NewYork

Making the total expense of these schools in 1834..... } 1,262,670-97

The number of children actually receiving education is one in every 3-95 of the whole population. Complaints are made by the superintendent of these schools, of the incompetency of teachers, from the smallness of the remuneration which they receive. The rate of wages, however, is regularly advancing, and competition will gradually cure the evil which exists in this well-organized system of education. By a report of the regents of the university, made in 1833, there were in the state of New York sixty-five incorporated academies, which had 4856 students. The whole state is divided into eight districts, to each of which are apportioned 1250 dollars out of the income of the literature fund, making a total of 10,000 dollars given annually for the support of these institutions. There are also in New York above twenty Protestant and four Roman Catholic free schools, several infant schools, and a number of female and other seminaries of education supported by private individuals, the enumeration of which would form but a dry catalogue of names.

There are six colleges in this state, including the University of New York. The following is the return for 1836: University of New York, established in the city of that name, founded in 1831, seventeen instructors, and 226 students; Columbia College, New York (Episcopalian), founded in 1754, eleven instructors, 1620 alumni, 100 students, 8000 volumes in the college library, and 6000 volumes in the students' library; Union College, Schenectady, founded in 1795, ten instructors, 1600 alumni, 303 ministers, 268 students, 5350 volumes in the college library, and 8920 in the students' library; Hamilton College, at Clinton, founded in 1812, seven instructors, 270 alumni, sixty-nine ministers, 101 students, 2500 volumes in the college library, and 3700 volumes in the students' library; Geneva College, at Geneva (Episcopalian), founded in 1823, seven instructors, eighteen alumni, nine ministers, twenty-two students, 820 volumes in college library, and 1150 in the students' library. There is, lastly, the Hamilton Literary and Theological College, which we have already noticed in connection with religious institutions. There are four medical schools, viz. the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at New York, having seven professors, and 158 students; the College of Pharmacy, of the city of New York; the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at Fairfield, with five professors, and 190 students; and the Geneva Medical College, at Geneva, having six professors, and sixty-eight students. The other medical institutions are, the Medical Society of the State of New York; the New York State Vaccine Institution; the Kappa Alpha Phi Society; the New York Eye Infirmary; the Albany County Medical Society; the Medical Society of the City and County of New York; besides a Lunatic Asylum, the New York Hospital, and two or three other hospitals and asylums. There appear to be no law schools, but there are the New York Law Student's Association, instituted in 1833 for purposes of mutual discussion on subjects con-

nected with the legal profession; also the New York Law New York Institute, established in 1828, for much the same purpose as the preceding, and likewise in order to form a large library of law-books. In 1834 there were 2650 physicians and surgeons, and 2052 attorneys and counsellors in this state.

There are numerous literary and scientific institutions in New York. The principal public libraries, besides those already mentioned, are, in the city of New York, the New York Society Library, 25,000 volumes; New York Mercantile Library, 11,400 volumes; New York Apprentices' Library, 10,800 volumes; New York Historical Society Library, 10,000 volumes; New York Law Institute Library, 2100 volumes; and the Albany Library, 8000 volumes. The principal institutions are, the New York Historical Society, established in 1809, which, besides its library, has a valuable collection of coins and medals; the New York Athenæum, established in 1824, for the promotion of science and literature; the Lyceum of Natural History, established in 1818, and which possesses a valuable library and museum of natural history; the New York Literary and Philosophical Society; the American Academy of Fine Arts, established in 1808; the American Lyceum, formed in 1831, for the diffusion of useful knowledge; the National Academy of Design, established in 1826; the Clinton Hall Association, established in 1830, for the cultivation and promotion of literature, science, and the arts; and the New York Sacred Music Society, established in 1829. In the city of Albany, besides the library mentioned, there are, the Albany Institute, established in 1829, the museum of which, besides a considerable library, contains above ten thousand specimens in geology, mineralogy, and botany, with coins, engravings, casts, and other articles of vertu; the Athenæum, established in 1827, in connection with the Albany Library; and the Northern Institute and Academy of Fine Arts, established in 1831. In the county of Rochester, there are the Rochester Athenæum, established in 1830, for promoting literature, science, and the arts; the Franklin Institute of Rochester, established in 1830, for the same purposes as the preceding; and the New York State Lyceum, formed at Utica in 1831. The other principal institutions are, the New York Chamber of Commerce; the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the city of New York; the American Institute of the city of New York, for promoting the interests of agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and the arts; the New York Board of Trade; three Horticultural Societies; the Linnæan Botanic Garden, and other gardens; the New York State Society of the Cincinnati; the Merchants' Exchange Company, two typographical, and some other associations. There is a law journal published once a month at New York. In the same city there are issued, of literary and miscellaneous journals, two quarterly reviews, one every two months, six monthly, one every fortnight, and two weekly periodicals in English, and two in French, together with a republication of the Edinburgh Review and some of the leading journals of Europe. At Albany there is one magazine, and at Schenectady another. Of religious journals there are thirteen published in the state, mostly at New York, and in general monthly. There are also three or four agricultural, horticultural, and temperance publications; the total number of journals published in 1834 being forty. In 1810 there were only sixty-six newspapers published in New York; in 1834 they had increased to 267, of which number twenty-one were daily papers.

In each county of this state a jail is established by law. Previously to 1824 jails were very badly managed, but an examination which took place during that year led to the formation of the Prison Discipline Society, "an institution," says the American Almanac for 1836, "which has already

New York been productive of the most important and beneficial effects with respect both to the condition and character of the prisoners, and the well-being of society." All the penitentiaries, with the exception of that at Auburn, were so constructed and managed as to render them only schools of vice and crime; but the object of this society is so to improve prisons in construction and discipline as to produce, as far as possible, the reformation of prisoners. The system adopted is that known by the name of the Auburn plan, and its principal features are, solitary confinement at night and during meals, and combined labour at other hours of the day; religious instruction, particularly on Sunday; and absolute silence amongst the prisoners at all times. The cells are so constructed as to answer the various ends which the society had in view. During the hours of labour the prisoners are employed in workshops, or in the prison yard, in parties of a convenient number each. Attention is paid to health, by the complete ventilation of the small cells, where the prisoners sleep and take their meals; and, to secure the well-working of the system, every violation of the rules laid down is punished by solitude, darkness, or such other infliction as may be found necessary to enforce obedience. The eighth report of the society speaks with confidence of the "favourable moral results;" and observes, on the whole, in regard to the state prisons, that there is great cause for congratulation and thankfulness. By the same report there are stated to be in prison at Auburn 876 individuals; and the balance of profits in favour of the prison, arising from the earnings of the prisoners, is stated at between eight and nine thousand dollars. The Mount Pleasant state prison, Westchester county, is likewise an admirable establishment, and in excellent condition; as is also that at Sing Sing. The mode of supporting the poor, which, in America, has been found most economical, and best calculated to discourage pauperism, is that of maintaining them in county poor-houses. The former law of settlement, and the practice of compulsory removals, have been abrogated, and a simple rule of settlement, founded principally on the residence of the party, and a summary mode of settling disputed questions, substituted in their stead. The following is an abstract taken from Williams's New York Register for 1834: "Reports have been received from all the organized counties in the state, fifty-five in number. All these counties have erected poor-houses, with the exception of six; and thirty-seven counties have abolished the distinction of town and county poor. The practical operation of our present poor-house system demonstrates satisfactorily, that it has a decided advantage on the score of economy over every other existing mode of supporting indigent persons; and that the expense of the system, in proportion to the number of paupers supported, is regularly diminishing." The annual expense of supporting each pauper is stated at thirty-two dollars twenty-one cents. The total number of paupers in the state relieved or supported during 1832-33 was 35,777, of whom only 2252 were town paupers. The aggregate expense of relieving and supporting the whole number was 295,239.15 dollars. There are attached to the poor-houses in the state 5776 acres of land; and the aggregate value of all the establishments amounts to 865,770 dollars, of which the New York city establishment has 248 acres of land, valued at 550,000 dollars. The number of paupers permanently in the poor-houses of the state will be found in the census of the population.

It is scarcely necessary to state, that mails and stages pass between New York and the large towns of the state, and also of the Union generally. Their number is commensurate with the demands of a large mercantile city, and the wants of civilized life. The lines of packets from the port of New York for foreign parts are numerous, including those to Liverpool, London, Belfast, Havre, Jamaica, Carthage, and Mexico. The principal lines of New York packets between New York and other ports of the United States comprise those to Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, Mobile, Apalachicola, Darien, Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, New Haven, Salem, and the principal ports to the east. There are lines of packet-boats on the Erie Canal, and steam-boats without number plying on all the waters of this state. On the river Hudson, where steam-navigation was first tried, it is common for one steam-boat to tow ten other boats laden with goods.

By the amended constitution of this state, adopted in the year 1821, the legislative power is vested in a senate consisting of thirty-two members, and a house of representatives consisting of 128 members, all of whom receive three dollars per diem for their services. The senators, who must be freeholders, are elected for four years; but the members of assembly are elected annually. To facilitate elections, the state is divided into eight districts, each of which is entitled to four senators, one of the number being annually appointed in each district. The members of the other house are chosen by the several counties amongst whom they are apportioned, according to a rule prescribed in the constitution. The executive power is vested in a governor, who holds his office for two years. A lieutenant-governor is elected at the same time, and holds his office for the same term of years. He is president of the senate, and officiates as governor when that office becomes vacant. The franchise is exercised by every male citizen twenty-one years of age, who has been for one year resident in the state, and for six months an inhabitant of the county in which he votes. The suffrage is thus very extensive, and the number of electors is accordingly very great. In 1832 the total number of votes for governor, exclusive of scattering votes, was 323,082. Sheriffs, coroners, and county clerks are elected by the people; but the other civil officers are generally appointed either by the governor and senate, the two branches of the legislature, or the governor alone, excepting clerks of courts, district attorneys, and some other officers, who are appointed by the courts.

The judicial establishment consists of several courts. That for the trial of impeachments and the correction of errors is composed of the president of the senate, the thirty-two senators, the chancellor, and the justices of the supreme court. It is the court of last resort, deciding upon appeals from the court of chancery, and writs of error from the supreme court, but has no original jurisdiction, excepting in cases of impeachments. Its sessions are held at the Capitol in Albany, or at the City Hall in New York. The next is the court of chancery, the powers of which are vested in the chancellor, and in eight vice-chancellors. The third is the supreme court, consisting of the chief justice and two associate judges. Lastly, there are eight circuit courts, each consisting of a single judge.

The circuits correspond, both in territory and in name, with the eight senate districts. Each of the circuit judges possesses the powers of a justice of the supreme court at chambers, in the trial of issues joined in the supreme court, and in courts of oyer and terminer, and jail delivery. There must be held in each year at least two circuit courts, and courts of oyer and terminer, in each county in the state; and in the city of New York at least four. The courts are held during as many days as the judge thinks necessary. Courts of oyer and terminer, having power to try all crimes and misdemeanours, may be held at the time and place at which any circuit court may have been appointed. The governor, with the senate, has the power of issuing commissions of oyer and terminer and jail delivery, when occasion shall require.

Besides the powers exercised in the courts of law by the circuit judges, each circuit judge (except the judge of

New York, the first circuit) within the limits of his circuit must be a vice-chancellor, and, concurrently with the chancellor, but exclusively of any other circuit judge, must have and exercise all the original jurisdiction and powers now or hereafter vested in the chancellor, in all causes and matters in equity, where the same shall have arisen within his circuit, or where the subject-matter in controversy is situated within such circuit, or where the defendants, or either of them, reside within the same, but subject to the chancellor's appellate jurisdiction. By an act of the legislature, passed in January 1831, the equity powers of the judge of the first circuit were taken away, and a separate vice-chancellor appointed for the first circuit. The superior court of the city of New York consists of a chief justice and two associates. There are courts of common pleas in each and every county of the state, which may be held (except in the county of New York) by the judges of the county courts of each of the counties in this state, or any three of them. Any three of the judges of the county courts of each of the counties (except New York) have the power to hold courts of general sessions to try all crimes excepting those punishable with death or imprisonment for life. The mayor, recorder, and aldermen, or mayor and recorder jointly, or either of them singly, may, with or without the presence of any of the aldermen, hold mayor's courts in the cities of Albany, Troy, and Hudson.

Besides the above, there are certain courts of a peculiar and special jurisdiction. Surrogates' courts have jurisdiction of testamentary cases, held by the surrogate of each county. Courts of special sessions of the peace may be held in and for the county of New York, by any three judges of the court of common pleas of the said county, of whom the first judge of the said court, the mayor, or recorder, shall always be one; and for the several counties of the state, by three justices of the peace, or by two such justices and one judge of the county courts of such county, for the purposes provided by law. The justices of the marine court in the city of New York are authorized to hold a court therein, called the Marine Court of the city of New York. Each of the assistant justices in the city of New York is required to hold a court in the said city within the ward or wards for which he is appointed. The justices of the justices' court of the cities of Albany and Hudson are authorized to hold courts therein, called respectively the Justices' Court of the city of Albany, and the Justices' Court of the city of Hudson. Justices' courts in each county are held by a justice of the peace.

The constitution of this state has been admirably framed, and not only embodies many of those safeguards usually inserted in bills of rights, but has some provisions of a peculiar character, by which public property and public institutions are secured and protected, scruples of conscience in regard to bearing arms are obviated, and ministers of the gospel or priests are excluded from all civil and military offices. The common law of England, varied from time to time by numerous acts of the colonial and state legislature, forms the basis of the jurisprudence of New York. Since American independence was established, there have been four revisions of the statute laws of state. The last, which took place in 1827-28, was the most important; and the enactment of this body of statute law, which came into full operation on the 1st of January 1830, is perhaps one of the most important events in the history of American jurisprudence.

City of New York. The capital of this state is Albany, but by far the largest and most populous city is New York, the commercial emporium of the United States. It is situated on New York Island, formerly called Manhattan Island, at the confluence of the Hudson or North River with the strait called the East River, which connects Long Island Sound with the Atlantic Ocean. It is less than twenty miles from

the western extremity of Long Island Sound on the north-New York east, and the Atlantic Ocean on the south. The City Hall is in latitude 40. 42. 40. north, and longitude 74. 2. 8. west from Greenwich. The city and county are of the same limits, comprising the whole island, which extends from the battery on the south to Kingsbridge on the north, thirteen miles and a half. The average breadth is a mile, but in one part it is two miles and one third across; and the area of the island is about 14,000 acres. It is separated from the continent on the north by Haerlem River, which is crossed by several bridges; from New Jersey on the west by Hudson's River; from Long Island on the east by East River; and from Staten Island to the south by the bay or harbour. The island of New York is formed on a bed of rocks, generally primitive granite, with some limestone in the northern section, where there are quarries of white marble. The elevation above tide-water is very considerable throughout the whole extent, in some parts 238 feet. The general slope of the island is from west to east, and an elevated range of ground runs in this direction, which slopes towards the northern and southern parts of the island. This physical feature of the island is considered as of great importance, since it enables water reservoirs to be so located as to command the whole city at an elevated head. The harbour or bay, which is twenty-five miles in circumference, is safe and commodious, and the largest vessels may come up to the very wharfs of the city. On the bar the depth of water at high tide is twenty-seven feet, and at low water twenty-one feet; and thence to the city the channel is from thirty-five to fifty feet deep. There is a lighthouse at Sandy Hook, on the New Jersey shore, eighteen miles distant from the city; and vessels frequently anchor in the outer harbour, or Raritan Bay. The entrance to the harbour is called the Narrows, between Staten Island on the west and Long Island on the east, about eight miles from the city. There is a lighthouse on the western part of the latter island, twenty miles north-east of New York. The harbour is rarely obstructed with ice. The principal commercial business is transacted on the east side of the city, the East River being the most safe and convenient part of the harbour. The width of the East River is from one third to one half of a mile to the opposite shore of Brooklyn, on Long Island. The Hudson, or North River, is one mile in width opposite to Jersey city, and a mile and a half at Hoboken, New Jersey. The approach to New York by sea is one of the most splendid sights of the kind which the world can present. The works of nature are here on the grandest scale, and the tout ensemble of islands, rivers, bays, and forests of masts, with spires towering amongst the trees which shade the streets, constitute a scene as varied and interesting as can be beheld.

The principal fortifications for the defence of the harbour are at the Narrows, about eight miles from the city. But on the Long Island shore are Forts Hamilton and La Fayette; and opposite them, on Staten Island, are Forts Tomkins and Richmond. There are several small islands in the harbour; and upon those called Bedlow's and Ellis's Islands, situated on the western side, there are batteries; whilst Governor's Island, opposite to the battery, and very near the city, is strongly fortified. The Battery is situated at the south-west extremity of the city, and is handsomely laid out, being intersected with gravel walks, and tastefully decorated with shrubs and trees. Castle Garden, connected with the Battery by a bridge, is a fine promenade, and is much frequented during the summer. A telegraph is established on the heights of Staten Island, communicating by signals with one in the city. A panorama of New York presents the compact part of the city occupying the southern part of the island, and stretching along each river about three miles. It is, generally speaking, regularly built, the

New York: principal streets running north and south, and being crossed by others extending from the river on the east to that on the west. Great improvements have been made on the compact part of the city within the last ten or twelve years, the clumsy fabrics of the Dutch having given place to the more tasteful and convenient erections of modern times. The style of building with granite and marble fronts to the basements is now almost uniformly adopted in the construction of warehouses. The northern part of the city has been very handsomely laid out in wide streets and spacious avenues; and the style of building for dwelling-houses is neat, and frequently elegant.

Broadway, the most splendid street in the city, or in the United States, runs through the centre, and extends three miles in length from north to south, terminating at the Battery. It is eighty feet wide, and generally presents massive and noble buildings, including three fine churches, several large hotels, Washington Hall, the Masonic Hall, with a variety of elegant shops. From this street there is a gentle slope east and west to the rivers. The following is a summary of the principal streets in this city, from a work entitled New York as it is in 1833.¹ Greenwich Street is wide and elegant, and runs parallel with Broadway, between that street and Washington Street, which last is a fine avenue, next to West Street, extending along the North River. Pearl Street, between Broadway and the East River, is above a mile in length, and its course is nearly in the form of a crescent, containing numerous spacious warehouses, and is the principal seat of the dry goods and hardware business. Front and Water Streets, between Pearl Street and the East River, are occupied principally by the wholesale grocers, commission merchants, and mechanics connected with the shipping business. South Street, running along the East River, contains the warehouses and offices of most of the principal shipping merchants. Wall Street runs from Broadway to the East River, and is occupied by the banks, insurance companies, merchants' exchange,² newspapers, and brokers' offices, being the seat of heavier monied transactions than any other place in America. Canal Street, running across Broadway to the Hudson River, near the centre of the city, is a spacious street, principally occupied by retail stores. The Bowery is a wide and extensive street, running directly north and south-east of Broadway. The third avenue, extending from the Bowery to Haerlem, is macadamised, and is the principal avenue to the city from the east. Chatham Street, East Broadway, Nassau Street, Maiden Lane, Broad, Fulton, Cortland, William, Hudson, Division, Grand, and Broome Streets, deserve particular notice, as among the principal streets and avenues. The streets are generally well paved, with stone or brick side walks, and lighted at night.

In enumerating the public buildings, the first place belongs to the City Hall, which is the most prominent and important edifice in New York. It is situated in the Park, about half a mile from the Battery, and is 216 feet in length by 105 in breadth, and, including the attic story, sixty feet in height. The front and ends are built of white marble, behind it is of free-stone, and it consists of a centre building and two wings, principally of the Ionic and Corinthian

orders. The tout ensemble is elegant, if not splendid, and New York. the edifice reflects great credit on the inhabitants for their munificence and taste. It was commenced in 1803, and finished in 1812, at a cost of 538,734 dollars. It consists of the City Hall proper, comprising a large suite of rooms for holding the different courts of law, and which are fitted up in a rich and expensive style; and of the new City Hall, which includes the police office, and a number of offices and rooms adapted to various necessary purposes. Many of the churches are in general large, but there is nothing in their architecture, or that of the steeples, particularly requiring notice. There are above one hundred places of worship in New York, which is about the same proportion to the number of inhabitants that we find in Great Britain. Columbia College, above the City Hall, is advantageously and handsomely situated in a fine square. The edifice and grounds attached are extensive, and it possesses an estate valued at 400,000 dollars. The college contains a chapel, lecture rooms, hall, library, museum, and an extensive philosophical and astronomical apparatus. The standard of classical education is supposed to be higher here than in most of the other colleges of the Union. The University of the city of New York is projected on the broad and liberal scale of the universities on the continent of Europe, and promises to be of great advantage to the literature of the country. It is governed by a council of thirty-two members, chosen by the subscribers, together with the mayor and four members of the common council of the city. The New York Institution is a brick building, 260 feet in length by forty-four in breadth, and is appropriated to associations of literature and the fine arts, such as the Literary and Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Fine Arts, and the like. The State-prison and the Lunatic Asylum are large edifices, built of stone. The Alms-house and the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb are also buildings of ample dimensions, built of brick. The Park Theatre is a spacious edifice, eighty feet long, 165 feet deep, and fifty-five feet high, and is calculated to contain 2400 persons. The New York Theatre, in the Bowery, displays much architectural beauty, and amongst the modern ornaments of the city stands pre-eminent. It has a front of seventy-five feet, and is 175 feet deep and fifty feet high. Besides these, there are other theatres and places of public amusement in New York. The Medical College is a conspicuous edifice; and the following are spacious buildings: Clinton Hall, the Bible Society's Depository, the American Tract Society's buildings, the Arcade and the Arcade Baths, the New York Baths, the Public Marine Bath, the Manhattan Water-works, the Exhibition Room of the National Academy of the Arts of Design, Rutgers Medical College and Public School, Masonic Hall, Orphan Asylum, Fever Hospital, House of Refuge for Juvenile Delinquents, the City Hotel, the Mansion House, the National Hotel, the Franklin House, Tammany Hotel, and several other hotels. The markets, banks, insurance offices, school-houses, and buildings for public institutions of all kinds, are quite as numerous as in British cities, the difference of population being taken into account. A number of squares have been laid out in the upper part of the city, the principal of which is Washington Square: Hudson's Square or St John's

¹ By Edwin Williams, author of the New York Annual Register.

² This, along with a considerable portion of the city of New York, was consumed by fire on the 16th and 17th days of December 1835. The following account of this destructive conflagration is from the American Almanac for 1837:—Sixteenth. A tremendous fire breaks out in the city of New York, at nine o'clock in the evening, and is not fully suppressed till one o'clock p. m. on the 17th. It commenced near Wall Street, and destroyed most of the entire seat of the greatest mercantile transactions of the city, although comparatively but little inhabited. It was the most destructive fire that has ever taken place in the United States. The loss, according to the official report of the committee, amounted to 17,115,692 dollars. The merchandise destroyed was estimated at 13,115,692 dollars; the buildings, the number of which was 529, at 4,000,000 dollars. The Merchants' Exchange, a magnificent edifice of marble, was estimated at 150,000 dollars, and the Garden Street Church at 50,000 dollars. The places of the destroyed edifices have been supplied with buildings of the same description, with a rapidity quite unparalleled in any other country. In March 1836, Congress passed a bill for the relief of the sufferers; but no aid was solicited from abroad.

New York Park is part of the extensive tract of land, in the north-western part of the city, belonging to Trinity Church. It comprises an area of four acres, and the square is enclosed with costly and valuable private dwellings, having St John's Church on its western side. Amongst the places of fashionable resort in the city and its vicinity may be mentioned the Battery, which extends somewhat in the form of a crescent along the southern extremity of the city, and covers an area of nearly eleven acres. This favourite promenade was originally a fortification thrown up by the Dutch, and planted with cannon, from which circumstance it derives its name. But it is now divested of its warlike appurtenances, having for many years been used as a public walk; and being shaded with trees, and constantly fanned by the ocean breezes, there is not a more agreeable or healthful retreat during the summer months. In or near the city there are a number of parks and public gardens, which are also much frequented. With regard to the buildings of New York in general, Mr Stewart observes,¹ "The churches, at least many of them, are large, but there is nothing in their architecture, or that of the steeples, particularly requiring notice. There is no building here to bear any thing like a comparison with many of the public buildings in the European capitals, such as St Martin's Church in London, the front of the Register Office in Edinburgh, or that of the Chamber of Deputies at Paris; but there are churches and public buildings in all those cities quite as deficient in good taste as any of those which I observed here. In short, my notion is, that, though there is no very fine building in the city, there is not much to hurt the eye of the fastidious; and the city is generally composed of clean-looking buildings and streets, and is regularly built." New York is divided into fifteen wards, each ward electing annually an alderman and an assistant alderman, two assessors, one collector, and two constables, who are formed into a common council of two boards. The mayor is elected annually by the joint ballot of both boards. The situation of the city is considered as very favourable to the health of the inhabitants, from the elevation of the island, and the vicinity of the ocean. The climate at most seasons is mild and agreeable, the winters being less severe than in the interior of the state, and the sea-breezes rendering the heat of summer less oppressive.

The religious, benevolent, and other institutions, the banks, insurance offices, and miscellaneous companies, the state of the press, literature, religion, and education, the manufactures, trade, commerce, lines of packets, and stages, of New York, have been already enumerated in the general account of the state, as fully as our limits will permit. There is no city in the United States, perhaps in the world, which possesses greater advantages of situation than New York, both for internal and external commerce; and these have been immensely increased by art. It is hither that merchants and traders resort from all quarters, from the shores of the Atlantic, the confines of the lakes, and the banks of the great Mississippi, with a certainty that they can dispose of their own produce, and supply themselves with every article which they require. It is at this point that the vast stream of immigration at first collects, as in a reservoir, whence in course of time it distributes its contents over the whole country. Here, too, strangers and travellers congregate as the place of departure to every part of the world, attracted by the ample facilities afforded them at fixed and short intervals. It may serve to give some idea of these to state, that there are opportunities, by regular packets, to sail to Liverpool four times a month, to Havre three times, and to London twice a month. The advantageous situation of this city naturally inclines the in-

habitants to commercial pursuits; but of late years large New York capitals have been invested in manufactures, which are becoming more and more objects of attention. But the probability is, that New York will long remain, in a great degree, a central point for the commerce of the United States. The numerous failures which occurred in America during 1837 have of course affected New York; but this is not the place to speculate on the causes and consequences of these casualties. One thing seems perfectly clear, that the natural resources and advantages of the United States are too vast ever to be permanently affected by the state of trade in any other country, at least for ages to come. The population of New York, and the principal cities in the state, for three periods, are as under.

Albany, the political metropolis, is situated on the western bank of the Hudson, 150 miles from New York, and has a position equally convenient for communication with that city and with a vast interior country. The appearance of Albany from the opposite side of the river is striking and splendid; its situation on the side of a hill is favourable for every part of it being seen, and the Capitol and public edifices are conspicuous objects. It consists of one street of very considerable length, running parallel with the river, from which the rest of the city rises abruptly. The Capitol, built upon the upper portion of Albany, on an elevated site, is 115 feet in length by ninety-eight in breadth. There are ten or twelve other public buildings, some of which are very handsome. This city is very rapidly increasing, as the population returns sufficiently indicate. The other towns enumerated in the foregoing list are also places of considerable and growing trade.

The history of New York is so closely interwoven with that of the United States generally, and the latter part of it in particular with the war of independence, and the subsequent consolidation of the country as a federal republic, that it is only necessary in this place to give a brief abstract of its early annals. That part of America to which New York belongs was discovered by Sebastian Cabot in the year 1497. He claimed the country for his sovereign, but made no effort to form settlements; nor was an undertaking of this kind attempted by the English until after the Dutch had colonized a portion of the country. It is certain that, in 1609, Henry Hudson, an Englishman, entered the bay of New York, and sailed up the river now called by his name, as far as latitude 43° north; but whether he was employed by the English government in this service, and sold the country which he thus discovered without authority, is a point not so clearly settled. English writers take this view of the case; but the Dutch historians assert that he was at the time in the service of the Dutch East India Company. At all events, the English for some time made no opposition to the settlement of the country by the Dutch, who immediately commenced

¹ Three Years in North America, by James Stuart, Esq. 1833.