USA > New York > Comley's history of the state of New York, embracing a general review of her agricultural and mineralogical resources, her manufacturing industries, trade and commerce, together with a description of her great metropolis, from its settlement by the Dutch, in 1609 > Part 7
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LIMO
72
COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
bolt is forged, and how to dive to the bottom of the ocean, and how to rise up to the sky, cities like London and Pekin dwindle to the modest proportion of a child's toy, so that we are tempted to take the nice little thing upon the nail of our thumb, as Microgemas did the man of wax.
"Though we know all this, and many things else, still, looking at the times of Baalbec, we cannot forbear to ask, ' What people of giants was that which could do what neither the puny efforts of our skill nor the ravaging hand of unrelenting time can undo through thousands of years?'
"And then I saw the dissolving picture of Nineveh, with its ramparts now cov- ered with mountains of sand, where Layard has dug up colossal winged bulls, large as a mountain, and yet carved with the nicety of a cameo; and then Babylon, with its beautiful walls; and Jerusalem, with its unequalled temples; Tyrus, with its count- less fleets; Arad, with its wharves ; and Sidon, with its labyrinth of workshops and factories ; and Ascalon, and Gaza, and Beyrout, and, farther off, Persepolis, with its world of palaces."
The first great cities of the world were built by a race of men inferior to those which now form the dominant civilization of the earth, yet there are many ruins of a mould superior, both in greatness and mechanical skill, to those which belong to the cities of our own day, as found in the marble solitudes of Palmyra and the sand- buried cities of Egypt. It is true, however, that ancient grandeur grew out of a system of idolatry and serf-labor, controlled by selfish despot or blind priesthood, which compelled useless display of greatness in most public improvements. In our age, labor is directed more to practical wisdom than of old, which creates the useful more than the ornamental : hence, we have the Crystal Palace instead of the Pyra- mids.
But, leaving the ancient cities, we are led to inquire, " Where will grow up the future great city of the world ?" At the very outset of this inquiry it is necessary to clearly comprehend a few underlying facts connected with the cities of the past and those now in existence, and note the influence of the more important arts and sciences that bear upon man's present intellectual and industrial interests, and, if possible, to determine the tendency of the world's civilization toward the unfolding future.
The first great fact we meet with is, that the inevitable tendency of man upon the earth has been to make the circuit of the globe by going westward, within an isothermal belt or zodiac of equal temperature, which encircles the earth in the north temperate zone. Within this belt has already been embraced more than three fourths of the world's civilization, and now about 950,000,000 people. It is along this belt that the processions of nations, in time, have moved forward, with reason and order, "in a predetermined, a solemn march, in which all have joined; ever moving and ever resistlessly advancing, encountering and enduring an inevitable succession of events."
It is along this axis of the isothermal temperate zone of the northern hemi- sphere that revealed civilization makes the circuit of the globe. Here the continents expand, the oceans contract. This zone contains the zodiac of empires; along its axis, at distances scarcely varying one hundred leagues, appear the great cities of the world, from Pekin in China to San Francisco in America.
"During antiquity this zodiac was narrow; it never expanded beyond the North African shore, nor beyond the Pontic Sea. the Danube, and the Rhine.
73
COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
Along this narrow belt civilization planted its system, from Oriental Asia to the western extremity of Europe, with more or less perfect development.
" Modern times have recently seen it widen to embrace the region of the Baltic Sea. In America, it starts with the broad front from Cuba to Hudson Bay. As in all previous times, it advances along a line central to these extremes, in the densest form, and with the greatest celerity. Here are the chief cities of intelligence and power, the greatest intensity of energy and progress. Science has recently very perfectly established, by observation, this axis of the isothermal temperate zone. It reveals to the world this shining fact, that along it civilization has travelled, as by an inevitable instinct of nature, since Creation's dawn. From this line has radiated intelligence of mind to the North and to the South, and toward it all people have struggled to converge. Thus, in harmony with the supreme order of nature, is the mind of man instinctively adjusted to the revolutions of the sun and tempered by its heat."
"Through the ages one increasing purpose runs, And the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the suns."
It is a noteworthy observation of Dr. Draper, in his work on the "Civil War in America," that within a zone, a few degrees wide, having for its axis the January isothermal line of forty-one degrees, all great men in Europe and Asia have appeared. He might have added, with equal truth, that within the same zone have existed all those great cities which have exerted a powerful influence upon the world's history as centres of civilization and intellectual progress. The same inex- orable but subtle law of climate which makes greatness in the individual unattain- able in a temperature hotter or colder than a certain golden mean affects in like manner, with even more certainty, the development of those concentrations of the intellect of man which we find in great cities. If the temperature is too cold, the slug- gish torpor of the intellectual and physical nature precludes the highest develop- ment; if the temperature is too hot, the fiery fickleness of nature, which warnt climates produce in the individual, is typical of the swift and tropical growth and sudden and severe decay and decline of cities exposed to the same all-powerful influence. Beyond that zone of moderate temperature the human life resembles more closely that of the animal, as it is forced to combat with extremes of cold or to submit to extremes of heat ; but within that zone the highest intellectual activity and culture are displayed. It is not, then, a fact of no little import that the very axis of this zone-the centre of equilibrium between excess of heat and cold -- the January isothermal line of forty-one degrees-passes near to the city of New York. Close to that same isothermal line lie London, Paris, Rome, Constantinople, and Pekin, Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco. Thus favored in climate, lying in the very centre of that belt of intellectual activity beyond which neither great man nor great city has yet appeared, New York may, with reason, be expected to attain the higher rank, if other conditions favor.
A second underlying fact that presents itself is, that nearly all the great cities of the world have been built upon rivers, whether in the interior or near the ocean's edge; such as Babylon on the Euphrates; Thebes, on the Nile; Nineveh, on the Tigris; Rome, on the Tiber; Paris, on the Seine; London, on the Thames; New York, on the Hudson; St. Louis, on the Mississippi; Cincinnati, on the Ohio; and Constantinople, on the Bosphorus; while Carthage, St. Petersburg, Chicago, and
74
COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
Cleveland belong to interior waters, and Palmyra and the City of Mexico to the interior country.
A third fundamental fact is, that the arts and sciences do more to develop cities and multiply population upon the seaboard, than upon interior cities. Steam- engines, labor-saving machines, books, the value and use of metals, government, the enforcement of laws and other means of self-protection all have tended more to make the people of the seaboard more numerous, powerful, and wealthy than those who dwell in the interior.
A fourth fundamental fact is, that to all modern civilization domestic transpor- tation by water and rail is more valuable to nations of large territorial extent than ocean navigation. This fact is founded not only upon the assumption that a nation's interests are of more importance to itself than to any other nation, and it hence necessarily does more business at home than abroad, but also upon the fact that the exchanges of domestic produce within this country, it is estimated, already exceed in value six thousand millions a year.
With every year, as the country advances in population and industry, its domestic exchanges gain upon its foreign.
New York, like ancient Rome, once with its 10,000,000 population, is destined to be flanked and surrounded with a galaxy or cordon of continental cities. Boston, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Jersey City, Newark, Baltimore, Washington, Albany, Troy, are a few of these satellites, that in the future are to pay tribute to this centre-taking in view the fact of their vast material resources, and these being the centre of the great fruit, agricultural, and wine belt of the continent. The people- the Teutonic and Celtic races-are the pioneer people in all the departments of human industry, politics, culture, theology. We apprehend that the most acute vision, even were that mind in harmony with the spirit of the times, and enabled through that means to look back through the dim geologic history of the past, when the economic laws were piling the iron atom by atom in these iron mountains, growing the dense flora of the coal plants, repleting the veins of lead, zinc, copper, tin, silver, and gold; and at the same time comprehend the ridge, valley, spring, prairie, timber, and river systems ; and was enabled to go back in the ethnography and heraldry of these populations, and could fuse these elements or facts in the future, and at the same time realize the grandeur of the empires of the past-the Persian, under Cyrus; the Macedonian, under Alexander the Great; the Roman, under the Republic and the twelve Cæsars-that the truth would be forced upon the mind, that in the future this great valley of the Hudson will include the centre of an empire before which, in wealth, power, and grandeur, all these shall pale ; that New York, sitting like a queen on the banks of the great Hudson, will be the central city of this people, the tidal waves of whose civilization will roll to China and Japan on the West, and to the Bosphorus on the East ; and with her continental railroad system, her telegraphis over mountains and under oceans, her vast water communications, will radiate law and order, and become the leading national and. commercial metropolis of the Western hemisphere.
75
COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
NEW YORK CITY
[THE New Amsterdam of the Dutch], the chief commercial city in the United States, and the most populous, is situated at the junction of the Hudson or North River and the extension of Long Island Sound, familiarly known as the East River. The limits of the city and county (of the same name) are identical, and include the south- ern portion of the mainland (late part of Westchester County), known as the towns of Morrisania, West Farms, and King's Bridge, together with the islands Manhattan, Blackwell, Ward, Randall, Bedloe, Ellis, and Governor's, of which the three last- named have been ceded for Federal purposes to the Government of the U. S. Its extensive and sheltered harbor, eighteen miles distant from the Atlantic Ocean at Sandy Hook, is known all over the world for its natural beauty and great com- mercial advantages. An observation taken by the distinguished astronomer, Mr. Lewis M. Rutherfurd, at his observatory, corner of Second avenue and Eleventh street, gives lat. 40° 43' 48" + 0.31" N., lon. W. 4h. 55m. 55.73s. from Greenwich. Its distance from Albany, the capital of the State, is 150 miles.
Area .- The total area of the city before the recent additions from Westchester County was 22 square miles, or 14,000 acres. The additions amount to 13,000 acres. That of Manhattan Island, the seat of population, and divided from the mainland by the Harlem River, is 22 square miles and 20,424 square yards. Of this, 8,712,000 yards are devoted to public parks. The length of the island is 133 miles; its width averages 14 miles. It is by survey divided into 141,486 lots. The outlying islands are set aside for public purposes, almshouses, penitentiaries, etc. They contain about 300 acres ; those ceded to the Government, 100 acres. By Governor Mont- gomerie's charter, Jan. 15th, 1730, the city was divided into 7 wards, which were, re- spectively, West, South, Dock, East, North, Montgomerie, and the Outward. It is now divided into 24 wards, which are designated by their numbers-1, 2, etc. The population by decennials is reported by the U. S. census as in
1790.
33,131 1840. 312,710
1800.
60,489
IS50. 515,547
ISIO.
96,373
IS60. $13,669
IS20.
123,706
1870. 942,292
IS30.
197,112
IS75.
1,046,037
Of the last statement, 426, 168 were foreign-born-262,577 British and Irish, and 170,- 143 German, the rest of other nations
Commerce .- Nearly 60 per cent of the foreign trade of the country passes through this port. Of the total imports for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1874, amounting to $595,861,248 for all the U. S., $395, 133,622 were by New York, against $200,727,626 for all other ports; of the total exports, amounting to $704,463,120 for all the U. S., $340,360,260 were by New York, against $364, 102,851 for all other ports ; the total aggregate of inward and outward .trade being for all the U. S. $1,300,324,368, of which New York had $735,493,882, and all other ports 8564, 830,477. This foreign trade was in the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1874, divided geographi- cally as follows: Imports from the American continent, $117,524,419; exports to same, $45,999-356; total American foreign trade, $163,523,775. Imports from Europe, $245,130,885 ; exports to same, $288,581,107; total European trade, $533,711,992.
76
COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
Imports from Asia, $31,275,679 ; exports to same, $4,823,683; total Asian trade, $36,099,362. Imports from Africa, $1,202,639; exports to same, $956,123; total African trade, $2,158,762. The importation of sugar at the port of New York for the same fiscal year was valued at $49,293,625 ; of molasses, at $3,066,551 ; of coffee, at $33,485,559; of tea, at $15,024,794; imports of wool, raw, 83,956,458, and manu- factured, 837,191,046 ; of silk and silk manufactures, $24,155,711 ; of manufactures of cotton, $23,709,180; of flax, $14,376,173; of iron and steel, $17,783,924. The principal exports for the same period were of cotton, valued at $41,499,597 ; of wheat and wheat flour, $77,273,214 ; of Indian corn and meal, $14,876,603 ; total breadstuffs, $91,332,669; cheese, $11,624,406; bacon and hams, $23,202,938; beef and pork, $5,366,603 ; lard and tallow, $20,319,514 ; of tobacco, $16, 117,749 ; of illuminating oils, $23.121,059. The imports of coin (larger than for some years previous, in consequence of the commercial depression of 1873), $18,401,242, and the exports $50,359,394. Of the total imports, $280, 187,426 were of duty-paying articles, and $114,946,196 of articles free of duty; of the duty-paying articles, $276,770,129 were entered for immediate consumption, and $113.351,459 were entered for warehouses. The proportion of imports in cars and vehicles was $70,039 ; of imports in American vessels, $90,131,181 ; and in foreign vessels, $304,932,402. Of the total exports, $54,436,965 were exported in American vessels, and $285,923,304 in foreign vessels.
The number of entrances of American and foreign vessels-ocean, steam, and sail-at the port of New York for the year ending June 30th, 1874, was 6723, tonning 5,049,618 tons, and handled by crews amounting in the total to 148,246 men ; of the vessels, 4290 were foreign, and 2433 American. Of ocean steam vessels there were entered 1108, tonning 2,792.367, and with crews amounting to 88,042 ; of these steam vessels, 887 were foreign, and 231 American. The most numerous entrances of ves- sels were from England, 1087, tonning 1,725,272 ; from Cuba, 1375, tonning 593,476; from Germany, 412, tonning 678,287 ; from Scotland, 197, tonning 363,797 ; and from France, 266, tonning 237,105 tons. Of the 877 entrances of foreign steam vessels, there were 3Só from England, tonning 1.275,072 tons; 168 from Germany, of 524,- 451; 129 from Scotland, of 332,339; and 33 from France, of 113,449 tons. Of the 231 entrances of American vessels, all, with one exception, were from the West Indies and South America. The registered tonnage of the custom districts of New York was 6630 vessels, of 1.318,523.34 tons, of which 558 were licensed under 20 tons. Of these there were 2810 sailing vessels, with a tonnage of 600,020,421 ; 788 steam ves- sels, tonnage 351,686.06; 546 barges, tonnage 123,535.58; 2486 canal boats, tonnage 243,281.18. The coastwise trade engaged 2742 vessels, tonning 1,774,181 tons, of which 1583 were steam vessels, with a tonnage of 1,517,481, and 1159 sailing vessels, tonning 256,700. The ship-building for the year ending June 30th, 1874, comprised 89 sailing vessels, 60 steam vessels (of which 39 were for river purposes and 21 for ocean navigation), 196 canal boats, and 51 barges-a total of 396 of all kinds, tonning 64,- 001.55 tons.
The transportation to tide-water on the canals from Western States and the in- terior of New York State amounted in the year 1874 to 3.323,112 tons, and the re- turns from tide-water to the interior to 753.98t tons. This transportation has been maintained with moderate fluctuations for many years. The arrivals of immigrants at the port were, in 1874. from all ports, 149.762, against 266,449 in 1873, 294,581 in 1872, 228,962 in 1871. and 209,788 in 1870. Of the arrivals in 1874, 41,368 were from Germany, 41,179 from Ireland, 19,822 from England, and 7723 from Russia. A new feature in American immigration is the religious movement of Mennonites, whose faith forbids their taking military service.
77
COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
DOMESTIC EXPORTS FROM THE PORT OF NEW YORK FOR THE LAST TWENTY- ONE YEARS.
Year ending June 30th.
1356
$98,763, 197
1867.
.$207,382,457
IS57.
III,029,083
IS68.
236,031,239
IS58
$3,403,564
185.384.264
1859.
97,461,576
1870
209,972.491
1860
120,630,955
I871.
285,530,775
1861
137.379,956
IS72
270,413.674
IS62.
152,377.961
1873
313,129.963
1863
221,917,975
IS74
340,360,200
1861.
211, 237,222
1875
329,201.913
I865
219,379, 873
1876
294,795.902
I866.
264,510,247 :
FOREIGN EXPORTS FROM THE PORT OF NEW YORK FOR THE LAST TWENTY- ONE YEARS.
Year ending June 30th.
1856
$6,098,602
1867.
1857.
13,360,354
IS6S ..
$15,016,273
IS58.
17,299,097
1869.
17,741 836
1859.
9,016,853
IS70.
20,339.410
I860.
17,514,689
IS71. 20,057,211
1861.
13,311,495
1872 15, 161,218
1862.
5,069,953
IS73
18,972,009
1863.
17,369,353
IS74
1.4,633.403
1864.
12,735,640
IS75.
15,502,056
1865
22,627,018
1876.
13,868,321
1866.
NoTE .- The Re-Exports of the Customs Districts for the years 1866 and 1867 were not given.
FOREIGN IMPORTS AT THE PORT OF NEW YORK FOR THE LAST TWENTY- ONE YEARS.
Year ending June 30th.
IS56.
$195.645,515
1867.
$277.409.510
1857
222,550,307 |
IS6S.
242,500,050
1858
170,280.587
1869.
295.117.0-2
IS59.
218,231,093
1870.
293,990.000
IS60. .
233,692,941
1871.
357,999.770
IS61.
189,064.817
1872.
418,515 .* 24
1862.
142,215,636
1873.
426.321.427
1863
177,254,415
IS7.1
305.133,022
1864
229,506,499
1875.
358.037.520
1865
154,139,409 |
1876.
311,712.910
1866.
302,505.719
78
COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
RECEIPTS OF DOMESTIC PRODUCE AT NEW YORK FOR THE YEAR IS76.
ARTICLES.
ARTICLES.
BREADSTUFFS :
PROVISIONS (Continued ).
Flour, bbls
3,982,707
Lard, bbls ..
2,115
Wheat, bush.
26,411,296
Lard, kegs
27,427
Corn, bush.
26,645,599
Lard, cases.
19,997
Oats, bush.
12, 165.809
Bellies, tes.
1,077
Barley, bush.
4.840,095
Bellies, bxs
2,701
Barley Malt, bush.
2.009,824
Middles, tcs.
12,075
Rye, bush.
1,753,032
Buckwheat, bush.
18,347
Hams, tcs.
30,677
Peas, bush ...
1, 177,120
Hams, bbls.
5.464
Black-Eyed Peas, bags.
5,378
Hams, bxs
49,829
Beans, bbls ..
III.253
Tongues, bbls.
12,70I
Oat Meal, bbls. and sacks.
92,999
Tongues, kegs.
57S
Corn Meal, bbls.
178,145
Shoulders, tes.
3,159
Corn Meal, sacks.
158,676
Shoulders, bxs
16,633
Buckwheat Flour, sacks.
30,389
Backs. bxs.
3,786
Hops. bales.
86,910
Butter, pkgs.
1, 289,889
NAVAL STORES :
Cheese, pkgs.
2, 178,9Są
Crude Turpentine. bbls.
3,962
Eggs, pkgs.
500,072
Spirits of Turpentine, bbls.
74.795
Tallow, hhds
11,236
Pitch, bbis ..
3,357
Tallow, tcs.
5,547
Tar, bbls.
IS, 561
Tallow, bbls
58,694
Rosin, bbls.
356,242
Tallow, casks.
4,360
Lard Oil, bbls.
11,785
Stearine, hhds.
285
Oil Cake, bags.
460,303
Stearine, tcs.
19,95I
Beeves, No.
463,671
Stearine, casks
1,077
Hogs, Live, No
1,222,657
Grease, hhds.
715
Sheep, No.
1,211,086
Grease, tcs.
12,449
Calves, No.
IIO, SIS
Grease, bbls.
IS,409
Cows, No.
4,051
Grease, casks.
1,182
PROVISIONS :
Dressed Hogs, No.
52,287
Pork, bbls
200,994
SEEDS:
Beef, tcs.
52,097
Clover and Timothy, bush.
208,497
Beef, bbls.
37,627
Flax Seed, bags.
IIO, SS5
Beef, cases.
108, 115
Whisky
51,434
Beef Hams, bbls.
10,671
High Wines
74,229
Lard, tcs.
397,245 . Alcohol.
25,784
EXPORTS OF PRODUCE FROM NEW YORK FOR THE YEAR 1876.
ARTICLES.
ARTICLES.
BREADSTUFFS :
OILS :
Bread, pkgs.
143,962
Lard Oil, gals.
100,621
Flour, Wheat, bbls
1,947,272
Residuum, gals
2,514,870
Flour, Rye, bbls
7,634
Naphtha, gals
9,018, 131
Corn Meal, bbls
174,608
Benzine, gals ..
143,973
Wheat, bush.
24,945,715
Petroleum. Crude, gals.
10,608,206
Corn, bush.
16,470,935
Petroleum, Refined, gais
123,665,776
Oats, bush.
633,616
Oil Cake, lbs.
177,005,666
Barley, bush
117,815
Oil Meal, Ibs.
2,949,320
Rye, bush.
1,412,673
PROVISIONS :
Peas, bush ..
1, 149,970
Pork, bbls
201,302
Beans, bush.
222,400
Beef. bbls.
157,844
Grass Seeds, bags
135,475
Bacon, lbs.
225,945,955
Cotton, bales.
456,862
Butter, Ibs.
14,254,615
Hops, bales.
41. 465
Cheese, Ibs
106, 191,063
NAVAL STORES :
Lard, Ibs.
155,662,971
Crude Turpentine, bbls
232
Stearine, Ibs
307,716
Spirits Turpentine, bbls.
20,564
Grease, lbs.
3,706,934
Rosin, bbls.
256,774
Tallow, lbs
60,660,315
Pitch, bbls.
6, 192
Alcohol, bbls
3,550
Tar, bbls
6,634 !
Oatmeal, bbls ...
26,724
Hams, Ibs.
LIVE STOCK :
Stearine, bbls.
3,439
Middles, bxs
386,888
79
COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
Manufactures .-- No returns of the State census of . 1875 have been officially given, showing the amount of manufactures of different kinds in the city of New York. The following are taken from the U. S. census of 1870 : there were then 7624 establishments, 1261 steam-engines, 16 water-wheels, employing 129,577 hands, at an annual outlay in wages of $63,824,049, and a capital valued at $129,952,262. The value of materials used was $178,696,939, and the annual product, $332,951,520.
Finances .- The official valuation of the property of the city for the purpose of taxation was for 1875, real, $883,643,845 ; personal, $217,300, 154; total, $1, 100,943,699. The taxes levied were, for State purposes, $8, 012,386 ; for county and city, $28, 159,- 086.23 ; for deficiencies, $196,272.52 ; total, $36,367,744.75. The total expenditures for the city government were, $32, 171,472.23; of which the principal items were, for interest on city debt, $9.300,000; for redemption of same, $1,454,763.33; Public Works, $1,582,000 ; Public Charities and Corrections, $1, 183,000 ; Police Depart- ment, $3,387,325; Fire Department, $1,316,000; Board of Education, $3,583,000 ; Asylums, etc., $825,905 ; street cleaning, $800,000.
There are 59 banks in the city of New York, with a capital, on December 31st. 1874, of $85, 166,100; a circulation of $24,977.300, and deposits to the amount of $165,918,700. These banks are associated in a clearing-house for their daily ex- changes. The transactions of this organization from October ist, 1873, to October Ist, 1874, amounted to $20,850,681,962.82. There is also a gold exchange connected with the clearing-house, the transactions of which amount to the sum of $2,226,832,- 247.89 for the year 1874. There are also 44 savings banks in New York City, with deposits amounting to $180,010,703, from 494,086 depositors. There 9 marine in- surance companies, with assets reported December 31st, 1874, as $25,035,785.62. There are 74 fire insurance companies, with assets reported December 31st, 1874, at $44,696,827.73. There are also 20 life insurance companies, with assets reported December 31st, 1874, at $189,813,949.93; these companies issued 16,197 policies in 1874, for $41,388,349, and had outstanding at the close of the year 99,737 policies for an amount of $279,811,858. The business of Brooklyn companies is not here in- cluded, nor that of companies of other States or foreign companies, either fire, ma- rine, or life, the city details of which are not reported.
City Courts .- The United States Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York has ten counties under its jurisdiction, and holds two general terms and one criminal and equity term each year. The United States District Court holds a general term monthly and a special term weekly. Both of these courts occupy rooms in the new Post-office. The courts under State law are elected under a gen- eral judiciary law, and are the Supreme Court, the Superior Court, the Court of Common Pleas, the New York Marine Court, Criminal Courts of Over and Terminer and of General Sessions. In addition there was established during the year 1874, by act of legislature, the Court of Arbitration of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, the purpose of which is to provide for legal arbitration between all parties making voluntary submission. The cases are heard by the official arbitrator alone, or aided by two other arbitrators selected by the parties in dispute. The Police Courts were remodelled in 1873. They are now under the control of eleven police justices. In the year closing October 31st, 1874, the whole number of cases recorded at special sessions for trial was 5567, of which 4869 were of males, 698 of females. Of these, 3205 were convicted, 869 acquitted, 1366 cases dismissed, 121 transferred or pending. The total number of arrests by the Police Department in 1874 was 90,030, of which 71,260 were for intoxication and disorderly conduct; for crimes of violence, 7860; commitments to the city prisons,
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