New York

Population. — The population of New York, especially of the metropolis, and of the cities generally, exhibits more diversity of character, probably arising from their great variety of origin, than that of any other state of the Union, or, possibly, that of any other country on the earth. The ancient Dutch and English characteristics, so distinctly marked and preserved through many successive ages, are no longer discernible, except in sundry secluded localities, or within the circle of certain exclusive neighborhoods. The present generation is composed of new and multiform materials. People who can trace their ancestry to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, on the face of the globe, are now among the moving masses of this most populous state in the western hemisphere…. Among these, the most impoverished districts of Ireland present, perhaps, the largest number of representatives. Every other European country has furnished also a sufficient quota. Asia and Africa, even, are not without their delegates; nor are the two Indies, nor the foreign provinces both north and south of the boundaries of the republic. The ease with which emigrants may attain to all the privileges of citizenship, the facilities afforded for trade of every description, and the rewards procurable by the exercise of every species of active industry, are the chief causes and provocatives of this vast influx from abroad. Within the ten years ending with the census of 1850, the population of New York [City] has increased from 2,428,921 to 3,097,394.

Religion. — Every variety of religious doctrine prevalent in other parts of the United States has its disciples in this state. The different Christian denominations may be classed, according to numbers, as follows: Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Dutch Reformed, Episcopalians, Associate Reformed, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Universalists, and Unitarians. There are also sundry congregations of Jews, Quakers, Shakers, &c.

Education. — This important subject commands a full share of public solicitude in this state. Colleges and other literary and scientific institutions, of a high order, are established and well sustained in various quarters. Some of these are supported in whole or in part by different religious associations. The oldest, — Columbia, formerly King's College, — founded nearly a century since, is chiefly under the direction of the Episcopalians, who also maintain another college, and an eminent theological institute. The Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Associate Reformed church have also their respective theological seminaries. A very large number of academies and high schools, generally sustained by individual subscriptions, are to be found in every part of the state. The common school system is honorably cherished by the bounty of the legislature; and consequently the blessings of free instruction are diffused among children of all classes, through thousands of grammar and primary schools, under positive requisitions of law. For purposes of general education, the most liberal funds have been provided, amounting to $1,900,000 annually, of which $800,000 are raised by a state tax. The school fund produces $300,000. The deaf and dumb, and the blind, likewise participate amply in these appropriations. There are in the state, probably, upwards of 50,000 persons, of adult age, who can neither read nor write ; most of whom, without doubt, are of foreign extraction.

Government. — By the constitution adopted as amended in October, 1846, a plurality of the popular vote elects the governor and lieutenant governor, who are chosen for two years. The people also choose in like manner, and for the same term of service, a secretary of state, treasurer, comptroller, attorney general, state engineer, and surveyor. Three canal commissioners and three inspectors of prisons are also elected by the people, to serve for three years each, one to retire every year, upon the principle of rotation. The legislature comprises a Senate and House of Assembly. There are 32 senatorial districts, each entitled to one senator, who serves two years. The House of Assembly consists of 128 members, apportioned among the several counties according to population, and elected annually. Every white male citizen, 21 years of age, a resident for one year next preceding an election, ten days a citizen of the state, four months a resident of the county, and thirty days of the district, is entitled to the right of suffrage, without other qualification. Colored persons, to be entitled to that right, must have resided three years within the state, and ha.ve owned and paid taxes on a freehold worth $250 for one year next preceding an election.

Judiciary. — All judicial officers, except justices of the peace, are appointed by the executive, and hold office during good behavior, or until 60 years of age. The judicial power is vested, 1. In a Court for the Trial of Impeachments, which is composed of the members of the Senate, or a majority of them, with their president at the head of the court, — or, in his absence, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals, —together with a major part of the judges of the latter court. This tribunal is a court of record, and its officers and clerk are those of the Senate. A party impeached cannot be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present; nor punished by this court farther than by sentence of removal from or disqualification for office, though still liable to indictment. 2. The Court of Appeals, which consists of eight judges, four of whom are elected by the people, (one every second year,) and hold office eight years ; and the other four are selected each year from those justices of the Supreme Court whose terms are soonest to expire. Six judges constitute a quorum; and the court holds four terms in each year. There must be one term in each judicial district every two years. 3. The Supreme and Circuit Courts, composed of justices elected by the people, — four in each of the eight judicial districts into which the state is divided, — one justice in each to retire from office every two years. One general term of the Supreme Court must be held annually in every county containing 40,000 inhabitants ; and in other counties, one in two years. Two special terms each year are held in every county ; also two Circuit Courts: of the latter, the city and county of New York has four. The Supreme Court has general jurisdiction in law and equity, and power to review judgments of the County Courts. At the general and special terms are heard all equity cases ; and the Circuit Courts are held exclusively for the trial of issues of fact. 4. County or Surrogates' Courts, with the ordinary jurisdiction of Probate Courts; and extending also to actions of debt, &c., involving not more than $2000, to actions for damages not above $500, for trespass or personal injury, and to replevin suits wherein not more than $1000 are claimed. They have likewise equity jurisdiction for the foreclosure of mortgages; for the sale of the real estate of infants; for the partition of lands; for the admeasurement of dower; for the custody of lunatics and inebriates ; and for the satisfaction of judgments where upwards of $75 are due on an unsatisfied execution. 5. Criminal Courts; viz., Courts of Oyer and Terminer, and the Court of Sessions. The former, which are held in each county, except that of New York, at the same time and place at which the Circuit Courts are held, consist each of a justice of the Supreme Court, the county judge, and the two justices of the peace who are members of the Court of Sessions. In the city and county of New York these tribunals are composed of a justice of the Supreme Court and any two of the following magistrates: judges of the Court of Common Pleas for that county, mayor, recorder, and aldermen. Courts of Sessions are held by the county judge, and the two justices of the peace chosen as members of said courts.

Besides the foregoing, there are in the city and county of New York a Superior Court and a Court of Common Pleas, each having three judges.

Finances. — The aggregate debt of the state, at the beginning of 1851, was $23,463,838. About two thirds of this liability arises from the canal debt, and the residue from debts contracted on account of railroads, the general fund, &c…. The annual revenues are derived from state taxes, auction and salt duties, canal fund, &c., which, in general, largely exceed the amount of expenditures for the support of government and of state institutions, for interest on the state debt, &c.

Internal Improvements. — To New York belongs the honor of having given the earliest and strongest impulse, on the American continent, to a system of public works, on a great scale, designed for the promotion, unitedly, of the important interests of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures. The first of these noble enterprises was the Erie Canal, which, at its inception, was denounced, by a portion of the people, as an extravagantly bold and visionary undertaking. It was commenced in 1817, and finished in 1825, at a cost of upwards of $7,000,000. It unites the waters of Lake Erie with those of the Hudson River, extending from Buffalo to Albany, a distance of 363 miles…. Some six or seven other important works of this kind are also completed; several more are in course of construction; and a further number have been projected. Those already finished are the Champlain Canal, connected with the Erie at Waterford, and proceeding 64 miles to Whitehall, on Lake Champlain; the Oswego Canal, also united with the Erie, and extending from Syracuse, 38 miles, to Oswego, on Lake Ontario; the Cayuga and Seneca, from Geneva to Montezuma, 21 miles; the Chemung, from the head of Seneca Lake to Elmira, 39 miles; Crooked Lake, between Penn Yan and Dresden, 8 miles; Chenango, another branch of the Erie, extending 97 miles from its junction at Utica, to Binghampton, on the Susquehanna. The aggregate cost of the six last-named canals is stated at nearly $5,000,000….

In addition to these artificial watercourses, New York has further provided for her own prosperity by the establishment of numerous extensive and costly railroads. A series of these commodious highways, with a large number of branches under divers names, and owned by various bodies of proprietors, extends from New York to Buffalo. A railroad from the latter place, via Niagara Falls, extends to Lewiston, and is there connected with a steamboat line to Oswego. A branch of this road runs to Lockport. There are also railroads between Schenectady, Ballston Spa, and Troy….

Manufactures. — New York is a large manufacturing as well as agricultural and commercial state. Countless establishments for the transformation of all her natural products into articles of trade are maintained every where. Millions of capital are invested in woolen and cotton factories; in the manufacture of salt, iron, and lead; in the fabrication of articles of leather, straw, glass, clay, marble, &c.; in distilleries, breweries, machine shops, flouring mills, and other mechanical agencies for the conversion of raw material into shapes fitted for the use and comfort of man.

Boundaries and Extent. — The state is bounded north by the British province of Canada; east by the States of Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut; south-east by the Atlantic Ocean ; south by the States of New Jersey and Pennsylvania ; west and south-west by Lakes Erie and Ontario, and by the River St. Lawrence. It extends from 40° 30' north latitude to 45°, and lies between 71° 56' and 79° 56' west longitude. Its extreme length from east to west, measuring from the Atlantic shore of Long Island, is 408 miles; exclusive of that island, 340; and its breadth from north to south is 310 miles. Its area is estimated at 46,000 square miles....

Surface, Soil, &c.— The state exhibits much variety of surface. The eastern part is crossed by two chains of lofty hills, rising to an elevation of 1200 to 1700 feet. One of these ridges, entering from New Jersey on the south-west, strikes the Hudson River at West Point, is there divided by the stream, and resumes its prominence on the opposite shore, showing almost perpendicular walls on either side, as though cut in sunder by some sudden convulsion. These remarkable heights are known as the " Highlands…." A second range enters the state from the north-western side of New Jersey, and passes northward, forming the Shawangunk Mountains. A third, from the northerly part of Pennsylvania, proceeds in the same direction through a great portion of the state, with varied elevations, sometimes rising to a height of 3800 feet, and are known as the Catskill Mountains. The Adirondack Mountains, in the north-east part of the state, are still loftier, one of the peaks reaching to an altitude of 6460 feet. In the eastern quarter, as well as the southern, the surface is hilly, and occasionally much broken, though abounding in excellent grazing lands ; but the western section is generally level, and the soil admirably adapted to the growth of grain. Indeed, the soil throughout is of good quality ; and in some parts extremely rich and productive…. The forests yield excellent timber, in great variety and abundance.

Rivers, &c. — A number of noble streams pass through the state, or along its borders, in different directions; the chief of which are the Hudson, 324 miles in length, and navigable to Troy, 151 miles from its mouth; the Mohawk, which falls into the Hudson, near Troy, and is 135 miles long; the Genesee, which, after flowing 125 miles, occasionally over immense falls, affording prodigious water power, discharges itself into Lake Ontario, into which also flows Black River, a stream of 120 miles in length ; the Saranac, falling into Lake Champlain, after a course of 65 miles; the Ausable, 75 miles in length, entering the same lake; the Oswegatchie, 100 miles long, emptying into the St. Lawrence; the Oswego, reaching between Oneida Lake and Lake Ontario, 40 miles; the St. Lawrence, forming a part of the north-western boundary; the Delaware, after a course of 50 to 60 miles, crossing the south-western border; the Susquehanna, flowing through a considerable portion of the southern margin; the Alleghany, coming from Pennsylvania, and returning thither, after a sweep of 45 miles in Cattaraugus county; and the Niagara, with its far-famed magnificent cataract. Numerous tributaries, of various extent, are connected with all these principal rivers. Portions of the great inland seas, Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Champlain, lie within the limits of the state. Numerous others are wholly unbosomed therein, most of which may be considered as arms of Lake Ontario. Several of these minor sheets of water are of considerable magnitude, and many of them are celebrated for their romantic beauty. The facilities for commercial and manufacturing purposes, which are supplied by these various bodies of water, are of incalculable value to the people of New York. They form one of the bases of that grand series of internal improvements, of which the enlightened patriots of that state, in years not long past, were the memorable pioneers....

Minerals. — The mountainous region at the north-east part of the state, south-west of Lake Champlain, is exceedingly rich in iron ore. This mineral is also abundant in several other localities, and is extensively wrought into pigs and various castings. In Clinton county, the ore is of extraordinarily fine quality, great quantities of which, in a manufactured state, are annually exported. Vast beds of lead ore are found in St. Lawrence county. At Ticonderoga, and at some other spots, abundance of excellent plumbago, or black lead, is found, and forms a valuable article of commerce. Indications of copper have been discovered in a few places. Salt and gypsum are obtained plentifully in several of the central counties eastward of Lake Ontario…. Quarries of excellent marble are being worked in Westchester county and the region contiguous. Few indications of coal have yet been found. Limestone, sandstone, and granite are abundant in several parts of the state.

Climate. — There is, in this state, a considerable variety of climate. In the southern section, it is mild, but mutable, both in winter and summer. In the northern, the winters are more severe, but uniform, and the summers are pleasant. Westward of the mountainous ridges, the climate is more equable and salubrious than in like latitudes on the eastern side. At Albany, the temperature varies between the extremes of heat and cold generally more than 100°; that is, from 15° below zero to 90° above. At Canandaigua, there is nearly the same difference, the mercury sinking lower in winter, and rising to a less height in summer. On Long Island, near the Atlantic Ocean, the thermometer indicates a difference between the two extremes of about 90°; namely, from 4° below zero to 87° above. But, with the exception of occasional epidemics, not imputable, however, in general, to local causes, the climate of New York may be considered as one of the most healthy in the world.