USA > New York > Geography of the state of New York. Embracing its physical features, climate, geology, mineralogy, botany, zoology, history, pursuits of the people, government, education, internal improvements &c. With statistical tables, and a separate description and map of each county > Part 12
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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
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 palm 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.
Sec. 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. Excesive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor shall cruel and unusual punishments be inflicted, nor sball witnesses be unreason- ably detained.
Sec. 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 chall 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, shak 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.
Sec. 8. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments om 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 ascent 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.
Sec. 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 beira, shall revert, or escheat to the people.
- Soc. 19. 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. AH 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.
Sec. 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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STATE OF NEW YORK.
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- Sitution, shall appoint three commissionera, whose duty it shall be to reduce into a written and systematic code, the whole body of the law of this state, or no much and such parts thereof as to the said commissioners shall seem practicable and expedient. And the maid commissioners shall specify such alterations and amendments therein as they shall deem proper, and they sball at all times make report to the legislature, when called upon to do so ; and the legislature shall pass lawa, 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.
Sec. 18. All grants of land within this state. made by the King of Great Brit- ain, or persons acting under his authority, after the fourteenth day of October, one thousand, seven hundred and seventy-five, shall be null and void ; and nothing contained in this Constitution shall affect any grante of land within this state, made by the authority of the said King or his predecessors, or shall annul any charters to bodies politic and corporate, by him or them made, before that day ; or shall affect any such grants or charters since made by this state, or by persons acting under its authority, or shall impair the obligation of any debts contracted by this state, of individuals, or bodies corporate, or any other rights of property, or any muita, ac- tions, rights of action, or other proceedings in courts of justice.
ARTICLE II.
Sec. 1. Every male citizen of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a citizen for ten days, and an inhabitant of this state one year next preceding any election, and for the last four months a resident of the county where he may offer his vote, shall be entitled to vote at such election, in the election district of which he shall at the time be a resident, and not elsewhere, for all officers that now are or hereafter may be elective by the people; but such citizen shall have been for thirty days next preceeding the election, a resident of the district from which the officer is to be chosen, for whom he offers his vote. But no man of color, unless he shall have been for three years a citizen of this state, and for one year next preceding any election shall have been seized and possesmed of a free- hold estate of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, over and above all debts and incumbrances charged thereon, and shall have been actually rated and paid & tax thereon, shall be entitled to vote at such election. And no person of color shall be subject to direct taxation unless he shall be seized and possessed of such real estate as aforesaid.
Sec. 2. Laws may be passed, excluding from the right of suffrage, all persons who have been, or may be, convicted of bribery, of larceny, or of any infamous crime ; and for depriving every person who shall make, or become directly or in- directly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the result of any election, from the right to vote at such election.
Sec. 3. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence, by reason of his presence or absence, while employed in the service of the United States; nor while engaged in the navigation of the waters of this state, or of the United States, or of the high seas; nor while a student of any seminary of learning ; nor while kept at any alms house, or other asylum, at public expense ; nor while confined in any public prison.
Sec. 4. Laws shall be made for ascertaining, by proper prooft, the citizens who shall be entitled to the right of suffrage hereby established.
Sec. 5. All elections by the citizens, shall be by ballot, except for such town officers as may by law be directed to be otherwise chosen.
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ARTICLE III.
Sec. 1. The legislative power of this state shall be vested in a Senate and Assembly.
Sec. 2. The Senate shall consist of thirty-two members, and the senators shall be chosen for two years. The Assembly shall consist of one hundred and twen- ty-eight members, who shall be annually elected.
Sec. 3. The state shall be divided into thirty-two districta, to be called senate districts, each of which shall choose one senator. The districts shall be num- bered from one to thirty-two inclusive.
District number one shall consist of the counties of Suffolk, Richmond and Queens.
District number two shall consist of the county of Kings.
Districts number three, number four, number five, and number six, shall consist of the city and county of New York; and the board of supervisors of said city and county shall, on or before the first day of May, one thousand eight bun- dred and forty-seven, divide the said city and'county into the number of senate dis- tricts to which it is entitled, as near as may be of an equal number of inhabitants, excluding aliens and persons of color, not taxed, and consisting of convenient and of contiguous territory ; and no assembly district shall be divided in the forma- tion of a senate district. The board of supervisors, when they shall have com- pleted such division, shall cause certificates thereof, stating the number and boundaries of each district, and the population thereof, to be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, and of the clerk of said city and county.
District number seven shall consist of the counties of Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland.
District number eight shall consist of the counties of Dutchess and Co- lumbia.
District number nine shall consist of the counties of Orange and Sullivan.
District number ten shall consist of the counties of Ulster and Greene.
District number eleven shall consist of the counties of Albany and Sche- nectady.
District number twelve shall consist of the county of Rensselaer.
District number thirteen shall consist of the counties of Washington and Saratoga.
District number fourteen shall consist of the counties of Warren, Essex, and Clinton.
District number fifteen shall consist of the counties of St. Lawrence and Franklin.
District number sixteen shall consist of the counties of Herkimer, Hamil- ton, Fulton, and Montgomery.
District number seventeen shall consist of the counties of Schoharie and Delaware.
District number eighteen shall consist of the counties of Otsego and Che- nango.
District number nineteen shall consist of the county of Oneida.
District number twenty shall consist of the counties of Madison and Os- wego.
District number twenty-one shall consist of the counties of Jefferson and Lewis.
District number twenty-two shall consist of the county of Onondaga.
District number twenty-three shall consist of the counties of Cortland, Broome, and Tioga.
District number twenty-four shall consist of the counties of Cayuga and Wayne.
District number twenty-five shall consist of the counties of Tompkins, Sen- eca, and Yates.
District number twenty-six shall consist of the counties of Steuben and Chemung.
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District number twenty-seven shall consist of the county of Munroe.
District number twenty-eight shall consist of the counties of Orleans, Genesce, and Niagara.
District number twenty-nine shall consist of the counties of Ontario and Livingston.
District number thirty shall consist of the counties of Allegany and Wyo- ming.
District number thirty-one shall consist of the county of Erie.
District number thirty-two shall consist of the counties of Chautauque and Cattaraugus.
Sec. 4. An enumeration of the inhabitants of the state shall be taken, un- der the direction of the legislature, in the year one thousand, eight hundred and fifty-five, and at the end of every ten years thereafter ; and the said districts sball be so altered by the legislature, at the first session after the return of every enu- meration, that each senate district shall contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants, excluding aliens, and persons of color not taxed ; and shall remain unaltered until the return of another enumeration ; and shall at all times consist of contiguous territory ; and no county shall be divided in the formation of a senate district, except such county shall be equitably entitled to two or more Benators.
Sec. 5. The members of Assembly shall be apportioned among the several counties of this state, by the legislature, as nearly as may be, according to the number of their respective inhabitants, excluding aliena, and persons of color not taxed, and shall be chosen by single districts.
The several boards of supervisors, in such counties or this state, as are now entitled to more than one member of Assebimy, shall assemble on the first Tues- day of January next, and divide their respective counties into assembly districts, equal to the number of members of Assembly to which such counties are now severally entitled by law, and shall cause to be filed in the offices of the Secretary or State, and the clerks of their respective counties, a description of such assem- bly districta, specifying the number of each district, and the population thereof, according to the last preceding state enumeration, as near as can be ascertained. Each assembly district shall contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of in- habitants, excluding aliens, and persons of color not taxed, and shall consist of convenient and contiguous territory ; but no town shall be divided in the forma- tion of assembly districta.
The legislature, at its first session, after the return of every enumeration, shaR re-apportion the members of Assembly, among the several counties of this state, in manner aforesaid, and the boards of mpervisors, in such counties as may be entitled, under such re-apportionment, to more than one member. shall assemble, at such time as the legislature making such re-apportionment shall prescribe, and divide such counties into assembly districts, in the manner herein directed ; and the apportionment and districts, so to be made, shall remain unaltered, until an- other enumeration shall be taken, under the provisions of the preceding section.
Every county, heretofore established and separately organized, except the county of Hamilton, shall always be entitled to one member of the Assembly, and no new county shall be hereafter erected, unless its population shall entitle it to a member.
The county of Hamilton shall elect with the county of Fulton, until the popu- lation of the county of Hamilton shall, according to the ratio, be entitled to a member.
Sec. 6. The members of the legislature shall receive, for their services, a sum not exceeding three dollars a day, from the commencement of the semjon; but sach pay shall not exceed, in the aggregate, three hundred dollars for per diem allowance, except in proceedings for impeachment. The limitation as to the ag- gregate compensation, shall not take effect until the year one thousand, eight hundred and forty-eight. When convened in extra semion, by the Governor, they shall receive three dollars per day. They shall also receive the sum of one dollar for every ten miles they shall travel, in going to, and returning from, their
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piece of meeting, om the most usual route. The speaker of the Assembly shall, in virtue of his office, receive an additional compensation, equal to one-third of his per diem allowance as a member.
Sec. 7. No member of the legislature shall receive any civil appointment within this state, or to the Senate of the United States, from the Governor, the Governor and Senate, or from the Legislature, during the term for which he shall have been elected ; and all such appointments, and all votes given for any such member, for any such office or appointment, shall be void.
Sec. 8. No person, being a member of Congress, or holding any judicial or military office under the United States, shall hold a seat in the legislature. And if any person shall, after his election as a member of the legislature, be elected to Congress, or appointed to any office, civil or military, under the government of the United States, his acceptance thereof shall vacate his seat.
Sec. 9. The elections of Senators and members of Assembly, pursuant to the provisions of this Constitution, shall be held on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday of November, unless otherwise directed by the legislature.
Sec. 10. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business. Each house shall determine the rules of its own proceedings, and be the judge af the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members; shall choose its own officers; and the Senate shall choose a temporary president, when the Lieu- tenant Governor shall not attend as president, or shall act as Governor.
Sec. 11. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same, except such parts as may require secrecy. The doors of each house shall be kept open, except when the public welfare shall require secrecy. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than two days.
Sec. 12. For any speech or debate, in either house of the legislature, the mem- bers shall not be questioned in any other place.
Sec. 13. Any bill may originate in either house of the legislature, and all bille . passed by one house, may be amended by the other.
Sec. 14. The enacting clause of all bills shall be, "The people of the state of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows," and no law shall be enacted except by bill.
Sec. 15. No bill shall be passed, unless by the ascent of a majority of all the members elected to each branch of the legislature, and the question upon the final passage, shall be taken immediately upon its last reading, and the year and nays entered on the journal.
Sec. 16. No private or local bill, which may be passed by the legislature, shan embrace more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title.
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