USA > New York > A geographical history of the state of New York: embracing its history, government, physical features, climate, geology, mineralogy, botany, zoology, education, internal improvements, &c., with a separate map of each county > Part 11
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In 1815, those opposed to the canal were so far in the ma- jority, as to obtain the repeal of the act authorizing the com- missioners to borrow $5,000,000.
This was, for the time, a virtual abandonment of the canal policy ; but, with the peace, the hopes and energies of its friends revived, and, in 1816, D. D. Tompkins, then governor, recom- mended the consideration of the enterprise to the legislature, while a host of petitions, ably drawn up, and numerously signed, were brought before that body, praying them to proceed in this great enterprise. Among the most forcible of these, was the petition from New York, drawn up by De Witt Clinton.
The report of the canal commissioners was full of interest. They recommended the construction of the middle section first, as it would be a source of profit, and would divert the trade from the St. Lawrence.
A bill was proposed to commence the canal immediately, but was modified in the senate, and finally passed, giving the com- missioners power to take the preliminary measures, such as causing a thorough survey and estimate of the expense of the route to be made, employing engineers, making further efforts to obtain aid, either from the general, or state governments, and arranging for loans and grants of land.
In 1817, a bill was passed, authorizing the immediate con- struction of these works; although in view of their magnitude,
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alternate cmotions of hope and fear predomina ted in the minds of the legislature. There were some who opposed the passage of the bill. Under the new ac , Stephen Van R :. s elar , De- Witt Clinton, Samuel Young, Joseph Ellicott, and Myron Holley, were appointed commissioners.
So much distrust in regard to the result of the enterprise was felt, by those living remote from the line of the canals, that they insisted on the introduction of a clause in the bill, levying a tax of $250,000, upon the lands contiguous to them. This, however, was never collected, as the means provided by the commis- sioners, proved amply sufficient, without resorting to direct taxation.
The ground was first broken for the Erie canal, on the 4th of July, 1817, at Rome, with appropriate ceremonies. De Witt Clinton, then governor of the state, was present, and took part in the services on this interesting occasion.
In 1818, the governor congratulated the legislature on the progress of the en- Ierprise, and urged them to persevere in its prosecution. Laws were passed, during the session of this year, authorizing the construction of the Chittenango canal, and a navigable feeder to the Erie canal; also, the examination of Buffalo creek, with a view to the construction of an artificial harbor on the western ter- minus of the canal.
An act was likewise passed, improving the financial sche re of the previous year, and authorizing the commissioners to ob- tain a further loan of one million of dollars.
In 1919, measures were taken for the commencement of the Oswego canal. In October, of the same year, that portion of the Eric canal extending from Utica to Rome, was opened for navigation; and the Champlain canal admitted the passage of boats. From this period all open opposition to the enterprise ceased.
In 1820, the property, right and title of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company was transferred to the state, for the sum of' $150,828. Messrs. Young, Holley, Seymour, and Bouck, were designated as acting canal commissioners, and received a salary for their services; hile the remainder of the commis- sioners received no salary, and retained only advisory powers.
An act was passed in 1822, directing the construction of a navigable canal, to connect the Erie canal with the Onondaga lake and Seneca river. This, in connection with the act of 1819, completed the plan of what was afterwards known as the Os- wego canal.
In July, 1823, the Erie canal was navigable from Schenectady to Rochester. The price of wheat, west of the Seneca river, in consequence of the facilities af- forded by the canal, had already advanced fifty per cent.
In 1824, the Champlain canal was reported as finished. Acts were passed, authorizing further loans for the completion of the Erie canal ; for the constructionof a canal to connect Lake Cham-
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plain with the St. Lawrence, and for fixing the termini of the Erie canal, at Albany and Buffalo.
Just at the close of the session, by a most ungenerous party manœuvre, De Witt Clinton was removed from the office of canal commissioner. This was a short lived triumph, however, as in the succeeding autumn, he was elected gov- ernor, by a large majority, and of course became one of the canal commissioners, ex officio.
In 1825, Governor Clinton congratulated the legislature on the prospect of the speedy completion of the Erie canal, and proposed the extension of the system of internal improvements, to render the Susquehanna, the Delaware, and other rivers in the state, navigable, thus affording facilities for bringing into market, the agri- cultural wealth of the state.
The canal was completed in October, 1826, and on the 4th of November, the first canal boat from Lake Erie, having reached New York, the occasion was celebrated with rejoicings, such, perhaps, as have seldom been equaled in this or any other state of the union.
The different trades and professions of the city, each with suitable badges and banners, joined in the long procession ; an immense squadron of ships, steamers, barques, &c., assembled in the bay, to witness the ceremony of the wedding of Lake Erie with the Atlantic ; and amid numerous ceremonies, and eloquent ora- tions, the glad shouts of the people went up, as with one voice. Medals were struck, commemorative of the interesting event, and forwarded to the soldiers and officers of the revolution, and to distinguished men, in our own, and other lands.
The whole cost of the Erie and Champlain canals was $9,130,000; the canal debt, at their completion, was $7,738,000; and its interest $413,000. The income arising from tolls, the year after the completion of the canals, was estimated at $750,- 000, exceeding, very considerably, the interest of the debt. In 1835, the debt of the canal was extinguished, mainly from the tolls.
The year 1826 was the commencement of the railroad policy in the statc. In that year, Stephen Van Rensselaer and others received a charter for the construction of a railroad from Al- bany to Schenectady, with the right of enjoying the profits of the enterprise for fifty years.
The state reserved to itself, however, the power of purchasing the road, by paying to the company the excess of the cost, with interest thereon, over the profits of the work. This feature has been incorporated in all railroad charters since granted.
In 1827, the legislature made an appropriation in aid of the Delaware and Hudson canal, and determined on the most fea- sible route for connecting the Erie canal and Susquehanna river.
An act was passed in 1832, chartering a company, to con- struct a railroad to connect the Hudson with Lake Erie, run- ning through the lower tier of counties; and in 1836, a loan of the public credit to the amount of $3,000,000, was granted to the company.
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In 1833, an act was passed authorizing the construction of the Chenango canal, a work involving a large expenditure, but which, on its completion, opened a market to a large agricultural region.
In 1835, it was found that the size of the Erie canal was inad- equate to the business transacted upon it; and that the locks were worn by use, and required enlarging, and to be made double, to facilitate transportation. The legislature, therefore, the same year, authorized the application of the surplus reve- nues, arising from the tolls, to be applied to the enlargement of the canal.
In 1836, the legislature directed the construction of the Gene- see river and Black river canals, which were soon after com- menced. The financial distress in 1837-8, produced some delay and timidity in regard to internal improvements. But, in 1838, $4,000,000 were appropiated to the enlargement of the Erie canal, and the credit of the state loaned to the Catskill and Can- ajoharie, the Auburn and Syracuse, and the Ithaca and Owego railroad companies, to the amount of $8,000,000. The loan to the New York and Erie railroad company was modified at the same time.
Since that period, several companies have constructed rail- roads, forming a continuous line between Albany,and Buffalo, and the whole distance (about 400 miles) is run in less than twenty-four hours.
The Black River Canal is as yet incomplete, and the Genesec Valley Canal is only finished as far as Dansville. The New York and Erie Railroad, after long delays, is now in progress of construction, and will be completed, probably, in two or three years. The Harlaem Railroad is also rapidly progressing toward Albany. It is in contemplation to unite this with the Housatonic Railroad.
Railroads have also been projected from New York to Albany along the Hudson river ; from Ogdensburg to Plattsburg; from some point on the Harlaem Railroad to New Haven, Conn .; und from Buffalo to Erie, Pennsylvania.
In this connection, too, the Magnetic Telegraph should be mentioned. Telegraph lines have been constructed from Al- bany and Troy to Buffalo, and by way of the Housatonic Rail- road, to New York city, and others are projected. The facili- ties afforded for business transactions, by this instantaneous mode of transmitting intelligence, appear almost incredible. It is indeed one of the most wonderful discoveries of the present age.
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STATE OF NEW YORK.
20
PURSUITS OF THE PEOPLE.
IN three of the four great departments of national industry, New York occupies the first rank. Her fertile lands, under the skillful and scientific cultivation they have received, render her preeminent in the culture of the soil; her commerce is greater than that of any other state of the confederacy ; her sails whiten every sea, and bring the productions of every clime to her marts; in manufactures, she divides the palm with her sister states, Massachusetts and Pennsyl- vania; in mining operations, though distinguished, she is inferior to Pennsylvania, and the new states of Missouri, Wisconsin and lowa.
1. AGRICULTURE. New York, though usually reckoned as one of the grain growing states, might, from the diversity of its surface, and the attention paid to the rearing of cattle, be ranked, with equal pro- priety, among the grazing states. Its mountainous districts afford rich and ample pasturage for the immense herds of cattle and sheep which dot its hills ; and the quantity, or quality, of its dairy products, are exceeded by no state of the union.
Herkimer, Oneida, Orange, Delaware, Jefferson, Chenango, Chau- tauque, Onondaga, Madison, St. Lawrence, Otsego, Steuben, Dutch- ess, Erie, Tompkins, Washington, Ulster, Westchester, Oswego, Schoharie, Cayuga, Allegany, Cortland, Monroe, Wayne, Saratoga, Rensselaer and Putnam, are the most productive dairy counties.
The most prolific grain counties are Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Niagara, Dutchess, Columbia, Orleans, Genesee, Cayuga, Onondaga, Wayne, Oneida, Seneca, Yates, Montgomery, Jefferson and Albany. In most of these counties, wheat is the principal grain ; in a few, oats and corn are the chief crops.
The state Agricultural Society, the county societies connected with it, and the numerous and ably conducted agricultural journals, have done much for the improvement of this department of national in- dustry, in the state. The most improved breeds of cattle, horses, sheep, and swine, have been imported ; every new implement of husbandry, which possesses real value, and every improvement in farming, is readily adopted.
Under the influence of this commendable zeal, much of that por- tion of the soil, which is naturally sterile, has been reclaimed ; the wilderness has become like a garden, and the desert been made to bud and blossom as the rose.
2. COMMERCE, In commerce, New York not only stands fore- most among the American states, but she occupies a very high posi- tion among the commercial nations of the world. New York city, her principal seaport, is second only to London in commerce, and when her vast lake and internal commerce is added to this, it will be seen that she has but few rivals in this department.
New York has an extensive trade with all the commercial states of Europe ; with Arabia, India, China, Japan, and the dependencies of each ; with the various ports on the coast of Africa and South Amer- ica; with New Holland, and the islands of the Pacific and Indian oceans; with the West Indies, and the various ports of our own country.
The internal commerce of the state is principally confined to the transportation of emigrants and their furniture; the conveyance of
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the vast amount of agricultural produce of this state, and the western states and territories, to tide water, and the return of goods for this produce. This commerce has increased, with a rapidity far beyond the expectations of the most sanguine, and is yearly increasing, at a ratio of at least ten per cent
3. MANUFACTURES. New York has not engaged so extensively in the manufacture of the fibrous fabrics, (cotton, woollen and silk goods), as Massachusetts, although the number of manufactories is great, and annually increasing. Yet, in the preparation of those arti- cles which first engage the attention of a new state, after its forests are, in a measure, cleared, and its people begin to provide for their own necessities, she stands foremost among the manufacturing states of the union.
In the manufacture of flour, whether we regard the quantity or the quality, she has no equal in the world. The manufacture of lumber is also extensive, and for some years to come will undoubtedly in- crease. The tanning and manufacturing of leather is largely carried on, in some counties of the state. Salt is made in larger quantities than in any other portion of the union, and of superior quality.
The production and manufacture of iron is becoming an important interest, yet here she must yield the palmn to Pennsylvania. Her foundries are the largest in the United States. Distilled and malt liquors are still produced in very large quantities, amounting to more than five millions of dollars per annum; the amount of these, however, is rapidly decreasing. Brick and lime kilns are very numerous. The other more important manufactures of the state, are glass, soap, candles, paper, hats, caps and bonnets, machinery, hard- ware and cutlery, carriages, wagons and sleighs, furniture, &c.
4. MINES. The only mines of importance are those of iron and lead. The ores of iron are extensively diffused throughout the state. The magnetic oxide occurs in vast beds in the counties of Essex, Clinton, Warren, and Franklin, and in some portions of St. Law- rence. This is a valuable ore, and furnishes a vast proportion of the malleable iron used in the state. The specular oxide occurs princi- pally in St. Lawrence county, and is mainly used for castings.
There are also, in Putnam and Orange counties, mines of magnetic oxide, and in several of the western counties, particularly those bor- dering on lake Ontario, are large beds of argillaceous ore, which is well adapted to castings.
The principal lead mines are those of Rossie, St. Lawrence county, and Wurtzboro', Sullivan county, but from the abundance and cheap- ness of the western ore, they cannot successfully compete with it in market Sulphurets of copper and zinc have also been discovered in considerable quantities, in St. Lawrence county, and other sec- tions, but have not been smelted to any extent
Marble, granite, sandstone, serpentine, gypsum, ochres, the limestone of which the hydraulic cement is made. and marl, are all found abundantly in the state, and applied to the purposes of the arts, of agriculture, and of architecture. The geological survey of the state has been of great service, in developing its mineral and agricultural resources.
The statistics of the agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and mines of the state, are exhibited in Tables I., II., III. and IV., at the close of this work.
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STATE OF NEW YORK.
GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK.
The Government of the state, like that of the United States, is di- vided into three departments, viz. the legislative, executive and ju- diciary.
The legislative department consists of a Senate of 32 members, and a House of Assembly of 128, the former elected for two years, the lat- ter for one.
The executive consists of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, who are the chief executive officers, and are elected by the people for a term of two years; and the Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney General, State Engineer and Surveyor, holding office for two years ; three Canal Commissioners, and three Inspec- tors of State Prisons, holding office for three years. The latter are called administrative officers.
The judiciary comprises the Supreme Court, composed of at least 32 judges, (four in each of the eight districts,) a Court of Appeals, composed of eight judges, and a County Judge for each of the coun- ties of the state, who also, (except by special enactment to the con- trary,) performs the duties of surrogate. There are also justices of the peace, and judges in other courts, not of record. These judges are all elected by the people.
Provision was made by the legislature of the state, during the ses- sion of 1846, for holding a convention, to revise the constitution of the state ; and delegates having been elected by the people, met at Albany, about the first of June, 1846, and in October ensuing, reported a revised constitution, which was adopted by the people, at the elec- tion in November of the same year.
The following is the constitution thus adopted.
CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK. Adopted November 3, 1846.
We the people of the state of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our free- dom, in order to secure its blessings, do establish this Constitution.
ARTICLE I.
Sec. 1. No member of this state shall be disfranchised, or deprived of any of the rights or privileges, secured to any citizens thereof, unless by the law of the land, or the judgment of his peers.
Sec. 2. The trial by jury, in all cases in which it has been heretofore used, shall remain inviolate forever. But a jury trial may be waived by the parties in all civil cases, in the manner to be prescribed by law.
Sec. 3. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed in this state to all mankind ; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on ac- count of his opinions on matters of religious belief ; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this state.
Scc. 4. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, un- less when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require its suspension.
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Sec. 5. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor shall cruel and unusual punishments be inflicted, nor shall witnesses be unreason- ably detained.
Scc. 6. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, (except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of militia when in actual service ; and in the land and naval forces in time of war, or which this state may keep, with consent of Congress, in time of peace ; and in cases of petit larceny, under the regulation of the legislature,) unless on presentment or indictment of a grand jury, and in any trial, in any court whatever, the party accused shall be al- lowed to appear and defend in person, and with council, as in civil actions. No person shall be subject to be twice put in jeopardy for the same offence; nor shall he be compelled, in any criminal case. to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
Sec. 7. When private property shall be taken for any public use, the compen- sation to be made therefor, when such compensation is not made by the state, shall be ascertained by a jury, or by not less than three commissioners, appointed by a court of record, as shall be prescribed by law. Private roads may be opened in the manner to be prescribed by law ; but in every case, the necessity of the road, and the amount of all damage to be sustained by the opening thereof, shall be first determined by a jury of freeholders, and such amount, together with the expenses of the proceeding, shall be paid by the person to be benefited.
Scc. 8. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right ; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech, or of the press. In all criminal prosecu- tions or indictments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury ; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libellous is true, and was published with good motives, and for justifiable ends, the party shall be ac- quitted ; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact.
Sec. 9. The assent of two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the legislature, shall be requisite to every bill appropriating the public moneys or property for local or private purposes.
Sec. 10. No law shall be passed, abridging the right of the people to assemble, and to petition the government, or any department thereof; nor shall any divorce be granted, otherwise than by due judicial proceedings ; nor shall any lottery here- after be authorized, or any sale of lottery tickets allowed, within this state.
Scc. 11. The people of this state, in their right of sovereignty, are deemed to possess the original and ultimate property in and to all lands within the jurisdic- tion of the state ; and all lands, the title to which shall fail, from a defect of heirs, shall revert, or escheat to the people.
Scc. 12. All feudal tenures, of every description, with all their incidents, are declared to be abolished, saving, however, all rents and services certain, which at any time heretofore have been lawfully created or reserved.
Sec. 13. All lands within this state are declared to be allodial, so that, subject only to the liability to escheat, the entire and absolute property is vested in the owners, according to the nature of their respective estates.
Sec. 14. No lease or grant of agricultural land, for a longer period than twelve years, hereafter made, in which shall be reserved any rent or service of any kind, shall be valid.
Sec. 15. All fines, quarter sales, or other like restraints upon alienation re- served in any grant of land, hereafter to be made, shall be void.
Sec. 16. No purchase or contract for the sale of lands in this state, made since the fourteenth day of October, one thousand and seven hundred and seven- ty-five ; or which may hereafter be made, of or with the Indians, shall be valid, unless made under the authority, and with the consent of the legislature.
Scc. 17. Such parts of the common law, and of the acts of the legislature of the colony of New York, as together did form the law of the said colony, on the nineteenth day of April, one thousand, seven hundred and seventy-five, and the resolutions of the Congress of the said colony, and of the convention of the state
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of New York, in force on the 20th day of April, one thousand, seven hundred and seventy-seven, which have not since expired, or been repealed or altered, and such acts of the legislature of this state as are now in force, shall be and con- tinue the law of this state, subject to such alterations as the legislature shall make concerning the same. But all such parts of the common law, and such of the said acts, or parts thereof as are repugnant to this Constitution, are hereby abrogated; and the legislature, at its first session after the adoption of this Con- stitution, shall appoint three commissioners, whose duty it shall be to reduce into a written and systematic code, the whole body of the law of this state, or so much and such parts thereof as to the said commissioners shall seem practicable and expedient. And the said commissioners shall specify such alterations and amendments therein as they shall deem proper, and they shall at all times make report to the legislature, when called upon to do so ; and the legislature shall pass laws, regulating the tenure of office, the filling of vacancies therein, and the com- pensation of the said commissioners; and shall also provide for the publication of the said code, prior to its being presented to the legislature for adoption.
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