add, that you must be aware that the cities are the great resorts for the straggling and vagrant poor, who although having no permanent settlement amongst us, still at times call loudly for relief and assistance.  That this is no inconsiderable item, you must be sensible, did it not already appear from the answer to your third question. Whether this evil arises from a knowledge that more ample funds exist in the cities, and of course that they will be more liberally dispensed, is not for me to determine. Certain it is that the evil has been greatly aggravated, by temporary causes, the principal of which is the immense number of laborers employed on the canal in our vicinity. The increase in the amount of productive labor, in consequence of this great work, has no doubt diminished the number of paupers permanently settled and chargeable to the city, yet it is equally certain that the transient poor are increased from the same cause, and that it has served to swell the amount of expenses during the past year. That the evil will become still more serious, after the completion of the canal, is highly probable. [Letter from H. Yates, jun. Esq. the mayor of Schenectady.]

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