the largest county of England, bounded on the south by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire; on the north by Durham and Westmoreland; on the east by the German ocean; and on the west by Lancashire and a part of Cheshire.—It is upwards of 80 miles in length from east to west, nearly as much in breadth, and about 360 in circumference, containing, in the whole, 26 hundreds or wapentakes, 49 market-towns, 563 parishes, 242 vicarages, with many chapels of ease, and 2330 villages. Its area is computed by some at 4684 square miles, and its inhabitants in 1811 amounted to 973,113, of whom 305,150 lived in towns, and 667,963 in the country. It is divided into three parts or ridings, viz. the West, East, and North; so denominated from their situation, in respect of the city of York. Each of these is as large, if not larger, than any ordinary county. There are other divisions, as Richmondshire, Allertonshire, Howdenshire, Hallanshire, Craven, Cleveland, Marshland, Holderness, &c.
As the soil and face of the country vary greatly, so does York does the air. In the hilly parts the air is good, but the soil very indifferent; of the lower some are marshy, others drier, and the soil of both rich; but the air of the former is more foggy and unhealthy than that of the latter. The manufactures of this county are cutlery and hard-ware, particularly knives, bits, and spurs; but the principal are stockings and woollen cloth, with which it supplies in a great measure Germany and the North. As to the produce, it abounds in corn, cattle, horses, lead and iron, coal, wood, lime, liquorice, alum, jet, &c. It lies wholly in the northern circuit, and much the greater part of it in the diocese of York; that only which is called Richmondshire belonging to the diocese of Chester. The members it sends to parliament are 30; of which two are for the shire and 28 for the towns.
New-York, one of the United States of America, is bounded towards the south-east by the Atlantic ocean; east by Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont; north by the 45th degree of latitude, which divides it from Canada; north-westwardly by the river Iroquois or St Lawrence, and the lakes Ontario and Erie; south-west and south by Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The whose state contains about 44,000 square miles, equal to 28,160,000 acres.
The state, to speak generally, abounds with lakes, some of salt and others of fresh water. It is intersected by ridges of mountains running in a north-east and south-west direction. Beyond the Allegany mountains, however, the country is a dead level, of a fine rich soil, covered in its natural state, with maple, beech, birch, cherry, black-walnut, locust, hickory, and some mulberry trees. On the banks of Lake Erie are a few chestnut and oak ridges. Hemlock swamps are interspersed thinly through the country. All the creeks that empty into Lake Erie have falls, which afford many excellent mill seats. East of the Allegany mountains, the country is broken into hills with rich intervening valleys. The hills are clothed thick with timber, and when cleared afford fine pasture; the valleys, when cultivated, produce wheat, hemp, flax, pease, grass, oats, Indian corn.
The principal rivers are the Hudson, and the Mohawk, which is a branch of the former. The Hudson is navigable for sloops 160 miles from its mouth, and by the Mohawk boats ascend about 70 miles farther. A canal is now in progress to extend the inland navigation from the head waters of the Mohawk to Lake Erie, a distance of 200 miles. In the north eastern ports, Lake Champlain affords a navigable communication for 100 miles; and the St Lawrence, with lakes Ontario and Erie, for many hundred miles more, on the north-western frontier.
Iron abounds in the state of New York, and lead is wrought at some places, but the other metals are scarce. Roofing slate, lime-stone, marble, and coal are found in some situations. Gypsum and salt (from springs) are abundant in the western parts. The mineral waters of Balston and Saratoga are celebrated for their medicinal virtues.
The wild animals are now becoming rare in this state. The wolf, formerly common, is seldom seen. The bears, which are still found in considerable numbers, often carry off the hogs from new settlements. The cougar seldom appears; the deer, fox, marten, beaver, and squirrel are found occasionally. Snakes of a large size are met with in the uncultivated parts.
The population of this state in 1749 was estimated at 100,000; in 1800 it amounted to 586,050; and in 1810, to 959,049, including 15,017 slaves. At the last mentioned period New York was the second state in the union for population; but it is probably now the first.
The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of assembly. The latter is elected annually by ballot, by electors who must be freeholders to the value of fifty dollars, or residents renting tenements of five dollars yearly value. The senate is elected for four years, one fourth being renewed every year. The permanent number of senators is 32, of members of the lower house 150. The executive power resides in a governor elected for three years by the freeholders, with a council of four senators, chosen annually by the legislature. The judges, who are appointed by the governor and council, hold their offices during good behaviour till the age of sixty.
There is no state religion, but the clergymen of each persuasion are supported by the voluntary contributions of their congregations. The Presbyterians are the most numerous sect; the Episcopalians next. The Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, and Roman Catholics are also pretty numerous. In 1815, there were 2621 primary schools in the state, at which 140,720 scholars were educated. It is rare to meet with any person in this state who cannot read and write. There is also a considerable number of academies, and three colleges,—Columbia College founded in 1754; Union College founded in 1794; and Hamilton College in 1812. The number of scientific and humane societies is also considerable. Above seventy newspapers are printed in the state.
The manufactures of this state consist of iron, glass, gunpowder, woollens, linens and cottons, cordage, spirits, leather, hats, &c. Though several large works are established, about one third of the articles produced are made in families. The whole value of manufactures in 1810 was thirty-three millions of dollars; but during the war with England in 1814, the amount was supposed not to fall short of fifty millions. So rapid has been the accumulation of capital in this state, that the value of lands and houses, which was found by a fiscal survey in 1799 to be 100,382,706 dollars, amounted according to a new survey in 1814 to 269,370,900 dollars. The exports of this state, in 1817, amounted to 18,707,433 dollars; being one half greater than those of any other state in the union.
Though New York is the first commercial state in North America, the bulk of the inhabitants live by agriculture. They are generally industrious, sober, and well informed. There are still some small societies of Dutch and Germans, who preserve both the language and manners of their country. In general the inhabitants of this state are neither infected with the hypocritical austerity, pride, and selfishness of the New Englanders, nor with the lax morality and ostentatious habits of the people of the southern states. In times of difficulty they have generally held a moderate course.
New-York, a city of North America, capital of the state of the same name. It is situated at the south-west point. point of an island, at the confluence of Hudson and East rivers, and is about four miles in circumference. The situation is both healthy and pleasant. Surrounded on all sides by water, it is refreshed by cool breezes in summer, and the air in winter is more temperate than in other places under the same parallel. York island is 15 miles in length, and hardly one in breadth. It is joined to the main by a bridge called King's bridge.
The channels between Long and Staten islands, and between Long and York islands, are so narrow as to occasion an unusual rapidity of the tides, which is increased by the confluence of the waters of Hudson and East rivers. This rapidity, in general, prevents the obstruction of the channel by ice. There is no basin or bay for the reception of ships; but the road where they lie in East river is defended from the violence of the sea by the islands which interlock with each other; so that, except that of Rhode island, the harbour of New-York, which admits ships of any burden, is the best of the United States. The number of the inhabitants in 1817 was estimated at 120,000.
The most magnificent edifice in this city is Federal Hall, at the head of Broad-street; in a gallery in front of which General Washington, attended by the senate and house of representatives, took his oath of office at the commencement of the operation of the federal constitution, 30th April, 1789. Near this building is another, appropriated to the American Museum and Academy of Fine Arts. There were about fifty churches and meeting-houses in the city in 1817, many of which are built and fitted up in a style of great elegance, and even splendour. The best private houses are built of brick painted red, and have a very neat and cleanly appearance. There is a theatre of great size, though not a fine building. The battery, which fronts the sea, forms one of the most beautiful walks of which any city can boast. Several of the principal streets being garnished with rows of trees, have an uncommonly gay and pleasing effect. In New York, as in many old towns in Britain, the entries to cellars project into the street, and injure both the beauty and the conveniency of the foot pavement. The street is also encumbered by large quantities of goods piled up at the outside of the shop doors; and great numbers of pigs are seen running about. Formerly the city suffered much from the want of water, but now it is conveyed in pipes to all the streets in abundance. Rents are high, even when a comparison is made with London. The natural harbour of New York is one of the best in America, and its trade is so great, that it amounts to nearly one-fifth of the whole foreign trade of the United States. It is probably at present the second trading city in Europe or America.
King's college was chiefly founded by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants of the province, assisted by the general assembly, and the corporation of Trinity Church, and in the year 1754, obtained a royal charter. The building consists of an elegant stone edifice, three stories high, with four stair cases, 12 apartments in each, a chapel, hall, library, museum, anatomical theatre, and a school for experimental philosophy. It is situated on a dry gravelly soil, about 150 yards from the bank of Hudson's river, commanding a beautiful and extensive prospect. Since the revolution, the legislature passed an act constituting 21 gentlemen (of whom the governor and lieutenant-governor for the time being, are members ex officio) a body corporate and politic by the name of "The Regents of the University of the State of New-York." They are entrusted with the care of literature in general, and have power to grant charters for erecting colleges and academies through the state. It is now denominated Columbia college. It consists of a faculty of arts, and one of physic, the first having a president and seven professors, and the second a dean, and the same number of professors.
The government of this city is at present in the hands of a mayor, aldermen, and common council; and the city is divided into seven wards, in each of which an alderman and assistant are annually chosen by the people. A court of session is held for the trial of criminal causes. There were eight banks in the city in 1814; and there is a great number of literary, scientific, and benevolent institutions. The shipping belonging to the port in 1815 amounted to 278,868 tons. New-York is 95 miles N. E. of Philadelphia, 197 N. E. of Baltimore, and 913 from Charleston. W. Long. 74° 0' 45". N. Lat. 40° 42' 8".