USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 13
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pence per gill ; French wines, fifteen pence per quart, rum, threepence per gill ; cider, fourpence per quart ; beer, threepence per quart ; and mum, sixpence per quart. If an Indian was seen drunk in the street, the tavern- keeper from whom he had obtained the liquor was fined ; if the latter could not be found, the whole street was forced to pay the penalty. No grain was suffered to be distilled, unless unfit for flour. Two years after, the excise on liquors was removed, and all were permitted to buy or sell in quantities exceeding a gallon.
All owners of vacant lots or ruinous buildings, were directed at once to build upon or improve them under penalty of seeing them sold at public auction. The tan- pits in Broad street were declared a nuisance, and the tanners ordered to remove beyond the limits of the city. They established themselves along Maiden Lane, which was then a marshy valley. A company of four shoe- makers, who were also their own tanners, purchased a tract of land bounded by Maiden Lane, Broadway, Ann street, and a line between William and Gold streets, and set up their business there. Henceforth this became known as "the Shoemaker's Land ;" and later, in 1696, when Maiden Lane was regulated, and the land surveyed and divided into town lots, it still retained its original title. The tanners were eventually driven from their locality, and forced to take refuge in the "Swamp," in the vicinity of Ferry street, of which more hereafter.
Other improvements, too, were made in Broad street. This, which had originally been a little rivulet, conveying the water from the marshes above Beaver street to the river, was lined with planks and converted into an open
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sewer. The upper part of this drain was called the Prince graft ; the lower part, the Heere graft. The fol- lowing year, a new dock was built, property-holders being taxed for the expense, at one and a half per cent a pound. Three hundred and one names are found on the list of the tax collector ; one-third of which are Eng- lish, four French, and the remainder Dutch.
Slaughter-houses were ordered to be removed from the city and to be built over the water at the Smith's Fly, near the "Rondeel" or Half-Moon fort at the foot of Wall street. Permission was given to all the inhabitants to cut wood anywhere on the island a mile distant from a habitation. A weekly market was instituted, to be held every Saturday in the market-house, at the foot of Broad street. A yearly fair for cattle, grain and pro- duce was also established, to be held at Breuckelen near the ferry on the first Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in November ; and on the Thursday, Friday and Satur- day following, on the plain before the fort. For the better provision of supplies, all persons were exempted from arrest for debt while in attendance at these fairs.
In 1677, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, son of the well known Oloffe Stevensen Van Cortlandt, and the first native-born mayor of the city, was appointed to the mayoralty. Mr. Cortlandt, though still young, being but thirty-four years of age when he attained to this position, was already a prominent man in the city. He became still more so in subsequent events, and we shall meet him again in the affair of Leisler. He was a merchant and large property-holder, owning the well known " Clover Waytie," south of Maiden Lane, a large farm near the
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Fresh Water Pond, and a piece of land in the vicinity of the present Cortlandt street, which thus obtained its name, with a frontage of two hundred and fifty feet on Broadway and extending quite down to the river shore ; besides large tracts of land on the shores of the North River. He died in the year 1701, leaving a large family, the descendants of which are still to be found in the city.
During this year, seven public wells were constructed in the city. These were built in the middle of the streets, and were especially designed for security against fires. Water was generally scarce and bad. An occasional spring of sweet water was found ; the best was in the vicinity of the present corner of Chatham and Pearl streets, but the march of civilization had not as yet extended so far. Many years after, the citizens learned to appreciate its virtues, and christened it "the Tea " Water Pump."
The following year, François Rombouts was appointed mayor. Mayor Rombouts was a Frenchman by birth ; a naturalized burgher, and a considerable merchant of the city, who had for several years been a prominent poli- tician. His house was near the corner of Broadway and Rector street, on the site of the present Trinity Church, surrounded by extensive grounds extending down to the river shore. He held the office of mayor but for one year, though he continued to take an active part in poli- tics until the time of his death, in 1691. He left one daughter, who afterwards married Roger Brett, a mer- chant of the city.
During the brief administration of Mayor Rombouts, the citizens received a boon from the governor which, in
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a few years, trebled their wealth, and laid the founda- tion of the fortunes of New York. A considerable part of the country was now under cultivation, and flour was becoming an important article of trade. To secure the advantages of this commerce to the citizens, Andros granted them a monopoly of the bolting of flour, together with the exclusive right of exporting it out of the province, and forbade all other towns to engage in the trade under penalty of the forfeiture of the articles. This act excited the greatest indignation among the inland towns, who used every effort to procure its repeal. This they effected in 1694, six years after its enactment, but, during that time, the exports and imports of the city had increased from two to more than six thousand pounds sterling per annum, the shipping had increased from three ships to sixty, and more than six hundred new houses had been erected in the city. Lands increased to ten times their former value, and a fever for speculation broke out among the inhabitants, who vainly endeavored to prevent the repeal of this "bolting "act," which brought them such golden fruit at the expense of their neighbors. During Rombout's admin- istration, the shipping of the city consisted of three ships, eight sloops, and seven small coasting vessels. In the same year an Admiralty Court was first established in the province.
A curious law respecting the Indians is found upon the records of 1778. Hitherto, the Indians had been free, with the exception of a few slaves that had been brought into the province from the Massachusetts Bay colony. It was now enacted that all Indians who should come or be
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Dutch Cottage in Beaver Street, in 1679.
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brought into the province for the next six months, should be sold for the benefit of the government. A lack of negro slaves was probably the cause of the enactment of this ordinance. The slave trade had long been regarded as a legitimate branch of commerce, and there was scarcely a household in the city that was not pro- vided with from one to a dozen negroes ; yet the demand increased with the increase of the settlement, and the supply was found to be insufficient. Strict laws were enacted to keep this brute force within due bounds ; negroes were forbidden to assemble together without special permission ; to leave their masters' houses after nightfall, or to go beyond the city gates without a pass ; yet all these precautions proved unavailing to prevent the terrible catastrophe in which the system of slavery culminated in 1741.
In 1680, Captain William Dyre, an Englishman who had taken up his residence in the city soon after the acces- sion of the English government, was appointed mayor. He had been the commander of a naval force dispatched in 1642 by Rhode Island for the reduction of Fort Good Hope-a fact which did not increase his popularity among his adopted citizens. He also held the office of collector of customs-an office especially odious to the people.
Andros, meanwhile, had been compelled to repair to England to answer charges brought against him by Fenwick and Carteret, the proprietors of the Jerseys, who accused him of having interfered with their privi- leges. He set sail for Europe in 1680, intrusting the government to Anthony Brockholst. The discontent of the people increased daily ; they grumbled at the heavy
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taxes which were arbitrarily imposed on them, and even went so far as to accuse Dyre of levying them without authority. On this charge, he was indicted by the grand jury as a traitor, and was ordered to be tried by a spe- cial court. He pleaded that he had acted under the duke's commission, and, as this could not be gainsayed, he was sent to England for trial, and the port was left without a collector. The complaint was dismissed for want of evidence, none of the citizens having seen fit to appear as accusers ; but they had accomplished their object in getting rid of the officer. Meanwhile, for a few months, the port remained free. Cornelius Steen- wyck succeeded to the mayoralty. A census of the city was taken this year, and it was found to contain two hun- dred and seven houses, and two thousand inhabitants.
Andros soon returned, cleared from the charges of his enemies, with instructions to continue the system of tax- ation which weighed so heavily upon the citizens. But the resistance of the people, who went so far as to ques- tion the supreme authority of the Duke of York, joined with the remonstrances of William Penn, at length induced the royal duke to bate something of his preten- sions ; and in 1683, Andros was recalled, and Colonel Thomas Dongan appointed in his stead, with instructions to call a popular assembly.
Despite his sycophancy to the Duke of York, Andros seems to have really had the interests of the province at heart, and to have made the best of existing circum- stances. He remonstrated with his royal master against the commands which he executed with fidelity, and he certainly enacted a different rôle in New York from that
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which he afterwards played in New England. But the people, who only saw the power nearest them, were dis- posed to impute to him much of the blame which belonged in truth to the Duke of York, and they gladly received the news of his recall. The fidelity of Andros was not forgotten ; on the accession of the Duke of York to the throne in 1685, he was knighted and appointed royal governor of the colonies of New England ; a posi- tion which soon involved him in inextricable difficulties.
Governor Dongan reached New York on the 25th of April, 1683. He was of the Roman Catholic faith ; a fact which rendered him at first obnoxious to many ; but his firm and judicious policy, his steadfast integrity, and his pleasing and courteous address, soon won the affections of the people, and made him one of the most popular of the royal governors. In accordance with the instruc- tions of his superiors, his first act after his arrival was to call a general assembly of the people. This long hoped- for concession was hailed with delight. On the 17th of October, 1683, the first Assembly, consisting of the governor, ten councillors, and seventeen representatives elected by the people, convened in the city of New York. This point gained, the contest continued, and New York, the legislative capital of the province, was henceforth the scene of bitter contention between the Assembly and the royal governors. The first act of this body was to frame a Charter of Liberties-the first popular charter of the province. This Charter of Liberties ordained "that 'supreme legislative power should forever reside in the "governor, council and people, met in General Assem- "bly ; that every freeholder and freeman might vote for
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"representatives without restraint; that no freeman " should suffer but by judgment of his peers, and that all " trials should be by a jury of twelve men ; that no tax " should be assessed on any pretence whatever, but by " the consent of the Assembly ; that no seaman or soldier "should be quartered on the inhabitants against their " will ; that no martial law should exist; and that no "person professing faith in God, by Jesus Christ, should "at any time be in any way disquieted or questioned for " any difference of opinion in matters of religion."
The assemblies were to be held at least triennially ; New York sending four representatives ; Suffolk, two ; Kings, two ; Queens, two ; Richmond, two ; Westches- ter, two ; Albany, two ; Schenectady, one ; Dukes county, two, and Cornwall, two ; the number to be increased at the pleasure of the Duke of York. Twenty-seven was the maximum number down to the period of the Revo- lution. These representatives were free to appoint their own time of meeting and of adjournment, and were the sole judges of the qualifications of their own members. In case of vacancy in the Assembly, the governor was to issue summons for a new election. Bills passed by this body were submitted to the governor for concur- rence, and laws were repealed by the authority that made them, with the consent of the Duke of York. One of the first acts of the Assembly was the division of the province into twelve counties-New York, Richmond, Kings, Queens, Suffolk, Orange, Ulster, Albany, West- chester, Duchess, Dukes and Cornwall. The two latter were presently dropped from the list, and ceded to other governments.
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New police regulations were at once established. Sun- day laws were enacted ; tavern-keepers were forbidden to sell liquor except to travellers, citizens to work, child- ren to play in the streets, and Indians and negroes to assemble on the Sabbath. Twenty cartmen were licensed by the municipal authorities, on condition that they should repair the highways gratis whenever called on by the mayor, and cart the dirt from the streets, which the inhabitants were required to sweep together every Sat- urday afternoon beyond the precincts of the city. The rate of cartage was fixed at three pence per load to any place within the bounds of the city; beyond which, the price was doubled. The cartmen, however, soon proved refractory, and a few weeks after, the license system was abandoned, and all persons, with the exception of slaves, were allowed to act as cartmen.
On the 8th of December, 1683, the city was divided into six wards. The First or South Ward, beginning at the river, extended along the west side of Broad to Beaver street ; thence westward along Beaver street to the Bowling Green ; thence southward by the fort to Pearl street ; and thence westward along the river shore to the place of starting. The Second or Dock Ward, also beginning at the river at the southeast corner of Pearl and Broad streets, extended along the shore to Hanover Square ; thence northward though William to Beaver street ; thence along Beaver to Broad street; thence back through Broad to the river shore. The Third or East Ward formed a sort of triangle, beginning at the corner of Pearl and Hanover Square, and extending along the shore to the Half Moon fort, at the foot of Wall street ;
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thence stretching along Wall to the corner of William, and thence returning along the east side of William to the river. The Fourth or North Ward, beginning at the northwest corner of William and Beaver streets, extended through the former to the corner of Wall ; thence west- erly along the palisades to a line a little beyond Nassau street ; thence southerly to Beaver street ; thence easterly along Beaver to the first-named point. The Fifth or West Ward, beginning at the junction of the Fourth Ward with Beaver street, extended northerly along the boundary line of the latter to Wall street ; thence along the palisades to Broadway ; thence southerly to Beaver street ; thence easterly to the point of starting. The Sixth or Out Ward comprised all the farms and plantations outside the city walls, including the town of Harlem. Each of these wards was authorized to elect an alderman and council- man annually to represent them in the city government. The governor and council retained the appointment of the mayor in their own hands ; it was not, indeed, until long after the Revolution that this office was made elec- tive by the people.
The following year, a monopoly of packing flour and making bread for exportation was granted to the citizens in addition to the previous " bolting act." At this time, there were twenty-four bakers in the province. These were divided into six classes ; a class being appointed for each secular day of the week. The weight and price of loaves was also regulated ; a white loaf weighing twelve ounces being valued at six stuyvers in wampum. This year, for the first time, the citizens elected their aldermen and councilmen. · Gabriel Minvielle, a mer- chant of French origin, who had emigrated to the pro-
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vince in 1669, was appointed mayor. He held the office but one year ; though he afterwards mingled largely in politics, and took an active part with the aristocratic faction in the affair of Leisler. He died in 1702, leaving no children.
In 1685, the Duke of York succeeded to the throne under the title of James II., and New York became a royal province. His accession was marked by renewed oppressions. In his new instructions to Dongan, he au- thorized him, with his council, to resume the power of enacting laws and imposing taxes ; and also directed him on no account to suffer printing-presses to be established in the colony. He also urged Dongan to favor the intro- duction of the Roman Catholic religion into the pro- vince ; a course of policy which the governor, himself a Catholic, was reluctant to adopt. The French in the Canadas were using every effort to gain over the Iro- quois through the influence of Jesuitical missionaries, and the clear-sighted Dongan saw that it was necessary to counteract this influence to preserve the province to the English government. This conduct displeased James, who was more of a churchman than a statesman, and paved the way for Dongan's speedy recall.
On the 6th of August, 1685, the Assembly was dis- solved by proclamation of the governor, and no other was summoned during the reign of James. Nicholas Bayard was chosen mayor for this year. Bayard was of Holland origin, and was cousin of Judith Bayard, the wife of Petrus Stuyvesant. Few men in the province led a more eventful life. Entering early into politics as well as into mercantile life, he amassed a fortune, and, at
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the same time, became one of the prominent men of the · city. In the stirring times of the Leisler Rebellion, he took sides with the aristocratic faction, was imprisoned, tried, convicted of treason and sentenced to death by the Leislerians ; then released and promoted to high honors on the elevation of his own party to power. He owned large tracts of land in various parts of the city, among which was the well known "Bayard Farm," lying on the west side of the Bowery above Canal street. He died in 1711, leaving an only son who inherited his large estates.
A disposition was manifested during this year towards the persecution of the Jews, which was subsequently carried much further. The clause in the charter, grant- ing tolerance to all who worshipped God through Jesus Christ, was construed to exclude the Hebrew race, and the Jews were forbidden to exercise their religion. They were also prohibited from selling goods at retail, but were permitted to continue the wholesale trade.
A public chimney-sweeper was appointed for the city, who was to cry his approach through the public streets, and who probably originated the whoop peculiar to his vocation. His rates were fixed by law at a shilling and eighteen pence per chimney, according to the height of the house. A part of the slaughter-house over the Smits's Vly was converted into a powder-magazine, its
distance from the city rendering it a safe place of deposit for the explosive material, and Garret Johnson, the proprietor of the establishment, was constituted the keeper. Markets were ordered to be held three times a week, though fish, poultry, butter, fruits and vegetables
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were permitted to be sold daily. A haven master was appointed to look after the shipping and collect the bills, and surveyors were named to regulate the buildings and preserve the uniformity of the streets.
In 1686, the Dongan Charter was granted to the city. This instrument, which still forms the basis of the muni- cipal rights and privileges of New York, confirmed the franchises before enjoyed by the corporation, and placed the city government on a definite footing. The governor retained the appointment of the mayor, recorder, sheriff, coroner, high constable, town clerk, and clerk of the market in his own hands ; leaving the aldermen, assist- ants, and petty constables to be chosen by the people at the annual election on St. Michael's Day. As this char- ter is given at length in the Appendix, we shall not recapitulate its provisions here, but refer the reader to the document itself for further information .*
In the same year, the city received a new seal from
SIGILL
VIT
City Seal of 1686.
* See Appendix, Note A.
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the home government. This still preserved the beaver of the Dutch, with the addition of a flour-barrel and the arms of a windmill in token of the prevailing commerce of the city. The whole was supported by two Indian chiefs, and encircled with a wreath of laurel, with the motto, SIGILLUM CIVITATIS NOVI EBORACI.
In 1687, Stephanus Van Cortlandt was again appointed mayor. During his mayoralty, it was determined to enlarge the city by building a new street in the river along the line of Water street, between Whitehall and Old Slip, and water lots were sold by the corporation on condition that the purchasers should make the street towards the water, and protect it by a substantial wharf from the washing of the tide, in imitation of the Waal or sheet pile street, extending along the line of Pearl street, from Broad to William streets in front of the City Hall. It was not, however, until some years after, that this scheme was carried into effect, and the projected street rescued from the waters.
Measures were also taken to enlarge the city still fur- ther by placing the fortifications further out, and laying out Wall street thirty-six feet wide. The fortifications, indeed, were now worse than useless. The palisades which had been erected in 1653 along the line of Wall street had fallen down, the works were in ruins, the guns had disappeared from the artillery-mounts, and the ditches and stockades were in a ruinous condition. Their immediate removal was determined on and ordered, but was delayed by the revolution which followed soon after. When war broke out between France and England in 1693, they were again repaired to be in readiness for the
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expected French invasion, and it was not until 1699 that their demolition was finally accomplished. Wall street, however, was laid out immediately, and it was not long before it became one of the most important thorough- fares in the city. During the same year, a valuation was made of the city property, which was estimated on the assessor's books at £78,231.
In the meantime, Indian affairs had claimed the atten- tion of the governor. The treaty of peace, long since concluded at Tawasentha between the Dutch and the Iro- quois, had never been openly broken, and the Indian war during Kieft's administration had been definitively ended by the interposition of these powerful tribes. Yet the Five Nations had fancied themselves slighted by the late governors, and their warriors had resented the sup- posed insults by occasional aggressions upon the English settlements. Just at this juncture, the French in Canada, who had long been endeavoring to persuade the Iroquois to acknowledge their sway, resolved to force them to submission ; and organized a large army, designed for their extermination. On hearing of this project, James II., regarding it as a good opportunity to rid the prov- ince of a dangerous enemy, ordered Dongan not to interfere in the matter. Dongan, however, was far too honorable to see his allies murdered in cold blood, in obedience to the will of his superiors. He warned the Iroquois at once of their danger, and, promising them assistance, invited them to meet him at Albany, to renew the treaty of peace which had well-nigh been forgotten. They were punctual at the rendezvous, and concluded a new treaty, which was long respected by both parties. The
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French made two invasions on the territory of the Iro- quois, but, weakened by sickness and unacquainted with Indian warfare, they soon returned with scattered ranks, having effected nothing, except to arouse the wrath of a powerful enemy. They had opened the door to a terrible retribution. The Indians fell with fury upon the Cana- dian settlements, burning, ravaging, and slaying without mercy, until they had nearly exterminated the French from the territory. The war continued until of all the French colonies, Quebec, Montreal, and Trois Rivières alone remained, and the French dominion in America was almost annihilated. Governor Dongan remaining a firm friend of the Indians during his administration, aiding them by his counsel, and doing them every good office in his power. By this policy, he gained the fullest confidence of the grateful savages, and the name of "Dongan, the white father " was remembered in the Indian lodges long after it had grown indifferent to his countrymen of Manhattan.
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