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 9
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The first city railroad was chartered in 1852, since which the system of travel by horse-cars has largely increased. There are now railroads in all the longitudinal avenues except the Fifth avenue and Broadway below Union Square, and there are also numerous transversal lines connecting the ferries of the East and North rivers. The commissioners appointed by the Mayor of the city, under the authority of the legislature, have now under advisement plans for rapid transit to the northern lim- its, now become indispensable to the growth and prosperity of the metropolis. The New York Central, Hudson River, Harlem, and New Haven Railroads have their
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COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
terminus in this city at the Grand Central Depot, and bring in and take out a large number of suburban residents who have their place of business in the city. The report of the State engineer and surveyor for 1872 gives the business of the city horse-railroads as follows : horse-car passengers carried, 134,588,871, at fares varying from five to eight cents each ; steam elevated roads, 163, 153, at a fare of ten cents. There are 23 ferries connecting New York with the west shores of the Hudson, Ho- boken, and Jersey City, Staten Island and Long Island. The boats to Brooklyn and Hoboken run every ten minutes by day, and every fifteen minutes by night ; fares, from two to four cents each passenger. The number of passengers carried in 1868, the last year of official returns, was 82,321,214. The ferries are all under city super- vision, but owing to the policy adopted a few years since of leasing this valuable franchise for terms of years, no returns supplying statistical information are now made. The natural increase would carry the number to 100,000,000 at the lowest estimate. Reviewing the car and ferry traffic, it will be seen that the centre of city travel of New York and its natural suburbs is not far removed from the City Hall Park.
Water-works .- The city is supplied with water by the Croton Water-works, the most extensive and costly in the U. S. The supply is drawn from the Croton River, a clear, pure stream of remarkable quality, in Westchester County, which is conducted to the city by an aqueduct of solid masonry 4012 miles in length, 8 feet 516 inches in height, 7 feet 5 inches wide at the widest point; and dropping 13 inches to the mile. It has a capacity of 106,000,000 gallons a day. It crosses the Harlem River on the High Bridge, a structure of granite 1450 feet long, 21 feet wide, between parapets 114 feet high; is received in two great basins in Central Park, and is dis- tributed by two reservoirs through 350 miles of pipe. These works are under the supervision of the department of public works, a bureau created under the charter in 1870. Five principal gaslight companies supply the city. The Man- hattan Company has two works, which deliver gas through about 170 miles of street- mains to 30,000 private consumers and 7000 street-lamps. The others are the New York, Metropolitan, Mutual, and the Harlem. The mains of these companies are being constantly extended as new avenues and streets are opened.
The system of sewerage is totally unworthy of a metropolitan city with unequalled opportunities for drainage, the rivers surrounding providing ample outlet for all detritus; but there has as yet been no effort to introduce the scientific plans of which Paris presents so excellent an example. The paving of the city is hardly better than the sewerage. For this, however, some excuse may be found in the severity of the winters and the long lay of snow upon the ground. Various tentative experiments have been made; cobblestones have given way to wood ; wood, in turn, after having been tried in various forms, has yielded to trap-block, which is now the favorite mode.
Markets .- The market system is absolutely disgraceful, and with hardly any exception, the buildings are rather public nuisances than public benefits. Those owned and rented by the city are 13 in number, of which Washington, Fulton, and Clinton are the most important. With a more bountiful supply of provisions of necessity and luxury than can be had in any city of the world (a remark especially true of its fish, which has developed into a separate trade under the control of a fish- mongers' corporation), there is no capital city where the market accommodations for both produce and consumer are so badly managed. The sales of food during the year (1874) for cash are reported by the efficient superintendent, Colonel De Voe, at 8130,000,000, of which Washington received $108,000,000 ; Fulton, $16,000,000 ; and Clinton, 81,500,000. Besides these for household purposes, it is estimated. by the
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COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
same competent authority, thiat 1,350,000 persons dine or lunch every business-day in the city of New York. Not less than 300,000 of these are daily visitors, who leave the city nightly for neighboring towns, and there is an average of 50,000 visitors at the hotels.
The Fire Department, formerly a volunteer organization, has at last passed into the control of a board of commissioners, with salaried employés. The modern system of steam, with engineers and officers, and telegraphic signals, has done away with this formerly prominent feature in the life of the metropolis.
The Police Department is under the control of a board of commissioners, and occupies 34 different stations, which are connected by telegraph wires, and a large, commodious head-quarters. The force numbers 2503. As a system of protec- tion, it can never be thoroughly efficient until withdrawn from the domain of politics, but it is slowly and steadily improving. Its main deficiency, as compared with the European system, is the want of efficiency in the detective force.
Post-Office .- The business of the post-office is enormous. Besides the great building, there are 20 branch stations, of which 12 are on Manhattan Island, A to L, and 8 in the newly-annexed towns of Westchester. The number of superintendents and clerks employed at the general office is 648; at stations, 86; of regular letter- carriers at the general post-office, Joo; at stations, 329; of substitutes, 30; total force, 1193. There are 7 daily deliveries by carriers, and 14 collections from 986 street Jetter-boxes. In the year 1876, the transactions of the New York Post-Office are given below :
TRANSACTIONS OF THE NEW YORK POST-OFFICE, FOR THE YEAR 1876.
The following statement exhibits the transactions of the New York Post-Office for the year 1876. Compiled by direction of Hon. Thomas L. James, Postmaster:
TRANSACTIONS OF MONEY ORDER DIVISION.
International and Domestic Orders issued $1,062.826 13
Fees on same.
12,984 45
International and Domestic Orders paid
6,068,014 74
Deposits received from Postmasters on Money Order account.
Drafts paid on Money Order letter credit's account. . 12,675,514 68
6,691,059 00
Deposited to credit Postmaster General on Money Order account
400,000 00
Postmaster's General checks
565,329 97
International Exchange account
595,320 19
Transfer to Postage account. 111,297 29
Revenue account. .. 254,032 68
International Money Orders certified to and from Europe.
3,007,999 61
Money Orders issued and paid at Stations in New York City
1,953,712 40
Expense account .. 58,052 16
Funds advanced to Stations. 100,035 00
Total
$33,556,178 30
BRITISH MONEY ORDERS EXCHANGED.
Inwards.
$397,027 75 897,457 46
Outwards.
$1,294,485 21
GERMAN MONEY ORDERS EXCHANGED.
Inwards. Outwards ..
$703,077 61 766.440$ 37
$1,469,485 98
COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
89
FOREIGN DEPARTMENT.
Letters delivered
Letter and Paper Bags.
26, SS4
Letters received ..
Letter and Paper Bags.
22,853
Suplementary Postage.
$14,386 00
REGISTRY DEPARTMENT.
Registered Packages opened.
262,533
in transit.
105,S07
66
Letters delivered. 447,582
received in Mails for distribution.
239,652
Letters registered.
175,823
Fees on same ...
$17,442 40
150,823
Stamped Envelope Packages distributed.
25,04S
Postal Card Packages distributed.
S,492
Registered Packages dispatched.
161,603
Total
1,577,363
CARRIERS' DEPARTMENT.
Registered Letters delivered by Carriers
245,444
Mail Letters delivered by Carriers
Postal Cards
10,692,544
Local Letters 66
21,036,945
Local Postal Cards delivered by Carriers
6,445,877
Newspapers delivered by Carriers.
8,892,218
Postal Cards collected by Carriers
6,671,795
Local Letters
66
15,530.932
Mail Letters
30,614,504
Newspapers
5.584,362
Postal Cards deposited in Stations.
6,356,149
Local Letters 66
14,482,009
Mail Letters
31,955,097
Newspapers
15,150,761
Letters registered at Stations.
55.596
Money Orders issued at Stations
46,460
Amount received for the same.
$867,209 76
Money Orders paid at Stations. 50,712
Amount paid for the same. .
$702,839 55
Amount of Envelopes, Stamps, etc., sold at Stations,.
$516,201 85
Postage on Local matter.
$1,009,651 43
AVERAGE QUANTITIES OF MAIL MATTER DISPOSED OF IN ONE DAY DURING THE YEAR IS76.
LETTER MAILS.
Letters,
Received in Mails. .
Average weight of Pouch without contents, 7 lbs.
Whole number of Pouches dispatched for 426 Post-Offices and 95 Routes
. .
PAPER MAILS.
Average number of Sacks received for distribution, 1620, at average weight of 70 lbs. ..
Weight of Sack without contents, 38 ozs.
Whole number of Sacks dispatched for 322 Post-Offices and 133 Routes. ..
Number of Sacks of 2d class matter distributed. ..
Number of Sacks of 3d class matter distributed. ..
Number.
Drop Letters for other offices, @ $ 07.
272,974
20,236
Total 293,210
12
37,359,372
Postage Stamp Packages registered .
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COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
FOREIGN MATTER. Received per Steamers.
Average number of Letters. 18,150
Contained in Bags ... : . .
Average number of Bags of Paper Matter.
Total
Dispatched per Steamers.
Average number of Letters. 19,264
Contained in Bags
..
Average number of Bags of Paper Matter.
. .
Total
LOCAL MATTER, LETTERS.
Carrier Delivery.
Mail Letters and Postal Cards.
153,520
Drop Letters
67,021
Total.
Lock- Box Delivery.
Mail Letters
85,073
Drop Letters
42,856
Total
127,929
RECAPITULATION.
Domestic Matter. .
293,210
Foreign Matter inward.
18,150
Totals of Matter dispatched over inland Routes.
311,360
Foreign Matter outward.
19,264
Letters,
Weight,
Number.
Pounds.
Carriers' Delivery
220,541
6,892
Lock-Box
127,929
3,996
348,470
Total 679,094 Totals for the year 1876. 254,473,840
History .- Immediately after the discovery of Hudson in 1609, the Dutch under- took the occupation and settlement of Manhattan Island, and in 1614 erected a fort and trading-house at the south-western extremity of the island, to which they gave the name of New Amsterdam. In 1614, an expedition from South Virginia, dispatched by Sir Thomas Dale, took possession of the infant colony, which then consisted of four houses outside the fort; but an amicable settlement was soon made between the respective governments, and the Dutch remained in possession of the Island and neighboring country. In 1652, the city of New Amsterdamn was incor- porated. In 1656, it had increased to 1000 inhabitants and 120 houses; in 1677, it contained 368 houses. The city remained under the peaceful rule of the Dutch for about a half-century, when Charles II. coming to the English throne, the territory occupied by the Dutch was granted by royal charter to his brother, the Duke of York, March 12th, 1664, and an English fleet took unopposed possession in August of the same year. Colonels Nicoll and Lovelace ruled the settlement for ten years in the name of the duke, and the name of the city was changed in his honor, to New York.
18,150
19,264
220,541
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COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
In August, 1673, a Dutch fleet recaptured the city, which it held in the name of the States-General of Holland, and changed the name again to New Orange, in compliment to the Prince of Orange. It was again restored to English rule by treaty in 1674. and resumed its name. In 1686, the municipal rights of the free city were confirmed and enlarged to cover all vacant land on Manhattan Island to low-water mark, by charter from Gov. Dongan. In 1708, certain ancient rights of ferry were also con- firmed by new charter from Gov. Cornbury, but the charter upon the foundation of which, as Chancellor Kent remarks, the city of New York is at present governed, was that of 1730, as granted by Governor Montgomeric. This charter recites the former charters, confirms the privileges of the city, and defines the water-boundary as ex- tending to low-water mark on the opposite shores of Long Island and New Jersey. This claim of New York gave occasion to long litigation with the State of New Jersey, until the boundary-line was happily settled by commissioners mutually ap- pointed by the each State in 1833. This settlement leaves the exclusive jurisdiction of the waters to the State, and consequently to the city of New York, while the right to the land under water and the wharves which may be built thereon, on the Jersey shore, is vested in New Jersey, subject only to the quarantine and health laws of the city. An act of confirmation was passed by the assembly October 14th, 1732. Under these royal charters the mayor, sheriff, recorder, and other officers were appointed by the governor of the colony. This mode of appointment contin- ued until the Revolution, when the power of appointment was, by the constitution of 1777, vested in the governor and council until otherwise ordered by the legislature. Under the amended constitution of 1821, the mayor was directed to be appointed annually by the common council, and the other officers to be chosen triennially by the electors of the city. This mode continued until the act of March 3d. 1834, direct- ed that the mayor be annually chosen by the electors of the city. In 1849, impor- tant alterations were made in the creation of executive departments, the chief officers of which to be elected by the people. The police department, however, was con- tinued, the mayor being designated as its head, but a bureau established under the control of a chief of police. In 1852, a further amendment instituted a board of 60 councilmen, to be chosen from 60 districts of the city, in place of the board of assistant aldermen of the wards. In 1857, a further radical change was made. The act of this year repealed all the amendments of 1830, 1849, 1851, 1853, only continuing in force the ancient Dongan and Montgomerie charters. The amended charter divided the city into seventeen aldermanic districts, from each of which an alderman was to be chosen, to serve two years; the board of council to be composed of six members elected annually from each of the senatorial districts of the city ; the mayor, comptroller, and counsel to the corporation to be elected by the people, the mayor for two, the counsel for three, the comptroller for four years, all three removable by the governor for cause; and the heads of departments were made removable by the board of aldermen without consent of the mayor. The powers of the street department were increased, and a number of executive departments abolished. This act, restricting the powers of the mayor, was resisted by him as unconstitutional, and popular disturbances ensued. . The same legislature had placed the police force of the city and the neighboring counties under a metropolitan com- mission. The forces met in violent struggle; resort was finally had to the Court of Appeals, which fully sustained the constitutionality of the new charter. By an amendment passed in 1863, the term of office of the several heads of deparunents was extended to four years. The board of councilmen was abolished after 1869. On April 5th, 1870, further and thoroughly radical changes took place, the city gov-
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COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
ernment being essentially withdrawn from any control of the State authorities, and the executive power vested in a mayor and eleven departments, the mayor to be elected for two years, heads of departments to be appointed by the mayor. The police was withdrawn from the metropolitan commission, and became one of the new departments. Earnest protest had been made against the passage of the charter of 1870, but few alterations were consented to, a few modifications only being made by the act of April 18th, 1871, with regard to the school officers and Central Park commission. The abuses and reckless expenditure which followed this change in municipal rule became so enormous and flagrant that there was a great reaction in public opinion. The amendment again reorganizing the local government was passed June 13th, 1873, and is now in force. It abolished the board of assistant alder- men, constituted a new common council of twenty-one aldermen, to be elected at the general State electiou the next year ; three members to be elected in each senatorial district; six alderman at large, to hold office for one year ; and the mayor to be elected for two years.
In reviewing these changes in the form of administration of the city government, it is interesting to notice the tentative process by which a solution has been diligently sought for the problem of a city government where a population is subject to such increase -- a population at once uneducated and unaccustomed to self-government. And it is not too much to say that only with a constitution and manners as free and liberal as those which prevail in the State of New York, could the principle of universal suffrage have endured the severity of the strain. The most important events in the history of the city since the English occupation have been the usurpa- tion of the government by Leisler in 1689, and his trial and execution by Gov. Sloughter in 1691. The same year the laws of the Duke of York and provincial laws were framed. The first assembly met in the city April 9th. In 1696, the first Trinity Church was built. In 1712, the negroes rose in insurrection, set fire to the city, and killed several persons; nineteen of the negroes were subsequently exe- cuted. (See First Negro Plot.) In 1725, Bradford established the New York Gazette. In 1729, a city library was founded; in 1740 the New York Society Library was organized. In 1741, the famous delusion known as the "Negro Plot " occurred ; the city was in the greatest consternation, and a large number of negroes were exe- cuted, and together with them a Catholic priest : when reason was asserted itself, no real grounds could be discovered for any alarm. In 1750, a theatre was established. In 1754, King's (now Columbia) College was chartered. In May, 1763, the Sandy Hook lighthouse was first lighted. In 1765, the famous Congress known as the Stamp Act Congress, met in the city; delegates were present, and grievances were adopted. The Sons of Liberty were organized, with affiliations throughout the colonies. The Stamp Act was burned, and an agreement not to iniport goods from Great Britain until the repeal of the obnoxious act signed by a large concourse of merchants. On the Ist of November, amid great excitement, the effigies of Gov. Colden and the devil holding the Stamp Act were burned on the Bowling Green. On the 5th, the excitement continuing, and the citizens threatening to storm the fort and seize the stamps, the paper was delivered by the governor to the mayor, John Cruger, and taken to the city hall for safe keeping.
On May 20th, 1766, the news of the repeal of the act reached the city, and the assembly was petitioned to erect a statue to William Pitt. In 1768, the Chamber of Commerce was organized at the Queen's Head Tavern, kept by Bolton & Sigel-a building better known later as Frances' Tavern, and which is still standing at the corner of Pearl and Broad streets, and now called Washington's Headquarters, this
93
COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
being the spot where he bade adieu to his officers at the close of the Revolution, On May 14th, 1770, a statue to William Pitt was erected in Wall street at the intersec- tion of William, then Smith street. On April 18th, 1774, the Nancy arrived with a cargo of tea ; the vessel was not permitted to land her cargo, nor to make entry at the Custom-House. News reached the city of the closing of the port of Boston in May, 1774; a committee of correspondence was organized. The non-importation agreement was again proposed, but declined, and a " Congress of the Colonies" insisted upon by the merchants. To their persistent adherence to this scheme the first Congress was mainly due. In the same month, strong resolutions of resistance were adopted by a great meeting on the Common, now the Park. The colonial assembly finally adjourned April 3d, 1775. Delegates were elected to the Continen- tal Congress, July 25th, same year. On August 22d, Congress having ordered the withdrawal of cannon to the interior, the Asia, man-of-war, fired upon the city. In January, 1776, a detachment of militia took possession of the city, and in the spring the American army followed. On the Sth of July, the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed, and read to the army. On the 26th of August, after the battle of Long Island, the city fell into the hands of the British. On the 21st of September, a destructive fire consumed an eighth of the city, destroying 492 houses. On November 25th, 1783, the British evacuated the city, and Gen. Washington entered at the head of the American army. In January, 1785, Congress removed from Phil- adelphia to New York, and met in the City Hall, corner of Wall and Nassau streets, now the site of the United States Sub-treasury. The Bank of New York was organ- ized this year, and a manumission society was established. On July 26th, 1788, the new Constitution of the United States was adopted by the legislature, and cele- brated by a grand procession. On April 30th, 1789. Gen. Washington was inaugu- rated President of the United States, on the gallery in front of the old City Hall, facing Broad street. On December 4th, the adoption of the new Federal Constitu- tion was ratified by an immense procession, in which all the professions and trades were represented. In 1792, the Tontine Coffee-House was built ; June ist, 1795, the Park Theatre was erected. In 1799, the Manhattan Company was chartered to supply the city with water ; the Bronx River was proposed as the source of supply. and was surveyed. In 1801, the total valuation of the real and personal estate of the city and county was $21,964,037, and a tax laid of one mill on the dollar. In 1834. hackney coaches were first licensed. July 1th, of this year, Alexander Hamilton fell in a duel with Aaron Burr. In 1805, the winter was one of intense severity. This year the New York Free School was incorporated, and also the Tammany Society or Columbian Order. In 1866, steam navigation was first successfully inaugurated on the Hudson River, by Robert Fulton. In 1867, the city was sur- veyed and laid out by a commission of the legislature, consisting of Gouverneur Morris, De Witt Clinton, and others. Their plan has been substantially adhered to. with the exception of the late new improvements. In June, 1812, on the declaration of war against Great Britain, a large number of privateers left the city, and became the terror of British traders till the peace. This year the first steam-ferry was established to Jersey City. On August 31st, 1814, the scarcity of specie and the drain upon the banks brought about a suspension of specie payments, which lasted till July, 1817. On February 12th, 1815, the first news of the treaty of peace was received at New York with enthusiasm. In 1824, the House of Refuge for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents, was established, and a building erected by private subscription. This was the beginning of a new order of correction of the vices of the young. On August 15th, 1824, Gen, La Fayette arrived in the city, and
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COMLEY'S HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
was welcomed with great rejoicings as the guest of the city and nation. The quintal of roo instead of 112 pounds was voluntarily adopted by the merchants as the new measure for purchase and sale after January Ist, 1825. Gas was first introduced in this year, and mains laid in Broadway. On October 26th, 1826, the sound of cannon, commencing at Buffalo, and repeated from point to point, announced the completion of the Erie Canal, and the final union of the lakes with the Atlantic- the presage of the coming power and wealth of the city as the great gateway be- tween the Western and Eastern hemispheres. On November 11th, the arrival of the first canal-boat was the occasion of a grand aquatic and civic pageant, in which the " commingling of the waters" was typically illustrated by the pouring, by Gov. Clinton, the father of the canal, of a keg of fresh water of Lake Erie into the Atlan- tic Ocean at the Narrows. In 1832, the Asiatic cholera ravaged the city. Hardly had its effects been recovered from when the city was prostrated, December 16th, 1835, by a terrible and disastrous conflagration, which raged three days, and des- troyed more than 600 buildings, and property to the value of over $20,000,000. Close upon this calamity followed the commercial distress and financial panic of 1836-37, which spread over the whole country, and swept countless prosperous firms out of existence. The banks suspended specie payments under authority of the legislature, and resumption was only effected with great difficulty in 1839. The Croton Aqueduct was completed in 1842, and the health and comfort of the city assured by the colossal and beneficent monument of the enterprise and foresight of the citizens. In the year 1844 began the enormous immigration -- first from Ireland, in consequence of the famine, and, later, from other parts of the continent, conse- quent on political disturbance-a movement which, mainly passing through New York, has greatly added to her wealth and population. On July 19th, 1845, another disastrous fire destroyed several million dollars' worth of property. In 1849, a dis- turbance, known as the Astor Place Riot, springing from a quarrel between theatrical partisans, cost the lives of several citizens, and was only suppressed by the interference of the militia. In the month of December, 1851, Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot, received an enthusiastic public welcome. On July 14th, 1853, an exhibition of the industry of all nations was opened in a building of extreme beauty, of iron and glass, on Reservoir Square. The building was soon after destroyed by fire. On July 2d, 1855, the Central Park was selected by the commis- sioners appointed by the supreme court. (See Central Park.) In the summer of IS57, a financial crisis swept over the commercial world of both hemispheres. The business of the city was prostrated, the banks suspended specie payments, all enter- prises were stopped, and the working classes thrown into a state of destitution, to which a severe winter soon added fresh terrors. Relief was provided by the muni- cipal authorities, by labor on public works, and distribution of food. In August, 1858, the successful laying of the Atlantic cable was announced, and, on September ist, was celebrated by a holiday and a grand public demonstration.
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