USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Municipal history of the town and city of Boston during two centuries : from September 17, 1630, to September 17, 1830 > Part 26
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
1 See page 209.
256
MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
with great apparent unanimity and general satisfaction. The measures, which had been devised and commenced by the several succeeding City Councils, during the preceding years, were either completed or in successful progress. The New Market had been finished, and all the accounts connected with that improvement were settled ; provision for the gradual pay- ment, by instalments, of the debt it had created, had been made ; and also for the final discharge of that debt and its accruing interest out of the proceeds of the real estate, consisting of land and wharf rights, and other funds, which the wisdom of those City Councils had acquired. During these years, besides the expenditures connected with the purchases and improvements about the New Market, many streets, which were great thorough- fares in various parts of the city, had been widened. The Fire Department had been put into efficient operation, to the appa- rent satisfaction of all. A House of Correction, and a House of Reformation of Juvenile Offenders had been established; the House of Industry had been completed and the poor trans- ferred to it, to the acknowledged improvement of their condition, and the manifest benefit of the city. The title to the lands lying west of Charles Street, called the Ropewalk Lands, had also been obtained and secured. Deer Island had been effectu- ally protected by a sea-wall from the action of the elements ; appropriations for that object having been solicited by the city and granted by Congress. George's and Lovell's Islands had been purchased, and the title to them transferred by the city to the United States; for whom also the jurisdiction of those islands had been obtained from the Commonwealth. These prospective measures led, in subsequent years, to the erection of those efficient fortifications which now command and protect the outer harbor of Boston.
And in relation to the incomes and expenditures of the City for the preceding financial year, William Hayden, the City Auditor, in his official report, dated the fifteenth of May, 1828, stated that " the aggregate amount of the incomes of the city had exceeded the aggregate amount of its expenditures ; and that the results afforded a practical illustration of the wisdom and spirit of economy, which characterized the proceedings of the last City Council, and led to the adoption of a system of self- restriction in regard to appropriations, and of confining the ordi-
-
£
257
CITY GOVERNMENT.
nary expenditures of the year within the limits of its ordinary annual income." And the City Auditor closed this report by the following remarks : - " It is believed, that the results of the financial operations of the last year, while they must be highly satisfactory to those, in whose hands the citizens have placed the control of their public funds, will have a tendency to sustain that confidence, which the people of this city have reposed in its government ; for they show conclusively, that while those great improvements which the public interest seemed most obviously to demand, have been originated and matured, the city govern- ment had not lost sight of that point, at which a system of cco- nomical restriction should commence."
In this state of general prosperity and satisfaction with the affairs of the city, the municipal year drew towards its close. No other than those general objects of attention, which are incident to every condition of municipal relation, appeared, at the moment, to be subjects of general anticipation or desire. No special cause of public discontent had occurred within the year. To apply wisely and faithfully the resources of the city to those exigencies which time must produce, and a rapidly increasing population rendered unavoidable, embraced appa- rently the whole sphere of duty for the ensuing City Coun- cils.
The office of Mayor had now been sustained alnost six years, by the same individual. The novelty of the office, the diversity of opinions relative to its powers, extensive public improvements, and many new institutions, had rendered his administration one of peculiar trial and difficulty. It had been, however, power- fully supported, and to general satisfaction, as the results of six successive elections evidenced.
At the usual period of municipal election, in 1828, after two trials, on the eighth1 and fifteenth2 of December, it appeared that the Mayor had not received the majority of votes, which the law required for his reelection, although in both the number
4,082
I The whole number of votes cast on this trial was Requisite to a choice, 2,012
Of which Josiah Quincy had . . 1,959
2 The whole number of votes cast on this trial was Requisite to a choice, 2,627
5,253
Of which Josiah Quincy had 2,561
22
258
MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
closely approximated to it. As soon, therefore, as the last result was known, he sent to the press the following note : -
TO THE CITIZENS OF BOSTON.
After the result of the recent elections, I deem myself at liberty to decline, - as I now do,- being any longer a candidate for the office of Mayor.
To the end, that no future candidate may be deprived of votes, cast in my favor, I deem it proper to state, that no consi- deration will induce me again to accept that office.
Very respectfully, I am your fellow citizen, JOSIAH QUINCY.
BOSTON, 16th December, 1828.
On the ensuing twenty-second of December, Harrison Gray Otis was chosen Mayor without opposition.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CITY GOVERNMENT. 1828.
JOSIAH QUINCY, Mayor.
Address of the Mayor on taking final Leave of the Office - His Acknowledg- ments to the Members of the Board of Aldermen, Connon Council, and his Fellow-Citizens - Measures and Results of the Past Administration : for Protection of the City against Fire ; and of the Islands against Storms ; for the Health of the Inhabitants ; for Public Education; in Favor of Public Morals ; for increasing the Financial Resources of the City and reducing its Debt - Principles on which his Conduct in Office had been guided. Tribute to his Successor.
THE circumstances which caused the Mayor to decline being again a candidate, led him to consider it due to his associates and himself to state publicly the views and principles which, during nearly six years, had guided the administration of the city government.
Having given intimation of this intention to the Board of Aldermen, they passed an order to the City Clerk "to give notice to the President of the Common Council, that the Board of Aldermen stood adjourned to Saturday, the third of Jami- ary, 1829, at one o'clock, at which time and place it is expected that the Mayor will address the Board, previous to his leaving the Chair, in order that any gentlemen of the Common Council may attend if they see fit."
Accordingly, on that day, in the chamber of the Common Council, in the presence of its members and of other citizens, the Mayor delivered the following address to the Board of Aldermen, who, after retiring to their room, Voted, " To request a copy of it for the press, and that the whole Board wait upon him for that purpose."
260
MUNICIPAL IHISTORY.
GENTLEMEN OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN : -
HAVING been called, nearly six years since, by my fellow-citi- zens, to the office of their chief magistrate, and having, during that period, been six times honored by their suffrages for that station, I have endeavored, uniformly, to perform its duties to the best of my ability, with unremitting zeal and fidelity. At the late election it was twice indicated, by a majority of those who thought the subject important enough to attend the polls, that they were willing to dispense with my services. According to the sound principles of a republican constitution, by which the will of a majority, distinctly expressed, concerning the con- tinuance in office of public servants, is, to them the rule of duty, I withdrew from being any longer a cause of division to my fel- low-citizens; declaring that " no consideration would induce me again to accept that office." . These were not words of pas- sion, or of wounded pride, or temporary disgust ; but of deep conviction, concerning future duty, in attaining which, my obli- gations to my fellow-citizens were weighed as carefully as those which I owe to my own happiness and self-respect.
I stand, then, to this office, in a relation final and forever closed. There are rights and duties which result from this con- dition. It is an occasion on which acknowledgments ought to be made, feelings to be expressed, justice to be done, obligations to be performed. To fulfil these duties, I have thought proper to seek and avail myself of this opportunity:
And first, gentlemen, permit me to express to you that deep and lasting sense of gratitude which is felt for all the kindness, support, and encouragement with which you have lightened and strengthened official labors. In bearing testimony to the intelli- gence, activity, and fidelity with which you have fulfilled the duties of your station, I but join the common voice of your fellow- citizens. With me, your intercourse has been uniformly charac- terized by a willing and affectionate zeal ; leaving, in this respect, nothing to be desired; and resulting, on my part, in an esteem which will make the recollection of our association in these duties among the most grateful of my life. Accept my thanks for the interest and assiduity with which you have aided and sustained endeavors to advance the prosperity of this city.
261
CITY GOVERNMENT.
I owe also to the gentlemen of the Common Council a public expression of my obligations for the candor and urbanity with which they have received and canvassed all my communications. It is a happy omen for our city, that, for so many successive years, the intercourse between the branches and members of its goverment has been distinguished for gentlemanly character, not less than for official respect. The collisions which are natu- rally to be expected in a community where rival interests and passions exist, have never disturbed the harmony of either coun- cil. When diversity of opinion has arisen, a spirit of mutual concession has presided over the controversy. Happy! if in this respect, past years shall be prototypes of those which are to come.
l'o my fellow-citizens who, for so many years have supported or endured an administration conducted on none of the princi- ples by which popularity is ordinarily sought and acquired, I have no language to express my respect or my gratitude. I know well that recent events have given rise, in some minds, to reflections on the fickleness of the popular will, and on the ingra- titude of republics. As if the right to change was not as inhe- rent as the right to continue ; for the just exercise of this right, the people being responsible, and to bear the consequences. As if permission to serve a people at all, and the opportunity thus afforded to be useful to the community to which we belong and owe so many obligations, were not ample recompense for any labors or any sacrifices made or endured in its behalf. Is it wonderful, or a subject of reproach, that, in a populous city, where infinitely varying passions and prejudices and interests and motives must necessarily exist, an individual who had enjoyed the favor of its citizens for six years should be deprived of it on the seventh ? Is it not more a matter of surprise, that it has been enjoyed so long, than that it is lost at last ?
At no one moment have I concealed from myself or my fellow- citizens, that the experiment of a new government was one very dubious in its effects on continuance in office. . Who that knows the nature of man, and the combinations which, for particular ends, at times take place in society, could hesitate to believe that an administration which should neither court the few, nor stand in awe of the many, which should identify itself exclusively with the rights of the city, maintaining them not merely with the
·
-
£
262
MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
zeal of official station, but with the pertinacious spirit of private interest ; which, in executing the laws, should hunt vice in its recesses, turn light upon the darkness of its haunts, and wrest the poisonous cup from the hand of the unlicensed pander ; which should dare to resist private cupidity, seeking to corrupt; personal influence, striving to sway ; party raucor, slandering to intimidate ; - would, in time, become obnoxious to all whom it prosecuted or punished; all whose passions it thwarted ; whose projects it detected; whose interests it crossed ? Who could doubt that, from these causes, there would in time come an accumulation of discontent ; that, sooner or later, the ground swell would rise above the landmarks with a tide which would sweep it from its foundations ?
In the first address which, nearly six years ago, I had the honor to make to the City Council, the operation of these causes was distinctly stated, almost in the terms just used; and the event which has now occurred was anticipated. Nothing was then promised except " a laborious fulfilment of every known duty ; a prudent exercise of every invested power ; a disposition shrinking from no official responsibility ; and an absolute self- devotion to the interest of the city."
I stand this day in the midst of the multitude of my brethren, and ask, without pride, yet without fear, Have I failed in fulfill- ing this promise ? Let your hearts answer.
Other obligations remain. A connection which has subsisted long and happily is about to be dissolved, and forever. To look back on the past, and consider the present, is natural and pro- per on the occasion. I stand indebted to my fellow-citizens for a length and uniformity of support seldom exemplified in cities where the executive office depends upon popular election, They have stood by me nobly, and with effect, in six trials; in the seventh, though successless, I was not forsaken.
To such men I owe more than silent gratitude. Their friend- ship, their favor, the honors they have so liberally bestowed, · demand return, not in words, but in acts. I owe it to such goodness to show that their confidence has not been misplaced ; their favor not been abused; and that their friendship and sup- port, so often given in advance, have been justified by the event.
What then has the departing city administration done ? what
263
CITY GOVERNMENT.
good has it effected ? what evil averted ? what monuments exist of its faithfulness and efficiency ?
If, in the recapitulation I am about to make, I shall speak in general terms, and sometimes in language of apparent personal reference, let it be understood, once for all, that this will be owing to the particular relation in which I stand at this moment to the subject and to my fellow-citizens; and by no means to any disposition to claim more than a common share of what- ever credit belongs to that administration. This, I delight to acknowledge, is chiefly due to those excellent and faithful men, who, during successive years have, in both branches of the City Council, been the light and support of the government; by whose intelligence and practical skill I have conducted its affairs full as often as by my own. The obligations I owe to these men I mean neither to deny nor to conceal. Speedily, and as soon as other duties permit, it is my purpose, in another way and in a more permanent form, to do justice to their gratuitous labors and unobtrusive fidelity.
Touching the measures and results of the administration which will soon be past, I necessarily confine myself to a few particular topics ; and those, either the most vital to our safety and prosperity, or, in my apprehension, the most necessary to be understood. Time will not permit, nor, on this occasion, would it be proper to speak of all the various objects of a prudential, economical, restrictive, or ornamental character, which, in adapt- ing a new organization of government to the actual state of things, have been attempted or executed.
I shall chiefly refer to what has been done by way of protec- tion against the elements; in favor of the general health; in support of public education; and in advancement of public morals.
The element which chiefly endangers cities is that of Fire. It cannot at this day be forgotten by my fellow-citizens with what labor and hazard of popularity the old department was abolished, and the new established. From the visible and active energy which members of a fire department take in the protec- tion of the city against that element, they always have been, and always must be, objects of general regard. Great as is the just popularity at present enjoyed by that department, the same public favor was largely enjoyed by their predecessors. Those
264
MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
who at that time composed it were a hardy, industrious, effect- ive body of men, who had been long inured to the service, and who, having the merit of veterans, naturally imbibed the errors into which old soldiers in a regular service are accustomed to fall. They were prejudiced in favor of old modes and old wea- pons. They had little or no confidence in a hose system ; and above all they were beset with the opinion that the continuance of their corps was essential to the safety of the city. More than once it was said distinctly to the executive of the city, that " if they threw down the engines, none else could be found capable of taking them up." Under the influence of such opinions, they demanded of the city a specified annual sum for each company. It was refused. And in one day all the engines in the city were surrendered by their respective companies ; and on the same day every engine was supplied with a new company by the voluntary association of public-spirited individuals.
From that time, a regular, systematie organization of the Fire Department was begun and gradually effected. The best models of engines were sought. The best experience consulted which our own or other cities possessed. New engines were obtained ; old ones repaired. Proper sites for engine houses sought; when suitable locations were found, purchased ; and those built upon ; when such were not found, they were hired. No requisite preparation for efficiency was omitted; and every reasonable inducement to enter and remain in the service was extended.
The efficient force and state of preparation of this department now consists of twelve hundred men and officers ; twenty engines ; one hook and ladder company ; eight hundred buck- ets ; seven thousand feet of hose; twenty-tive hose carriages; and every species of apparatus necessary for strength of the department, or for the accommodation of its members.
In this estimate, also, ought to be included fifteen reservoirs, containing three hundred and fifty thousand gallons of water, located in different parts of the city, besides those sunk in the Mill Creek, and the command of water obtained by those con- nected with the pipes belonging to the aqueduct.
Of all the expenditures of the city government, none perhaps have been so often denominated extravagant as those connected with this department. But when the voluntary nature of the
265
CITY GOVERNMENT.
service, its importance, and the security and confidence actually attained are considered, it is believed they can be justified.
In four years, all the objects enumerated, including the reser- voirs, have cost a sum not exceeding sixty thousand dollars, which is about forty-eight thousand dollars more than the old department, in a like series of years, was accustomed to cost. The value of the fixed and permanent property now existing in engine houses and their sites, engines and apparatus, and reser- voirs, cannot be estimated at less than twenty thousand dollars. So that the actual expenditure of the new department beyond the old, for these four years, cannot be stated at more than five thousand dollars a year, or twenty thousand dollars. Now it will be found that, in consequence solely of the efficiency of this department, there has been a reduction of twenty per cent. on the rate of insurance within the period above specified. By this reduction of premiums alone, there is an annual gain to the city on its insurable real estate of ten thousand dollars ; the whole cost remunerated in two years. In this connection, let it be remembered how great is the security, in this respect, now enjoyed by the city ; and that, previously to its establishment, two fires, - that in Central, Kilby, and Broad Streets; and that in Beacon Street, - occasioned a loss to it, at the least estimate, of eight hundred thousand dollars !
Unquestionably, greater economy may be introduced hereafter into this department, in modes which were impracticable at its commencement and in its earlier progress. Measures having that tendency have been suggested. These, doubtless, future city councils will adopt, or substitute in their stead such as are wiser and better.
All the chief great expenses, necessary to perfect efficiency, have been incurred ; and little more remains to be done than to maintain the present state of completeness in its appointments.
Under this head of protection against the elements, may be justly included the preservation of our harbor from the effects of waves and tempests. By the vigilance and successive applica- tion of the city government, the protection of the two great islands, on which depend the safety of our internal and external roadsteads, has been undertaken by the General Government; and works are finished, or in progress, of a magnitude and strength exceeding all antecedent hope or expectation.
23
266
MUNICIPAL HISTORY.
In relation to what has heen done in favor of general health, when this administration came into power, of the two great branches on which depend the health of a city, the removal of street dirt, and of that which accumulates in and about the houses of private families, the former was almost entirely neg- lected, and the latter was conducted in a manner exceed- ingly offensive to the citizens. "So great was the clamor and urgency of the citizens, and so imperious was deemed the duty, that the records of the Mayor and Aldermen will show that the present executive, on the first day of his office, indeed before he had been inducted into it an hour, made a recommendation to the City Council on the subject. From that time to the present, the arrangement of those subjects has been an object of inces- sant attention and labor. It was, until early in the present year, a subject of perpetual struggle and controversy, - first, with the old Board of Health, who claimed the jurisdiction of it; then with contractors, whose interests the new arrangements thwart- ed; then with the citizens, with whose habits, or prejudices, or interest they sometimes interfered. The inhabitants of the country were indignant that they could not enjoy their ancient privilege of carrying away the street dirt when they pleased, and the offal of families as they pleased. The inhabitants of the city, forgetting the nature of the material, and the necessity of its being subjected to general regulations, were also indignant, because they "could not, as they did formerly, do what they would with their own." For three years the right of the city to control this subject was contested in courts of law ; and it was not until last April, that the city anthority overcame all opposi- tion, and acquired, by a judicial decision, complete jurisdiction in the case.
. Since that time, the satisfaction of the citizens with the con- duct of this troublesome concern, indicated not only by direct acknowledgment, but also by evidence still more unequivocal, has equalled every reasonable wish, and exceeded all previous anticipation. I state as a fact, that in a city containing probably sixty-five thousand inhabitants, and under an administration inviting and soliciting complaints against its agents, -during seven months, from May to November, both inclusive, amidst a hot season, in which a local alarm of infectious fever naturally excited great anxiety, concerning the causes tending to produce
3
£
267
CITY GOVERNMENT.
it, - the whole number of complaints from citizens, whose fami- lies were neglected by the agents of the city, made, or known to the Mayor or to any officers of the city, amounted only to the number of eight in a month, or two in a week, for the whole city ! and four fifths of these, it is asserted by the intelligent and faith- ful superintendent of the streets, were owing to the faults of domestics rather than to his agents, -a degree of efficient action on a most difficult subject, which it is the interest of the citizens never to forget, as it shows what may be done, and, therefore, what they have a right to require.
I refer to this topic with the more distinctness, because it is one of vital interest, not only to this, but to all populous cities. I know not that the practicability of establishing an efficient system for the removal from populous cities of these common and unavoidable nuisances has anywhere been more satisfacto- rily put to the test. Nor has the evidence of the direct effects of such efficiency, upon the general health of the population, been anywhere more distinctly exhibited by facts. I speak before citizens who have enjoyed the benefits of these arrange- ments ; who now enjoy them ; who see what can be effected; and what is reasonable, therefore, for them in this respect to claim at the hands of their publie agents.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.