USA > New York > New York in the nineteenth century. A discourse delivered before the New York Historical Society, on its sixty-second anniversary, November 20, 1866 > Part 9
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" their advice." Give him these appointments, and then you can blame him if anything goes wrong. Better have one bad man, whom we can call to account for his stewardship, than have to deal with half a dozen, each of which will shift the burdens on to the others. The idea that the Mayor would use this patronage to keep himself in office is not sustained by past experience in regard to executive stations. Neither President nor old-time Governors have found that patronage helped them much; for every man they appoint, hundreds are disappointed. Besides, the Mayor no longer controls the police, which are now, cery properly, appointed by Commissioners, in the choice of whom the men had no agency. The charter of 1857 did not give the power of remoral, except by consent of the Aldermen, and for cause. This was a great mis- take. A man might be utterly inefficient in the judgment of the Mayor; but he could not assign that as a cause, without going into particulars which would, perhaps, not impress another as sustaining the charge. It often occurs in private business, that you may wish to get rid of clerks and employes, with whose work you are not exactly satisfied, yet you would hesitate about making charges against them. And so it is here. The Mayor, being responsible, should be the sole judge, as the President is, and should be required to give no reasons to Aldermen or any body else. If he appoints bad men or removes good ones, let the people remove him ; but don't ask the people to watch Comptroller and Counsel as well. The charter of 1857 did authorize the Mayor to suspend ; but, by an amendment which was sily introduced at a subsequent session, this power had been rendered doubtful. and this brought the speaker to say, lastly, that some action should be taken toward securing a constitutional check upon this constant tinkering of charters. He could think of no other way, except by a provision that no amendment of city or village charters should take effect as laws, until they have been submitted to and approved by electors of the city or village. Such alterations would not be so readily asked for, or, if asked, would not be as readily passed, if they were in each case to go through the ordeal of submission to the people. AAs it is now, we often hardly know what is proposed before we hear that it is passed. If it were to be submitted to the people, it would at least have to be pub- lished, and the motives of the authors, whether good or bad. explaine.l. At least the assent of two successive legislatures should be required.
Since the above remarks were made, iny experience as an Alderaan bas satisfied me that the ouly real relief must come from a Constitu- tional amendment, so as to confine voters at municipal elections in cities to the holders of real estate, or to those who can read and speak the English language. There is now one member of the Board of Coun- cilmen who cannot read, and cannot eren write his name. The real
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estate qualification is the best ; but I suppose it is useless to expect either. The only other remedy is to have the corporation authorities appointed at Albany. The commissions appointed at Albany have worked pretty well thus far; but, by degrees they will be corrupted, I fear, by the same influences. There must be some central power to keep them all in check. At the last Legislature a Board of Control was proposed ; but it left the Supervisors and Common Council in fell operation, because the former could not be abolished under the Cousti- tution, it was thought.
J. B. V., JE.
DANGERS FROM MISRULE.
The Discourse favors the general belief of our citizens, that the city has a larger population than ever before, and that the census of 1865 was wrong, or recorded the results of temporary depression. It is hard to resist the impression that the city is over- flowing with people, alike with visitors and residents, and every tenement is occupied, and there is a call for thousands more of houses. It is but just, how- ever, to present the other view of the subject, which is effectually given in this article from the Noc York Timos :
A LESSON FROM STATISTICS.
Our readers will bear witness that we have never refrained from predicting unpleasant things in regard to the consequences of our mu- nicipal disorders and bad government on the prosperity of our city.
We have said again and again-we fear to the weariness of our readers-that our citizens would not bear forever this atrocious mis- government, these incessant jobs, this heavy taxation, the howville condition of our streets, and the discomforts of the city. It was plain to any one who looked below the surface, that all these shameless jobs of the Common Council were not mere amusements of these represent- atives, which injured nothing except our moral sense, but that they included definite sums taken out of the pockets of every rent-tener or consumer in the city. For every dollar squandered by Aldermen and Councilmen, each mechanic and day laborer, every manufacturer and merchant, every man and woman, and child must pay-either in rents or in increased prices depending on rents. The consequences of this jobbery have been that the expenses of living have arisen in this city more than in any other large city of the Union, as is best shown by the
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rate of rents; for provisions and imported products are undoubtedly afforded to the wholesale dealers cheaper here than in Philadelphia or Boston, for instance.
The increased cost of the consumers is in the necessary expenses of the retailers, and these expenses come in great part from the taxation. Moreover, the gradual influence of the annoyances of New York, our execrable streets, the filth and odors prevailing, the sanitary evils dreaded, the bad accommodations on the railroads, and the other des- agrémens, was inevitably to force the middle classes from the city. The very rich could somewhat guard themselves against these evils and annoyances, especially by removing to the country in the snuimer sea- son ; the very poor and the laborers must remain near the market of labor; but persons with incomes from $1,000 to $5,000 per annum soon found it very injurious to their families, and too expensive to remain in the city, and these, by the thousands, scattered themselves in all the region around New York -- in New Jersey, in Westchester County, on Long Island and Staten Island, and on the borders of the Sound. Here, though they innst add to their rents the expenses of a daily journey of twenty or forty miles, and though provisions are more ex- pensive in the suburbs than in the city, the saving from taxation and increased rent, and the sanitary advantages to their families, kept them constant residents, and added to their numbers.
Following them, have emigrated numbers of manufacturers who really belong to New York, but who find it cheaper to carry on their factories away from city taxation, so that the banks of the Hudson and the railroads of New Jersey find themselves more and more lined with huge factories, surrounded with laborers' shanties or cottages. The result is what we have uniformly predicted -- that New York is decreas- ing in population, while the suburbs are increasing, and that marvellous growth in population, which was so long our pride, seems temporarily checked. Thus. in 1855, the population of New York was 629.810, and in 1860, 814,251, or an increase of more than five and a half per cent. per annum. In 1865 .66, the population is only 726,356, being a de- create of some $7.000 since 1560, instead of the old increase of some twenty-nine per cent. Brooklyn, in place of its supposed 300,000, has only 200,378. But the whole Metropolitan Police District, e maining the counties of New York, Kings, Westchester, and Richmond. and als towns in Queens County, embrace a population of 1,224,579, of which Westchester has 101,197 ; Kings, 311,090 ; Richmond, 28.209; and the six towns in Queens, 37,997. Some of the suburban villages have become considerable cities, thus: Morrisania has 11,691 inhabitants ; Yonkers, 12,756; Flushing, 10,813; Hempstead, 11,704 ; Newtown, 13,89] ; Oys- ter Bay, 9,714; Cortland, 9,323, and so on with others.
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The foreign born in New York number nearly half (313,201), and with their children must constitute some two-thirds of our population. In Brooklyn they amount to 107.851, or a less proportion. In West- chester they are only about one-quarter (26,394) : in Richmond about one-third (9,142). In the matter of sexes, New York has some 35,000 more women than men, and Brooklyn some 13,000.
The poorer wards of this city contain enormous numbers; thus, the Seventeenth has 79,563 ; the Eleventh, 58,953; the Twentieth, 61,854; the Eighteenth, 47,613 ; the Twenty-second, 47,361, while the wealthy Fourteenth and Fifteenth have respectively only 23,382 and 25,572 inhabitants.
If this exodus be not checked by an honest and faithful management of the city affairs, New York will be delivered up to the very rich and very poor, and its prosperity receive a fatal blow.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE.
I would acknowledge the great kindness of these gentlemen in as- sisting me to obtain the facts for this discourse. I might namne many others who have shown good will and given information :
GEORGE IT. MOORE,
JACKSON S. SCHCI.IZ,
ANDREW WARNER,
J. B. VARNUM,
GEORGE BANCROFT,
GULIAN C. VEPPLANCK,
ELISHA HARRIS,
WILLIAM L. STONE,
CHARLES P. KIRKLAND,
EDWARD BILL,
J. S. HOMANS,
HORATIO ALLEN,
D. B. EATON,
B. F. VARNUM. JE ...
BROWN BROTHERS,
MAJ. GEN. BARLOW,
D. T. VALENTINE,
HENRY B. DAWSON.
I have consulted freely the well-known works of Dunlap and Ham- mond on the Political History of New York. Dr. O'Callaghan's New Netherlands, and have found some valuable information in Miss Booth's History of the City. The publications of the New York Historical Society have been of constant service, and especially Begunin I. Butler's Discourse on the Constitutional History of New York. The histories of Bancroft, Brodhead, Hildreth, Motley, and Palfrey have been relied upon for important statements. I must say, also. in sincer- ity, that no man can study any important American subject, without finding constant help from Appleton's New American Cydopedia and Aunnal Cyclopedia. These manuals are full of our national and local history, and their biographical sketches are ample and reliable, and many of them give materials nowhere else to be found in print.
This appendix, of course, does not ait to give a complete body of statistics of the city ; but only to put in permanent form the chief facts that were furnished mne up to the date of the Discourse, and so to con- tribute something towards a sketch of the present state of affairs. The outline of the speech of Hon. J. B. Varnum is inserted mainly on ac-
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count of its valuable facts, and is a fitting contribution from one of the worthiest members of our Historical Society.
I am well aware that the whole subject is too great for a single discourse, and that a man not a native of the city labors under some peculiar difficulties in undertaking such a task as this ; yet both natives and new comers must both acknowledge that the city is constantly showing new growths and aspects to them. I am content to appear as a learner more than a master ; and I trust that friends and fellow citizens will deal gently with the defects of this little offering of public spirit. S. O.
MVG y Pamphlets
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