Sparta on the call-fide, about forty miles above New-York, an eligible fituation for a manufacturing town.

Religion and Character.

THE conflitution of this State provides "for the free exercife and enjoyment of religious profeflion and worship, without diferimination or preference within the State, for all mankind. Provided that the liberty of confcience hereby granted fhall not be fo conftrued as to excufe acts of licentioufnefs, or justify practices inconfiflent with the peace and fafety of the State."

The various religious denominations in this State are the following: En glish Prefbyterians, Dutch reformed, Baptifts, Epifcopalians, Friends or Quakers, German Lutherans, Moravians, Methodifts, Roman Catholics, Jews, Shakers, and a few of the followers of Jemima Wilkinfon. The Shakers are principally fettled at New-Lebanon, and the followers of Jemima Wilkinfon at Geneva, about twelve miles fouth-weft of the Cayoga lake.

The minifters of every denomination are fupported by the voluntary cortribution of the people, raifed generally by fubfcription, or by a tax upon the pews; except the Dutch churches in New York, Shenectady, and Kingston, which have, except the two laft, large eftates confirmed by charter. The Epifcopal church alfo in New-York poffeffes a very large eflate in and near the

cuy.

The English language is generally spoken throughout the State, but is a little corrupted by the Dutch dialect, which is ftill spoken in fome counties. But as Dutch schools are almost all difcontinued, that language, in a few generations, will probably ceafe to be used at all; and the increase of English fchools has already had a perceptible effect in the improvement of the English language.

The manners of the people differ as well as their language. The ancef tors of the inhabitants in the fouthern and middle parts of Long-Ifland were either natives of England or the immediate defcendants of the firit fettlers of New-England, and their manners and customs are fimilar to those of their ançeffors. The counties inhabited by the Dutch have adopted the Englifti manners in a great degree, but Aill retain many modes, particularly in their religion, which are peculiar to the Hollanders. They are induftrious, near, and economical in the management of their farms and their families. Whatever bufinefs they parfue, they generally follow the old track of their forefathers, and seldom invent any new improvements in agriculture, manufactures, or mechanics. They were the first fettlers of this State, and were particularly friendly to the English colony that fettled at Plymouth, in New England, in 1620; and continued to be amicably difpofed towards the English colonies east of them until the unhappy difpute arose concerning the lands on Connecticut river..

The revolution, and its confequences, have had a very perceptible influence in diffusing a spirit of liberality among the Dutch, and in difpelling the cloud's of national prejudice. Schools, academies, and colleges, are effablished and eftablishing for the education of their children in the English and learned languages, and in the arts and sciences, and a literary and fcientific fpirit is evidently increasing.

The city of New-York is inhabited principally by merchants, physicians, lawyers, mechanics, fhopkeepers, and tradefmen.

The ufage of finoking has not difappeared among them with the other customs of their fathers, the Dutch. They fmoke fegars, a great quantity of which are manufactured in the town and fome imported from the Spanish and Dutch islands. It may appear difagreeable to the women; and the philofopher may condemn it as a fuperfluous want; but it has one great advantage; it accufloms to meditation, and prevents loquacity. The fmoker afks a quellion; the answer comes two minutes after, and is well founded. The fegar renders to a man the fervice that the philofopher drew from the glafs of water, which he drank when he was in anger.

Befides the Dutch and English already mentioned, there are in this State many emigrants from Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and fome few from France. Many Germans are fettled on the Mohawk, and fome Scots prople on the Hudfon, in the county of Washington. The French emigrants are fettled principally at New-Rochelle and on Staten Island, and their defcendants, feveral of them, now fill fome of the highest offices in the United States.

N

Agriculture, Manufactures, Trades.

EW-YORK is confiderably behind her neighbours in New England, New-Jerfey, and Pennfylvania, in point of improvements in agricul ture and manufactures. Among other reafons for this deficiency, that of want of enterprize in the inhabitants is not the leaft. Indeed their local advanta. ges have been fuch as that they have grown rich without enterprife. Befides, lands have hitherto been cheap, and farms of courfe large, and it requires much less ingenuity to raise one thousand bufheis of wheat upon fixty acres of land, than to raise the fame quantity upon thirty acres. So long, therefore, as the farmer in New-York can have fixty acres of land to raise one thoufand bufhels of wheat, he wiit never trouble himself to find out how he can raife the fame quantity upon half the land. It is population alone that ftamps a value upon lands, and lays a foundation for high improvements in agriculture. When a man is obliged to maintain a family on a fmall farm, his invention is exercifed to find out every improvement that may render it more productive. This appears to be the great reafon why the lands on Delaware and Connetiicut rivers produce the farmer twice as much clear profit as lands in equal quantity and of the fame quality upon the Hudfon. If the preceding oblervation be jut, improvements will keep pace with population and the increaf ing value of lands. Another caufe which has heretofore operated in preventing agricultural, improvements in this State, has been their government, which, in the manner it was conducted until the revolution, was extremely unfavourable to improvements of almost every kind, and particularly in agriculture. The governors were many of them land jobbers, bent on making their fortunes, and being invefted with power to do this, they either engroffed for themfelves, or patented away to their particular favourites, a very great proportion of the whole province. This, as has been before oblerved, proved an ef fectual bar to population, and of course, according to our prefent hypothefis, has kept down the price of lands, and fo prevented improvements in agricul ture. It ought to be obferved, in this connection, that thefe over-grown ef tates could be cultivated only by the hands of tenants, who, having no right in the foil, and no certain profpect of continuing upon the farm which they held at the will of their landlord, had no motives to make thofe expenfive improvements, which, though not immediately productive, would prove very profita

ble in fome future period. The tenant, dependant on his landlord for his annual fupport, confines his views and improvements to the prefent year; while the independent freeholder, fecure of his eftate for himself and his fucceffors, carries his views into futurity, and early lays the foundation for growing improvement. But thefe obftacles have been removed, in a great measure, by the revolution. The genius of the government of this State, however, ftill favours large monopolies of lands, which have for fome years back been granted without regard either to quantity or fettlement. The fine fertile country of the Mohawk, in Montgomery county, which was formerly poffeffed by Sir William Johnfon, and other land jobbers, who were enemies to the country, has been forfeited to the State, and is now split up into freehold estates, and feuling with aftonishing rapidity.

The foregoing obfervations will in a great measure account for the great negleft of manufactural improvements. Mr. Smith, in his hiflory of NewYork, more than thirty years ago, obferved, "It is much owing to the difproportion between the number of our inhabitants, and the vaft tracts fill remaining to be fettled, that we have not as yet entered upon scarcely any other manufactures than such as are indifpenfably neceflary for our home convenience." This faine caufe has operated ever fince in the fame way, though not of late in the fame degree.

Great improvements in agriculture cannot be expected, unless they are made by a few individuals who have a particular genius for that bufinefs, fo long as lands are plenty and cheap; improvements in manufactures never precede, but invariably follow improvements in agriculture. Thefe obfervations apply more particularly to the country. The city of New-York contains a great number of people, who are employed in various kinds of manufactures. Among many other articles manufactured in this city, are wheel carriages of all kinds, loaf fugar, bread, beer, fhoes and boots, faddlery, cabinet work, cutlery, hats, wool cards, clocks, watches, potters ware, particularly ftone ware, of which large quantities are fhipt to all the fouthern States in the Union; umbrellas, all kinds of methematical and musical inftruments, fhips, and every thing neceffary for their equipment. Glafs works, and feveral iron works have been established in different parts of the country, but they never till lately have been very productive, owing folely to the want of workmen, and the high price of labour, its neceflary confequence. The internal refources and advantages for thefe manufactories, fuch as ore, wood, water, earth, fone, proper fituations for bloomeries, forges, and all kinds of water works, are immenfe. There are feveral paper mills in the State, which are worked to advantage. The manufacture of maple fugar, within a few years paft, has become an object of great importance. As many as three hundred chefts of four hundred pounds each, were made in the thinly inhabited county of Otfego, in the year 1791; befides large quantities, fufficient for home confumption, in other newly-fettled parts of the State.

The fituation of New-York, with respect to foreign markets, has decidedly the preference to any of the States. She has not been unmindful of her fuperior local advantages, but has availed herfelf of them to their full extent. Their exports to the Weft-Indies are, bifcuit, peas, Indian corn, apples, onions, boards, flaves, hories, fheep, butter, cheefe, pickled oysters, beef and pork. But wheat is a ftaple commodity of the State, of which no less than fix hundred and feventy-feven thousand feven hundred bufhels were exported in the year 1775, befides two thousand five hundred and fifty-five tons of bread, and two thoufand eight hundred and twenty-eight, tons of flour. Ia

fpectors of four are appointed to prevent impofitions, and fee that none is exported but that which is deemed by them merchantable. Weft India goods are received in return for thefe articles. Befides the above mentioned articles, are exported flax-feed, cotton-woo!, farfaparills, coff e, indig, rice, pig iron, bar iron, pot afh, pearl afh, furs, deer fkins, log-wood, fattic, mahogany, bees-wax, oil, Madeira wine, rum, tar, pitch, turpentine, whale fins, fib, fugars, molaffes, falt, tobacco, lard, &c. but most of these articles are imported for re-exportation. The trade of this State has greatly increafed fince the revolution, and the balance is almost conflantly in its favour, a flatement of which will appear under the general review of the United States.

There is an incorporated bank in the city of New-York, befides a branch of the national bank.

Societies.

SOCIETIES for improvement in knowledge or humanity in this

flate are rapidly increafing in the city of New-York are the following focieties. The fociety for promoting ufeful knowledge." This fociety is upon an establishment fimilar to the philofophical focieties in Europe and America, but it is not incorporated. The members meet once a month. Secondly, "The fociety for the manumiffion of flaves and protecting fuch of them as have been or may be liberated." This fociety meets once a quarter. Both of thefe focieties confift of gentlemen of the first character in the city, and of fome in other parts of the flate. Befides thefe there is a marine fociety, a mechanic fociety, incorporated by law, a fociety for the relief of poor debtors confined in gaol, a manufacturing fociety, an agricultural fociety lately eftablished, of which the members of the legislature are ex officiis members, a medical fociety, a humane fociety, and a fociery for the fupport of a new and beneficial effablishment, the lying in hofpital, which was lately incorporated by the late legillature.

There are in this city alfo twenty-four fire companies for the fole purpose of giving immediate alfiflance at an alarm of fire. To each of them allociations an Engine is alloted, and the moft beneficial effects have often been experienced by this laudable inflitution.

*

During the feffion of the flate legiflature of 1799, a fociety has by law been incorporated under the name of the Manhattan Company which from the importance of the object it contemplates and the reipettability of the characters that have taken the most active part in its citabl.flment promifes fair to become highly beneficial to the community.

The want of good water has ever fince the first feuleminent of the city been a great inconvenience to the inhabitants. The only whalefome fupply they had was fcantily conveyed to them in cafks from a pump near the head of Pearl-ftreet. Propofals have often been made by individuals for procuring a more copious fupply, to be conveyed to all parts of the city by pipes; but an undertaking fo extenfive was not to be accomplished by aa individual.

The corporation of the city, at the clofe of last year, to promote fo defirable an object, drafted a bill to be laid before the legiflature, wherein that body were to have the fole management of the execution; and to provide them with a fund to meet the necellary expenditures, it was prepoted hat the Legiflature fhould grant them for a certain term of years the revenue arifing from fales at auction. But as in this cafe it would have become

Manhattan is the Indian name of York Ifand

neceffary to have recourfe to loans or to raife what might be wanted by taxes to carry on the enterprize with vigour, which might be found fo burthenfome on the citizens as to occafion the operation to languish, it was thought more expedient to encourage an affociation which had been formed for the laudable purpose of fupplying the city with pure and wholesome water. The following extracts fhew the origin and and conclufion of this impor tant business.

At a Common Council held on Monday the twenty-fifth day of February, one thousand feven hundred and ninety mine.

The Mayor informed the board, That on Friday laft Mr. Burr, one of the members from this city, in the affeinbly of the flate, together with John Murray, Elquire, as the Prefident of the Chamber of Commerce, Gulian Verplanck Efquire, as the Prefident of the office of discount and depofit of the Bank of the United States in this city, Peter H. Wendover as the President of the Mechanic Society, together with Major General Hamilton and John Broome, Efquire, according to an appointment by Mr. Burr, called on him and flated to him in the prefence of the Recorder, who was alfo requested to attend for the purpose, that great difficulties had arifen in the minds of the members of the legislature, touching the powers requested to be vefied in this board by the bill for fupplying this city with water," and the bill for "investing this board with adequate powers in relation to certain objects of importance to the health of the city "that it was problematical whether those bills would pafs in the form propofed, and he therefore fubmitted the propriety of this board requefling the Legillature, that if those bills refpectively fhould not be deemed proper in the form propofed by the board, the Legiflature fhould make fuch provifions on the feveral fubjects thereof, as to them should appear most eligible.

That after fome converfation with Mr. Burr and the other gentlemen accompanying him, the Recorder and himself requested that their propofitions might be flated in writing to be communicated to the board as on this day— and Mr. Recorder now laid before the board a paper without fignature which he flated to the board he had received from Major General Hamilton, as the propofitions for their confideration this day, which being read,

Refolved, That before the board proceed upon the faid propofitions, they ought to be fanctioned by the fignature of the parties recommending the fame; and that the nature and circumfiances of the difficulties which have attended the feveral applications made on the behalf of this board to the Legislature, fhould also be stated.

Refolved further, That the above Refolution be communicated to Mr. Burr and Major General Hamilton without delay; and as the objects abovę alluded to are of great importance to the welfare of the city, the Mayor be requelled to call a fpecial meeting of this board as foon as he fha!! receive the proper communications in confequence of the above refolutions, it a Common council held on Thurfday the twenty-eighth day of February one thoufand feven hundred and ninety nine.

Mr. Mayor laid before the Board, a letter from Major General Hamilton together with a written communication from him, which was read in the words following to wit:

SIR,

NEW YORK Feb. 25th, 1799.

"I last night received your letter dated yesterday. The refolutions the Common Council difcover a miftake as to the character under which the