Class tL7^3__ J. / \ y 19 \9 ^ ^^ ' A MUNICIPAL HISTORY TOAVN AND CITY OF BOSTON, TWO CENTUEIES SEPTEMBER 17, 1630, TO SEPTEMBER 17, 1830. BY J O SI AH QUINC Y BOSTON: CHARLES C. LITTLE AND JAMES BROWN. 1852. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by Josi.\h Qoincy, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. CAMBRIDGE: STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY HOUGHTON AND HAYWOOD. PREFACE The municipal affairs of the inhabitants of Boston were conducted under the form of town government, established by the early settlers of New England, from 1630 to 1822, when, on their petition, they were incorporated into a city by the Legislature of Massachusetts. Through eight suc- ceeding years, three successive administrations presided over the new form of government thus established. The author of this history held the office of Mayor during almost six of these years, at a period when the principles, by which legislative and executive measures ought to be guided, were diligently sought and carefully applied, ac- cording to the powers conferred by the city charter. The people of Boston had surrendered, with reluctance, the management of their municipal concerns, which they had maintained in popular assemblies for nearly two centuries ; and the jealousy with which they watched the measures of the new authorities, rendered a frequent and full deve- lopment of motives and consequences expedient and im- portant. At the close of his administration, it therefore appeared to the author, that a municipal history of the town, and an accurate account of the transactions in the first years of the city government, would be useful and interesting to iv PREFACE. the public in future times, and was due to the wisdom, fidelity, and disinterested services of his associates. These views were intimated in an address to the Board of Aldermen, on taking final leave of the office of Mayor, on the thu"d of January, 1829 ; and on the sixth, on his petition, the succeeding City Council having granted liberty of access to the City Records, this History was commenced. The completion of it was unavoidably postponed by the acceptance of the Presidency of Harvard University, an appointment made and confirmed by the Corporation and Overseers of that Seminary, on the fifteenth and twenty- ninth of the same month, and by the official duties assumed and discharged until August, 1845. After the lapse of twenty years, at the urgency of friends who had a right to influence, the work was resumed ; and, being finished, is now, at the close of the author's eightieth year, offered to his fellow-citizens, with his best wishes for their long enjoyment of an efficient municipal government, and for the uninterrupted prosperity of the city of Boston. JOSIAH QUINCY. BosTOX, February 4, 1852. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. TOWN GOVERNMENT. 1630-1783. PAGE Constitution of Towns — Settlement and Organization of Boston — General Proceedings — Instructions to Selectmen and the Watch — Establishment of an Almshouse — Of Schools — Erection of Faneuil Hall — Manifest- ations of the Spirit of Liberty by the Inhabitants of Boston — Attempt to change the Form of Town Government — Population under the Colonial Grovernment 1 CHAPTER II. TOWN GOVERNMENT. 1783-1821. State of the Public Schools — Measures in regard to them — Successive Attempts to change the Government of the Town — Plan of a City Go- vernment adopted ........... 20 CHAPTER III. TOWN GOVERNMENT. 1821-1822. The Almshouse removed from Beacon Street to Leverett Street — Over- seers of the Poor remonstrate on its Condition — Proceedings of the Legislature of Massachusetts on the Subject of Pauperism — Erection of a House of Industry authorized by the Inhabitants of Boston — Noble Conduct of Samuel Brown — His Character — House of Industry erect- ed — Act of Incorporation of the City obtained and accepted — John Phillips chosen Mayor 34 CHAPTER IV. CITY GOVERNIMENT. 1822-1823. John Phillips, Mayor. Inauguration — Address of the Selectmen, on surrendering the Government and Muniments of the Town of Boston — Reply of the Mayor — Mea- sures adopted to carry into effect the Citv Charter — Donation of Mr. A* vi CONTENTS. PAGE Sears — Proceedings relative to the House of Industry — Result of the First Year's Administration of the City Government — Tribute to Mr. Phillips 42 CHAPTER V. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1823-1824. JosiAH QuiNCY, Mayor. Organization of the City Government — Mayor's Addi-ess — Lnportance of the Official Responsibihty of that Officer — DifficuUies relative to the Office of Surveyors of Highways — Embarrassments from the Board of Health — Duty of Cleansing the Streets devolved on the Mayor and Aldermen, and how executed — Board of Health discontinued, and their Duties transferred to other Officers 58 CHAPTER VI. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1823-1824. JosiAH QuKsrCY, Mayor. Inconvenient State of Faneuil Hall Market — Difficulties attending its Extension — Measures taken for surmounting them — Invitation to the Proprietors of the Land in the Vicinity to become Associates in the Improvement — Not accepted by them — The Project approved by the Citizens in a General Meeting — Authority obtained from the Legis- lature — Purchase of the Estates commenced 74 CHAPTER ^^I. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1823-1824. JosiAii QuiNCY, Mayor. Proceedings relative to the House of Industry — Opposition of the Over- seers of the Poor to the Removal of the Inmates of the Almshouse — A House of Correction erected at South Boston — Attempts to Conciliate the Overseers of the Poor — Its Effects — Liberty to use the Cellars of a Church for Burial denied — Department of Police 88 CHAPTER VIII. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1823-1824. JosiAH QuiNCY, Mayor. ^Measures for the Suppression of Idleness, Vice, and Crime — A House of Correction — Its Effects — Building provided for Juvenile Offenders — Its Results — Petition for General Meetings in Wards — Loans proposed for City Improvements — Theatrical Licenses — Ropewalk Lands — Islands in the Harbor — Common Sewers 102 CONTENTS. vii CHAPTER IX. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1824-1825. JosiAH QuiNCY, Mayor. PAGK Proceedings of the City Council of the past Year Recapitulated — Import- ance of the Responsibility of the Mayor — Estates purchased for the Enlargement of Faneuil Hall Market — Plan of the New Market — North Block of Stores built and sold — First Plan enlarged — Southern Block of Stores built and sold — Corner Stone of Market House laid . 121 CHAPTER X. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1824-1825. JosiAH QuiNCY, Mayor. Proceedings relative to the House of Industry — Opposition of the Over- seers of the Poor to the Measures of the City Council — Sale of the Almshouse in Leverett Street — The Paupers transferred to the House of Industry — The question of applying to the Legislatiire for a Modifica- tion of the Powers claimed by the Overseers of the Poor, submitted to a General Meeting of the Citizens — Its Result — Death of Alderman Hooper — Claims of Political Parties for the use of Faneuil Hall — Diffi- culties relative to the Board of Health — Change in that Department — Visit and Rece^Jtiou of General Lafayette 138 CHAPTER XI. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1824-25. JosiAH QuixcY, Mayor. State of the Fire Department — Claims of the Engine Companies — The Result — They surrender their Engines and resign — Other Engine Companies formed — A new Organization of the Fire Department recom- mended — Measures taken to carry it into effect — Office of Auditor of Accounts established 153 CHAPTER XII. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1825. JosiAH QuiNCY, Mayor. The Citizens accept the Report of their General Committee on the inex- pediency of modlfj-ing the powers of the Overseers of the Poor — Over- seers decline taking care of the Poor at the House of Industry — Their Tiii CONTENTS. PAGE Rights and Duties submitted to Legal Counsel — Their Report, and consequent Proceedings of the City Council — Measures to introduce a Supply of Fresh Water — Proceedings relative to Faneuil Hall Mar- ket — Census of the City — Time of Organizing the City Government changed 167 CHAPTER XIII. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1825. JosiAH QumcY, Mayor. An Act authorizing a New Organization of the Fire Department applied for and obtained from the State Legislature — Sanction of the Act by the Citizens — Measures pursued to carry it into effect — Sites for Engine Houses selected — Reservoirs constructed — Lafayette revisits the City — Measures adopted on the Occasion by the City Council . . .181 CHAPTER XIV. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1826. JosiAH QuiNCT, Mayor. Prosperity of the City — Measures for introducing Water — Views of the Mayor on the Subject — Proceedings of the City Council — Powers of the Mayor in the Suppression of Riots — Petitions for a General Contri- bution for Relief by Sufferers from Fire — The Result — Progress of Faneuil Hall Market — Final Settlement of the whole Improvement — Organization of the new Fire Department — Celebration of the Fourth of July, 1826 — Death of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson — Tribute to their Memories . . . . .197 CHAPTER XV. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1827. JosiAH QuiNCY, Mayor. General Relations of the City — Views concerning the City- Debt — The Location of a City Hall — The Responsibility for the Correctness of the Voting Lists — General State of the Scliools — Proceedings of the City Council in relation to them — School Committee object to their Inter- ference, and claim Independence — Opening of the Hancock School — High School for Girls estabHshed as an Experiment — Its Result — The School discontinued, and the Privileges of Females in the Common Schools extended — The Relation of the Mayor to the School Com- mittee 210 CONTENTS. ix CHAPTER XVI. CITY G0\1ERNMENT. 1828 JosiAii QuiNCY, Mayor. PAGB General Relations of the City in respect of Debt — Health — Protection against Fire — Its Duty in respect of Education — Efiect on its Pros- perity by the Principle of Arbitrary Valuation ■without Relief — Prin- ciples of Proceeding relative to the Voting Lists — Indemnity of City Officers for Acts of Official Duty — Sale of Spirituous Liquors prohi- ■ bited on the Common — Inexpediency of Selling the Flats to the East- ward of the New Market-House, and the Result of the Measures taken on that Subject 229 CHAPTER XVII. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1828. JosiAii QuiNCY, Mayor. The Annexation of South Boston to the Ancient City, and the Difficulties attending it — Project of Semi- Annual Sales of Domestic Manufactures in the City — The Hall over the New Market appropriated for the Object — Question concerning the EHgibihty of Members of the City Council to City Offices — State and Progress of the Fire Department — Resignation of the Chief Engineer — His gratuitous Services — Vote of Thanks to him by the City Council — Prosperous State of City Af- fairs — The Mayor dechnes being a Candidate for Reelection — Harrison Gray Otis chosen Mayor 246 CHAPTER XVIII. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1828. JosiAH QuiNCY, Mayor. Address of the IMayor on taking final Leave of the Office — His Acknow- ledgments to the Members of the Board of Aldermen, Common Council, and his Fellow-Citizens — Measures and Results of the past Administra- tion : for Protection of the City against Fire ; and of the Islands against Stonns ; for the Health of the Inhabitants ; for Public Education ; in Favor of Public Morals ; for increasing the Financial Resoui-ces of the City and reducing its Debt — Principles on which his Conduct in Office had been guided — Tribute to his Successor 259- CHAPTER XIX. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1829. Harrison Gray Otis, Maijor. Circumstances recaUing the Mayor from Private Life — Tribute to his Pre- decessors — Views concerning the City Debt — On the Supply of Pure CONTENTS. Water — The Importance of Railroads — Political Relations of the State and Union — Flats to the Eastward of the New jMarket — Attempts tp authorize Inspectors to place Names on the Voting Lists — Tribute to the Directors of the House of Industry — Chief Engineer of the Fire Department appointed — Resignation of all the Assistant Engineei-s — Petitions to extend TMiarves to the Channel — Relief to Sufferers by Fire in Georgia — Petitions for a General JNIeeting of Citizens on Rail- roads, and for a Grant of Land for their Accommodation . . . 280 CHAPTER XX. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1830. Harrison Gray Otis, Mayor. Prosperous State of the City — Embarrassment of the INIanufacturing In- terests, and its Causes — Comjjletion of the City WTiarf — State of the City Debt — Sale of Public Lands — Condition of the Flats to the West of the Neck — State of the Court>Houses — Protection of our Outer Harbor — Centennial Celebration resolved upon — Grant of the City Hall for Sales of Domestic Manufactures rescinded — Sale of Spirituous Liquors on the Common prohibited — Old State House to be called " The City Hall " — Centennial Celebration of the Settlement of Boston 298 CHAPTER XXI. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1830. Harrison Gray Otis, Mayor. Address of the Mayor to the INIembers of the City Council, on the Removal of the Municipal Government to the Old State House, on the Morning of the seventeenth of September, 1830 309 CHAPTER XXII. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1830. Harrison Gray Otis, Mayor. Address to the Citizens of Boston, on the seventeenth of September, 1830, the Close of the Second Century from the first Settlement of the City. By Josiah Quincy, President of Harvard University . . . .318 CHAPTER XXIII. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1830. Harrison Gray Otis, Mayor. An Ode, pronounced before the Inhabitants of Boston, on the seventeenth of September, 1830, at the Centennial Celebration of the Settlement of the City. By Charles Sprague 358 CONTENTS. xi APPENDIX. PAGK Mayor'slnaugural Addresses, 1822-1828 373 -40« Message of tlie INIayor to the City Council, recommending the Extension of the Plan of the Improvement of Faneuil Hall Market to Butler's Row, and explaining the Motives of the Coumiittee for this Recommendation . 412 Proceedings on laying the Corner Stone of Faneuil Hall Market . .415 Statements relative to the irresponsibility claimed by the Overseers of the Poor for public moneys • • • .418 An Address, delivered at the unanimous Request of both Branches of the City Council on the Fourth of July, 1826, it being the Fiftieth Anniver- sary of American Independence, by Josiah Quincy, Mayor of the City . 421 The Members of the City Government, from 1822 to 1830, inclusive • 434 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. CHAPTER I. TOWN GOVERNMENT. 1630-1783, Constitution of Towns — Settlement and Organization of Boston — General Pro- ceedings — Instructions to Selectmen and the Watch — Establishment of an Almshouse — Of Schools — Erection of Faneuil Hall — Manifestations of the Spirit of Liberty by the Inhabitants of Boston — Attempt to change the Form of Town Government — Population under the Colonial Government. The settlements made in 1630 around the Bay of Massachu- setts, by John Winthrop and his associates, early received the name of "towns," under the sanction of the colonial legislature, denominated, in conformity with the language of the first char- ter, " The General Court." After declaring " that particular towns had many things which concerned only themselves, and the ordering their own affairs, and disposing of business in their own town," the General Court, in 1630, ordered that " the freemen of every town, or a major part of them, should have power to dispose of their own lands and woods, to grant lots, and choose their own particular officers, as constables, surveyors of highways and the fike, annu- ally, or otherwise, if need required ; also to make such laws and constitutions as concern the welfare of their town. Provided they are not of a criminal, but of a prudential nature, and that their penalties exceed not twenty shillings for one offence, and that they be not repugnant to the public laws and orders of the country." In case of the refusal of any inhabitant to obey the laws of the town, the appointed penalty was authorized to be levied by " distress." If any person behaved offensively in toivn meeting, those present had power to sentence him for the offence to pay any sum, not exceeding the above-prescribed penalty. To 1 2 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. every town was also gi'anted the power to choose yearly, or for less time, " a convenient number of fit men, to order the pruden- tial affairs of the town, according to instructions given them in writing, they doing nothing contrary to the laws and orders of the country ; and the number of selectmen to be not above nine." The local limits of each town, within which its jurisdiction ex- tended, were established, enlarged, or diminished by the General Court, who subsequently authorized new officers to be chosen and granted new powers to each town, as new wants arose, or as local interests or state policy suggested. Such was the first and simple outline of that constitution of towns, which, originating in the convenience and practical spirit of those early emigrants, and being thus gi'adually modified, by occurring exigencies and policy, formed that assemblage of re- publics, with qualified powers, which constitutes some of the peculiar characteristics of Massachusetts and the other New England States, and had an effective, indeed, a controlling in- fluence upon their principles and destinies. One of the earliest of these settlements was established on the peninsula formed at the mouth of Charles River, by its waters and those of the Bay of Massachusetts. From the Indian natives it received the name of "Shawmut; " from the inhabitants of Charlestown, that of " Trimountain ; " and from the General Court, by an order passed on the seventh of September, (old style,) 1630, that of " Boston." ^ In 1632, the same colonial legislature declared it to be "the fittest place for public meet- ings of any place in the Bay," and thenceforth it was, and ever since has continued the capital of Massachusetts. The peninsula of Shawmut, being only about four miles in circumference, did not offer sufficient accommodation for pastur- age and cultivation of the land. The General Court, therefore, during the four or five first years after the settlement, included within the boundaries of Boston the islands in the harbor, Muddy River, (now Brookline,) Winnisimet, (now Chelsea,) Mount Wollaston, and the land east of Neponset River, afterwards incorporated into a town by the name of Braintree, and now constituting the towns of Braintree, Randolph, and Quincy. The assigrmient of house lots within the peninsula, and the allotting farms to succeeding emigrants, formed the chief busi- ness of the town authorities for nearly half a century. TOWN GOVEHmiENT. 3 Boston being the place of the residence of John Winthrop, the first Governor of IMassachusetts, and of some of the principal assistants, they took the lead in the early conduct of its affairs. The first order on the town records is dated 1634, March 7th day, 1st month, and purports to be passed by John Winthrop and nine others, but they take not the name of " selectmen," or any other indicative of authority. The order related only to laying stones and logs near landing places, so as not to be seen at high water, without some beacon to give notice thereof, " under pain of paying recompense, by way of damage, for any vessel injured thereby." The persons passing this order, however, seem to have been under some apprehension lest their authority might be questioned, for the order adds, " it being only a declaration of the common law herein." The name of "selectmen" does not appear on the records of the town until November, 1643, and then only incidentally. The persons chosen to do the business of the town are often without any designation of their office. Sometimes they are called "the overseers of the town concerns;" at others, are desig- nated as persons " chosen for the occasions of the town," and for the first time on the town records, on the 29th of November, 1645, John Winthrop and nine others are formally stated to be cliosen "selectmen." The duties of the persons thus chosen, as ex- pressed in one of the votes of the inhabitants, were " to oversee and take order for all the allotments within us, and for all comers into us, and also for all other the occasions and business of this town." The allotments of land assigned within the peninsula were very limited in extent. Those out of it, and within the jurisdic- tion of the town, were large, and granted with gi-eat liberality. In the 9th of the 12th month, (February, 1635,) the rule esta- blished by the town for these allotments was, " two acres to plant on, and for every able youth, one acre within the Neck and Nod- dle's Island." As to those at Mount Wollaston and Muddy River, the allotters were authorized to " take a view and bound out what may be sufficient there" for the particular farms of the allottees, and four hundred acres were often given to a single individual. The year 1635, however, did not elapse before, in conformity with the settled policy of the emigrants at that period, the town " agreed that no further allotments should be granted 4 MUNICIPAL mSTORY. unto any new-comer, but such as may be likely to be received members of the congregation." During the political ascendency of Henry Vane, the name of Winthrop does not appear on the town records. As governor of the colony, in 1636, Vane probably assumed the superintend- ence of the concerns of the town. But in November, 1639, the name of John Winthrop, Governor, appears, with the names of nine others, chosen, as formerly, for the town's affairs ; and he held this relation until 1648, the year before his death. At this early period, the limits between the powers of the colonial legislature and those of the town seem not to have been well defined or carefully observed. Besides the local authority incident to municipal jurisdiction, such as " taking care of the common fences," " regulating the going at large of cattle, goats, and swine;" "the cutting wood upon the Neck;" and reserv- ing that " near Roxbury for the poor," — the town, in 1635, un- dertook to exercise a more extensive power, and one somewhat dubious, both in point of principle and expediency. Thus, it then appointed a committee " to set prices upon all cattle, com- modities, victuals, and laborers' and workmen's wages, and that no other prices or rates be given or taken." They also voted that " none of the members of this congregation, or inhabit- ants among us, shall sue one another at the law, before that Mr. Henry Vane, and the two elders, Mr. Thomas Ohver and Thomas Leverett, have had the hearing and deciding of the cause, if they can." In the same year it was voted, " that whosoever, at any public meeting, shall fall into private conference, to the hindering of public business, shall forfeit for every such offence twelve pence, to be paid into the constable's hands for public use." In this year the town first assumed the care of the schools, by voting that " our brother Philemon Pormont be entreated to become schoolmaster, for the teaching of the children among us." The General Court having rejected the persons they had chosen as their deputies to that body, the spirit of the inhabit- ants was manifested by the following proceedings : — " The 9tli of ye 3^1 Mo, 1637. At a general meeting, upon pri- vate or particular warning, from house to house, and by reason of the Court's refusal of the former choice, Mr. Henry Vane, Esq., Mr. William Coddington, Mr. Atherton Hough, are noiv again TOWN GOVEEmiENT. 5 chosen deputies, or committees, for the service of the present General Court, and that upon warrant to us from the Court for a new choice." Notwithstanding the obnoxiousness, at that time, of these deputies to the predominating party in the Court, they were in consequence admitted to their seats. The records of the town, though voluminous, contain little of permanent importance or interest. A few of them, indicative of the opinions and views of the inhabitants in those early times, will be here recapitulated : — 1638. Allotments were granted on condition of " inoffensive carriage." 1652. No strangers were permitted to live in the town, with- out giving bonds to save the town harmless from all damage and charge for entertaining them. It was ordered, that persons whose houses were pulled down by the authorities, in case of fire, should " not be entitled to damages therefor." 1653. Leave was given to a citizen " to sink a twelve-feet cistern, at the pump which stands in the highway, to hold water to be helpful against fire, he making it safe from danger of children." Ladders were placed at the meeting-houses, with penalty against their use, except in case of fire. At the same place were also hung sti'ong crooks and chains, poles and ropes, for the same purpose. Every householder was required to have a ladder which should reach to the roof of his house. 1655. " For galloping through the streets, except upon days of military exercise, or any extraordinary case require," a fine of two shillings was imposed. Football was prohibited from being played in the sti-eets. Butchers were ordered to cast all their offal into the mill creek, and not elsewhere ; and all rubbish to be removed before every house. 1657. None but admitted inhabitants could keep shop or set up a manufacture within the town, except those who were twenty-one years of age, and had served seven years' apprentice- ship, under penalty of ten shillings a month. An inhabitant was allowed " to set up a pump in the streets, and might deny any neighbor its use who did not contribute to the expense." Licences were required for drawing beer, wine, brandy, strong water, cider ; for keeping a public house, and for selling coffee and chocolate. 1658. The order passed in 1652 was revoked, and owners of 6 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. houses pulled down by the authorities in case of fre, were en- titled to damages. No person was allowed to carry fire from one house to another, except in some safe vessel secure from wind. If a chimney took fire and flamed out, the owner was fined ten shillings. Persons were appointed to inspect the chimneys of the town, and cause defects in them to be remedied so as to be safe against fire. 1659. Inhabitants were fined " for entertaining foreigners," and ordered to discharge them from their houses. If they received " inmates, servants, or journeymen, coming for help in physic or surgery, without leave of the selectmen, and without giving bonds to save the town harmless, their fine was twenty shillings a week." 1662. Persons were appointed to prevent disorders by youth on the Lord's day ; particularly in the meeting-house, in time of God's solemn worship ; with authority to correct those who were disorderly with a small wand, and in case of contempt, to take their names and bring them before the magistrates. 1670. " There having been found a great want of water in case of fire, every inhabitant was ordered to have a hogshead well filled with water near his door, with the head open, under a penalty of five shillings." 1672. Under the authority of colonial laws, the selectmen ordered parents to put their children out to service, or to indent them out ; and if they did not, the authority had power to take them from their parents for that purpose. 1678. Every family was ordered to be provided with " fire- buckets, swabs, and scoops, according to their state." In the same year an engine was imported from England, and persons appointed to take charge of it in case of fire. 1683. Those who had the care of the water engine, (now called fire engines,) were exempted from " ti'ain bands." 1702. Two water engines were ordered to be imported from England. The inhabitants in general town meeting were accustomed, annually or semi-annually, to vote instructions to their select- men, presenting the objects of attention, and their duties con- cerning them. Those issued in 1657 were full, and the follow- ing abstract will give an idea of their general tenor, and throw lififht on the character of the times : — TOWN GOVERNMENT. 7 " Relying on your wisdom and care in seeking the good of the town, we recommend, that you cause to he executed all the orders of the town wliich you have on the records, according to the power given you by law, as found in the printed laws, under the titles of Townships, Ecclesiastics, Freemen, Highways, Small Causes, Indians, Corn Fields, Children, Masters, Servants, Pipe Staves, Stones, Weights and Measures, and any other orders in force ; and where you find any defect, to issue thereon good orders, to be approved by the town and the General Court. Subjects most necessary to be understood are, 1. About entertaining new inhabitants. 2. That none transplant themselves from the country to inhabit here without giving notice ; concerning whom you may in- quire their calling and employment, and whether they are about to live under other men's roofs as inmates, and deal with them according to law. If they are poor and unpotent, deal with them as dii-ected, under the title of Poor. If they buy houses and land, have a vigilant eye that they live not idly, but be diligently employed in some lawful calling. If, by reason of sickness, they cannot subsist their children, you are to take their children from them, and put them to apprenticeship. If any be debauched and live idly, you must provide a house of correction for them, at the charge of the town and the county. We commit unto you the disposal of the waste lands belonging to the town, for the benefit of the town, giving account from time to time. " We require you to make some effectual order to prevent harm from swine. As to the law relative to particidar highways, to each man's lot, if the General Court's order do not reach it, you must remind our deputies to procure some addition. You are to take constant precaution as to buildings, that they encroach not on the streets or town's lands. You are to appoint meet persons to keep the streets and flats near wharves and places of land clear of stones and other encumbrances. You must see that some fife be put into the laws about casks, and that they be of due gauge to prevent fraud, and that deceitful packing of beef and pork be duly punished ; that sworn men be appointed for measuring grain, cording wood and boards. We think it meet a jury should be chosen on weights and measures, to observe defects in chimneys, and in houses in danger of falling, and to present the same to the county courts ; that orders be passed against regrators and forestallers, and our deputies get them confirmed by the General Court. 4 " That a meeting be held by you, at least monthly, seriously to consider these tilings, for the good of the town, the glory of God, and establishing truth and love among us. " That every half year a town meeting be called, the orders passed submitted for its approbation ; the accounts may be credited, and particularly of what has been spent for buckets, hooks and ladders, and for powder, and whether ladders have been provided for each house, according to law ; also as to what has been spent as to the great guns and ammunition of the town, that provision may be made for them. " These orders, with occasional variation, were apparently renewed every year in town meeting, until the year 1694." The orders to the town watch also characterize the state of the times. 8 MUNICIPAL mSTORY. " Tlie town watch to be set at nine and dismissed at five. It shall not be trusted to youth, but one half consist of householders ; none to be employed of notorious evil life ; nor those who would watch two nights together, not having sufficient sleep between ; the number to be eight. The following charge to be given unto the watch every night : — "1. To walk two by two together; a youth to be joined with an older and more sober person. " 2. If after ten o'clock they see lights, to inquire if there be warrantable cause ; and if they hear any noise or disorder, wisely to demand the reason ; if they are dancing and singing vainly, to admonish them to cease ; if they do not discontinue after moderate achnonltion, then the constable to take their names and acquaint the authorities therewith. " 3. To watch the water side and about the shore, and prudently take account of such as go out or come in, not hindering lawful business, but preventing unla^vful practice and disorders. " 4. To look at the guns and fortifications. " 5. If they find young men and maidens, not of known fidelity, walking after ten o'clock, modestly to demand the cause ; and if they appear ill-minded, to watch them narrowly, command them to go to their lodgings, and if they refuse, then to secure them till morning. " 6. That the watch be exemplary themselves, using no corrupt language, and so conduct themselves, that any persons of quahty who are abroad late may acknowledge that the watch does not neglect due examination nor misconduct." In 1660, the first steps towards erecting an almshouse were taken, by authorizing the selectmen to use a piece of ground for that purpose. In 1662, the design was carried into eftect, in consequence of the encouragement given by sundry legacies and subscriptions. The building thus erected having been burnt down, a vote was passed by the town, in 1682, for rebuilding it. In this vote the object of the institution is specified to be " for the relief of the poor, the aged, and those incapacitated for labor; of many persons who would work, but have not wherewithal to employ themselves ; of many more persons and families, who spend their times in jolliness and tipling, and who suff'er their children shamefully to spend their time in the sti-eets, to assist, employ, and correct whom the proposed institution w^as pro- vided." It appears, however, by the records, that the original design of the house, for the accommodation of the respectable poor, was in a gi-eat measure defeated from the predominating character of its inmates ; and in 1712, an attempt was made by the town "to restore the almshouse to its primitive and pious design, even for the relief of the necessitous, that they might lead a quiet, TO^VN GOVERNMENT. 9 peaceable, and godly life there, where it is now made a bridewell and honse of correction, which obstructs many honest poor people going there for the designed relief and support." As a remedy, the town proposed the building a house of correction, and a committee was raised for that purpose. That committee reported that " the poor honest people, who were sent as objects of charity, should be kept separate : and that the justices of the peace of the county should be petitioned to erect a house of correction, as the law dh-ects." Nothing farther was done upon the subject until the year 1720, when a vote was passed in town meeting for the erection of a workhouse, independent of an almshouse. This design was not, however, carried into effect until 1735, when measures were adopted for the enlargement and erecting new buildings, in connection with the preexisting almshouse, in virtue of the province law, passed in that year, on the special representation and petition of the town to that effect. The land now included, between Park and Beacon Streets, and the west line of the burying ground to the north line of the land now occupied by Park Street Church, was at that time the site appropriated for this establishment. The expenses incident to the erection of the buildings were originally defrayed from the funds of the town, aided by subscriptions of private individuals. It early received the name of the Boston Almshouse, probably to render a resort to it less obnoxious to the more respectable class of poor. But this appellation had no sanction in the pro- vince law authorizing its erection. " Workhouses for the idle and the indigent," " houses of correction for rogues and vaga- bonds," are the only designations given by that law, to institu- tions for either of those objects. The defects and inconveniences of the Boston Almshouse, which the comparative poverty of the times, and the embarrassments consequent on the revolutionary war, prevented from being remedied until after its close, will be noticed hereafter in this work. The obedience of the town to the province law, which required that every town having fifty householders should be provided with a schoolmaster to teach children and youth to read and write, and having one hundred families, with a grammar school, with some discreet person well instructed in the tongues to keep such school, seems, from the earliest times, to have been constant and regular. Their proceedings are not very distinctly traced in 10 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the town records. In 1662, the rent of Deer Island was appro- priated for the use of free schools. And, in 1679, two free schools were established " to teach children to write and to cipher," accompanied with a recommendation to " those who sent their children to school and were able, to pay something for the encouragement of the master." It was not until 1709, that the town, on the report of a committee, voted " annually to appoint a certain number of gentlemen of liberal education, together with some of the reverend ministers of the town, to be inspectors of the schools, and, under that name and title, to visit the schools when, and as often as they think fit, to inform themselves of the methods used in teaching of the schools, and to inquire of their proficiency, and to be present at the performance of some of their exercises, the master being before notified of their coming, and with him to consult and advise of further methods for the advancement of learning and the good government of the school; and, at their visitation, one of the ministers by turns to pray with the scholars, and entertain them with some instructions of piety specially adapted to their age and education." By the same vote, " the inspectors were authorized, with the master, to intro- duce an usher upon such salary as the town shall agree to grant for his services." Five inspectors of the schools were accord- ingly appointed, and the system was persevered in for several years ; afterwards it was discontinuetl ; and the practice pre- vailed for the selectmen annually to visit the schools, accompa- nied by as many gentlemen as they chose to invite, which were often not less than fifteen or twenty. This practice continued until after the American Revolution and the treaty of peace sub- sequent. The proceedings of the town in relation to these insti- tutions will be related hereafter in connection with those of the city.i For more than a century after the settlement of the town, it was destitute of an established public market. Provisions were brought in carts to the doors of the inhabitants, and an opinion generally prevailed that the tendency of a local market was to 1 In 1739, the whole number in all the town schools was 593 1741, " " » " " 474 1743, " " " " " 585 1754, « « « " " 848 1763, " " « " " 832 1773, " « «' " " 719 TOWN GOVERmiENT. 11 encourage forestalling and raise the price of provisions. In 1733, the question of establishing a public market was first decided in the afRrmative ; ayes 366, nays 339. But at an adjourned meet- ing, a few days after, the former vote was rescinded, and the question decided in the negative ; 390 ayes, 415 nays. In 1734, by way of compromise, three markets were esta- blished by vote of the inhabitants, — a south, centre, and north. In April, 1737, the town voted that the south and north mar- ket should be appropriated to some other use ; and to what use they should be put was referred to the selectmen. Before their decision was known, the centre market, near the town dock, was pulled down by a mob, and the selectmen reported that the south market should be leased for shops, and that the north market should be removed. This report occasioned warm debates, and one of the inhabit- ants was reprimanded by the town, and ordered to be silent, for language implying that the selectmen had made their report in agreement with the mob. Their report was accepted, and the subject was not again revived until 1740, when Peter Faneuil offered, " on his own proper cost, to build a noble and complete sti-ucture to be improved for a market, for the sole use and bene- fit of the town, provided the town would accept the same, and make proper regulations," a meeting being called " to know the minds of the inhabitants, whether they would accept the same, on condition that the market people should be at liberty to carry their marketing vjheresoever they pleased about town.'^ Notwith- standing this condition, and although a vote was passed thanking Mr. Faneuil for his generous offer, the question of accepting it was carried only by a majority of seven; 367 ayes and 360 nays. In 1742, the market house was erected by Mr. Faneuil on the town's land, near the dock. The edifice w^as of brick, two sto- ries in height, and one hundred feet in length by forty in breadth. "A noble structure," say the records, " far exceeding his first pro- posal, inasmuch as it contains not only a large and sufTicient accommodation for a market-place, but has also superadded a spacious and most beautiful town-hall over it, and several other convenient rooms." Votes were immediately passed by the town, appointing the selectmen and the representatives, and twelve others of the most distinguished inhabitants, a committee to 12 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. wait upon Mr. Faneuil, and "in the name of the town to render him their most hearty thanks for so bountiful a gift, with their prayers that this and other expressions of his bounty and charity may be abundantly recompensed by the Divine blessing. It was also voted that, " in testimony of the town's gratitude, and to perpetuate his memory, the hall over the market-place should be called Faneuil Hall, and that a picture of him, at full length, be drawn, and placed in said hall, at the expense of the town." Mr. Faneuil died on the third of March, 1743, and, on the fourteenth, "being the first meeting in 5j3.neuil Hall after his death,-' at the request of the selectmen, "John Lovell, master of the South Grammar School, delivered, in presence of the town, an oration on his death ; the moderator's seat being hung in mourning cloth on the occasion." This oration was transcribed at length on the town's records, and celebrates with great pathos and power " the largeness of his heart, the unbounded nature of his private charities," and his " public spirit and munificence." ^ Afterwards the arms of his family were placed in Faneuil Hall by vote of the town. These proceedings did not extinguish the spirit of opposition to a market-house. In 1746, a number of the inhabitants petitioned " that Faneuil Hall should be shut up, and the building appropriated to some other purpose." Although the attempt was not at this time successful, it was renewed the next year, (1747,) and the market shut up until September following, and then till March, 1748, when it was again opened, at first for three days, and afterwards for every day in the week. In 1752, the contest was again renewed, and the market was shut up until the farther order of the town. In August of that year, the question of opening the market was again raised, and, after violent debates, passed in the negative ; only one hundred and two votes being in the alRrmative, and one hundred and twenty-nine in the negative. In JMarch, 1753, however, a vote for opening it was obtained, and the stalls were authorized to be leased ; in which result the inhabitants finally acquiesced. In February, 1761, Faneuil Hall was destroyed by fire, the ' Mr. Fanenil's mansion bouse was situated in Tremont Street, in the midst of extensive gardens, opposite the Chapel Burial Ground. His family lleil from France with the Huguenots, in 1G8C. The grasshopper, on the vane of Faneuil Hall, was the crest of their arms. TOWN GOVERXIMENT. 13 walls only being left standing. The town resolved, in March following, that the edifice should be rebuilt, and that the lower part should " not be improved as a market until the farther order of the town." To defray the expense, the General Court granted a lottery. The first meeting in the hall, after it was repaired, was on the fourteenth of March, 1763. The original dimensions of the building, as erected by Mr, Faneuil, were not enlarged until the year 1805, when it was extended in breadth to eighty feet,#and a third story was added to its height. The spirit of liberty and jealousy of town and colonial rights breathe through the records of Boston from the earliest period of the settlement. By the early laws of the colony, every town having ten freemen might send one deputy to the General Court. Every town having tiventij freemen might send two ; but no town more than two. The town of Boston, as its population increased, became sensible of the inequality of their influence in the colo- nial legislature, compared with their numbers. " We have four churches," say the records ; " our members are twenty times twenty ; the number of our representatives should be proportion- ate." No relief was, however, granted in this respect, until after the charter of William and Mary, in 1692, by which the legisla- ture of the province was allowed to fix the number of deputies each town might send ; and Boston was immediately allowed four representatives. The practice of instructing the representatives of the town in the General Court was early adopted, and occasionally, and often annually, continued through every period of colonial history. In these instructions, not only objects of temporary and local inte- rest were pressed upon the attention of their representatives, by the town, but the views and feelings of the inhabitants of a gene- ral nature were indicated, and their sentiments concerning muni- cipal and colonial rights unequivocally expressed. Thus, in 1751, they were instructed to obtain the passage of laws re- gulating " the accepting and entertaining new inhabitants ; " against persons " transplanting themselves from one place to another, without notice to the selectmen ; " and for " inquiring concerning the calling and employment of those who present themselves as inhabitants ; " and, subsequently, in almost every successive year, the subjects most interesting at the period, such as measures for " preventing the poor from being chargeable to 2 14 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the town," and " providing workhouses for the idle and de- bauched," were ui-ged upon the notice of their representatives. The vigilance of the inhabitants in regard to their charter rights and privileges, never failed to be shown, on these occasions, by their votes ; thus, in 1G77, when the claims of Mason and Gorges struck at the powers of the colonial government, " it is a time," say the inhabitants to their representatives, " to unite, and for peace and amity to be attended to," and they were warned, " in matters of judicature, not to assume any arbitrary power," and " to do nothing which should, in the least measure infringe our liberties, civil or ecclesiastical, granted us by our charter." After the commencement of the eighteenth century, and in the incipient stages of those discontents, which ultimately resulted in the American Revolution, the votes of the inhabitants of the metropolis exhibited a spirit, which, in fact, constituted a lead- ing influence in the policy of the colony. Thus, in 1721, their representatives were instructed " to maintain our just rights and privileges ; to pass laws encouraging ti-ade, husbandry, and man- ufactures ; to vindicate the town against the aspersions which had been made against it of being inclined to mobs and tumults ; in all elections to have regard to the preservation of the just and laudable usages and customs of reserving the allow- ances, gratuities, &c., until the acts and elections be fully com- pleted." In 1723, the town addressed the king, repelling the charge " of being under no magistracy and of being of a muti- nous disposition," which had been brought against it by Governor Shute. In 1728, the town voted exti-a pay to their representatives for unusual hardships they had sustained, " for their steadfast adhe- rence to the rights and privileges of the people." In the same year, the question was taken in town meeting, whether "the governor, (Burnett,) shall have a salary settled upon him for the time being, and the vote was unanimously in the negative ; and the same was the result on the question whether " a salary might be settled upon him for a limited time." In the same spirit the town instructed their representatives, in 1729, "to pay due respect to the governor, but to use your utmost endeavors that the house of representatives may not, by any means, be prevailed upon, or brought into the fixing, a certain salary for any certain time to the governor. But that they improve their usual freedom, TOWN GOVERNMENT. 15 in granting their money from time to time, as they shall jndge the province to be able, and in such a manner as they shall think most for the benefit and advantage thereof; and if your pay should be diverted, you may depend upon all the justice imagin- able from this town whom you represent." The same direct and jealous spirit, manifested in the votes of the town in successive causes of popular discontent, from this period to the declaration of independence, shows the leading influ- ence of the town of Boston on all the measures which were the precursors of that event. But as these proceedings belong to the general history of Massachusetts, only some of the chief occasions seized upon to excite an interest and union in the principles of civil liberty will be enumerated. Thus, in 1732, resistance " to granting a certain salary to the governor," and " to compliance with his majesty's instructions, relative to supplying the trea- sury," was enjoined by the town on its representatives. In almost every subsequent year, until 1754, a similar spirit is evi- denced in the votes of the town, accompanied sometimes, as in 1736 and the years ensuing, with complaints of the disproportion of taxation, misapplication of public moneys, against the excise upon spirits ; and, in 1715, their representatives were instructed "to take care that excisemen and their assistants should be excluded from the house of representatives;" and, in 1754, to obtain " a law, whereby the seats of such gentlemen as shall accept posts of profit from the crown or the governor, shall be vacated agreeably to an act of the British Parliament, until their constituents may have an opportunity of reelecting them, if they please." When the policy of the British government, to collect a revenue from the colonies, was manifested by the stamp act and its accompanying measures, the spirit of the town was evi- denced by votes of the most decided character, expressed in instructions to their representatives, and in petitions and remon- strances to the king and the people of Great Britain. In 1767, the town voted funds to procure the pictures of Colo- nel Barre and General Conway, and which, when received, they ordered to be hung in Faneuil Hall, as indications of their grati- tude for their opposition to the projects of the ministry. From that period to the declaration of independence, the unanimity of the inhabitants, and the principles by which they were actuated, are inseparably identified with the chief causes and characters of 16 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the American Revolution, and are among the most prominent and effective influences of that momentous crisis. During the seventeenth century, no indication of dissatisfaction with the form of town government is apparent on the records. As early as 1667, among the instructions given by the town to its representatives, there was inserted the endeavor to obtain a law " making the town a corporation, or making it a county by i self." But this desire had probably no connection with any discontent at that self-government which a town organization secured to its inhabitants ; but exclusively with that of getting rid of the Court of Sessions, whose authority it was thought ' might more properly be vested in the selectmen, and give more efficiency and uniformity to the proceedings of the town. In that court was invested the power to establish a house of cor- rection, which, in utter neglect of the injunctions of the colonial law, they had omitted to erect, choosing, from motives of eco- nomy, to use the common jail for that purpose; an omission of which the town had reason, and did not fail occasionally, to complain. The first proposal of change in the form of town government appears to have originated with the selectmen them- selves, who, in 170S, offered to the inhabitants, at a meeting called for that purpose, the following proposition for their con- sideration, namely : — " That the orders and by-laws of this town ah-eady made, for the directing, ordering, and managing of the prudential affairs thereof, have not answered the ends for which they were made ; and the principal cause thereof is a general defect or neglect in the execution, without Avhich the best laws will signify little ; and one great reason Avhy they are no better executed, is the want of a proper head, or town officer or oiHcers, empowered for that purpose, the law having put the execution of town orders into the hands of the justices only, who are not town, but county officers, and it cannot be expected that they should take the trouble and care, or make it so much their business, as a town officer or officers, particularly appointed or chosen thereunto, must needs do. And, in- deed, for any body or society of men, as a town is, to be vested with power to make rules and by-laws for their own good regulation, and not to have power to choose and appoint the head oflicer or officers, who shall have power to exe- cute their own orders and by-laws, seems incongruous, and good oi-der is not to be expected while it remains so ; for as a town grows more populous, it will stand in need of more strict regulation. The said selectmen, therefore, pro- pose that tills town do now choose a committee of a considerable number of the freeholders and other inhabitants of the town to draw up a scheme or draft a charter of incorporation for encouragement and better government of this town, in the best manner they shall think suitable, and of the best and TOWN GOVERNIVIENT. 17 most suitable means foi' the obtaining thereof, and to present the said scheme or di-aft to the town, at their annual meeting in March next." A vote to that effect was accordingly passed. Thirty-one inhabitants of chief influence were elected to constitute the committee. On the fourth of March, 1708 - 9, they reported the required draft or scheme. But the town not only refused to accept it, but also refused to refer the subject to any future meeting ; at the same time passing votes of thanks to the com- mittee for their labors. In May, 1744, the subject was again revived, in a form, as was probably supposed, less exceptionable. " The town," say the records, " having grown exceedingly popu- lous, a proposition was made to apply to the General Court, that the selectmen, for the time being, might have power, with the consent of the Court of Sessions, to make by-laws, with a penalty not exceeding forty shillings; and that they might be constituted a court of record, to try and determine all oftences against the by-laws, with an appeal from their judgment to the Court of Sessions." The proposition, however, after a long debate, received a decided negative from the inhabitants, and no similar attempt was made until after the peace of 1783. The few municipal relations, during this period of general and per- manent interest and importance, will be found hereafter stated in this history, in connection with some of the principal institu- tions of the town and city. The receipts and expenditures of the town, during its colonial period are obscurely traced on its records, and the glimpses they give of its wants and resources excite neither interest nor curi- osity. The ratio of the increase of its population cannot at this day be ascertained. It was slow and gradual. During the seventeenth century, it never exceeded seven thousand. In 1730, at the close of the first century from its settlement, its population was only fifteen thousand ; and, although in the middle of the eighteenth century its numbers rose to eighteen thousand, yet the effects of wars with France, Spain, and the Indians, and that of the American Revolution, reduced that amount, at the peace of 1783, to twelve thousand, according to the most exact estimates. The wants of the community were during this period of the first necessity, and its resources of the most limited and attainable kind. The government being popular, and in effect democratic, the study of those who ma- 2* B 18 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. naged its concerns was chiefly to avoid debt and taxation ; and when exigencies requiring an enlargement of means occurred, even where the objects were both general and permanent, a re- sort was had to the liberality of the rich, to avoid the recurrence to a tax, which might excite the discontent of the less prosper- ous. Thus, the establishment of an almshouse, a workhouse, and even the provision for the absolute wants of the inmates of those institutions, were occasionally provided for by subscrip- tions, which were regarded and responded to as approved means in all such exigencies. During the revolutionary war, the exertions of the inhabitants of the town were directed to providing for the urgent wants of the period. In 1776, the town was occupied in measures encouraging the declaration of independence, and in pledging unanimously their lives and fortunes for its support; in forming committees of correspondence and of safety; offering bounties for volunteers for the army, and providing arms and ammunition for the in- habitants. In 1777, the town negatived the proposition, to invest in the General Court the power of forming a constitution for the com- monwealth ; took measures to fortify the harbor ; remonstrated against the return of the Tories ; borrowed money for the town, and raised subscriptions for the poor, and recommended to the churches to make collections for the families of the non-commis- sioned officers and privates of the army. In 1778, the articles of confederation were discussed and ap- proved ; monopolists and forestallers denounced ; the inhabitants were desired, in consideration of the necessities of the time, not to have more than tivo dishes of meat on their tables; and com- mittees were raised to provide shirts, stockings, and shoes for the army. In 1779, measures were taken to relieve the town from the great scarcity of provisions and necessaries of life ; to boiTow money ; to raise contributions for the poor ; to form a conven- tion ; to frame a new constitution for the state ; for protection against invasion ; for regulating the prices of goods and pro- visions, and prosecuting those who violated the rules on this subject. In 1780, the new constitution proposed for the state was con- TOWN GOVERNMENT. 19 sidered by sections in town meeting ; many days were occupied in the discussion, several amendments proposed, and the consti- tution partially accepted ; measures were taken to enlist men for the army, and to raise conti'ibntions for the poor. In 1781, heavy assessments were voted by the inhabitants for procuring men, and beef and clothing for the army, and for con- tributions for the support of the poor in the almshouse. Mea- sures were also taken on the subject of the depreciation of paper money ; and the subject of the fisheries was made a topic of earnest representation to the General Court. On occasion of a visit to the town by the ]Marc[uis Lafayette, he was formally addressed by the inhabitants, with expressions of " their cordial esteem and affection;" to which Lafayette responded, in terms manifesting his " lively sense of attachment and gratitude to the inhabitants." In 1782, measures were taken, on the memorial of the over- seers of the poor, who represented the inmates in the almshouse to be in want of the necessaries of life, and the master of it to be greatly in debt for his advances for their relief. Committees were raised on the subject of " the alarming combination of the bakers;" against " illicit trade;" and "the foolish predilection for British manufactures;" and for the purpose of forming associ- ations to prevent smuggling; and for the memorializing the General Court on the unconstitutionality of the Lord's Day Act. These measures, with others too numerous to be recapitu- lated, accompanied with reports, memorials, and instructions to representatives, which fill the town records, so engi'ossed the thoughts of the inhabitants with topics of general interest and vital importance, as to supersede all recurrence to subjects of a municipal character, until the peace of 1783. CHAPTER II. TOWN GOVERmiENT. 1783-1821. State of tlie Public Schools — Measures in. regard to tbem — Successive At- tempts to change the Government of the ToAvn — Plan of a Citj' Government adopted. For upwards of forty years after the adoption of the constitu- tion of Massachusetts, in 1780, the municipal affairs of the town of Boston were conducted on the same simple and economical scale, which antecedent practice had sanctioned. During this interval, the management of the schools, the attempts to incor- porate the town, and the arrangements for the support of the poor, constitute the chief topics of interest and excitement. Our knowledge of the proceedings relative to the schools, from their first establishment under the colonial law, in 1635, until the American Revolution, is chiefly derived from the reports of the selectmen, or of committees annually appointed for their super- vision. These state, in general, their good condition, and the number of scholars. After the peace of 1783, a committee on the schools "lament that so many children should be found in the streets playing and gaming in school hours, owing either to the too fond indulgence of parents, or the too lax govenmient of the schools. They deprecate the effect upon the rising generation ; and recommend that the selectmen should be enjoined to take care that no per- son should open a private school without their recommendation, agreeably to the good and salutary laws of the commonwealth." Occasional efforts were made for improvements of the schools; but no general system was adopted until October, 1789, when a large committee was appointed on the subject, who with much deliberation reported a system which, after some opposi- tion, was sanctioned and carried into effect. The schools then constituted by this arrangement were, one for the instruction of boys in Greek and Latin, and for fitting them for the university, called the Latin School, in wliich duly qualified candidates might TOWN GOVERNIIENT. 21 be admitted at ten years of age, and continue four years ; tnree reading and three writing schools, one of each at the north, the centi-e, and the south part of the town, into whicli candidates were admitted at seven years of age, and might continue till six- teen. Boys might attend' all the year round ; girls, from the 20th of April to the 20th of October. The selectmen, and twelve other persons, annually elected in town meeting by ballot, were authorized to superintend the schools ; to appoint masters and ushers, and fix their salaries ; to visit the schools once every quarter, by sub-committees, and exercise all the powers the selectmen h^d done under the colo- nial government. Votes were, subsequently, annually passed by the town, confirming the above authority, and occasionally enlarging and strengthening it. The school committee was organized by this arrangement in 1790, and its records, which commence in 1792, have been regularly continued.^ At this period there were only seven town schools, denomi- nated the Latin Grammar, the North Reading, the North Writ- ing, the South Reading, the South Writing, the Centre Reading, and the Centre Writing Schools. Their number was increased by the erection of the IMayhew School, at West Boston, in 1803; of the Hawes, at South Boston, in 1811 ; and of the Smith, for colored children, in 1812. The inability of the poorer classes to qualify their children for admission to the common schools, led the town, in 1818, to sanction the establishment of primary schools, for the education of children between four and seven years of age. For their management, the school committee were authorized, annually, to appoint three inhabitants in each ward, whose duty it was to provide instruction for children between the above- mentioned ages, and apportion the expenses among the several schools. In 1818, the Boylston School was authorized, and a school- house erected in 1819. In 1820, an English classical school was established, having 1 The first elected members were, Hon. Thomas Dawes, Eev. Samuel West, Rev. Dr. Lathi-op, Rev. James Freeman, Dr. Nathaniel Appleton, Dr. Aaron Dexter. Dr. Thomas Welsh, .John C. Jones, Jonathan Mason, Jan., Christopher Gore, George Richards Minot, and William Tudor. 22 MUNICIPAL IIISTOEY. for its object to, enable the mercantile and mechanical classes to obtain an education adapted for those children, whom their pa- rents wished to qualify for active life, and thus relieve them from the necessity of incurring the expense incident to private aca- demies. The candidates were to be admitted at twelve years of age, and continue three years; good acquaintance wdth reading, writing, English grammar in all its branches, and with arith- metic as far as Proportions, were requisite for admission. At the time of the transfer of the schools from the town to the city, their number were as foUows : The Latin, established in 1635 ; the Eliot, in 1713 ; the Adams, in 1717 ; the Franklin, in 1785 ; the Mayhew, in 1803 ; the Hawes, in 1811 ; the Smith, in 1812 ; the Boylston, in 1819 ; and the English Classical, in 1820. The number of primary schools were thirty-five. The annual expenses of the whole system, with sufficient accuracy, may be stated at forty thousand dollars. The salaries of the masters of the Latin and English Classical Schools were two thousand dollars each ; of the sub-masters, twelve hundred ; of their ushers, averaging at seven hundred. Those of the reading and writing masters being twelve hundred ; of their ushers, six hundred, with some diminution of salary in respect of the master at South Boston, and of the master of the school for colored children ; the former receiving only eight, and the latter only six hundred dollars annual salary. The number of boys attending the Latin, English, classi- cal, and reading schools being 1844 Those attending the writing, 945 2789 The number of girls attending the reading schools, . . 883 Those attending the writing schools, .... 8G4 1747 4536 The above may be regarded, for all general purposes, a suffi- ciently near approximation to the number and expenses of the schools, and the number of those of both sexes instructed in them, when taken possession of by the city government. The events of the American Revolution had sti'engthened the attachment of a great majority of the inhabitants of Boston to TOWN GOVEIimiENT. 23 the form of town government. In town meetings, their measures of opposition to the pretensions of Great Britain had been origin- ated, been agitated and adopted, and the affection of the inha- bitants to the forms, under which their efforts had been crowned with success, was increased. The name and character of " toum," became identified with the idea of popular power and civil liberty. This sentiment, united with the natural reluctance with which every people part with authority they have long and successfully exercised, rendered all attempts at change, not so much unpopu- lar, as hateful, to a majority of the inhabitants. The inconveniences, resulting from the form of town govern- ment, became, however, every year more apparent to intelligent and influential citizens, and in May, 1784, on the petition of a large number of the inhabitants, a committee ^ of thirteen was appointed " to consider the expediency of applying to the Gene- ral Court for an act»to form the town of Boston into an incorpo- rated city, and report a plan of alterations in the present govern- ment of the police, if such be deemed eligible." This committee was selected with great care from among the most influential and popular inhabitants, and on the fourth of June ensuing, they reported two plans ^ of a corporation, which, being read, were 1 The committee were Samuel Adams, Joseph Barrell, Stephen Higginson, Charles Jarvis, William Tudor, Robert Treat Paine, Perez Morton, Samuel Breck, Edward Paine, James vSuUivan, Thomas Dawes, Benjamin Hichborn, and Caleb Davis. 2 The following condensed abstracts of these plans will give a sufficient gene- ral idea of their import : — FIRST PLAN. The town to be a body politic by the name and style of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council of the City of Boston, with the following powers and privi- leges : — 1. To be invested with all the real and personal estate of the town, with power to dispose of the same under specified limitations. 2. To be capable to sue and of being sued. 3. Three meetings of the inhabitants to be held in the year, namely, — in March, to choose city officers ; in April, to choose state officers ; in IMay, to choose representatives. General meetings to be called by the mayor, at the request of fifty citizens. 4. In Mai'ch, the qualified voters were to choose by ballot a mayor, a recorder, twelve overseers of the poor, sixteen firewards, seven assessors, a county trea- surer and registrar ; and, on the day following, the inhabitants of each ward to choose in its ward one alderman and two common councilmen. 5. The legality of the electors to be determined by the common councU. 6. The city officers to take the oaths of allegiance and office. 7. The recorder to be a person discreet in the law. 8. The mayor, recorder, and common councilmen to constitute a common 24 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. ordered to be printed and distribntcd to each house, the town adjourning to the seventeenth of the same month to take them into consideration. At this meeting, it was voted that " the sense of the town be taken on the expediency of making any alterations in the present form of town government." On which question the records state, — " but the impatience of the inhabitants for the question being immediately put, prevented any debate thereon, and it passed in the negative by a great majority, and the meeting was immediately dissolved." This result did not, however, deter the friends of a change from further effort ; and in November, 1785, the attempt was renewed, on petition of a number of the inhabitants, and a com- mittee was chosen " to state the defects of the present constitu- tion of the town, and to report how far the same may be reme- died without an act of incorporation." This committee, com- posed of men of great popularity and influence, reported, pro- bably more from a sense of the impracticability of effecting any change arising from the existing state of prejudice, than from any want of perception of the inconveniences experienced, " that they do not report any defects in the constitution." After debate, this report was accepted, and leave given to the petitioners to with- draw their petition. council, with power to make by-laws and ordinances not repugnant to the laws of the commonwealth, and not to be in force until published in two newsjiapers. 9. The common council to lia^c power to raise money ; of which the mayor and aldermen were to have the exclusive right of ajipropriating, laying an account of their expenditures before the people annually, in March. 10, 11, and 12, relate to the trial of l)reachcs of the b3'-laws, the making a common seal, and to times of meeting of the common council. 13. No assembly was to be deemed a common council, unless either the mayor or recorder, at least seven aldermen and thirteen common councilmen were present. The remaining articles relate to the choice of a town clerk, to the granting the freedom of the city, to the removal of city officers for misconduct, and to the fill- ing vacancies in case of their death. SECOND PLAN. This coincides with the first, except that the style of the body politic was to be " The President and Selectmen of the City of Boston." Art. 4. In ]\Iarch, the f|ualified voters were to choose by ballot a president and six selectmen, twelve overseers of the poor, sixteen firewards, seven assessors, a county treasurer and registrar ; and the day following, each ward should choose one selectman for such ward. Art. 7. The president and eighteen selectmen to constitute a city board. The president always to be present, with powers to make laws. The other articles not materially different from those of the first plan. TOWN GOVERNMENT. 25 The subject remained dormant until December, 1791, when it was again renewed, by a petition of a number of the inhabitants, '•setting forth the want of an efficient police" on which was raised a large and respectable committee,^ consisting of inhabit- ants of leading influence in both the political parties of the period. This committee, after long deliberation, reported a sys- tem,2 which, after being read, discussed, amended in town meet- ing, and accepted by paragraphs, was ordered to be printed and distributed in handbills. The town then adjourned until the twenty-sixth of January ensuing, for its final consideration, when it was rejected ; live hundred and seventeen voters being in the affirmative, and seven hundred and one in the negative. In May following, the attempt to efl'ect a change in the sys- tem of town police, and for the better execution of the laws, was revived, and met a similar fate. No subsequent attempt of this kind was made until January, 1804, when, by the increase of its population, the inconvenience of conducting town affairs, in general meetings, became more apparent to the inhabitants. A large committee ^ was, in conse- 1 The members of the committee were, — James Sullivan, Charles Jarvis, Thomas Dawes, Jr., Judge Paine, William Tudor, Caleb Davis, Benjamin Aus- tin, Jr., Jonathan Mason, Jr., Stephen Higsinson, William Eustis, Christopher Gore, William Little, John Q. Adams, Edward Edes, John Lucas, Tliomas Tileston, James Prince, Thomas Edwards, Paul Revere, Edward Tyler, Charles Bulfinch. 2 The following is a brief outline of the system reported : — 1. That the town be divided into nine wards, as equal as may be in point of the iiumbers of the inhabitants of each, which the selectmen might change, if they saw fit, once in three years. 2. Each ward to elect two men residing in the ward, who, with the selectmen, should constitute a town council, and possess the folloAving powers : — First, of making by-laws with limited penalties. No by-law to be enacted^ luitil it shall have had three several readings on three several days, and shall have been pubhshed for the inspection of the inhabitants ; nor be perpetual until reenacted by a subsequent town council, by the same formalities. Second, to regulate all public carriages within the town, and to raise duties upon them. Thii-d, that the town council have power to appoint annually all the executive officers then appointed by the town, except selectmen, town clerk, overseers of the poor, assessors, town treasurer, school committees, auditors of accounts, fire- wards, collectors of taxes, and constables. Fourth, to direct prosecutions for violations of the by-laws, and for this puqiose to appoint an attorney. Fifth, to apply to the General Court for the establishment of a tribunal with one judge, having exclusive jurisdiction of such prosecutions. 3 The members of this committee Avere as follows : — Josiah SneUing, Ozias Goodwin, Robert Gai'dner. Jacob Rhoades, Redford 26 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. quence, appointed, composed of persons very equally selected from the two political parties, which, at that time, divided the town and commonwealth, with instructions to consider and report any alteration in the town government they deemed expe- dient. They had frequent meetings and long deliberations, and in IMarch reported to the inhabitants a system ^ of municipal govern- ment, in which they had carefully endeavored to combine a strict regard to the efficiency of the new organization of authority, with as little offence as possible to the prejudices and habits of the inhabitants. Notwithstanding this endeavor, and, although the composition of the committee had effectually neutralized all political elements, the inherent attachment of the inhabitants to the form of town government was not diminished. A warm, and somewhat tumultuous debate ensued, resulting in a decided negative of the whole report. No farther attempt to change the town organization occurred until 1815, when Charles Bulfinch, who had been chairman of the board of selectmen and superintendent of police ever since the year 1800, and two other efficient members of that board, were not reelected. The circumstance was a subject of very general surprise and regret. Every elected member of the board of select- men immediately resigned, and, on a second trial, Mr. Bulfinch ^ Webster, Thomas Lewis, Jr., Amasa Stetson, Samuel Sturges, Thomas Edwards, Nathan Webb, Isaiah Doane, Jos(>ph Hall, William Spooner, James Prince, William Smith, Edward Gray, Harrison G. Otis, Rufus Green Amory, James Sullivan, George Blake, John Davis, Charles Jarvis, William Brown, and Charles Paine. 1 The following outUne will give a sufficient general idea of tins system : — A town council to be constituted of the selectmen, chosen by the citizens in general meeting, and of two delegates from each ward, chosen in ward meetings. By this town council an intendant and all other town officers Avere to be chosen ; except the town clerk, the overseers of the poor, board of healtli, firewards, school committee, and assessors, all of whom were to be chosen by the inhabit- ants in town meeting ; the intendant to have the appointment of a police officer, and to be ex officio the presiding officer of the board of selectmen, and with them to have the sviperintendencc of the police and execution of the laws. 2 Few men deserve to be held by the citizens of Boston in more grateful remembrance than Charles Bulfinch. After being graduated at Harvard, his father, a physician of eminence and fortune, permitted him to travel in Europe and cultivate his taste for the fine arts. On his return, he turned his attention to the improvement of his native town, and induced other citizens of wealth and enterprise to unite with him in the purchase of a portion of waste and marsh land, in forming it into streets, and erecting a range of buildings, now known as Franklin Places The cenotaph of Franklin and the open space around It were given by hmi and his associates to the public. This undertaking, which was too TOWN GOVERmiENT. 27 and the other members of the board of the preceding year were reinstated by decided majorities. These occurrences again directed public attention to the dis- advantages of town government, and, on the petition of a large number of the inhabitants, a committee formed of two indi- viduals, elected in each ward, was authorized to consider the expediency of a change of the government. In October, 1815, this committee i presented a bill, accompa- nied by an explanatory report, which were printed for general distribution, and a town meeting was called on the thirteenth of November ensuing, to decide upon its acceptance. The system now proposed, was the nearest approximation to a city form of government any previous committee of the town had ventured to attempt,^ and the result came nearest to success, it being rejected only by a majority of thirty-one ; nine hundred and fifty- one being in the negative, and nine hundred and twenty in the affirmative. exiiensive for the iieriod, seriously afTeeted his fortunes, and the art he had stu- died for amusement became his jirofession. As the principal architect of the town of Boston and its vicinity, the state house and many other public build- ings were erected on his plans. During the many years' he presided over the town government, he improved its finances, executed the laws with firmness, and ■was distinguished for gentleness and urbanity of manners, integrity and purity of character. Under his superintendence, Faneuil Hall was enlarged to double its ancient area, and the streets of the town greatly improved. In 1818, he was appointed by President Monroe architect of the Capitol at the city of Washint in case of necessity, and until they could be removed to South Boston. 8. That the Overseers of the Poor should be authorized to give permits for admission into the House of Industry. 9. That the Mayor and Aldermen, on appUcation of the Over- seers of the Poor, should be authorized to provide for the transfer of such poor to South Boston. CITY GOYERmiENT. 93 This report was accepted, and the votes recommended passed by both branches of the City Council, and the several commit- tees appointed, of each of which the Mayor was constituted Chairman. By the direction of the Committee, the Mayor communicated these votes to the Overseers of the Poor on the ninth of Septem- ber ; but they refused to comply with the directions relative to the transfer of the poor to South Boston, denying the authority of the City Council and the responsibility of the Overseers to that body. The Mayor, however, being anxious to prevent, if possible, all collisions between the different city authorities, addressed a letter to the Chairman of the Overseers of the Poor, stating that " twenty or thirty laborers were now wanting at the House of Industry ; " that " he had been informed by one of the Overseers of the Poor that such a number, at least, of able-bodied poor were now in the Almshouse with little or no work ; " that " if they could not be obtained, it would be necessary for the city to hire ; " and expressing the wish of the city authorities to avoid all public discussions of questions of jurisdiction between coex- isting boards, inquired whether, considering the actual relations of things, and also the great respectabihty in point of charac- ter and talent of the Dnectors of the House of Industry, the Overseers of the Poor, under the expressed wish of the City Council, may not enable that body to avoid the necessity of any discussion, concerning relative powers, by simply declaring that under these circumstances and relations, they consent that such of the poor as, after consultation by the Committee of the City Coun- cil with the Overseers, it shall be deemed expedient to transfer., shall be temporarily placed under the direction and superintend- ence of the Directors of the House of Industry, until the whole poor shall be transferred, reserving to the Overseers of the Poor the right of visitatorial poiver, in relation to that establishment, at their pleasure, and of making all inquiries concerning the manage- ment there, as they deem expedient, and, in case of any dissatisfac- tion, of taking such measures as the exigency may requireP None of these suggestions were acceded to by the Overseers of the Poor ; and on the twenty-third of September, 1823, they made a communication to the City Council, signed by Redford Webster, their Chairman, developing their views of their duties 94 MUNICIPAL inSTORY. and rights. In this they stated, that as they derived their author- ity from the people, " it did not appear that they ivere, in any respect^ the agents of the City Council, or properly subordinate to them ;" that " they .derived their poivers from the statute passed in 1735, ratified and confirmed in January, 1789." They then undertook, by a course of reasoning, to show that the city char- ter effected no change in those powers, and that notwithstanding the acts of the legislature, establishing the Directors of the House of Industry, the Overseers had the right to the care of the Alms- house and the superintendence of its government and the management of the poor. The Committee of the City Council, thus finding that all attempts to induce the Overseers of the Poor to acquiesce in the measures proposed, were fruitless, submitted a report, marking out a course of measures, which were adopted by the City Council. In this they showed that the claims set up by the Overseers of being " neither agents or subordinates of the City Council," necessarily implied they were either equals or superiors ; either of which excluded the idea of responsibility ; that if not responsible to the City Council, they were responsible to no one, as the City Council was the only body now invested with the fiscal, prudential, and municipal concerns of the city. The consequences of such a claim by a Board expending annu- ally thirty or forty thousand dollars of the public money was too serious to be passed over without examination ; they recom- mended, therefore, a special committee for that purpose. In order, however, to avoid all discussions concerning the rela- tions of authority of the City Council and the Board of Over- seers, they recommended a course of measures coincident with the views entertained by the Overseers of their own powers, and predicated upon the statute of 1735, which that Board considered as the basis of those powers. As the statute of 1735 required that " the house for the recep- tion and employment of the idle and poor should be under the regulation of the Overseers of the Poor, and be erected, provided for, continued, or discontinued, as the town of Boston shall find or judge their circumstances require;" and, as the town had no longer a corporate existence, and all the rights of the ancient town were, by the terms of the city charter, vested in the city of Boston ; and, as all the administration of the pru- CITY GOVERNMENT. 95 dential and municipal concerns of said city are, by the same charter, vested in the City Council, the Committee considered that it would not be questioned by the Overseers, or by any one, that it now belonged to the City Council, exclusively, to "judge what the circumstances of the city requu-ed, in relation to any such house thus erected." Upon this ground, following the precise words of the statute of 1735, in all material points, they recommended that votes should be passed of the following import : — 1. That for the present, and until the further order of the City Council, the house in Leverett Street should be the house for the reception and employment of the idle and poor of the city, under the regulation of the Overseers, and be continued, or discon- tinued, as the City Council shall find or judge the ckcumstances of the city require." 2. That the Committee of the City Council should proceed to Leverett Street, and, after notice given to the Overseers, "judge what the circumstances of the city require, in relation to said house and the inmates thereof;" and if they judge, in relation to any of said inmates, that " the said house shall be discontinued," it was declared as to them discontinued, and not lawful for the Overseers to apply to such inmates any portion of the public provision ; and if they afterwards did so apply it, the amount was ordered to be deducted from their accounts. 3. That, in case the Committee of the City Council should "judge that the circumstances of the city required that the per- sons, in relation to whom the house in Leverett Street was thus discontinued, should be admitted into that at South Boston, they were authorized to give a certificate to that effect, and the Directors of the House of Industry thereupon should admit them into that institution. Other votes were also recommended, for appointing a com- mittee to inqune into the powers and authorities of the Over- seers of the Pflor, under the city charter, particularly with refer- ence to the limitations of expenditure of public moneys, and then responsibility for their disposition of them ; also, for the transfer of five thousand dollars of the unexpended appropri- ation from the Overseers of the Poor to the Directors of the House of Industry ; and, finally, giving to the Overseers of the Poor, in conformity with the act of February, 1794, a general 96 MUNICIPxVL mSTORY. visitatorial power, in relation to the treatment of the poor, in the House of Industiy. These votes passed the Board of Aldermen on the twenty-ninth of September ; and on the first of October, notice having been given of these votes to the Overseers, the Committee attended, on the second of October, at the Alms- house "Wharf with a boat, and received from them thirty-five of the inmates, who were forthwith transferred to the House of Industry. After this time, the course of measures which the City Council had originally resolved upon were steadily pursued, — to make the house erected at South Boston the refuge of the respect- able poor, and the House of Correction, then in progress, the recep- tacle of the vagrant and vicious. During the remainder of this city year, the house in Leverett Street was chiefly used for the accommodation of the sick, and for the temporary reception of those who were to be subse- quently transferred to South Boston, no further obstructions being offered by the Overseers. An account of their opposition to future measures of the City Council will be given in a subse- quent chapter. The foundation for a building for a house of correction was laid this year, under the superintendence of the Dkectors of the House of Industry. About five acres of land were also purchased, in its immediate vicinity, for the enlargement of its boundaries. In this state of progress the relations of that institution stood at the end of the second year of the city government. In June, 1823, a petition of the proprietors of the church in Bromfield Street, praying for the liberty to erect tombs in the cellars of that edifice, drew the attention of the City Council to a consideration of the expediency of granting such a right. The subject was referred to a Committee of the City Council.^ The petition was pressed with gi-eat urgency, as a common right, and the grant of a lilce privilege, by the preceding City Council to the churches of St. Paul and Park Street, was reUed upon as conclu- sive. The question presented great difficulties. To gi-ant it, would be to allow all the churches in the city a similar privilege, which, considering the pecuniary advantage resulting, would be likely to be generally used. To deny it, would be to withhold from a nume- 1 This Committee were, — the Mayor, Aldermen Dorr and Hooper, and Messrs. Page, S. Perkins, Wales, and Bullard, of the Common Council. CITY GOVERNIIENT. 97 rous congi'egation rights which had, during the last year, been granted to two churches in their immediate vicinity. On examining into the circumstances under which those privi- leges had been granted to the St. Paul and Park Street churches, it was found that they had been acquired under a weight of pri- vate interests and influences, which rendered it doubtful whether the permanent welfare of the city had been sufficiently con- sidered. The important question, concerning the propriety of allowing cemeteries under chm'ches in the heart of a metropolis, had been brought before the first administration in December, 1822, by a petition of the proprietors of St. Paul's, praying for leave to use the cellar under that building as a place of inter- ment ; " and stating that, having erected a chui'ch at a great expense, they had incuiTed a debt, from which they could not be relieved unless their prayer was gi-anted. Among the proprietors of St. Paul's were men of wealth and influence, who were earnestly desirous of securing, not only for their church, but for themselves, the benefit of possessing tombs under it. The pro- prietors of Park Street possessed similar influences in the com- munity, and were actuated by a similar desire to be relieved from a troublesome debt, by the sale of their cellar for tombs. Mem- bers of each society were members of one or the other branch of the city government. This combination of circumstances had a tendency to counteract an unbiased inquiiy into the public interest. The Committee of the first City Council, to whom the peti- tion of the church of St. Paul's had been refen-ed, in 1822, reported, that " learned physicians had given a decided opinion that no injurious effects were to be apprehended from granting such a privilege on the health of the city ; " that " persons whose business obliged them to be constantly exposed to the decompo- sition of animal matter, were as healthy as other classes of citizens ; " and that " no danger had arisen from cemeteries under King's Chapel and Trinity Church;" and, "as to nauseous effluvia, tombs might be so constructed as to prevent any incon- venience in that respect;" and after recommending that the City Council should annex it as a condition, that the tombs should be constructed under the du'ection of a committee of the City Council, and forever subject to then- control, they reported the prayer of the petition ought to be gi-anted. This report 9 98 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. was accepted in both branches on the thirtieth December, 1822. The Committee who made this report, in answer to the objec- tion, that other societies would claim the same privilege, stated "they had not taken that into consideration, leaving it to the judgment of those who shall have the care of the interests of the city at the time such application may be made." No notice was taken of this statement, or intimation given, so far as could be ascertained, of any intention on the part of the proprietors of Park Street Church, to take immediate advamtage of the precedent. Yet, on the twenty-third day of January ensuing, as soon as the principle was settled, by the acceptance of that report, those proprietors presented a petition for a similar right of interment under their church, predicated on the grant to the Church of St. Paul's ; and their petition was granted, without even the formality of commitment or any further inquiry. Other circumstances greatly diminished the confidence of the second administration of the city in the soundness of these per- missions, and led them to submit the petition of the proprietors of the church in Bromfield Street to a rigorous scrutiny. On the fom-th of August, (1823,) the Chairman of this Committee reported, that the claim of the Bromfield Street Church had no foundation on the ground of common right, each City Council being independent, and not bound to exercise its discretion by precedents set by its predecessors ; that if the claim of this church be granted, there would be no resisting similar claims, and that the cellar of every chm-ch in the city might be con- verted into a cemetery ; that the temptation to exercise that right, when it was recognized to be universal, would be abso- lutely irresistible, since Park Street Church had aheady realized eight thousand dollars, and St. Paul's thirteen thousand, by sales of tomb rights, under the Uberty granted by the first City Council. Touching the opinions of those physicians, who had declared to the Committee of the first City Council, on the application of St. Paul's Church, " that if tombs under churches were of brick and stone, and arched, there could be no danger to health therefrom ; " and that " fevers arise from the decomposition of vegetable, and not of animal, matter;" the Committee of the second City Council remark, that " they have ascertained that other physicians, not less known, of at least equal standing, CITY GOVEKmiENT. 99 and as well deserving of confidence, held directly contrary opi- nions, in which they are supported by facts, and the concurrence of European physicians of eminence ; " from which the Com- mittee deemed it at least doubtful, whether any measure so natiu-ally alarming, and, once adopted, if erroneous, so irre- trievable, should be predicated on opinions thus equivocally set- tled among professional men. " But if," they add, " decomposi- tion of animal matter be not obnoxious, why require tombs to be constructed with so much care ? The physicians most favor- able to such grants declare, there will be no danger if the tombs were properly built, thereby strongly implying there would be danger if they are improperly built. By the very words of these physicians, safety, therefore, depends, not upon the harmlessness of the effluvia, but upon the precautions used. The declaration of one physician, that ' he had never known the slightest ofTen- siveness from tombs under churches,' was distinctly repelled by the deposition of the sexton of King's Chapel, and by the certi- ficate of the Rev. Dr. Freeman, rector of that chmx-h ; as also by a letter from the oldest physician of the city, Dr. Samuel Danforth, who, for extensive practice, weight of professional character, and intellectual talent, was second to no physician in it ; and other certificates, to hke effect, might have been obtained from other physicians. In conclusion, the Committee stated, that the evidence of the noxiousness and danger from the effluvia under churches was, in their opinion, established beyond ques- tion, and confirmed even by the advocates of that practice ; that safety depends upon the tightness of the vaults ; and that the im- possibifity of enforcing requisite precautions by statutory provi- sions was evidenced by the fact, that the right of erecting tombs under Park Street and St. Paul's Churches was granted on the express condition, ' that thejj should be built under the direction of the City Council;'' yet, strange as is the fact, the tombs are built, and no directions of the City Council were either asked or given, so far, at least, as appears by their records.^'' The Committee add, that " a subject of this importance should be decided without regard to private interests. The right of being buried undfer churches must necessarily be confined to a very few. It is not just, that a small minority of the population should have the privilege of poisoning the air for the great ma- jority. If the right of ancient tombs is to be respected, those 100 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. rights ought not to be multiplied and extended by the erection of new tombs. It is the duty of the official guardians of states and cities to avoid adopting any policy raateriaUy affecting the general health or welfare on the assumption of wavering theories, especially when they contradict the most direct intimations of sense and reason. Instead of advocating the burial of the dead within the city, the great duty of a city government is to adopt rigidly a prospective system, which should ultimately, in some dis- tant time, exclude burial within its limits altogether.' The Com- mittee, therefore, recommend a rejection of the petition of the Bromfield Street Church; the prohibition of the erection of new tombs within the ancient peninsula of Boston ; the adop- tion of ' measures ultimately tending to exclude all burials here- after within the peninsula ; and devising measures for applying the only perfect and satisfactory remedy, by adopting some com- mon place of burial for all the inhabitants, selected, if possible, beyond the limits of the city, but certainly beyond that of the peninsula, of an extent sufficient to meet the future exigencies of the population. There let all classes meet together, and let a common interest in the place be fortified and perpetuated by the sympathies and affections common to all, and thus become honored, and protected, and consecrated." These views were submitted by the Committee in a series of resolutions, and adopted by the City Council. The chiu-ch and congregation in Bromfield Street, although denied a liberty which had been granted by the fii'st City Council to the churches of St. Paul and Park Street, and who were thus dejirived of an important pecuniary benefit, submitted without a murmur, and in a manner highly honorable and exemplary, to the decision of the City Council. The tone and policy of this report, made in 1823, have been since sanctioned by the establishment of the cemetery at Mount Auburn by an effective organization of ]:)rivate citizens ; and if similar plans are adopted by any future City Council, the main design of the Committee may be in time carried into effect, and burials altogether excluded from the precincts of the city. The new organization of the city authorities having rendered a more efficient police requisite than had existed under the town government, an ordinance was passed, in June, 1823, authorizing the election and prescribing the duties of the city marshal, to CITY GOVERmiENT. 101 which office Benjamin Pollard was immediately nominated by the Mayor, and appointed by the Board of Aldermen. In con- stituting this department, a strong feeling was manifested in the Common Council to retain in their hands a concurrent vote in the appointment of the City Marshal, as being the head of the police. But the opinion ultimately prevailed, that this officer wa? in fact the arm of the executive jjranch, for which it ought to be exclusively made responsible ; that a voice in his appointment, vested in the legislative branch, would essentially and injuriously affect that responsibility. An officer, exercising powers and fulfill- ing duties like those required of the City Marshal, ought, as far as possible, to be removed from all temptation of fear, on account of his popularity. This office, when faithfully executed, must often cross the interests, and sometimes the passions, of men influ- ential in local spheres. Perhaps no office exposes an individual to gi'eater risks of becoming unpopular. Both from its conspi- cuousness and its salary, the office would be an object of ambi- tion and intrigue ; and that the difficulties of a faithful perform- ance of its duties, from their minuteness, and the general and wide sphere of action to which they were applicable, rendered such performance easily susceptible of mistake and misrepresent- ation. These considerations were conclusive in the judgment of the Common Council, who passed the bill constituting this de- partment, limiting the responsibility of this officer to the Board of Aldermen, on whom rested the reciprocal responsibility of keeping an unworthy officer in power. The importance of this decision on the character and efficiency of this office cannot be too highly estimated. The qualifications of Mr. Pollard for the office of City Marshal were unquestionable. He was intelligent, well-educated, gentlemanly in manners, acquainted with the laws and with mankind, and of a disposition to fulfil the duties of the office faithfully. It would not have been easy to find an officer combining more requisite qualities, or generally more acceptable. He performed the duties of City Marshal twelve years, under four successive administrations, until his death, in November, 1835. CHAPTER VIII. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1823-1824. JosiAH QuiNCY, Mayor. Measures for the Suppression of Idleness, Vice, and Crime — A House of Cor- rection — Its Effects — Building provided for Juvenile Offenders — Jts Re- sults — Petition for General Meetings in AVards — Loans proposed for City Improvements — Theatrical Licenses — Ropewalk Lands — Islands in the Harbor — Common Sewers. Peculiar and difficult duties, relative to idleness, vice, and crime, devolved upon the second administration of the city, which led to measures, during the six ensuing years, resulting in a complete system of institutions adapted to their restraint and reformation. That class of vicious population unavoidable in a city was, at that time, in Boston, thickly concentrated in a district at West Boston. Twelve or fourteen houses of infamous character were openly kept, without concealment and without shame. The chief officer of the former police said to the Mayor, soon after his inauguration: "There, are dances there almost every night. The whole street is in a blaze of light from their win- dows. To put them down, without a military force, seems im- possible. A man's life would not be safe who should attempt it. The company consists of highbinders, jail-birds, known thieves, and miscreants, with women of the worst description. Murders, it is well known, have been committed there, and more have been suspected." He was asked, "If vice and villany were too strong for the police?" He replied, "I think so; at least, it has long been so in that quarter." He was answered, "There shall be at least a struggle for the supremacy of the laws." These representations of the police officer were not exagge- rated ; but means of relief were difficult. A house of correction, the legal instrument of control for such offences, had never ex- CITY GOVERmiENT. 103 isted in the town of Boston. Within the inclosure surrounding the Almshouse in Leverett Street, there had been, from its first establishment, a small brick building, called " The Bridewell ; " but its accommodations were too limited to restrain or punish even the inmates of the house,^ and were wholly inadequate as a resource to come in aid of the judicial courts of the county. A sentence to the House of Con-ection was, in effect, a sentence of confinement to the common jail, where this class of offenders received their punishment, without means of labor, and without other special superintendence or moral influence than tenants of prisons were at that time accustomed to receive, which was compa.ratively none at all. It accordingly appears, by the offi- cial returns of the Municipal Court, in the years 1822 and 1823, that, out of three hundred and fifty-eight sentences to con- finement, two hundred and forty-three were to the common jail, and not one to the House of Correction. It was obvious, there- fore, that all attempts to give efficiency to the moral police of the city, must be preceded by providing a house of correction. On inspecting the common jails of the city, in Leverett Street, it was found that, of the two stone prisons there situated, one was amply sufficient for all the usual exigencies of the courts of justice. It was determined, therefore, to convert the other into a house of coiTection, and employ the inmates in the adjoining jail-yard in hammering stone and like materials. Accordingly, on the fourth of .lune, 1823, the Mayor and Aldermen passed an order appropriating the North Prison to that use, and appointed the jailer of the prison its keeper. Both the sheriff and the jailer opposed this measure. Their objections, representing such a location of the House of Correc- tion, in the vicinity of the common jail, to be incompatible with the safety of the one institution and the discipline of the other, had so much weight, that the Mayor pledged himself, on behalf of the City Council, that the arrangement should be temporary ; and, on the recommendation of the Committee, in 1823, the City Council, in December following, authorized a building, destined for a house of correction, to be erected at South Boston. In October, 1823, the House of Correction was organized in the North Jail, in Leverett Street, under the statutes of the 1 It was two stories high, forty-one feet long, thirty feet wide, and contained twenty-four locked cells and two other cells. 104 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. Commonwealth, by appointing three overseers,^ and establishing rules and regulations for its government. A Committee of the Board of Aldermen, consisting of the Mayor and Messrs. Odi- orne and Child, was also appointed for the general superintend- ence of the whole subject. The immediate result of these measures on the moral condi- tion of the city were thus stated by the Mayor, in his inaugural address to the City Council, in May, 1824 : — " There existed at the commencement of last year, in one section of the city, (West Boston,) an audacious olitrusiveness of vice, notorious and lamentable, setting at defiance not only the decencies of life, but the authority of the laws. Repeated attempts to subdue this combination had failed. An opinion was entertained by some, that it was invincible. There were those who recom- mended a tampering and palliative, rather than an eradicating, course of mea- sures. Those intrusted with the affairs of the city were of a different temper. The evil was met in the face. In spite of clamor, of threat, of insult ; of the certificates of those who were interested to maintain, or willing to countenance, the locating vice in this quarter, a determined course was pursued. The whole section was put under the ban of aiithority. All Hcenses in it were denied. A vigorous police was organized, which, aided by the courts of justice and the House of Correction, effected its purpose. For three months past, the daily reports of our city ofhcers have represented that section as peaceable as any other. Those connected with courts of justice, both as ministers and officers, assert that the effect has been plainly discernible in the registers of the jails and of prosecutions. " These measures did not originate in any theories or visions of ideal purity, attainable in the existing state of human society ; but in a single sense of duty, and respect for the character of the city ; proceeding upon the principle that, if in great cities the existence of vice is inevitable, that its course should be secret, like other filth, in drains and in darkness ; not obtrusive ; not powerful ; not prowUng publicly in the streets for the innocent and unwary. " The expense by which this effect has been produced has been somewhat less than one thousand dollars ; an amount already, perhaps, saved to the com- munity in the diminution of the costs of prosecutions, which an unobstructed course of vice would have occasioned." The records of the courts of justice soon proved that the House of Con-ection diminished the inmates of the prison, and its estabUshment was hailed by those interested in the moral efficiency of the laws, as an era in our municipal history. The Grand Jury of the county, in September, 1824, in their official report, expressed " their gralification to learn that, after a lapse of 1 Thomas Kendall, Jonathan Thaxter, and Edward Dyer. CITY GOVERNMENT. 105 tkirfij-six years, measures have been adopted hy the government of the city, to erect a suitable house for the confinement and labor of those numerous leiod, idle, and disorderly persons, who, by the vigilance and faithfulness of the Mayor and Police Court, are arrested in their unlaicful careerP TJie beneficial results of the House of CoiTection were also acknowledged by the citizens in general and the City Council ; and in November ensuing, a committee of both branches urged the erection of a stockade fence round the sixty acres attached to the House of Industry, on the gi-ound that the enclosure would soon comprehend the House of Correction, which had already, in its restricted location in the North Jail, by its terrors and dis- cipline, enabled the city authorities so to reduce the number of crimes and offences, as to have their success publicly acknow- ledged by the justices of both the criminal courts and the keeper of the jail. In this report, the Committee give the first intimation of the intention of the City Council, which had, from the first esta- blishment of the House of Correction, been entertained by the Mayor and influential members of that body, to make that insti- tution applicable to juvenile offenders, as soon as it had been brought into effective operation at South Boston ; by its aid to clear the markets, streets, and wharves of those vagabonds, boys, beggars, and drunkards, who, under pretence of gaining a liveli- hood, learned the habits of begging, stealing, or gambling, and whose reformation could not be effected without effectual re- straint. Although objections had been made by the sheriff and jailer to the use of the North Jail as a house of correction, experience had incluced the latter to wish for its continuance in that loca- tion. The Overseers of the House of Correction concurred in this wish, as its superintendence was more easy than at South Boston. Considerable expenses, also, had been incurred for its establishment in the North Prison, which would be lost by a removal. The impending great debt of the city, consequent on the extension of Faneuil Hall Market, was also brought forward to obstruct further appropriations. An opposition was thus raised, which neither influence nor argument could overcome; and after the building for the House of Correction at South Boston had been finished, it was permitted to lay unoccupied 106 MUNICIPAL mSTORY. for more than a year, so satisfactory had the result of the experi- ment of its establishment in the North Jail proved. All attempts for a removal of the House of CoiTection to South Boston thus being for a time ineffectual, a design was formed to place in the edifice erected for it an establishment for the reformation of juvenile offenders. Accordingly, on the nine- teenth of January, 1826, a Committee of the City Council, com- posed of the Mayor, Aldermen Oliver and Loring, and Messrs. Stevenson, Boies, and Grosvenor, of the Common Council, was appointed to consider the whole subject; and, on the ninth of February, the Committee made a report, stating the importance of the design ; the inadequacy of a voluntary association, should it be formed for that pmpose ; that, although such a house, from its nature, ought to be supported from the resources of the whole community, there was no reasonable cause of expectation that it would be established by the State. The evil being chiefly felt in great cities, the remedy, it was deemed, devolved on the municipal authorities ; and that, if a house for the reformation of juvenile offenders was thought necessary, it could only be effected by the power or means of the city. The Committee then stated the causes and various considera- tions which had unavoidably postponed, for a time, the removal of the House of Correction to the edifice erected at South Boston, although the growth of the city would render its future transfer inevitable. In this building, the experiment of a house for the reformation of juvenile offenders might therefore be made, with little comparative expense. The City Council immediately concurred in these views, and authorized an application to the legislature of the State for the requisite powers, which were granted to the City Council, by an act passed in March, 1826. Under this act of the legislature, the cast wing of the building at South Boston, originally in- tended for a house of correction, was authorized to be used for the reception of juvenile offenders, and the Directors of the House of Industry appointed Directors of the new institution. The aiTangements for carrying it into efl'ect were made under the disadvantages incident to the circumstances under which it was commenced. There was far from being a universal concur- rence in the design, either in the City Council or among the citizens. The expenditiues were immediate and considerable ; CITY GOYERN]MENT. 107 the advantage distant and prol)lematieal. Many were of opi- nion that it ought to be supported by the resourccri of the State, and not of the city. It was an experiment, and its success necessarily depended upon the qualifications of the superintend- ent, among which zeal and entire devotion to the service are indispensable. Difficulties also occurred from tender-hearted philanthropists, who regarded the length and nature of the re- straint as severe, notwithstanding the boys were committed by a court of justice for serious offences. Parents, also, who had been deprived of the services of their sons, made complaints and attempts for their discharge. During the first eighteen months, the institution had about seventy inmates, from nine to eighteen years of age ; but its friends, not being entirely satisfied with its success, determined to prove the efficacy of the institu- tion by unquestionable results, or recommend its abandonment altogether. Happily, in November, 1827, the Rev. E. M. P. Wells was appointed the chaplain and superintendent; and entered on the duties of his station with the spirit and energy characteristic of a vigorous mind, a resolved purpose, and a heart zealous and devoted to the objects of the institution. By constant supervision, kind treatment, friendly advice, and strict requirement of obedience, he dispensed with the use of the whip and solitary confinement for punishments, except in highly aggravated ofFenCes. He encom*aged each individual, as he rose in the moral scale, by privileges, and subjected him to pri- vations, if he fell in it. Sti'ictness without severity, love with- out indulgence, were the elements of his system of manage- ment ; regarding the juvenile delinquents rather as " sinned against than sinning," both by parents and society. To secure perfect purity and order, he submitted to the inconvenience of sleeping in a large hall, with the key under his pillow, in the midst of sixty, and, at times, a hundred boys, each in a single bed; several of them possessing physical strength little, if any, inferior to his own. He held the office five years, and produced results sufficient to prove the value and receive the reward, in consciousness of fulfilled duty, of such efficiency and self-devo- tion. During this period, the annual admission averaged sixty- two; the number in the house usually was one hundred and twenty ; at one time it amounted to one hundred and twenty-nine. 108 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. The annual average discharge was //i(//-SiA;; and the whole num- ber over which his care was extended was four hundred mid four- teen. Four tenths of these juvenile offenders were sent to the institution under the vagrant act ; three tenths for larceny, for- gery, and other crimes ; three tenths for stubbornness and disobe- dience. They came, almost without exception, ignorant, lazy, vicious, repulsive and disgusting in external appearance. The work of improvement was general and thorough. After from two to five years' subjection to the discipline of the institution, expe- rience showed that five sLxths of those discharged by Mr. Wells might be considered reformed. They were readily received as ap- prentices by respectable farmers, mechanics, masters of vessels, and gave evidence, by their general conduct, of becoming use- ful, prosperous, and virtuous members of the community. The excellence of the institution, and the high merits of the super- intendent, were universally acknowledged ; and a just and well- deserved tribute to both was paid by Messrs. Beaumont and De Tocqueville, Counsellors of the Royal Com-t of Paris, who came in 1832 to this country, as French commissioners, to inquii-e into the penitentiary systems of the United States. In then* report they state, that the Institution for the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders at South Boston is " admirably conducted ; but its success seems to us less the effect of the system itself, than of the distinguished man who puts it in practice," who " exhi- bits a zeal and a vigilance altogether extraordinary, which it would be a mistake to expect in general from persons most devoted to their duties." The system of Mr. Wells, comprising, as it does, all the essen- tial and practical elements requisite for a sound moral, physical, and intellectual education, deserves the attentive consideration of the superintendents of aU institutions for the reformation of the ignorant and vicious ; but, like all systems of government, will be proportionably successful as the individual who conducts it is qualified, by talents and devotedness, for the task he under- takes. In respect of the general effect produced by the House of Industry, the House of Coi-rection, and that for the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders, on the relations of poverty, vice, and crime, in the city of Boston, the Mayor, in his address on taking a final ' CITY GOYERN^IEXT. 109 leave of the office of Mayor, which he had held for nearly six years, made the following statement, in January, 1829 : — " In respect of what has been done in support of public morals, when this administration first came into power, the police had no comparative eilect ; the oitj' possessed no house of correction, and the natural inmates of that establish- ment were on our 'hills,' or on our commons, disgusting the delicate, oifcnding the good, and intimidating the fearful. There were parts of the city over which no honest man dared to pass in the night time, so proud and uncontrolled was there the dominion of crime. The executive of the city was seriously advised not to meddle with those haunts, their reformation being a task altogether impracticable. " It was attempted. The success is known. Who, at this day, sees begging in our streets ? I speak generally ; a transient case may occur, but there is none systematic. At this day, I speak it confidently, there is no part of the city through which the most timid may not walk, by day or by night, without fear of personal violence. What streets present more stillness in the night time ? Where, in a city of equal population, are there fewer instances of those crimes, to which all populous places are subject ? " Doubtless much of this condition of things is owing to the orderly habits of our citizens ; but much, also, is attributable to the vigilance which has made vice tremble in its haunts, and fly to cities where the air is more congenial to it ; which, by pursuing the lawless vendor of spirituous liquors, denying licenses to the worst of that class, or revoking them, as soon as found in improper hands, has checked crime in its first stages, and introduced into these estabhshments a salutary fear. By the effect of this system, notwithstanding, in these six years, the population of the city has been increased at least fifteen thousand, the num- ber of licensed houses have been diminished from six hundred and seventy-nine to five hundred and fifty-four. " Let it be remembered, that this state of things has been effected without the addition of one man to the ancient arm of the police. The name of the police officer has, indeed, been changed to city marshal. The venerable old charter number, of twenty-four constables, still continues the entire array of the city police. And eighty watchmen, of whom never more than eir/hteen are out at a time, constitute the whole nocturnal host of police militant, to maintain the peace and vindicate the wrongs of upwards of sixty thousand citizens. " The good which has been attained, and no man can deny it is great, has been efft'cted by directing unremittingly the force of the executive power to the haunts of vice, in its first stages, and to the favorite resorts of crime, in its last. " To diminish the number of licensed dram-shops and tippHng-houses ; to keep a vigilant eye over those which are licensed ; to revoke, without fear or favor, the licenses of those who were found violating the law ; to break up public dances in the brothels ; to keep the light and terrors of the law directed upon the resorts of the lawless, thereby preventing any place becoming danger- ous by their congregation, or they and their associates becoming insolent, through sense of strength and numbers. These have been the means ; and these means, faithfully applied, are better than armies of constables and watchmen." 10 110 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. ^ On the third of January, 1825, a petition by fifty qualified voters was presented to the Board of Aldermen for the calling a meeting of the citizens in wards, to consider the expediency of having twelve aldermen chosen in each ward instead of eight. The doubts entertained concerning the authority to call meetings of citizens in ivards on subjects of this nature, were freely stated to the leading petitioners. It was found, however, that they dis- regarded those doubts, and placed their claim for such a meeting on the basis of right, and denied the authority of the Mayor and Aldermen to refuse, under the language of the city charter, to call any meetmg of citizens petitioned for hy fifty individuals. As the proceedings on this application might form a precedent for future times, the subject was deemed important enough to be referred to a special committee, the Mayor being chairman, who, after deliberate consideration, made a report, of which the following were the leading features, — that the question on this petition did not turn on the general authority of the Board to call meetings of citizens, either in wards or in any other way which they may deem most expedient for the general interest or local convenience ; such, for instance, as calling a meeting in wards to choose a vaccinating committee ; but the petition was for a very differ- ent object, namely, — "/Ac taking- the sense of the citizens on an application to the Legislature for an amendment of the city charter, on the requisition of more than fifty qualified voters, and it prays that the meeting for this purpose shall be holden in ivards ; " that the city charter in its twenty-fifth section, specifically provides for three cases, in which, on the requisition of fifty qualified voters, it is imperative on the Board of Aldermen to call a gene- ral meeting of citizens, and these are, — 1st. Consultation on the common good. 2d. Giving instructions to representatives. 3d. Taking measures for redress of grievances. That the petition in this case was unquestionable, on subjects specifically included in the above enumeration, for which it was the duty of the Mayor and Aldermen to call a general meeting of the citizens, if that would be satisfactory to the petitioners. But the claim being that the meeting should be in ivards, the Board decided, that they had " no right, on the requisition of any number of qualified voters, by any authority derived from the charter, to call any meeting other than a general meeting for any of the objects spe- cified in the twenty-fifth section of that charter ; " that this sec- CITY GOVERXMENT. HI tion had express reference to the right secured to the people by the constitution of this Commonwealth to assemble, which it was intended to secure according to ancient usage ; and which had always been exercised in a '' general meeting," and not in ward or sectional meetings. The nature of the subjects provided for by this section, is conclusive against the right of the Board of Aldermen. The questions to which their authority in this respect extends, are of the most grave and weighty character, such as affect the common g-ood. Instructions to representatives, or redress of grievances, are subjects which ought to be discussed in general meetings, that every citizen may have the advan- tage of the counsel and intelligence of every other citizen on a subject of general and common interest. The report, therefore, concluded that the Mayor and Aldermen had no right to call a general meeting of the citizens in wards for any of the purposes specified in the petition. This report was accepted, and ordered to be published in three of the public newspapers, for the inform- ation of the citizens. In November, 1823, the Mayor, by message, recommended a consideration of the expediency of providing, by some general system, of loans, payable by instalments, incurred for objects of permanent improvements, in which posterity were generally and chiefly interested. The motives for this suggestion were stated to be the rapidly increasing population of the city, the propor- tionate increase of building, involving, as a consequence, a rapid increase in the value of lands ; that it was impossible for the Survej'ors of Highways to avail themselves of the opportunities daily occurring for widening and extending streets, without exceeding existing appropriations, and without throwing upon the current year burdens greater than was just and reasonable, at the same time that it would be the worst species of economy to suffer opportunities to pass unimproved, which may not occur again for many years, and, possibly, never ; or should they occur, could not be availed of but at an expense many times exceeding that at which they now could be made, arising from the certain gi-eat increase of the value of land resulting from increasing population. As it respected posterity, there- fore, the question was bet^veen a light, pecuniary burden of accruing interest and a heavy tax for improvements, which time would show to be unavoidable, together with narrow streets and 112 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. other inconvenient localities, which the value of the land may hereafter render impossible to change, but which now might be obtained with little comparative expense ; all that seemed requi- site was, that limitations should be adopted to guard against excess and abuse of this power. The message was referred to the Mayor and Aldermen Baxter, Odiorne, and Hooper, and in the Common Council to Messrs. Amory, E. Williams, Savage, Shaw, and Lamson. After delibe- ration, the Committee came to the conclusion, that the appre- hension of a city debt, and the difficulty of preventing such a system in after time from abuse, were considerations sufficient to counterbalance the certain expediency of the measure, in its pecuniary effects on the cost of improvements in the city. The terms and conditions on which theatrical and other licenses should be granted, had been absolutely vested in the Mayor and Aldermen by the city charter. It was important that the first steps taken should be firm and just and well considered, that correct precedents should be established. A committee, of which the Mayor was chairman, was early raised, and, after great deliberation, reported that licenses were divisible into classes ; the principles applicable to each were differ- ent, according to their respective natui-es ; that the licenses of theatres were of all the most important, and to be viewed, in respect of morals and finance. The tendency of theatrical exhi- bitions to draw money from the community, and their effect on morals rendered them proper subjects, not only of revenue, but also of regulation, in respect of morals. The tax upon them ought to have reference to the advantage gained by such license. Where the effect upon morals is unquestionably bad, they should be denied altogether. Where, as in the case of theatrical exhibi- tions, the good is, to say the least, dubious, it is a reason for raising the tax for the license, to such a degree as, if possible, to reduce the disposition to multiply them, by diminishing the resulting benefit, thereby securing as great a respectabifity as the case permits, both in the character of such exhibitions, and also of those who engage in such employments. Two principles applicable to the subject result : — 1st. That the tax should be considerable ; and 2d. That it should be uniform ; that the amount of the tax should not depend on the expenditures incurred to set forth the exhibition, and still less on the smallness CITY GOVERNMENT. 113 of the sum demanded for visiting them. The injury to morals is often gi-eat, in a direct ratio to the smallness of such expendi- tm'e and of such demand. It is the duty of a municipal author- ity, in the exercise of such power, to encourage a respectable and responsible theatrical establishment. Such an one cannot long be uplield in any community, if every light, vagrant, and irre- sponsible company be encouraged to compete with it, on the suggestion that its pretensions were less, and its facilities for public attraction greater. With the same views, bonds of secu- rity proportioned to the object, with responsible freeholders as bondmen, should be required to conduct the exhibition with deco- rum. It should not be permitted, in connection with any licensed tavern, or house for the sale of spirituous liquors. At that period, however, a license to sell them within the walls of the theatre during performance was deemed indispensable ; an opi- nion that increasing moral influences of later times has hapj^ily and effectually changed. This report was accepted, and the votes it recommended passed, — making the licenses annual, the tax seven hundred dol- lars, and the bonds requned to be five thousand dollars. In January, 1826, a vote passed the City Council, that what- ever number of constables or police officers the Mayor and Alder- men shall see fit to appoint for the preservation of order and deco- rum in any house where theatrical or any other exhibition or public show shall be licensed or had, or in the vicinity thereof, the managers, proprietors, or owners of such exhibition or show- shall be liable to pay such expense, and the making such pay- ment shall be inserted as one of the conditions of any bond for such license. Between Charles Street and the Basin of the Boston and Roxbury Milldam, there lay a large and valuable tract of land, known by the name of " the Ropewalk Lands," which, from its local position, its extent, its capacity of improvement, either for ornament or revenue, was one of the most important interests of the city. This tract had been gi-anted by the town of Boston, in the year 1794, to certain proprietors of ropewalks, situated between Pearl and Atkinson Streets, which had been that year destroyed by fire. The grant was conditional, and had a double motive ; sympathy for the sufferers, and the removal of the ropewalks to a distance from the then settled parts of the town ; to whose safety 10* 114 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. such an accumulated mass of combustible materials was deemed dangerous. Tliis land was marsh, or flats, overflowed at high tides by the sea, with the exception of an inconsiderable eleva- tion, called " Fox Hill," which was chiefly valued as a resource for gravel for town purposes. The town, in its grant to the suffer- ers, by the fire in September, 1794, denominated it " a piece of marsh land and flats, at the bottom of the Common, including such parts of ' Fox Hill ' as shafl fall within the prescribed bound- aries ; " the street now called " Charles Street," not being at that time laid out, and these flats being regarded as the boundary of the Common. The gi-ant was made under circumstances of gi-eat general feeling and excitement, and without sufficient considera- tion of its actual intrinsic value and of probable prospective con- sequences. The rights granted were indeed limited and qualified, but they were in then- nature perpetual, and could only be devested by compromise. The ropewalks built upon this tract had been again destroyed by fire, and the proprietors themselves began to realize both the danger of rebuilding five or sLx long walks of wood in the vicinity of each other, and in the vicinity of build- ings, which the increasing population of the city were erecting in their neighborhood. Realizing also the great value of the pro- perty, they had, in the year 1822, proposed to the first City Council to negotiate for either the purchase or the sale of the lands which the ropewalks had occupied ; offering thirty thou- sand dollars for a quitclaim from the city, or to release their right to the whole tract, on the payment of eighty-six thousand dollars. In May, 1823, these proprietors petitioned to the second admi- nistration of the city for deeds or a settlement of those lands, and a Committee, consisting of the Mayor, Aldermen Odiorne, Dorr, and Eddy, was appointed, and reported that the interests of those proprietors ought to be purchased by the city, and that no delay ought to occur in making a settlement of that concern. Those interests were now in few hands, but would, probably, by death, transfer, or legal process, soon become subdivided, and should they fall into the hands of minors, great difficulties might arise to the reinvesting the title, free of all incumbrance, in the city. The Committee recommended a reference of the respect- ive claims to discreet and confidential persons, who shguld de- cide the amount the city should pay to the proprietors of the CITY GOVERNMENT. 115 ropewalks for their interest in the tract, and that both the city and the proprietors should be bound by their decision. After gi'cat deUberation and considerable difficulty, the report was accepted by both the City Council and the proprietors. The reference resulted in an award, that the title of the proprietors should be invested in the city, on the payment of fifty -five thou- sand doUars. The referees mutually chosen were, — Patrick T. Jackson, Ebenezer Francis, Edward Cruft, Peter C. Brooks, and John P. Thorndike, citizens greatly distinguished for their in- telligence, probity, judgment, and acquaintance with real estate ; and although some opposition was made to the acceptance of the award by one of the proprietors, all the others accepted it, and the result finally reinvested in the city, free of all incumbrance, that great and valuable tract of land relieved of all the embarrass- ments which the complicated state of the title had occasioned. The situation of that tract, and its connection with the health, ornament, and other interests of the city, rendered the future dis- position of it a subject of immediate excitement among the citi- zens. Some contended that these lands were too important to be left unproductive, and that they should at once be put in a state to be sold. Others asserted that those lands were appurte- nant to " the Common." And although being flats, and usually covered with w^ater, they had never been embraced within the general idea of " the Common," yet they in fact made part of it, and, by the terms of the city charter, the City Council was expressly excluded from the power of either lease or sale of the Common ; and that neither could be done without the sanction of all the citizens. The City Council deemed it most prudent to act in conformity with this last opinion ; and to put an end to controversy, which was increasing in the city on the subject, they called a general meeting of the citizens on the twenty-sixth of July, 1824, and required their opinion to be expressed upon the two following questions. First, shall the City Council have authority to make sale of all the lands west of Charles Street, in such way and on such terms as they shall deem expedient ? Second, shall they have authority to annex it, as a condition to such sales, that all the lands generally known by the name of " the Common," and lying between Park, Common, Boylston, Charles, and Beacon Streets, shall be kept forever open and free from building for the use of the citizens ? 116 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. At this meeting, a large committee was appointed by the citi- zens, of which John T. Apthorp was chosen chairman. This Committee, after many meetings and long deliberation, made, in October following, a report, setting forth the inexpediency of selling the land west of Charles Street, denying the power of selling it under the city charter, and declaring the duty of keeping the space open for a free circulation of an* from the west, for the sake of the health of the citizens. This report, which concludes with submitting three other questions for the decision of the citi- zens, in addition to those submitted by the City Council, was published and distributed, and on the twenty-seventh of Decem- ber, 1824, the five questions ^ were all negatived by great major- ities, except the second, which passed in the affirmative, by a majority of one thousand one hundred and eleven, to seven hun- dred and thirty-seven in the negative. The result of the meeting was to deny the expediency and withhold the right from the City Council of making sale of the land west of Charles Street. In November, 1823, the Mayor called the attention of the City Council to the importance of securing Deer and Rainsford 1 The five questions submitted by the Committee were the following : — First Quesfion. Shall the City Council have authority to make sale of all the upland and flats owned by the city, lying west of Charles Street, on such terms and at such times as they may deem expedient ? Second Question. Shall they have authority to annex it, as a condition to such sales, that the land known by the name of the Connnon, and lying between Charles, Beacon, Park, Common, and Boylston Streets, shall be forever after kept open and free of buildings of any kind, for the use of the citizens V Third Question. Shall the City Council be authorized to bring the question of boundaries between the city and the Boston and Roxbury ]\Iill Corporation to a settlement, and for that puri)ose be authorized to renew or confirm the former grants and acts of tlie town, with respect to said corporation, on such terms and conditions as the City Council may deem expedient : Provided that no confirm- ation or conveyance be made in virtue of their vote, to authorize the erection of dwelling houses or other buildings on any part of the premises ? Fourth Question. Shall the City Council be authorized to prepare for sale, and to convey on such terms and conditions as they may deem fit, so much of the upland and tlaLs as lay southerly of a line beginning at a point on Charles Street, thirteen hundred and fifty feet southerly from the dam belonging to tlie Boston and Roxbury ]\Iill Corporation, and opposite to the southwesterly corner of the Common, and running westerly at an angle of eighty-five degrees with Charles Street to the bounds of the city fiats : Provided there be annexed to all such conveyances a condition that the Common and all the upland and flats lying westerly therefrom shall forever after be kept free from, and unincumbered with all buildings ? Fifth Question. Shall the City Council, whenever, in their opinion, the con- venience of the inhabitants require, be authorized to lay out any part of the lands and fiats, lying westerly from tlie Common, for a cemetery, and erect and sell tombs therein, on such terms aud conditions as they may deem proper ? CITY GOVERNMENT. 117 Islands from tlie inroads of the sea. The Mayor, Aldermen Child and Benjamin, and Messrs. Coolidge, Wilkinson, and Oliver, of the Common Council, were in consequence appointed a Com- mittee on that subject, who reported on the nineteenth of Novem- ber that an examination of those islands, in company with Com- modore Bainbridge and General Dearborn, and with other gentle- men skilled in maritime concerns, and particularly acquainted with the influence of tempests and currents on the harbor of Boston, had resulted in a conviction of the importance of taking imme- diate measures to secure them from the inroads of the sea. Its action had, during late years, done great injury, by gradually washing them away, and thus filling up and shifting the present channels, and diminishing the protection derived from the bluffs and headlands to the great roadsteads of the outer and inner harbor. The operation of these causes, if not attended to in sea- son, threatened to change one of the safest, most commodious, and beautiful harbors in the world, into a sightless, insecure suc- cession of sand banks ; the Connnittee, therefore, recommended an efficient and immediate apphcation to the National Legisla- ture for an appropriation for the preservation of all the important points, on which the safety and convenience of the harbor, and the consequent commercial prosperity depended. They suggested the erecting of a breakwater, and the obtaining from the Legis- lature a law, prohibiting the taking away ballast from any of the islands. This report was accepted, and the Mayor, Aldermen Child and Benjamin, the President (Wells) and Messrs, Savage, Oliver, and Dexter, of the Common Council, were appointed a Committee to carry it into effect. On the eighth of December, 1823, the Mayor brought also before the City Council the importance of the immediate pur- chase of George's and Lovell's Islands, the former being, in the opinion of men of great nautical skill, the bulwark of Boston Harbor, both as being the best site for a fortress, and as affording the only secm*e anchorage in the lower harbor for ships of war and vessels of every size and description, during easterly gales, when without a pilot. He had ascertained that "those islands, of svich inestimable importance to the city, were the property of one individual, who now derives from them an income, by the sale of stone and gravel, and thus assisted the inroads of the sea,"' By these combined operations, one half of George's Island had been 118 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. desti-oycd, and both might be purchased for seven thousand dol- lars. The City Council were not, however, prepared to adopt the suggestions of the Mayor, and referred the subject for con- sideration to then* successors. In November, 1824, the Mayor again brought this subject before the City Council, stating that these islands ought to be owned by the city ; that although the duty of fortifying the har- bor belonged to the United States, the favorable opportunity for vesting the title to them in the city ought not to be lost. The measure would strongly express the opinion of the city govern- ment of their importance, and must have a propitious influence on an application to Congi'ess for an appropriation for their pro- tection. This persevering m-gency effected its object. The sanc- tion of the City Council was obtained. The Mayor and Alder- man Eddy, and Messrs. E. Williams, Wales, and Coolidge, of the Common Council, were appointed a Committee, with full author- ity ; and in March, 1825, they reported that George's and LoveU's Islands had been purchased for six thousand dollars, on terms and conditions to which the City Council immediately acceded. In the preceding and subsequent negotiation with the Gene- ral Government, the aid of James Lloyd and Daniel Webster, the Senators of Massachusetts in Congress, was earnestly and suc- cessfully given to the views of the City Council. A correspond- ence was also opened, by the Mayor, with James Barbour, the Secretary of War of the United States, which resulted in a transfer to them of the soil and jurisdiction of George's and LovelFs Islands, and also so much of Deer Island as should be covered by their works, and in an appropriation by Congress of forty thousand dollars for the protection of George's and Deer Islands by a sea wall. This ajjpropriation was, however, exclu- sively applied to, and exhausted in protecting George's Island. In November, 1827, the Mayor, therefore, again called the attention of the City Council to the state of the several islands and beaches in the vicinity of the different harbors of the city, stating that the former appropriation made by Congress had been expended, and that additional appropriations were requisite for the protection of our harbor from the inroads of the sea. At the same time he called the attention of the City Council to a petition pending before the Legislature of the State from the town of Chelsea, relative to the jurisdiction over Chelsea Beach, CITY GOVERNI^rENT. 119 and to the importance of maintaining that Beach in its present state. He adverted also to the practice of taking ballast and sand from Bird Island and from the Bar, extending from the Great Brewster to the Stone Monument, at the entrance of the Narrows. An application to the Legislature was accordingly authorized, and an act obtained, providing against the several injm-ies which were specified or apprehended. In February, 1828, the importance of protection to Deer Island, as stated in a memorial from the Boston Marine Society, was laid before the City Council by the Mayor, and a memorial to Congress for an appropriation for that object was authorized, and, in June following, a letter from Mr. Gorham, the member of Congress from Boston, was received, stating that eighty-seven thousand dollars had been appropriated, according to the tenor and request of that memorial, and in the course of the same month, another letter from Samuel L. Southard, Secretary at War, was received by the Mayor, stating that the appropriation had been made, and an engineer directed to proceed in the pro- posed system of protection. This was accordingly commenced in the autumn of 1828, the city having caused the cession to be made to the United States of the jurisdiction of that part of the island on which the sea wall was erected, as required in like cases by the United States. The subject of common sewers came early under the conside- ration of the City Council. Under the town government, the drains were objects of private property, subject to the rules esta- blished by law. No person was allowed to open a street for the purpose of laying a new or using an old di-ain or common sewer, without the consent of the Selectmen. If any inhabitant, with their permission, laid a sewer, every person entering his drain into it, or remotely benefited by it, was held to pay its owner a proportionate part of the charge for its construction and repair, to be ascertained by the selectmen, with an appeal from their decision to the Court of Sessions. In case of subsequent repairs, all persons benefited were held to pay their proportion of the expense. The person opening such drain, being bound to give seven days notice, by advertisement, to all persons interested, to appear and object to it on the day appointed by the Select- men, whose duty it was to decide whether the di-ain should be opened, and the person who should bear the expense. 120 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. No system could be more inconvenient to the public, or emban-assing to private persons. The streets were opened with little care, the drains built according to the opinion of private interest and economy ; and constant and interminable vexatious occasions of dispute occm^red between the owners of the drain and those who entered it, as to the degree of benefit and pro- portion of contribution. The direction of the drain, and the place in the street selected for laying it, was often guided by the interest of him who first opened it, with little regard to public or general accommodation. An ordinance of the City Council was passed on the seventh of July, 1823, adapted to remedy these inconveniences. It provided that all common sewers should be laid and kept in repair at the expense of the city, under the direction of the Mayor and Alder- men ; that persons entering or benefited by them, should be held to pay what they should deem just and reasonable. Their dimensions, size, position, and materials, with which constructed, and all incidental particulars, were subjected to their authority, and they were invested with power to compel any owner of land adjoining to make a sufficient drain into them, and if neglected, to cause the same to be done, and recover the amount of expenses, with ten per cent, damages. Penalties were annexed for entering a di-ain without a permit, and provisions made for repairing or rebuilding a common sewer, and assessing the cost on those benefited. A plan of each common sewer, embracing its size, its direction, and all particulars to show its local position, was directed to be kept in a book for that purpose. To carry the system into effect, a superintendent of common sewers was appointed to grant permits, and, under the direction of the Committee of the district, to oversee the opening and repair of common sewers. Many difficulties at first occuiTcd in carrying this system into effect, from its novelty and from the emban-assments arising from the interference of the city common sewers with the acquired rights of persons. They were, however, surmounted, and resulted finally in the efficient and satisfactory system now in practice. CHAPTER IX. CITY GOVERmiENT. 1824-1825.' JosiAn QuiNCY, Mat/oi:^ Proceedings of the City Council of the past Year recapitulated — Importance of the Responsibility of the Mayor — Estates purchased for the Enlargement of Faneuil Hall Market — Plan of the New Market — North Block of Stores built and sold — First Plan enlarged — Southern Block of Stores built and sold — Corner Stone of Market House laid. The general interest of the citizens of Boston, especially of those who resided in the northern section of the city, tliat the improvements in progi-ess in Faneuil Hall Market should be car- ried into effect on the scale in which they had been commenced, conduced to the popularity of the Mayor and Aldermen, who were all reelected in 1824, almost without opposition. The Mayor, in his inaugural address, expressed his acknow- ledgments to the citizens for their continued confidence, and to the Aldermen for their aid in the measures which had been pur- sued the preceding year. By these, the obtrusiveness of vice had been checked, through the ajjplication of a vigorous police ; the cleansing of the streets had been taken out of the hands of con- tractors into the control of the city ; thkteen streets had been ma- terially widened, at tlie expense of nearly twelve thousand dollars ; the drains of the city had been transferred from private to public custody ; the malls on Charles Street and Fort Hill had been enlarged and improved ; the House of Industry had been put into operation ; measures adopted to vest in the city the title to the lands west of Charles Street, and to complete the projected improvements about Faneuil Hall. The Mayor, in this address,^ justified and explained the neces- sity of creating a city debt, and the principles by which the exer- 1 The whole number of votes were 3950, of which the Mayor had 3SG7. The members of the Board of Aldermen were generally elected by similar majorities. 2 See Appendix, C. 11 122 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. cise of that power onglit to be regulated. He then gave his views of the duties and responsibilities of the Mayor, the qualities the citizens should regard in the selection of a candidate for that office, and the official energy and efficiency they ought to exact from him; and proceeded to show the incompatibility of the powers assumed and exercised by the independent boards, which had originate^ under the town government, with the responsibi- lity of the Mayor, and the essential authority of the City Coun- cil, and the necessity of then removal. On this principle of responsibility the Mayor, from his first induction in 1823, had taken the place of chairman of every Committee of the Board of Aldermen, appointed on any import- ant interest of the city. As this practice had been openly cen- sured as selfish and assuming, the Mayor afterwards vindicated publicly his course, as essential to a knowledge of the objects of his official duties, which included inspection, superintendence, and recommendation of measures on his responsibility. To an intelligent performance of these duties, the actual investigation of every question, as it occurs, in the course of daily business, is important, as scarcely one can arise among the complicated and often discordant interests of a great city, which is absohitely local and individual. It touches some other, perhaps some rival inte- rest, affects some principle, or creates some precedent, which can be alone detected or rightly understood by being examined in the vicinity, or among the individuals it directly affects. The know- ledge thus acquired, must often be all-important to the chief ma- gistrate, who means to place himself in the condition to under- stand and maintain all the real interests of the city. One of the greatest securities for public virtue and for the exact perform- ance of official duty is a sense of responsibility. Whoever means to be faithful to himself or his trusts will enlarge and multiply occasions for keeping alive this sense in himself and in those whose interests he is called upon to protect. This course, also, is' not merely expedient, but in a degree obligatory. The Mayor is fairly, if not highly, compensated for his services. The members of the Board of Aldermen are uncompensated. On him who receives the salary justly falls the labor and the responsibility. This course, also, has a tendency to give the Mayor a personal acquaintance with the citizens, their interests, prejudices, passions, and characters. The more CITY GOYERmiENT. 123 of such knowledge he acquires, the better is he qualified to sliape the measures of his administration so as to promote the satisfac- tion of individuals and the prosperity of the city. During the first two years of his administration, the INIayor placed himself, as has been stated, at the head of every commit- tee of a general character, and also of a great majority of those merely personal and local. If, during the subsequent years, he changed, in a slight degree, that course, it was out of respect to the opinion of others, rather than from any perception of diffi- culty or impracticability. From the recent organization of the city government, and the consequent new arrangement of its powers, and from many new and extensive projects of improve- ment, there was, during these years, an uncommon influx of ques- tions of great interest and importance ; yet the business of the office was efficiently and promptly executed. The practice of this rule of conduct, during nearly six years, did not involve the Mayor in any unreasonable or impracticable accumulation of business ; and there is no ground for the opinion that such a rule, and a practice in conformity with it, exceeds the ability of any individual qualified for such a station, who brings into it, as every one ought, a heart exclusively devoted to duty, and a spirit resolved on its faithful performance. The practice of devolving all, or a principal part, of the duties of the office of Mayor upon committees of the Board of Alder- men ought, therefore, to be received by the citizens with great jealousy. As the city increases in population and' extent, some relaxation of this principle may be required, in relation to merely personal or local questions; but none ought ever to be permitted in respect of those which affect the health, the character, or the general interests of the city. A disposition to evade labor and responsi- bility is the best criterion of a want of qualification for any office. It is important that this point should be distinctly stated and realized, for a contrary practice is very likely to find advo- cates in a course of time. IVIen of talents and high acquire- ments, who take office only as a stepping-stone to some higher station, will be apt to regard some of its duties as menial ; and, consequently, to strive to throw the personal superintendence and examination of the resulting questions upon others, and cast on them the burden and responsibility of inspection and decision. 124 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. They will thus be relieved from attention to subjects, often irk- some, never, in them.selves, interesting, at times disgusting, and, in cases of malignant contagion, dangerous. Above all, an exe- cutive officer is thus enabled to escape the odium and unpopu- larity consequent upon discovering his opinions on questions often intensely interesting to individuals or sections of the city; especially when it happens, as it often must, that the Mayor or his friends are interested in the advancement or prevention of projects or improvements of the city. The practice of devolving responsibility on committees, enables men to do that by influ- ence, which they might be unwilling to do directly. It is so much easier to effect private and personal views by committees, than by direct voice and superintendence, that there is a constant temptation to evade the principle of that official responsibility of the Mayor which tends to place his conduct in frequent and full relief before the citizens. This principle of executive responsibility, which the Mayor, at his entrance into the office, thus inculcated on the citizens, and which, during the nearly six years of his official tenure, he never ceased both to assume and avow, was unquestionably among the chief causes of whatever success attended that administra- tion. It is, however, unfortunately a fact, that there is in republics a reciprocal tendency, both in executives and among citizens, to keep this principle out of sight. Men are naturally jealous of any disposition to exert powers, even when they exist and are used for their benefit. But if a people require talents in official station, they must exact responsibility in their exercise ; for the best, if not the only evidence of talents and qualifica- tion for public usefulness is to be found in what is recommended and effected. The unanimity with which the Mayor and Aldermen were reelected, in 1824, was, as has been intimated, chiefly owing to the general interest in the improvements then in progress in the great central market of the city. In constituting the Committee, early in May, to cany into effect the resolutions of the preceding year, relative to Faneuil Hall Market, with the same powers and under the same limit- ations, the same members of the Board of Aldermen were reap- pointed; and, as some change had been effected in the other branch, Francis J. Oliver, its President, Messrs. Russell, Curtis, CITY GOVERmiENT. 125 T. Page, E. Williams, Hastings, and Coolidge, were associated with them, by the Common Comicil. The first step taken by this Committee was of a decisive character. A sub-committee ^ was appointed to purchase all the estates within the then avowed sphere of contemplated imj:)rove- ment, provided that the price, including the estates already pur- chased, should not exceed five hundred thousand dollars. All the negotiations, as heretofore, were conducted by the Mayor, the judgment and advice of the other members being occasionally called in aid. By the twelfth of June, 1824, in addition to the estates already purchased, those of Samuel Parkman, of Gore's heirs, of Edward Miller, John Codman, H. G. Otis, and John T. Ap- thorp "v\^re secured, at a price somewhat exceeding two hundred and eighty-six thousand dollars. On that day, the sub-commit- tee made a report of their proceedings, with estimates of what sums would probably be necessary to complete the purchase of the remaining estates, and showing that there could be no ques- tion that the whole might be purchased within the sum author- ized by the City Council (five hundred thousand dollars.) This report was accepted ; votes were passed unanimously, and au- thority given to carry the several contracts into effect, to examine into the respective titles, and to issue the requisite city stock. On the twenty-ninth of June, 1824, a sub-committee was raised, consisting of Messrs. Child, Benjamin, and Williams, to consider what measures were requisite previously to a sale of the land purchased. Their report, made on the second of July ensu- ing, led to votes for notifying the tenants on both sides of the Town Dock, to remove within thirty days ; to authorize the extension of the common sewer to the flats ; and to locate the sea wall for inclosing the Town Dock. In all these arrange- ments they were the principal agents. In the mean time, the interest of the city to extend the first project contemplated be- came evident ; and the Mayor informally ascertained the dispo- sitions of Governor Eustis, John D. Howard, and Benjamin Bussey, relative to a sale of their estates. It had become appa- rent that, by turning the course of the INIill Creek, and extending the project further eastward into the harbor, the space around the proposed market would be greatly enlarged, and a new street ^ Consisting of the Mayor, Mr. Child, Mr. Benjamin, Mr. Oliver, and Mr. E. Williams. 11* 126 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. might be laid out at right angles with the eastern end of the proposed new market house, which would be brought in a line with the w^esterly end of the stores on Centi'al Wharf, and by- removing a few stores on Long Wharf, a straight and most con- venient communication would be made with the northern section of the city. Under these general views, the Committee, having satisfied themselves of the practicability of the plan, immediately author- ized the Mayor to purchase Mr. Bussey's estate, and proceed in his negotiation with Mr. Howard and Governor Eustis, and to report the proceedings of the Committee to the City Councd, which he accordingly did, on the fifteenth of July, stating to them the estates which had been purchased, and the pjice paid for them, amounting to four hundred and twenty thousand dol- lars ; communicating, on behalf of the Committee, their great gratification that " they have been able to effect so nearly the purchase of the whole cu'cle of territory necessary for the city to possess, without resort to the exercise of the powers granted by the Legislature;" that "they have deemed it expedient in all cases to yield to the reasonable, and in some, to the ex- treme, demands of proprietors, rather than to resort to a compul- sory process." He then proceeded to detail the particular situ- ation of those estates which had not yet been purchased, by which it appeared that three of the proprietors of the three fourteenth parts of the estate belonging to Spear's heirs were the only owners of estates who had " uniformly declined all negotiation concerning their interest in the contemplated sphere of improvement, and to make any proposal of sale of it to the city ; and that the purpose of these proprietors was fixed and unalterable." The Committee, accordingly, recommended a course of proceeding conformable to the act of the Legislature, declaring the public exigencies required that Faneuil Hall Mar- ket should be extended in the direction following, namely, — " In an easterly direction, from Faneuil Hall to the harbor, be- tween two lines parallel to the walls of Faneuil Hall, and ex- tending easterly towards the harbor, of which the north line shall be fourteen feet distant from the north side of said hall, and the south line shall be one hundred and eighty feet to the south of said north fine." Various other resolves were passed, giving the s>anction of the City Council to the several measm'es CITY GOVERmiENT. 127 propoped by the Committee. This recommendation was adopted by the City Council; and, on the twenty-second of JuJy, the Mayor and Aldermen extended and widened Fanenil Hall ]\Iar- ket, in the direction and within the limits prescribed by the City Council ; and ordered the proprietors, whose estates had not yet been purchased, to be notified, of a meeting to be holden at a time and place specified in said resolve, and inviting them to submit all questions relative to damages to five disinterested freeholders, as specified in the act of the Legislature. On the day appointed, the three proprietors declined referring the value of their estates or selline: them. It had always been the anxious wish of tlie Committee and of the City Council, as has been before stated, to complete this great improvement wdthout resort to the compulsory authority granted by the act of the Legislature. For this purpose, they had given, or offered, in every instance, prices, either satisfactory to the proprietors, or such as, under other circumstances, would have been deemed extravagant. The fixed determination of the three proprietors of the three fourteenth parts of the Spear estate, to stand upon their rights and make no sale of tlieir interests, ren- dered, however, the resort inevitable. In selecting the fines for the extension of the market, under the authority of the Legisla- ture, the Committee had special reference to the lines of the Spear estate, so that the future interests of the city might be placed in a position not to be embarrassed by any tenacity of purpose of these three proprietors. The City Council now took the first step towards making preparations for building a market house, by gi-anting an appro- priation of twenty thousand dollars for sea walls and drains. The Mayor, IVIr. Child, Mr. Benjamin, and Mr. Williams were appointed a Building Committee, witli authority to appoint an agent, and the Mayor was authorized to proceed in his negotia- tion with Governor Eustis for his estate beyond the Mill CreeJc. This terminated favorably, and, on the twenty-ninth of July, the Mayor reported that he had closed a contract for that estate for the sum of fifteen thousand dollars. This being accepted, the Committee ordered the Building Committee to cause a new passage for the creek to be cut through Eustis's Wharf, and to fill up the Mill Creek to the southward of the line of the pass- age-way so cut. At this meeting, the ground plan of the new 128 MUNICIPAL fflSTORY. market was settled, and the walls ordered to be laid in conform- ity with it, by unanimous vote, ]Mr. Wright having been pre- viously added to the Committee, in the place of ]Mr. Hastings, who was absent. ]VIr. Benjamin was appointed a Committee, to cause a ])lan to be prepared of the elevation and interior of the new market house. In the course of the month of August, the estates of John D. Howard and Daniel Vose, and the interest of the minor heirs in David Spear's estate, were obtained, and also the principles, on which that part of the estate owned by the Long Wharf, in and adjoining Bray's Wharf, should be vested in the city, were set- tled. Arbitrators were also agreed upon, on the subject of the estates taken under the special authority given by the act of the Legislature. The three proprietors of the three fom-teenth parts of the Spear estate still continuing fixed in their purpose, not to sell, and alone, of all the proprietors, refusing to refer, according to the election given by said act, — Messrs. Curtis and Nichols were now employed by the Com- mittee to examine into the whole title of the city and of the proprietors on " the Cove and to the Mill Creek;" and the Mayor was directed to prepare a report on the recent purchases and proceedings of the Committee. This, on the sixth of Septem- ber, received the approbation of the Committee, and was laid before the City Council on the ninth. In this report, the City Council are informed by the Commit- tee, that "the interests of the city having further developed themselves, in consequence of a more intimate and accurate acquaintance with, and investigation of, the relations of the estates in that quarter, it was unanimously then- opinion, that the extension of Faneuil Hall Market should not be limited by the Mill Creek, as at first contemplated. By the purchase of Eustis's and Howard's wharves, not only a great improve- ment would result, in the accommodation of the city, but also a great addition to the means of indemnification for its expendi- tures, from the additional store lots and wharf rights which these new purchases and this new extension would afford. The estate of Mr. Busscy stood in such a relation, both to the Mill Creek and to the passage from Ann Street, as to make its possession by the city extremely important; that the purchases of these estates were necessarily made without any previous public de- CITY GOVERNMENT. 129 velopmont of their intentions ; but, in making them, that the Committee had acted under a distinct pledge from jjersons of responsibility, that if the City Council chose to disallirm those pm'chases, they stood ready to take the estate, and relieve the city from them. The Committee then proceed to state their confidence, that the opinion of the City Council will be in favor of accepting them ; their satisfaction that all the purchases will be made within the original estimates ; but that the three estates above mentioned, not having been included within the original estimates, an additional aj^propriation and coriTespondent au- thority to make loans, would be essential. This report the City Council accepted, and made an additional appropriation, equal in amount to the costs of those three estates, and the power solicited was granted ; making the whole amount of appropriations to this period $547,500. Between the sixth and thirteenth of September, 1824, the Committee had determined upon the plan and elevation of the new market house, that it should be of stone, and proposed to the City Council the expediency of giving autiiority for the sale of the store lots on the north side of the new market house. On the fourteenth, resolves were passed by the City Council, sanctioning the plan and elevation and the sale proposed, and appropriating seventy-five thousand dollars for the erecting of the market house. The sale was directed to be at auction to the highest bidder, and the terms and conditions were to be prescribed by the Committee, three fourths thereof concurring ; it being a condition annexed to such sales that a market house should be erected upon the general plan then specified and agreed upon by the City Council. Accordingly, on the twenty-first of September, 1824, the Com- mittee agreed that the sale should take place on the twenty-ninth of September ensuing; and that the conditions should be, among others, of temporary import, — that no bid less than seven dollars per square foot should be taken ; the terms ten per cent, in cash ; and for the residue, a bond collaterally secured by mortgage on the premises, payable at any period not exceeding thirty years, at five and a half per cent, interest per annum ; the purchaser to buUd on or before the first of July, 1825, a substantial brick store of four stories, conformably to a plan and specification of parti- culars. A sub-committee was now appointed to settle with the 130 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. tenants who had been removed, and the IMayor was authorized to negotiate with Samuel Hammond, Esq., relative to the land in the rear of his building, which had its front on Ann Street, and between it and the front line of the proposed new stores. An authority to raise fifty thousand dollars, by way of loan, at five per cent., was given by the Committee to the JNIayor, with the formality requhed, namely, — ten members signing the record. On the twenty-seventh of September, the long-continued and difficult negotiation with Samuel Hammond was terminated, by his agreeing to pay thuty thousand dollars for the land and rights conveyed to him by the city. It being a piece of land fifty feet long and fifty-five feet wide, together with the city's right to a passage way ; INIr. Hammond to conform to the plan of building required of other purchasers. On the twenty-ninth of September, conformably to notice, the land for the north block of stores (seventeen in number) was sold ; the highest lot producing twenty dollars and eighty-three cents ; the lowest sevCn dollars the square foot ; and the gross proceeds of thirty thousand and thirty-seven and a half square feet of land, which, the seventeen store lots included, amounted to the sum of $303,495.42, averaging ten dollars the square foot. The Sub-Committee on building (Messrs. Child, Benjamin, and Page,) were now directed to proceed in their contracts ; and on the fourth of October the City Council authorized the Com- mittee to purchase the estates belonging to the heirs of Henry Bass, and also Jesse Kingsbury's estate, for the purpose of open- ing a street into Ann Street, and widening the passage back of the store lots. On the fifth of October, Henry Bass's estate was purchased for four thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars, and the plan of the market, as finally built, was signed by the Mayor. From the commencement of this undertaking, the original design of extending the improvement to Butler's Row had never been lost sight of by the city authorities. The practicability of it was not believed by a majority of the Faneuil Hall Market Committee. Some doubted its expediency. Others could not believe that the estates could be purchased at a sum which would justify the undertaking. The Mayor, however, during the inter- vening period had negotiated with all the proprietors of land between Parkman's Block and Butler's Row, and had obtained CITY GOVERNMENT. 131 conditional contracts for the purchase within a limited time of all the estates essential to the plan. The sales of the store lots for the north block had gi-eatly increased the popularity of the plan and sanctioned its success. The practicability of enlarging the accommodations round this great central market, without any important implication of the resources of the city, began to be more generally realized, and the feasibility of the plan to be recognized. The only obstruction to this enlargement was the refusal of the three proprietors to make sale of their three fourteenth interests in the Spear estate. On the thktieth of September, however, the day after the result of the sale of the north block of stores was known, those proprietors addressed a letter to the Mayor, disclaiming all design " to stand in the way of city improvements," and declaring their " willing- ness that their land should be embraced in the plans adopted, and sold with the city lands, they receiving for their portion the average of the sales so made." The views of the city's interest, and their duty to it, which the city authorities had long enter- tained, rendered it impossible to accede to this proposition. The late sales had rendered the propriety of these views more obvious to the Faneuil Hall Committee and to the citizens in general. By the negotiations the Mayor had now conditionally effected, it was in the power of the City Council to enlarge the plan of improvement to the greatest extent, which the relations of the land between Ann Street and Butler's Row made possible ; and on the twenty-sixth of October following, he laid before the Faneuil Hall Committee the practicability of an enlargement of the present improvement, provided the Long Wharf proprietors could be induced to sell to the city an additional extent of Bray's Wharf; upon which he was authorized to enter into a negotia- tion with those proprietors on that subject, and Messrs. Benjamin, Oliver, and Williams, were united with him to meet any Com- mittee appointed by them on this subject. On the eighteenth of December, the ]\Iayor laid before the Faneuil Hall Committee plans of an enlargement of South Mar- ket Street, and of extending the plan of improvement so as to include all the estates as far as Butler's Row, and also a street forty feet wide. This representation was refeiTcd to a sub-com- mittee, consisting of the Mayor, Mr. Child, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Wil- liams, and Mr. Wright, to examine all the plans and calculations, 132 IMUNICIPAL HISTORY. and improve npon them, if practicable, and to report what further measures may be expedient. Hitherto all the moneys of the Committee had been subject to the draft of the Mayor, and they stood to his credit in the books of the City Bank. The Mayor stated to the Committee that he thought " the power he had over those moneys was not suffi- ciently restricted and checked, considered as a precedent; he, therefore, proposed a vote, which was adopted, that all payments should be vouched by the Sub- Committees making the expend- iture and countersigned by the auditor ; " and that all moneys received on account of the Committee should be deposited in bank to the credit of the Mayor, subject to his draft, under the preceding restrictions. On the twenty-second of December, the Sub-Committee on the proposed extension of the plan of improvement to Butler's Row reported, and the Committee unanimously voted that the propo- sition for such extension of the improvement ought to be em- braced ; and the Mayor was requested to call a meeting of the City Council, and state to them that " by the power to apply a sum not exceeding two hundred and twenty thousand dollars, improvements of great importance might be effected, by the pur- chase of land, without any ultimate cost, and with a certain ultimate gain to the city." On the tsventy-fourth of December following, the City Council were specially convened on this subject, and a message transmit- ted by the JNIayor, which develo})ed all the views entertained by the Committee, and the motives which induced them to recom- mend the extension of the plan first ado])ted. As this measiue was the occasion of much obloquy at the time, it seems proper that these views should be preserved in the form they were at that time presented to the City Council. That message is there- fore subjoined,^ by which it will be apparent that the motives which actuated the City Council were of the most public and patriotic character ; then* object being to avail themselves of a propitious moment to eflfect in the heart of the city an enlarge- ment of the accommodations of its great central market, from a width of sixty to that of one hundred and two feet. The popu- lation of the city at that time did not make the necessity and 1 See Appendix H. CITY GOVERNilENT. 133 importance of this enlargement as apparent to the citizens in general, as it was to the City Council, and as every day's increas- ing experience has since made it. No one can pass throvigh South Market Street at the present day (1851) on high market days, without realizing both the importance, and even necessity, of that measui'e, and perceiving how gi-eatly the advantages of that improvement would have been diminished, had this enlarge- ment not taken place, and this street had been left of the width of sixty feet, as originally proposed. In consequence of this message, on the twenty-ninth of Decem- ber, an authority was obtained from the City Council to pur- chase any land to the southward of the street leading to Bray's Wharf, which they may judge expedient, provided the purchases did not exceed two hundred and twenty thousand dollars, three fourths of the Committee concurring in such purchases and sign- ing such concuiTence. On the same day, the vote of the City Council \\'as communicated to the Committee, who unanimously executed an authority to the Mayor and a sub-committee to pro- ceed forthwith to make the respective purchases under the above limitation. Between the fifth and the eighteenth of January, 1825, pur- chases were accordingly made of land belonging to Benjamin Adams, Josiah Salisbury, James T. Austin, Thomas Barnes, and the Fifty Associates, for $ 113.347 And, after great difficulties and long negotiation, a final arrangement was made with the Long Wharf proprietors for the pm'chase of their interest, at 105.000 -^ $ 218.347 The Committee then proceeded to direct, that South Market Street should be laid out not less than one hundred and two feet wide, and the new street, running from Merchants' Row, thirty- five feet wide ; that the Mayor and Aldermen be requested to close the street leading to Bray's Wharf, and to open the new street ; a select committee was appointed to prepare plans of the new store lots to be sold, determine the conditions of sale, and report ; and all the tenants in Parkman's Buildings were ordered to remove in thirty days. Thus the design of the leading members of the first Commit- 12 134 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. tee on Faneuil Hall Market was extended toward the east far beyond their first published plan. The western side conformed, in all material respects, to that plan, except that the market house, instead of being situated between two streets, each eighty feet in width, had a street sixty-five feet in width on the north, and one of one hundred and two feet on the south side. The cause of this unequal division of the space devoted to these streets has already been intimated. When, in consequence of the ultimate purchases of the chief estates lying between the street leading to Bray's Wharf and Ann Street, the whole of the estate of Nathan Spear's heirs was taken into South Market Street, great complaints were made and indignation expressed, as though unexampled injustice had been done to the proprietors of the three fourteenths of Na- than Spear's estate, by taking in the whole of their interest for a street. It is not, however, apprehended that there was any just cause for such complaint and feeling. Those proprietors had maintained then* rights with exemplary firmness, and had vindicated for themselves all the advantages of the increased value of their estates, derived from this city improvement. Their estate, however, was, like those of other citizens, subject to be taken, on indemnification, by the surveyors of highways for pub- lic exigencies. In the process for such indemnification, established by law in such cases, they had the full right of receiving damages, accord- ing to the increased value of their estates, as raised by the city ; and this principle was acceded to those proprietors, as a matter of law, by the Chief Justice of the Commonwealth, in his charge to the jury ^ who had the duty of assessing damages, and who awarded to those proprietors their proportion of the Spear estate, valued at seventy thousand dollars, which, previously to the commencement of this project of improvement, had never been 'valued at more than twenty -five thousand. The assertion, that the land was taken by the city as a speculation, was wholly with- out reasonable ground. After the extension of the Centre Market, according to the original plan, was thus effected, minor projects were started in connection with it. Some proposed that the new market house 1 See tlie Boston Dcnhj Advertiser of tbe hvcnty-eighth November, 1826. CITY GOVERNMENT. 135 should be widened from fifty to eighty feet. Others, that the cellar of the market house, which was now, through its whole length, finished and walled, should be taken up and removed, so as to coincide with the centre of Faneuil Hall. The proprietors of the north block of stores on North Market Street also memo- rialized against the widening of South Market Street, as being injurious to them, and contrary to the faith of the city, pledged to them. Between the eleventh and eighteenth of January, these propositions were considered and rejected by the Commit- tee ; the fii-st, unanimously ; the second, by a majority of five out of nine. As the decision of these questions involved great responsibility, the Committee, after declaring their opinion, that there was nothing in the proposed widening of South Market Street contrary to the faith of the city, requested the Mayor to state to the City Council the above votes, and communicate their determination to proceed with the market house according to the present location and dimensions, unless the City Council should expressly direct otherwise ; and declaring their deliberate judgment, that no other change should be permitted, except that of removing the cellar walls, and erecting it of the present dimensions, with the centre coinciding with the centre of Faneuil Hall, and this only on the condition that the proprietors of the north block of stores consent to pay all expenses consequent on such removal. The Mayor accordingly communicated to the City Council a very long and elaborate report, showing that the widening of South Market Street was no direct or virtual violation of the faith of the city to the proprietors of the north block of stores ; and stating the gi'ounds on which the Committee had seen fit to reject the several projects for an alteration in the existing location and dimensions of the new market. The City Council concurred in all the views of the Commit- tee, and directed them to proceed in the manner they had before ordered. At this period, arrangements were commenced for taking down all the buildings purchased to the northward of Bray's Wharf, and for clearing the entire space, preparatory to the sale of the south block of store lots. And, in the course of the month of Febru- ary, 1825, deeds were received from the proprietors of Long Wharf, and the purchase money for them paid ; the claims of 136 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. tenants who had been removed were settled, and the south lots prepared for sale. The Committee also avowed their intention to recommend to the City Council to make no more pm-chases of estates in the vicinity of Butler's Row ; declaring, at the same time, their opinion, that it would be for the interest of the city if the Mayor could induce private individuals to purchase lands in that vicinity, for further extending the improvement in that direction. This declaration was made with reference to, and in aid of, a plan of David Greenough, w^hich had for its object the entire closing of Butler's Row. On the seventh of this month, the Committee were deprived of one of its most active and talented members, by the resigna- tion of INIr. Alderman Benjamin, whose practical skill, scientific acquirements, experience, and great judgment, as an architect, had largely contributed to the success and extensiveness of this important improvement, as he had been, in every stage of the building of the new market house, joined in council with Alex- ander Parris, the employed architect, in devising and improving its original plan. Mr. Alderman Eddy was elected successor to ]\L-. Benjamin on the Special Committee, In the month of March, the Committee purchased the estate of D. Tucker, on the Long Wharf, for the purpose of opening what is now called Commercial Street to the Long Wharf; and, after obtaining the sanction of the City Council, they also pur- chased, at the cost of thirty-six thousand dollars, the estates of William Welsh, Henry Lienow, and of the heirs of Mrs. Hoff- man ; the object being to open a thirty-five feet street in the du-ection of, and including, the Roebuck Passage. On the thirty-first of this month, the twenty-two store lots, constituting the south block, including thirty-three thousand eight hundred and sLxty-five square feet of land, were sold for four hundred and three thousand eight hundred and fifty-three dollars, it being eleven dollars and thirty-two cents the square foot. On the twenty-fifth of April, the Faneuil Hall Committee made a report to the Common Council, stating the amount paid for land pm-chased, and for the streets laid out, for the accommo- dation of the new market house, with the amount received for store lots; and, on the twenty-seventh of April, 1825, in con- CITY GOVERmiENT. 137 formity with previous arrangements, the corner stone of the new market house was laid ^ in the presence of the City Council and a large concourse of citizens, there having been deposited under it, inclosed in a leaden case, a specimen of all the coins of the United States, a map of the city, all the newspapers of the city published on that day, and a silver plate, containing the names of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council, of the Presi- dent of the United States, and of the Executive of the Com- monwealth. 1 See Appendix I. 12' CHAPTER X. CITY GOVERN^IENT. 1824-1825. JosiAH QuixcY, Mcnjor. Proceedings relative to the House of Industry — Opposition of tlie Overseers of the Poor to the Measures of the City Council — Sale of the Almshouse in Leverett Street — The Paujjers transferi'ed to the House of Industry — The question of applying to the Legislature for a Modification of the Powers claimed by the Overseers of the Poor, submitted to a General Meeting of the Citizens — Its Result — Death of Alderman Hooper — Claims of PoUtical Parties for the use of Faneuil Hall — Difficulties relative to the Board of Health — Change in that Department — Visit and Reception of General Lafayette. Immediately after the organization of the city government, in May, 1824, a committee, consisting of the Mayor, Aldermen Child, Benjamin, and Eddy, with Messrs. E. Williams, Shaw, Frothingham, Otis, Barry, Upham, and Davis, of the Common Council, were appointed to consider the best mode of disposing of the Almshouse, with authority to sell it, at a sum not less than one hundred thousand dollars. On the nineteenth of July, the Du'ectors of the House of In- dustry reported to the City Council their receipts and expendi- tures on account of that institution, its prosperous state, and the necessity of a stockade fence around it ; and a committee, con- sisting of the Mayor, Aldermen Patterson and Eddy, with Messrs. Wales, Russell, William Wright, and Goddard, were appointed, with full authority to transfer to the House of Industi-y all the inmates of the Almshouse, with the concm-rence of the Overseers of the Poor. This Committee, in repeated interviews with those Overseers, stated the completion and success of the House of Lidustry ; its special adaptation to the class of poor then in the Almshouse, its chief design being to supply them with a varied succession of healthful employment, on the land and in the House, according to the season of the year, their age, sex, and capacity, thus enabhng them to do something for their own sup- CITY GOVERNMENT. 139 port, and adding to the comfort of the respectable poor, by a pure atmosphere, a wider space for exercise, and scenes more congenial to the human mind, than an almshouse in the midst of a populous city could afford ; that those who had been trans- fen'cd to the House of Industry the last year with reluctance, were not only satisfied, but grateful and happy in the change. The Committee requested the Overseers to examine for them- selves the correctness of these assertions ; and, after stating that the experiment already made had convinced the City Council of the economy, humanity, and acceptableness to the poor of the House of Industry, pressed the expediency of immediately trans- ferring the inmates of the Almshouse to the new, dry, and clean edifice at South Boston, where they might enjoy the comfort and advantage of a residence in the country during, the ensuing summer. The Committee stated that the interest of the city required that the transfer should not be delayed ; as a negotiation then proceeding for the sale of the house in Leverett Street would be embarrassed by an opposition to the views of the City Council. They, therefore, proposed an immediate removal of all the poor to the House of Industry, except the sick and the maniacs ; for whom suitable attendants would be provided by the city, in the Almshouse in LeVerett Street, under the superintendence of the Overseers of the Poor, until that institution could be entirely closed. They stated that it was not the object of the City Council to deprive the Overseers of their guardianship of the poor, but to render their labors more easy and efficient, by adopting a system of measures suited to the increasing population of the city. From that cause, the office of overseer had become so burden- some, that in one ward three citizens had been recently succes- sively chosen and successively declined. These objections would be lessened when those officers were released from responsibili- ties relative to the place appointed for the residence of the poor; except those included in their visitatorial power. The Committee stated that, after the transfer of the poor to South Boston, it was the intention of the City Council that all the poor "in the House of Industry and House of Correction should be under the superintendence of the Directors of the House of Industry ; that all other poor within the limit of the 140 MUNICIPAL mSTORY. city, in the hospital and in families, to be under the care of the Overseers of the Poor, who were to have the exclusive manage- ment and distribution of all eleemosynary funds, and of all such as the City Council may provide for the poor out of the house;" considering these services of the Overseers to include an appli- cation of time and labor sufficient for any city to claim gratui- tously of any individual. These views were not only repeated by the Committee at several interviews, but were set forth at large by them in a letter to the Overseers, dated the twenty-fifth of June, 1824, and signed by the Mayor, David W. Child, James Savage, and Eliphalet Williams, without any other effect than that which will here- after be stated. While the. preceding controversy was pending, the Overseers of the Poor raised another difficulty, relative to their accounta- bility to the City Council for the expenditure of public moneys. By the ordinance " establishing a system of accountability in the expenditures of the city," passed on the twenty-second of August, 1824, no moneys could be paid out of the city treasury, unless vouched by the Chairman of the Committee of the Board, under whose authority the expenditure had been made, and unless passed by the joint Committee of accounts of the City Council. The Overseers having drawn an order on the City Treasurer, without regarding the provisions of the city ordinance, which, not being accepted, the Overseers of the Poor on the twenty-fifth of September, 1824, addressed a remonstrance to the City Coun- cil, stating that, " under the town, the subscription of the Over- seers to the grants and allowances, contained in their draft book, was deemed a sufficient voucher for the Treasurer ; " that the delivery of the original bills and instruments, authenticating the claims of the Overseers, " would be a hinderance in the discharge of their official duties, and endanger a loss by the city ; " that many of them related to adjustments and transactions between them and the Overseers of the Poor or Selectmen of other towns, and ought to be retained in their hands ; that in cases of disburse- ments made by the Overseers, in their respective wards, to poor persons at their dwellings occasionally, according to then: imme- diate exigencies, many inconveniences were suggested ; and mea- sures of the City Council were requested, relieving them from the operation of tlie ordinance relative to accountability. CITY GOVERNMENT. 141 This memorial was referred to a committee of the City Coun- cil, consisting of the Mayor and Alderman Odiorne, and Messrs. Coolidge, Prouty, and Morse, of the Common Council, who, on the eighteenth of October, 1824, reported that they had an inter- view with the Overseers of the Poor, and heard and considered all their suggestions, and that they cannot perceive why the par- ticular provisions of that ordinance are not as equally applicable to the expenditures of the Overseers of the Poor as to those of other boards and individuals intrusted with the disbm'sement of public moneys, and that they see no practical difficulty or inconvenience that will result from the applicability of the ordinance in question to their expenditure ; but, on the contrary, in their judgment, it would be productive of great satisfaction. The Committee then proceeded to state the expenditures of the Overseers, during the last current year, to have been upwards of thnty thousand dol- lars, arranged under four general heads : — 1. Salaries and sums paid for professional services. 2. Payments made to insane hospitals and other towns. 3. Payments of out of door grants and pensions. 4. Payments for articles and provisions purchased for the house. As to the first, amounting to near fom* thousand dollars, the Overseers could not be subjected to greater inconve- nience than that to which other salaried officers were, who are paid by bills certified by the chairman of the committee of the board making the contract. It was obviously expedient that a similar principle should be applied to all accounts for salaries. Indeed the chief objection of the Overseers to the requisition seemed to be the trouble it would occasion them. As to the second head, amounting to upwards of twenty-five hun- dred doUars, the Committee apprehended no great inconve- nience could arise after an account was liquidated and the balance struck, for the account to be certified by the chair- man of the board that passed it. The objection made was, that the Overseers would be subjected to unnecessary trouble to go to the office of the auditor, in case of any necessity of recur- rence to those accounts. This inconvenience, the Committee apprehended, would be counterbalanced by the gi'cat public con- venience and security, from having all the public accounts of all the expending individuals and boards deposited in one office, in one systematic arrangement, under the direct superintendence of a committee of the City Council. As to the thkd head of pay- 142 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. mcnts, amounting to upwards of eight thousand dollars, all that would be required was, that a list of the names of all the pen- sioners, or those to whom gi-ants were made, should be ti'ansmit- ted, certified by the Chairman of the Overseers, that they have been allowed by vote of the Board. And as to weekly distiibu- tions of the Overseers in the wards, all that would be required was, a statement of an account by the expending overseer, speci- fying the names of the person relieved, and a certificate of the Chakman of the Overseers, that the account had been passed by the Board. It was objected by the Overseers, that giving publi- city to the name of the person relieved, might sometimes occa- sion pain to such person. The Committee, however, were of opinion, that it was the rig'ht of socieiij to know how the ]5ublic moneys are in such cases applied. Poverty, when it is not the consequence of vice or crime, is no disgrace ; when it is the con- sequence of either, it is not entitled to the consideration which the objection implies. As to the fourth head, amounting to nearly fifteen thousand dollars, the payments made under it are, in every respect, precisely similar to those of other city expendi- tures, and there can be no reason why they sliould not be subject to the same system of accountability. The Directors of the House of Industry, whose relations to the city and responsibili- ties are altogether similar to those of the Overseers (except only that they have no discretionary power to disburse money out of the house) find no embarrassment from the provisions of the ordinance, and the Committee declared their opinion that the experiment in its effects would result in being a gi'eat satisfac- tion to the Overseers of the Poor, instead of an annoyance. The reluctance thus exhibited by the Overseers of the Poor to be subjected to the same principles of accountability which the City Council had established, with regard to all boards and individu- als who had the expenditures of public moneys, made a deep impression upon the minds of the Committee. This w^as strength- ened by their unyielding opposition to the removal of the poor to the institution at South Boston, after the urgent solicitation of the Committee for such removal, expressed in then* letter of the twenty-fifth of June preceding; although there were only eiglit// in the class of sick and maniacs out of more than three hundred inmates then in the Almshouse. The great majority of these they alleged were not capable of labor and not suited to CITY GOVERmiENT. 143 the mode of relief provided for them in the House of Industry, and accordingly refused to assent to the transfer of more than forty. These they discharged in the mode they before adopted, and of this number only thirtij-tico could be persuaded to go to South Boston. It was also soon ascertained that several of these pau- pers, who, after having been discharged by the Overseers, had refused to go to the House of Industry, and others who had run away from that establishment, wholesome restraint being unsuited to their idle and vicious habits, had been again received into the Almshouse in Leverett Street, without any notice being given to the Directors of the House of Industry and the City Council. These proceedings were so destructive of the discipline of this institution, that the Committee resolved, on the fourth of Sep- tember, to make a final attempt to effect, if possible, a transfer of those inmates ; and accordingly on that day, had, for that pur- pose, an interview with the Overseers of the Poor, and received from them a statement that there were one hundred and forty' four adults and ninety-nine children in the Almshouse, who were neither sick nor maniacs. And when the Committee deemed it then* duty to require the concurrence of the Overseers in the trans- fer of those paupers to the House of Industry, to their surprise that Board, on the tenth of November, passed a vote refusing to concur in the transfer of any of this gix>at number, for the reason that " they were not, in the opinion of the Overseers, in a condi- tion to be discharged from their care and oversight." The Committee which had been appointed on this subject, on the seventeenth of June, 1824, therefore communicated these facts to the City Council on the fifteenth of November, and, without making any comment on this refusal, declared their opinion that " the whole course of proceedings of the Overseers of the Poor, in relation to the House of Industry and the Alms- house, as well as the great amount of the cash expenditures of that Board, and the obstacles they had thrown in the way of their accountability to the City Council, strongly indicated the necessity and duty of the City Council to obtain, if possible, that the subject of the poor should be placed on a different foot- ing than that which at present exists under the laws of the Com- monwealth ; that the experience of two years had evinced that a constant succession of embarrassments had obstructed the attempts of the City Council to produce that amelioration in the 144 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. condition of ihe poor, and that limitation of the expenditures of that department which was originally intended by the wisdom of the citizens of Boston, Avhen they laid the foundations of the House of Industry ; " and they " suggested to the City Council the duty of inquiring whether these embarrassments are not inseparable from the incompatibility of the powers existing in, or claimed by the Overseers, when brought into connection with the powers and authorities now^ unquestionably vested by the charter of the city in the City Council ; " that " by the theoiry of this charter, the branches which combine its legislative and executive powers, are competent for the management of all the concerns of the city, and among these the care of the poor, one of the most important in point of expense, and one of the most critical in point of interest. By the theory of the Board of Over- seers this great concern is thrown into the hands of twelve men, chos(>n in wards, without much reference to the greatness of the pecuniary trust, and still less to the extent of their claimed pow- ers. Thus, for instance, this Board has, according to their claims, a right to expend what they please, on whom they please, and how they please ; sometimes supporting paupers in the house, and sometimes out of the house ; sometimes paying them by monthly and quarterly drafts on the treasury ; sometimes paying them l^y cash out of their own pockets, and charging the amount in a weekly or monthly settlement ; and in these ways there actually passes through their hands annually from thirty to forty thousand dollars." The Committee in this statement did not include the great annual expenditure of the incomes of eleemo- synary funds, amounting, as is asserted, to a capital of more than one hundred thousand dollars, over which the Overseers claimed entire control, and were reluctant authoritatively to give publicity to the exact amount. The Committee, after further commenting on the exti-eme inconvenience and inexpediency of this state of things, recommended that a Committee of both branches should be appointed, and instructed to consider and report at large on the suliject. This report was accepted, and the INIayor, Alder- men Odiorne, Child, and Eddy, and the President, (Oliver) and Messrs. Savage, E. Williams, Prouty, and Curtis, of the Com- mon Council, were accordingly appointed to consider the general relations of the Overseers of the Poor and the city, and report the measures which ought to be adopted on the subject. CITY GOVERNMENT. 145 This Committee, on the twenty-ninth of November, made a report exhibiting the incompatibility of the existing relations between the Overseers of the Poor and the City Council with the interests of the city, and recommending that the whole subject should be submitted to a general meeting of the citizens, and proposing measures which, if sanctioned by them, would termi- nate these collisions of authority.^ To the end, also, that if a board assuming a qualified independence of the City Council should afterwards be permitted to exist, it should be the result of the voluntary act of the citizens, and should not be attributa- ble to any shrinking from, or dereliction of duty on the part of the City Council. The report was accepted unanimously in both branches of the City Council, and six thousand copies were printed and imme- diately distributed throughout the city. A meeting of the in- habitants was then called for the sixteenth of December ensu- ing. At this meeting very warm and exciting debates occurred, occupying the whole morning, and resulting, after several poll- ings, in a rejection of the measures proposed by the City Coun- cil, by a majority of only thirty-one, in an assembly casting ei^ht hundred votes. The proceedings were then so far reconsidered, as to refer the whole subject to a committee of twelve persons, who were instructed to call, at their discretion, another general meeting of the inhabitants, at which the votes on the report they might submit should be taken by ballot. This Committee reported at length ; and, after dilating on the necessity and importance of the office of overseers of the poor from " the fact, that overseers of the poor are by law trustees of various legacies and donations to certain descriptions of poor, then amounting to ninety thousand dollars, the income of which, the donors, confiding in the humanity, prudence, and integrity of the acting overseers of then day, and justly inferring that the good sense of the people would lead them to elect similar cha- racters as successors in after times, have at various periods placed at the disposal of the overseers so chosen, to be applied in most cases to such as had seen better days, and were not resident in the Almshouse nor partakers of the public bounty in other ways," proceeded to declare then opinion, that " the election of 1 See Appendix K. 13 146 MUMCIPAL HISTORY. the overseers by the people is not only conformable to the wishes of the citizens, but an ancient practice, which circumstances do not requke them to reUnquish." In conformity with this opi- nion, the Committee recommended to the citizens for their adop- tion, resolutions declaring the inexpediency of complying with the propositions submitted to them by the City Covmcil. The Committee then appointed the nineteenth of May ensuing for a general meeting of the citizens, to take into consideration thek report. On the eighteenth of November, the Directors of the House of Industry again reported to the City Council the state of the institution, congratulated the public on its success, and expressed their sti-ong hopes that great and lasting good would result from it to the morals and interests of the city, and repeated their urgency for an appropriation of five thousand dollars for the erection of a stockade fence, as being advantageous to the present institution, and essential to a house of correction. The appro- priation required was immediately granted by the City Council. The sale of the Almshouse in Leverett Street, in March, 1825, at length put an end to the controversy relative to the transfer of the poor. The Committee which had effected the sale declared that no delay ought to occur, in compliance with their stipulations rela- tive to clearing the house in Leverett Street of all its inmates ; and on their recommendation, two resolves were passed by the City Council, directing all the paupers to be removed to South Boston, on or before the fifteenth of April ensuing, and the mem- bers of the former Committee on the subject of the transfer of the poor to the House of Industry were appointed to have an interview with the Overseers, wdth authority to make such transfer. Accordingly, before that day, the house in Leverett Street was cleared of its inmates, in conformity with the re- solve of the City Council; and, on a petition of the Over- seers of the Poor, they assigned the southeast chamber of the second story in Faneuil Hall to that board, as a place for their meeting and a deposit of their records. On the eighteenth of April, the Committee charged ^dth the transfer of the poor to South Boston reported to the City Council that it had been effected, and tiuo hundred and nine individuals had been removed, making the number now in the House of Industry CITY GOVERXMENT. 147 tico hundred and eighty-one ; and that all the inmates, particu- larly the aged and respectable females, whose comfort and ac- commodation deserved particularly to be considered, expressed to the Committee theu content and gi'atitude for the change, and their regret that it had been so long delayed. The City Council, therefore, after all the difficulties with which they had long contended, had the great pleasure and satisfaction of be- holding their labors, with regard to the House of Industry, crowned with complete success. On the sLxteenth of September, 1824, the Mayor announced to the City Council the death of Alderman Hooper, a lawyer of great promise, who, by his talents and vutues, had obtained an extensive local influence, which, during the short period he was suffered to remain in public life, he had successfully applied to the advancement of the best interests of the city. A resolve was immediately passed, expressing deep sympathy with his family, and a committee appointed to make anangements for the City Council to attend the funeral, and to recommend such marks of respect as were justly due to his virtues, talents, and public ser- vices. In November, the vacancy in the Board of Aldermen, which this event occasioned, was supplied by the election of Cyrus Alger. In March, 1824, the representatives of two political parties, came before the Mayor and Aldermen, each claiming the use of Faneuil Hall on the evening preceding an election, under circumstances which deeply excited the feelings of both. After much deliberation that Board determined that the right should no longer depend upon the priority of application, but hereafter by alternation ; and that the claims of the two parties for the ensuing election, being nearly equal, should be decided by ballots, prepared by the City Clerk in their presence ; it being declared, that the unsuccessful party should have a right to the Hall on the evening of the next succeeding election. In this decision the representatives of the contending parties acqu.iesced. On the nineteenth April, 1824, the joint Committee on quaran- tine regulations, of which the Mayor was chairman, reported, that, by the city charter, the whole subject relative to quarantine was invested in the City Council ; that, in 1822, they had trans- ferred those powers to the Board of Health, who had executed 148 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. them in the character and with the attributes of an independent board ; that doubts had arisen concerning the constitutionality of that transfer ; and that this arrangement was not consonant to the spirit of the city charter, nor justified by its provisions ; that those powers were a personal and untransferable trust to the City Council ; that, although they must be exercised by the agency of others, the body by which they are exercised ought to be so organized that its dependence, in every act of its power, should be felt and acknowledged, otherwise, the City Council have a responsibility without power of control, and the trust of the charter is violated or abandoned ; that it was a question of gi'eat delicacy and seriousness, worthy of the most anxious con- sideration of the City Council, whether the exercise of those powers by a board like that of the Commissioners of Health, regarding itself as independent, was a fulfilment of the obliga- tions, however wise and respectable might be the members of that board ; and that, deeming it their duty to propose a different organization for the exercise of that trust, the Committee re- commended the resolutions of the following general tenor : — 1. That there should be appointed, in May, annually, health commissioners, by concurrent vote of the City Council. 2. That they should have power to carry into effect aU the powers relative to the quarantine of vessels, the health, cleanli- ness, and comfort of the city, and the interment of the dead. 3. That there should be, in like manner, appointed a physician for Hospital Island ; and also, in case of infectious diseases, three consulting physicians. 4. That there should be a joint committee annually appointed, to prepare rules and regulations and superintend the proceedings of the Commissioners ; and, in case of any doubt ■ question, to submit the subject for the decision of the City Com. " These resolves were adopted in both branches, and t^ i subject left for the action of the ensuing City Council. Accordingly, on the third of May, in the ensuing city year, the Mayor, Aldermen Child, Eddy, and Hooper, with Messrs. Russell, IMorse, Adan, Upham, and William Wright, of the Common Council, were appointed a committee on that subject ; and, in pursuance of the policy recommended by these resolves, the agency of the Board of Health was superseded by an ordi- nance of the City Council, passed on the thirty -first of May, CITY GOYERmiENT. 149 1824, relative to the police of the city, by which the whole sub- ject was placed under the control of a single commissioner, as has ah-eady been stated in this work.^ On the same day, a vote passed both branches of the city, unanimously expressing their thanks to the members of the late Board of Health, for their faithful and laborious services. The visit of General Lafayette rendered the years 1824 and 1825 a period of universal jubilee in the United States. Although the testimony of delight at his presence, which cities and states vied with each other in repeating, belong to the history of the nation, yet the proceedings of the municipality of Boston, as the triumphal procession swept through its precincts, requires here a brief notice and distinct reminiscence. In March, 1824, the Mayor, in compliance with a vote of the City Council, addi'essed the following letter to Lafayette. Boston, U. S. A., 20 March, 1824. Sir, — Your intention to visit tlie United States has been made known to its citizens by the proceedings of their National Legislature. The city of Boston shares in the universal pleasure which the expectation of so interesting an event has diffused ; but it has causes of gratification peculiarly its own. Many of its inhabitants recollect, and aU have heard of your former residence in this metro- polis ; of the delight with which you were here greeted on your second visit to this country ; and of the acclamation of a grateful multitude which attended you ■when sailing from this harbor, on your last departure from the United States ; and also of that act of munificence, by which in later times you extended the hand of relief in their distress. These circumstances have impressed upon the inhabitants of this city a vivid recollection of your person, and a peculiar inte- rest in your character, endearing you to their remembrance by sentunents of personal gratitude, as well as b}- that sense of national obligation with which the citizens of the United States are universally penetrated. With feelings of this kind, the City Council of Boston, in accordance with the general wish of their constituents, have directed me to ad(h'ess this letter to you, and to express the hope that, should it comport with your convenience, you would do them the honor to disembai'k in this city, and to communicate the assui-ance that no event could possibly be more grateful to its inhabitants ; that nowhere could you meet with a more cordial welcome ; that you could find nowhere hearts more capable of appreciating your early zeal and sacrifices In the cause of American freedom, or more ready to acknowledge and honor that cha- racteristic uniformity of virtue, with which through a long life, and in scenes of unexampled difficulty and danger, }ou have steadfastly maintained the cause of an enlightened civil liberty in both hemispheres. Very respectfully, I am your obedient servant, JosiAH QurxcY, Mayor of the CiUj of Boston. 1 See ch. v. p. 73. 13* 150 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. ANSWER OF LAFAYETTE.' To the Mayor of tie City of Boston : Paris, May 26, 1824. Sir, — Amidst the new and high marks of benevolence the people of the Uni- ted States and their representatives have lately deigned to confer upon me, I am proud and happy to recognize those particular sentiments of the citizens of Bos- ton which have blessed and dehghted the first years of my public career, and the grateful sense of which has ever since been to me a most valued reward and support. I joyfully anticipate the day, not very remote, thank God, when I may revisit the glorious cradle of American, and, in future, I hope, of universal liberty. Your so honorable and gratifying invitation would have been directly complied with In the case to which you allude. But while I profoundly felt the honor intended b}- the offer of a national ship, I hope I shaU incur no blame by the determination I have taken to embark, as soon as it is in my power, in a pri- vate vessel. "Whatever port I first attain, I shall, with the same eagerness, hasten to Boston, and present to its beloved and revered inhabitants, as I have the honor to offer to the City Council and to you, sir, the homage of my affec- tionate gratitude and devoted respect. Lafayette. General Lafayette landed at New York on the sixteenth of August, 1824, amidst those demonstrations of interest and grati- tude, which every heart and hand in the United States was pre- pared to reiterate; and on the twentieth he left that city for Boston, under a military escort. During the whole course of his journey, he received continued evidences of general delight. From the lines of Massachusetts he was attended by the Aids of Governor Eustis, and was received by him at his seat in Rox- bury, on the evening of the twenty-third. On the succeeding morning, seated in a barouche the city had provided, he was escorted by a cavalcade of more than a thousand citizens to the lines of Boston, where he was met by the city authorities in car- riages, with a large military escort, and was thus addressed by the Mayor, standing in the barouche, in which were seated the Committee of the City Council. General Lafayette, — The citizens of Boston welcome you on your return to the United States ; mindful of jour early zeal in the cause of Ameri- can independence, grateful for your distinguished share in the perils and glories of its achievement, '\^'hen, urged by a generous sympathy, you first lauded on these shores, you found a people engaged In an arduous and eventful struggle for liberty, with apparently inadequate means and amidst dubious omens. After the lapse of nearly half a century, you find the same people prosperous beyond all hope and all precedent ; their liberty secure, sitting in their strength, without fear and without reproach. In your youth you joined the standard of three millions of people, raised in an CITY GOVERmiENT. 151 uncertain and unequal combat. In your advanced age you return, and arc met hy ten millions of people, their descendants, who greet your approach and rejoice in it. This is not the movement of a turbulent populace, excited by the first laurels of some recent conqueror. It is a grave, moral, intellectual impulse. A -whole people in the enjo}Tnent of freedom as perfect as the condition of our nature permits, recur with gratitude, increasing with the daily increasing sense of their blessings, to the memory of those, who by theii' labors and in their blood laid the foundation of our liberties. Your name, sir, the name of Lafayette, is associated with the most perilous and most glorious periods of our Revolution — with the imperishable names of "Washington and of that numerous host of heroes who adorn the proudest archives of American history, and are engraven in indelible traces on the hearts of the whole Amei'ican people. Accept then, in the sincere spirit in which it is offered, this simple tribute to your virtues. Again, sir, the citizens of Boston bid you welcome to the cradle of American independence and to scenes consecrated with the blood shed by the earUest mar- tyrs in the cause. REPLY OF GENERAL LAFAYETTE. To the Mayor and People of Boston : The emotions of love and gratitude which I have been accustomed to feel on my entering this city, have ever mingled with a sense of religious reverence for the cradle of American, and let us hope it will be hereafter said, of universal liberty. AMiat must be my feelings, sir, at the blessed moment, when, after so long an absence, I find myself again surrounded by the good citizens of Boston. "WTien I am so affectionately, so honorably welcomed, not only by old friends, but by several successive generations ; when I can witness the prosperity, the immense improvements that have been the just reward of a noble struggle, virtuous morals, and truly republican institutions. I beg of you, Mr. Mayor, Gentlemen of the Citj- Council, and all of you, beloved citizens of Boston, to accept the respectful and warm thanks of a heart which has, for nearly half a century, been particularly devoted to your illustrious city. The Mayor then took a seat with Lafayette. The entrance of Lafayette into the city was announced by raising the American flag on the cupola of the State House and on Dorchester Heights, from whence a salute of one hundred and one guns was fired. The streets were profusely decorated ; arches with appropriate mottoes were raised in Washington Street ; and during his progress, for more than three miles, all the bells of the city were rung, and he was welcomed by more than seventy thousand inhabitants of the city and its vicinity. Every roof, \\dndow, balcony, and steeple, was put in requisition by the excited multitude, which, by its throng, often impeded 152 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the progress of the barouche. The day was cloudless, cool, and serene, and every cu-cumstance propitious to general enjoyment. On the Common, Lafayette passed through two lines formed by several thousand children, pupils of the public schools, attired in uniform, and each wearing his portrait stamped upon a ribbon. From the State House, where his reception by the Governor was announced by a national salute from the Common, he was escorted to the mansion at the corner of Beacon and Park Streets, which had been obtained and furnished for his resi- dence, during his visit, by the city authorities; and he after- wards attended a public dinner given by them in his honor. During the week of his continuance in the city, he was escorted by the Mayor and a Committee of the City Council, to visit every object of interest within and around the city, and no testi- mony of respect and gratitude was omitted. On the thirty-first of August, the Mayor accompanied Lafay- ette, on his departure for New Hampshire, to the lines of Boston on Charles River Bridge, where he was received by the aids of the Governor of the Commonwealth and an escort of cavalry. At parting, he requested the Mayor to assure the citizens of Boston that " it was impossible for words to do justice to the emotions excited in his heart by the distinguished kindness and honor with which he had been welcomed by them ; that they would ever be associated with his most precious recollections ; and that he warmly reciprocated then- expressions of respect and regard." On the second of September, when Lafayette returned from New Hampshire, an elegant entertainment was given him at his residence in Park Street by the City Council. Lafayette pre- sided at the table, and they dined with him apparently as his guests ; and this gratifying arrangement formed an appropriate conclusion to the attention and tiibutes he received from the city government of Boston. CHAPTER XL CITY GOVERNMENT. 1824-1825. JosiAH QuiNCY, Mayor. State of the Fire Department — Claims of the Engine Companies — The Eesult — They surrender their Engines and resign — Other Engine Compa- nies fonned — A new Organization of the Fire Department 1-ecommended — ]\Ieasures taken to carry it into effect — Office of Auditor of Accounts esta- blished. During the first year of the second administration of the city government, the City Council were restrained by obstacles, appa- rently insurmountable, from any attempt to improve the then existing system of protection against fire, although great changes in it were evidently requisite, Firewards, engine, and hook and ladder men, with associated friendly fire companies, constituted the fire police. Their efficiency chiefly depended upon the aid of the inhabitants, applied under the authority of the firewards. They formed lanes of bystanders, who, by their direction, passed buckets of water, from pumps or wells in the vicinity, to the engines playing on the fire, and returned them for further supply. This system of protection had its origin in the relations of the colonial state, when the inhabitants were few, habituated to labor, and respect for the rights of property was general. Dwell- ing-houses being then separated by gardens or vacant fields, extensive conflagrations were infrequent ; yet, being of wood, and the means of insurance unattainable, their occasional loss kept alive the feeling of sympathy in the community. The duty of joining some fire company and assisting at every fire was, therefore, regarded as imperious. At the time of the adoption of the city government, Boston was in a transition state, and fast advancing to that period, when, by the increase of population, ties of individual interest were diminished. The establishment of insurance oflSces had, in most cases, transferred the loss upon capitalists ; and poverty and crime, multiplying with numbers, began to regard fires as 154 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. harvests, from the gleaning of which they had not principle enough to abstain. Although this state of things was obvious, and its effects began to be felt, yet it was long before the duty of aiding the sufferers caused the necessity of imposing restraint on the general interference of the citizens at fbes to be recognized. Tiiis reluct- ance to acknowledge the effect of circumstances on the then existing system of protection, was peculiarly strong among the engine companies, in whom the esprit de corps was active and general. From the earliest period of the settlement, the mem- bers of these companies had been accustomed to regard them- selves as the guardians of the city against this element, and took a pride in the consciousness of theh' power. They were a body of men energetic and fearless. So far from regarding their labors as onerous and looking for their reward in pecuniary compensa- tion, a premium was often paid for admission into the compa- nies, and they deemed themselves recompensed by a small allow- ance from the town, sufficient for an annual social supper, by exemption from militia duties, and the consciousness of useful and acceptable services to their fellow townsmen. Their engines, found and supported by the town, were without ornament, and valued only for their power. To be first, nearest, and most con- spicuous at fires, was the ambition of the engine men ; and the use of hose, as it had a tendency to deprive them of this gi'atifi- cation, was opposed. The hostility to any change which should induce its use, was apparently general. The opinion of the effi- ciency of the then existing system was riveted in the belief, and fortified by the pride of the engine companies. To doubt it, involved with them an inevitable loss of popularity ; and the introduction of a hose system was ridiculed and regarded as use- less. Although the citizens in general did not coincide in the opinion of the engine companies, and perceived the difficulties of the subject, they were far from being unanimous relative to the improvement the state of the department required. The City Council, therefore, determined to defer until a more favorable moment the desired alterations ; and the Mayor prepared for changes which he deemed inevitable, by entering into con-espond- ence with leading members of the fire departments of New York and Philadelphia, whose systems of protection were reported to him as highly efficient. CITY GOVERNMENT. 155 The fire department was brought under the consideration of the City Council in June, 1823, by a petition of several engine companies for an additional compensation for their services. The Committee to whom it was refei-red, reported that the remu- neration already allowed was sufTicient, and gave them leave to withdraw it. The acceptance of this report gave the petitioners great dissatisfaction ; and the Mayor soon received notice from the captains of some of the companies that they would never be content with then' present allowance, but that at a proper season they w^ould renew their apphcation. The Mayor understood, from the terms of this notice, that this renewal would be made in the winter, when then' services were most important and arduous, and when, therefore, it would be most difficult to supply substitutes. The City Council consequently, immediately turned their attention to the present organization, efficiency, and equipments of the engine companies, the inducements given to join them, and the power of the fu-ewards. These investigations increased their dissatisfaction, and presented new difficulties. The citizens complained that the ffi-ewards did not exercise their authority, despotic for the emergency, with the same energy as their predecessors. The firewards asserted that the citizens no longer aided them in their duties, by becoming members of the fire companies ; and that while the classes of population dis- posed to be inactive or to depredate at fires increased, those who were wiUing to assist were much lessened. It was, therefore, more dii5cult to form lanes to supply the engines, and impossi- ble to support them for any length of time. The multiplication of insurance offices, also, by diminishing the losses of the suffer- ers, weakened the sense of obligation to risk life and health for their relief. The engine companies were also equally loud in their complaints. The increase of population and extent of the city had rendered alarms more numerous and made distances greater. They were often obliged, from a deficiency of water, to di-ag their engines some hundred feet from the ffi-e to the pump, and then back again, with the loss of half of the water obtained. In this labor and in that of working engines, the citizens were not as w^illing to aid as formerly. Admission into the engine companies was, indeed, yet regarded as a pri- vilege, for which from five to eigM doUars was paid by each candidate. The companies were accustomed to have four sup- 156 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. pers in a year, which exhausted their fees, fines, premiums, and allowance from the city. The fines for failure in the mili- tia service had been so reduced, that exemption from it was no longer a powerful inducement to enter the engine compa- nies. Four hundred and sixty men were their full complement, but only three hundred and tiventy were enrolled, and conse- quently not one company had its full complement, and one had but twelve members. The city owned sixteen fire engines, but only fourteen were in service. A few of them were of gi'eat power, but in general they were ordinary in appearance and workmanship. Only eight hundred feet of hose belonged to all the companies collectively. Of these each engine had its pro- portion for its sole use ; and as the screws were not adapted to each other, to act in a conjoined line was impracticable; Although these facts were well known, no general dissatisfac- tion existed ; and it was dangerous for any man's reputation for sense or patriotism to question the axiom that there was no place whose inhabitants were more distinguished for alacrity and success in extinguishing fii-es than in Boston. The members of the engine companies, who held most firmly this opinion, were skilful, alert, and vigorous men, experienced in the service and attached to it, and so confident of then- ability and popularity, that several of them said to the Committee that if the companies resigned, no individuals could be found in the city willing and able to take charge of the engines. All acknowledged that fires were more destructive than formerly ; but this was attributed not to any defect in the system, but to the want of cooperation among the citizens. The remedies proposed and urged were, to revive the ancient volunteer fire companies, to enlarge the sup- ply of buckets, and vest gi'cater authority in firewards. The pro- posal of a fire department which should exclude, instead of com- pelling the assistance of citizens, was received with indignation. " Do you think, sir," said one of the captains of the engines, " that the citizens of Boston will ever submit to be prohibited from assisting a fellow townsman in distress. Such sort of laws may be obeyed in despotic countries, or in cities where the inha- bitants do not feel for one another ; but this is not the case, nor ever will be in Boston. No such system can ever be introduced into this city." When the advantages of the hose system were suggested, it was answered, that it was practicable in Philadel- CITY GOVERmiENT. 157 phia, from the abundance and easy command of water; but Boston possessed no such facilities. When it was stated in reply, that in New York the want of a sufficient head of water was supplied by stationing engines at intervals between the water and the fire, which, by playing into each other successively, enabled the nearest to throw a continuous stream upon the fire. The answer of one of the captains was characteristic of the state of the existing prejudices on the subject. " Set enginemen at a distance from the fire ! It wiU never be submitted to. Their desire is always to be in the hottest of the battle. The nearer the fire the higher the post of honor. Their struggle is, who shall get to it the first, and who keep the nearest. It would be more difficult to keep a Boston engine back, in order to play into its neighbor, than it would be to put out the fire." Many thought- ful and intelligent citizens had also doubts concerning the effi- ciency of the hose system ; and the City Council concluded, after much deliberation, that it was most prudent to postpone for a timje attempts to introduce improvements obnoxious to so many prejudices. During the year 1823, the whole damage received by the city from fires did not amount to five thousand dollars. And this uncommon exemption from calamity, by diminishing the appre- hension of danger, delayed expenditm'es for protection. On the seventeenth of September, 1823, the engine compa- nies renewed their petition, demanded the usual premiums for the first and second engines which arrived at the fire, and an annual compensation of fifty dollars for each company, to be disposed of at their discretion. The Committee to whom this petition was referred, were the Mayor, Aldermen Odiorne and Eddy, with Messrs. E. Williams, Oliver, Adan, and Wales, of the Common Council. They had frequent interviews with the cap- tains and leading members of the several companies ; but the cu-curastances of the department, and the temper and language in which their claims were urged, made the course to be pursued very difficult. The season of the year and that which was approaching, were those in which any knoAvn general derange- ment of the engine companies would occasion gi'eat alarm among the citizens. The members of those companies had been long in the service of the city. Great confidence was attached to their experience. By many, the safety of the city 14 158 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. was deemed to be essentially dependent on their continuance. In their opinion the engine companies were composed of a class of citizens whose claims it was unsafe to deny, and in whatever spirit demanded they ought to be granted. The claims of these companies were, in fact, pressed in terms indicating then- belief that the city could not dispense with their services. The Committee of the City Council were told plainly, that unless their petition was granted, they would una- nimously resign their engines. On being asked, whether the companies will not be satisfied with less i\\di\\ fifty dollars each, the reply of one of the captains was, " No. We are fixed on that point. Forty-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents will not do I" After this evidence of feeling and opinion, a majority of the Committee came to the conclusion that any grant made under such circumstances would be considered as an " acknowledg- ment of the dependence of the city upon the individuals who then composed those companies, be attributed to fear, and be only a temporary expedient and a source of futm-e embarrass- ment; that the permanent safety of a city should never be allowed to be regarded as dejjendent on the capricious estimate of their own importance by any set of men ; but that general confidence should be permitted to rest on no other basis than the conviction that there exists always among the- mass of its citi- zens talents and will adequate to self-protection. The Committee, therefore, on the twenty-fourth of November made a report, which was accepted by the City Council, that it was not expedient to gi-ant the prayer of the petitioners, the pre- sent exemptions and compensations being a sufficient remunera- tion. In anticipation of possible difficulty, however, the Aldermen immediately instituted inqukies in their several wards, and ascer- tained that the citizens generally coincided in the views of the city authorities on these claims, and that if the present compa- nies surrendered their engines, others might be formed without difficulty. The City Council, however, being unwilfing wholly to reject the petition of the engine companies, on the sixth of November, appointed another committee, consisting of the Mayor, Alder- men Patterson, Eddy, and Hooper, with Messrs. Swett, Wins- low, Wright, Tappan, and Adan, of the Common Council, who, CITY GOVERmiENT. 159 on the twenty-fourth of that month, made an elaborate report, embracing all the topics of controversy, and after doing full just- ice to the efficiency of the engine companies, proceeded to show that their present compensation and privileges were greater than those granted to the engine companies of New York, who found no difficulty in keeping their numbers full. To show, however, the appreciation of the City Council of the services of the Bos- ton enginemen, the Committee proposed to increase the pre- miums of the first and second companies which should arrive earliest at a fire, and an annual allowance of twenty-five dollars to each company, to be used at their discretion, which should have on the first of January in each year a complement of twenty members. This report was accepted in both branches. When this result was announced to the companies, their cap- tains came before the Mayor, and gave notice that they should deliver up their engines and resign their offices at their respective engine houses on Lhe first day of the ensuing December. Accordingly, at the horn* assigned on that day, the captain of each company, at his engine house, delivered its keys, his engine and apparatus, all in good order, to members of the Board of ^Vldermen, who attended to receive them, and who immediately delivered them into the custody of able and active bodies of citi- zens, who had volunteered their services on the emergency. On the evening of the same day the Mayor announced to the City Council, that the fire department of the city was in its usual state of efficiency, and, in the course of the month of December, engine companies were organized in connection with every engine. Such was the system of protection against fires at the end of the second year of the city. These arrangements were the best the state of public feeling and private interest would admit. The Mayor regarded them as temporary ; and, being convinced that a radical change must be effected in the whole system, he con- tinued the correspondence he had opened with the chief mem- bers of the fire departments of Philadelphia and New York, to satisfy his own mind on the true principles on which an efficient organization of a system of protection on this subject should be estabfished. The same general views concerning the inefficiency of the ex- isting system were also entertained by the members of the City 160 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. Council, and had been confirmed and made evident to the citi- zens by a conflagration in Beacon Street, on the seventh of July preceding, which continued through the whole day, and con- sumed fifteen valuable dwelling-houses, the loss being estimated at one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, exclusive of furniture. The inefficiency of the fire department seemed now to be gene- rally felt and acknowledged ; but no evidence was given of such dissatisfaction with the existing system as to justify an attempt to change it altogether. The old complaints, against the fire- wards, of the want of fire companies and of buckets, and of the indiflference of citizens,^ were reiterated, and the old remedies proposed. The diversity of opinion on this subject, and the force of prejudice was so gi*eat, that an attempt to introduce any efficient measures for a change of system was still deemed hope- less, until the seventh of April, 1825, when a conflagration occur- red in Doane Street, and extended from State Street to Central Street on the one side, and from Broad Sh'eet to Kilby and Liberty Streets on the other, destroying in the course of a few hom-s fifty-three houses and stores, at a loss of half a million of dollars. The scene, on this occasion, was one of extreme em- barrassment and confusion. The lanes, formed by the firewards with great difficulty, were soon broken or deserted, and great depredations were committed on property, brought forth indiscri- minately and left unprotected in the streets. From the want of water, the engines were dragged one thousand feet to the dock, and half the w^ater obtained was lost before they could be drag- ged back again and put into operation. This calamity made a deep impression upon the citizens. The want of water, and of the means to bring a continuous stream of it on the flames, were apparent ; and it became evident, that the change in the habits and sympathies of the population, and the recent and increasing infusion of foreigners, rendered a change in the organization of a system of defence against fire and a more efficient police essential. The Mayor deemed this a favorable opportunity to exert offi- cial influence for the introduction of an independent fire depart- ment; and, under the sanction of a Committee of the City Council, consisting of the Mayor, Aldermen Baxter, Odiorne, 1 See p. 155. CITY GOVERmiENT. 161 and Patterson, with Messrs. Goddard, S. K. Williams, Frothing- ham, Haskell, and William Wright, of the Common Council, made, in April, 1825, a report, stating the causes of the existing deficiencies in the system of defence, and the diversity of opinion concerning the remedies, each of which were analyzed and ex- plained. Among these, reliance upon associated fire companies and the aid of the citizens, although, at the time, of all others the most popular and generally acceptable, the report represented as altogether mistaken ; and that it would be encouraging false hopes and a false system, if the Committee did not declare their opinion concerning its inadequacy to protection, and did not express themselves decidedly in favor of introducing a supply of water to the engines through the means of hose, instead of by lanes formed of bystanders. The report then submitted eight resolutions for the adoption of the City Council ; the four first of which had for their object to satisfy their fellow-citizens, by actual experiment, of the impracticability of reviving the ancient system of fire companies. To test the possibility of this resort, the resolutions proposed an invitation to householders and other citizens, to form themselves into societies for their mutual pro- tection against fire ; and a system of organizing such societies, under the sanction of the Mayor and Aldermen, and prescribed the number of buckets, fire bags, and other instruments usual and proper for the service, which each company should provide ; and the authority which the members of such companies should exercise at fires ; with an assurance that the City Council would apply to the State Legislature to invest them with all requisite powers. This scheme, although carefully devised, when pro- posed to the citizens, proved an absolute failure. For, although some associations were formed, the attempt evidenced the utter hopelessness of any such reliance. Three of the remaining reso- lutions proposed the constructing of three reservoirs in suitable places, each containing twenty-five thousand gallons of water; the purchase of two engines, in New York and Philadelphia, of approved power and construction ; and also a hydraulion,^ with the usual quantity of hose attached to each form of engine, as practised in those cities. The last and eighth resolution declared the expediency of adopting a new organization of the fire de- ^ A small engine, -with one cliamber, used for forcing water through hose, as a supply to the engines. 14* 162 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. partraent, on the principle of distinct and individual responsi- bility; and that a Committee of the City Comicil should be appointed, for the purpose of arranging and reporting the details of such an organization. The City Council adopted all the suggestions of the report, and passed the several resolutions it recommended, and appointed the Mayor, Aldermen Blake and Welsh, and Messrs. S. K. Wil- liams, Barry, Boies, and Wales, a Committee on the eighth reso- lution, to an-ange and report the details of a new organization of the fire dejjartment. This Committee reported on the twelfth of May two resolutions, which were adopted at once by the City Council. The first declared the expediency of establishing a fire de- partment, consisting of one chief engineer, and as many engi- neers, firewardens, engine men, hose men, and ho«k and ladder men, as may be chosen and appointed by the City Council. The second requested the Mayor and Aldermen to apply to the Legislature for such powers and authorities, to be vested in the fire department, and also such privileges and exemptions granted to its members, as may be requisite, and in their wisdom deemed expedient. The Mayor and Aldermen immediately took measures to have tvvo engines, of approved capacity and power, to be built, one in Philadelphia, and the other in New York. Gentlemen of skill and intelligence, in each city, kindly undertook the superintend- ence of their construction ; and the mechanics employed in each city, being apprized that their work would be brought into direct comparison, under the stimulus of emulation, produced two engines, each of which was pronounced by competent judges to be equal in power, capacity, and workmanship to any engine in either city. Their style of construction, ditlering from those used in Boston, gave an opportunity to the mechanics of this city to compare, and possibly to improve, the construction of their own engines. These measures did not pass without animadversion. It was inquired, through the press, " whether the mechanics of Boston were inferior in skill to those in Philadelphia and New York ? and why the money of the city was expended in the patron- age of the mechanics of other cities, rather than of its own?" But when direct inquiries were made of the Mayor by Boston CITY GOVERNMENT. 163 mechanics themselves, concerning the principles and effects of this policy, the explanation given convinced them of its advan- tages ; and also, that an entire change in the system of our pro- tection against fires would cause expenditm'es ultimately tending to their benefit. Such were the first steps taken towards the establishment of a fire department, to act independently of the general aid of the citizens of Boston. At this day, (1851,) after the experience of the advantages of the system, it is impossible for any one to reahze the extreme antipathy, and even predetermined hostility, to the measures, evinced by men in other respects of great judg- ment and sagacity. Having thus authorized the purchase of two engines and a hydrauHon, and the constructing of three reservoirs, each to con- tain twenty-five thousand gallons of water, the City CouncU refer- red the subject of " the organization of a fire department, on the principle of distinct and individual responsibility," to the next City Council, the period of a reorganization of the city govern- ment being now approaching. The inconvenience of leaving city expenditm^es subject to the control of several boards, some of whom claimed an independ- ence of the City Council, a practice which had been borrowed from that of the town government, began to be seriously felt, and a change was demanded by the plainest dictates of expedi- ency. The Mayor, therefore, in January, 1824, by a special mes- sage, recommended to the City Council the consideration of " a more systematic accountability for public moneys, arid a more efficient check upon the expenditures of the city." A joint Com- mittee of the City Council was accordingly appointed on the subject, who, in the April following, made a report, stating the system of accountability* then practised, representing its un- satisfactory nature, and the reasons for the change it recom- mended. Four boards were then intrusted with the expenditure of public moneys, namely, — the Mayor and Aldermen, the Overseers of the Poor, the Commissioners of Health, and the Directors of the House of Industry. To each of these various sums were advanced, in the form of appropriations, and ex- pended by votes of the respective boards, under the agency of committees. The members of these committees made the ex- penditm-e or the contract, and vouched the bill for the article 164 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. delivered or the services rendered, including the rate of compen- sation or the price. A committee from the board, once in each month, examined the account of expenditures of that month, re- ceived the vouchers, and, where they agreed, passed the accounts. The course of proceeding was very similar in all the boards. However well suited such a course might have been in the early stage of municipal institutions, when the numbers affected by their authorities were small, and the amounts expended incon- siderable, the Committee deemed that a more systematic and uniform accountability ought to be established to satisfy the increasing demands and expenditures of a city rapidly augment- ing in wealth and population. It seemed to them sufficiently loose and unsatisfactory in point of efficient accountability, that the whole city expenditures should be made by forty or fifty members of four distinct boards, chosen annually for general purposes, with no particular refer- ence to their adaptation to the particular class of expenditures which they were called upon to superintend. That these indi- viduals, acting gi-atuitdusly, without compensation, could not be expected to give more than a certain general and occasional oversight to the objects on which expenditures were made ; and that, of course, they must act chiefly by minor agents, which, as they multiplied, necessarily increased the chance of mistake and imposition. The great defect in this organization, with reference to an effi- cient accountability for public moneys was, in the opinion of the Committee, the fact, that the accountabihty for the expendi- ture of each board was to committees of its own ; in other words, the power to expend and the power of calling to account was efficiently the same ; an arrangement, which, however in- consequential in boards destined for the mere care of property and pecuniary investment, must have important consequences in boards charged with the oversight of great expenditures, rela- tive to objects comprising numerous details, and requiring the employment of many subordinate agents. The labors of the committee of accounts were lessened by dividing the members of the board into monthly committees, of a number deemed expedient, — usually two. All the members of the board undertook by turns this labor and responsibility. CITY GOVERNMENT. 165 The consequence was, that there was no such general super- intendence as is implied and effected by accountability to one practical mind, habituated to the rules and routine of a single department. As there was no distinct, uniform rules for pro- ceeding, committees were guided by such principles as on the instant were deemed applicable. Admissions or rejections thus unavoidably often depended upon the particular state or temper of mind of the members of the committees. The circumstances of the individual were often considered instead of the case ; and the results were often very different from what they would have been had the same accounts been subjected to the analysis of other members of the same board. No stronger evidence could be given of the incorrectness of these financial arrangements, than the fact that persons having accounts to settle with the city, have been known to inquire who the monthly committee of accounts were, and to postpone presenting their accounts until those they deemed most lilvcly not to sift severely came to exer- cise the power. The defects of the system then in practice having been thus set forth, the Committee proceeded to state the remedy they proposed, which consisted in the establishment of an office of " auditor of accounts^'' and in tracing an outline of the duties and rules to which that office should be subjected. This change was deemed too important to be passed with- out its being virtually submitted to the decision of the citizens. The Committee, therefore, only proposed that it should be taken into consideration by the then existing City Council, the report to be printed and distributed, recommending the whole subject to the attention of its successors ; by whom it was, in August, 1824, revived, the office of auditor established, and a new system of accountability connected with it. In the same month, William Hayden was elected Auditor, and by his great ability and efficiency corrected the irregularity incident to the former system, and introduced principles for checking the facility with which additional appropriations were made, after the annual appropriation bills had been passed by the City Council. In pursuance of the same general poficy, in February, 1828, the City Council adopted a system of self -restriction, having for its object to confine the ordinary expenditures of the year within the Hmits of the ordinary annual incomes, by passing an 166 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. order of the following tenor: — " That, in the present and every future financial year, after the annual order of appropriations shall have been passed, no subsequent expenditvu-e shall be au- thorized for any object, unless provision for the same shall be made, by expressly creating therefor a city debt ; in the latter of which cases, the order shall not be passed, unless two thirds of the whole members of each branch of the City Council shall vote in the affirmative, by vote taken by yeas and nays." CHAPTER XII. CITY GOVEHmiENT. 1825. JosiAH QuixcY, Blayoi:^ The Citizens accept the Report of their General Committee on the inexpediency of modifying the powers of the Overseers of the Poor — Overseers decline taking Care of the Poor at the House of Industry — Their Kights and Duties submitted to Legal Counsel — Their Report, and consequent Proceedings of the City Council — Measures to introduce a Supply of Fresh Water — Proceedings relative to Faneuil Hall Market — Census of the City — Time of Organizing the City Government changed. The organization of the city government was this year trans- ferred from Faneuil Hail to that of the Chamber of the Com- mon Council, and conducted with customary ceremonies. The Board of Aldermen consisted entuely of new members ; aU those of the preceding year having declined a reelection. The Mayor, in his inaugm-al address, after expressing his gra- titude to his fellow-citizens for the unanimity of their suffrages, and paid a well-deserved tribute to the members of the Board of Aldermen of the two preceding years, for their faithful and labo- rious ser^'ices,^ directed the attention of the City Council and his fellow-citizens to the critical question then pending between the Overseers of the Poor and the City Government. After stat- ing, in unequivocal terms, the incompatibility with the public inte- rest of the existence, under a city organization, of an independent Board claiming the right of expending public money without re- sponsibility to the city authorities, he explained the effect upon the character and confidence in the members of that Board, una- voidably resulting from the difference in selecting them, as now practised under the city charter, and as was formerly under the 1 The whole number of votes cast was 1891, of which the Mayor had 1836. The members of this Board of Aldermen were George Blake, John Bellows, John Bryant, Daniel Carney, John D. Dyer, Josiah Marshall, Henry J. Oliver, and Thomas Welsh, Jr. 2 See Appendix, D. 168 MUNICIPAL fflSTORY. town government. This development he regarded it his duty to make, notwithstanding that the report of the Committee,^ ap- pointed by a general meeting of the citizens, in opposition to those views, was about to be taken into consideration by another general meeting of the citizens, to be held on the nineteenth of May, then instant ; and no doubt could be entertained that the recommendations of that report would be adopted, so conforma- ble were they to popular habits and prejudices. The City Coun- cil, however, took no measures strenuously to oppose the accept- ance of that report. They had effected the removal of the poor to tlie House of Industry, and of consequence felt less interest in the immediate result. They had conscientiously fulfilled their duty to the city, by faithfully explaining to their feUow-citizens the nature and consequences of the relations and claims of that Board in respect of the interest of the city. Whatever ills or difficrdties might hereafter result, could not be attributed to any want of firmness or foresight in them. The citizens were left, therefore, to the unbiased exercise of their own feelings and judg- ment, and the report of their General Committee was adopted without important opposition. In May, 1825, immediately after the organization of the city government, the Overseers of the Poor addressed a communica- tion to the City Council, asking for a suitable house for the accommodation of the poor, and expressing their readiness to take upon themselves the oversight, care, and government of it. A Committee of the City Council, consisting of the Mayor, and Messrs. Williams, Thaxter, and Elliot, of the Common Coun- cil, was immediately appointed, to whom this application was referred, and who reported on the twelfth of May, that a house, such as the Overseers applied for, had already been provided by the city ; that it was placed under the care of the Directors of the House of Industry, who were invested by law, in respect of the inmates of that house, with all the powers exercised by the Overseers of the Poor ; that they were wisely and efficiently active in their oversight of it, to the content of the poor; and that their superintendence of the moral and physical condition of the inmates was highly satisfactory. The report expressed the gratification the Committee derived from the hope of being 1 See ch. x. p. 146. CITY govern:ment. 169 able to avail themselves of the general aid of the Overseers ; and the readiness of the City Council to grant all those practical and useful facilities relative to providing for the poor, which, from the tenor of their application, the Overseers appeared to desire ; and, in order that the poor of the city might enjoy the benefit and experience of both those Boards, the Committee presented their views in the form of three resolutions, which the City Council unanimously adopted. By the first, the Overseers of the Poor were authorized and requested to gi-ant permits for admission into the House of In- dustry of any person, in their judgment, entitled to the support of the city in that house, for which purpose its Directors were enjoined to provide relief and support. By the second, the Overseers of the Poor were authorized and requested, at their discretion, with or without notice, to visit the House of Industry, to inquire into its condition and the treat- ment and employment of the poor, and make such represent- ations on those subjects as their wisdom and experience might suggest. By the third, the JMayor and Aldermen were authorized to provide a suitable vehicle, for conveyance to the House of In- dustry of such decrepid persons as were incapacitated from going of themselves, and place the same at the disposal of both the superintending Boards. Asj soon as these resolutions were received by the Overseers of the Poor, they addressed, on the twenty-third of May, 1825, a memorial in writing to the City Council, stating that " they did not feel justified in relinquishing to the Directors of the House of Industry any of the tasks assigned them by law;" and that " they would not consent to grant the permits contemplated by the above resolves ; " and gave notice to the City Council that, " unless a house is provided, to which the Overseers can remove paupers, the city will be exposed to great expense." This memorial was referred to a Committee of the City Council, consisting of the Mayor, Aldermen Carney, Welsh, and Oliver, with Messrs. Savage, Williams, Thaxter, Elliot, Adan, Tracy, and Ware, of the Common Council ; who, on the twenty-seventh of June, reported, that the tenor of the above memorial indicated so great a misapprehension in the Board of Overseers, concerning then- rights and duties, as, if acquiesced 15 170 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. in, would result in consequences at once serious and embarrass- ing ; and to put those rights and duties, as far as possible, be- yond all doubt and question, they had requested the Mayor to lay the whole subject before counsel learned in the law, and for this purpose had selected William Prcscott, Charles Jackson, and Daniel Webster, gentlemen possessing the greatest profes- sional reputation, and whose opinion would, it Avas hoped, be conclusive with the Board of Overseers, and certainly with the public. The Mayor, accordingly, on the fourth of June, 1S25, ad- dressed a letter to those three jurists, and, after stating that an unhappy controversy had arisen, between the Overseers of the Poor and the City Council, in relation to their respective powers and duties, that a Committee of this body, to whom was referred the memorial of the Overseers, dated the twenty-third of the preceding I\Iay, had directed him to submit, for their inspection and consideration, certain laws and documents, and subjoin certain inquiries, for their official answer, as counsel learned in the law. The acts submitted were : — 1st. The act for employing and providing for the poor of the town of Boston, passed in the year 1735, and ratified and con- firmed in January, 1789. 2d. An act relative to the relief, support, employment, and removal of the poor, passed the twenty-sixth February, 1796. 3d. An act concerning the House of Industry, passed the third February, 1823. 4th. An act concerning the regulations of the House of Cor- rection in the city of Boston, and passed twelfth June, 1826. 5th. An act establishing the City of Boston, passed the twenty-third February, 1822, called the City Charter. The documents submitted were, — 1. The A^ote of the City Council, passed twenty-ninth Sep- tember, 1823.1 2. The JMemorial of the Overseers of the Poor to the City Council, without date, but which was committed in this body on the fifth of May last. 3. The Report of the Committee of the City Council on the preceding Memorial and the three Resolves subjoined, adopted and passed on the twelfth of May ^ last. 1 Sec cli. vii. pp. 95, 9G. ~ See p. 168. CITY govern:ment. 171 4. The Memorial of the Overseers of the Poor to the City Council, dated the twenty-third of May last.i The inquiries submitted for their oflicial answer were, — 1. Is not the erecting, providing, and endowing the house for the reception and employment of the idle and poor of the city, called the House of Industry, and the appointment of directors thereof, according to the act entitled, "An act concerning the House of Industry," a sufficient and legal exercise of the author- ity invested in the City Council, under the acts of 1735, of 1794, and of 1822? 2. Does not the authority given to the Directors of the House of Industry to use, regulate, and govern said house, supersede, wdth respect to all persons sent to it, any authority in relation to them, given by the acts of 1735 and 1794 to the Overseers of the Poor, except so far as the City Council may authorize ? 3. Have the Overseers of the Poor any right to appoint a master of said house, or to have the government thereof, or to ordain any rules or regulations concerning it ? 4. Does the saving of the act of tenth January, 17S9, in the act of 1794, and the continuance in force thereby of the act of 1735, preclude the city of Boston from any of the general privi- leges of the act of 1794, which are gi-anted by it to the other towns of the Commonwealth ^ or deprive the City Council, under the ti'ansfer of powe'o made by the city charter, from "directing the way and manner" in which poor and indigent persons shall be supported and relieved, according to the right secured to other towns in the Commonwealth by the act of 1794? 5. Is not the "direction" given by the City Council, as to " the way and manner " in which the poor and indigent shall be relieved and supported, conclusive and obligatory upon the Overseers of the Poor, under and by virtue of the act of 1794 ? 6. Is not the " direction" given in the vote of the City Coun- cil, dated the twenty-ninth September, 1823,2 f^^\l ^nd sutficient in that respect ; and have the Overseers of the Poor a right to refuse to exercise that general visitatorial power which that vote provides for and authorizes ? 7. After notice given of the passing of the fii-st resolve, on the 1 See p. 169. 2 See ch. vii. pp. 95, 9G. 172 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. twelfth of May last,^ have thp Overseers of the Poor a right to refuse to grant permits for admission of the poor and indigent, standing in need of rehef, to the House of Industry, who are in other towns of this Commonwealth, but belong to Boston, and to support sueli persons in other places in said city, or in such other towns ? 8. Have the Overseers of the Poor in said city a right to refuse to give ])ermits for admission to the House of Industry of the poor and indigent of said city, standing in need of relief, and to support them in other places in said city ? 9. Is there any power and authority in and over the House of Industry which the City Council can vest in the Overseers of the Poor, consistent with the powers and authorities vested by the act of third February, 1823, in the Directors of the House of Industry, other and greater than those invested and specified in the vote of the City Council, passed September 29, 1823,^ and the second resolve of that body, passed the twelfth of May last? 3 On these laws, submitted documents, and inquiries, those jurists made the following statement of their opinions : — " In making up our opinion on the question now pending between the City Council and the Overseers of the Poor, respecting the powers and duties of the latter, we have considered first, the general provisions of the law on this sub- ject; and secondly, the statutes which apply exclusively to the city of Boston. "By the statute 1793, c. 59, towns may choose any number, not exceeding twelve, Overseers of the Poor, who shall have the care and oversight of the poor, and see that they are suitably relieved, supported, and employed, either in the work-house or other tenements belonging to the town, or in such other way and manner as they (the town) shall direct, or otherwise at the discretion of the Overseers. "By the city charter (stat. 1821, c. 110,) the City Council now has all the power, in this resjiect, that was formerly vested in the town. If there were no other statute on this subject, it is evident that the City Council Avould be authorized to provide a house for their poor, and prescribe the manner in which they should be supported and emploj-ed in it ; or to cause them to be relieved at their own houses, or in other private houses, or, in short, in any manner which, in the discretion of the City Council, should appear best ; and it woidd be the duty of the Overseers to comply with such directions. "By the provincial statute, 8 and 9 Geo. II., c. 3, (passed in May, 1735,) the town of Boston was authorized to erect a house for the reception and employ- 1 See p. 1G8. 2 See ch. vii. pp. 95, 9G. 3 See p. 1G8. CITY GOVERmiENT. 173. ment of the idle and poor, and to discontinue the same if they should think proper ; the house to be under the regulation of the Overseers of the Poor, •who had power to make orders and by-laws for its government, subject to the control of the town, and to appoint the master and other officers of the house. If there were no other laws but those above mentioned, the City Council might, in their discretion, discontinue their almshouse, and require that their poor should be reUeved and supported in some other place or other manner ; but as long as the city had a house for the poor, in pursuance of that statute of 1735, the Overseers would have had the regulation and government of it. This last- mentioned statute furnishes the only foundation for the claims of the Overseers ; and, although there might possibly be a question Avhether it has not been virtu- ally repealed, (at least, so far as it relates to the government of the Alms- house,) yet we have thought it more safe and expedient to proceed on the sup- position that it remains in force, excepting so far as it has been clearly altered .by subsequent statutes. In the year 1823, the city had erected what they called a House of Industry. If this is to be considered as the " house for the reception and employment of the idle and poor," pursuant to the statute of 1735, the Overseers would have had the government of it, if no other provision had been made. But by the statute of the third February, 1822, 1823, c. 56, the Legis- lature gave the government of this House of Industry to nine directors, to be chosen by the City Council. If, therefore, tliis is the Almshouse, the govern- ment of it is taken from the Overseers and vested in the nine Directoi-s, and the statute of 1735 is so far repealed. The City Council could not, as we con- ceive, give to the Overseers any control over this house, inconsistent with the authority vested by law in the Directors. On the other hand, if this House of Industry is a distinct establishment, and not such a poor-house, as is contem- plated in the statute of 1735, it is clear that the Overseers have nothing to do with it. It is equally clear that, whether the house is of one or the other de- scription, the City Council has authority, according to the statute 1793, c. 59, to rec[uire that the poor should be relieved, siqiported, and employed in that house. It may be proper here to remark that, although the law appears to give an un- limited power to towns, to cause their poor to be relieved in any manner what- ever, yet there seems to be some limitation, arising necessarily out of peculiar cir- cumstances and from other parts of the law. If, for example, a poor person should break a limb, or be so ill that he could not be moved without endangering his life, the Overseers would be bound to relieve him immediately, without carry- ing him to the poor-house, or before he could be sent there, notwithstanding the town should ha^■e prescribed that as the place for maintaining the poor. There is another kind of exception which, though not re-ent in all parents, to send their children to schools sup- ported at the public expense, the tendency would be to bring back to the Grammar Schools a class of children, from the edu- cation of whom the city was now relieved, by the predilection or pecuniary ability of parents. 2. That the qualifications for admission should be raised, and the course of three years be con- tinued. This last was the favorite scheme of those most desi- rous of continuing the school for the term of three years, accord- ing to the original project. A single objection seemed, however, conclusive against this scheme. In proportion as the qualifica- tions for admission are raised, the school becomes exclusive. Although nominally open to all, it will be open only to the few^ and shut to the many. Actuated by these general views, a sub-committee was ap- 19* 222 MUNICIPAL inSTORY. pointed by the School Committee, to whom the report made in the August preceding! was referred, to consider the expediency of making further provision for the High Schools for Girls, on the same basis of extent, of time, and of studies as the original project embraced. This Committee, after long deliberation, and inquiring of the several masters of the Grammar Schools, as to the effect upon the character and prospects in those schools pro- duced by the High School for Girls, found there was a diver- sity of opinion. Some of the masters regarded the eflects as beneficial ; others thought them prejudicial. Removing the best and most ex(>mplary scholars damped the ardor of the girls who remained, and took away the materials from which moni- tors were selected, and reduced the standard of the Common Schools from the highest to a secondary gi-ade. The Commit- tee, therefore, on the seventeenth of November ensuing, made a report, stating those facts, and that new principles ought to be adopted in relation to the qualification for admission and time of remaining in the High School for Girls; and unani- mously recommended the fohowing modifications of the system of that school. These were immediately adopted by the School Committee, namely, — that the age of admission should he four- teen, instead of eleven; that continuance in the school should be only for one year, instead of three ; and that the requisitions for admission should be raised, so as to include all branches taught in the public Grammar and Writing Schools ; and that no female should be admitted after the age of sixteen. These modifications, in which the School Committee and City Council generally concurred, so gi'eatly diminished the ad- vantages the original plan of the school proposed, that much of the interest which its creation excited was also diminished. It became apparent, that a school thus limited, of which the advan- tages could be enjoyed only for one year, would not be, as the original scheme professed, for the benefit of the many; but, in fact, for the exclusive advantage of the few, and, for the most part, of those whose private resources were fully adequate for the education of their own daughters. The higher the qualifica- tions required, the more exclusive the school. The daughters of •educated men, of lawyers, clergymen, and physicians, who had » Sec page 219. CITY GOVERNMENT. 223 leisure themselves, or those who had fortunes sufTicient to give their daughters the high preparatory education, would, unavoid- ably, be preferred on examination. To them, the advantages of ^ the school would principally result, and not to the daughters of the mass of the citizens. The school, however, was permitted to continue, subject to this modification, until November, 1827, when a committee was raised to consider the expediency of continuing it; which, on the eleventh of December following, reported that, in thek opinion, " it was expedient to continue it." This report was the occasion of much debate; and several modifications were proposed, on which the Committee was equally divided, when a motion was made for the postponement of the question to the next School Committee, which, in the course of that month, was to be elected. On this question, the votes being equal, — "six and six," — the Mayor, after declaring, that his opinion was so decidedly adverse to the continuance of the school, that he could not vote in its favor ; yet, regarding the question of great importance, and that the continuance of it was a subject of much public and popular animadversion, and that the School Committee then about to be elected, coming immediately from the citizens, would be better qualified, from their acquaintance with the general feeling and sentiments of the people, to decide the question most satisfac- torily, postponed the subject to the next city year by his casting vote. This decision having been made the subject of much popular animadversion, the Mayor did not deem his official duty fulfilled without presenting his views distinctly to his fellow-citizens; and, accordingly, in his inaugural address to the city govern- ment, in January, 1828,i expressed, in a direct and unequivocal manner, his opinion, that the standard of public education ought to be raised to the greatest practicable height in our Common Schools ; that the effect of the High School for Girls was, in his judgment, far different from that which popular o))inion enter- tained ; that, instead of being for the benefit of the cliildren of the whole community, it was, in fact, comparatively for the benefit of those of a very few, and that, too, a class who were best qualified, by intelligence, education, and wealth, to provide for the high instruction of their own children. 1 Sec Appendix, F. 224 MUOTCIPAL HISTORY. Leading members of the City Council coincided in these general views ; and at a meeting, early in January, 1828, at the ^suggestion of the Mayor, the succeeding School Committee took into consideration the subject referred to them by the preceding Board; and when under discussion, say the records, "James Savage remarked that, though he had, as a member of the Com- mon Council, voted an appropriation to the High School for Girls, it was mainly with a view to make a public experiment of the system of mutual instruction ; that he was opposed to the High School for Girls, and to the whole system of instruc- tion, as regards females ; he therefore moved, that a sub-commit- tee be raised to consider, — " Whether the High School for Girls shall be continued, and the basis on which it shall be established ; — " Whether the girls may not well be allowed to remain at the Grammar Schools throughout the year ; — "And, whether the time of their continuance at these schools may not be advantageously extended." This motion being adopted, the following Sub-Committee was appointed for its consideration, namely, — the Mayor, John Pickering, Samuel T. Armstrong, William B. Fowle, Samuel Barrett, Zabdiel B. Adams, and Amos Farnsworth. This Committee made, on the twelfth of February, an elabo- rate report unanimously, in which was set forth, in detail, all the chief views and arguments connected with the subject; and declared then- opinion, that the High School for Girls " ought not to be reestablished upon the basis of embracing the extent of time and the multiplied objects of education which the ori- ginal plan of that school contemplated;" and that it ought not to be continued " on the restricted basis, as to time and objects, to which it was reduced by the vote of the seventeenth of No- vember, 1826 ;"i but that "it was far preferable to arrange all our Grammar and Writing Schools so that the standard of edu- cation in them may be elevated and enlarged, thereby making them all, as it 1-espects females, in fact, high schools, in which each child may advance, according to its attainments, to the same branches recently taught in the High School for Girls. The Sub-Committee then entered upon a wide survey of the whole school system ; and closed their report by recommending ^ See page 222. CITY GOVERmiENT. 225 a series of resolutions, which, after undergoing some modifica- tions, were adopted by the School Committee unanimously, in which the opinion of the School Committee was declared, that it was for the interest of the city, that the mutual or monitorial system of instruction should be introduced into the Boylston and Bowdoin Schools ; that an appropriation be requested of the City Council, for preparing the school houses for this purpose ; and the Sub-Committee, who made the report, were reappointed to carry the resolutions adopted into effect. On the third of June ensuing, " Mr. Savage moved that the girls be permitted to remain in the English Grammar Schools throughout the year." This motion being adopted, and measures taken for carrying into effect the views thus sanctioned, the project of the High School for Girls was abandoned, and the scale of instruction in the Common Schools in the city was gradually elevated and enlarged. This result, and the distinctness with which the Mayor had made known his opinion, concerning the inexpediency of esta- blishing such a High School for Girls at the expense of the city, in opposition to the views and interests of a body of citizens of great activity, and of no inconsiderable influence, gave origin to party assaults upon the motives and conduct of that officer, which he noticed in his final address to the Board of Aldermen, on taking leave of the office, in January, 1829.^ The soundness of these views, and their coincidence with the permanent inte- rests of the city, seem to be sanctioned by the fact, that twenty- thi'ee years (1851) have elapsed, and no effectual attempt, during that period, has been made for its revival, in the School Com- mittee, or in either branch of the City Council. A question growing out of the relation of the Mayor of the city to the School Committee, of which, by the city charter, he was officially a component part, ought not, perhaps, to be omitted in this history, although of no other general importance than as preserving a remembrance of the different construction made of that charter, and of its having temporarily been the occasion of party animadversions. When, under the town government, the School Committee was established, there was no individual elected by the vote of all the inhabitants as chief officer or head of the town. The Selectmen, as the Executive Board, was 1 See page 2G9, 226 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. accustomed to elect annually a chairman ; but his authority and official character were derived solely from their election. The School Committee, therefore, considering, justly, that the power of electing a chairman of the Selectmen did not include the power of electing a chairman of the School Committee, not- withstanding the Selectmen were component parts of that Board, provided, in their first organization, " that, at the first meeting in each year, the Board should organize itself by choosing a chairman." And this was the uniform practice, until the adoption of the city charter. It was manifest that the rela- tion of things was materially changed by this charter. Like the Selectmen, the Mayor and Aldermen were made a component part of the School Committee ; but the Mayor was not chosen by the Board of Aldermen, but elected head of the city by the body of its citizens; and, by the force of that relation, it was the opinion of many, and, at the commencement of the new government, apparently of all, that, ex officio, he had the right, and that it was his duty to claim the station of chairman of all the boards of which, ex officio, he was a component part. This opinion was so strong and so general, that it does not apjjear that, during the first seven years after the organization of the city government, that any question was raised, or any doubt expressed on the subject. John Phillips, the first Mayor, with the Aldermen met, on the sixth of May, 1822, the other mem- bers of the School Committee, and took the chair, as Mayor of the city, and the School Committee proceeded immediately to organize themselves by the choice of a secretary. Neither the record nor any document indicates that the proposition to chooF him or any one chairman was either made or thought of by ak_, member of the School Committee. The same was the case with his successor, during the nearly six years to which his ad- ministration extended. The first intimation of any discontent existing in the Committee, for their omission to elect a chair- man, occurred on the twelfth of February, 1828, more than a month after the School Committee had been that year organ- ized in the usual course. • On that day, the record states, that "it was suggested by Mr. Bowdoin," (the Secretary of the Committee,) " that, in examin- ing the rules of the Board now in force, with a view to his duties as secretary, he had found a provision requiring, as a part of the CITY GOVERNMENT. 227 organization of the Board, tlie annual choice of a chairman, at its first meeting in January; that the organization, by such choice, was not completed at the late meeting ; and, advert- ing to the words of the preamble to the rules, that the School Committee is a constituent branch of the city government., by the charter, added that, as it was a part of the duty required of those elected by the several branches, he doubted whether they could dispense with the responsibility of that part of the organ- ization. "After some debate on the subject, in which it was said by the INIayor, who disclaimed all personal motives, that ' he con- sidered the person holding the office of Mayor as being chair- man by force of the city charter,' it was voted that a committee of five be appointed to take into consideration a revision of the rules ; and the Mayor, accordingly, appointed Messrs. James Bowdoin, John Pickering, Samuel T. Armstrong, Joseph Head, the Rev. C. P. Grosvenor, for the purpose." The com-se and conduct of the Mayor, on this subject, having been animadverted upon in pamphlet and newspaper, as " as- suming " and " selfish," in order that no obscurity might rest on his opinions and motives, he immediately addressed a letter to the Board, in the following terms : — TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF BOSTON. Gextlemex, — At your last meeting, Mr. Bowdoin called the attention of tlie Coiumittec to its organization, by the choice of a chairman, and stating " the doubts he entertained if, ivJien meeting as a Board, they could dispense lolth tlie responslhllltij of that part of tlie organization." As this suggestion and these doubts have reference to the relations of the office which the subscriber has now the honor to hold, and are in repugnance to the uniform practice and course of jjroceedings ever since the organization of the city government, the subscriber deems it his duty to that office, and to all who may be his successors in it, to state openly his views, resulting, as they do, from the terms of the city charter, now, for the first time, authoritatively ques- tioned, to the end, that no obscurity may rest upon their nature and foundation. The School Committee is constituted by the last clause in the nineteenth section of the city charter, which is in these words : — "And the said citizens shall, at the same time, and in like manner, elect one person in each ward to be a member of the School Committee for the said city ; and the persons so chosen shall JOINTLY, WITH THE Mayor AND Aldermen, Constitute the School Committee for the said city, and have the care and superintendence of the public schools." From the terms of this section it is apparent, — 228 MUNICIPAL fflSTORY. 1. That tlie Mayor and Aldennen arc part of the School Committee, ex officio. 2. That the term, " Mayor and Aldermen," Is not a designation of the indivi- duals, but of their office and relation. Had that term been intended to designate the individuals, to whom the persons so elected were to be joined, the expression would have been different, namely, — "and the persons so chosen shall, jointhj, with the persons icho shall be chosen Mai/or and Aldermen," &c. As the expression of the charter now is, the per- sons so chosen are joined to the office and relation, and not to the persons as such. In corroboration of which reasoning, it is apprehended that it will not be questioned, that an Alderman resigning his seat at that Board, or the Mayor resio-nino- his office, would, by that act, vacate his seat in the School Committee. From the above reasoning, it follows, necessarily, that the Mayor and Alder- men compose a part of the School Committee, wlien it meets, ex officiis ; that is, as " Mayor and Aldermen," and in no other capacity, right, or relation. By the tenth section of the city charter, it is declared, " that the Mayor and Aldermen, thus chosen and qualified, shall compose one board, and SHALL SIT AND ACT TOGETHER AS ONE BODY, AT ALL MEETINGS OF WHICH THE MAYOR, IF PRESENT, SHALL PRESIDE. From both these sections the conclusion is, in the opinion of the subscriber, unavoidable, that the Mayor and Aldermen cannot meet, ex officiis, hut as one board ; at all meetings of which the Mayor, if present, must preside. If to the Mayor and Aldermen, for a particular purpose, as in this case of schools, other citizens are joined, they are, by force of the terms of the charter, so joined, as all citizens are joined, when they are connected with the Chief Executive Board of the Corporation ; that is, modified ly the orfjanization of that Supreme Executive Board, as established in the charter. The subscriber requests, that this claim of official right may be put on file and on record, to the end that the nature and foundation of it may be understood, and that those who may hold this office hereafter, may have none of their just official claims compromitted, by any neglect or want of vigilance on his part. Very respectfully, Gentlemen, I am your obedient servant, JosiAH QuiNCY, Mayor. Boston, 21 February, 1828. No report appears by the records to have been made by the Committee thus appointed ; bnt the records of the next succeed- ing year state, "that the Board proceeded to elect a chairman by ballot, and the Mayor was unanimously chosen ; a practice which has continued to the present day ; notwithstanding, in the year 1835, by act of the Legislature, the Board of Aldermen were excluded, and the Mayor of the city constituted a component part of the School Committee. The course thus adopted being probably deemed important to maintain the independence of that board of the city government. CHAPTER XVL CITY GOVEROTHENT. 1828. JosiAH QuiNCY, Mayor.^ General Relations of the City in respect of Debt — Health — Protection against Fire — Its Duty in respect of Education — Effect on its Prosperity by the Principle of Arbitrary Valuation witliout Relief — Principles of Proceeding relative to the Voting Lists — Indemnity of City Officers for Acts of Official Duty — Sale of Spirituous Liquors prohibited on the Common — Inexpe- diency of Selling the Flats to the Eastward of the New Market House, and the Result of the Measures taken on that Subject. The municipal prosperity of the city, and the decisive evi- dences of the content of the citizens with the conduct of their affairs, were noticed in the inaugural address of the Mayor,^ and the chief causes of these results were recapitulated. The appre- hensions of a city debt had been allayed by the rigid economy enforced, and by the fact, that none of the appropriations made at the beginning of the year had been exceeded. Success had attended the measures adopted for the reduction of the city debt, and at the close of the current financial year one hundred thousand dollars of it would be discharged. The general order of the city had been well maintained, and the number of com- plaints in every branch of the police diminished. The advan- tageous effect of the new arrangements in the Health Depart- ment were apparent. The general vaccination adopted under the authority of former city councils, and the vigilance of the Health Physician and police officers had been so effectual, that only one case of the smallpox, within the city, had been known or suspected, although it had spread with activity in towns in the immediate vicinity. Tables, founded on the bills of mortal- ity, showed that, from 1824 to 1827 inclusive, the annual ave- 1 The whole number of votes cast, were 2629, of which Josiah Quincy had 2189. The Aldermen elected were, — John T. Loring, Robert Fennelly, James Savage, Thomas Kendall, James Hall, John Pickering, Phiueas Upham, Samuel T. Armstrong. 2 See Appendix G. 20 230 MUXICIPAL fflSTOKY. rage proportion of deaths to population had not only been less than that in any antecedent year, but it was believed to be less than that of any other city of equal population on record. These facts and calculations were stated, to show the wisdom of persevering in that systematic cleansing of the city from noxious animal and vegetable substances, which was com- menced in 1823, and had been since regularly pursued. The occasion was taken to press upon the minds of the citizens the duty of holding the executive officers of the city directly respon- sible for the right conduct of this branch of police, more than for any other, and the certainty that it can never, for any gi-eat length of time, be executed well, except by agents, whose labors it can command at all times and apply to all exigencies, and to the ever-varying requisitions of a city. The establishment of a fne department had created a sense of security, and reduced the rates of insurance against fire on the real property within the city twcntij per cent. This reduction, the Presidents of several insurance offices had authorized it to be stated, was solely the elTect of the efficiency of that department. The duty and interest of society, with regard to public educa- tion, was stated to be best fulfilled by establishing such public schools as would elevate as highly as possible the intellectual and moral condition of the mass of the community. To this end, every necessary branch of elementary instruction should be put within the reach of every citizen. If other and higher branches of instruction are to be added to these, it should be to our common schools, and enjoyed on the same equal principles of common right, and as common property. Every school, the admission to which is based upon the principle of requuing higher attainments, at a specified age, than the mass of children in the ordinary course of school instruction, at that age, can attain, is, in truth, a school for the benefit of the few, and not of the many. In form, it may be general ; but in fact, it wiU be exclusive. The Mayor closed this address, by presenting views concerning the effect upon the prosperity of the city, of " assess- ing taxes on the principle of an arbitrary valuation without relief." To these views, the attention of the city government was early called, by a petition of Jesse Putnam and a number of other citizens of wealth and respectability, stating that the inequality CITY GOYEKN^IENT. 231 produced by the present system of taxation, was apparently unwise and unjust and disadvantageous to the prosperity of Boston, in comparison with the effects of the system pursued in other cities. The Mayor, having been previously informed of an intention ' to bring this subject under the consideration of the City Coun- cil, had, in the December preceding, addressed letters to the Mayors of New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, where modes of assessment were practised more generally satisfactory than those adopted in Massachusetts ; from each of whom a reply was received. The ]Mayor of New York ^ stated that " the mode of assessing taxes in that city was considered the best that can he adopted^ Lists from every individual of the amount of his estate are not required. To many persons engaged in mercantile business, a fair exhibit is impossible, and might be injurious. Two assess- ors are chosen by the people in each ward at the annual elec- tion in November. They are under oath to make a Aiir and equitable assessment of all estates, real and personal, in their respective wards, excepting such lands and buildings as are exempted by law from taxation. The Assessors commence busi- ness early in May, and complete it by the first of July. They ihen advertise to hear appeals. For ten days, any one may apply and view the assessment. If they consider the amount too high, they may make oath to the Assessors of the value of their property, which is conclusive. The books are afterwards jeturned to the ^layor, Recorder, and Aldermen, who examine whether the wards are assessed in a just proportion to each other, and they have power to lessen one ward and augment another, so as to produce an equitable apportionment. The Mayor of Baltimore ^ stated that " although their system of taxation was not free from objection, he was perfectly free to say that it gives general satisfaction." The Assessors, who are under oath to make a just valuation of all assessable property, ^pply together to the residence of each taxable person, and obtain a statement of their property, and assess or value the same to the best of their judgment; where they have reason to sus- pect deception or imposition in rendering an account of their property, they have the power of requuing an oath. A bill ^ William Paulding. 2 Jacob Small. 232 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. of particulars is required to be made out by the Collector, and delivered to each pert^on assesi^ed, on or before the first of July in each year, which, if not paid within three months, the Col- lector is authorized to enforce. The Mayor of the city of Philadelphia ^ stated that " the assessments were made by fifteen assessors, annually elected, one for each ward. Triennially, two assessors are elected in each ward to make a new assessment ; but every year the assessment is examined and corrected by each assessor in his own ward ; and the new assessments are compared and equal- ized by a general meeting of the Assessors. These returns are made subsequently to county commissioners, who, under the law, are bound to fix certain days of appeal, before whom any citizen, who is aggrieved or injured in the valuation of his real estate, may appear, and have the valuation altered. No lists of valuation of property or estate are demanded of owners or occu- pants. The Assessors affix the value of the premises and own- er's name, as they pass from door to door, and if they en- in obtaining the proper owner's names, the Collector gets it right on a duplicate. There never has been, to my knowledge, with a view to taxation, any estimate of the personal property of an individual or corporation. I am not aware of any dissatisfac- tion as to the manner of assessment, or of inequality in the affixed valuation." The petition of Jesse Putnam, with the accompanying docu- ments, was referred to the Mayor, Aldermen Pickering, Up- ham, and Armstrong, and to Messrs. E. Williams, Simonds, Appleton, Gibbens, Dyer, Gray, and Ward, of the Common Council, who referred the subject to a sub-committee, of which John C. Gray was chakman, with instructions, in conformity with the petition of Jesse Putnam, to " investigate the system of apportioning the taxes as now pursued in the city, and to con- sider of a modification of them." This Sub- Committee reported in March following, that " by the laws establishing this system, every individual is compelled to exhibit an exact statement of his property, personal as well as real, or in default thereof, to be doomed by assessors, according to the best of their knowledge and judgment. Li a community so active and wealthy as ours, 1 Joseph "Watson. CITY GOVERmiENT. 933 there must be obviously serious embarrassments in carrying such a system into complete execution. In such a community there must be great and manifest objections on the part of numerous individuals to the first branch of the alternative offered by our laws, namely, — a complete disclosure of their property. In the first place, such a disclosure is often impracticable. The capital of an individual may be employed, for instance, in foreign trade, and may be materially affected by events which are unknown to the possessor at the time of his making his statement. Secondly, there are very many who cannot expose the state of their affairs without embarrassment or ruin. These circumstances, and others of equal importance, which have frequently been stated to the public, have produced a general unwillingness among the inhabitants of this city, and it is believed of other towns in the Commonwealth, to exhibit accurate lists of their possessions. Nor, perhaps, is this fact to be greatly regretted. By demanding such lists, we invite each individual to become a iintness in a co.se in ivhich he has the most immediate and direct pecuniary con- cern. Can it be questioned, that if the practice of exhibiting lists should become general, that the minds of individuals must, in many cases, be biased by their interest ; that statements of very different degrees of exactness and fairness might be ren- dered by persons possessing an equal amount of property ; that a strong temptation would be offered, if not to falsehood and perjury, at least to dangerous prevarication ; and that the Assessors might, in the end, be far from arriving at the exact truth, which it was the object of this provision to secure ? This general omission of our fellow-citizens, to give accurate state- ments of their property, however little to be regretted in a moral, or even an economical point of view, renders it the duty of the Assessors to doom all property to the best of their knowledge ; and this is a task which is attended with much difficulty and embarrassment, so far as respects personal property. Their means of knowledge must be, in many cases, exceedingly limited, and their opinions founded merely on report or conjecture. Their power, therefore, no matter how wisely or conscientiously exercised, is, to a gi-eat degree, an arbitrary power ; and such it must always be under our actual system of taxation. Hence we find that a tax on personal property in general, is considered by the best writers on political economy, as one which can never 20* 234 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. be imposed without serious disadvantage, except in communities of very small size and very limited capital. These circumstan- ces have led many of our fellow-citizens to inquire, whether some radical change could not be made in our present system of taxa- tion." Having stated these views on this subject, the Sub-Com- mittee forbore to pursue further the questions arising at that time, as whatever change was effected must be made by the Legislature of the Commonwealth, and confined their attention to a change in the number and to varying the compensation of the Assessors, which they recommended in the form of an ordi- nance, which was, on the fourteenth of April, passed by the City Council ; who, in accepting this report of the Sub- Committee, in view of the extent and importance of the resulting questions, postponed them for future deliberation, and, finally, in December following, referred them, with all the documents, to the next City Council, in which they were not revived. The state of the voting lists and the repeated applications of citizens to have their names inserted in them on the day of elec- tion, and after they had been delivered to the Inspectors, having been frequent topics of discussion during the course of the second administration of the city government, and the subject being of annual occurrence and permanent interest, it has been deemed useful, in addition to the statements already made in this history, that the chief principles and measures, successively adopted in relation to it, should be recapitulated and brought into one view. In March, 1824, a question arose, concerning the mode of admitting the name of voters to be placed upon the voting lists, the inspectors, in some of the wards, having taken upon them- selves to place names on those lists after they had been dehvered to them by the Mayor and Aldermen. It was deemed import- ant to put an early stop to practices so irregular and contrary to the charter. And a committee was appointed, consisting of the Mayor, Aldermen Child and Hooper, and Messrs. E. Williams, Wilkinson, Wright, and Davis, to inquire into " the propriety and expediency of adopting some uniform mode of admitting the names of voters to be placed on the voting Hsts." This Committee reported that the duty of making out the lists of the citizens qualified to vote in each ward, was, by the twenty-fourth section of the city charter, expressly devolved upon the Mayor CITY GOVERNISIENT. 235 and Aldermen; that the list they had prepared, it was thehr duty to deliver to the City Clerk, to be used by the Warden and Inspectors ; and the charter was express, that " no person shall be entitled to vote at such election, whose name is not borne on such list ; " and that it was the special duty of the inspectors " to take care that no person should vote ivhose name is not borne on such list ; " and a resolve was accordingly passed, declaring that the inspectors had no right to admit any person to vote who was not on the list delivered to the City Clerk by the IMayor and Aldermen, and also a resolve, that ten days previous to any elec- tion, three copies of the lists made out by the Mayor and Alder- men should be deposited in three public places in each ward, so as to give full opportunity for every citizen, if he saw fit, to ascertain if his name was borne thereon, and have the mistake rectified. In April of the same year (1824) a person who had not been taxed the preceding year, and whose name was, of consequence, not upon the voting lists, voluntarily procured himself to be assessed, and brought a certificate of the fact to the IMayor and Aldermen, demanding that his name should then be inserted in the voting lists. They refused to insert his name, and passed a vote, declaring that they had no authority so to do, under those cu'cumstances. In April, 1826, the errors which had occurred in the voting lists, as delivered to the Mayor and Aldermen by the Assessors, had been so numerous, that the Mayor made a special recom- mendation to the City Council for a more specific provision against such occurrences in future. The Committee raised on this recommendation, reported that, owing to the great press of business and the sickness of one of the Assessors, a greater num- ber of errors had occurred in the voting lists than was usual ; that this temporary cause of inaccuracy might, and would be prevented, by increasing the number of assessors ; but that there were causes of a permanent natm-e, for which the remedy lies wholly with the citizens themselves, and consists in their own vigilance. Mistakes in the voting lists, being for the most part detected in the heat, and under the excitement of an election, give rise to suspicions of intentional omissions utterly unfounded. The citizens should remember that, from the complexity and intrinsic difficulties, perfect accm'acy is unattainable. Citizens 236 MUOTCIPAL HISTORY. who change theu* residence from one ward to another, and who have recently come of age, are peculiarly subjects of such errors. Even fixed inhabitants may sometimes be omitted, either in copying or printing the voting lists, including eight or ten thou- sand voters. It is true, such errors seldom occur ; but the safe principle for every citizen to adopt is, that there is no absolute certainty that his name is on the lists, except it be ascertained by previous personal inspection. The Assessors' lists, which they are obliged by law annually to make out and deUver to the Mayor and Aldermen, are, substantially, the evidence of the right of the citizen to vote at any election. Then- correctness depends upon their coincidence with the books of the Assessors. Of this coincidence, the Assessors are the legal certifying officers. The revision and correction of those lists by the Mayor and Aldermen must depend upon the evidence adduced by the individual citi- zens whose names have been omitted. Without such evidence, the Mayor and Aldermen have no authority to correct them. Between the lists and books of the Assessors, there is no reason to anticipate important variance ; nor yet between the A\Titten and printed lists of the Assessors. In both respects, comparison is the duty of the Assessors, who are responsible for theh accu- racy. The chief sources of eiTor are in the books of the Assessors, and are attributable to various circumstances incident to the subject, and not wholly to be prevented by any vigilance. Of these the following are the most common : — 1. In the manner in which the inquiries, on which the books of the Assessors, are founded, are unavoidably made in families, where, when the head is absent, the information given by domestics is often incorrect, the Christian name mistaken, or surnames misspelt, particularly in the case of temporary resi- dents in boarding-houses, or boarders or domestics. 2. Changes of residence after the Assessors have finished their perambulation. 3. Persons moving into the city, or, who coming of age, after such perambulation is finished. Such persons, if their names are not on the lists, have none to blame but themselves. 4. A very common source of error is the withholding at boarding-houses, through ignorance or wilfulness, the Christian names of the boarders ; so that only their surnames are inserted CITY GOVERKMENT. 237 in the books of the Assessors ; and although, when the tax is collected, the Collectors ascertain the Christian names, it is often too late for entry on the voting lists. The remedy proposed for correcting these eiTors, and which received the sanction of both branches of the City Council were, — 1st. The increase of the number of the Assessors. 2d. A systematic preparation and printing of the voting lists, as early as the first of March, so that the intermediate time before election should be employed in their revision and coiTection. 3d. A more general and impressive sense, on the part of the citi- zens, of the duty of inspecting each for himself the voting lists previous to elections, particularly previous to that in April, when the lists being new, inaccuracies are more likely to occur. In December, 1826, the duty of superintending the voting lists was devolved by the City Council on the Mayor, with the aid of the Assessors, subject to the revision of the Board of Aldermen ; to whom, on the nineteenth of March, 1827, he reported the revised lists, and recommended that public notice should be given to the following persons, concerning whom errors in the lists were most likely to occur ; — those doing business in other wards than those in which they live ; those taxed without then Christian names ; those taxed within two years, who had become inhabitants since the first of May ; those who have come of age, or changed their place of residence since the same period. Notice was at this time given, that all who had not paid taxes wathin two years woiild have their names stricken from the voting lists. In April, 1828, complaints were made by the Warden and Inspectors of one of the wards, of the imperfection in the voting lists, and suggesting the expediency of investing the Warden and Inspectors ^vith power to insert names in those lists. The City Council, desirous that the nature and causes of the obsta- cles to obtaining correct voting lists should be well understood, postponed any report until the new lists, taken under the know- ledge of the previously existing complaints, should be tested by some strongly controverted election. This occuiTcd on that of mayor on the eighth and fifteenth of December of this year ; and the Mayor, on the twenty-second of the sa.me month, as Chairman of a Committee of the City Council, made a report, which was accepted in the Board of Aldermen, and printed by 238 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the Common Council, but ultimately referred in that branch to the next City Council. In this report, the Committee stated, that " at no previous election had the satisfaction with the voting lists been more general ; that few errors had occurred, although the names on the lists amounted to tivelve thousand. The Com- mittee then proceeded to state " minutely the errors for which the officers making out the voting lists were responsible : — 1st. Such as ne^-Iecdng' to place the name of an inhahitant on the tax books, so that it does not appear on the voting lists. These errors, when they occur, are often the effect of accident, the inha- bitant not being at home, or his house shut up, or A\Tong name given, when the Assessors called. These accidents most fre- quently occur to boarders, or men not heads of families, con- cerning whom wrong names are often given at the boarding- houses ; for these errors the Assessors are without blame. 2d. Ncg'lect to transfer members of firms from the ivard ivhere they do business to the icards where they reside. This, when it occurs, often results from misinformation. 3d. Erasing the name by accident from the tax-books, so that it is not. inserted in the voting lists. This is so rare as scarcely to deserve notice. 4th. Errors in printing the voting lists. These are more likely to happen in printing the voting lists than in printing any other work, from mistakes in chirography, as it respects names, and there being no connection of sense, whereby the intention of the writer can be ascertained. The above are generally all the errors for which the Assessors are responsible. Those errors, for which the Assessors are not, and caimot be responsible, are the most numerous. Such are, — 1. Ignorance of the voter himself of the ward in which he resides. 2. Remo- val after the first of May, without taking care to have his name inserted on the lists of the ward to which he has removed. 3. Absences in I\Iay from the city, of consequence not taxed, and thus the name not entered on the lists. 4. Having one's name transferred to a wi'ong ward, or by a \^Tong name, by officious friends. 5. Not having paid a tax, neither for the preceding nor for the cuiTcnt year, the name of such person having no right to be borne on the voting list. 6. Impracticability to obtain the Christian name of the person taxed, and the name, in such case, being not usually inserted in the voting lists. 7. Aliens taxed, but not naturalized, and so not entitled to vote. 8. Aliens natu- CITY GOVERNMENT. 239 ralized, and their naturalization not made known to the Assess- ors. 9. Persons coming of age subsequently to the first of May, or to the perambulation of the Assessors. 10. Persons living in boarding-houses, or young jDersons not heads of families, whose names are not given to the Assessors by the families in which they reside. 11. Names of tenants or taxable inmates, whose names are given wrongly by domestics. From experience, it appears that four out of five of the en'ors which occur, are of the nature of those last enumerated, for which the Assessors are not responsible, and for which there is no practicable remedy, except by personal inspection of the voting' lists previous to the day of election. In order to throw light on a subject of some complexity, and to guard voters against mistakes, they were reminded " that neiv voting lists are made out every year from the tax books of the Assessors ; that these tax books have reference to the state of resi- dence on the first of May ; and that a voter, not found in any ivard in May by the Assessors, ivill not be taxed, and will not be upon the voting list of that yearP An ignorance of this fact is one of the principal causes of discontent. Men shun taxes and seek the polls ; but he who has received no tax bill has no right to expect that his name is on the voting lists. Old inhabitants are apt to imagine that, because their names are on the list of the preceding year, they must be on the new lists ; but it should be remembered that the only foundation of the voting lists in any year is the tax books of that year. The unavoidable difference between the lists of any former and any present year, from changes of residence, death, coming of age, and the Hke general causes, probably amounts every year to a difference of more than one half of cdl the names on the voting lists. No facts can more impressively urge upon every voter the duty of ascertaining for himself, whether his name is inserted on the voting lists. As to the suggestion of the expediency of investing the Warden and Inspectors with power to insert names on the voting lists, the Committee stated that it was not consistent with the laws of the Commonwealth ; that if attempted, it would be calculated to introduce errors into the voting lists, con- fusion at the polls, and charges of favoritism and coiTuption against the Inspectors. These officers have now but one single 240 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. and simple duty ; that is, to the admitting all to vote whose NAMES ARE BORNE ON THE LISTS AND TO THE EXCLUDING OF ALL OTHERS. Should the Warden and Inspectors be allowed the right to insert names on the voting lists, every inducement, and even necessity, of making the lists accurate, previously to election day, would be taken away. It had been urged, that inspectors might be authorized to insert names of those who produced their tax bills ; but nothing would prevent the same tax bill from being presented in more than one ward at the same elec- tion ; the right to vote being often in a ward different from that specified in the tax bill. The questions arising, relative to this right, are often very complex, depending on various circumstan- ces ; when made before the Mayor and Aldermen, with great clamor and sense of right, they are often ascertained to be of a dubious character, and sometimes wholly unfounded. If made in the heat of an election, and in the midst of impassioned elect- ors, it would give rise to much excitement and charges of favor- itism. The possession of such a power by the Wardens and Inspectors would also cause the selection of these officers to be made with reference to party spirit, rather than to general cha- racter. In some wards the Inspectors are changed every year ; and the mistakes made by them, amidst the occasional confusion of the election, notwithstanding the exceeding singleness and simplicity of their present duties, sufficiently indicate that no gi-eater power ought to be intrusted to them. Thus, names have been checked off by mistake ; men, uncon- sciously by the Assessors, have been admitted to vote by an assumed name ; and often voters have been turned from the polls, and denied the right to vote, whose names were actually borne on the voting lists, being overlooked by the Inspectors in the haste and hurry of a contested election. From this cause alone, there ivere, at one election, more cases of rejection, than from all the other causes taken together ; there having occurred more than thirty instances of rejection, from this cause alone, of persons whose names were borne on the lists. Notwithstand- ing the general good intentions and fidelity of the Warden and Inspectors, the above errors to which they are now exposed are sufficient to show that their duties should not be augmented. So long as no person's name can be placed on the voting CITY GOVERNMENT. 241 list, except by the Mayor and Aldermen, no one can lose his vote, unless he has been so indillerent as to neglect the inspec- tion of the voting lists once in each year. It is sui'ely better, that the citizen who will not take so small a trouble for so great a privilege, should lose his vote, than that a system should be adopted, which, by establishing twelve distinct tribunals^ should introduce controversies and party spirit, leading to confusion and to all the difficulties above stated at the polls. The Committee concluded, by stating the course adopted, previous to the last election, had produced such an approximation to correctness, that, during it, not more than four errors in the lists had occurred which it was possible for the Assessors to have cor- rected. Considering the great interest and importance of the subject, the above abstract of this report, being the result of several years experience and careful observation of facts by the Mayor, has been deemed important enough to be here distinctly preserved ; and the more so, because early under the succeeding city administration, a similar attempt was made to enlarge the power of the Inspectors, and Mr. Otis, as Mayor and Chairman of a Committee on this subject, in a report made to the City Council, expressly referred to the report, of which the above is an abstract, as an " elaborate exposition of facts and principles on the subject." ^ On the fourteenth of April, 1828, Charles P. Curtis, the City Solicitor, stated to the Board of Aldermen that an application had been made to him to defend a watchman for an alleged assault and battery, who, justified under color of his office. The Solicitor requested that he might receive instructions in this and similar cases ; and that a general rule might be estabhshed also in regard to advancing fees and expenses of witnesses. The communication was referred to Aldermen James Savage and John Pickering, to consider and report, who accordingly reported that it was expedient to instruct the Solicitor to defend the watchmen at the expense of the city, and to make all necessary advances during the progress of the action. With respect to other similar cases, it was difficult to lay down any invariable rule for the government of the Solicitor, in respect of actions brought against any officer of the city. From the great number 1 See p. 290. 21 242 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. of those officers, of various degi-ees of intelligence and discretion, of various dispositions and temperaments, and selected from dif- ferent classes of citizens, it is obvious that occasions for gi-ound- less suits will be as likely to occur among them as among indi- viduals of a similar character, who are not city officers ; and if a spirit of litigation should be encouraged, as it would be by indemnifying the officers in all cases, the consequence would be extTcmely injurious to the peace and welfare of the city. But, on the other hand, it is the duty of the city to protect faithful officers in the proper execution of their duty, and to indemnify them when they are compelled to defend themselves in the dis- charge of their official duties. The Committee, therefore, re- ported the following order for the government of the City Soli- citor, namely, — " That in all the actions and suits described in the ordinance passed on the eighteenth of June, 1827, against any officer of the city, such officer shaU, in the first instance, pro- secute and defend, at his own expense, and, if it shall be found, either by verdict or otherwise, in the opinion of the Solicitor, that such officer did so prosecute or defend for good cause, and that he ought to be indemnffied for his expenses in such suit, then the City Solicitor shall certify accordingly, and such officer shall be so indemnified ; otherwise, such expenses shall be borne by the officer himself This report was read and accepted accordingly. In May, 1828, a few weeks before the general election day of the State, which, at that period, occuiTcd annually on the last Wednesday of this month, a petition signed by Isaac Parker, Chief Justice of the Commonwealth, and about fourteen hun- dred citizens, was presented to the City Council, praying that the seUing of spirituous fiquors on the Common, on public hofi- days, should be prevented. An order accordingly was issued, du'ecting the Constables to prosecute any person, who, in the Common, or in the malls and streets in its vicinity, should seU any spirituous or mixed liquors, of which part was spirit- uous, or who should in any of those places play cards, dice, or with any implements of gaming, on the days of general election, artillery election, and the fourth of July. Notice of this order was published immediately in the city newspapers, and the Con- stables directed to make it known to all who should have per- mission to erect booth, tent, or table on those days. CITY GOVERNMENT. 943 The expediency of selling by auction or otherwise the right which the Fanenil Hall Market Committee had secured for the city to the eastward of that Hall, was, in the autumn of this year (1828) brought before the City Council. This right em- braced an extent of flats equal to three hundred and fifteen feet in length, and on the west line one hundred and ninety-eight feet, and on the east one hundred and sixty-eight feet, and included fifty-seven thousand six hundred and forty-five feet square of wharf besides the right of dockage on three sides of the said proposed wharf. The subject was referred to a Committee of the City Council, consisting of the Mayor, Aldermen Loring and Upham, and Messrs. Moody, E. Williams, Means, Pickman, and Pratt, of the Common Council, who, on the sixth of October, reported at large, stating the importance of this space to the city as a possession, its prospective, increasing value, and that its local relations were such, that there seemed to be no possible state of things in which it could be wise for the city to abandon the control of it, which it now possesses by its right of property. Lying at the head or junction of five of the most thronged and busy streets of the city, now called Commercial, Clinton, North and South ]\Iarket, and Chatham Streets, the efficient and per- manent control of that space was deemed peculiarly important to be retained in the city government, from its very location, with reference to the general business of that part of the city ; but when, in addition to this, the fact is considered that it con- tains the whole space lying between the New City Market and the Channel, and that this is the only space within which the market itself can be extended, or the accommodations of those doing business in it enlarged, should the increasing greatness of the city render it necessary, it seemed to the Committee, that on this account alone, the city could not, in any state of things, be justified in divesting itself of the fee it had acquired in this property. The idea of selling these wharf rights could not, therefore, be entertained. The expediency of leasing them to others, rather than to undertake filling them up on the account of the city, having been urged upon the Committee, they declared that, in their opinion, the relation of this property was such, that its value and importance, either as a property or a posses- sion, could not be well understood previously to its being filled up and actually occupied ; and the control of it, in their judg- 244 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. ment, ought not, even temj)orarily, to be put out of the power of the city, until its value and importance s^hould be tested by act- ual experience. They, therefore, recommended that measures should be adopted without delay by the city, for filling up the space on its own account, before entering upon any considera- tion of the subject of leasing it ; and they entered into state- ments and reasonings, showing that the cost of filling up the proposed space of wharf in the most substantial manner, could not exceed twenty thousand dollars, and that when filled up, the annual receipt would probably be at least eigld thousand dollars, and could not be less than six thousand. The Committee there- fore recommended two resolutions, — the first authorizing the filling up the wharf rights, with authority to borrow, not exceed- ing twenty thousand dollars, for that purpose ; and the second, directing that the income hereafter derived from these wharf rights should be placed in the hands of the Committee for the reduction of the city debt, until the said income should equal the amount of debt created under the first resolution. This report was accepted, and the resolutions passed unanimously in both branches of the City Council ; and the Committee who reported the resolutions were authorized to carry them into effect. There were at this time active influences without doors at work to induce the City Council to make sale of these wharf and dockage rights. Capitalists see early and clearly the value of choice locations for business and investment. And, in rela- tion to city property, if the City Council can be prevailed upon by temptations of a higher price than, at the time the average rate of land in the vicinity commands, by the desire to diminish the amount of taxation for the passing year, or to reduce the city debt, the more important consideration of the permanent value of precious localities to the general interests of the city is apt to be disregarded, when weighed in the scale against tem- porary advantage or popularity. In this case, the sale of these flats was pressed upon the Mayor and other members of the Committee with urgency. The idea of ever obtaining an income from them of ciffld thousand dollars was ridiculed. The popularity to be obtained by an immediate large reduction of the debt incurred by erecting the New Market was set forth in strong lights. The actual result will be the best comment on the CITY GOVERNMENT. 24-5 wisdom and firk:ness of the City Council. The flats were filled up at an expense of less than nineteen tliousand dollars; and in September, 1832, the then City Council leased the wharf and dock rights for twenty years on an annual rent of teyi thousand dollars, on condition that ten substantial brick stores, to the acceptance of the City Council, should be built thereon, and kept insured and in good order, and should revert to the city in fee simple at the end of the lease. In September, 1852, this wharf, dock rights, and stores will consequently revert to the city, and thus a property, which, in 1826, the City Council did not ventm-e to estimate higher than one hundred thousand dollars, has, by the wisdom and foresight of successive City Councils, risen, at this day, to the value of at least four hundred thousand dollars} 1 See page 203. 21 CHAPTER XVII. CITY GOVERmiENT. 1828. JosiAn QuixcY, Mayor. The Annexation of South Boston to the Ancient City, and the Difficulties attending it — Project of Semi- Annual Sales of Domestic Manufactures in the City — The Hall over the New Market appropriated for the Object — Question concerning the Eligibility of Members of the City Council to City Offices — State and Progress of the Fire Department — Resignation of the Chief Engineer — His Gratuitous Services — Vote of Thanks to him by the City Council — Prosperous State of City Affairs — The Mayor declines being a Candidate for Reelection — Harrison Gray Otis chosen Mayor. At the commencement of the present century, the tract of land, now called South Boston, was a part of the town of Dorchester, and inhabited by a few families, chiefly engaged in agriculture. At that period, it was purchased by a number of enterprising citizens, most of whom were capitalists, who ob- tained from the inhabitants of Boston a vote authorizing an application to the Legislature of the State for its annexation to that town. As the original project contemplated the erection of a bridge from South Street, or Sea Street, to South Boston, a violent opposition to the plan arose among the proprietors of wharves lying above the proposed site. After warm discus- sions in the public newspapers and town meetings, the propo- sition resulted in a compromise, fixing the locality of the bridge above most of the wharves, whose proprietors were thus relieved from the apprehended obstruction of the channel; but, at the same time, the expectations of immediate profit formed by the original associates in the project were materially diminished. To carry into effect the compromise, three acts were passed by the Legislature of the State on the same day (sixth of JMarch, 1804.) By the first, the part of Dorchester now called South Boston was annexed to Boston. By the second, the proprietors of the purchased lands were constituted a corporation, with autliority to erect a bridge from the southwesterly part of Boston to Dor- CITY GOVERNISIENT. 247 Chester Neck. By the third, the proprietors of certain lands at the south part of Boston were authorized to open a street from Rainsford Lane to the proposed site of the new bridge. The several powers granted by these acts were executed, in conformity with the compromise. The population of South Boston gi'adually increased until the year 1822, when the pro- ject of building a bridge from South or Sea Street revived, and constituted one of the most important and exciting topics of discussion during the two first administrations of the city go- vernment. All the bitter animosities and apprehensions were renewed, which the compromise of 1804 had allayed. No effi- cient support was, however, obtained for the measure until March, 1824. A petition from the inhabitants of South Boston was then presented to a general meeting of the inhabitants of the city, and a vote was passed, after several days debate, by a great majority — 2,487 in the affirmative, 779 in the negative — requesting the City Government to petition the Legislatm-e for liberty to erect the proposed bridge. The City Council pre- pared and presented a petition, in conformity with the vote of the citizens ; but the conflicting passions and interests the sub- ject excited succeeded in postponing any conclusive measure until the twenty-fifth of February, 1825. A bill tlien passed the Legislature, authorizing the city to build a bridge, to be free of toll from or near Sea or South Street to South Boston. This act was referred in the City Council to the IVIayor, Aldermen Bax- ter, Odiorne, and Child, and to S. K. Williams, Russell, Ballard, Lodge, and Lincoln of the Common Council. They reported, that the City ought not to erect the bridge, but recommended that a committee should be appointed to advertise for proposals to build it, indemnify the City from all expenses, and compen- sation for damages, and to comply with all the requisitions of the act of the Legislature. The Committee who made this report were authorized by the City Council to issue such pro- posals. On the sixteenth of May, they stated to that body, that they had issued and advertised for proposals, but no application of any kind had been received in reference to the object ; and, therefore, recommended to the City Council to take no farther measures on the subject. This report was accepted in both branches. Other attempts to harmonize these confficting interests, such as 248 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. appointing commissioners, and endeavoring to purchase South Boston Bridge by means of subscriptions, were wholly unsuc- cessful. The friends of the original project, therefore, applied to the Legislature, and, by an act passed in March, 1826, obtained a repeal of the act of February, 1825, and an authority for the petitioners, with others, to build the proposed bridge, provided it should be done in such manner as the city of Boston should approve; — the corporation, thus constituted, to be subject to all damages resulting from its erection, light it, keep it in repair, and provide facilities for raising the draw, until the city of Boston should assume the care of it, when the corporation was to be relieved from all these obligations. The act contained also a provision granting to the city of Boston the right to build the bridge, if they availed themselves of the privilege within three months. As the corporation could not proceed until the decision of the city was known, they immediately submitted the act to the City Council, and asked a conference on the subject. This application was referred to the Mayor, Aldermen Bellows, Mar- shall, and Loring, who, after deliberation and conference with the applicants, reported, that it was inexpedient for the City Coun- cil to take any order in relation to the right and liberty to build the bridge conferred on the city by the act. The subject remained in this state until January, 1827, when the corporation communicated to the city government their intention to build the bridge ; and, after stating the material of which they proposed to construct it, submitted the mode and the manner of constructing it to the decision of the City Coun- cil, and inquired whether the city would assume the care of the bridge and the obligation to keep it in repair, light it, and pro- vide facihties for raising the draw, after it should be constructed. This application was refen-ed to the Mayor, Aldermen Bel- lows, Welsh, and Boies, and to Messrs. James, Morey, Russell, Phillips, Hallett, Howe, and Dyer, of the Common Council. In this committee were discussed all the questions growing out of the inquiries of the corporation ; also, whether it should proceed from South Street or Sea Street, and how the expense attending the enlargement of it, which was contemplated, should be dis- bursed ; and whether it should be accepted by the city even after it should be built in the manner prescribed by the City Council. All these questions were debated with gi'cat zeal by the respect- CITY GOVERmiEXT. 249 ive parties. Several meetings were held, — times and places were appointed, at which all persons interested might appear before the Committee ; and upon most of them the Committee were nearly equally divided. A sub-committee had made a report at large, and concluded in favor of the bridge's proceeding from South Street, by a majority of tliree out oi five. This report the Committee rejected, and substituted Sea Street for South Street, by a majority of seven out of twelve. And on the twenty-second of February they reported, by a like majority, that the bridge should be built from Sea Street ; and that, if made and finished in such manner as the City Council should direct, it would be expedient to accept the bridge, light, keep it in repair, and provide facilities for the draw, so long as South Boston should remain a part of the city of Boston. This report was accepted in both branches of the City Council, and a series of resolutions passed, in conformity with the recommendation of the Committee, specifying the mode in which the bridge should be built, and the terms on which it would be accepted, and a committee of the City Council and a competent engineer to superintend building the bridge, and to see that the terms were complied with, were appointed. Notwithstanding these precautions, when, in June, 1828, the bridge was offered to the City Council for their acceptance, opposition to the measure revived, and remonstrances against its acceptance were presented. The City Council, however, early in July, discharged the Superintendent, and the Common Coun- cil voted to accept the bridge. In this, however, the Mayor and Aldermen did not concm*, and appointed a committee, who made a report, accepted by the Board of Aldermen, and non- concurred in the Common Council. The disagi-eement between the two branches was finally brought to a close by the appoint- ment of a joint-committee, consisting of the Mayor, Aldermen Loring, Fennelly, Pickering, Upham and Armstrong, and of Messrs. Betton, Seaver, Paine, Howe and Pickman of the Com- mon Council, with full powers, to accept the free bridge, and to submit all differences to the arbitration of three persons mutu- ally to be chosen, with powers also in the Committee to cany their award into effect, and report the result to the City Council. Loammi Baldwin', Samuel Hubbard, and Willard Phillips were appointed referees, in conformity with this authority ; and 250 MUNICIPAL mSTORY. on the seventh of October, ] 828, the Committee reported to the City Council the award of these referees, which was, in efTect, that " the pubHc convenience required that the city should forth- with accept the said bridge, and, in consequence of its unfinished state, that the corporation should pay to the city sixteen hun- dred and seven dollars, and deliver to it certain enumerated deeds." The Committee recommended, that a vote should be passed by both branches of the City Council, authorizing a ful- filment of the conditions of the award. A vote was passed in conformity with this recommendation ; and this long, perplexing, and exciting controversy was thus brought to a final conclusion. The apparent intimate connection between the prosperity of the city and of that of the manufacturing interests of the State and vicinity, led to the expression of a general desire, that an attempt should be made to foster those interests, by an exhibi- tion and sale of domestic manufactures annually within the city. The Mayor, coinciding with these views, in October, 1825, recommended, by special message, the subject to the attention of the City Council, and suggested the adaptation of the hall over the New Market to this project, and the policy of appro- priating it in whole or in part to carry it into effect. This com- munication was referred to the Mayor, Aldermen Bellows, Mar- shall, and Bryant, and to Messrs. Williams, Hallett, Parker, Barry, and Boies, of the Common Council. In consequence of this movement, various plans and propo- sitions were made and discussed between the Committee or its members, and persons interested in manufactures ; and in Jan- uary, 1826, on the petition of Patrick T. Jackson, in behalf of an association, for the public exhibition or sale of domestic manu- factures, the Committee reported that the petitioners should have, for the purposes of such exhibition and sale, the use of so much of the upper story of the New Market House as they might require for the present year, not exceeding twenty days in the spring and twenty days in the autumn. Their report was accepted in both branches. And in the ensuing July, on the petition of the Society for the promotion of Manufactures and the Mechanic Arts, the entire haU over the New Market, or as much as might be necessary or convenient for them, was devoted to their use, during the months of September and October, for the purposes of exhibition and CITY GOVERN^IENT. 251 sales of domestic goods and mechanic inventions, free of all charges ; and, on the twelfth of September, the first auction sale under this grant was holden. In January and July, 1827, the New England Society for the promotion of Manufactures and ]\Iechanic Arts petitioned for the same privilege, and the City Council granted the use of the hall for the exhibition and sale of domestic manufactures and wool, for twenty days in March and twenty days in August. The success of these exhibitions and sales led to a petition, in the ensuing November, having for its object to place the accom- modation they had received from the use of the hall on a more permanent footing, which, being referred to the ]\Iayor, Alder- men Loring and Savage, and Messrs. Dorr, Russell, Parker, and Ward, a report was made by them, stating that the sole ob- ject of this Society was to effect, through the means of semi- annual auction sales of domestic manufactures a change in the course of business, by bringing foreign purchasers to the domes- tic market, and thus relieving om* manufacturers from the neces- sity of seeldng a market in other States and countries ; that the Society had few funds, and derived no emolument what- ever from its labors ; that the effect of such semi-annual sales could not but be highly advantageous to the progressive pros- perity of the city, and the advantage, in the opinion of the Committee, was a sufficient justification and inducement to the City Council for such an appropriation of the hall over the Market as the petitioners solicit. Thus far, the experiment of these auction sales had been as successful as could reasonably have been expected ; the gross proceeds of all the three semi- annual sales had amounted to upwards of $956,000. The tendency of them to bring foreign purchasers, at the season of these sales, to this meti'opolis, and the effect on its prosperity, direct and incidental, were so obvious and unquestionable, that the Committee could not hesitate to recommend such an acqui- escence in the prayer of the petition as will place the subject, at all times, under the control of the City Council, and yet give the petitioners the assurance of the permanent patronage of the institution by the City Government, until a future City Council should take a different view of the interests of the city. The Committee recommended that the New England Society for the promotion of Manufactures and Mechanic Arts should have 252 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the hall for the purpose of their annual sales from the fifteenth of March to the fifteenth of April, and from the fifteenth of August until the fifteenth of September, until the further order of the City Council, and that six months notice should be given to the Society of the rescinding of this privilege. This report was accepted in both branches of the City Council. These semi-annual sales not only produced those advantages to the city, which had been anticipated, but proved highly bene- ficial to the manufacturing interests ; all the various classes of which were well represented in them. They w^ere numerously attended by traders from all parts of the United States. Some of the best purchasers from the South and West were attracted by them to the city, some of whom became subsequently regular customers. The prices obtained were generally quite satisfac- tory to the owners of the goods, and advantageous to all parties. Between September, 1826, and March, 1832, there were twelve of such sales. The total amount of the proceeds cannot be at this day (1851) exactly ascertained ; but they cannot be esti- mated at less than from five to six millions of dollars ; since two only of the auctioneers ^ employed in those sales, disposed of more than $4,645,000 in value. Notwithstanding this success, these semi-annual sales were discontinued in 1832 ; for reasons never, it is believed, officially stated, but generally attributed to the influence of certain large commission merchants and jobbers, who imagined that these sales interfered with their particular interests. This discontinuance was, however, in direct oppo- sition to the opinion of many of our most intelligent merchants and manufacturers, who regarded these sales as among the most effective means of advancing and prospectively giving a great impulse to the prosperity of the city, as well as promoting the manufacturing interests of the State. In these views the late Patrick T. Jackson zealously concurred ; and no citizen, at that period, watched over the interest of both with a more practical, philosophic, and patriotic spirit. In June, 1827, a question was raised in the Common Coun- cil, whether a member of the City Council could be legally appointed by them a surveyor of boards and lumber. The sub- ject was referred to the Mayor and Alderman Savage, and to 1 Whitwell, Bond & Co. ; CooUtlgc, Poor & Head. CITY GOYERmiENT. 253 Messrs. Gray, James, and Moray, of the Common Council, who reported, — That there are two clauses of the city charter, which restrict the eligibility to office of members of the City Council ; the one contained in the twenty-first, and the other in the tiuenty-second section of that instrument. The former is in these words: " Provided, however, that no person shall be eligible to any office, the salary of which is payable out of the city treasmy, who, at the time of his appointment, shall be a member either of the Board of Aldermen or Common Council." As the salary, or compensation of a sm-veyor of boards and lumber, is not pay- able out of the city treasury, the eligibility to this office of a member of either branch of the City Council is not affected by the proviso. The remaining clause is in these w^ords : — " And neither the INIayor, nor any Alderman, or member of the Com- mon Council, shall, at the same time, hold any office under the City Government." The Committee were of opinion, that the office of surveyor of boards and lumber, not being created by the City Government, nor the oliicer responsible to it, is not such an office as a member of the City Council is prohibited from holding under the above recited clause of the twenty-second article of the City Charter. The Report was accepted by both branches of the City Council. During the years 1827 and 1828, the spirit in wdiich the Fire Department had been in the preceding year instituted was sus- tained and invigorated. Mr. Harris had been in each year suc- cessively reelected to the office of chief engineer, unanimously, in both branches of the City Council. The discipline of the de- partment had been maintained by him and the other officers and members. In 1826, one company of enginemen had been dis- missed for insubordination ; and in 1827, another discharged for remissness in their duty as enginemen. In both instances, new companies were readily formed. Engine-houses were enlarged ; the accommodation of the engine companies increased. The great deficiencies of the old engines, in respect of active service, W'Cre supplied. These improvements, and the almost entire change of apparatus, in order to adapt it to effective operations under the new system, led unavoidably, as has already been stated, to gi-eat expenditures, wholly without precedent in the 22 254 MUNICirAL HISTORY. previous system of protection against firc.^ In a report, made by a committee of the City Council, the nature and causes of these expenditures were detailed and explained. Under other circum- stances, the amount would have probably given rise to severe popular animadversions; but the efficiency of the new system, and the general satisfaction with its success, silenced complaint. The requisite appropriations were always passed, in both branches of the City Council, without difficulty, and almost without cavil. At this period, the number of active members of the department, officers of all ranks included, amounted to twelve hvmdred strong, chiefly young men, under the command of one chief, and twelve assistant engineers ; all selected, with great care, from men of suitable age and characteristic activity. The whole Fire Department being in this state of high disci- pline and preparation, on the eighth of October, 1828, the Chief Engineer addressed a letter to the INIayor resigning his office, on account of the inadequacy of his health to its duties ; and, after expressing " his obligations to the officers and members of it, for their prompt and willing cooperation in bringing the new system into efficiency," added, " that the department was adequate to all the purposes of its establishment, and possessed a body of men, whose alacrity, zeal, and devotedness could not be sur- passed." The Mayor postponed communicating this resigna- tion to the City Council, and made various endeavors to induce INIr. Harris to withdraw it, all of which proved fruitless. On the eighth of December, therefore, having communicated the resigna- 'tion of the Chief Engineer to the Board of Aldermen, and it having been accepted by them, the Mayor transmitted to the City Council a message stating that " it was now nearly three years since Colonel Harris had been appointed to that office, and that during this period an entire renovation had been effected in that department, the number of its members greatly increased, and a spirit of harmony, subordination, and efficiency introduced into it highly honorable to those Avho compose it, as well as to the city, and, it was believed, universally satisfactory to our fellow-citizens. " In all the aiTangements connected with these improvements, the zeal, intelligence, and firmness of Samuel Devens Harris, in 1 See page 205. CITY GOYERmiENT. 255 the office of Chief Engineer, had been conspicuous, and emi- nently contributed to their adoption and success. At the time of his appointment, the expectation was generally entertained, that a salary would be annexed to that office, and the prin- ciple on which the new organization of that department was advocated and adopted, in both branches of the City Council, amounted to an assurance that an adequate compensation would be fixed for his services. He had, however, held the office but a short time,i before he particularly requested the Mayor not to bring tlie subject of his compensation before tlie City Council, assigning as a reason, that, having the command of a depart- ment consisting wholly of volunteers, he was of opinion that his influence and usefulness would be disadvantageously affected by his acceptance of a salary. The conduct of this officer, in every thing relative to the discipline, orderly arrangement, and efficiency of the department, had been so exemplary and disinterested, that the Mayor deemed it his duty to recommend the subject to the consideration of the City Council, that such an expression of theu' sense of his services may be made, as they should deem just and suitable." This message was referred to a joint committee, consisting of Aldermen Loring and Hall, and Messrs. Ofiver, Everett, Means, and Aspinwall, of the Common Council. On the twenty-second of December, this Committee reported the following order for the adoption of the City Council : — " Whereas, the City Council hold in high estimation the services rendered this city by Samuel Devens Harris, late Chief Engineer of the Fire Department, and are convinced that the general spirit of harmony, of subordination, and efficiency, which characterize that department, and render it highly honorable to those who compose it, and useful to the city, is to be attributed, in a great degree, to the intelligence, the zeal, and active exertions of its late chief, — It is therefore Ordered, That the thanks of the City Council be, and they hereby are, presented to Samuel Devens Harris, for the faithful, arduous, and highly useful services, gratuitously rendered by him for nearly three years, in the office of Chief Engineer of the Fire Department." This Report, being read and accepted, the Order was passed, by a unanimous vote, in both branches of the City Council. The seventh year of the city government (1828) had passed 1 See page 209. 256 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. with great apparent unanimity and general satisfaction. The measures, which had been devised and commenced by the several succeeding City Councils, during the preceding years, were either completed or in successful progress. The New Market had been finished, and all the accounts connected with that improvement were settled ; provision for the gradual pay- ment, by instalments, of the debt it had created, had been made ; and also for the final discharge of that debt and its accruing interest out of the proceeds of the real estate, consisting of land and wharf rights, and other funds, which the wisdom of those City Councils had acquired. During these years, besides the expenditures connected with the purchases and improvements about the New Market, many streets, which were great thorough- fares in various parts of the city, had been widened. The Fire Department had been put into efficient operation, to the appa- rent satisfaction of all. A House of Correction, and a House of Reformation of Juvenile Offenders had been established ; the House of Industry had been completed and the poor trans- ferred to it, to the acknowledged improvement of their condition, and the manifest benefit of the city. The title to the lands lying west of Charles Street, called the Ropewalk Lands, had also been obtained and secured. Deer Island had been effectu- ally protected by a sea-wall from the action of the elements; appropriations for that object having been solicited by the city and granted by Congress. George's and Lo veil's Islands had been purchased, and the title to them transferred by the city to the United States ; for whom also the jurisdiction of those islands had been obtained from the Commonwealth. These prospective measures led, in subsequent years, to the erection of those efficient fortifications which now command and protect the outer harbor of Boston. And in relation to the incomes and expenditures of the City for the preceding financial year, William Hayden, the City Auditor, in his official report, dated the fifteenth of May, 1828, stated that " the aggregate amount of the incomes of the city had exceeded the aggregate amount of its expenditures ; and that the results afforded a practical illustration of the wisdom and spirit of economy, which characterized the proceedings of the last City Council, and led to the adoption of a system of self- restriction in regard to appropriations, and of confining the ordi- CITY GOVERmiENT. 257 nary expenditures of the year within the limits of its ordinary annual income." And the City Auditor closed this report by the following remarks: — " It is believed, that the results of the financial operations of the last year, while they must be highly satisfactory to those, in whose hands the citizens have placed the control of their public funds, will have a tendency to sustain that confidence, which the people of this city have reposed in its government ; for they show conclusively, that while those great improvements which the public interest seemed most obviously to demand, have been originated and matured, the city govern- ment had not lost sight of that point, at which a system of eco- nomical restriction should commence." In this state of general prosperity and satisfaction with the affairs of the city, the municipal year drew towards its close. No other than those general objects of attention, which are incident to every condition of municipal relation, appeared, at the moment, to be subjects of general anticipation or desire. No special cause of public discontent had occurred within the year. To apply wisely and faithfully the resources of the city to those exigencies which time must produce, and a rapidly increasing population rendered unavoidable, embraced appa- rently the whole sphere of duty for the ensuing City Coun- cils. The office of Mayor had now been sustained almost six years, by the same individual. The novelty of the office, the diversity of opinions relative to its powers, extensive public improvements, and many new institutions, had rendered his administration one of pecuhar trial and difficulty. It had been, however, power- fully supported, and to general satisfaction, as the results of six successive elections evidenced. At the usual period of municipal election, in 1828, after two trials, on the eighth ^ and fifteenth ^ of December, it appeared that the Mayor had not received the majority of votes, which the law required for his reelection, although in both the number 1 The whole number of votes cast on this trial was . . 4,082 Requisite to a choice, . . . 2,042 Of which Josiah Quincy had .... 1,959 2 The whole number of votes cast on this trial was . 5,253 Requisite to a choice, • • • 2,627 Of which Josiah Quincy had . . . 2,561 22 * 258 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. closely approximated to it. As soon, therefore, as the last result was known, he sent to the press the following note : — TO THE CITIZENS OF BOSTON. After the result of the recent elections, I deem myself at liberty to decline, — as I now do, — being any longer a candidate for the office of Mayor. To the end, that no future candidate may be deprived of votes, cast in my favor, I deem it proper to state, that no consi- deration will induce me again to accept that office. Very respectfully, I am your fellow citizen, JOSIAII QuiNCY. Boston, IGtli December, 1828. On the ensuing twenty-second of December, Harrison Gray Otis was chosen Mayor without opposition. CHAPTER XVIII. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1828. JosiAii QuiNCY, Mayor. Address of the Mayor on taking final Leave of the Office — His Acknowledg- ments to the Members of the Board of Aldermen, Common Council, and his Fellow-Citizens — Measures and Results of the Past Administration : for Protection of the City against Fire ; and of the Islands against Storms ; for the Health of the Inhabitants ; for Public Education ; in Favor of Public Morals ; for increasing the Financial Resources of the City and reducing its Debt — Principles on which his Conduct in Office had been guided. Tribute to his Successor. The circumstances which caused the Mayor to dechne being again a candidate, led him to consider it due to his associates and himself to state publicly the views and principles which, during nearly six years, had guided the administration of the city government. Having given intimation of this intention to the Board of Aldermen, they passed an order to the City Clerk "to give notice to the President of the Common Council, that the Board of Aldermen stood adjourned to Saturday, the third of Janu- ary, 1829, at one o'clock, at which time and place it is expected that the Mayor will address the Board, previous to his leaving the Chair, in order that any gentlemen of the Common Council may attend if they see fit." Accordingly, on that day, in the chamber of the Common Council, in the presence of its members and of other citizens, the Mayor delivered the following address to the Board of Aldermen, who, after retiring to their room. Voted,, " To request a copy of it for the press, and that the whole Board wait upon him for that purpose." ' 260 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. GENTLEMEN OP THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN : Having been called, nearly six years since, by my fellow-citi- zens, to the office of their chief magistrate, and having, during that period, lieen six times honored by their suffrages for that station, I have endeavored, uniformly, to perform its duties to the best of my ability, with unremitting zeal and fidelity. At the late election it was twice indicated, by a majority of those who thought the subject important enough to attend the polls, that they were willing to dispense with my services. According to the sound principles of a republican constitution, by which the will of a majority, distinctly expressed, concerning the con- tinuance in office of pubfic servants, is, to them the rule of duty, I withdrew from being any longer a cause of division to my fel- low-citizens ; declaring that " no consideration would induce me again to accept that office." These were not words of pas- sion, or of wounded pride, or temporary disgust ; but of deep conviction, concerning future duty, in attaining which, my obli- gations to my fellow-citizens were weighed as carefully as those which I owe to my own happiness and self-respect. I stand, then, to this office, in a relation final and forever closed. There are rights and duties which result from this con- dition. It is an occasion on which acknowledgments ought to be made, feelings to be expressed, justice to be done, obligations to be performed. To fulfil these duties, I have thought proper to seek and avail myself of this opportunity. And first, gentlemen, permit me to express to you that deep and lasting sen«e of gratitude which is felt for all the kindness, support, and encouragement with which you have lightened and strengthened official labors. In bearing testimony to the intelH- gence, activity, and fidelity with which you have fulfilled the duties of your station, I but join the common voice of your fellow- citizens. With me, your intercourse has been uniformly charac- terized by a willing and affectionate zeal ; leaving, in this respect, nothing to be desired ; and resulting, on my part, in an esteem which will make the recollection of our association in these duties among the most grateful of my fife. Aqpept my thanks for the interest and assiduity with which you have aided and sustained endeavors to advance the prosperity of this city. CITY GOVERNMENT. 261 T owe also to the gentlemen of the Common Council a public expression of my obligations for the candor and urbanity with which they have received and canvassed all my communications. It is a happy omen for our city, that, for so many successive years, the intercourse between the branches and members of its government has been distinguished for gentlemanly character, not less than for official respect. The collisions which are natu- rally to be expected in a community where rival interests and passions exist, have never disturbed the harmony of either coun- cil. When diversity of opinion has arisen, a spirit of mutual concession has presided over the controversy. Happy I if in this respect, past years shall be prototypes of those which are to come. To my fellow-citizens who, for so many years have supported or endured an administration conducted on none of the princi- ples by which popularity is ordinarily sought and acquired, I have no language to express my respect or my gratitude. I know well that recent events have given rise, in some minds, to reflections on the fickleness of the popular will, and on the ingra- titude of republics. As if the right to change was not as inhe- rent as the right to continue ; for the just exercise of this right, the people being responsible, and to bear the consequences. As if permission to serve a people at all, and the opportunity thus afforded to be useful to the community to which we belong and owe so many obligations, were not ample recompense for any labors or any sacrifices made or endured in its behalf. Is it wonderful, or a subject of reproach, that, in a populous city, where infinitely varying passions and prejudices and interests and motives must necessarily exist, an individual who had enjoyed the favor of its citizens for six years should be deprived of it on the seventh ? Is it not more a matter of surprise, that it has been enjoyed so long, than that it is lost at last ? At no one moment have I concealed from myself or my feUow- citizens, that the experiment of a new government was one very dubious in its effects on continuance in office. Who that knows the nature of man, and the combinations which, for particular ends, at times take place in society, could hesitate to believe that an administration which should neither court the few, nor stand in awe of the many, which should identify itself exclusively with the rights of the city, maintaining them not merely with the 262 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. zeal of official station, but with the pertinacious spirit of private interest ; which, in executing the laws, should hunt vice in its recesses, turn light upon the darkness of its haunts, and \\Test the poisonous cup from the hand of the unlicensed pander ; which should dare to resist private cupidity, seeking to corrupt ; personal influence, striving to sway ; party rancor, slandering to intimidate ; — would, in time, become obnoxious to all whom it prosecuted or punished ; all whose passions it thwarted ; wiiose projects it detected ; whose interests it crossed ? Who could doubt that, from these causes, there would in time come an accumulation of discontent ; that, sooner or later, the ground swell would rise above the landmarks with a tide which would sweep it from its foundations ? In the first address which, nearly six years ago, I had the honor to make to the City Council, the operation of these causes was distinctly stated, almost in the terms just used ; and the event which has now occuiTcd was anticipated. Nothing was then promised except " a laborious fulfilment of every known duty ; a prudent exercise of every invested power ; a disposition shrinking from no official responsibility ; and an absolute self- devotion to the interest of the city." I stand this day in the midst of the multitude of my brethren, and ask, without pride, yet without fear. Have I failed in fulfill- ing this promise ? Let your hearts answer. Other obfigations remain. A connection which has subsisted long and happily is about to be dissolved, and forever. To look back on the past, and consider the present, is natural and pro- per on the occasion. I stand indebted to my fellow-citizens for a length and uniformity of support seldom exemplified in cities where the executive office depends upon popular election. They have stood by me nobly, and with effect, in six trials ; in the seventh, though successless, I was not forsaken. To such men I owe more than silent gratitude. Their friend- ship, their favor, the honors they have so liberally bestowed, demand return, not in words, but in acts. I owe it to such goodness to show that their confidence has not been misplaced ; their favor not been abused ; and that their friendship and sup- port, so often given in advance, have been justified by the event. What then has the departing city administration done ? what CITY GOVERNMENT. 263 good has it effected ? what evil averted ? what monuments exist of its faithfulness and efficiency ? If, in the recapitulation I am about to make, I shall speak in general terms, and sometimes in language of apparent personal reference, let it be understood, once for all, that this will be owing to the particular relation in which I stand at this moment to the subject and to my fellow-citizens; and by no means to any disposition to claim more than a common share of what- ever credit belongs to that administration. This, I delight to acknowledge, is chiefly due to those excellent and faithfvil men, who, during successive years have, in both branches of the City Council, been the light and support of the government ; by whose intelligence and practical skill I have conducted its affairs full as often as by my own. The obligations I owe to these men I mean neither to deny nor to conceal. Speedily, and as soon as other duties permit, it is my purpose, in another way and in a more permanent form, to do justice to their gratuitous labors and unobtrusive fidelity. Touching the measures and results of the administration which will soon be past, I necessarily confine myself to a few particular topics ; and those, either the most vital to our safety and prosperity, or, in my apprehension, the most necessary to be understood. Time will not permit, nor, on this occasion, would it be proper to speak of all the various objects of a prudential, economical, restrictive, or ornamental character, which, in adapt- ing a new organization of government to the actual state of things, have been attempted or executed. I shall chiefly refer to what has been done by way of protec- tion against the elements ; in favor of the general health ; in support of public education ; and in advancement of public morals. The element which chiefly endangers cities is that of Fire. It cannot at this day be forgotten by my fellow-citizens with what labor and hazard of popularity the old department was abolished, and the new established. From the visible and active energy which members of a fire department take in the protec- tion of the city against that element, they always have been, and always must be, objects of general regard. Great as is the just popularity at present enjoyed by that department, the same public favor was largely enjoyed by their predecessors. Those 264 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. who at that time composed it were a hardy, industi'ious, effect- ive body of men, who had been long inm-ed to the service, and who, having the merit of veterans, naturally imbibed the errors into which old soldiers in a regular service are accustomed to fall. They were prejudiced in favor of old modes and old wea- pons. They had little or no confidence in a hose system ; and above all they were beset with the opinion that the continuance of their corps was essential to the safety of the city. More than once it was said distinctly to the executive of the city, that " if they threw down the engines, none else could be found capable of taking them up." Under the influence of such opinions, they demanded of the city a specified annual sum for each company. It was refused. And in one day all the engines in the city were surrendered by their respective companies ; and on the same day every engine was supplied with a new company by the voluntary association of public-spirited individuals. From that time, a regular, systematic organization of the Fire Department was begun and gradually effected. The best models of engines were sought. The best experience consulted wiiich our own or other cities possessed. New engines were obtained ; old ones repaked. Proper sites for engine houses sought ; when suitable locations were found, pmx-hascd ; and those built upon ; when such were not found, they were hired. No requisite preparation for efficiency was omitted ; and every reasonable inducement to enter and remain in the service was extended. The efficient force and state of preparation of this department now consists of twelve hundred men and officers ; twenty engines ; one hook and ladder company ; eight hundred buck- ets ; seven thousand feet of hose ; twenty-five hose carriages ; and every species of apparatus necessary for strength of the department, or for the accommodation of its members. In this estimate, also, ought to be included fifteen reservoirs, containing three hundred and fifty thousand gallons of water, located in different parts of the city, besides those sunk in the Mill Creek, and the command of water obtained by those con- nected with the pipes belonging to the aqueduct. Of all the expenditures of the city government, none perhaps have been so often denominated extravagant as those connected with this department. But when the voluntary nature of the CITY GOYERX^ilENT. 265 service, its importance, and the security and confidence actually attained are considered, it is believed they can be justified. In four years, all the objects enumerated, including the reser- voirs, have cost a sum not exceeding sixty thousand dollars, which is about forty-eight thousand dollars more than tlic old department, in a like series of years, was accustomed to cost. The value of the fLxed and permanent property now existing in engine houses and their sites, engines and apparatus, and reser- voir's, cannot be estimated at less than twenty thousand dollars. So that the actual expenditure of the new department beyond the old, for these four years, cannot be stated at more than five thousand dollars a year, or twenty thousand dollars. Now it will be found that, in consequence solely of the efficiency of this department, there has been a reduction of twenty per cent, on the rate of insurance within the period above specified. By this reduction of prcmivims alone, there is an annual gain to the city on its insurable real estate of ten thousand dollars ; the whole cost remunerated in two years. In this connection, let it be remembered how great is the security, in this respect, now enjoyed by the city ; and that, previously to its establishment, two fires, — that in Central, Kilby, and Broad Streets ; and that in Beacon Street, — occasioned a loss to it, at the least estimate, of eight hundred thousand dollars ! Unquestionably, greater economy may be introduced hereafter into this department, in modes which were impracticable at its commencement and in its earlier progi'ess. Measures having that tendency have been suggested. These, doubtless, future city councils will adopt, or substitute in their stead such as are wiser and better. All the chief great expenses, necessary to perfect efficiency, have been incuiTcd ; and little more remains to be done than to maintain the present state of completeness in its appointments. Under this head of protection against the elements, may be justly included the preservation of our harbor from the effects of waves and tempests. By the vigilance and successive applica- tion of the city government, the protection of the two great islands, on which depend the safety of om* internal and external roadsteads, has been undertaken by the General Government; and works are finished, or in progress, of a magnitude and strength exceeding all antecedent hope or expectation. 23 266 MUNICIPAL rnSTORY. In relation to what has hccn done in favor of general health, when this administi-ation came into power, of the two great branches on which depend the health of a city, the removal of street du-t, and of that which accumulates in and about the houses of private families, the former was almost entirely neg- lected, and the latter was conducted in a manner exceed- ingly offensive to the citizens. So great was the clamor and urgency of the citizens, and so imperious was deemed the duty, that the records of the Mayor and Aldermen will show that the present executive, on the first day of his office, indeed before he had been inducted into it an hour, made a recommendation to the City Council on the subject. From that time to the present, the arrangement of those subjects has been an object of inces- sant attention and labor. It was, until early in the present year, a subject of perpetual struggle and controversy, — first, with the old Board of Health, who claimed the jurisdiction of it ; then with contractors, whose interests the new arrangements thwart- ed ; then with the citizens, with whose habits, or prejudices, or interest they sometimes interfered. The inhabitants of the country were indignant that they could not enjoy their ancient privilege of carrying away the street dirt when they pleased, and the offal of families as they pleased. The inhabitants of the city, forgetting the nature of the material, and the necessity of its being subjected to general regulations, were also indignant, because they "could not, as they did formerly, do what they would with their own." For three years the right of the city to control this subject was contested in courts of law ; and it was not until last April, that the city authority overcame all opposi- tion, and acquired, by a judicial decision, complete jurisdiction in the case. Since that time, the satisfaction of the citizens with the con- duct of this troublesome concern, indicated not only by direct acknowledgment, but also by evidence still more unequivocal, has equalled every reasonable wish, and exceeded all previous anticipation. I state as a fact, that in a city containing probably sixty-five thousand inhabitants, and under an administration inviting and soliciting complaints against its agents, — during seven months, from May to November, both inclusive, amidst a hot season, in which a local alarm of infectious fever naturally excited great anxiety, concerning the causes tending to produce CITY GOVERN^IENT. 267 it, — the whole number of complaints from citizens, whose fami- lies were neglected by the agents of the city, made, or known to the Mayor or to any officers of the city, amounted only to the number of eig'ht iti a months or tivu in a ivcek, for the whole city I and four fifths of these, it is asserted by the intelligent and faith- ful superintendent of the streets, were owing to the faults of domestics rather than to his agents, — a degree of efficient action on a most difficult subject, which it is the interest of the citizens never to forget, as it shows what may be done, and, therefore, what they have a right to require. I refer to this topic with the more distinctness, because it is one of vital interest, not only to this, but to all populous cities. I know not that the practicability of establishing an efficient system for the removal from populous cities of these common and unavoidable nuisances has anywhere been more satisfacto- rily put to the test. Nor has the evidence of the direct eflects of such efficiency, upon the general health of the population, been anywhere more distinctly exhibited by facts. I speak before citizens who have enjoyed the benefits of these arrange- ments ; who now enjoy them; who see what can be effected; and what is reasonable, therefore, for them in this respect to claim at the hands of their public agents. I cannot close this head without referring to the tables con- nected with, and the facts stated in, the address I had the honor to make to the City Council at the commencement of the present year. It is there stated that the city authorities commenced a system- atic cleansing of the city, and removal of noxious animal and vegetable substances, with reference to the improvement of the general health and comfort, in the year 1823. " That the bills of mortality of this city, and calculations made on them for the eleven years, from 1813 to 1823 inclusive, show that the annual average proportion of deaths to the popu- lation was about one m forty-two P " Similar estimates on the bills of mortality of this city, since 1823, show that this annual average proportion was, for the four years, from 1824 to 1827 inclusive, less than one in ft fly ; for the two years, from 1826 to 1827 inclusive, less than one in ffty- fiveP It now appears, that, on the principles stated in these tables. 26S MUNICIPAL HISTORY. for the three years just terminated, 1826, 1827, 1828, the annual average proportion of deaths to population was less than one in fifty-seven. Upon the usual estimates of this nature, a city of equal popu- lation, in which this annual average should not exceed one in forttj-scven, would be considered as enjoying an extraordinary degree of health. From the facts thus stated, it is maintained that this city does enjoy an uncommon and gradually increasing state of general health ; and that for the four last years it has been unexampled. And although the whole of this important im- provement in the general health of the city is not attributed to the measures of the police, yet since, in the year 1823, a system was adopted expressly for the purpose of preventing disease, by an efficient and timely removal of nuisances, it is just and rea- sonable to claim for that system a portion of the credit for that freedom from disease, which, subsequently to their adoption, has resulted in a degree so extraordinary. The residue of what was then said upon this topic, I repeat, as being important enough to be reiterated, "I am thus distinct in alluding to this subject, because the removal of the nuisances of a city is a laborious, difficult, and repulsive service, requiring much previous arrangement and con- stant vigilance, and is attended with frequent disappointment of endeavors, whence it happens there is a perpetual natural tendency in those intrusted with municipal afll'airs, to throw the trouble and responsibility of it upon subordinate agents and contractors ; and very plausible arguments of economy may be adduced in favor of such a system. But if experience and reflec- tion have given certainty to my mind upon any subject, it is upon this ; that upon the right conduct of this branch of the police, the executive powers of a city should be made directly responsible, more than for any other ; and that it can never, for any great length of time, be executed well, except by agents under its immediate control ; and whose labors it may command at all times, in any way which the necessities, continually vary- ing, and often impossible to be anticipated, of a city, in this respect require." " In the whole sphere of municipal duties, there are none more important than those which relate to the removal of those CITY GOVERNMENT. 269 substances whose exhalations injuriously affect the air. A pure atmosphere is to a city what a good conscience is to an indivi- dual, — a perpetual source of comfort, tranciuillity, and self- respect." In relation to what has been done for the support of public education, considering the multiplied and pressing objects of attention, necessarily occurring in the first years of a new organ- ization of government, I know not that a greater degree of sup- port of this branch of public service could have been justly given or reasonably expected than has occurred. Under our ancient institutions, the scale of appropriations for this object was, of all others, the most liberal and complete. It was found, in 1823, with an annual expenditure of forty-four thousand five hundred dollars. It is left, at this day, with one of fifty-six thousand dollars. In the interval, two schoolhouses have been built and sites purchased at an additional direct expenditure of upwards of fifty-five thousand dollars. In addition to which the House of Reformation of Juvenile Offenders, which is, in fact, a school of most important character, has been established and supported at an expense akeady incurred of upwards of sixteen thousand dollars. But the High School for Girls has been suspended. As, on this topic, I have reason to thinic very gross misrepresentations and falsehoods have been circulated in every form of the tongue and the press, I shall speak plainly. It being in fact a subject on which my opinion has at no time been concealed. This school was adopted declaredly as " an experiment." It was placed under the immediate care of its known authors. It may be truly said that its impracticability was proved before it went into operation. The pressure for admission at the first examination of candidates, the discontent of the parents of those rejected, the certainty of far greater pressure and discontent which must occur in future years, satisfied every reflecting mind that, however desirable the scheme of giving a high classi- cal education, equal about to a college education, to all the girls of a city, whose parents would wish them to be thus educated at the expense of the city, was just as impracticable as to give such an one to all the boys of it at the city's expense. Indeed, more so, because girls not being drawn away from the college by preparation for a profession or trade, would have nothing 23* 270 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. except their marriage to prevent their parents from availing of it. No funds of any city could endure the expense. The next project was so to model the school as that, although professedly established for the benefit of all, it might be kept and maintained at the expense of the city for the benefit of the feuK The School Committee were divided equally on the resulting questions. The subject was finally postponed by the casting vote of the Chairman. As all agreed, that if the school was to be maintained according to its original conception, new and gi-eat appropriations were necessary, the Chairman was directed to make a report on the whole subject to the City Council. The r<>port indicated that, in such case, appropriations were indispensably necessary, but did not recommend them, because a majority of the Committee were not favorable to the project. That report was printed and circulated throughout the city. A year has elapsed, and not an individual in either branch of the City Council has brought forward the question of its revi- val by moving the necessary appropriations. No shield has ever before been jirotruded by the individual principally assailed as a defence against the calumnies which have been circulated on this subject. It has now been alluded to, more for the sake of other honorable men, who have, for a like cause, been assailed by evil tongues and evil pens, than for his own. In all this there is nothing uncommon or unprecedented. The public officer who, from a sense of public duty, dares to cross strong interests in their way to gratification at the public expense, always has had, and ever will have, meted to him the same measure. The beaten course is, first, to slander, in order to intimidate ; and if that fail, then to slander, in order to sacri- fice. He who loves his office better than his duty will yield and be flattered as long as he is . lool. He who loves his duty bet- ter than his office will stand erect and take his fate. All schools requiring high qualifications as the condition of admission, are essentially schools for the benefit, comparatively, of a very few. The higher the qualification, the greater the exclusion. Those whose fortunes permit them to avail them- selves of private instruction for their children, during their early years, — men highly educated themselves, who have leisure and ability to attend to the education of their own children, and thus CITY GOVERNMENT. 271 raise them at the prescribed age to the required qualification, — will chiefly enjoy the privilege. To the rest of the community, consisting of parents not possessing these advantages, admission to them is a lottery, in which there is a hundred blanks to a prize. The scheme to reduce the school to an attendance of one year, seems to be a needless multiplication of schools and of expense ; as it is plainly far better that a year should be added to the continuance in the common schools, and theu* course of insti'uction proportionably elevated. . The great interest of society is identified with her common schools. These belong to the mass of the people. Let the peo- ple take care, lest the funds which ought to be devoted exclu- sively to the improvement and elevation of these common schools, thus essentially theirs, be diverted to schools of high qualification. Under w^hatever pretence established, their neces- sary tendency is to draw away, not only funds, but also interest and attention from the common schools. The sound jjrinciple upon this subject seems lo be, that the standard of public education should be raised to the g-reatest desirable and practicable height; but that it should be effected bij raising- the standard of the com- mon schools. In respect of what has been done, in support of public morals, when this administration first came into power, the police had no comjjarative effect. The city possessed no house of coitcc- tion, and the natural inmates of that establishment were in our streets, on our " hills " or on our commons, disgusting the deli- cate, offending the good, and intimidating the fearful. There were parts of the city over which no honest man dared to pass in the night time ; so proud there and uncontrolled was the dominion of crime. The executive of the city was seriously advised not to meddle with those haunts, their reformation being a task altogether impracticable. It was attempted. The success is known. Who at this day sees begging in our streets ? I speak generally ; a transient case may occur. But there is none systematic. At this day, I speak it confidently, there is no part of the city through which the most timid may not walk, by day or by night, without cause of fear of personal violence. What streets present more stillness in the night time ? W'here, in a city of equal population, are there fewer instances of those crimes to which all populous places are subject ? 272 MUNICIPAL inSTORY. Doubtless much of this condition of things is owing to the orderly habits of our citizens, but much also is attributable to the vigilance which has made vice tremble in its haunts and fly to cities where the air is more congenial to it ; which, by pursu- ing the lawless vender of spirituous liquor, denying licenses to the worst of that class, or revoking them as soon as found in improper hands, has checked crime in its first stages, and intro- duced into these establishments a salutary fear. By the effect of this system, notwithstanding in these six years the population of the city has been increased at least fifteen thonscuid, the num-. ber of licensed houses has been diminished from six hundred and seventy-nine to five hundred and fifty-four. Let it be remembered that this state of things has been effected without the addition of one man to the ancient arm of the police. The name of police officer has indeed been changed to city marshal. The venerable old charter number of tiveniy- four constables still continue the entire array of city police ; and eighty watchmen, of whom never more than eighteen are out at a time, constitute the whole nocturnal host of police militant, to maintain the peace and vindicate the wrongs of upwards of sixty thousand citizens. If it be asked why more have not been provided, I answer, it has frequently been under consideration. But, on a view of all circumstances, and experience having hitherto proved the pre- sent number enough, there seemed no occasion to increase it, from any general theory of its want of proportion to the popula- tion, seeing that })ractically there seemed to be as many as were necessary. The good which has been attained, and no man can deny it is great, has been effected by directing unremittingly the force of the executive power to the haunts of vice in its first stages, and to the favorite resorts of crime in its last. To diminish the number of licensed dram-shops and tippling- houses ; to keep a vigilant eye over those which are licensed ; to revoke without fear or favor the licenses of those who were found violating the law ; to break up public dances in the brothels ; to keep the light and terrors of the law directed upon the resorts of the lawless, thereby preventing any place becoming dangerous by their congregation ; or they and their associates becoming insolent through sense of strength and numbers ; — CITY GOVERNMENT. 273 thepe have been the means ; and these means, faithfnily applied, are better than armies of constables and watehmen. They have been applied with as much fearlessness as though the exeentive office was not elective ; without regarding the fact, that the numerous class thus offended, their landlords, dependants, and coadjutors, had votes and voices in city elections. So far as these classes had any influence on a recent event, and it must have been small, the cause is not a matter of regret, but of pride. Without pressing these topics further into detail, and without stating how the condition of things was found at i}\e coming in of this administration, — because the faithful men who executed the ancient town government did as much as the form of organ- ization under which they acted permitted, — I shall simply state, in one view, how the city affairs, in respects not yet alluded to, have been left. Every interest of the city, so far as has come to the know- ledge of the city government, has been considered, maintained, and, as far as practicable, arranged. All the real estate of the city surveyed and estimated ; plans of it prepared ; the whole analyzed and presented in one view for the benefit of those who come after. The difficulties of the voting lists laboriously inves- tigated, and the sources of error ascertained, and in a gi-eat degree remedied. The streets widened, the crooked straightened, the great avenues paved and enlarged. They and other public places ornamented. Heights levelled. Declivities smoothed or diminished. The common sewers regulated and made more capacious. New streets of great width and utility, in the cen- tre of population, obtained without cost to the city. Its mar- kets made commodious. New public edifices, in the old city and at South Boston, erected ; the old repaired and orna- mented. These things have been done, not indeed to the extent which might be desired, but to a degree as great, considering the time, as could reasonably be anticipated. But then, — "the city debt," "the taxes," — "we are on the eve of bankruptcy." " The citizens are oppressed by the weight of assessments produced by these burdens." Such are the hol- low sounds which come up from the halls of caucusing discon- tent! 274 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. The state of the city debt has recently been displayed by offi- cial authority ; by which it appears, that, after deducting funds in the hands of the Committee for the reduction of the city debt, and also the amount of bonds, well secured by mortgages, paya- ble to the city, the exact city debt amounts to ^637,256.66 ; concerning which subject, I undertake to maintain two posi- tions : — 1st. It has not been, and never can be, a burden ; that is, it has not been, and never will be, felt in the taxes. 2d. So far from city bankruptcy, the state of its resources is one of enviable prosperity. It may be stated, with sufficient accuracy, that the present city debt is entirely the result of operations which obtained for the city the New Faneuil Hall Market, the City Wharf, and land north of the block of stores on North Market Street ; and of those which gave it, free of incumbrance, the lands west of Charles and Pleasant Streets. Now, this property iJiiis newly acquired by these operations, for which the city debt was incurred, may be exchanged, no intelligent man can doubt, at any hour, in the market, for an amount equal to the entire city debt. The property thus acquired, now in actual, unincumbered, undisputed possession of the city, consists, — 1. Of the New Market and its site, estimated by its annual incomes, (^26,000,) which are in their nature permanent, and must increase rather than diminish, at . . $500,000 2. City Wharf, estimated by some at $100,000 ; on this occasion it is put down at ... 75,000 3. Eight thousand five hundred and twenty-eight feet of land on both sides of the Mill Creek, and the new streets now completing in that vicinity; on this occasion estimated at, as an unquestion- able price, although its real value probably greatly exceeds 12,000 4. Twenty-eight acres and a half of land west of Charles and Pleasant Streets, exceeding 1,200,000 square feet, estimated only at ten cents ; which, how far it is exceeded by the fact, my fellow-citi- zens understand, is set down at . . . 120,000 $707,000 CITY GOVERNMENT. 275 Thus it appears the city is possessed of a real estate, of an unquestionable value, exceeding seven hundred thousand dollars^ as an offset for a debt oisix hundred and thirty-seven thousand dollars. It may confidently be said, that no capitalist of intelligence and resom-ces, equal to the purchase, would hesitate an hour to contract, on condition of a transfer of that property, to assume the whole city debt. Should I say, he would give a hundred thousand dollars as a bonus for the bargain, I should probably come nearer the truth. Am I not justified, then, in my position, that the marketable value of the real estate acquired and left to the city by that administration, greatly exceeds the amount of debt it has left ? The scales are not simply even ; they greatly preponderate in favor of the value of the property above the debt. It is no answer to this, to say, that the property thus neivly acquired is of a nature or value so important to the city, that it ought never to be disposed of. This is probably true ; at least of a very great part of it. But what of this ? Does not the fact show, that greatly as the marketable value of the pro- perty exceeds the debt, the value of it, in its interest or import- ance to the city, greatly exceeds even that marketable value? After this, have I not a right to assert, according to the usual and justifiable forms of expression, under circumstances of this kind, that, so far as respects the operations of the administration, noiv passing- avjay, they have left the city incumhered with no DEBT ; because they have left it possessed of a newly acquired real property, far greater in marketable value than the whole debt it has incurred ? Again, it has not only done this ; but when this subject is considered with reference to annual income received, and annual interest to be paid, it will be found that this administration leaves the city with a property, in real estate and bonds and mortgages, the income and interest of which amounts \o fifty- two thousand dollars, while the annual interest of the debt which it leaves is only forty-seven thousand dollars. If, then, the annual income of the property left be now, and ever must be, far greater than the annual interest of the debt incun-ed ; if the newly acquired real estate is, and always must be, far greater in marketable value than the whole amount of that debt, has not this administration a right to say, that, so far as respects its financial operations^ it has left the city incumbered IVith NO BURDEN AND NO DEBT. 276 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. If there is no debt, then there is no bankruptcy. Whatever estate the city now has, over and above that which is above specified, is so much clear and unincumbered property, to be used or improved for its advancement or relief in all future times and emergencies, according to the wisdom and fidelity of suc- ceeding administrations. Unless, indeed, that wisdom direct, as it probal^ly will, that the property above specified, obtained for the city by this administration, shall be kept as the best possible investment of city capital, and the proceeds of the other lands applied to the discharge of the debt incurred for the pmx-hase of the property thus acquired. Now, what is that clear, unincumbered city property which remains, after deducting that thus newly acquired? It consists of nothing less, as appears by the official report of the Commit- tee on Public Lands, than upwards oi Jive million three hundred thousand feet of land on the Neck and in different parts of the city, — capable of being sold, without any possible objection ; — lands belonging to the House of Industry, amounting to sixty acres ; and a township of land in the state of JNIaine, being neither of them included in this estimate. Without taking into consideration, then, the encouragement given to our mechanic interests ; to the influx of capital and population, which have been necessarily the effect of the activity of capital induced by the measures of the city government ; and confining myself to the single consideration of the amount and unincumbered state of the real property of the city, am I not justified in the assertion, that it is, in respect of its financial RESOURCES, ONE OF ENVIABLE PROSPERITY ? But " the taxes," " the taxes " are heavy beyond all prece- dent! In answer to which, I state, that the taxes have not increased in a ratio equal to the actual increase of property and 2')opuJalion. The Assessors' books will show, that the ratio of taxation has been less in every year of the seven years in which the city government has had existence, than was the ratio of any year in the next preceding seven years of the town government, one year only excepted ; and even in this it was less than in one of those next preceding seven years above-mentioned. Compar- ing the average of the ratios of these two periods of seven years together, it will be found, that while the average of the ratios of these seven years of the town government was eight dollars and CITY GOVERNMENT. 277 fifteen cents, the average of the ratios of the seven years of the city government has been only seven dollars and tiventij-scven cents. I might here close. But there have been objections made publicly to this executive, which, although apparently of a per- sonal nature, are, in fact, objections to the principles on which he has conducted his office. Now, in the particular relation in which that executive stood to his office, it was his duty well to consider those principles, since they might become precedents, and give a character and tone to succeeding administi'ations. He has uniformly acted under a sense of this relation, and of the obligations resulting from it ; and intentionally has done nothing, or omitted nothing, without contemplating it. . On this account, it may be useful to state those objections, and answer them. And first, it has been said, " The Mayor assumes too much upon himself. He places himself at the head of all committees. He prepares all reports. He permits nothing to be done but by his agency. He does not sit solemn and dignified in his chair, and leave general superintendence to others ; but he is every^vhere, and about every thing, — in the street ; at the docks ; among the common sewers ; — no place but what is vexed by his pre- sence." In reply to this objection, I lay my hand first on the city char- ter, which is in these words : — " It shall be the duty of the Mayor to be vigilant and active at all times, in causing the laws for the government of said city to be duly executed and put in force ; to inspect the conduct of all subordinate officers, in the government thereof, and, as far as in his power, to cause all negligence, carelessness, and positive violations of duty to be duly prosecuted and punished. It shall be his duty, from time to time, to communicate to both branches of the City Council all such information, and recommend all such measures as may tend to the improvement of the finances, the police, health, cleanliness, comfort, and ornament of the city." Now let it be remembered, that to the performance of these duties he was sworn ; and that he is willing to admit that he considers an oath taken before God as a serious affair ; and that having taken an oath to do such services, he is not of a spirit which can go to sleep or to rest after shifting the performance of them upon others. 24 278 MUNICIPAL mSTORY. As to his " seeing to every thing," who has a better right than he, who, at least by popular opinion, if not by the city charter, is made responsible for every thing ? Besides, why is it not as tiaie, in affairs of police as of agii- culture, that " the eye of the master does more work than both his hands." If those who made these objections intended " by doing every thing," that he has been obstinate, wilful, or overbearing in respect of those with whom he has been associated, I cheerfully appeal to you, gentlemen, how willingly, on all occasions, he has yielded his opinion to yours ; and how readily he has sub- mitted whatever he has A^a-itten to your corrections. If he took upon himself generally the character of draughtsman of reports, it was because your labors were gratuitous, and for his a salary was received. It was because he deemed it but just, that the " hireling " should bear the heat and burden, both of the day and the labor. Great assiduity and labor did appear to him essential requi- sites to the well performance of duty in that office. He could not persuade himself that the intelligent and industrious com- munity which possess this metropolis could ever be satisfied in that station with an indolent, selfish, or timid temper, or with any one possessed of a vulgar and criminal ambition. I cannot refrain, on the present occasion, from expressing the happiness with which I now yield this place to a gentleman^ possessing so many eminent qualifications ; whose talents will enable him to appreciate so readily the actual state of things ; who will be so capable of correcting what has been amiss ; changing what has been WTong ; and of maintaining what has been right. May he be happy I and long enjoy the honors and the confidence his fellow-citizens have bestowed ! And now, gentlemen, standing as I do in this relation for the last time, in your presence and that of my fellow-citizens, — about to surrender forever a station full of difficulty, of labor, and temptation, in which I have been called to very arduous duties, affecting the rights, property, and at times, the Hberty of others, concerning which, the perfect line of rectitude, though desired, was not always to be clearly discerned, — in which great ^ Harrison Graj" Otis. CITY GOVERmiENT. 279 interests have been placed within my control, under circumstan- ces in which it would have been easy to advance private ends and sinister projects ; under these circumstances, I inquire, as I have a right to inquire, — for, in the course of the recent contest, insinuations have been cast against my integrity, in this long management of yom- affairs, whatever en-ors have been commit- ted, and, doubtless, there have been many, — have you found in me any thing selfish, any thing personal, any thing mercenary? In the simple language of an ancient seer, I say, " Behold, here I am. Witness against me. Whom have I defrauded ? Whom have I oppressed ? At whose hands have I received any bribe ? " Six years ago, when I had the honor first to address the City Council, in anticipation of the event which has now occurred, the following expressions were used: — "In administering the police, in executing the laws, in protecting the riglits and pro- moting the prosperity of the city, its fu'st officer will be necessa- rily beset and assailed by individual interests ; by rival projects ; by personal influences ; by party passions. The more firm and inflexible he is in maintaining the rights and in pursuing the interests of the city, the greater is the probability of his becom- ing obnoxious to the censure of all whom he causes to be prose- cuted or punished ; of all whose passions he thwarts ; of all whose interests he opposes." The day and the event have come. I retire, — as in that first address I told my fellow-citizens, "if, in conformity with the experience of other republics, faithful exertions should be fol- lowed by loss of favor and confidence," I should retire, — "rejoic- ing, not indeed with a public and patriotic, but with a private and individual joy ; for I shall retire with a consciousness, w^eighed against which all human suffrages are but as the light dust of the balance." CHAPTER XIX. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1829. IIakkison Gray Otis, Mayor.^ Circumstances recalling the INIayor fi'om Private Life — Tribute to his Prede- cessors — Views concerning the City Debt — On the Supply of Pure Water — The Importance of Eailroads — Political Relations of the State and Union — Flats to the Eastward of the New JNIarket — Attempts to authorize Inspectors to place Names on the Voting Lists — Tribute to the Directors of the House of Industry — Chief Engineer of the Fire Department appointed — Resigna- tion of all the Assistant Engineers — Petitions to extend Wharves to the Channel —Relief to Sufferers by Fire in Georgia — Petitions for a General Meeting of Citizens on Railroads, and for a Grant of Land for their Accom- modation. On the fifth of January, 1829, the organization of the city government was this year transferred from the chamber of the Common Council to Faneuil Hall ; it being the era of a new administration of its affairs. After the usual solemnities, the Mayor delivered, in the presence of a large assembly of citizens collected on the occasion, the following inaugural address : — GENTLEMEN OF THE CITY COUNCIL: Nothing coidd be more unexpected by me than the circum- stances by the result of which I find myself in this place. After nearly thirty years of occupation in public affairs, with but short intermissions, I resigned my seat in the National Legislature with an intense desire, and, as I thought, unalterable purpose of passing the few years that might remain for me, in a private sta- tion. The objects for which I became a humble actor in the political scene were attained. The tempest which uprooted the I The whole number of votes cast were 4,546, of which Mr. Otis received 2,977. The Aldermen were, — Henry J. Oliver, John T. Loring, Samuel T. Ann- strong, Benjamin Russell, Thomas Kendall, James Hall, Wiuslow Lewis, and Charfes Wells. Eliphalet Williams was President of the Common Council. CITY GOVERmiENT. 281 institutions of the Old World had subsided. The broils which had agitated and endangered our own country, and kept the minds of all who took part in them in a state of discomfort were extinguished. The constitution was preserved, the government wise, and the people happy. Opportunity had been afforded of supporting, by my feeble aid, an administration which, under a different aspect of affairs, I had opposed. The public favor and confidence, both in measure and duration, had exceeded my esti- mate of my own pretensions ; and though it was not to be dis- sembled that this favor was in the wane, I carried into retkemcnt the consolation that if my services had not been valuable, neither had they been expensive to my country ; as I had never sought nor lingered long in any office of emolument. And I indulged the hope that, having done nothing to forfeit the approbation of my friends, the rigorous judgment formed of my conduct by those from whose political system I had formerly the misfortune to dissent, would not follow me beyond the tomb, and that the candid and charitable portion of them would not finally withhold from my motives and intentions the justice which I have never been con- sciously backward to render to theus. From this retirement I have been called by my fellow-citizens for a short season, under ckcumstances which make it a duty to obey their will. Their invitation was the more grateful as it was spontaneous. And great indeed will be my gratification, if, by cooperating with you, I shall be considered as having, in any reasonable measure, requited a demonstration of good-will from my fellow-citizens so flattering and honorable to me. It is now my province, and it will soon become my duty to communicate to you such information as may be requisite, and to recommend such measures as may seem to be conducive to the best interest of our city. But I stand merely upon the thresh- old of an office, with the interior of which most of you are more familiar than myself. I can touch only upon general topics, assuring you, however, that I will apply my entire time and attention to master the business of this department, and to apprise you of such details as you have a right to expect. And the utmost exertion of my faculties shall not be wanting in con- stant and united effort to cherish and extend the prosperity of the interesting concerns committed to our charge. It is indeed fortunate for us all, that the administration of this department 24* MUMCIPAL HISTORY. has hitherto been conducted under the auspices of those, whose different quahfications were eminently adapted to the varying exigencies of the station which they successively occupied. The novel experiment of city government was commenced by your first lamented Mayor with the circumspection and delicacy which belonged to his character, and which were entirely judicious and opportune. He felt and respected the force of ancient and honest prejudices. His aim was to allure, not to compel ; to reconcile by gentle reform, not to revolt by startling innovation ; so that while he led us into a new and fairer creation, we felt ourselves surrounded by the scenes and comforts of home. His successor entered upon othce with the characteristic energy of his distinguished talents. He felt that the hour had arrived for more radical reformation, and that the minds of the citizens were ripe for gi-eater change and more permanent improvements, and he devoted an assiduity that can never be surpassed, to a deve- lopment and application of the resom-ces of the city, which have materially contributed to its ornament, comfort, health, accom- modation, and in all respects lasting advantage. We are sur- rounded on all sides with the monuments of this enterprising, disinterested ;^eal. But they could not be consummated without expense. This affords to some a serious siibject of speculation on the future, and to others of complaint. But, after such cur- sory examination of the state of our finances, as time and oppor- tunity have enabled me to make, since I found it to be a duty, I perceive indeed the necessity of strict economy, but no just cause for uneasiness or complaint. Documents just made pub- lic, show the outstanding, funded debt (after deducting the amount of good and convertible securities) is about six hunched and thirty-seven thousand dollars. For the gradual extinguish- ment of this debt, provision is made by standing regulations, appropriating fifteen thousand dollars annually from the city tax ; the balances in the treasury at the end of the year, moneys arising from the sales of real estate, and payments made on account of the principal of bonds and notes. This process may be accelerated at your pleasure, by providing for a more rapid sale of the city lands. A subject on which I will be better pre- pared than I am at this moment to give an opinion. The appro- priation for the expense of the current financial year, which begins in May, was three hundred and twenty-eight thousand, CITY GOVERlS^IENT. 283 six hundred and twenty-five dollars, of which the assessed taxes constitute an amount of two hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars. It is not perceived, at present, that this sum can be diminished. But while unceasing attention is due to the devis- ing of ways and means for alleviating taxes, there is encourage- ment to presume, that if this cannot be effected by lessening the nominal amount, an increasing population and resources, by bringing to the support of the burden a greater contribution of strength, will diminish its pressure on the individual. In relation to the debt itself, it should be remembered that we retain, in a gi-eat measure at least, the value received. Our money has not evaporated in airy speculations, or been lavished in corrupt expenditures. Works of permanent utility have been established. The Market House, House of Industry, Prison, Schools, and other substantial monuments have been erected. Om- crooked paths have been made strait, and widened, and new avenues have been opened. The benefit of these and of some other improvements will extend to many generations yet to come, and those which immediately succeed should be con- tent to share a fair apportionment of the equivalent paid, should it be necessary or convenient to procrastinate a total redemption of the debt. It is possible that the scale on which some of these improvements were projected is somewhat in anticipation of future exigencies. But it is doubtful whether great plans, with- out this ingi-edient, would deserve to be regarded as improve- ments, supposing the city destined to advance in prosperity. On the other supposition, no great plan would, in fact, be an improvement, for none such should be undertaken. If a market would barely accommodate those who resort to it this year, inconvenience would arise the next year. The same remark is applicable to school houses, streets, and, in a degree, to all pub- lic buildings. We must proceed (certainly with discretion) on the presumption that population and wealth have not come to a stand ; and if none of us would now be ready to surrender these appendages in retm'n for the price of the purchase, that consideration should go far towards reconciling us to the condi- tions on which we have obtained them. From the great improvements which were requned by the necessities of the city, two inconveniences have arisen which were unavoidable, and will, it is believed, be temporary. First, 284 MUNICIPAL mSTORY. a sudden transfer of value from some parts of the city to others, by which the proprietors of old estates have been injured, while, by the increase of accommodation beyond the demand, the pur- chasers of the new have failed to realize the fair profits of their investments. Secondly, the city became a purchaser of lands to sell again, and thus far a competitor with individuals in private enterprise. Probably, therefore, the time has come when pru- dence may recommend a pause from gi-eat and expensive attempts, and it may be incumbent on us who are intrusted with this year's administration, to look rather to the preserva- tion and completion of what has been finished or commenced, than to new midertakings. There is, however, wanting to the city a convenience of which, it is ventm-ed to assert, it should never lose sight, — an abundant supply of wholesome water. The object has been placed before the City Council on a former occasion by my predecessor in striking relief ; and I am free to avow my conviction of the correctness of the views by him exhibited in relation to it. Another object, however, is lately brought into view by the spirit of the age we five in, the importance of which, if within the reach of the city, it would not be easy to exaggerate, — a communication with the country by railway. This city, from its earliest foundation, has been advancing in a regular progression of populousness and wealth. And though, in both these respects, it has not kept pace with other cities, yet the population has increased in a ratio sufficiently indicative of its prosperous tend- encies, and wealth continues to bear a gi-eater proportion to population than is perhaps elsewhere to be seen. So long as these advantages shall continue, the gi'owth of o'" sister cities will furnish no cause of envy or regret. The time which has elapsed since the ti-eaty of Ghent, enables us to form a suffi- ciently correct estimate of the probable operation of cu'cura- stances on the interests of this city in any other period of peace of the same duration. We have experienced all the vicissitudes of business which arise from a transition from war to peace, and the efforts made by commerce, both external and internal, to adjust themselves to new positions, and to surmount the embar- rassments and consequences inseparable from such change. Among these, may be reckoned the fluctuation of trade with foreign countries, the perplexities gi-owing out of their commer- CITY GOVEKKMENT. 285 cial regulations, and, on the whole, its sensible diminution. The effects of excessive exports and imports ; the occasional drains and refluxes of specie ; the corresponding increase of the coasting trade; the alternation of scarcity and surplus in the money market, by the operation of the banking system ; the rise and progress of the manufacturing interests, and the variations in the employment afforded to the middUng and laboring classes of our feUovi^-citizens. The result of these mutations proves the condition of our city to be sound and vigorous. Great fortunes are no longer accumulated ; but judicious enterprise and honest industry are generally rewarded by competent gain. The me- chanic is employed, and the laborer receives his hire. This state of things demands our highest gratitude to the Giver of all good, and justifies the inference, that if we can maintain our natural resources and connections, we shall find no cause for despond- ence. But it is not to be disguised, that these connections are menaced with interruptions and diversions, requiring exertion and vigilance to obviate their effects. All parts of the Union but New England are alive to the importance of estabhshing and perfecting the means of communication by land and water. The magic of raising states and cities in our country to sudden greatness, seems mainly to consist in the instituting of canals and railroads. The choice, therefore, is not left to us of reaping the fruits of our natural resources, and from abstaining from all part in these enterprises. The state and city must be up and doing, or the streams of our prosperity wiU seek new channels. We must preserve our intercommunication with each other and with oin: sister States by the methods which they adopt, or we shall be left insulated. Our planet cannot stand stUl, but may go backward without a miracle. The question will arise, and we must prepare to meet it, not whether raihoads are sub- jects of lucrative speculation, but whether they be not indispen- sable to save this State and city from insignificance and decay. It would be quite premature to enlarge in a dissertation on par- ticulars connected with this subject. Unless the surveys and calculation of skilful persons employed in this business are falla- cious, there is no doubt that a railroad from this city to the Hudson may be made with no greater elevation in any part than is found between the head of Long Wharf and the Old State House ; and that the income would pay the interest of 286 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the capital employed. Reports and documents from commis- sioners appointed by the Legislatm-e, may, it is believed, be expected at an early day. Should they be as favorable as is anticipated, to the practicability of the undertaking, they will present to our citizens and to us materials for more grave consi- deration than can arise from any other subject. I will not trust myself to express the joy I should feel in ascertaining that the undertaking is )iot only feasible, but within the compass of the resources of the State or city, or of enterprising individuals, or of all united, and that they would be so applied. These feel- ings, however, will never, I trust, stimulate me to recommend measures that shall not have undergone and been found equal to sustain the closest scrutiny. It is now intended, merely by general allusion, to invite you to turn your thoughts to the sub- ject, and to familiarize yourselves to reflect upon the probable (I may say) certain effects of a communication which, by connect- ing this city with the Hudson, would open a market to the regions beyond it, and be realized in then- immediate influence in every house, wharf, store, and workshop. Nor would the con- sequences be less propitious to the country through which it would pass ; converting its wastes into villages, its forests into fields, its fields into gardens, and the timber and granite of its mountains into gold. While, on the one side, public attention will be attracted towards facilitating intercourse by land, great advantages would result on the other, from an extended plan of steam navigation to Maine and to the British Provinces and to the Island of Nantucket. The apathy hitherto prevailing, in relation to this scheme, is unaccountable. But as the success of it can be expected only from individual enterprise, it is men- tioned merely for the sake of respectfully commending it to the patronage of your separate opinions and influence out of doors. Gentlemen, I will now bespeak your indulgence for a few moments upon a matter which, though not directly appertaining to the municipal sphere, may not, when candidly weighed, be regarded as misplaced and unseasonable on this occasion. It is quite apparent to all our feflow-citizens, that the honor of the chair which I now occupy, is not the fruit of any party struggle. With the friends of former days, whose constancy can never be forgotten, others have been pleased to unite (and to honor me with their suffrages) who hold in high disapprobation the part I CITY go\t:rkment. 287 formerly took in political affairs. Their support of me on this occasion is no symptom of a change of their sentiments in that particular. I presume not to infer from it even a mitigation of the rigor with which my public conduct has been judged. But it is not presumptuous to take it for granted, that those v/ho have favored me with their countenance on this occasion, confide in my sense of the obligation of veracity, and of the aggravated profligacy that would attend a violation of it, stand- ing here in the presence of God and my country. On this faith, I feel myself justified by circumstances to avail myself of this occasion, the first, and probably the last, so appropriate, that will be in my power, distinctly and solemnly to assert, that, at no time in the course of my life, have I been present at any meet- ing of individuals, public or private, of the many or the few, or privy to correspondence, of whatever description, in which any proposition, having for its object the dissolution of the Union, or its dismemberment in any shape, or a separate confederacy, or a forcible resistance to the government or laws, was ever made or debated ; that I have no reason to believe, that any such scheme was ever meditated by distinguished individuals of the old fede- ral party. But, on the other hand, every reason which habits of intimacy and communion of sentiments with most of them afforded, for the persuasion that they looked to the remote possibility of such events as the most to be deprecated of all calamities, and that they would have received any serious proposal, calculated for those ends, as a paroxysm of political delirium. This statement will bear internal evidence of truth to all who reflect that among those men were some by the firesides of whose ancestors the principles of the Union and independence of these States were first asserted and digested ; from which was taken the coal that kindled the hallowed flame of the Revolution ; from whose ashes the American eagle rose into life. Others who had conducted the measures and the armies of that Revolution, — Solomons in council, and Samsons in combat. Others who assisted at the birth of the federal constitution, and watched over its infancy with paternal anxiety. And I may add, to the best of my knowledge and belief, that all of them regarded its safety and success as the best hope of this people, and the last hope of the friends of liberty throughout the world. Are treasonable, or dis- 288 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. loyal plots or purposes, consistent with these relations ? It would seem to be hardly conceivable ; yet it is possible. The lost archangels caballed and revolted against the government of heaven ; favorites, rioting in the sunshine of royal favor, have turned traitors to their king ; and republicans, sickening with the higher glory of the love and confidence of the people, have enslaved them to factions and sold them to tyrants. Such foul conspira- cies may have been in our time. But should they be credited without evidence proportioned to their probable enormity ? with- out doings as well as sayings ? without any evidence whatever ? Secret cabals and plots are the constant theme of suspicion and accusation in times of political excitement ; and they can be dis- affirmed only by the simple negation of the parties accused, until the proofs are adduced. Ai'e unguarded slips of the tongue, or passionate invectives, proofs which ought to satisfy impartial minds ? Surely, it is not for the honor or prosperity of this city or of any party, that it should be stigmatized as the head-quar- ters, not of good principles, but of treasonable machinations. The discredit of the malaria once fixed would affect the reputa- tion of all. The distinction between leaders and led, so insult- ing to freemen who are supposed to come under the latter deno- mination, will not be recognized ; and if you are known to come from the infected district, those who hold their nostrils and avoid you will not stop to inquire, whether the plague were in yom' own family. I again express my hope, that these remarks will not be con- sidered ill-timed. They are a testimony offered in defence of the memory of the honored dead, and of patriotic survivors who have not the same opportunity of speaking for themselves. Their object is not personal favor, though I am free to admit, that I am not indifferent to the desire of removing doubts and giving satisfaction to the minds of any who, by a magnanimous pledge of kind feelings towards me, have a claim upon me for every candid explanation and assm-ance in my power to afford. Moreover, the harmony of our fellow-citizens may be promot- ed by a right understanding of these matters. The history of republican states and cities is soon told. Parties gi'ow up from honest ditferencc of opinion on the policy of measm-es. In pro- cess of time, the subject of controversy dies a natural death ; and if personal animosities could be bmied in the same grave all would be well. . CITY GOVERNMENT. 289 In that event, the people Avould have a respite from party- struggle, and when new contests and dissensions should arise, they would again choose sides from principle, and take a new departure from each other, free from the fetters and irritation of former alliances. The virulent humors of the body politic would not collect in the old wounds, but be again dispersed and cured by the com'se of nature. But this happy termination of political strife, with its original causes, seems not to accord with experi- ence. The names and badges and attitude of parties are pre- served ; antipathies become habits. INIen resolve to differ eter- nally, without cause, for the mere reason of having once differed for good cause. One portion of the people is excluded by the other from the public service. Parties become factions. The torch of discord blazes while the fii-e of patriotism expires, and the fierce and unholy passions which have rent the Republic sur- vive its ruin. May our beloved city prove an exception to these sad examples. Gentlemen, the duties on which we are about to enter are not classed with those of high political dignity ; but if they are less fascinating to the ambitious, they are not without attrac- tion to the benevolent. "We are intrusted with the care of institutions which have a daily bearing upon the morals, education, health, and comfort of our fellow-citizens. Om- population exceeds that of more than one State at the time of admission into the Union. Its interests are not the less precious, because they are condensed in one spot. While the political government are occupied with counsels which look to the wealth and safety and glory of the nation, what better can we do than to consult together for the happiness of those among whom many of us were born and all of us live, and which is indissolubly linked to our own. On you, gentlemen, I shall rely for concurrence, in whatever may tend to this object, and I will refer by messages to your intelligence and consideration all matters that, by the charter, require that direction. On the twelfth of January, the subject of the flats lying to the eastward of Faneuil Hall Market came under the consideration of the City Council, and a committee was raised and invested with full authority to fill them up ; and to borrow money for 25 290 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. that object, on the terms and on the conditions and restrictions contained in the vote on that subject of the preceding City Council. In October, the superintendent of these operations reported them to be finished, and the cost of filling the flats up as having been seventeen thousand three hundred dollars. On the nineteenth of the same month, a petition from a number of citizens was presented, praying for such an alteration in the city charter, that the warden and inspectors in the respect- ive wards may have the right to receive the vote of any person duly qualified, though his name be not borne on the voting list. The subject was referred to a committee of both branches of the City Council, of which the Mayor was chairman, who, on the second of February, reported that " it would not be expedient to grant the right prayed for, to the warden and inspectors, as it would be giving them the power of deciding upon the qualifica- tions of voters amid the urgent business of an election ; that such a power would be liable to great interruption in its exer- cise, under such unfavorable circumstances ; would produce dis- putes and delay, and give rise to different decisions in different wards under similar circumstances and evidence, tending also to render the lists of the voters imperfect, and in the end useless, as the citizens would be remiss in procuring their names to be entered, knowing that the remedy could be done at the polls. On the whole subject, the Committee refer to a report made December twenty-second, 182S,i to the last City Council, (which was then printed and distributed,) " for an elaborate exposition of facts and principles relative to this subject." It is on the whole believed, that whatever improvement can be made in the means of enabling the citizen to ascertain whether his name be inserted on the list of voters, and to enable him to have it thus placed, prior to the election, ought to be adopted ; but that no government is bound to protect its citizens against wilful negli- gence and inattention to their own privileges. By this report tvvo resolutions were submitted, the first requesting and direct- ing the Assessors to take jn-oper measures for making out the voting lists, in each ward, by noting the names of the qualified voters at the time of making out the tax lists, so that the voting lists may be completed in each ward as near as may be at the 1 See page 237. CITY GOVERNMENT. 291 same time with the tax lists of such ward ; and that they prepare and transmit to the Mayor and Aldermen, corrected voting lists of all the wards, on or before the first day of October, in each year. The second, declaring it to be the duty of the Mayor and Aldermen, as soon as they shall have received a certified tran- script of the voting lists, pursuant to the preceding resolution, to cause a copy thereof to be posted in some public place in each ward, and to give public notice, in one or more newspapers of the several places in which such lists shall be posted. The above report was accepted, and the resolutions passed, in the City Council. On the second of February, 1829, a committee of the City Council was appointed on the memorial of the Directors of the House of Juvenile Offenders, of which the Mayor was Chair- man, who reported, that " they had repaired to the site of the institution for the purpose of inspection, and examining into the state of its discipline, government, and general condition, and had a full conference and comparison of views with the Direct- ors and Superintendents of said House and of the House of Industry, with which the same is in some measure connected ; and after due examination into the premises, the Committee are gratified in expressing their approbation of the fidelity, industry, and ability, which are manifested in the administration of the affairs of the institution, by the Directors and other officers, and their persuasion of the real advantages resulting and promised to the City and Commonwealth from the system established and enforced by those who have the management of it, in all the departments ; and that the thanks of the community are spe- cially due to those individuals who have devoted, and persevere in devoting, their time and attention to the advancement of its interests, with no other reward but that of conscious benevo- lence, and a regard to the cause of humanity." The Report concluded with a recommendation to the City Council to caiTy into view the measures suggested by those Directors, which were presented in the form of a bill, defining more precisely the powers and duties of those Directors, and of the other officers of the institution. On the ninth of February, the Mayor nominated Thomas C. Amory, Chief Engineer of the Fire Department, which was 292 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. concun-ed in by the City Council ; and on the same day all the Assistant Engineers of the last year were nominated, and appointed by unanimous vote of that body. And on the twenty-ninth of the same month the Assistant Engineers all presented a memorial to the City Council, " requesting that measures may be taken, as soon as consistent with the con- venience of the city authorities, to elect others to supply their places ; and that in the mean time they will act as heretofore, and give all the aid and assistance in their power in subduing the common enemy." On the twenty-fifth of March ensuing, a vote passed the Board of Aldermen, giving their thanks to the late Assistant Engineers of the Fire Department, for the fidelity and alacrity uniformly manifested by them in the discharge of their arduous duties, with an assurance of the sense entertained by the Board of the value of their services and example, in pro- moting the efficient organization of that department. On the same day, the vacancies thus created were filled by electing twelve other citizens to constitute a new board of Assistant Engineers. And on the first of April ensuing, the salary of one thousand dollars for the Chief Engineer was estabfished by the city authorities, to be computed from the sixteenth of the pre- ceding February, and paid quarterly. Until this time the ser- vices of the Chief Engineer had been gratuitously rendered. In February, 1828, petitions having been presented to the Legislature of the State by the proprietors of wharves at the northerly part of the city, for permission to extend them into the channel of the harbor, the Mayor, apprehensive that such a permission might injuriously affect the free navigation of the channel, requested the Legislature to suspend its proceedings, and by special message brought the subject before the City Council, as being obviously of gi-eat importance ; stating that, although it is quite conceivable, that, in certain situations, wharves may be extended to some reasonable length into the channel without deti'iment to the harbor, yet it may be expected, that privileges granted to one set of proprietors, will be claimed with gi-eat importunity by others ; and that embairassment may arise to the city government from precedents, established with- out due consideration ; that it by no means foffows of course, that, because a license may be granted to extend a wharf in a place where the channel is wide, and where the current would CITY GOVERN^IENT. 293 not be injuriously affected, a similar permission should be given in other cases, to which the dimensions of the channel and the effect on the current would present serious objections. Caution and deliberate examination by impartial judges, seemed to him requisite to make proper discrimination, to preserve limits and terms to every such license, as well as to the mode of carrying it into effect. In some positions, wharves erected on piles might be tolerated, which, if of solid construction, would be formidable nuisances. The Mayor, therefore, suggested the expediency of appointing commissioners, composed of merchants and others acquainted with the circumstances of the harbor, to examine and report upon every such application, such facts and opinions as may guide the city government in deciding on its merits; and that every permission granted by the Legislature should be on condition, that the work be executed in a mode satisfactory to the agents of the city government. This recommendation resulted at first in the passing, by the Board of Aldermen, of two resolutions, requesting the Mayor to present a remonstrance on the subject, in behalf of the City Council, and suggesting the expediency of having the entire power over the whole subject delegated to the city authorities. These resolutions were, how- ever, non-concurred in the Common Council, and an order passed proposing a joint committee of the City Council, to take such measures as they may deem proper to protect the rights and interests of the city, in the extension of wharves into the chan- nel of the harbor, with power to appear before the Committee of the Legislature that had the subject in hearing; and, if neces- sary, to employ the City Solicitor to maintain the rights of the city in the premises. In this resolution the Mayor and Alder- men concun'cd. In April, 1829, the Mayor communicated a letter from a com- mittee appointed by the citizens of Augusta, in the State of Georgia, stating " that that city had recently suffered greatly in consequence of a tremendous conflagration," which had con- sumed about two hundred houses, and deprived more than fifteen hundred persons of a house, and praying relief. The City Coun- cil accordingly ordered, that a copy of the letter should be sent to each of the pastors of the several churches in Boston, and authorized the Mayor to recommend, in behalf of the Board, a contribution thereon for the relief of those sufferers. On the 25* 294 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. twenty-fifth of May, Alderman Armstrong, as Treasurer of the contributions of the several churches in the city for the relief of the suflferers of Augusta, stated, that the amount collected was two thousand two hundred and forty-seven dollars and fifty- eight cents, which the City Council authorized the Mayor to transmit to the Committee appointed by the sufferers to receive contributions, which was immediately done, and in June follow- ing, the receipt of that amount was acknowledged by the Committee, in a letter to the Mayor, "expressing the grateful feehngs with which so acceptable a benefaction had been re- ceived, heightened by the reflection, that neither distance nor the absence of intimate relations could repress an exercise of libe- rality so honorable to his fellow-citizens." This letter was ordered by the City Council to be entered at large on their records, and be published. In May, 1829, it having been represented to the Mayor, that causes were slowly but certainly operating unfavorable effects upon the navigable waters of the inner harbor, and that the part of the channel extending from the Long Wharf, or thereabouts, southerly to the new bridge at South Boston, is gradually becoming more shallow from various causes ; that vessels lying at the wharves in that space are endangered by easterly and northeasterly storms ; and that there is no position, in that quarter, which can safely be occupied by steamboats, owing to the peculiarity of their construction, he presented the subject by special message to the attention and care of the city govern- ment, stating that if the flats, lying in the channel, (beyond the reach of individual claims,) were the property of the city, im- provements might be made upon them by means of breakwaters or island wharves, that would aftbrd effectaal protection to the wharves and harbor in that quarter, and obviate the increasing shallowness of the channel; that such improvements might be made without expense to the city, and possibly on contracts that would afford some ultimate revenue; that the fiats are manifestly not, and can never become, of value to the Common- wealth, except indirectly, as they may be subservient to the safeguard and navigation of the harbor ; and that it could not be doubted, that upon suitable application on behalf of the city to the Legislature, a cession might be obtained of the flats above-mentioned, and which, being in possession of the city, CITY GOVERmiENT. 295 might, under their direction and authority, be converted to the public benefit ; that it would seem more proper and necessary, that these flats should become the property of the city, inas- much as memorials are frequently presented to the Legislatm-e for private grants and immunities, by the proprietors of wharves and estates lying in that neighborhood, (and others may be anticipated,) of the reasonableness or injurious tendency of which, as well as of the limitations and regulations to which, if gi-anted, they ought to be subjected, the city government would possess the most competent means of deciding, the premises being constantly under their observation. The Mayor, therefore, suggested the appointment of a committee, with full powers to apply to and endeavor to obtain from the Legisla- ture a grant of the premises, or of a portion thereof, sutlicient for the purposes above expressed. These views of the Mayor were immediately carried into effect in the City Council, by appointment of a committee for the purposes expressed in the message. In June following, the Committee reported, that the views presented by the Mayor were coiTect, and confirmed by the opinion of the Boston Marine Society, who had investigated the subject at their request ; and resolutions were reported and passed by the City Council, authorizing the Mayor to apply to the Legislature for a grant of the flats specified, and the Sena- tors and Representatives of the city were requested to aid in obtaining the grant. In February, 1829, on a petition signed by the requisite number of qualified voters, a warrant was issued by the City Council for a general meeting of citizens, on a day appointed for that purpose, to give in their ballots, by yea and nay, on the following resolutions : — 1. Resolved, That in our opinion it is expedient for the Com- monwealth to construct a railroad, on the most eligible route from Boston to the western line of the county of Berkshire, so that, in conjunction with the authorities of the State of New York, it may be extended to the most desirable point on the Hudson River, near Albany or Troy ; and also from Boston to the Pawtucket River, at or near Providence, in the State of Rhode Island. 2. Resolved, That in case the Legislatm-e should deem it 296 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. expedient to construct said railroads, wholly at the expense of the State, that the city government be authorized and requested to apply to the Legislature for an act to enable any cities, towns, or bodies corporate, or individuals, to subscribe for such portion of said stock as may not be taken by the State, on such terms and conditions as may be deemed expedient. On the day appointed, a general meeting of the citizens of Boston was holden in Fanueil Hall, and both resolutions were passed by upwards of three thousand votes in the affirmative to less than sixty in the negative. An application to that effect was immediately made by the City Council to the Legislatm-e, in conformity with those reso- lutions. In November, a number of citizens petitioned the City Coun- cil, praying them to appropriate a suitable piece of land on the flats between the Western Avenue and Boylston Street, in aid of, and as a convenient terminus for warehouses, and a depot for a railroad, then proposed from the city to Brattleborough, in Vermont. This petition was refen-ed to the Mayor and Alder- man Loring, and to Messrs. Everett, EUis, and Rayner, of the Common Council. This Committee, in December following, reported, "that the establishment of railroads connecting the city with the interior country, is of such vital importance to the prosperity of the former, as to leave no room to doubt, that the city government will ever be actuated by a disposition to promote the success of these ope- rations, (when plans for them shall be matured,) by all reason- able aid and means within the limits of their constitutional authority. The location of land for the termination of such railroads in the city, appears to the Committee to involve many important considerations, which, in the present incipient stage of the business, the City Council are not competent to examine and weigh. It is a measure, also, upon which any company obtaining a charter would reserve the right of deciding for itself; and a premature assignment of lands for the proposed object might not only be rejected by such company, but prevent sub- scriptions to the stock by individuals, who would be dissatisfied in perceiving the adoption of views, which might preclude them from an entire freedom of voting and deciding upon what might be deemed a very essential feature in any enterprise of this CITY GOVERKMENT. 297 kind.'" The Committee, therefore, recommended the passage of a resolve : — " That it is not expedient for the City Council to make any grant or assignment of land for the accommodation of railroads, until one or more charters of incorporation shall be obtained for the construction of such railroads, and the City Council shall thus be enabled to act upon distinct information of all cu-cumstances, in reference as well to the provisions of such charters, and as to their authority to make such grants under the charter of the city and the laws of the Common- wealth." This resolve was passed in concuiTence by both branches of the City Council. CHAPTER XX. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1830. Harrison Gray Otis, 2Iayor.'^ Prosperous State of the City — Embarrassment of the IManufactiiring Interests, and its Causes — Completion of the City Wharf — State of the City Debt — Sale of Public Lands — Condition of the Flats to the West of the Neck — State of the Court- Houses — Protection of our Outer Harbor — Centennial Celebration resolved upon — Grant of the City Hall for Sales of Domestic Manufactures Rescinded — Sale of Spirituous Liquors on the Common Pro- hibited — Old State House to be called " The City Hall " — Centennial Cele- bration of the Settlement of Boston. The records of the Mayor and Aldermen on the fourth of Jan- uary, 1830, state, that " a message was received from the Mayor, expressing his regrets that indisposition prevented his having the honor of meeting the gentlemen of the Board of Aldermen and Common Council in their own chambers ; and, therefore, he respectfully requested their presence at his house, at such hour as might be agreeable to them, to qualify for their respective functions. The members of both branches of the City Council then proceeded to the mansion-house of the Mayor, where the government was organized with the usual solemnities ; after wliich, the Mayor delivered the following inaugural address : — GENTLEMEN OF THE CITY COUNCIL: The season has returned, in which we who are chosen by our fellow-citizens to administer their municipal concerns for the cuiTent year, are expected to enter upon the discharge of our respective functions. Our acknowledgments are due to the Great Disposer of all events for having preserved to our constituents, throughout the 1 The whole number of votes were 1,96G; of which the Mayor received 1,844. The Aldermen wei-e Henry J. Oliver, John F. Lorinn;, Samuel T. Armstrong, Benjamin Russell, Wiuslow Lewis, Charles Wells, Moses Williams, John B. M'Cleary. CITY GOVERmiENT. 299 past year, the possession of the principal blessings, on which depend the welfare and comfort of populous cities. The health- iness of the city, always unrivalled, has been preserved at least to its usual standard. With the advantages of heaUh have been united those of plenty. Our markets and magazines are filled to exuberance with all that is needful for sustenance, or condu- cive to comfort and luxury, at reasonable and reduced prices. We live also in a state of peace, which seems not to be threat- ened with approaching interruption. The public concerns of the State and nation are thus far well-administered, and no indication is manifested, in the communications of the executive government of the United States, of plans or schemes of policy calculated to inspire apprehensions of measures unfavorable to the interests of this community. These circumstances seem to embrace all that is requisite for the prosperity of an industrious and enterprising people. They have, however, for the last two years, been counteracted by others, which have opposed se- rious impediments to our advancement. The capitalists and merchants of this city, influenced by the strong demonstrations manifested in other parts of the Union in favor of the manufac- turing policy and by the patronage of government, and allured by fallacious estimates of great profits made by others, in vio- lence of then* natural predilections and habits, have invested an undue portion of capital in manufacturing establishments. Their example was followed by those whose capital consisted wholly in their spirit of enterprise. Hence ensued a disastrous competition. The establishments bottomed on substantial funds were stimulated to launch forth beyond the natural and reason- able limits of those funds. They could not renounce the market without ruin, and their rivals could not maintain themselves in it without sacrifices, that must end in ruin. This crisis was eagerly seized by the British manufacturers as furnishing an occasion to extinguish, perhaps forever, the manufacturing sjiirit in this country ; and they inundated our market with the redun- dancy of their own. Hence resulted an excessive plethora, and consequent depreciation of value, loss, and sacrifice by forced sales. Owing to these incidents, combined with the unwise and improvident system of our legislation as respects manufac- turing corporations, and with the uncertainty of the future policy of the government, disturbed by the vehemence of opposition to 300 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. the protecting system originating here, hence extending to other States, and brought back by violent reaction — add to these the panic which always aggravates calamitous events — it has hap- pened, as might be foreseen, that property vested in manufac- tures has for a time become valueless as a medium of exchange, or a foundation for credit or accommodation in any form. By these means, many of our worthy citizens are ruined, others cramped and embarrassed, and our whole community become less able to embark in other enterprises, which would augment the wealth and resources of the city. There is, however, a cheering prospect that the fierceness of this storm has over- blown ; that oiu- affairs, in common with those of other parts of the world, will gradually find their level, with less of injury to the city than our fears would seem to justify ; and that, after the struggle of half a century, in peace and in war, our nation will have secured the privilege and the faculty of manufacturing for itself. Neither the state of public sentiment, nor the condition of our treasury at the close of the year, authorized the expectation that appropriations would be made for expensive public build- ings, or improvements of any description. Accordingly, nothing in this line has been attempted. The City Wharf has been completed, and promises a revenue, which, after a few years, will reimburse its cost, and be then applicable to other objects. Two new engine-houses, two school-houses, and a cottage for the resident Physician on Hospital Island, are the only new buildings erected the past year. Five new reservoirs have also been completed. The amount of the city debt, on the first of May last, was $9] 1,850. Of which the sum paid by the Committee on the reduction of the public debt, beyond the amount of moneys borrowed to be applied to that object, is $54,100. There was also borrowed for the payment of debt to the Mercantile Wharf Corporation, and for the completion of Faneuil Hall Market, the sum of $25,880.75. So that the true deduction from the amount of the debt as it stood in May last, up to this day, is $28,219.25. Thus leaving the aggregate amount of the city debt at this time, $883,630. The only personal assets on which reliance can be placed, as a partial offset against this debt, are bonds and securities due to the city, of $257,341.42. Apart from these, the only fund available for the reduction or CITY GOVERNMENT. 301 extinguishment of this debt, must be found in the city's lands ; and it follows, of course, that in the judicious management and disposal of these lands can be found the only resources for public credit, and for the ultimate improvement of the city, without resort to dkect taxation, and that no object can be more worthy of our constant vigilance. I have great faith in the intrinsic value of these lands, which, owing to the vestm-e in which they are permitted to remain, is not sufficiently appreciated. They certainly will not take care of themselves. It is essential to any project for the lucrative sale of them, that a prospective plan should be adopted and estabHshed, so that purchasers may calculate with reasonable certainty upon future, as well as present advantages. It is also indispensable to the success of such project, that moderate appropriations should be made, from time to time, to enable the commissioner, under instructions from the Mayor and Aldermen, at the sole expense of the city, or by cooperating with other proprietors, (as the case' may be,) to make such drains, dikes, and canals, as may pu/ -rtain parts of the land in a marketable condition. I am far uom recommending the expenditure of large amounts upon uncertain speculation ; but am also satisfied, that, without "some disbursement, nothing valuable can be effected. For , this purpose, the needful sums might be bor- rowed as wanted, reimbursable from the first sales ; thus mak- ing a nominal temporary addition to the debt, for the sake of its sure, effective, and ultimate payment. There could be little danger of serious aberration in this procedure. These lands arc- in some places contiguous to those of individual proprietors, whose well-directed sagacity and enterprise have converted pre- mises possessing no supereminent advantages into populous sti-eets and squares, and at rates, which, realized by the city, would not only extinguish its debt, but contribute an ample fund for future improvements, and relief from our annual burden. Nothing is perceived to inhibit those intrusted with the sale of your lands from looking over the shoulders of these wise stew- ards and profitmg by then- experience, but funds necessary for occasional advances. In this connection it is my duty to state, that the condition of the flats w^est of the neck is regarded by eminent physicians as becoming pregnant with danger to the health of the city. It is an unwelcome truth, that the inter- 2() 302 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. mittent fever is no longer confined to those region?, to which it was until lately regarded as cndemial, but occasionally appears in more northerly latitudes, which were thought to be happily exempted from that scourge. Our own State, (so far as I am informed,) and certainly our own city, are, under Providence, strangers to this afflicting and enervating disease, which is rarely dislodged from positions which it once occupies. But, if such be the predisposition of the atmosphere of the country around us, we are admonished by it not to set danger at defi- ance, by fostering upon our borders an immense morass, circum- vented with solid dikes, and from its position a receptacle of the seeds of disease. The state of oin: principal court-houses and of the land con- nected with them, and of other county property, demands seri- ous investigation, and is not free from embarrassing circum- stances. This land, lying in the centre of the city, is of gi'eat value in itself; but, cut off from streets by the public buildings, it could not be sold for a fair equivalent. These buildings are not only altogether ill adapted to the exigencies of the city, but the principal court-house is of a construction so defective as to have been condemned upon a regular survey as unsafe. It is now shored up in some parts by buttresses. It is believed, that no alternative will remain to the city but ,to sell all the land and buildings, and to apply the proceeds, as far as they will go, to the jiurchase of another site, suitable for the accom- modation of all our courts, and city government, and officers. It is not my intention to recommend this measure defini- tively at this time. But, under a deep conviction that it will bear examination, and be found at no distant period consistent with true economy, and essential to the public accommodation, I shall crave your permission, in due time, to submit to your inspection the details of a plan for this purpose, not yet quite matured. To some share in these lands and buildings, the town of Chelsea, as a portion of the county, is understood to have a claim. The best interest of the city requires that this claim should, on some equitable principles, be adjusted and extinguished ; and that with it should terminate the existing connection between Chelsea and this city. It seems, at first blush, preposterous, that this city should be compelled to main- tain the organization and formalities of a county jmisdiction, in CITY GOVERmiENT. 803 consequence merely of this connection. It is attended with great additional embarrassment, and the expense of it is not subject to the ordinary revision and control of the city government. Its dissolution must be preliminary to any substantial and salutary reform in the organization of our courts, and the administration of justice. The affairs of the Houses of Industry, Reformation, Correc- tion, and the Jail, have been conducted in the most merito- rious manner by their respective Overseers, and Superintend- ents, according to their means. But so much is wanted to place them on a footing commensurate with the claims of humanity and the feelings of the age — so much beyond our present resources — that I refrain from enlarging on the subject; expressing merely the hope, that some cheap provision may be made, by temporary buildings for the more effectual separa- tion of the insane from the children of vice, and the least atro- cious of those from hardened offenders ; and that the time is approaching, when the unfortunate debtor will not be domicili- ated or confounded with either of these classes. From undoubted information it is ascertained, that the danger of our harbor, from the alluvion of some of the islands, and the breach of the sea over the beaches, is constantly increasing. A confidence is felt, that the national government will continue its aid, to secure us against the more formidable im-oads of the sea in our lower harbor. But additional protection is wanted for the interior positions, and for the existing wharves. A large surface of flats in the southeasterly quarter of the city, beyond the limits of those appendant to the upland, and entirely useless for any but the proposed object, would serve as a foundation for break- waters ; and, if owned by the city, might be ceded for that purpose to companies who would erect them. Application has been made to the Commonwealth for a release of any claim they may have to the premises, and no objection is foreseen to their granting what is of no value in its present circumstances, but in the benefit of which the State would participate, when made viseful to its metropolis. A copious supply of fresh water is a convenience, the want of which becomes constantly more imperative. If, upon due consideration, it should not be determined expedient for the city to erect hydi'ants on its own account, the propriety of 304' MUNICIPAL HISTORY. gi-anting that immunity to a company will natm'ally engage and command the attention of the city government. The transcendent success of the raUroad system in England, as well as the encouraging result, so far as it has been attempted in this country, support the hope, that Massachusetts will not linger in the rear of that enterprise, from the issue of ^yhich no other State has more to expect than herself. Gentlemen of the Common Council, — It is peculiarly your province to devise all practicable means for alleviating the weight of taxation, and retrenching the expenses of the city government. I have anxiously reviewed the ordinary heads of expenditure, with a desire to suggest to you any savings that may be made, con- sistently with the accustomed wants, habits, and expectations of our fellow-citizens. I regi-et to say, that I can discern none of much importance. The population of the city is increasing. The support of the School and Fire establishment is expected to be maintained in full energy. The city is at present defectively lighted, though additions are constantly making to the number of lamps and quantity of oil. Many streets are unpaved, the claims of whose inhabitants to equal accommodations with their neighbors, are extremely importunate. Occasions constantly present themselves for the widening of streets, which, if not improved, will not recur for many years. It is my own opinion, that the cleaning and the sweeping of the streets are practised to a needless and pernicious extreme ; but such hitherto seems to be the pleasure of our fellow-citizens, to which I have conse- quently insti'ucted the Superintendent of Streets to conform. Of the sums appropriated for the cm-rent expenses of this year, more than nineteen thousand dollars have been paid to meet the arrearages of the last financial year, arising from outstand- ing contracts and demands. It is confidently believed, that no such items will appear to trench upon the appropriations for the cm-rent service ; still, it is apprehended that no very important reduction can be made in our annual expenditure. On the subject of salaries, I have but a single remark, that can be made with decorum. Should a general reduction of the salaries of yom- city officers be decided on, I shall not avail myself of the protection provided by charter for the Mayor's salary during the period for which he is elected ; but shall con- form to what I may discern to be the public sentiment. CITY GOVERNMENT. 305 Nothing remains for me bvit to renew to you all my sincere expression of the good wishes inspired by the associations of the season, and to assm'e you of the great pleasure I shall derive in my humble attempts to give effect to your ordinances. H. G. Otis. January 4, 1830. On the eighth of February, 1830, the Mayor communicated a letter from the Hon. John Davis, Thomas L. Winthrop, James Savage, and the Rev. Dr. Thaddeus M. Hams, a Committee of the Massachusetts Historical Society, "respecting the expe- diency of celebrating the second century of the foundation of Boston, which happens the present year," which, being read, was referred to a committee, consisting of the Mayor, Aldermen Rus- sell and Lewis, and Messrs. Bigelow, Minns, James, Eveleth, and Gregg, of the Common Council, to consider and report. On the fu-st of March ensuing, this Committee reported, that the seventeenth of September next wiU be the commencement of the third century, since the name of Boston was first con- fen-ed upon this city by the Com't of Assistants then held at Charlestown, and that there would be a propriety in the public celebration of that day by the citizens of Boston and their government ; that a public address commemorative of that event and its all-important consequences be, on that day, delivered at some suitable place in this city ; that a committee of arrange- ments be authorized to engage an orator for that day, and to make such other dispositions for the honorable notice of it as they may deem proper. The report being accepted in both branches, the Mayor and Benjamin T. Pickman, President of the Common Council, and the other members who constituted the Committee that made the above report, were appointed a Committee of Arrangements to cany the same into effect. This Committee invited Josiah Quincy, then President of Harvard University, to deliver the oration, and Charles Sprague, Esq., a distinguished citizen of Boston, to deliver a poem on that occasion, both of whom accepted the appointment. On the eighth of ]\Iarch, 1830, an order was passed by the Board of Aldermen, " that notice be given to the New England Society for the promotion of Manufactures and the Mechanic 26* 306 MUNICIPAL HISTOKY. Ai-ts, that, after the expiralion of six months, the vote which passed the City Council on the nineteenth of November, 1827 ,i gi-anting the exclusive use of the hall over the Market for the purpose of their semi-annual sales, from the fifteenth day of March to the fifteenth day of April, and from the fifteenth day of August to the fifteenth day of September, free of rent, until the further order of the City Council, and that six months' notice should be given to the said Society of the rescinding of this privilege, be and the same is hereby rescinded," This being passed by the Board of Aldermen, was, on the twenty-second of INIarch, non-concurred by the Common Council ; and on the twenty-ninth, a committee of conference was appointed, con- sisting of the Mayor, and Alderman Armsti-ong, and Messrs. Waters and Win slow Wright, of the Common Council, on the subject of the difference between the two Boards. On the third day of May, this Committee reported, that the privilege granted to the New England Society was experimental and a temporary accommodation ; that a diversity of opinion ex- isted among those interested in manufactm-es, as to the advan- tage of persevering in these semi-annual sales; that whatever course the manufacturers might adopt on the subject, the " true inquiry of the city government was, whether the advantage indirectly accruing to the city itself, from their continuance, was equivalent to the emolument which may reasonably be antici- pated duectly to result from another mode of disposing of the premises. Your Committee are unable to discern that that is the case. The manufactures of this part of the country have now attained so good a standard, and to such celebrity, that whenever the supply throughout the United States does not exceed the demand, they will be sought for by customers, whe- ther to be had at private or public sales. The use of the build- ing is of little or no value to those who fabricate the goods. The amount of the storage thus saved (if in fact it be saved) averaged on the whole quantity of goods sold, cannot be felt in the price of the goods, either by the individual seller or the pur- chaser ; nor can the accommodation be very important to the auctioneers, all of whom have capacious warehouses. On the other hand, the state of the city and its finances impose upon its 1 Seep. 201. CITY GOVEHmiENT. 307 government the duty to avail themselves of every fan- som-ce of revenue in its occupation of its property." The Committee declared their belief that a fair rent might be obtained for the use of the hall; and that if the New England Society should be inclined to persevere in their public sales, there might be a dis- position to allow them the use of Faneuil Hall in Keu of that in their present occupation. The Committee, therefore, recom- mended that the Common Council recede from their vote of the twenty-second of March, non-concurring with the order of the Board of Aldermen, passed on the eighth of March, and that they concur in passing the same; and that the Mayor and Aldermen be authorized to lease the hall over the Market, here- tofore used by the New England Society, upon the best terms they can obtain. This report was accepted, and the order passed in both branches of the City Council. In May of this year, a Committee of the Society for the Sup- pression of Intemperance petitioned the Mayor and Aldermen to cause a band of music to be stationed on the Common on the afternoons and evenings of the General Election and Fourth of July, such a practice having, in their judgment, a tendency to promote order and suppress an inclination to riot and intempe- rance, which, on the report of a committee, was ordered, and an adequate appropriation was voted. Orders at the same meeting were passed similar to those issued in 1828, directing the constables of the city to prosecute any person who should seU on the Common, in the malls, or in any of th streets contiguous thereto, spirituous liquors or any mixed liqu -s ; or who should, upon any of said places, play at cards, or diet, or with any implemeriw used in gaming, on the day of General Election, Artillery Election, and the Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence ; and before granting per- mission to any person to erect booths, notice to the above effect should be given, and also by publishing copies of this order in the newspapers and in suitable public places. On the tvventy-fifth of June, the Mayor, by special message, after refening to the relations and interests of the city, in respect of the public buildings at its command, for public purposes, recommended the giving to the Committee charged with the alteration and repairs of the Old State House, full power to pre- 308 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. pare in that building chambers for the accommodation of the Mayor and Aldermen and Common Council and such of the city officers as could be conveniently provided for in those pre- mises. This recommendation was immediately sanctioned by the City Council, and the aiTangements having been made as suggested in that message, the City Council first met in the chambers prepared for their accommodation on the seventeenth of September, 1830, the day assigned for the centennial celebra- tion of the foundation of the city, and the two branches being assembled in Convention, the Mayor announced to them the name " by which the edifice " (called the Old State House) " shall hereafter be called, namely, — City Hall," — and then made to the Convention an address ; " after which," the records state, " the two branches went in procession to the Old South Church, escorted by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, where an address was delivered by the Honorable Josiah Quincy, President of Harvard University, and a poem by Charles Sprague, Esq., and other services were performed in commemoration of the close of the second century from the first settlement of Boston." On the twentieth of September, votes were passed by both branches of the City Council, with customary expressions of interest and respect to Mr. Otis and Mr. Quincy for their respective addresses, and to Mr. Sprague for his poem ; and copies of each were requested for the press. They were published accordingly, and constitute the remaining and final chapters of this history. CHAPTER XXI. CITY GOVERmiENT. 1830. Harrisox Gray Otis, Mayor. Address of the ]\Iayor to the Members of the City Council, on the Removal of the ISIunicipal Government to the Old State Plouse, on the Morning of the 17th of September, 1830. Gentlemen of the Common Council: — I HAVE the honor to announce to you, that the Mayor and Aldermen have concuiTed with your request to change the name of this building, and to order that it be henceforth called and Imown by the name of the City Hall. Gentlemen of the City Council: — The intimations which I have received from many individuals of yom* body, have left me no room to doubt of your general expectation, that this first occasion of om- meeting in this chamber should not be permitted to pass away without something more than a brief record of the event upon your journals. The spot on which we are convened is patriot ground. It was consecrated by om* pious ancestors to the duties of providing for the welfare of their infant settlement, and for a long series of years was occupied in succession by the great and good men, whom Providence raised up to establish the institutions and liberties of their country. X There are none, who have paid even a superficial attention to the process of their perceptions, who are not conscious that a prolific source of intellectual pleasures and pains is found in our faculty of associating the remembrance of characters and events, which have most interested om- affections and passions, with the spot whereon the first have lived and the latter have occurred. It is to the magic of this local influence that we are indebted for the charm which recalls the sports and pastimes of our child- hood, the joyous days of youth, when buoyant spuits invested all surrounding objects with the color of the rose. It is this which brings before us, as we look back through the vista of 310 MUXICIPAL HISTORY. riper years, past enjoyments and afflictions, aspiring hopes and bitter disappointments, the temptations we have encountered, the snares which have entangled us, the dangers we have escaped, the fidelity or treachery of friends. It is this which enables us to surround ourselves with the images of those who were asso- ciates in the scenes we contemplate, and to hold sweet converse with the spirits of the departed, whom we have loved or hon- ored in the places which shall know them no more. But the potency of these local associations is not limited to the sphere of our personal experience. We are qualified by it to derive gratification from what we have heard and read of other times, to bring forth forgotten treasures from the recesses of memory, and recreate fancy in the fields of imagination. The regions which have been famed in sacred or fabulous history; the mountains, plains, isles, rivers, celebrated in the classic page ; the seas traversed by the discoverers of new w^orlds ; the fields in which empires have been lost and won, are scenes of enchant- ment for the visitor who indulges the trains of perception, which either rush unbidden on his mind, or are courted by its volun- tary efforts. This faculty it is, which, united with a disposition to use it to advantage, alone gives dignity to the passion for visit- ing foreign countries, and distinguishes the philosopher, who moralizes on the turf that covers the mouldering dust of ambi- tion, valor, or patriotism, from the fashionable vagabond, who flutters among the flowers which bloom over their graves. Among all the objects of mental association, ancient buildings and ruins affect us with the deepest and most vivid emotions. They were the works of beings like ourselves. While a mist impervious to mortal view hangs over the future, all our fond imaginings of the things which " eye hath not seen nor ear heard," in the eternity to come, are inevitably associated with the men, the events and things, which have gone to join the eternity that is past. When imagination has in vain essayed to rise beyond the stars which " proclaim the story of then- birth," inquisitive to know the occupations and condition of the sages and heroes whom we hope to join in a higher empyrean, she drops her weary wing, and is compelled to alight among the fragments of " gorgeous palaces and cloud-capp'd towers," which cover their human ruins ; and, by aid of these localities, to rumi- nate upon their virtues and their faults, on their deeds in the CITY GOVERmiENT. 311 cabinet and in the field, and upon the revolutions of the suc- cessive ages in which they lived. To this propensity may be traced the sublimated feelings of the man, who, familiar with the stories of Sesostris, the Pharaohs, and the Ptolemies, sur- veys the pyramids, not merely as stupendous fabrics of mecha- nical skill, but as monuments of the pride and ambitious folly of kings, and of the debasement and oppression of the wretched myriads, by whose labors they were raised to the skies. To this must be referred the awe and contrition which solemnize and melt the heart of the Christian who looks into the Holy Sepulchre, and believes he sees the place where the Lord was laid. From this originate the musings of the scholar, who, amid the ruins of the Parthenon and the Acropolis, ti'ansports his imagination to the age of Pericles and Phidias ; — the reflec- tions of all not dead to sentiment, who descend to the subterra- nean habitation of Pompeii, — handle the utensils that once ministered to the wants, and tlie ornaments subservient to the luxury of a polished city, — behold the rut of wheels upon the pavement hidden for ages from human sight, — and realize the awful hour when the hum of industry and the song of joy, the wailing of the infant and the garrulity of age, were suddenly and forever silenced by the fiery deluge which biu-ied the city, until accident and industry, after the lapse of nearly eighteen centuries, revealed its ruins to the curiosity and cupidity of the passing age. These remarks, in which you may think there is more of truth than of novelty, have been suggested by the experiment, which, a few days since, I attempted, to condense in the compass of a short address a few ideas appropriate to this occasion. Begin- ning to think upon matters connected with the old Town House, I found my mind confused, and overwhelmed N\^ith the multi- tudinous associations of our early history which it naturally induced. To indulge them to a great extent, would trench upon the province and the horn* assigned to another, whose eloquence will furnish the principal gratification of the day. It is, therefore, indispensable, to confine myself to a few observa- tions, and consequently to do but imperfect justice to my feel- ings and the subject. The history of the Town House, considered merely as a corn- pages of brick and wood, is short and simple. It was erected 312 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. between the years 1657 and 1659, and was principally of wood, as far as can be ascertained. The conti'actor received six hun- dred and eighty pounds, on a final settlement in full of all con- tracts. This was probably the whole amount of tlie cost, being double that of the estimate — a ratio pretty regularly kept up in our times. The population of the town, sixty years afterwards, was about ten thousand ; and it is allowing an increase beyond the criterion of its actual numbers at subsequent periods, to pre- sume that at the time of the first erection of the Town House, it numbered three thousand souls. In 1711, the building was burnt to the ground, and soon afterwards built with brick. In 1747, the interior was again consumed by fhe, and soon repaired in the form which it retained until the present improvement, wdth the exception of some alterations in the apartments made upon the removal of the Legislature to the new State House. The eastern chamber was originally occupied by the CouncO, afterwards by the Senate. The Representatives constantly held their sittings in the western chamber. The floor of these was supported by pillars, and terminated at each end by doors, and at one end by a flight of steps leading into State Street. In the day time, the doors were kept open, and the floor served as a walk for the inhabitants, always much frequented, and during the sessions of the courts, thronged. On the north side, were offices for the clerks of the supreme and inferior courts. In these the judges robed themselves, and walked in procession, followed by the bar, at the opening of the courts. Committee- rooms were provided in the upper story. Since the removal of the Legislature, it has been internally divided into apartments and leased for various uses in a mode familiar to you all, and it has now undergone great repairs. This floor being adapted to the accommodation of the city government, and principal ollicers, while the fii'st floor is allotted to the post-office, newsroom, and private warehouses. In this brief account of the natural body of the building, which it is believed comprehends whatever is material, there is nothing certainly dazzling or extraordinary. It exhibits no pomp of architectural grandem* or refined taste, and has no pretensions to vie with the magnificent structures of other coun- tries or even of our own. Yet it is a goodly and venerable pile ; and, with its recent improvements, is an ornament of the place, CITY GOYERmiENT. 313 of whose liberty it was once tiie citadel. And it has an interest for Bostonians who enter it this day, like that which is felt by grown children for an ancient matron by whom they were reared, and whom, visiting after years of absence, they find her in her neat, chaste, old-fashioned attne, spruced up to receive them, with her comforts about her, aild the same kind, hospi- table, and excellent creature, whom they left in less flourishing cu'cumstances. But to this edifice there is not only a natural but " a spiritual body," which is the immortal soul of Independ- ence. Nor is there, on the face of the earth, another building, however venerable for its antiquity or stately in its magnifi- cence, however decorated by columns and porticos, and car- toon;?, and statues, and altars, and outshining " the wealth of Ornius or of Ind," entitled in history to more honorable men- tion, or whose spires and turrets are surrounded with a more glorious halo, than this unpretending building. This assertion might be justified by a review of the parts per- formed by those who have made laws for a centmy after the first settlement of Boston ; of their early contention for their chartered rights ; of their perils and difficulties with the natives ; of their costly and heroic exertions in favor of the mother country 4n the common cause. But I pass over them all, replete as they are with interest, with wonder, and with moral. Events posterior to those growing out of them indeed, and taking from them their complexion, are considered by reflecting men as having pro- duced more radical changes in the character, relations, prospects, and (so far as it becomes us to prophesy) in the destinies of the human family, than all other events and revolutions that have transpired since the Christian era. I do not say that the princi- ples which have led to these events originated here. But I ven- ture to assert that here, within these walls, they were first prac- tically applied to a well-regulated machinery of human passions, conscious rights, and steady movements, which, forcing these United States to the summit of prosperity, has been adopted as a model by which other nations have been, and will yet be jiro- pelled on the railroad which leads to universal freedom. The power of these engines is self-moving, and the motion is perpe- tual. Sages and philosophers had discovered that the world was made for the people who inhabit it ; and that kings were less entitled in their own right to its government than lions, whose 27 314 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. claims to be lords of the forest are supported by physical prow- ess. But the books and treatises which maintained these doc- trines were read by the admirers of the Lockes and Sidneys and Miltons and Harringtons, and replaced on their shelves as bril- liant theories. Or, if they impelled to occasional action, it ended in bringing new tyrants to the throne and sincere patriots to the scaftbld. But your progenitors who occupied these seats first taught a whole people systematically to combine the united force of their moral and physical energies ; to learn the rights of insun-ection, not as written in the language of the passions, but in codes and digests of its justifiable cases ; to enforce them under the restraints of discipline; to define and limit its objects; to be content with success, and to make sure of its advantages. All this they did ; and when the propitious hour had arrived, they called on their countrymen as the angel called upon the apostles, — " Come, rise up quickly, and the chains fell from their hands." The inspiring voice echoed through the welkin in Europe and America, and awakened nations. He who would learn the effects of it, must read the history of the world for the last half century. He who would anticipate the consequences must "ponder well the probabilities with which time is pregnant for the next. The memory of these men is entitled to a full share of all the honor arising from the advantage derived to mankind from this change of condition, but yet is not charge- able with the crimes and misfortunes, more than is the memory of Fulton with the occasional bursting of a boiler. Shall I then glance rapidly at some of the scenes and the actors who figured in them within these walls ? Shall I carry you back to the controversies between Governor Barnard and the House of Representatives, commencing nearly seventy years ago, respecting the claims of the mother country to tax the Colo- nies without their consent ? To the stand made against writs of assistance in the chamber now intended for your Mayor and Aldermen, where and when, according to John Adams, " Lide- pendence was born ? " and whose star was then seen in the East by wise men. To the memorable vindication of the House of Representatives by one of its members ? To the " Rights of the Colonies," adopted by the Legislature as a text book, and transmitted by their order to the British IVIinistry ? To the series of patriotic resolutions, protests, and State papers, teeming CITY GOVERNMENT. 315 with indignant eloquence and iiTesistible argument in opposi- tion to the stamp and other tax acts? To the landing and quar- tering of troops in the town ? To the rescinding of resolutions in obedience to royal mandates ? To the removal of the seat of government, and the untuing struggle in which the Legisla- ture was engaged for fourteen or fifteen years, supported by the Adamses, the Thachers, the Hawleys, the Hancocks, the Bow- doins, the Quincys, and then- illustrious colleagues ? In fact, the most important measures which led to the emancipation of the Colonies, according to Hutchinson, a competent judge, origin- ated in this house, in this apartment, with those men, who, put- ting life and fortune on the issue, adopted for their motto, — " Let such, such only tread this sacred floor '\Vho dare to love their country and be poor." Events of a chfferent complexion are also associated with the Boston Town House. At one time it was desecrated by the King's troops, quartered in the Representatives' chamber, and on the lower floor. At another time, cannon were stationed and pointed toward its doors. Below the balcony in King Street, on the doleful night of the fifth of March, the blood of the first vic- tims to the military executioners was shed. On the appearance of the Governor in the street, he was surrounded by an immense throng, who, to prevent mischief to his person, though he had lost their confidence, forced him into this building, with the cry " to the Town House ! to the Town House ! " He then went forth into the balcony, and promising to use his endeavors to bring the offenders to justice, and advising the people to rethe, they dispersed, vociferating "home I home!" The Governor and Council remained all night deliberating in dismal conclave, while the friends of their country bedewed their pillows with tears, — " such tears as patriots shed for dying laws." But I would not wish, under any circumstances, to dwell upon inci- dents like these, thankful as I am that time, which has secured our freedom, has extinguished our resentments. I therefore turn from these painful reminiscences, and refer you to the day when Independence, matm-e in age and lovehness, advanced with angelic grace from the chamber in which she was born into the same balcony, and holding in her hand the immortal scroll on which her name and character and claims to her inheritance 316 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. were inscribed, received from the street, filled with an impene- trable phalanx, and windows glittering with a blaze of beauty, the heartfelt homage and electrifying peals of the men, women, and children of the whole city. The splendor of that glorious vision of my childhood seems to be now present to my view, and the harmony of that universal concert to vibrate in my ear. Such, gentlemen, is the cursory and meagre chronicle of the men and the occun'ences which have given celebrity to this building. And if it be true, that we are now before the altar, whence the coals were taken which have kindled the flame of liberty in two hemispheres, you will realize with me the senti- ment already expressed, that the most interesting associations of the eventful history of the age might rise in natural trains, and be indulged and presented on this occasion without violence to propriety. We, gentlemen, have now become, for a short period, occu- pants of this temple of Liberty. Henceforth, for many years, the city government will probably be here administered. The duties of its members are less arduous, painful, and dignified than those of the eminent persons who once graced these seats, and procured for us the privilege of admission to them. Yet, let not these duties be undervalued. They are of sufficient weight and importance to excite a conscientious desire in good minds, to cultivate a public spirit, and imitate with reverence great examples. There is ample scope for dispositions to serve our fellow-citizens in the department of the city government. It is charged with concerns afl'ecting the daily comfort and prosperity of sixty thousand persons, a number exceeding that of several of these United States at the time of their admission into the Union. The results of their deliberations have an immediate bearing upon the morals, health, education, and purse of this community, and are generally of more interest to their feelings and welfare than the ordinary acts of State legis- lation. It is a community, which any man may regard as a subject of just pride to represent, rivalled by none in orderly and moral habits, general intelligence, commercial and mechanic skill, a spirit of national enterprise, and above all a vigilance for the interest of posterity manifested in the provision made for public education. No state of society can be found more happy and attractive than yours. Many of those who are in its first CITY GOVERNMENT. 317 ranks rose from humble beginnings, and hold out encourage- ment to others to follow their steps. There is, so far as I can judge, more real equality, and a more general acquaintance and intercourse among the different vocations, than is elsewhere to be found in a populous city. Those of the middling class as respects wealth, the mechanics and the workingmen, are not only eligible, but constantly elected to all offices in state and city, in such proportion as they (constituting the great majority) see fit to assign. We enjoy the blessings of a healthy climate, delightful position, and ample resources for prosperity in com- merce, manufactures, and the mechanic arts, all of which, I am persuaded, are at this moment gradually reviving, after some vicissitude from time and chance, which happen to all things. May we, and those who will succeed us, appreciate the respon- sibleness attached to our places by the merit of our predeces- sors; and, though we cannot serve our country to the same advantage, may we love it with equal fidelity. And may the Guardian Genius of om- beloved city forever delight to dwell in these renovated walls I 27' CHAPTER XXII. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1830. Harrison Gray Otis, Mai/or. Address to the Citizens of Boston, on the 17th of September, 18.30, the Close of the Second Century from the First Settlement of the City. By Josiah Quincy, President of Harvard University. Of all the affections of man, those which connect him with ancestry are among the most natural and generous. They enlarge the sphere of his interests ; multiply his motives to virtue ; and give intensity to his sense of duty to generations to come, by the perception of obligation to those which are past. In whatever mode of existence man finds himself, be it savage or civilized, he perceives that he is indebted for the far greater part of his possessions and enjoyments, to events over which he had no control ; to individuals, whose names, perhaps, never reached his ear ; to sacrifices, in which he never shared ; and to sufferings, awakening in his bosom few and very transient sympathies. Cities and empires, not less than individuals, are chiefly indebted for their fortunes to cu'cumstances and influences inde- pendent of the labors and wisdom of the passing generation. Is our lot cast in a happy soil, beneath a favored sky, and under the shelter of free institutions ? How few of all these blessings do we owe to our own power, or our own prudence! How few, on which we cannot discern the impress of long past generations ! It is natural, that reflections of this kind should awaken curi- osity concerning the men of past ages. It is suitable, and characteristic of noble natures, to love to trace in venerated institutions the evidences of ancestral worth and wisdom ; and to cherish that mingled sentiment of awe and admiration, which takes possession of the soul, in the presence of ancient, deep- laid, and massy monuments of intellectual and moral power. CITY GOVEKmiENT. 319 Under impulses thus natural and generous, at the invitation of your municipal authorities, you have assembled, Citizens of Boston, on this day, in commemoration of the era of the found- ation of your city, bearing in fond recollection the virtues of your fathers, to pass in review the circumstances which formed their character, and the institutions which bear its stamp ; to take a rapid survey of that broad horizon, which is resplendent with their glories ; to compress, within the narrow circle of an hour, the results of memory, perception, and hope ; combining honor to the past, gratitude for the present, and fidelity to the future. Standing, after the lapse of two centuries, on the very spot selected for us by our fathers, and surrounded by social, moral, and religious blessings greater than paternal love, in its fondest visions, ever dared to fancy, we naturally turn our eyes back- ward, on the descending current of years ; seeking the causes of that prosperity, which has given this city so distinguished a name and rank among similar associations of men. Happily its foundations were not laid in dark ages, nor is its origin to be sought among loose and obscure traditions. The age of our early ancestors was, in many respects, eminent for learning and civilization. Our ancestors themselves were deeply versed in the knowledge and attainments of their period. Not only their motives and acts appear in the general histories of their time, but they are unfolded in their own writings, with a simplicity and boldness, at once commanding admiration and not permitting mistake. If this condition of things restrict the imagination in its natural tendency to exaggerate, it assists the judgment rightly to analyze, and justly to appreciate. If it deny the power, enjoyed by ancient cities and states, to elevate our ancestors above the condition of humanity, it confers a much more precious privilege, that of estimating by unequivocal stand- ards the intellectual and moral greatness of the early, interven- ing, and passing periods ; and thus of judging concerning com- parative attainment and progress in those qualities which con- stitute the dignity of our species. Instead of looking back, as antiquity was accustomed to do, on fabling legends of giants and heroes, — of men exceeding in size, in strength, and in labor, all experience and history, and consequently, being obliged to contemplate the races of men, dwindhng with time, and 320 ^lUXICIPAL HISTORY. growing less amid increasing stimulants and advantages ; we are thus enabled to view things in lights more conformed to the natural suggestions of reason, and the actual results of observa- tion ; — to witness improvement in its slow but sure progress ; in a general advance, constant and unquestionable ; — to pay due honors to the greatness and virtues of our early ancestors, and be, at the same time, just to the not inferior greatness and virtues of succeeding generations of men, their descendants and our progenitors. Thus we substantiate the cheering conviction, that the virtues of ancient times have not been lost, or debased, in the course of their descent, but, in many respects^ have been refined and elevated ; and so, standing faithful to the generations which are past, and fearless in the presence of the generations to come, we accumulate on our own times the responsibility, that an inheritance, which has descended to us enlarged and im- proved, shall not be transmitted by us diminished or deteriorated. As our thoughts course along the events of past times, from the hour of the first settlement of Boston to that in which we are now assembled, they trace the strong features of its charac- ter, indelibly impressed upon its acts and in its history, — clear conceptions of duty ; bold vindications of right ; readiness to incur dangers and meet sacrifices, in the maintenance of liberty, civil and religious. Early selected as the place of the chief settlement of New England, it has, through every subsequent period, maintained its relative ascendency. In the arts of peace and in the energies of war, in the virtues of prosperity and adversity, in wisdom to plan and vigor to execute, in extensive- ness of enterprise, success in accumulating wealth, and liberality in its distribution, its inhabitants, if not unrivalled, have not been surpassed, by any similar society of men. Through good report and evil report, its influence has at all times been so dis- tinctly seen and acknowledged in events, and been so decisive on the destinies of the region of which it was the head, that the inhabitants of the adjoining colonies of a foreign nation early gave the name of this place to the whole country ; and at this day, among their descendants, the people of the whole United States 1 are distinguished by the name of " Bostonians." 1 Bostonais. The name is thus applied, at this day, by the Canadian French. During our llevolutiouary War, Americans from the United States were thus desii^nated in France. Nor was the custom wholly discontinued even as late as CITY GOVERKMENT. 321 Amidst perils and obstructions, on the bleak side of the mountain on which it was first cast, the seedling oak, self- rooted, shot upward with a determined vigor. Now slighted and now assailed ; amidst alternating sunshine and storm ; with the axe of a native foe at its root, and the lightning of a foreign power, at times, scathing its top, or withering its branches, it gi'ew, it flourished, it stands — may it forever stand ! — the honor of the field. On this occasion, it is proper to speak of the founders of our city, and of their glory. Now in its true acceptation, the term glon/ expresses the splendor, which emanates from virtue in the act of producing general and permanent good. Right concep- tions, then, of the glory of our ancestors, are alone to be attained by analyzing their virtues. These virtues, indeed, are not seen charactered in breathing bronze, or in living marble. Our ances- tors have left no Corinthian temples on our hills, no Gothic cathedrals on our plains, no proud pyramid, no storied obelisk, in our cities. But mind is there. Sagacious enterprise is there. An active, vigorous, intelligent, moral population throng our cities, and predominate in our fields ; men, patient of labor, submissive to law, respectful to authority, regardful of right, faithful to liberty. These are the monuments of our ancestors. They stand immutable and immortal, in the social, moral, and intellectual condition of their descendants. They exist in the spirit which their precepts instilled, and their example implanted. Let no man think, that, to analyze and place in a just light the virtues of the first settlers of New England, is a departure from the purpose of this celebration ; or deem so meanly of our duties, as to conceive that merely local relations, the circum- stances which have given celebrity and character to this single city, are the only, or the most appropriate topics for the occa- sion. It was to this spot, during twelve successive years, that the great body of those first settlers emigrated. In this place, they either fixed permanently their abode, or took their depart- ure from it for the coast, or the interior. Whatever honor devolves on this metropolis from the events connected with its tlie year 1795. "We may remark," says a writer in the Collections^ of the Massachusetts Historical Societi/^ (Vol. vi., First Series, p. 69,) "that Boston was not only the capital of Massachusetts, but the town most celebrated of any in North America. Its trade was extensive ; and the name often stands for the country in old authors." 322 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. first settlement, is not solitary or exclusive ; it is shared with Massachusetts ; with New England ; in some sense, with the whole United States. For what part of this wide empire, be it sea or shore, lake or river, mountain or valley, have the descend- ants of the first settlers of New England not traversed ? what depth of forest, not penetrated ? what danger of nature or man, not defied ? Where is the cultivated field, in redeeming which from the wilderness, their vigor has not been displayed ? Where, amid unsubdued nature, by the side of the first log hut of the settler, does the school-house stand and the church spire rise, unless the sons of New England are there ? Where does im- provement advance, under the active energy of willing hearts and ready hands, prostrating the moss-covered monarchs of the wood, and from their ashes, amid their charred roots, bidding the greensward and the waving harvest to upspring, and the spirit of the fathers of New England is not seen, hovering, and shed- ding around the benign influences of sound, social, moral, and reli- gious institutions, stronger and more enduring than knotted oak, or tempered steel ? The swelling tide of their descendants has spread upon our coasts ; ascended our rivers ; taken possession of our plains. Already it encircles our lakes. At this hour the •rushing noise of the advancing wave startles the wild beast in his lair among the prairies of the West. Soon it shall be seen climbing the Rocky Mountains ; and, as it dashes over their cliffs, shall be hailed by the dwellers on the Pacific, as the har- binger of the coming blessings of safety, liberty, and truth. The glory, which belongs to the virtues of our ancestors, is seen radiating from the nature of their design ; from the spirit in which it was executed ; and from the character of their insti- tutions. That emigi-ation of Englishmen, which, two centuries ago, resulted in the settlement, on this day, of this metropolis, was distinguished by the comparative greatness of the means em- ployed, and the number, rank, fortune, and intellectual endow- ments of those engaged in it, as leaders, or associates. Twelve ships, transporting somewhat less than nine hundred souls, constituted the physical srtrength of the first enterprise. In the course of the twelve succeeding years, twenty-two thousand souls emigrated in one hundred and ninety-two ships, at a cost, including the private expenses of the adventurers, which cannot CITY GOVERKMENT. 823 be estimated in our currency, at less than one million of dollars. At that time the tide of emigration was stayed. Intelligent writers of the last century assert, that more persons had subse- quently gone from New England to Europe, than had come to it during the same period from that quarter of the globe. A cotemporary historian ^ represents the leaders of the first emigra- tion, as " gentlemen of good estate and reputation, descended from, or connected by marriage with, noble famihes; having large means, and great yearly revenue sufficient in all reason to content ; their tables abundant in food, their coffers in coin ; possessing beautiful houses, filled with rich furniture ; gainful in their business, and growing rich daily ; well provided for them- selves, and having a sure competence for their children ; want- ing nothing of a worldly nature to complete the prospects of ease and enjoyment, or which could contribute to the pleasures, the prospects, or the splendors of life." The question forces itself on the mind. Why did such men emigrate ? Why did men of their condition exchange a plea- sant and prosperous home for a repulsive and cheerless wilder- ness ; a civilized for a barbarous vicinity ? Why, quitting peaceful and happy dwellings, dare the dangers of tempestuous and unexplored seas, the rigors of vmtried and severe climates, the difficulties of a hard soil, and the inhuman warfare of a savage foe ? An answer must be sought in the character of the times; and in the spirit, which the condition of their native country and age had a direct tendency to excite and cherish. The general civil and religious aspect of the English nation, in the age of our ancestors, and in that immediately preceding their emigration, was singularly hateful and repulsive. A foreign hierarchy, contending with a domestic despotism for infallibility and supremacy, in matters of faith. Confiscation, imprison- ment, the axe and the stake, approved and customary means of making proselytes and promoting uniformity. The fires of Smithfield, now lighted by the corrupt and selfish zeal of Roman pontiffs ; and now rekindled, by the no less corrupt and seffish zeal of English sovereigns. All men clamorous for the rights of conscience, when in subjection; all actively persecuting, when in authority. Everywhere religion considered as a state 1 Jolinson's ^^Wonder-Working Providence of Sion's Saviour in Aew Eng- land," ch. 12. 324 MUNICIPAL fflSTORY. entity, and having apparently no real existence, except in asso- ciations in support of established power, or in opposition to it. The moral aspect of the age was not less odious than its civil. Every benign and characteristic virtue of Christianity was publicly conjoined, in close alliance with its most offensive opposite. Humility wearing the tiara, and brandishing the keys, in the excess of the pride of temporal and spiritual power. The Roman pontiff, under the title of "the servant of ■ servants," with his foot on the neck of every monarch in Christendom ; and under the seal of the fisherman of Galilee, dethroning kings and giving away kingdoms. Purity, content, and self-denial preached by men, who held the wealth of Europe tributary to then- luxury, sensuality, and spiritual pride. Brotherly love in the mouth, while the hand applied the instrument of torture. Charity, mutual forbearance, and forgiveness chanted in unison with clanking chains and crackling fagots. Nor was the intellectual aspect of the age less repulsive than its civil and moral. The native charm of the religious feeling lost, or disfigured amidst forms, and ceremonies, and disciplines. By one class, piety was identified with copes, and crosiers, and tippets, and genuflexions. By another class, all these were abhorred as the tricks and conjuring garments of popery, or at best, in the language of Calvin, as " tolerable fooleries ; " while they, on their part, identified jnety with looks, and language, and gestures, extracted or typified from Scripture, and fashioned according to the newest "pattern of the mount." By none were the rights of private judgment acknowledged. By all, creeds, and dogmas, and confessions, and catechisms, collected from Scripture with metaphysical skill, arranged with reference to temporal power and influence, and erected into standards of faith, were made the fiags and rallying points of the spiritual swordsmen of the church militant. The first emotion, which this view of that period excites, at the present day, is contempt or disgust. But the men of that age are no more responsible for the mistakes into which they fell, under the circumstances in which the intellectual eye was then placed, than we, at this day, for those optical illusions to which the natural eye is subject, before time and experience have corrected the judgment, and instructed it in the true laws of nature and vision. It was their fate to live in the crepuscular CITY GOVERmiENT. 325 state of the intellectual day, and by the law of their nature they were compelled to see things darkly, through false and shifting mediums, and in lights at once dubious and deceptive. For centuries, a night of Egyptian darkness had overspread Europe, in the " palpable obscure " of which, priests and monarchs and nobles had not only found means to inthral the minds of the multitude, but absolutely to lose and bewilder their own. When the light of learning began to dawn, the first rays of the rising splendor dazzled and confused, rather than directed the mind. As the coming light penetrated the thick darkness, the ancient cumulative cloud severed into new forms. Its broken masses became tinged with an uncertain and shifting radiance. Sha- dows assumed the aspect of substances ; the evanescent sugges- tions of fancy, the look of fixed realities. The wise were at a loss what to believe, or what to discredit; how to quit, and where to hold. On all sides sprang up sects and parties, infinite in number, incomprehensible in doctrine ; often imperceptible in difference ; yet each claiming for itself infallibility, and, in the sphere it affected to influence, supremacy; each violent and hostile to the others, haughty and hating its non-adhering brother, in a spirit wholly repugnant to the humility and love inculcated by that religion, by which each pretended to be actu- ated ; and ready to resort, when it had power, to corporal penal- ties, even to death itself, as allowed modes of self-defence and proselytism. It was the fate of the ancestors of New England to have their lot cast in a state of society thus unprecedented. They were of that class of the English nation, in whom the systematic per- secutions of a concentrated, civil, and ecclesiastical despotism had enkindled an intense interest concerning man's social and religious rights. Then- sufferings had created in their minds a vivid and inextinguishable love of civil and religious liberty ; a fixed resolve, at every peril, to assert and maintain their natural rights. Among the boldest and most intelligent of this class of men, chiefly known by the name of Puritans, were the founders of this meti-opolis. To a superficial view, their zeal seems directed to forms and ceremonies and disciphnes which have become at this day obsolete or modified, and so seems mistaken or misplaced. But the wisdom of zeal for any object is not to be measured by the particular nature of that object, but by the 28 326 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. nature of the principle, which the cii-cum stances of the times or of society have identified with such object. Liberty, whether civil or religious, is among the noblest objects of human regard. Yet, to a being constituted like man, abstract liberty has no existence, and over him no practical influence. To be for him an efficient principle of action, it must be embodied in some sensible object. Thus, the form of a cap, the color of a surplice, ship-money, a tax on tea or on stamped paper, objects in them- selves indifferent, have been so inseparably identified with the principle temporarily connected with them, that martyrs have died at the stake, and patriots have fallen in the field, and this wisely and nobly for the sake of the principle, made by the cir- cumstances of the time to inhere in them. Now, in the age of our fathers, the principle of civil and reli- gious liberty became identified with forms, discipHnes, and modes of worship. The zeal of our fathers was graduated by the importance of the inhering principle. This gave elevation to that zeal. This creates interest in their suff'erings. This entitles them to rank among patriots and martyi's who have voluntarily sacrificed themselves to the cause of conscience and their country. Indignant at being denied the enjoyment of the rio-hts of conscience, which were in that age identified with those sensible objects, and resolute to vindicate them, they quitted country and home, crossed the Atlantic, and, without other auspices than their own strength and their confidence in heaven, they proceeded to lay the foundation of a commonwealth, under the principles, and by the stamina of which, their posterity have established an actual and uncontroverted independence, not less happy than glorious. To their enthusiastic vision all the com- forts of life and all the pleasm-es of society were light and worth- less in comparison with the liberty they sought. The tempest- uous sea was less dreadful than the troubled waves of civil dis- cord ; the quicksands, the unknown shoals, and unexplored shores of a savage coast, less fearful than the metaphysical abysses and perpetually shifting whnlpools of despotic ambi- tion and ecclesiastical policy and intrigue; the bow and the tomahawk of the transatlantic barbarian, less terrible than the flame and fagot of the civilized European. In the calm of our present peace and prosperity, it is difficult for us to realize or appreciate their sorrows and sacrifices. They sought a new CITY GOVERmiENT. 327 world, lying far off in space, destitute of all the attractions which make home and native land dear and venerable. Instead of cultivated fields and a civilized neighborhood, the prospect before them presented nothing but dreary wastes, cheerless climates, and repulsive wildernesses possessed by wild beasts and sava- ges ; the intervening ocean unexplored and intersected by the fleets of a hostile nation ; its usual dangers multiplied to the fancy, and, in fact, by ignorance of real hazards and natural fears of such as the event proved to be imaginary. " Pass on," exclaims one of these adventurers,^ " and attend, while these soldiers of faith ship for this western world ; while they and their wives and their little ones take an eternal leave of their country and kindred. With what heart-breaking affec- tion did they press loved friends to their bosoms whom they were never to see again ! their voices broken by grief, till tears streaming eased their hearts to recovered speech again ; natural affections clamorous, as they take a perpetual banishment from their native soil ; their enterprise scorned ; their motives derided ; and they counted but madmen and fools. But time shall dis- cover the wisdom with which they were endued, and the sequel shall show how their policy overtopped aU the human policy of this world." Winthrop, their leader and historian, in his simple narrative of the voyage, exhibits them, when in severe sufferings, resigned ; in instant expectation of battle, fearless ; amid storm, sickness, and death, calm, confident, and undismayed. " Our trust," says he, " was in the Lord of hosts." For years, Winthrop, the leader of the first great enterprise, was the Chief Magistrate of the infant metropolis. His prudence guided its councils. His valor directed its strength. His life and fortune were spent in fixing its character, or in improving its destinies. A bolder spirit never dwelt, a truer heart never beat in any bosom. Had Boston, like Rome, a consecrated calendar, there is no name better entitled than that of Winthrop to be registered as its " patron saint." From Salem and Charlestown, the places of their first land- ing, they ranged the Bay of IMassachusetts to fix the head of the settlement. After much deliberation, and not without opposi- 1 Johnson, in lils Wonder-Workinfj Providences of Sion's Saviour in New England, ch. xii. 328 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. tion, they selected this spot, known to the natives by the name of Shaw milt, and to the adjoining settlers by that of Trimounl- ain ; the former indicating the abundance and sweetness of its waters ; the latter, the peculiar character of its hills. Accustomed as we are to the beauties of the place and its vicinity, and in the daily perception of the charms of its almost unrivalled scenery, — in the centre of a natural amphitheatre, whose sloping descents the riches of a laborious and intellectual cultivation adorn, — where hill and vale, river and ocean, island and continent, simple nature and unobtrusive art, with con- trasted and interchanging harmonies, form a rich and gorgeous landscape, we are little able to realize the almost repulsive aspect of its original state. We wonder at the blindness of those who, at one time, constituted the majority, and had well- nigh fixed elsewhere the chief seat of the settlement. Nor are we easily just to Winthrop, Johnson, and their associates, whose skill and judgment selected this spot, and whose firmness settled the wavering minds of the multitude upon it, as the place for their metropolis ; a decision which the experience of two centu- ries has irrevocably justified, and which there is no reason to apprehend that the events or opinions of any centmy to come will reverse. To the eyes of the first emigrants, however, where now exists a dense and aggregated mass of living beings and material things, amid all the accommodations of life, the splendors of wealth, the delights of taste, and whatever can gratify the culti- vated intellect, there were then only a few hills, w^hich, when the ocean receded, were intersected by wide marshes, and when its tide returned, appeared a group of lofty islands, abruptly rising from the surrounding waters. Thick forests concealed the neighboring hills, and the deep silence of nature was broken only by the voice of the wild beast or bird and the warwhoop of the savage. The advantages of the place were, however, clearly marked by the hand of nature ; combining at once present convenience, future security, and an ample basis for permanent growth and prosperity. Towards the continent it possessed but a single avenue, and that easily fortified. Its hills then commanded, not only its own Avaters, but the hills of the vicinity. At the bottom of a deep bay, its harbor was capable of containing the proudest CITY GOVERmiENT. 329 navy of Europe ; yet, locked by islands, and guarded by wind- ing channels, it presented great difficulty of access to strangers, and to the inhabitants gi*eat facility of protection against mari- time invasion ; while to those acquainted with its waters, it was both easy and accessible. To these advantages were added goodness and plenteousness of water, and the security afforded by that once commanding height, now, alas! obliterated and almost forgotten, since art and industry have levelled the predo- minating mountain of the place ; from whose lofty and impos- ing top the beacon fire was accustomed to rally the neighboring population on any threatened danger to the metropolis. A sin- gle cottage, from which ascended the smoke of the hospitable hearth of Blackstone, who had occupied the ])eninsula several years, was the sole civilized mansion in the solitude ; the kind master of which, at first, welcomed the coming emigrants ; but soon, disliking the sternness of then* manners and the severity of their discipline, abandoned the settlement. His rights, as first occupant, were recognized by om* ancestors ; and, in November, 1634, Edmund Quincy, Samuel Wildbore, and others, were authorized to assess a rate of thirty pounds for IVIr. Blackstone,i on the payment of which all local rights in the peninsula became vested in its inhabitants. The same bold spirit which thus led our ancestors across the Atlantic, and made them prefer a wilderness where liberty might be enjoyed, to civilized Europe where it was denied, will be found characterizing all their institutions. Of these, the limits of the time permit me to speak only in general terms. The scope of their policy has been usually regarded as though it were restricted to the acquisition of religious liberty in the relation of colonial dependence. No man, however, can truly understand then- institutions and the policy on which they were founded, without taking as the basis of aU reasonings concerning them, that civil independence ivas as truly their object as religious liberty;^ in other words, that the possession of the former was, 1 Winthrop, vol. i. p. 45 ; note by J. Savage. 2 The testimony of Chalmers, in his Political Annals of the United Colonies, to the early and undeviating spirit of independence which actuated the first emigrants to Massachusetts, is constant, unequivocal, and conclusive. Those annals were written during the American Revolution, and published in the year 1 780, in the heat of that controversy, and under the auspices of the British government. A few exti-acts from that work, tending to show the pertinacious 28* 330 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. in their opinion, the essential means, indispensable to the secure enjoyment of the latter, which was their great end. The master-passion of our early ancestors was dread of the spirit of independence wliieli cliaraeterized our ancestors, and corroborative of the position maintained in the text, cannot fail to be interesting. "The charter of Charles I., obtained in March, 1628-9, was the only one ■which Massachusetts possessed prior to the Revolution of 1688, and contained its most ancient privileges. On this was most dexterously engrafted, not only the ori- ginal government of that colony, hut even independence itself." Book I. c. vi. p. 136. " The nature of their goveriuncnt was now (1634) changed by a variety of reo-ulations, the legality of which cannot easily be supported by any other than those principles of independence which sprang up among them, and have at all times governed their actions." Book I. p. 158. Concerning the confederation entered into by the United Colonies of New England in 1643, Chalmers thus expresses himself. ''^The most inattentive must perceive the exact resemblance that confedera- tion bears to a similar junction of the Colonies, more recent, [that of 1775] extensive, and powerful. Both originated from Massachusetts, always fruitful in projects of independence. Wise men at the era of both remarked, that those memorable associations established a complete system of absohde sovereignty, because the principles upon tchich it was erected necessarily led to what it was xot the policy of the principal agents at either period to avow! " The principles upon which this famous association [that of 1643] was formed, were altogether tliose of independency, and it cannot easily be supported on any other? The consent of the governing powers in England was never applied for, and was never given." Book I. c. viii. pp. 177, 178. " Principles of aggrandisement seem constantly to have been had in view by Massachusetts, as the only rule of its conduct." Book I. p. 180. " Massachusetts, in conformity to its accustomed principles, acted, during the civil wars, ahnost altogether as an independent state. It formed leagues, not only with the neighboring colonies, but with foreign nations, without the con- sent or knowledge of the government of England. It permitted no appeals from its courts to the judicatories of the sovereign State, without which a depend- ence cannot be preserved or enforced ; and it refused to exercise its jurisdic- tion in the name of the Commonwealth of England. It assumed the goverimient of that part of New England which is now called New Hampshire, and even extended its power farther eastward over the Province of Maine; and, by force of arms, it compelled those who had fled from Its persecutions beyond its bound- aries into the wilderness to submit to Its authority. It erected a mint at Boston, impressing the year 1652 on the coin, as the era of independence. Though, as we are assured, the coining of money is the prerogative of the sovereign, and not the privilege of a colony. " The practice was continued till the dissolutien of its government ; thus evincing to all what had been foreseen by the wise, that a people of such principles, religious and political, settling at so great a distance from control, loould necessarily form an independent State." Book I. c. viii. p. 181. " The Committee of State of the Long Parliament having resolved to oblige Massachusetts to acknowledge their authority, by taking a new patent from them, and by keeping its courts m their name, that Colony, according to its wonted policy, by petition and remonstrance, declaring the love they bore the Parlia- ment, the suflerlngs they had endured in their cause, and their readiness to stand or fall with them, and by flattering Cromwell, prevailed so far as that the CITY GOVERmiENT. 331 English hierarchy. To place themselves locally beyond the reach of its power, they resolved to eraigi-ate. To secure them- selves, after their emigration, from the arm of this their ancient requisitions above-mentioned were never complied with, and the General Court consequently gained the point in the controversy." Book I. c. viii. pp. 184, 185. " But Massachusetts did not only thus artfully foil the Parliament, but it out- fawned and outwitted Cromwell. They declined his invitation to assist his fleet and army, destined to attack the Dutch at ^Manhattan, in 1(J53, and acknowledo-- ing the continued series of his favors to the Colonies, told him, that, " haruuj been exercised ivUli .serious thoughts of its duty at that juncture, which were, that it was most agreeable to the gospel of peace, and safest for the plantations to forbear the use of the sword, li'it had been misled, it humbly craved his pardon." 13ook I. c. viii. p. 185. " Theaddi-ess of Massachusetts above-mentioned, it should seem, gave perfect satisfaction to Cromwell. Its winning courtship seems to have captivated his rugged heart, and, notwithstanding a variety of complaints were made to him against that Colony, so strong were his attachments, that all attempts, either to obtain redress, or to prejudice it in his esteem, were to no purpose. Thus did Massachusetts, by the prudence or vigor of its councils, triumjih over its oppo- nents abroad." Book I. c. viii. p. 188. "After the death of Cromwell, Massachusetts acted with a cautious neutrality. She refused to acknowledge the authority of Richard anymore than that of tJie Par- liament or Protector, because all submission would have been incox- SISTENT WITH HER INDEPENDENCE." " She heard the tidings of the restoration with that scrupulous incredulity, with which men listen to news which they wish not to be true." Book I. ex. p. 249. " Prince Charles II. had received so many proofs of the attachment of the Colonies, during the season of trial, JVew England only excepted, that he judged rightly, when he presumed they would listen to the news of his restoration with pleasure, and submit to his just authority with alacrit3^ Nor was he in the least deceived. They proclaimed his accession with a joy in proportion to their recol- lection of their late suiTerings, and to their hope of future blessings. Of the recent conduct of Massachusetts, he was well instructed ; he foresaw what really happened, that it Avould receive the tidings of his good fortune with extreme coldness ; he was informed of the proceedings of a society which assembled at Cooper's Hall in order to promote its interests, and with them, the good old cause of enmity to regal power. And in May, 16G1, he appointed the great ofBcers of state a committee, ' touching the affairs of New England.' That Prince and Colony mutually hated and contemned and feared each other, during his reign, because the one suspected its principles of attachment, and the other dreaded an invasion of its privileges." Book I. p. 243. " The same vessel which brought King Charles's proclamation to Boston, in 1660, brought also ^^^lalley and Goffe, two of the regicides. Far from conceal- ing themselves, they were received very courteously by Governor Endicott, and with universal regard by the people of New England. Of this conduct, Charles II. was perfectly informed, and with it he afterwards reproached ]\Iassa- chusetts." Book I. c. x. pp. 249,. 250. " The General Court soon turned its attention to a subject of higher concern- ment, — the present condition of affairs. In order rightly to understand that dut}" which the people owed to themselves, and that obedience which was due to the authority of England, a committee at length reported a declaration of rights and duties, which at once shows the extent of their claims, and their dex- terity at involving what they wished to conceal. The General Court resolved, ' That the patent (under God) was the first and main foundation of the civil polity of that Colony ; that the Governor and Comi^any arc, by the patent, a 332 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. oppressor, they devised a plan, which, as they thought, would enable them to establish, under a nominal subjection, an actual independence. The bold and original conception which they had the spirit to form and successfully to execute, was the attainment and perpetuation of religious liberty, under the auspices of a free commonwealth.^ This is the master key to all their policy ; this the glorious spirit which breathes in all their institutions. Whatever in them is stern, exclusive, or at this day seems questionable, may be accounted for, if not justi- fied, by its connection with this great purpose. body politic, wliich is vested -with power to make freemen ; that they have authority to choose a governor, deputy-governor, assistants, and select represent- atives ; "that this government hath ability to set up all kinds of offices ; that the governor, deputy-governor, assistants, and select deputies, have full juris- diction, i)oth legislative and executive, for the government of the people here, •without appeals, ' excepting law or laws repugnant to the laws of Eng- land ; ' that this Company is privileged to defend itself against all who shall attempt its annoyance ; that any imposition, prejudicial to the country, contrary to any of its just ordinances (not repugnant to the laws of England) is an infringement of its rights.' Having thus, with a genuine air of sovereignty, by its own act, established its own privileges, it decided ' concerning its duties and allegiance ; ' and these were declared to consist in upholding that Colony as of right belonging to his Majesty, and not subject to any foreign potentate ; in pre- serving his person and dominions ; in settling the peace and prosperity of the king and nation, by punishing crimes and by propagating the gospel. It was at the same time determined, that the royal warrant for apprehending Whalley and Gofte ought to be faithfully executed ; that if any legally obnoxious, and fleeing from the civil justice of the state of England, shall come over to these parts, they may not expect shelter.' "VVliat a picture do these resolutions display of the embarrassments of the General Court, between its principles of independence on the one hand, and its apprehension of giving offence to the state of England on the other." Book I. p. 252. " During the whole reign of Charles H. IMassachusetts continued to act as she ahcat/a had done, as an independent state. '• Disregarding equally her charter and the laws of England, Massachusetts estahlished for herself an independerd government, similar to those of the Grecian repuUics." Book I. c. xvi. p. 400 ; also c. xxii. p. G82. It is not easy to perceive on what ground Chalmers supports the charge against our ancestors of " concealment " of their real intentions by the General Court, in their declaration of rights above quoted, from page 252 of his Annals. On the contrary, it seems to have been conceived in a spirit of boldness, which, considering the weakness of the Colony, might be much better denominated imprudently explicit than evasive. It is difficult to conceive what the General Court could have added to that declaration of their right to independent self- government, unless they had been prepared to draw the sword against the Iving, and throw away the scabbard. 1 This is apparent from the fact, that they did form and maintain such a com- monv/ealth, and from the further fact, that in no other way could they, in that age, have had any liope successfully to maintain and transmit to their posterity religious liberty, according to their conception of tliat blessing. Those who rea- son practically concerning the motives of mankind, must take their data from tlieir master-passions and the necessities of their situation. Acts best develop CITY GOVERmiENT. 333 The question has often been raised, when and by whom the idea of independence of the parent state was first conceived, and by whose act a settled purpose to effect it was first indicated. History does not permit the people of Massachusetts to make a question of this kind. The honor of that thought, and of as efficient a declaration of it as in their circumstances was pos- sible, belongs to Winthrop, and Dudley, and Saltonstall, and their associates, and was included in the declaration, that " the only condition on which they icith their families ivoiild remove to this country, icas, that the patent and charter should remove ivith them." 1 intentions. Official language takes its modification from circumstances, and is often necessarily a very equivocal indication of motives. To escape from the dominion of the English hierarchy, was our ancestors lead- inf design and firm purpose. They took refuge in the forms and principles of a commonwealth ; trusting to their own intellectual skill and physical power for its support. They were well apprised of the fixed determination of the English hierarchy, from the earliest times of their emigration, to subject them to its supremacy, if possible ; and this design is distinctly avowed by Chalmers. " The enjoyment of liberty of conscience, the free worship of the Supreme Being in the manner most agreeable to themselves, were the great objects of the colonists, which they often declared was the principal end of their emigration. Nevertheless, though their historians assert the contrarj', the charter did not grant spontaneniixhj to them a freedom, which had been denied to the solicitations of the Brownists ; and it is extremely probable that so essential an omission arose, not from accident, hut design. " In conformit}' to his intentions of estabhshing the Church of England in the plantations, .Tames had refused to grant to that sect the privilege of exercising its own peculiar modes, though solicited by the powerful interest of the Virginia Company. His successor adopted and pursued the same policy, under the direction of Laud, ' ivho, tee are assured, kept a jealous eije over Neto England.' And this reasoning is confirmed hg the preseid patent, which required, with peculiar caution, that ' THE OATH OF SUPREMACY shull he administered to every one, ivho shall jmss to the Colony and inhahit there.'" Book I. e. vi. p. 141. ^ The consentaneousness of the views entertained by Chahners, with those presented in the text, respecting the motives of our ancestors in making the removal of the charter the condition of their emigration, is remarkable. " Several persons of c'onsiderable consequence in the nation, who had adopted the principles of the Puritans, and who wished to enjoy their own mode of wor- ship, formed the resolution of emigrating to ]\Iassachusetts. But they felt them- selves inferior, neither to the governor nor assistants of the company. They saw and dreaded the inconvenience of being governed by laics made for them icithout their consent ; and it appeared more rational to them, that the colony should he ruled by those who made it the place of their residence, than by men dwelling at the distance of three thousand miles, over whom they had no control. At the same time, therefore, that they proposed to transport themselves, their famihes, and their estates, to that country, they insisted that the charter should be trans- mitted with them, and tliat the corporate powers, which were conferred by it, should be executed, in future, in New England." " A transaction, similar to this, in all its circumstances, is not to be easily met with in story." — Book I. c. vi. pp. 1.50, 151. It is very" plain, from the above extract, that Chalmers understood the transfer 334 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. This simple declaration and resolve included, as they had the sagacity to perceive, all the consequences of an effectual inde- pendence, under a nominal subjection. For protection against foreign powers, a charter from the parent state was necessary. Its transfer to New England vested, effectually, independence. Those wise leaders foresaw,^ that, among the troubles in Em'ope, of the cliartor to this country in the light in which it is represented in the text ; — that the object was self-government ; an intention "not to be governed by laws made for them, without their consent ; " — a determination that those " should rule in New England, who made it the place of their residence ; " and *' not tJioxe who dwelt at the distance of three thousand miles, over ivhom they had no control." Two causes have concurred to keep the motives of our ancestors in that mea- sure, from the direct development which its nature deserves. The first was, that their motives could not be avowed consistently with that nominal depend- ence, which, in the weakness of the early emigrants, was unavoidable. The other was, that almost all the impressions left concerning our early history, have been derived through the medium of the clergy, who naturally gave an exclu- sive attention to the predominating motive, which was, unquestionably, religious liberty, and paid less regard to what the colonial statesmen of that day as unquestionably considered to be the essential means to that end. The men who said '' they would not go to New England unless the patent went with them," were not clergymen, but high-minded statesmen, who knew what was included in that transfer. Their conduct and that of their immediate descendants, speak a language of determined civil independence, not, at this day, to be gainsaid. Winthrop gives, incidentally, a remarkable evidence of his own sensibility, on the subject of the right of self-government, in the veiy earliest period after their emigration. ""Mr. Winslow, the late Governor of Pljonouth," Winthrop relates, " being this year (1G35) in England, petitioned the council for a commission to wlth- stancl the intrusions of the Dutch and French. Now this," Winthrop remarks, "was undertaken loith ill advice; for such precedents endanger our liberty, that WE SHOULD DO NOTHIXG HEREAFTER BUT BY COMMISSION OUT OF ExG- LAND." — Winthrop, vol. i. p. 172. 1 That the early emigrants foresaw that the ti'ansfer of the charter would effectually vest independence, may be deduced, not only from the whole tenor of their conduct after their emigration, which was an eil'ectual exercise of inde- pendence, but from the fact of the secrecy, with which this intention to transfer the charter teas maintained, until it teas actually on this side of the Atlantic. Our ancestors readily anticipated with what jealousy this transfer would be viewed by the English government ; and Averc accordingly solicitous to keep it from being known until they and the original charter were beyond their power. The original records of the General Court, in which the topic of this transfer of the charter was first agitated, speak a language on this subject, not to be mistaken. The terms of this record are as follows : — " At a General Court holdcn at London, for the Company of the ]\Iassa- chusetts Bay in New England, in Mr. Deputy's house, on Tuesday, the ^8th of July, 1629. Present, Mr. jMathew Cradock, Governor, Mr. GoFF, Deputy Governor." Here follow the names of the " assistants " and " generahty," who were present. " Mr. Governor read certain propositions conceived by himself, namely, that CITY GOVERmiENT. 335 incident to the age, and then obviously impending over their parent state, their settlement, from its distance and early insig- nificance, would probably escape notice. They trusted to events, and doubtless anticipated, that, with its increasing strength, even nominal subjection would be abrogated. They knew that weakness was the law of nature, in the relation between parent states and their distant and detached colonies. Nothing else can be inferred, not only from their making the transfer of the charter the essential condition of then- emigration, thereby sever- ing themselves from all responsibility to persons abroad, but also from their instant and undeviating com'se of policy after their emigi-ation ; in boldly assuming whatever powers were neces- sary to then* condition, or suitable to their ends, whether attri- butes of sovereignty or not, without regard to the nature of the consequences resulting from the exercise of those powers. Nor was this assumption limited to powers which might be deduced from the charter, but was extended to such as no act of incorpo- ration, like that which they possessed, could, by any possibility of legal construction, be deemed to include. By the magic of for the advancement of the plantation, the inducing and encouraging persons of ■worth and cj[uality to transplant themselves and families thither, and for other ■weighty reasons therein contained, to tranrfer the government of the jjJantation to those that shall inhahit there, and not to continue the same in subordination to the company here, as now it is. This business occasioned some debate ; but by reason of the many great and considerable consequences thereupon depending, it ■was not'now resolved upon, but those present are privately and seriously to con- sider hereof, and to set down their particular reasons in writing, pro and contra, and to produce the same at the next General Court, where they being reduced to heads and maturely considered of, the company may then proceed to a final resolution therein, and in the mean time they are desired to carry this BUSINESS SECRETLY, THAT THE SAME BE NOT DIVULGED." — See Original Records of Massachusetts, p. 19. What our ancestors thought they had gained, or what practical consequences they intended to deduce from this transfer of the patent, and from their posses- sion of it in this country, is apparent from the reasons, given by Winthrop, for not obeying the court mandate, to send the patent to England. Winthrop's account is as follows : — "The General Court was assembled, [1638,] in which it was agreed, that whereas a very strict order was sent from the Lords Commissioners for Planta- tions, for sending home our patent, upon pretence that judgment had passed against it upon a quo ivarranto, a letter should be written by the Governor iu the name of the Court, to excuse our not sending it ; for it was resolved to be best, not to send it, because then such of our friends and others in England ■would conceive it to be surrendered, and thai thereupon, we should be bound to receive such a Governor and such orders, as should be sent to us, and many bad minds, yea, and some tveak ones, among ourselves, "would think it lawful, if NOT NECESSARY', TO ACCEPT A GENERAL GOVERNOR." — Winthrop, vol. i. p. 269. 336 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. their daring, a private act of incorporation was transmuted into a civil constitution of state ; under the authority of which they made peace and declared war ; erected judicatures ; coined money ; raised armies ; built fleets ; laid taxes and imposts ; inflicted fines, penalties, and death ; and, in imitation of the British constitution, by the consent of all its own branches, without asking leave of any other, their legislature modified its own powers and relations, prescribed the qualifications of those who should conduct its authority, and enjoy, or be excluded from its privileges. The administration of the civil affairs of Massa- chusetts, for the sixty years next succeeding the settlement of this metropolis, was a phenomenon in the history of civil govern- ment. Under a theoretic colonial relation, an efficient and independent Commonwealth was erected, claiming and exer- cising attributes of sovereignty, higher and far more extensive than, at the present day, in consequence of its connection with the general government, Massachusetts pretends either to exer- cise or possess. Well might Chalmers assert, as in his Political Annals of the Colonies he does, that "Massachusetts, with a peculiar dexterity, abolished her charter ; " ^ that she was always " fruitful in projects of independence, the principles of which, at all times, governed her actions." ^ In this point of view, it is glory enough for our early ancestors, that, under manifold dis- advantages, in the midst of internal discontent and external violence and intrigue, of wars with the savages and with the neighboring colonies of France, they effected then* purpose, and for two generations of men, from 1630 to 1692, enjoyed liberty of conscience, according to their view of that subject, under the auspices of a free commonwealth. The three objects, which om* ancestors proposed to attain and perpetuate by all their institutions, were the noblest within the grasp of the human mind, and those on which, more than on any other, depend human happiness and hope; — relig-ioiis liberty/, — civil liberty, — and, as essential to the attainment and maintenance of both, — intellectual power. On the subject of religious liberty, their intolerance of other sects has been reprobated as an inconsistency, and as violating the very rights of conscience for which they emigrated. The 1 Vol. i. p. 200. 2 Vol. i. pp. 158, 177. CITY GOVERmiENT. 337 inconsistency, if it exist, is altogether constructive, and the charge proceeds on a false assumption. The necessily of the policy,! considered in connection with their great design cf independence, is apparent. They had abandoned house and home, had sacrificed the comforts of kindred and cultivated life, had dared the dangers of the sea, and were then braving the still more appalling ten'ors of the wilderness; for what? — to acquire liberty for all sorts of consciences ? Not so ; but to vindicate and maintain the liberty of their own consciences. They did not cross the Atlantic, on a crusade, in behalf of the rights of 1 The object of this policy was jicrccivcd by Chalmers. Thus he reprobates the law, that '' none should be admitted to the freedom of the company but such as were church members, and that none but freemen should -sote at elections or act as magistrates and jurymen," because it excluded //-om all participation in the government, those who could not comply with the necessary requisites. He understood well, that it was a means of defence against the English hierarch}', and intended to exclude from intluence all who were of the Enghsli church ; and complains of it as being " made in the true spirit of retaliation," (Book I. p. 153.) and adds, that "this severe law, notwithstantling the vigorous exertions of Cliarles II., continued in force till the quo ivarranto laid in ruins the structure of the government that had established it." To prove the necessity of this exclusive poUcy of our ancestors, and that it was strictly a measure of " self-defence," it is jjroper to remark, that as early as April, 1635, a commission was issued for the government of the Plantations, granting absolute power to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to others, " to make laws AXD COXSTITUTIOXS, COXCERXIXG EITHER THEIR STATE PUBLIC OR THE UTILITY OF INDIVIDUALS, AND FOR THE RELIEF OF THE CLERGY TO CONSIGN CONVENIENT MAINTENANCE UNTO THEM BY TITHES AND OBLATIONS AND OTHER PROFITS ACCORDING TO THEIR DISCRETION," AND THEY WERE EM- POWERED TO INFLICT PUNISHMENTS, EITHER BY IMPRISOXMEXT OR BY LOSS OF LIFE AND MEMBERS. A broader charter of hierarchical despotism was never conceived. The only means of protection against it, to which our ancestors could resort, was that which they adopted. By the principle of making church-membership a ciualifi- cation for the enjo^Tnent of the rights of a freeman, they excluded from all poli- tical intluence the friends of the hierarchy. To the same motive may be referred that other principle, that "no churches should be gathered but such as were approved by the magistrate." Notwithstanding that the direct tendency of these principles was to destroy the intluence of the crown and the hierarchy in the colon}-, the obviousness of the motive is unnoticed by Chalmers, for the sake of repeating the gross charge of bigotry ; and this too at the very time Avhen he is urging their design of independence against our ancestors as their great crime. Our ancestors could not avow their ruling motive ; and they seem at all times to be actuated by the noble principle of being content to submit in their own cha- racters to the obloquy of bigotry, as a less evil than that their cliildreu should become subject to the hierarch}' of the Stuarts. -^ It is difficult to perceive how the principles of this conunission could hava been otherwise resisted by our ancestors, than by putting at once out of influ- ence all those disposed to yield submission to it. Nor was it possible for them to ap])ly their disqualification directly to the adherents of the English hierarchy. They were compelled, if it were adopted at all, to make it general, and to acquiesce in the charge of bigotry in order to give efficacy to their polic}'. 29 338 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. mankind in general, but in support of their own rights and liber- ties. Tolerate I Tolerate whom ? The legate of the Roman Pontiff, or the emissary of Charles I. and Archbishop Laud? How consummate would have been their folly and madness, to have fled into the wilderness to escape the horrible persecu- tions of those hierarchies, and at once have admitted into the bosom of their society, men brandishing, and ready to apply, the very flames and fetters from which they had fled ! Those who are disposed to condemn them on this account, neither realize the necessities of their condition, nor the prevailing character of the times. Under the stern discipline of Elizabeth and James, the stupid bigotry of the First Charles, and the spiritual pride of Archbishop Laud, the spmt of the English hierarchy was very different from that which it assumed, when, after having been tamed and humanized under the wholesome disciphne of Cromwell and his Commonwealth, it yielded itself to the mild influence of the principles of 1688, and to the liberal spirit of Tillotson. But it is said, if they did not tolerate their ancient persecutors, they might, at least, have tolerated rival sects. That is, they ought to have tolerated sects, imbued with the same principles of intolerance as the transatlantic hierarchies ; sects, whose first use of power would have been to endeavor to uproot the liberty of our fathers, and persecute them, according to the knowii principles of sectarian action, with a virulence in the inverse ratio of their reciprocal likeness and proximity. Those, who thvis reason and thus condemn, have considered but very super- ficially the nature of the human mind and its actual condition in the time of our ancestors. The great doctrine, now so universally recognized, that liberty of conscience is the right of the individual, — a concern between every man and his Maker, with which the civil magistrate is not authorized to interfere, — was scarcely, in then* day, known, except in private theory and solitary speculation ; as a practical truth, to be acted upon by the civil power, it was absolutely and universally rejected by all men, all parties, and all sects, as totally subversive, not only of the peace of the church, but of the peace of society.^ That great truth, now deemed so simple 1 Hiune's Ilidory ofEiujland, vol. vi. p. 168. CITY GOYERmiENT. 339 and plain, was so far from being an easy discovery of the human intellect, that it may be doubted whether it would ever have been discovered by human reason at all, had it not been for the miseries in which man was involved in consequence of his igno- rance of it. That truth was not evolved by the calm exertion of the human faculties, but was stricken out by the collision of the human passions. It was not the result of philosophic re- search, but was a hard lesson, taught under the lash of a severe discipline, provided for the gradual instruction of a being like man, not easily brought into subjection to virtue, and w^ith natural propensities to pride, ambition, avarice, and selfishness. Previously to that time, irr'all modifications of society, ancient or modern, religion had been seen only in close connection with the state. It was the universal instrument by which worldly ambition shaped and moulded the multitude to its ends. To have attempted the establishment of a state on the basis of a perfect freedom of religious opinion, and the perfect right of every man to express his opinion, would then have been consi- dered as much a solecism, and an experiment quite as V\^ild and visionary, as it would be, at this day, to attempt the establish- ment of a state on the principle of a perfect liberty of individual action, and the perfect right of every man to conduct himself according to his private will. Had our early ancestors adopted the course we, at this day, are apt to deem so easy and obvious, and placed their government on the basis of liberty for all sorts of consciences, it would have been, in that age, a certain intro- duction of anarchy. It cannot be questioned, that all the fond hopes they had cherished from emigi-ation would have been lost. The agents of Charles and James would have planted here the standard of the transatlantic monarchy and hierarchy. Divided and broken, without practical energy, subject to court influences and court favorites, New England at this day would have been a colony of the parent state,^ her character yet to be formed and her independence yet to be vindicated. 1 Lest the consequences of an opposite policy, had it been adopted by our ancestors, may seem to be exaggerated, as here represented, it is proper to state, that upon the strength and united spirit of New England mainly depended (under Heaven) the success of our revolutionarj'- struggle. Had New p]ngland been divided, or even less unanimous, independence would have scarcely been attempted, or, if attemj)ted, acquired. It wUl give additional strength to this 340 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. The non-toleration, which characterized our early ancestors, from whatever source it may have originated, had undoubtedly the effect they intended and ivished. It excluded from influence in their infant settlement all the friends and adherents of the ancient monarchy and hierarchy; all who, from any motive, ecclesiastical or civil, were disposed to disturb their peace or their churches. They considered it a measure of " self-defence.^^ And it is unquestionable, that it was chiefly instrumental in forming the homogeneous and exclusively republican character for which the people of New England have, in all times, been distinguished ; and, above all, that it fixed irrevocably in the country that noble security for religious liberty, the independent system of church government. The principle of the independence of the churches, including the right of every individual to unite with what church he pleases, under whatever sectarian auspices it may have been fostered, has, through the influence of time and experience, lost altogether its exclusive character. It has become the universal guaranty of religious liberty to all sects without discrimination, and is as much the protector of the Roman Catholic, the Epis- copalian, and tlie Presbyterian, as of the Independent form of worship. The security, which results from this principle, does not depend upon charters and constitutions, but on what is stronger than either, the nature of the principle in connection with the nature of man. So long as this intellectual, moralj and religious being, man, is constituted as he is, the unrestricted liberty of associating for public worship, and the independence of those associations of external control, will necessarily lead to a most happy number and variety of them. In the principle of the independence of each, the liberty of individual conscience is safe under the panoply of the common interest of all. No other perfect security for liberty of conscience was ever devised by man, except this independence of the churches. This pos- sessed, liberty of conscience has no danger. This denied, it has argument to o1)«orvo, that the number of troops, regular and militia, furnished by all the States during the war of the Revolution, Avas . . , 288,134 Of these, New England furnished more than half, namelf, . 147,674 And ]\Iassaehusetts alone furnished nearly one third, namely, . 83,162 See the Collections of (he New Hampshire Historical Society, vol. i. p. 236. CITY GOVERNMENT. 341 no safety. There can be no greater human security than com- mon right, placed under the protection of common interest. It is the excellence and beauty of this simple principle, that, while it secures all, it restricts none. They, who delight in lofty and splendid monuments of ecclesiastical architecture, may raise the pyi-amid of church power, with its aspiring steps and grada- tions, until it terminate in the despotism of one, or a few ; the humble dwellers at the base of the proud edifice may wonder, and admire the ingenuity of the contrivance and the splendor of its massive dimensions, but it is without envy and without fear. Safe in the principle of independence, they worship, be it in tent, or tabernacle, or in the open air, as securely as though standing on the topmost pinnacle of the loftiest fabric ambition ever devised. The glory of discovering and putting this principle to the test, on a scale capable of trying its efficacy, belongs to the fathers of Massachusetts,^ who are entitled to a full share of that acknow- ledgment made by Hume, when he asserts, "that for all the Ubertij of the English constitution that nation is indebted to the Puritans." The glory of our ancestors radiates from no point more strongly than from their institutions of learning. The people of New England are the first known to history, who provided, in the original constitution of their society, for the education of the whole population out of the general fund. In other coun- tries, provisions have been made of this character in favor of certain particular classes, or for the poor by way of charity. But here first were the children of the whole community invested with the right of being educated at the expense of the whole society ; and not only this, the obligation to take advantage of that right was enforced by severe supervision and penalties. By simple laws they founded their commonwealth on the only basis on which a republic has any hope of happiness or continu- ance, the general information of the people. They denominated it " barbarism " not to be able " perfectly to read the English tongue and to know the general laws."^ In soliciting a gene- ral contribution for the support of the neighboring University, they declare that " skill in the tongues and liberal arts, is no ■> Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. i. p. 438 and 490. 2 Old Colony Laws, p. 26. 29* 342 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. only laudable, but necessary for the ivell-heing of the common- wealth." ^ And in requiring every town, having one hundred householders, to set up a grammar school, provided with a master able to fit youth for the University, the object avowed is, " to enable men to obtain a knowledge of the Scriptures, and by acquaintance with the ancient tongues to qualify them to dis- cern the true sense and meaning of the original, however cor- rupted by false glosses." Thus liberal and thus elevated, in respect of learning, were the views of our ancestors." To the same master-passion, dread of the English hierarchy, and the same main purpose, civil independence, may be attri- buted, in a gi'eat degree, the nature of the government which the principal civil and spiritual influences of the time established, and, notwithstanding its many objectionable features, the willing submission to it of the people. It cannot be questioned, that the constitution of the state, :: sketched in the first laws of our ancestors, was a skilful combi- nation of both civil and ecclesiastical powers. Church and state were very curiously and efficiently interwoven with each other. It is usual to attribute to religiovis bigotry the submis- sion of the mass of the people to' a system thus stern and exclu- sive. It may, however, with quite as much justice, be resolved into love of independence and political sagacity. The great body of the first emigrants doubtless coincided in general religious views with those whose influence predominated in their church and state. They had, consequently, no personal objection to the stern discipline their political system established. They had also the sagacity to foresee that a system, which by its rigor should exclude from power all who did not concur with their religious views, would have a direct tendency to deter those in other countries from emigrating to their settlement, who did not agree with the general plan of policy they had adopted, and of consequence to increase the probability of their escape from the interference of their ancient oppressors, and the chance of success in laying the foundation of the free common- wealth they contemplated. They also doubtless perceived, that, with the unqualified possession of the elective franchise^ they had little reason to apprehend that they could not easily control 1 Records of ihe Colony, p. 117 ; IDth Oct. 1G52. CITY GOVERNMENT. 343 or annihilate any ill effect upon their political system, arising from the union of church and state, should it become insup- portable. There is abundant evidence, that the submission of the people to this new form of church and state combination was not owing to ignorance, or to indifference to the true principles of civil and religious liberty. Notwithstanding the strong attachment of the early emigrants to their civil, and then- almost blind devotion to their ecclesiastical leaders, when, presuming on their influence, either attempted any thing inconsistent with general liberty, a corrective is seen almost immediately applied by the spirit and intelligence of the people. In this respect, the character of the people of Boston has been at all times distinguished. In every period of our history, they have been second to none in quickness to discern or in readiness to meet every exigency, fearlessly hazarding life and fortune in support of the Hberties of the commonwealth. It would be easy to maintain these positions by a recurrence to the annals of each successive age, and particularly to facts connected with our revo- lutionary struggle. A few instances only will be noticed, and those selected from the earliest times. A natural jealousy soon sprung up in the metropolis as to the intentions of their civil and ecclesiastical leaders.^ In 1634 the people began to fear, lest, by reelecting Winthrop, they " should make way for a Governor for life." They accordingly gave some indications of a design to elect another person. Upon which John Cotton, their great ecclesiastical head, then at the height of his popularity, preached a discourse to the General Court, and deUvered this docti'ine, — " that a magistrate ought not to be turned out, without just cause, no more than a magis- trate might turn out a private man from his freehold, without trial." 2 To show their dislike of the doctrine by the most prac- tical of evidences, our ancestors gave the political divine and his adherents a succession of lessons, for which they were probably the wiser all the rest of their lives. They turned out Winthrop at the very same election, and put in Dudley. The year after, they turned out Dudley and put in Haynes. The year after, they turned out Haynes, and put in Vane. So much for the I Winthrop, vol. i. p. 29D. 2 jUd vol. i. p. 132. 344 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. first broaching, in Boston, of the doctrine, that public ofRce is of the nature of freehold. In 1635, an attempt was made by the General Court, to elect a certain number of magistrates as counsellors for life^ Al- though Cotton was the author also of this project, and notwith- standing his influence, yet such was the spirit displayed by our ancestors on the occasion, that within three years the General Court 2 was compelled to pass a vote, denying any such intent, and declaring that the persons so chosen should not be accounted magistrates, or have any authority in consequence of such elec- tion. In 1636, the gi*eat Antinomian controversy divided the country. Boston was for the covenant of grace ; the General Court, for the covenant of works. Under pretence of the apprehension of a riot, the General Court adjom-ned to Newtown, and expelled the Boston deputies for daring to remonstrate. Boston, indig- nant at this infringement of its liberties, was about electing the same deputies a second time. At the earnest solicitation of Cotton, however, they chose others. One of these was also expelled by the Court; and a writ having been issued to the town ordering a new election, they refused making any return to the warrant, — a contempt which the General Court did not think it v^dse to resent. In 1639, there being vacancies in the Board of Assistants, the Governor and magistrates met and nominated three persons, " not with intent," as they said, " to lead the people's choice of these, nor to divert them from any other, but only to propound for consideration (which any freeman may do) and so leave the people to use their liberties according to then consciences." Tlie result was, that the people did use then liberties according to their consciences. They chose not a man of them.^ So much for the first legislative caucus in our history. It probably would have been happy for their posterity, if the people had always treated like nominations with as little ceremony. About this time, also, the General Court took exception at the length of the " lectures,''^ then the great delight of the people, and at the ill effects resulting from their frequency ; whereby poor people were led greatly to neglect their afFans, to the great 1 Ibid. p. 186. 2 Jiid, p. 302. 3 2bid. vol. il. p. -■i-lS. CITY GOVERNMENT. 345 hazard also of their health, owing to their long continuance in the night. Boston expressed strong dislike i at this interference, " fearing that the precedent might inthral them to the civil power, and, besides, be a blemish upon them with their posterity, as though they needed to be regulated by the civil magistrate, and raise an ill-savor of their coldness, as if it were possible for the people of Boston to complain of too much preaching." The magistrates, fearful lest the people should break their bonds, were content to apologize, to abandon the scheme of shortening lectures or diminishing their number, and to rest satis- fied with a general understanding, that assemblies should break up in such season, as that people, dwelling a mile or two off, might get home by daylight. Winthrop, on this occasion, passes the following eulogium on the people of Boston, which every period of then* history amply confii*ms : " They were gene- rally of that understanding and moderation, as that they would be easily guided in their way by any rule from Scripture or sound reason." It is curious and instructive to trace the principles of our con- stitution as they were successively suggested by circumstances, and gradually gained by the intelligence and daring spirit of the people. For the first four years after their emigration, the free- men, like other corporations, met and transacted business in a body. At this time the people attained a representation under the name of deputies, who sat in the same room with the magis- trates, to whose negative all their proceedings were subjected. Next arose the struggle about the negative, which lasted for ten years, and eventuated in the separation of the General Court, into two branches, with each a negative on the other.^ Then came the jealousy of the deputies concerning the magistrates,'^ as proceeding too much by their discretion for want of positive laws, and the demand by the deputies, that persons should be appointed to frame a body of fundamental laws in resemblance of the English Magna Charta. After this occun'cd the controversy * relative to the powers of the magistrates, during the recess of the General Court; con- cerning which, when the deputies found that no compromise could be made, and the magistrates declared that, " if occasion 1 Winthrop, vol. i. p. 325. 3 Ihid. p. 322. 2 Ibid. vol. i. p. 160. 4 lUd. vol. ii. p. 169. 346 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. required, they should act according to the power and trust com- mitted to them," the Speaker of the House in his place replied, — " Then, gentlejien, you will not be obeyed." In every period of our early history, the friends of the ancient hierarchy and monarchy were assiduous in their endeavors to introdace a form of government on the principle of an efficient colonial relation. Our ancestors were no less vigilant to avail themselves of their local situation and of the difficulties of the parent state to defeat those attempts ; or, in their language, "to avoid and protract." They lived, however, under a perpetual apprehension, that a royal governor would be imposed upon them by the law of force. Their resolution never faltered on the point of resistance to the extent of their power. Notwithstand- ing Boston would have been the scene of the struggle and the first victim to it, yet its inhabitants never shrunk from their duty through fear of danger, and were always among the fore- most to prepare for every exigency. Castle Island was fortified chiefly, and the battery at the north end of the town, and that called the " Sconce," wholly by the voluntary contributions of its inhabitants. After the restoration of Charles IL, their instruc- tions to their representatives in the General Court breathe one uniform spirit, — " not to recede from their just rights and privi- leges as secured by the patent." When, in 1662, the King's Commissioners came to Boston, the inhabitants, to show their spirit in support of their own laws, took measures to have them aU arrested for a breach of the Saturday evening law, and actu- ally brought them before the magistrate for riotous and abusive carriage. When Randolph, in 1684, came with his quo vmrranto against then' charter, on the question being taken in town meet- ing, " whether the freemen were minded that the General Court should make full submission and entke resignation of their charter, and of the privileges therein granted, to his Majesty's pleasure," Boston resolved in the negative, ivithout a dissentient. In 1689, the tyranny of Andros, the Governor appointed by James IL, having become insupportable to the whole country, Boston rose, like one man ; took the battery on Fort Hill by assault in open day ; made prisoners of the King's Governor and the Captain of the King's frigate, then lying in the harbor ; and restored, with the concurrence of the country, the authority of the old charter leaders. CITY GOVERKMENT. 347 By accepting the charter of William and IMary, in 1692, the people of ]\Iassachusetts first yielded their claims of independ- ence to the Crown. It is only requisite to read the official account of the agents of the colony, to perceive both the resist- ance they made to that charter, and the necessity which com- pelled their acceptance of it.^ Those agents were told by the King's ministers, that they " must take that or none ; " that " their consent to it was not asked ; " that if " they would not submit to the King's pleasure they must take what would fol- low." " The opinion of our lawyers," say the agents, " was, that a passive submission to the new was not a surrender of the old charter ; and that their taking up with this did not make the people of Massachusetts, in law, uncapable of obtaining all their old privileg^es, whenever a favorable opportiinifij should present itself.'^ In the year 1776, nearly a century afterwards, that " favorable opportunity did present itself," and the people of Massachusetts, in conformity with the opinion of their learned counsel and faithful agents, did vindicate and obtain all then: " old privileges " of self-government. Under the new colonial government, thus authoritatively imposed upon them, arose new parties and new struggles, — prerogative men, earnest for a permanent salary for the Kin^s Governor ; patriots resisting such an establishment, and indig- nant at the negative exercised by that officer. At the end of the first centmy after the settlement, three gene- rations of men had passed away. For vigor, boldness, enter- prise, and a self-sacrificing spirit, Massachusetts stood unri- valled.2 She had added wealth and extensive dominion to the English Crown. She had turned a barren wilderness into a cul- tivated field, and instead of barbarous ti'ibes had planted civil- ized communities. She had prevented France from taking pos- session of the whole of North America ; conquered Port Royal and Acadia ; and attempted the conquest of Canada with a fleet of thu-ty-two sail and two thousand men. At one time, a fifth of her whole effective male population was in arms. When Nevis was plundered by Iberville, she voluntarily transmitted 1 See A Brief Account concerning tlie Agents of New England and tlieir Negotiation tvith the Court of England. By Increase Mather. London, 1691. 2 See A Defence of the New England Charters, hy Jeremiah Dummer, printed in 1721. 348 MUNICIPAL mSTORY. two thousand pounds sterling for the relief of the inhabitants of that island. By these exertions her resources were exhausted, her treasury was impoverished, and she stood bereft and "alone with her glory." Boston shared in the embarrassments of the Commonwealth. Her commerce was crippled by severe revenue laws and by a depreciated currency. Her population did not exceed fifteen thousand. In September, 1730, she was prevented from all notice of this anniversary by the desolations of the smallpox. Notwithstanding the darkness of these clouds which overhung Massachusetts and its meti'opolis at the close of the first century, in other aspects the dawn of a brighter day may be discerned. The exclusive policy in matters of religion, to which the State had been svibjected, began gradually to give place to a more per- fect liberty. Literature was exchanging subtle metaphysics, quaint conceits, and unwieldy lore for inartificial reasoning, sim- ple taste, and natural thought. Dummer defended the colony in language polished in the society of Pope and of Bolingbroke. Coleman, Cooper, Chauncy, Bowdoin, and others of that con- stellation, were on the horizon. By their side shone the star of Franklin ; its early brightness giving promise of its meridian splendors. Even now began to appear signs of revolution. Voices of complaint and murmur were heard in the air. " Spi- rits finely touched and to fine issues," — willing and fearless, — breathing unutterable things, flashed along the darkness. In the sky were seen streaming lights, indicating the approach of lumi- naries yet below the horizon, — Adams, Hancock, Otis, War- ren, — leaders of a glorious host, precursors of eventful times, " with fear of change perplexing monarchs." It would be appropriate, did time permit, to speak of these luminaries, in connection with our Revolution ; to trace the prin- ciples, which dictated the first emigration of the founders of this metropolis, through the several stages of their development ; and to show that the declaration of independence, in 1776, itself, and all the struggles which preceded it, and all the voluntary sacri- fices, the self-devotion, and the sufterings, to which the people of that day submitted, for the attainment of indej)endence, were, so far as respects Massachusetts, but the natural and inevitable consequences of the terms of that noble engagement, made by our ancestors, in August.) 1629, the year before their emigration; CITY GOVERNMENT. • 349 which may well be denominated, from its early and later results, the first and original declaration of independence by- Massachusetts. "J5^ GocVs assistance, ive will he ready in our persons., and with such of our families as are to g-o ivith ns, to embark for the said plantation hij the first of March next, to pass the seas {binder God's protection) to inhabit and continue in Neiv England. Pro- vided ahvat/s, that before the last of September next, the whole GOVERNMENT, TOGETHER WITH THE PATENT, BE FIRST LEGALLY TRANSFERRED AND ESTABLISHED, TO REMAIN WITH US AND OTHERS, WHICH SHALL INHABIT THE SAID PLANTATION." ^ GciierOUS I'CSO- lution ! Noble foresight I Sublime self-devotion ; chastened and directed by a wisdom, faithful and prospective of distant conse- quences I Well may we exclaim, — " This policy overtopped all the policy of this world." For the advancement of the three great objects which were the scope of the policy of our ancestors, — intellectual power, religious liberty, and civil liberty, — Boston has in no period been surpassed, either in readiness to incur, or in energy to make useful, personal or pecuniary sacrifices. She provided for the education of her citizens out of the general fund, antece- dently to the law of the Commonwealth making such provision imperative. Nor can it be questioned, that her example and influence had a decisive effect in producing that law. An intel- ligent generosity has been conspicuous among her inhabitants on this subject, from the day when, in 16o5, they " entreated . our brother Philemon Pormont to become schoolmaster, for the teaching and nurturing children with us," to this hour, when what is equivalent to a capital of two hundred and fifty thou- sand dollars is invested in school-houses, eighty schools are maintained, and seven thousand and five hundred children edu- cated at an expense exceeding annually sixty-five thousand dollars. No city in the world, in proportion to its means and population, ever gave more uniform and unequivocal evidences ' See " A true coppie of the agreement at Cambridge, 1629," in Hutchinson's Collection of Orujinal Papers relative to the IPistorij of the Colony of Massachu- setts Bay, p. 25, signed by llichard Saltonstall, John Winthrop, Thomas Sharp, Tliomas Dudley, Kelhun Browne, Increase Nowcll, William Vassal, Isaac Johnson, William Fynchon, Nicko : West, John Humfrey, William Colbron. 30 350 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. of its desire to diffuse intellectual power and moral culture through the whole mass of the community. The result is every day witnessed, at home and abroad, in private intercourse and in the public assembly ; in a quiet and orderly demeanor, in the self-respect and mutual harmony prevalent among its citizens ; in the general comfort which characterizes their condition; in their submission to the laws ; and in that wonderful capacity for self-government, which postponed for almost two centuries a city organization ; — and this, even then, was adopted more with reference to anticipated, than from experience of existing evils. During the whole of that period, and even after its population exceeded fifty thousand, its financial, economical, and municipal interests were managed, either by general vote, or by men appointed by the whole multitude ; and with a regularity, wis- dom, and success, which it will be happy if future adminis- trations shall equal, and which certainly they will find it diffi- cult to exceed. The influence of the institutions of our fathers is also appa- rent in that munificence towards objects of public interest or charity, for which, in every period of its history, the citizens of Boston have been distinguished, and which, by universal con- sent, is recognized to be a prominent featm'e in their character. To no city has Boston ever been second in its spirit of liberality. From the first settlement of the country to this day, it has been a point to which have tended applications for assistance or relief, on account of suffering or misfortune ; for the patronage of colleges, the endowment of schools, the erection of chm-ches, and the spreading of learning and religion, from almost every section of the United States. Seldom have the hopes of any worthy applicant been disappointed. The benevolent and pub- lic spirit of its inhabitants is also evidenced by its hospitals, its asylums, public libraries, almshouses, charitable associations — in its patronage of the neighboring University, and in its sub- scriptions for general charities. It is obviously impracticable to give any just idea of the amount of these charities. They flow from virtues which seek the shade and shun record. They are silent and secret out- wellings of grateful hearts, desirous unostentatiously to acknow- ledge the bounty of Heaven in their prosperity and abundance. The result of inqukies, necessarily imperfect, however, authorize CITY GOT'ERNMENT. 35I the statement, tliat, in the records of societies having for their objects either learning or some public charity, or in documents in the hands of individuals relative to contributions for the relief of suffering, or the patronage of distinguished merit or talent, there exists evidence of the liberality of the citizens of this metropolis, and that chiefly within the last thirty years, of an amount, by voluntary donation or bequest, exceeding one million and eight hundred thousand dollars. Far short as this sum falls of the real amount obtained within that period from the liberality of our citizens, it is yet enough to make evident, that the best spirit of the institutions of our ancestors survives in the hearts, and is exhibited in the lives, of the citizens of Boston ; inspiring love of country and duty ; stimulating to the active virtues of benevolence and charity ; exciting wealth and power to their best exercises; counteracting what is selfish in our nature ; and elevating the moral and social virtues to wise sacrifices and noble energies. With respect to religious liberty, where does it exist in a more perfect state, than in this metropolis ? Or where has it ever been enjoyed in a purer spu-it, or with happier consequences? In what city of equal population are all classes of society more distinguished for obedience to the institutions of rehgion, for regular attendance on its worship, for more happy intercourse with its ministers, or more uniformly honorable support of them ? In all struggles connected with religious liberty, and these are inseparable from its possession, it may be said of the inhabitants of this city, as truly as of any similar association of men, that they have ever maintained the freedom of the Gospel in the spirit of Christianity. Divided into various sects, their mutual intercourse has, almost without exception, been harmonious and respectful. The labors of intemperate zealots, with which, occa- sionally, every age has been troubled, have seldom, in this metro- polis, been attended with their natural and usual consequences. Its sects have never been made to fear or hate one another. The genius of its inhabitants, through the influence of the intel- lectual power which pervades their mass, has ever been quick to detect " close ambition varnished o'er with zeal." The modes, the forms, the discipfine, the opinions, which our ancestors held to be essential, have, in many respects, been changed or oblite- rated with the progress of time, or been countervailed or super- 352 MUNICirAL HISTORY. seded by rival forms and opinions. But veneration for the Sacred Scriptures and attachment to the right of free inquiry, which were tlie substantial motives of their emigi-ation and of all their institutions, remain, and are maintained in a Christian spirit, (judging by life and language,) certainly not exceeded in the times of any of our ancestors. The right to read those Scriptures is universally recognized. The means to acquire the possession and to attain the knowledge of them are multiplied by the intelligence and liberality of the age, and extended to every class of society. All men are invited to search for them- selves concerning the grounds of their hopes of future happiness and acceptance. All are permitted to hear from the lips of our Saviour himself, that " the meek," " the merciful," " the pure in heart," " the persecuted for righteousness' sake," are those who shall receive the blessing, and be admitted to the presence, of the Eternal Father ; and to be assured from those sacred records, that, " in every nation, he who feareth God and worketh right- eousness, is accepted of him." Elevated by the power of these sublime assurances, as conformable to reason as to Revelation, man's intellectual principle rises " above the smoke and stir of this dim spot," and, like an eagle soaring above the Andes, looks down on the cloudy cliffs, the narrow, separating points, and flaming craters, which divide and terrify men below. It is scarcely necessary, on this occasion, to speak of civil liberty, or to tell of our constitutions of government; of the freedom they maintain and are calculated to preserve ; of the equality they establish ; the self-respect they encourage ; the private and domestic virtues they cherish ; the love of country they inspire; the self-devotion and self-sacrifice they enjoin; — all these are but the filling up of the great outline sketched by our fathers, the parts in which, through the darkness and per- versity of their times, they were defective, being corrected ; all are but endeavors, conformed to their great, original conception, to group together the strength of society and the religious and civil rights of the individual, in a living and breathing spirit of efficient power, by forms of civil government, adapted to our condition, and adjusted to social relations of unexampled great- ness and extent, unparalleled in their results, and connected by principles elevated as the nature of man, and immortal as his destinies. CITY GOVERNMENT. 353 It is not, however, from local position, nor from general cir- cumstances of life and fortune, that the peculiar felicity of this metropolis is to be deduced. Her enviable distinction is, that she is among the chiefest of that happy New England family, which claims descent from the early emigrants. If we take a survey, of that family, and, excluding from our view the unnum- bered multitudes of its members who have occupied the vacant wildernesses of other States, we restrict our thoughts to the local sphere of New England, what scenes open upon our sight! How wild and visionary would seem our prospects, did we indulge only natural anticipations of the future! Already, on an area of seventy thousand square miles, a population of two millions ; all, but comparatively a few, descendants of the early emigrants ! Six independent Commonwealths, with constitu- tions varying in the relations and proportions of power, yet uniform in all their general principles ; diverse in their political an'angements, yet each suflicient for its own necessities ; all harmonious with those without, and peaceful within ; embrac- ing, under the denomination of toivns, upwards of twelve hun- dred effective republics, with qualified powers, indeed, but pos- sessing potent influences; — subject themselves to the respective State sovereignties, yet directing all their operations, and shaping their policy by constitutional agencies ; swayed, no less than the greater republics, by pas.sions, interests, and affections ; like them, exciting competitions which rouse into action the latent energies of mind, and infuse into the mass of each society a knowledge of the nature of its interests, and a capacity to under- stand and share in the defence of those of the Commonwealth. The effect of these minor republics is daily seen in the existence of practical talents, and in the readiness with which those talents can be called into the public service of the State. If, after this general survey of the surface of New England, we cast our eyes on its cities and great towns, with what won- der should we behold, did not famiharity render the phenomenon almost unnoticed, men, combined in great multitudes, possessing freedom and the consciousness ^of strength, — the comparative physical power of the ruler less than that of a cobweb across a lion's path, — yet orderly, obedient, and respectful to authority; a people, but no populace ; every class in reality existing, which the general law of society acknowledges, except one, — and this 30* 354 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. exception characterizing the whole country. The soil of New England is trodden by no slave. In our streets, in our assem- blies, in the halls of election and legislation, men of every rank and condition meet, and unite or divide on other principles, and are actuated by other motives, than those growing out of such distinctions. The fears and jealousies, which in other countries separate classes of men and make them hostile to each other, have here no influence, or a very limited one. Each individual, of whatever condition, has the consciousness of Living under known laws, which secure equal rights, and guarantee to each whatever portion of the goods of life, be it great or small, chance, or talent, or industry may have bestowed. All perceive, that the honors and rewards of society are open equally to the fair competition of all ; that the distinctions of wealth, or of power, are not fixed in families ; that whatever of this nature exists to-day, may be changed to-morrow, or, in a coming generation, be absolutely reversed. Common principles, interests, hopes, and affections, are the result of universal education. Such are the consequences of the equality of rights, and of the provisions for the general diffusion of knowledge and the distribution of intestate estates, established by the laws framed by the earliest emigrants to New England. If from our cities we turn to survey the wide expanse of the interior, how do the effects of the institutions and example of our early ancestors appear, in all the local comfort and accom- modation which mark the general condition of the whole coun- try; — unobtrusive indeed, but substantial; in nothing splendid, but in every thing sufficient and satisfactory. Indications of active talent and practical energy exist everywhere. With a soil comparatively little luxuriant, and in great proportion either rock, or hill, or sand, the skill and industry of man are seen triumphing over the obstacles of nature ; making the rock the guardian of the field ; moulding the granite, as though it were clay; leading cultivation to the hill-top, and spreading over the arid plain, hitherto unknown and unanticipated harvests. The lofty mansion of the prosperous adjoins the lowly dwelling of the husbandman ; their respective inmates are in the daily inter- change of civility, sympathy, and respect. Enterprise and skill, which once held chief affinity with the ocean or the sea-board, now begin to delight the interior, haunting our rivers, where the CITY GOVERNMENT. ^55 music of the waterfall, with powers more attractive than those of the fabled harp of Orpheus, collects around it intellectual man and material nature. Towns and cities, civilized and happy communities, rise, like exhalations, on rocks and in forests, till the deep and far-resounding voice of the neighboring torrent is itself lost and unheard, amid the predominating noise of success- ful and rejoicing labor. What lessons has New England, in every period of her his- tory, given to the world ! What lessons do her condition and example still give I How unprecedented; yet how practical! How simple ; yet how powerful I She has proved, that all the variety of Christian sects may live together in harmony, under a government, which allows equal privileges to all, — exclusive preeminence to none. She has proved, that ignorance among the multitude is not necessary to order, but that the surest basis of perfect order is the information of the people. She has proved the old maxim, that " no government, except a despotism with a standing army, can subsist where the people have arms,'' is false. Ever since the first settlement of the country, arms have been required to be in the hands of the whole multitude of New England ; yet the use of them in a private quarrel, if it have ever happened, is so rare, that a late writer, of great intelligence, who had passed his whole life in New England, and possessed exten- sive means of information, declares, " I know not a single instance of it."^ She has proved, that a people, of a character essentially military, may subsist without duelling. New Eng- land has, at all times, been distinguished, both on the land and on the ocean, for a daring, fearless, and enterprising spirit; yet the same writer^ asserts, that during the whole period of her existence, her soil has been disgraced but hy five duels, and that only tivo of these were fought by her native inhabitants I Per- haps this assertion is not minutely correct. There can, however, be no question, that it is sufficiently near the truth to justify the position for which it is here adduced, and which the history of New England, as well as the experience of her inhabitants, abundantly confirms ; that, in the present and in every past age, the spirit of our institutions has, to every important practical purpose, annihilated the spirit of duelling. 1 See Travds in New Enghinil and Neiv York, by Timothy Dwiglit, S. T. D., LL. D., late President of Yale College, vol. iv, p. 334. 2 Ibid. p. 336. 356 MUNICIPAL mSTORY. Such are the true glories of the institutions of our fathers I Such the natural fruits of that patience in toil, that frugality of disposition, that temperance of habit, that general ditfusion of knowledge, and that sense of religious responsibility, inculcated by the precepts, and exhibited in the example of every genera- tion of our ancestors I And now, standing at this hour on the dividing line which separates the ages that are past from those which are to come, how solemn is the thought, that not one of this vast assembly, not one of that gi-eat multitude who now throng our streets, rejoice in our fields, and make our hills echo with their gi-atula- tions, shall live to witness the next return of the era we this day celebrate ! The dark veil of futurity conceals from human sight the fate of cities and nations as well as of individuals, Man passes away ; generations are but shadows ; there is nothing stable but truth ; principles only are immortal. What then, in conclusion of this gi-eat topic, are the elements of the liberty, prosperity, and safety which the inhabitants of New^ England at this day enjoy ? In what language, and con- cerning what comprehensive truths does the wisdom of former times address the inexperience of the future ? Those elements are simple, obvious, and familiar. Every civil and religious blessing of New England, all that here gives happiness to human life or security to human virtue is alone to be perpetuated in the forms and under the auspices of a free commonwealth. The Commonwealth itself has no other strength or hope than the intelligence and virtue of the individuals that compose it. For the intelligence and virtue of individuals, there is no other human assurance than laws, providing for the education of the whole people. These laws themselves have no strength or efficient sanction, except in the moral and accountable nature of man, disclosed in the records of the Christian's faith ; the right to read, to construe, and to judge concerning which, belongs to no class or caste of men, but exclusively to the individual, who must stand or fall by his own acts and his own faith, and not by those of another. The great comprehensive truths, written in letters of living light on every page of our history, the language addressed by every past age of New England to all future ages is this, — CITY GOVERNMENT. 357 Human happiness has no perfect sccurifi/ but freedom ; freedom none hut virtue; virtue none but knuivledg-e ; and neither free- dam, nor virtue, nor knowledge has any vig'or or immortal hope, except in the princijyles of the Christian faith and in the sanctions of the Christian religion. Men of Massachusetts ! Citizens of Boston I Descendants of the early emigrants ! consider your blessings ; consider your duties. You have an inheritance acquired by the labors and suflferings of six successive generations of ancestors. They founded the fabric of your prosperity in a severe and masculine morality ; having intelligence for its cement and religion for its groundwork. Continue to build on the same foundation and by the same principles ; let the extending temple of your coun- try's freedom rise in the spirit of ancient times, in proportions of intellectual and moral architecture, — just, simple, and sublime. As from the first to this day, let New England continue to be an example to the world of the blessings of a free government, and of the means and capacity of man to maintain it. And, in all times to come as in all times past, may Boston be among the foremost and the boldest to exemplify and uphold whatever con- stitutes the prosperity, the happiness, and the glory of New England. CHAPTER XXIII. CITY GOVERNMENT. 1830. Harrison Gray Otis, Mayor. An Ode, pronounced before the Inhabitants of Boston, on the 17th of Septem- ber, 1830, at the Centennial Celebration of the Settlement of the City. By Charles Sjjrague. I. Not to the Pagan's mount I turn, For inspiration now ; Olympus and its gods I spurn — Pure One, be with me, Thou I Thou, in whose awful name. From suffering and from shame, Our Fathers fled, and braved a pathless sea ; Thou, in whose holy fear. They fixed an empire here. And gave it to their Children and to Thee. n. And You I ye bright ascended Dead, Who scorned the bigot's yoke. Come, round this place your influence shed ; Your spirits I invoke. Come, as ye came of yore. When on an unknown shore. Your daring hands the flag of faith unfurled, To float sublime. Through future time, The beacon-banner of another world. m. Behold ! they come — those sainted forms. Unshaken through the strife of storms ; Heaven's winter cloud hangs coldly down, And earth puts on its rudest frown ; CITY G0VEROTi4ENT. 359 But colder, ruder was the hand, That di-ove them from theii' own fair land ; Their own fair land — refinement's chosen seat, Art's ti-ophied dwelling, learning's green retreat; By valor guarded, and by victory crowned, For all, but gentle charity, renowned. With streaming eye, yet steadfast heart, Even from that land they dared to part. And burst each tender tie ; Haunts, where their sunny youth was passed, Homes, where they fondly hoped at last In peaceful age to die ; Friends, kindred, comfort, all they spurned — Their fathers' hallowed graves ; And to a world of darkness turned, Beyond a world of waves. IV. When Israel's race from bondage fled. Signs from on high the wanderers led; But here — Heaven hung no symbol here, Their steps to guide, their souls to cheer; They saw, thro' sorrow's lengthening night, Nought but the fagot's guilty light ; The cloud they gazed at was the smoke, That round their murdered brethren broke. Nor power above, nor power below. Sustained them in their hour of woe ; A fearful path they trod. And dared a fearful doom ; To build an altar to their God, And find a quiet tomb. But not alone, not all unblessed, The exile sought a place of rest ; One dared with him to burst the knot. That bound her to her native spot ; Her low sweet voice in comfort spoke. As round their bark the billows broke ; 360 MUNieiPAL HISTORY. She through the midnight watch was there, With him to bend her knees in prayer ; She trod tlie shore with girded heart, Through good and ill to claim her part; In life, in death, with him to seal Her kindred love, her kindred zeal. VI. They come — that coming who shall tell ? The eye may weep, the heart may swell, But the poor tongue in vain essays A fitting note for them to raise. We hear the after-shout that rings For them who smote the power of kings ; The swelling triumph all would share. But who the dark defeat would dare, And boldly meet the wrath and woe. That wait the unsuccessful blow ? It were an envied fate, we deem. To live a land's recorded theme, When we are in the tomb ; We, too, might yield the joys of home. And waves of winter darkness roam. And tread a shore of gloom — Knew we +hose waves, through coming time, Should roll our names to every clime ; Felt we that millions on that shore Should stand, our memory to adore — But no glad vision burst in light. Upon the Pilgrims' aching sight Their hearts no proud hereafter swelled ; Deep shadows veiled the way they held ; The yell of vengeance was their trump of fame, Theu' monument, a grave without a name. vn. Yet, strong in weakness, there they stand, On yonder ice-bound rock. Stern and resolved, that faithful band. To meet fate's rudest shock. CITY GOVERmiENT. 361 Though anguish rends the father's breast, For them, his dearest and his best, With him the waste who trod — Though tears that freeze, the mother sheds Upon her children's houseless heads — The Christian turns to God ! vin. In grateful adoration now, Upon the barren sands they bow. What tongue of joy e'er woke such prayer. As bursts in desolation there ? What arm of strength e'er wTOUght such power. As waits to crown that feeble hour? There into life an infant empire springs I There falls the iron from the soul ; There liberty's young accents roll, Up to the King of kings ! To fair creation's farthest bound. That thrilling summons yet shall sound ; The dreaming nations shall awake. And to their centre earth's old kingdoms shake. Pontiff and prince, your sway Must crumble from that day ; Before the loftier throne of Heaven, The hand is raised, the pledge is given — One monarch to obey, one creed to own. That monarch, God, that creed. His word alone. IX. Spread out earth's holiest records here, Of days and deeds to reverence dear ; A zeal like this what pious legends tell ? On kingdoms built In blood and guilt. The worshippers of vulgar triumph dwell — But what exploit with theirs shall page, Who rose to bless their kind ; Who left their nation and their age, Man's spu-it to unbind ? 31 362 MUNICIP.AX HISTORY. Who boundless seas passed o'er, And boldly met, in every path. Famine and frost and heathen wrath, To dedicate a shore. Where piety's meek train might breathe their vow, And seek their Maker with an unshamed brow ; Where liberty's glad race might proudly come, And set up there an everlasting home ? X. O many a time it hath been told, The story of those men of old : For this fan- poetry hath wreathed Her sweetest, purest flower ; For this proud eloquence hath breathed His strain of loftiest power ; Devotion, too, hath lingered round Each spot of consecrated ground. And hill and valley blessed ; There, where our banished Fathers strayed, There, where they loved and wept and prayed, There, where then* ashes rest. XI. And never may they rest unsung. While liberty can find a tongue. Twine, Gratitude, a wreath for them, More deathless than the diadem, Who to life's noblest end. Gave up life's noblest powers, And bade the legacy descend, Down, down to us and ours. xn. By centuries now the glorious hour we mark. When to these shores they steered their shattered bark ; And still, as other centuries melt away, Shall other ages come to keep the day. When we are dust, who gather round this spot, Our joys, our griefs, our very names forgot, CITY GOVERJaiEXT. 363 Here shall the dwellers of the land be seen, To keep the memory of the Pilgrims green. Nor here alone their praises shall go round, Nor here alone their virtues shall abound — Broad as the empu-e of the free shall spread, Far as the foot of man shall dare to tread, Where oar hath never dipped, where human tongue Hath never through the woods of ages rung. There, where the eagle's scream and wild wolf's cry Keep ceaseless day and night through earth and sky. Even there, in after time, as toil and taste Go forth in gladness to redeem the waste. Even there shall rise, as gi-ateful myriads throng. Faith's holy prayer and freedom's joyful song ; There shall the flame that flashed from yonder Rock, Light up the land till nature's final shock. XIII. Yet while by life's endearments crowned, To mark this day we gather round, And to our nation's founders raise The voice of gratitude and praise, Shall not one line lament that lion race, For us struck out from sweet creation's face ? Alas! alas! for them — those fated bands, Whose monarch ti-ead was on these broad, gi-een lands ; Our fathers called them savage — them, whose bread. In the dark hour, those famished fathers fed : We call them savage, we. Who hail the struggling free, Of every clime and hue ; We, who would save The branded slave. And give him liberty he never knew : We, who but now have caught the tale, That tm-ns each listening tyrant pale. And blessed the winds and waves that bore The tidings to our kindred shore ; The triumph-tidings jjealing from that land, Where up in amis insulted legions stand ; 364 MUNICIPAL IIISTOEY. There, gathering round his bold compeers, Where He, ovir own, our welcomed One, Riper in glory than in years, Down from his forfeit throne, A craven monarch hurled, And spurned him forth, a proverb to the world ! XIV. We call them savage — O be just ! Their outraged feelings scan ; A voice comes forth, 'tis from the dust — The savage was a man ! Think ye he loved not ? who stood by, And in his toils took part ? Woman was there to bless his eye — The savage had a heart ! Think ye he prayed not ? when on high He heard the thunders roll. What bade him look beyond the sky ? The savage had a soul I XV. I venerate the Pilgrim's cause, Yet for the red man dare to plead — We bow to Heaven's recorded laws, He turned to nature for a creed ; Beneath the pillared dome. We seek our God in prayer ; Through boundless woods he loved to roam, And the Great Spirit worshipped there : But one, one fellow-throb with us he felt ; To one divinity with us he knelt ; Freedom, the self-same freedom we adore, Bade him defend his violated shore ; He saw the cloud, ordained to grow, And burst upon his hills in woe ; He saw his people withering by, Beneath the invader's evil eye ; CITY GOVERmiENT. 2C^5 Strange feet were trampling on his fathers' bones ; At midnight hour he woke to gaze Upon his happy cabin's blaze, And listen to his children's dying groans : He saw — and maddening at the sight, Gave his bold bosom to the fight ; To tiger rage his soul was chiven, Mercy was not — nor sought nor given ; The pale man from his lands must fly ; He would be free — or he would die. X\J. And was this savage ? say, Ye ancient few, Who struggled through Young freedom's trial-day — What first your sleeping wi-ath awoke ? On your own shores war's larum broke : What turned to gall even kindred blood ? Round yom- own homes the oppressor stood : This every warm affection chilled, This every heart with vengeance thrilled, And sti-engthened every hand ; From mound to mound, The word went round — " Death for our native land I " XVII. Ye mothers, too, breathe ye' no sigh, For them who thus could dare to die ? Are all your own dark hours forgot. Of soul-sick suffering here ? Your pangs, as from yon mountain spot, Death spoke in every booming shot, That knelled upon your ear? How oft that gloomy, glorious tale ye tell, As round your knees yom- children's children hang, Of them, the gallant Ones, ye loved so well, Who to the conflict for their country sprang. 31 366 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. In pride, in all the pride of woe, Ye tell of them, the brave laid low, Who for their birthplace bled ; In pride, the pride of triumph then, Ye tell of them, the matchless men, From whom the invaders fled ! xvm. And ye, this holy place who throng, The annual theme to hear, And bid the exulting song Sound their great names from year to year ; Ye, who invoke the chisel's breathing grace. In marble majesty their forms to trace ; Ye, who the sleeping rocks would raise. To guard their dust and speak their praise ; Ye, who, should some other band With hostile foot defile the land, Feel that ye like them would wake, Like them the yoke of bondage break, Nor leave a battle-blade undrawn, Though every hill a sepulchre should yawn — Say, have not ye one line for those. One brother-line to spare, Who rose but as your Fathers rose. And dared as ye would dare ? XIX. Alas ! for them — their day is o'er, Their fires are out from hill and shore : No more for them the wild deer bounds. The plough is on their hunting grounds ; The pale man's axe rings through their woods, The pale man's sail skims o'er their floods. Their pleasant springs are dry ; Their children — look, by power oppressed, Beyond the mountains of the west. Their children so — to die. CITY GOVEHmiENT. 367 XX. C) doubly lost! oblivion's shadows close Around their triumphs and then* woes. On other realms, whose suns have set, Reflected radiance lingers yet ; There sage and bard have shed a light That never shall go down in night ; There time-crowned columns stand on high, To tell of them who cannot die ; Even we, who then were nothing, kneel In homage there, and join earth's general peal. But the doomed Indian leaves behind no trace. To save his own, or serve another race ; With his frail breath his power has passed away. His deeds, his thoughts are buried with his clay ; Nor lofty pile, nor glowing page Shall link him to a future age, Or give him with the past a rank : His heraldry is but a broken bow, His history but a tale of wrong and woe, His very name must be a blank. XXI. Cold, with the beast he slew-, he sleeps ; O'er him no filial spirit weeps ; No crowds throng round, no anthem-notes ascend. To bless his coming and embalm his end ; Even that he lived, is for his conqueror's tongue, By foes alone his death-song must be sung ; No chronicles but theirs shall tell His mournful doom to future times ; May these upon his virtues dwell, And in his fate forget his crimes. xxn. Peace to the mingling dead I Beneath the turf we tread, 368 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. Chief, Pilgrim, Patriot sleep — All gone ! how changed! and yet the same, As when faith's herald bark first came In sorrow o'er the deep. Still from his noonday height. The sun looks down in light ; Along the trackless realms of space, The stars still rmi their midnight race ; The same green valleys smile, the same rough shore Still echoes to the same wild ocean's roar : — But where the bristling night-wolf sprang Upon his startled prey. Where the fierce Indian's war-cry rang Through many a bloody fray ; And where the stern old Pilgrim prayed In solitude and gloom, Where the bold Patriot drew his blade. And dared a patriot's doom — Behold ! in liberty's unclouded blaze. We lift our heads, a race of other days. xxm. All gone I the wild beast's lair is trodden out ; Proud temples stand in beauty there ; Our children raise their merry shout, Where once the death-whoop vexed the air : The Pilgiim — seek yon ancient place of graves, Beneath that chapel's holy shade ; Ask, where the breeze the long grass waves. Who, who within that spot are laid : The Patriot — go, to fame's proud mount repair, The tardy pile, slow rising there. With tongueless eloquence shall tell Of them who for their country fell. XXIV. All gone ! 't is ours, the goodly land — Look round — the heritage behold: Go forth — upon the mountains stand, Then, if ye can, be cold. CITY GOVERNMENT. 369 See living vales by living waters blessed, Their wealth see earth's dark caverns yield, See ocean roll, in glory dressed, For all a treasure, and round all a shield : Hark to the shouts of praise ^ Rejoicing millions raise ; Gaze on the spires that rise, To point them to the skies, Unfearing and unfeared ; Then, if ye can, O then forget To whom ye owe the sacred debt — The Pilgrim race revered I The men who set faith's burning lights Upon these everlasting heights, To guide their children through the years of time The men that glorious law who taught, Unshrinking liberty of thought. And roused the nations with the truth sublime. XXV. Forget? no, never — ne'er shall die, Those names to memory dear ; I read the promise in each eye That beams upon me here. Descendants of a twice-recorded race, Long may ye here yom* lofty lineage grace ; 'Tis not for you home's tender tie To rend, and brave the waste of waves ; 'Tis not for you to rouse and die, Or yield and live a line of slaves ; The deeds of danger and of death are done : Upheld by inward power alone, Unhonored by the world's loud tongue, 'Tis yours to do unknown. And then to die unsung. To other days, to other men belong The penman's plaudit and the poet's song ; Enough for glory has been wrought, By you be humbler praises sought ; In peace and tiaith life's journey run. And keep unsullied what your Fathers won. 370 MUNICIPAL raSTORY. XXVI. Take then my prayer, Ye dwellers of this spot Be yours a noiseless and a guiltless lot. I plead not that ye bask In the rank beams of vulgar fame ; To light your steps I ask A purer and a holier flame. No bloated growth I supplicate for you, No pining multitude, no pampered few ; 'Tis not alone to cofler o-okl. Nor spreading borders to behold ; 'T is not fast-swelling crowds to win, The refuse-ranks of want and sin — . This be the kind decree : Be ye by goodness crowned, Revered, though not renowned ; Poor, if Heaven will, but Free I Free from the tyrants of the hour, The clans of wealth, the clans of power, The coarse, cold scorners of their God ; Free from the taint of sin, The leprosy that feeds within. And free, in mercy, from the bigot's rod. xxvn. The sceptre's might, the crosier's pride. Ye do not fear ; No conquest blade, in life-blood dyed, Drops terror here — Let there not lurk a subtler snare. For wisdom's footsteps to beware ; The shackle and the stake, Our Fathers fled ; Ne'er may their children wake A fouler wrath, a deeper dread ; Ne'er may the craft that fears the flesh to bind, Lock its hard fetters on the mind ; Quenched be the fiercer flame That kindles with a name : CITY GOVERNMENT. ;j71 The pilgrim's faith, the pilgrim's zeal, Let more than pilgi'im kindness seal ; Be purity of life the test, Leave to the heart, to Heaven, the rest. xxvin. So, when our children turn the page, To ask what triumphs marked our age, What we achieved to challenge praise, Through the long line of future days, This let them read, and hence instruction draw : " Here were the Many blessed, " Here found the virtues rest, " Faith linked with love and liberty with law; " Here industry to comfort led, " Her book of light here learning spread ; " Here the warm heart of youth " Was wooed to temperance and to truth ; " Here hoary age was found, " By wisdom and by reverence crowned. " No great, but guilty fame " Here kindled pride, that should have kindled shame ; " These chose the better, happier part, " That poured its sunlight o'er the heart ; " That crowned their homes with peace and health, " And weighed Heaven's smile beyond earth's wealth ; " Far from the thorny paths of strife " They stood, a living lesson to their race, " Rich in the charities of life, « Man in his strength, and Woman in her grace ; " In purity and love their pilgrim road they trod, " And when they served then* neighbor felt they served their God." XXIX. This may not wake the poet's verse, This souls of fire may ne'er rehearse In crowd delighting voice ; Yet o'er the record shall the patriot bend, His quiet praise the moralist shall lend, And all the good rejoice. 372 MUNICIPAL HISTORY. XXX. This be our story then, in that far day, When others come their kindred debt to pay : In that far day ? — O what shall be, In this dominion of the free, When we and ours have rendered up our trust, And men unborn shall tread above om" dust ? O what shall be ? — He, He alone, The dread response can make, Who sitteth on the only throne. That time shall never shake ; Before whose all-beholding eyes Ages sweep on, and empires sink and rise. Then let the song to Him begun. To Him in reverence end : Look down in love, Eternal One, And Thy good cause defend ; Here, late and long, put forth thy hand. To guard and guide the Pilgrim's land. APPENDIX. (A. Page 43.) THE mayor's IXAUGURAL ADDRESS, MAY, 1822. Gentlemen of the Cili/ Council: — The experience of nearly two centuries has borne ample testimony to the ■wisdom of those institutions which our ancestors established for the mana"-e- ment of their municipal concerns. Most of the towns in this Commonwealth may, probably, continue to enjoy the benefit of those salutary regulations for an unlimited series of years. But the great increase of population in the town of Boston has made it necessary for the Legislature frequently to enact statutes of local application, to enable the inhabitants successfully to conduct their aifairs; and at the last session, with a promptness which claims our gratitude, on the application of the town, they granted the charter which invests it with the powers and immunities of a city. Those who have attended to the inconveniences under which we have labored, will not attribute this innovation to an eager thirst for novelty, or restless desire of innovation. The most intel- ligent and experienced of our citizens have for a long period meditated a change, and exerted their influence to effect it. Difference of opinion must be expected, and mutual concessions made, in all cases where the interests of a large commu- nity is to be accommodated. The precise form in which the charter is to be presented, may not be acceptable to all ; but its provisions have met with the approbation of a large majority, and it will receive the support of every good citizen. 3I>: Chairman, and Gentlemen of the Board of Selectmen : — The members of the City Council acknowledge their obligations to you, for the attention and care which you have bestowed in all the arrangements for their accommodation. They tender their thanks for the friendly and respectful senti- ments expressed in the address which accompanied the delivery of the ancient act of incorporation of the town, and the recent charter of the city. During the short period which has elapsed since I was elected to the office* the duties of which I have now solemnly undertaken to discharge to the best of my ability, I have devoted such portion of my time as I could command to exa- mine the records of your proceedings, with the able assistiince which your Chair- 32 374 APPENDIX. man most readily afforded me ; and tliey furnisli full evidence of the ability, diligence, and integrity of those who have been justly denominated the Fathers of the town. Gentlemen, you will now be i-elieved from labors, the weight of which can only be duly estimated by those excellent citizens who have preceded you in office. You retire witli the consciousness of important duties faithfully and honorably discharged. Our best wishes attend you, whether engaged in pubhc employments or in private pursuits. May you be useful and prosperous, and long continue your exertions to advance the interest and honor of our city. Those who encourage hopes that can never be realized, and those who indulge unreasonable apprehensions because this instrument is not framed agreeably to their wishes, will be benefited by reflecting, how much more our social happiness depends upon other causes than the provisions of a charter. Purity of manners, general diffusion of knowledge, and strict attention to the education of the young, above all a firm, practical belief of that Di\ine revelation which has affixed the penalty of unceasing anguish to vice, and promised to virtue rewards of inter- minable duration, will counteract the evils of any form of government. While the love of oi'der, benevolent affections, and Christian piety distinguish, as they have done, the inhabitants of tliis city, they may enjoy the liighest blessings under a charter with so feAV imperfections as that which the wisdom of our Legislature has sanctioned. To enter upon the administration of this government by the invitation of our fellow-citizens, we are this day assembled. When I look around and observe gentlemen of the highest standing and most active employments, devoting their talents and experience to assist in the commencement of this arduous business, in common with my fellow-citizens, I a])preciate most highly their elevated and patriotic motives. I well know. Gentlemen, the great sacrifice of time, of care, and of emolument, which you make in assuming this burden. It shall be my constant study to hghten it by every means in my power. In my official inter- coui^e, I shall not encumber you with unnecessaiy forms, or encroach on your time wdth prolix dissertations. In all the communications which the charter requires me to make, conciseness and brevity will be carefidly studied. I will detain you no longer from the discharge of the important duties which now devolve upon you, than to invite you to unite in beseeching the Father of Light, ■without whose blessing all exertion is fruitless, and whose grace alone can give efficacy to the councils of human wisdom, to enlighten and guide our delibera- tions with the influence of his Holy Spirit, and then we cannot fail to promote the best interests of our fellow-citizens. APPENDIX. 375 (B. Page 59.) THE mayor's inaugural ADDRESS, MAT, 1823. Gentlemen of the Board of Aldermen, and Gentlemen of the Common Council: — Ix accepting the office, to which the suifrages of my fellow-citizens have called me, I have not concealed from myself the labors and responsibilities of the station. Comparing my own powers with tlie nature and exigencies of the pre- sent relations of the city, I shoidd have shrunk instinctively from the task, tlid I not derive, from the intelligence and \irtues of my fellow-citizens, a confidence which no qualifications of my own are capable of inspiring. In entering upon the duties of this office, and after examining and considering the records of the proceedings of the city authorities the past year, it is impos- sible for me to refrain from expressing the sense I entertain of the services of that high and honorable individual who filled the Chair of this city, as well as of the wise, prudent, and faithful citizens, who composed, during that period, the City Council. Their labors have been, indeed, in a measure, unobtrusive ; but they ha\e been various, useful, and Avell considered. They have laid the found- ations of the prosperity of our city deep, and on right principles ; and, whatever success may attend those who come after them, they will be largely indebted for it to the wisdom and fidelity of their predecessors. A task was conunitted to the first admmistration to perform, in no common degree arduous and delicate. The change from a town to a city had not been effected without a considerable oppo- sition. On that subject many fears existed, which it was difficult to allay ; many jealousies, hard to overcome. In the outset of a new form of government, among variously aifected passions and intei-ests, and among indistinct expecta- tions impossible to realize, it was apparently wise to shajoe the course o^ the first administration, rather by the spirit of the long-experienced constitution of the town, than by that of the unsettled charter of the city. It was natural for pru- dent men, first intrusted with city authorities, to apjirehend that measures par- taking of the mild, domestic character of our ancient institutions, might be as useful,' and would be likely to be more acceptable, than those which should develop the entire powers of the new government. It is yet to be proved, whether, in these measures, our predecessors were not right. Li all times the inhabitants of this metropoUs have been distinguished, preeminently, for a free, elastic republican spirit. Heaven grant, that they forever may be thus distin- guished ! It is yet to be decided, whether such a spirit can, for the sake of the peace, order, health, and convenience of a great and rapidly-increasing popula- tion, endure without distrust and discontent, the application of necessary city powers to all the exigencies which arise in such a conmiunity. In executing the trust which my fellow-citizens have confided to me, I shall yield entirely to the influences, and be guided exclusively by the principles of the city charter ; striving to give prudent efficiency to all its powers ; endeavor- inof to perform all its duties, in forms and modes at once the most useful and most acceptable to my fellow-citizens. K at any time, however, through any intrinsic incompatibility, it is impracticable to unite both these objects, I shall, in 376 APPENDIX. such case, follow duty ; and leave the event to the decision of a just, and wise, and generous people. In every exigency, it will be my endeavor to imbibe and to exhibit, in purpose and act, the spirit of the city charter. What that spirit is, so far as relates to the office of Mayor ; what duties it enjoins ; and by what principles those duties will, In the course of the ensuing administration, be attempted to be performed, it is suitable to the occasion, and I shall now, very brietl}-, explain. The spirit of the city charter, so far as relates to the office of Mayor, Is charac- terized by the powers and duties it devolves upon that officer. By him, " the laws of the city are to be executed ; the conduct of all subordi- nate officers inspected; all negligence, carelessness, and positive violations of duty prosecuted and punished." In addition to this, he Is enjoined to " collect and communicate all information, and recommend all such measures as may tend to improve the city finances, poHcc, health, security, cleanliness, comfort, and ornament." The spliit of the city charter In this relation may also be collected, by consi- dering these powers and duties In connection with the preceding form of govern- ment. One great defect in the ancient organization of town government was, the di^isIon of the executive power among many ; the consequent little respon- sibility, and the facility with which thg.t little was shifted from one department, board, or Individual, to another ; so as to leave the inhabitants. In a great mea- sure, at a loss whom to blame for the deficiency In the nature or execution of the provisions for their safety and police. The duty, also, of general superintend- ence over all the boards and public Institutions, being specifically vested no- where, no Individual member of either of them could take upon himself that office, without being obnoxious to the charge of a busy, meddlesome disposition. The consequence was, that the great duty of considering all the public institu- tions, in their relations to one another and to the public service, was either necessarily neglected, or, if performed at all, could only be executed occasion- ally, and In a very general manner. The remedy attempted by the city charter Is, to provide for the fulfilment of all these duties, by specifically investing the chief officer of the city with the necessary powers ; and thus to render him responsible, both in character and by station, for their efficient exercise. By placing this officer under the constant control of both branches of the City Council, all errors. In judgment and pur- pose, were Intended to be checked or corrected ; and, by his annual election, security Is attained against insufficiency or abuse, in the exercise of his authority. The duties, enjoined by the charter on the executive authority, are concurrent with Its powers and coincident with Its spirit. If, in making a sketch of them, I shall be thought to present an outline, diificult for any man completely to fill, and absolutely Impracticable for the individual who now occupies tlie station, let it be remembered, that it is always wise in man to work after models more per- fect than his capacity can execute. Perfect duty, it is not in the power of man to perform. But it Is the right of the people, that every man in public office should know and attempt it. Let it also be considered, that It will be advanta- geous, both for the individual who may hold, and for the people who judge and select, that l)oth should form elevated conceptions of the nature of the station. The one will be thus more likely to aim at something higher than mediocrity, in APPENDIX. 377 execution ; and the other, forming just notions of its difficulty, delicacy, and importance, will select with discrimination, and receive more readily faithful and laborious endeavor in lieu of perfect performance. The great duty of the Mayor of such a city as this, is to identify himself, abso- lutely and exclusively, with its character and interests. All its important rela- tions he should diUgently study, and strive thoroughly to understand. All its rights, whether aifecting property, or liberty, or power, it is his duty, as occa- sions occur, to analyze and maintain. If possible, he should leave no founda- tions of either unsettled or dubious. Towards them, he should teach himself to feel, not merely the zeal of official station, but the pertinacious spirit of private interest. Of local, sectional, party, or personal divisions, he should know nothing, except for the purpose of healing the woimds they inffict ; softening the animo- sities they engender ; and exciting, by his example and influence, bands, hostile to one another in every other respect, to march one way, when the interests of the city are in danger. Its honor, happiness, dignity, safety, and prosperity, the development of its resources, its expenditures and police, should be the perpetual object of his purpose and labor of his thought. All its public institutions, its edifices, hospitals, almshouses, jails, should be made the subject of his frequent in- spection, to the end that wants may be supplied, errors corrected, abuses exposed. Above all, its schools, those choice depositaries of the hope of a free people, should engage his utmost soUcitude and unremitting superintendence. Justly are these institutions the pride and the boast of the inhabitants of this city. For these, Boston has, at all times, stood preeminent; Let there exist, elsewhere, a greater population, a richer commerce, wider streets, more splendid ave- nues, statelier palaces. Be it the endeavor of this metropolis to educate better men, happier citizens, more enUghtened statesmen ; to elevate a people, tho- roughly instructed in their social rights, deeply imbued with a sense of their moral duties ; mild, flexible to every breath of legithnate authority ; unyielding as fate to unconstitutional impositions. In achninistering the police, in executing the laws, in protecting the rights, and promoting the prosperity of the city, its first officer will be necessarily beset and assailed by individual interests, by rival projects, by personal influences, by party passions. The more firm and inflexible he is, in maintaining the rights, and in pursuing the interests of the city, the greater is the probabihty of his becoming obnoxious to all, whom he causes to be prosecuted, or punished ; to all, whose passions he thwarts ; to all, whose interests he opposes. It wUI remain for the citizens to decide, whether he who shall attempt to fulfil these duties, and thus to uphold their interests, in a firm, honest, and impartial spirit, shall find countenance and support, in the intelligence and virtue of the com- munity. Touching the principles, by which the ensuing administration will endeavor to reo-ulate and conduct the affairs of the city, nothing is promised, except a labo- rious fulfihnent of every known dutj- ; a prudent exercise of every invested power ; and a disposition, shrinking from no official responsibility. The outhne of the duties, just sketched, will be placed before the executive officer, without any expectation of approximating towards its extent, much less of filling it up, according to that enlarged conception. By making, in the constitution of our 32* 378 APPENDIX. nature, tlie power to purj^ose gre.ater than the power to perform, Providence Las indieatod to man, that true duty and wisdom consists in combining high efforts with humble expectations. If the powers vested seem too great for any individual, let it be remembered, that they are necessary to attain the gi-eat objects of health, comfort, and safety to the city. To those whose fortunes are restricted, these powers, in their just exercise, ought to be peculiarly precious. The rich can fly from the generated pestilence. In the season of danger, the sons of fortune can seek refuge in purer atmospheres. But necessity condemns the poor to remain and inhale the noxious effluvia. To all classes who reside jiermanently in a city, these powers are a privilege and a blessing. In relation to city pohce, it is not sufficient that the law, in its due process, will ultimately remedy every injury, and remove every nuisance. WHiile the law delays, the injury is done. "While judges are doubting, and lawyers debating, the nuisance is exhaling and the atmosphere corrupting. In these cases, prevention should be the object of sohcitude, not remedy. It is not enough, that the obstacle which impedes the citizen's way, or the nuisance which offends his sense should be removed on complaint, or by complaint. The true criterion of an efficient city government is, that it should be removed before comj^laint and without complaint. The true glory of a city consists, not in palaces, temples, columns, the vain boast of art, or the proud magnificence of luxuiy, but in a happy, secure, and contented people ; feeling the advantage of a vigorous and faltliful administra- tion, not merely in the Avide street and splendid avenue, but in every lane, in every court, and In every alley. The poorest and humblest citizen should be made instinctively to bless that paternal government, which he daily perceives watching over his comfort and convenience, and securing for him that surest pledge of health, a pure atmosphere. The individual, now intrusted with the executive power by his feUow-cItizens, repeats, that he promises nothing, except an absolute self-devotion to their interests. To understand, maintain, and improve them, he dedicates whatever humble intellectual or physical power he may possess. Gentlemen of the Citjj Council: — In all the relations which the constitution has established between the depart- ments, it will be his endeavor, by punctuality and despatch in public business, by executing every duty and taking every responsibility which belongs to his office, to shorten and lighten your disinterested and patriotic labors. Should his and your faithful, though necessarily imperfect exertions, give satisfaction to our fellow-citizens, we shall have reason to rejoice, — not with a private and personal, but with a public and patriotic joy ; for next to the consciousness of fulfilled duty, is the grateful conviction, that our lot Is cast In a community, ready justly to appreciate, and willing actively to supjaort, faithful and laborious efforts in their service. Should, however, the contrary happen, and, In conformity with the experience of other republics, faithful exertions be followed by loss of favor and confidence, still he will have reason to rejoice, — not, indeed, with a public and patriotic, but with a private and Individual jo}', — for he will retire with a consciousness, weighed against which, all human suffrages are but as the liaht dust of the balance. APPENDIX. 379 (C. Page 121.) THE mayor's IXATJGURAL ADDRESS, MAY, 1824. Gentlemen of ilie Cihj Council : — The first impulse of my heart, on thus entering a second time upon the duties of chief magistrate of this city, is to express my deep sense of gratitude for the distinguished support I have received from the suifrages of my fellow-citizena. It has been, I am conscious, as much beyond my deserts, as beyond my hopes. May these marks of public confidence produce their genuine fruits, truer zeal, greater activity, and more entire self-devotion to the interests of the city ! To you, gentlemen of the Board of Aldermen, who have received such gratify- ing proofs of the approbation of your fellow-citizens, permit me thus publicly to express the greatness of my own obligations. You have shunned no labor. You have evaded no responsibility. You have sought, with a single eye, and a firm, undeviating purpose, the best interests of the city. It is my honor and happi- ness to have been associated with such men. "Wliatsoever success has attended the administration of the past year, may justly be attributed to the spirit and intelli<;ence which characterized your labors and councils. The gentlemen of the last Common Council are also entitled to a public expression of my gratitude, for their undeviating personal support, as well as the zeal and fidelity which distinguished their pubhc ser^-ices. It is proper, on the present occasion, to speak of the administration of the past year, with reference to the principles by wliich it was actuated. If, in doing this, I enter more into detail than may seem suitable in a general discourse, it is because I deem such an elucidation conformable to the nature of the city govern- ment, and connected with its success. Whatever there is peculiar in the charac- ter of the inhabitants of Boston, is chiefly owing to the freedom of its ancient form of government, which had planted and fostered among its people a keen, active, inquisitive spirit ; taking an interest in all public affairs, and exacting a strict and frequent account from all who have the charge of their concerns. Tliis is a healthy condij,ion of a community, be it a city, state, or nation. It indi- cates the existence of the only true foundation of public prosperity', the intelli- frence and virtue of the people, and their consequent capacity to govern them- selves. Such a people have a right to expect a particular elucidation of conduct from public functionaries ; whose incumbent duty it is to foster, on all occasions, amono- their fellow-citizens, a faithful and inquisitive spirit touching public con- cerns. The acts of the administration of the past year had reference to morals, to comfort, and convenience and ornament. A very brief statement of the chief of these, wliich had any thing novel in their character, will be made with reference to principle and to expense. If more prominence be given to this last than may be thought necessary, it is because in relation to this, discontent is most Hkely to appear. In the organizing of new systems, and in the early stages of beneficial and even economical arrangements outlaj-s must occur. These expenditures are inseparable from the first years. The resulting benefit must be expected and 380 APPENDIX. averaged among many future years. No obscurity ought to be pennitted, con- cerning conduct and views in this respect. In a republic, the strength of every administration, in public opinion, ought to be in proportion to the willingness ■with which it submits to a rigorous accountability. With respect to morals, there existed at the commencement of last year, in one section of the city, an auda- cious obtrusiveness of vice, notorious and lamentable ; setting at defiance, not only the decencies of life, but the authority of the laws. Repeated attempts to subdue this combination had failed. An opinion was entertained by some that it ■was invincible. There were those who recommended a tampering and palliative, rather than eradicating course of measures. Those intrusted with the affairs of the city were of a different temper. The evil was met in the face. In spite of clamor, of threat, of insult, of the certificates of those who were interested to maintain, or ■willing to countenance "vice, in this quarter, a determined course was pursued. The whole section was put under the ban of authority. All licenses in it were denied ; a vigorous police was organized, which, aided by the courts of justice and the House of Correction, effected its purpose. For three months past, the daily reports of our city officers have represented that section as peaceable as any other. Those connected with courts of justice, both as ministers and officers, assert that the effect has been j^lainly discernible in the registers of the jail and of prosecution. These measures did not originate in any theories or visions of ideal purity, attainable in the existing state of human society, but in a single sense of duty and respect for the character of the city ; proceeding upon the principle, that if in great cities the existence of "vice is inevitable, that its course should be in secret, like other filth, in drains and in darkness ; not obtrusive, not powerful, not prowling publicly in the streets for the innocent and unwary. The expense by which this effect has been produced, has been somewhat less than one thousand dollai-s. An amount already perhaps saved to the conmumity in the diminution of those prosecutions and of their costs, Avhich the continuance of the former unobstructed course of predominating vice in that section would have occasioned. The next object of attention of the city government was cleansing the street*!. In cities, as well as among individuals, cleanliness has reference to morals as well as to comfort. Sense of dignity and self-respect are essentially connected with purity, physical and moral. And a city is as much elevjfted as an individual by self-respect. To remove from our streets whatever might offend the sense or endanger the health, was the first duty. To do it as economically as was consistent with doing it well, was the second. How It has been done, whether satisfactorily as could be expected in the first year, and by incipient operations, our fellow-citizens are the judges. As far as the knowledge of the Mayor and Aldermen has extended, the course pursued has met with unqualified approbation, and given entii'e content. In respect to economy, there were but two modes, — by contract, or by teams and laborers provided and employed by the city. The latter course was adopted; and for several reasons. The value of what was annually taken from the surface of the streets of the city, as well as the quantity, was wholly unknown. There were no data on wlueh to cstliuate eitlier, and of course no measure bv APPENDIX. 381 wliicli tlio amount of contract could be regulated. Tlio sti-cets of the city had been almost from time immemorial the revenue of the farmers in the vicinity, who came at v,-\\\, took what suited their purposes, and left the rest to accumulate. It was thought important that the city should undertake the operation neces- sary to cleansing the streets Itself, not because this mode was certainly the most economical, but because it would be certainly the most effectual ; and because, by this means, the city government would actpjaint themselves with the subject in detail, and be the better enabled to meet the farmers hereafter on the ground of contract, should this mode be found expedient. In order, however, to leave no means of information unsought, contracts were publicly invited by the city government. Of the proposals made, one only included all the operations of scraping, sweeping, and carrying away. This per- son offered to do the whole for one year for seven thousand dollars. All the other proposals expressly dechncd having any thing to do with scraping and sweep- ing, and confined their offer to tlie mere carrying away. The lowest of these was eighteen hundred dollars. When it was found that the city was about to per- form the operation on its own account, the same persons fell in their offers from eighteen to eight hundred dollars ; and when this was rejected, they offered to do it for nothing. And since the city operations have conunenced, the inquiry now is, at what price theg can enjoy the privilege. These fiicts are stated, because they strikingly illustrate how important it is to the city that its administratim should take subjects of this kind into their own hands, until by experience the^ shall have so become acquainted with them as to render their ultimate measures the result of knowledge, and not of general surmise or opinion. The general result of the operations may be thus stated. At an expense of about four thousand dollars, between six and seven thousand tons weight of filth and dirt have been removed from the surface of the streets. All of which have been advantageously used in improving the city property, under circumstances and in situations in which these collections were much wanted, — on the Com- mon, on the Neck lands, and at South Boston. There can be no question, that, in these improvements, the city will receive the full value of the whole expense; to say nothing of what is really the chief object of the system, that the streets have been kept in a general state of cleanliness satisfactory to the inhabitants. By sale of the collections the next year, it is expected that we shall be able to compare directly the cash receipt with the cash expenditure. The widening of our streets, as occasions offered, was the next object to which the attention of the city administration was directed, and the one involving the greatest expense. The circumstances of the times, and the enterprise of private individuals, opened opportunities, in this respect, unexampled in point of number and importance. If lost, they might never occur again, at least not within the lifetime of the youngest of our children. The administration availed themselves of those opportunities, as a matter of duty, in the actual condition of a city so extremely Irregular and Inconvenient as Is Boston in the original plan and pro- jection of its streets. Important improvements have been made in Lynn, Ship, Thachei-, and :\lill Pond Streets ; In Hanover, Elm, Brattle, Court, and Union Streets; in Temple, Lynde, Sumner, and Milk Streets; in Federal, Orange, Eliot, and Warren Streets. The expense has been somewhat less than twelve thousand doUai-s. A considerable cost in comparison with the extent of the land 382 APPENDIX, taken ; but reasonable, and not more tlian niijiht be expected, ■when considered with reference to the nature of the improvements, for the most part in thick-set- tled parts of the city, where the land taken was very valuable, and the improve- ment proportionably important. Another object of attention during the past year has been the drains. The ancient system, by wliich these were placed on the footing of private right, was expensive and troublesome to individuals, involving proprietors in perpetual dis- putes with those making new entries, and was particularly objectionable, as it respects the city, as that in a degree it mad«'our streets the subjects of private right, and as such placed them out of the^ontrol of the city authorities. The principle adojjted was, to take alhiew drains into the hands of the city; to divide the expense as equally as possible among those estates immediately benefited, upon principles applicable to the particular nature of this subject, and retain in the city the whole property, both as it resjiects control and assessment. In its fii-st stages, such a system must necessarily be expensive ; but the result cannot fail to be beneficial, and, in a course of years, profitable. During the past year, the city has built about five thousand feet of drain, one thousand feet of which is twenty inch barrel drain ; of this the city is now sole proprietor. It has already received more than one half the whole cost from persons whose estates were particularly benefited ; and the balance, amounting to about four thousand five hundred dollars, is in a course of gradual, and, as it respects the far greater part, certain, ultimate collection. Considering the effect which well- constructed drains must hav(>. upon the city expenditure, in respect of the single article of paving, there can be but one opinion upon the wisdom and economy of this system. A new mall has been nearly completed on Charles Street, and all the missing and dead trees of the old malls, the Common, and Fort Hill, have been replaced with a care and protection which almost insm-e success to these ornaments of the city. The proceedings of the Directors of the House of Industry, and the flattering hopes connected with that establishment, would require a minuteness of detail, not compatible with the present occasion. They will doubtless be made the subject of an early and distinct examination and report of the City Council. Two objects of very great interest, to which the proceedings of last year have reference, remain to be elucidated. The purchase of the interest of the pi'oprie- tors of the ropewalks west of the Common, and the projected improvements about FaneuU Hall Market. The citizens of Boston, in a moment of sj-mpathy and feehng for the sufTeiings of particular individuals, and without sufficient prospective regard for the future exigencies of the city, had voluntarily given the right of using the land occupied by the ropewalks to certain grantees for that use. In consequence of the exclu- sion of the water by the Mil-dam, a tract of land has been opened either for sale, as an object of profit, or for use, as an object of ornament, with which the rights of these proprietors absolutely interfered. It was thought that no moment could be more favorable than the present to secure a relinquishment of those rights. An agreement of reference has been entered into Avitli tliose proprietors, and the amount to be paid by the city for such relinquishment, has been left to the deci- sion of five of our most intelligent, independent, and confidential citizens, with APPENDIX. 383 whose decision it cannot be questioned that both parties will have reason to be satisfied, notwithstanding it may happen that their award on the one side may be less, or, on the other, more than their resj)eetive previous anticipations. Touching the projected improvements in the vicinity of Faneuil Hall Market, not only the extreme necessities of the city, in relation to space for a market, have led to this project, but also the particular relations of that vicinity have indicated the wisdom and policy, even at some risk and sacrifice, of bringing together in one compact, efficient, and eonunodious connection, the northern and central sections of our city, so as to facilitate the intercourse of business and enterprise between them, and bring into market, and into use, and into improve- ment parts of the city, at present old, sightless, inconvenient, and in comparison ■with that competency which must i-esultfrom a judicious arrangement, at present absolutely useless. Both these measures of the city government, relative to the Ropewalks and to Faneuil Hall Market, will necessarily lead to what, to many of our citizens, is an object of great dread, — a city debt. As this is a subject of considerable importance, and touches a nerve of great sensibility, it ought to be well considered and rightly understood by our fellow- citizens. I shall, therefore, not apologize for making, on this occasion, some observations upon it. The right to create a debt, is a power vested by our charter in the City Coun- cil. Now this, like every other power, is to be characterized by its use. Tliis may be wise and prudent, or the opposite, according to the objects to which it is applied, and the manner and degree of that application. Abstractedly, a debt is no more an object of terror than a sword. Both are very dangerous in the hands of fools or madmen. Both are very safe, innocent, and useful in the hands of the wise and prudent. A debt created for a purpose, like that which probably will be necessary in the case of the ropewalks, that of reheving a great property from an accidental embarrassment, is no more a just object of dread to a city than a debt created for seed wheat is to a farmer ; or than a debt for any object of certain return is to a merchant. So in the case of Faneuil Hall Market ; what possible object of rational apprehension can there be in a debt created for the purpose of purchasing a tract of territory, whose value must be increased by the purchase, which, if sold, cannot fail to excite a great competition, and if retained, the incomes of which, so far as respects the market, are wholly within the control of the city author- ities ? It is possible, indeed, that more may be paid for some estates than abstractedly they may be worth. It is possible that great changes may take place in the value of real estate between the time of the commencement and the time of completing such a project. But the reverse is also quite as possible. Providence does not permit man to act upon certainties. The constitution of our nature obUges him, in every condition and connection, to shape his course of conduct by probabiUties. His duty is to weigh maturely, previous to decision, to consider anxiously both the wisdom of his ends and the proportion of his means. Once decided, in execution he should be as firm and rapid as in coun- cil he has been slow and deliberate ; cultivating in his own breast and in the breasts of others just confidence in the continuance of the usual analogies and relations of things. 384 APPENDIX. The destinies of the city of Boston are of a nature too plain to be denied or misconceived. The prognostics of its future greatness are written on the face of nature too legibly and too indehbly to be mistaken. These indications are apparent from the location of our city, from its harbor, and its relative position among rival towns and cities ; above all, from the character of its inhabitants, and the singular degree of enterprise and inteUigence which are diflused tlirough every class of its citizens. Already capital and population is determined towards it from other places, by a certain and irresistible power of attraction. It remains then for the citizens of Boston to be true to their own destinies ; to be Avilling to meet wise expenditures and temporary sacrifices, and thus to cooperate with nature and Providence in their apparent tendencies to promote their greatness and prosperity ; thereby not only improving the general condition of the city, elevating its character, multiplying its accommodations, and strengthening the predilections which exist already in its favor, but also patronizing and finding employment for its laborers and mechanics. It is true the power of credit, like every other power, is subject to abuse. But to improve the general convenience of the city, to augment its facilities for busi- ness, to add to the comfort of its inhabitants, and in this way to augment its resources, arc among the most obvious and legitimate uses of that power, which, doubtless, for these purposes, was intrusted to the City Council. Having thus explained some of the principal proceedings and sources of extra- ordinary expense occurring during the past year, I feel myself bound to make some general remarks on the nature of the office I have had the honor to hold, and to which the suffrages of my fellow-citizens have recalled me. It is import- ant that a right apprehension should be formed concerning its duties, its respon- sibilities, the powers it ought to possess, and what the people have a right to expect, and what they ought to exact from the possessor of it. And I do this the rather, because I am sensible that very different opinions exist upon this subject. There are those who consider the office very much in the light of a pageant, destined merely to superintend and direct the general course of administration, to maintain the dignity, and to " dispense the hospitalities " of the city, and who deem the office in some measure degraded, by having any thing of a laborious or ■working condition connected with it ; and I am well aware that the practice in other cities justifies such an opinion. I have not thought, however, gentlemen, that a young and healthy republic, for such the city of Boston is, should seek its precedents, or encourage its officers in looking for models among the corrupt and superannuated forms of ancient despotisms. On the contraiy, it seemed to me incumbent on the early possessor of this office, in a state of society like that which exists in Massachusetts, and for which this city is preeminent, to look at the real character of that office, as It Is Indicated by the expressions of the char- ter, and exists in the nature of things, with little or no regard to the i)ractice of other places, or to opinions founded on those practices. In this view, therefore, my attempt has been to attain a deep and thorough acquaintance with the interests of the inhabitants and of the city ; and this not by general surveys, but by a minute, particular, and active inspection of their public concerns, in all their details. Although this course has been the occasion of much trouble, and perhaps made me obnoxious to some censure, as being busy, and perhaps meddhng, with APPENDIX. 385 matters out of my sphere, yet I have Ihoniilit it better to expose myself to those iuipiitations, than to forego the opportunities such a course of conduct afibnled of obtaining a deep and thorough acquaintance with the business and interests of the city, which the charter plainly presupposed, and indeed was necessary to fulfil the duties in a very humble degree which it made incumbent. And ''-o more experience I have had in the duties of this ofhce, the more I feel obliged, both by precept and example, to press upon my fellow-citizens the necessity of —^ considering this as a business office, combining as indispensable requisites, — I great zeal, great activity, great self-devotion, and, as far as possible, a thorough acquaintance with the relations of the people. Nor is it only necessary that these qualities should at all times be exacted of the chief magistrate, and that he should be held to a rigid exhibition of them, in his official conduct ; but, on the other hand, it is also necessary that all the departments should be so arranged as to throw upon him the full weight of all the responsibility which the charter attaches to his office. Whatever has a tend- ency to weaken that sense of responsibility, above all, whatever enables the exe- cutive officer to cast the blame of weak plans or inefficient execution upon others, has a direct tendency to corrupt the executive, and to deprive the citizens of a chief benefit, contemplated in the charter. If there be any advantage in the form of a city over that of a town govern- ment, it lies in one single word, — efficiency. In this point of view, all the J powers of the City Council may be considered as comprehending also the execu- tive power, of Avhich the Mayor is but a branch. For they enact the laws which enable his department to possess that efficiency the charter contemplates. Now, efficiency means nothing more than capacity to carry into effect. Whatever form of organization of any department tends to deprive the executive of the city of the power to carry into effect the laws, or transfei's that power to others, dis- connected from his responsibility, has a direct tendency to encourage the execu- tive in Ignorance, Inactivity, or imbecility, which will inevitably, sooner or later, result just in proportion as the organization enables him to throw the blame of mismanagement upon others, or not to hold himself accountable for it. Within the narrow limits and in relation to the humble objects to which the executive power extends, its responsibility should be clear, undivided, and inca- pable of being evaded. On the executive should ultimately devolve the account- ability for the efficiency of all the departments ; and every organization is defect- ive which enables him to escajje from it. Every citizen, in making complaints to this officer, should be certain of finding redress, or of being pointed to the path to obtain it. And as to those general nuisances which offend sense, endan- ger health, or interfere with comfort, his power should enable him to ap[)ly a I'cmedy upon the instant, or at least as readily as the nature of the particular subject-matter permits ; and to effect this, not by i-eference, not by writing sup- plicatorj- letters to independent boards, but personally, by application of means in his own hands, or by agents under his control, and for whom he is responsible. The true theory of the form of government which our fellow-citizens have chosen, results in a severe responsibility of the executive power, and with it are identified the true interests of the citizens and the real advantages of a city organization. But responsibility implies a coextensive power as its basis. The one cannot, and ought not to exist without the other. The charter makes it the 33 386 ArPENDix. duty of tlic Mayor " to be vigilant and active at all times, in causing the laws for the government of the city to be duly executed and put in force." Now, how can vigilance and activity be expected in an officer, in relation to a great mass of laws, and those of the most critical and important character, the execution of •which is formally and expressly transferred to others, with whose execution, if he directly interferes, he takes the risk of giving offence to the nice sense of honor and right of an independent board ? The charter makes it his duty '• to inspect the conduct of all subordinate officers in the government thei-eof, and as far as in his power to cause all negligence, carelessness, and positive violations of duty to be prosecuted and punished." Now, how can he do this, when those who execute your laws do not consider themselves as subordinate, and are justi- fied in that oi)inion by tlie form and circumstances of their organization ? Again, the charter plainly implies that the ISIayor of this city should make him- self acquainted thoroughly and intimately with all its great interests, " with its finances, its police, its health, security, cleanliness, comfort, and ornament." Now, what encouragement is there to endeavor to fulfil these duties, when any of its great interests are so constituted or vested, that he has no control over them, nor any power of making any inquisition into their state or conduct, except by personal solicitation and request ; not denied, indeed, out of politeness and respect, but perhaps granted, not because he has a right from his official relation to claim, but because, on the present occasion, there exists a wilUngness to give the desired information ? The organization of the executive power, by division among independent boards, has a direct tendency to corrupt a weak executive officer, and to embarrass one of opposite character. The study of the former will naturally be to get along easily : for this purpose he will yield whatever power another department is disposed to take, for thus his responsibility is diminished ; and instead of a single definite, decided, official action, on every occasion giving security to the citizen, regardless of personal consequences, his course will be timid, shuffling, and compromising, beginning with the vain design of pleasing everybody, and ending with the still vainer, of expecting in this way long to maintain either influence or character. An executive, on the contrary, who is firm and faithful to the constitution of the city, will exercise the powers it confers. He will claim the right to inspect all subordinate officers ; he will consider every branch of executive power, ema- nating from the City Council, as subordinate by the charter to the city executive. He will claim of all such an accountability that will enable him to understand every interest of the city in detail. Such a course would, probably, sooner or later, lead to controversies concerning the rights and dignities of independent boards ; to heart-burnings and jealousies ; perhaps to pamphlets and newspaper attacks, which, if he does not answer, it will be said, that it is because he cannot ; and which, if he docs answer, will lead to a reply, and that to a rejoinder; and thus the executive of the city, instead of a simple and plain exercise of power, humble and limited in its sphere, yet important to be both efficient and unem- barrassed, may be harassed with disputes about the ])retensions, authorities, and dignities of rival powers, vexatious and unprofitable, terminating in nothing but divisions In the city, and inefficiency In the execution of the laws. 1 have deemed it my duty to express myself thus distinctly, and in a most APPENDIX. 387 uiKiualified manner, upon this point ; and the rather, thus pk.'^'^ly, because opi- nions in this respect are liable to be misrepresented or misunderstr"- ■■.. On such occasions, therefore, I choose to throw myself on the intelligence and virtues of the mass of my fellow-citizens, whose interests, as I understand them, it is my single desire steadily to pursue, and who, whether th<_^ -coincide or differ with me, in relation to the particular mode of pursuing those interests, Avill, I have a perfect confidence, justly appreciate my motives. The result of my experience, during the past year, on this subject, is this, — that the interests of the city are most deeply connected with such an organiza- tion of every branch of executive power, as that the ultimate responsibility for the execution should rest upon the Mayor ; and which he should, therefore, be incapable of denying or evading; — that, at all times, the blame should rest upon him, without the power of throwing it off upon others, in ease of any defect of plan, or any inefficiency in execution. In making these remarks, I trust I shall not be understood as not appreciating as I ought, in common with my fellow-citizens, the exertions and the sacrifices of those excellent, intelligent, and faithful men, who, in present and in past times, with so much honor to themselves and advantage to the community, have admi- nistered the concerns of independent departments. T yield to none of my fellow- citizens, in my sense of gratitude and respect to them, both as officers and indi- viduals. But the organization of a city is, in the nature of things, essentially different from that of a town. The relation to the city, in which I have been placed, has compelled me to contemplate, and prospectively to realize, the cer- tain embarrassments which must result from an organization of the executive department, varying from that simplicity which the charter establishes, as likely deeplv to affect the efficiency of the system now upon trial, and to encourage, and sooner or later to introduce both imbecility and inactivity into an office which can alone be beneficial to the city when it is possessed by directly ojipo- eite qualities. I have no apprehension that my fellow-citizens will attribute these suggestions to a vulgar and vain wish to extend the powers of an office holden but for a year on the most precarious of all tenures. The efficiency of this new form of govern- ment is mainly dependent on its simplicity, and on the fact that its responsibility is undivided, and cannot be evaded if the departments be organized on charter principles. Much of the benefit of the new system will depend on the spirit which characterizes its conmiencement. On this account, the individual now possessing the executive power is anxious, on the one hand, that none of its essential advantages should be lost through any timidity on his part, in expressing opinions, the result of his experience, or through any iniwillingness to incur any labor, or meet any just responsibility. On the other, he has no higher ambition than by a diligent, faithful, and laborious fulfilment of every known duty, and exercise of every charter right, to set such an example, and establish such pre- cedents as will give to this new government a fair imjjulse, and a permanent and happy influence upon the destinies of the inhabitants of this city. Gentlemen of the City Council: — It is the felicity of all who are called to the government of this city, that they serve a people capable of appreciating, and willing actively to support faithful 388 ArPENDix. and laborious ofTovts in tlieir service; — a people in all times distinguislied for miiting love of freedom with respect for authority. May it be your happiness, as it will be your endeavor, to maintain those institutions, under -which such a people have been elevated to so hijih a degree of prosperity ! Under your auspices, may the foundations of the fabric of their greatness be strengthened, its proportions enlarged, its internal acrcommodations improved ! May the spirit of libertj- and the spirit of good government continue to walk hand in hand within these venerable walls, consecrated by so many precious recollections. And when wo shall have passed away, and the places which now know us shall know us no moi-e, may those who come after us be compelled to say, that the men of this age were as true to the past and the future as to their own times ; that while they had preserved and enjoyed the noble inheritance which had descended to them from their ancestors, they had transmitted it not only unim- paired. l)ut improved to their posterity. (D. Page 1(17.) THE mayor's inaugural addrks.s, may, 1825. (ientlcmcn of the Citij Council: — I iiAVK again to ackno^^•ledge my grateful sense of the confidence of my fellow-citizens, expressed by their suffrages ; and to renew assurances of my endeavors to evince my gratitude, by increased zeal, activity, and devotion to their interests. Whatever success has attended the administration of city affairs, is chiefly to be attributed to those excellent and faithful men, who for the two years past have composed the Board of Aldennen. It is impossible for me to speak too highly of their disinterested and laborious services; or to separate from them, in official relations, without expressing my personal obligations for the uniform resi)ect, confidence, and urbanity, with which all their proceedings have been characterized, both as it respects myself and each other. Their persevering and firm i)ursuit of the interests of the city, oflen under circumstances of great deli- cacy and difficulty, entitle them to be ranked among its distingui.shed benefactors. Nor ought I to permit the occasion to pass, without paj-ing a similar tribute to the labors and fidelity of the last Common Council. It will be expected, perhaps, that, on this occasion, I should speak of the measures of the last year, and of the success which has attended them ; such as the estabhshment of an auditor's department ; the new organization of that of health ; the connecting the system of scavengers with that of the House of Indus- try ; the fiirther extension of Faneuil Hall Market, and others of a less obtru- sive character. All these have been conducted, as far as I have been infoi-med, generally to the satisfaction of our fellow-citizens ; and I know that the detail of results would still farther justify that satisfaction. I prefer, however, to occupy the present moment with inquiries concerning APPENDIX. 389 future duty, rather than with illustrations of past success. The charter of the city has made it ineunibent on its executive officer to inform himself on all sub- jects connected with its prosperity and happiness, and to recommend measures for the advancement of both to the City Council. This injunction it has sanc- tioned with the solemnity of an oath. In obedience to these obligations, thus sacredly enforced, I hasten to a topic, deeply interesting to the prosperity, safety, and character of this city, which events and experience press upon the mind with an intense and absorbing interest. I do this the rather because the subject is of high responsibility ; touches some interests and moi'e prejudices; and is also of a nature easily to be mistaken and misrepresented. This subject, therefore, is one on which it is the incumbent duty of him, who is intrusted with the chief office in this city, to form and to express a decided opinion, and to leave no doubt concerning his own path, in relation to it ; and none concerning his opinion of the duty of others. What though the development of this opinion may affect that evanescent splendor, which is called popularity ? Of what value is any popularity, which will not bear the hazard of fulfilled duty ? Precious as is the possession of the confidence of fellow-citizens, yet even this is more worthless than "the light dust of the balance," in comparison with the infinite consequence of possessing the consciousness of deserving it. The topic to which I allude, relates to the effect, under a city organization, of the existence of independent executive boards, and the consetjucnces of the particular form of constituting those which exist in this city. The existence of such boards is an anomaly under a city organization; is inconsistent with the theory of, or any known practice under, such a form of government ; and seems also incompatible with the attainment of the objects which the people propose to themselves in establishing it. In every other city the representative body, chosen by the people, as their city council, has the control of every relation of a municipal character, whether it affect economy, protection, or general superintendence. If, in any case, it act through the instrumentality of boards, the members of such boards are selected by it, and responsible to it, in like manner as the members of the City Council are, in their turn, responsible for such selection, as well as for all their other acts, to the people. In all this there is a manifest simplicity, calculated to produce harmony and energy. The people, who look only to their City Council, know who to blame, if there be fault. The City Council, on the other hand, when any good is to be effected, is not embarrassed by fears of trenching upon rival authorities, of awakening jealousies, or of being troubled with contests about jurisdictions. The objects a people propose to themselves in forming a city government are, efficiency and responsibility. Now, can any have a more obvious tendency to obstruct, or defeat both, than an organization which severs from each other naturally allied portions of municipal power, and divides them out by very indis- tinct limits among independent boards ? Can any thing be better calculated to create discord, jealousies, and controversies in a community ? The form of constituting these boards, under our city charter, is still more exceptionable ; and, what is very extraordinary, is just as inconsistent with the 33* 390 APPENDIX. practice of the ancient town government, as it Is witli the theory of city organ- ization. Under the town government all the boards, of Firewards, Overseers of the Poor, and School Committee, were chosen by the votes of all the inhabitants, in a general ticket. The theory and practice of the town government was, that those officers, in whose character and adaptation to their office, all the citizens had an interest, shoidd he chosen htj the major voice of all the citizens. Two conseqnences obviously flowed from this mode of election. 1st. A con- currence of a majoritij of all the citizens being rccpiislte for a choice, the candi- dates were, for the most part, selected from men of high, general character, and from no local or sectional considerations ; whereby a very fair proportion of the general talent and respectability of the town was necessarily infused into those boards. 2d. The form of election being by general ticket, previous consultation was had, not only in relation to the adaptation of the candidate for the office, but also of the adaptation of candidates to one another ; so that the board mlo-ht be composed of men agreeable to each other, and thus capable b}' consentane- ousness of views and feelings, to produce a similar consentaneousness of system and action. The necessary effect of this form of election was to enlarge the sphere out of which candidates could be obtalntHl. Men being always more willing to under- take an office of a laborious and responsible character, when they know, pre- viously to their election, with whom they are likely to be associated. These consequences are obvious, and were among the causes of the long and happy organization of those boards, under the town government. These advantages are in a great measure, and some of them wholly, lost under the provisions of our city charter. Instead of being chosen by cdl the citizens, by a general ticket, the member? are dh Idcd among the wards, each choosing its pi-oportlon. The fundamental principle of the ancient town government, • — that olHcers, in whose character and adaptation all the citizens had an Interest, should be chosen by the major voice of all, — has thus been abandoned. All the Inhabitants of the city have consented to barter the common right the}' formerly enjoyed, of having a voice in choosing the ivhole, for the sake of an exclusive right, in wards, of choosing a ttcelfth part. And the power the whole people of the city once possessed of attaining a. certain result, conformaUij to the general loill, has thus been exchanged for the cliance of attaining an uncertain result of twelce particular vills, coexisting In that number of wards. I speak of these consequences with the more freedom, because I know they are felt and acknowledged by very many of our most Intelligent and jiatrlotic citizens ; and because I have been made officially accpialnted with the fact, that the effect produced by the present mode of electing these officers has been, in many instances, the openly avowed reason of declining to become candidates by some, and of the resignation of these offices by others. The nature and extent of this evil is not to be appreciated by any estimate, since every form of organization, which tends to render wise, faithful, and business men unwilling to serve a community, Is productive of mischiefs alto- gether incalcula1)lc. APPENDIX. 391 Toucliing ilic remedy for these evils, the obligations of the city charter compel me to speak distinctly and unequivocallj-. Under a cilij organization there u no mode of selecting such hoards, consistod with harmony, efficiency, and responsibility, except, their election hy the City Council. E\ery other mode establishes, or gives to such board a color to assvnne the character of independence. And wherever this cpxality exists, or is assumed, jealousies, rivalries, claims of jurisdiction, and contests for authority between it and the City Council, are inevitable. The station I have had the honor for the last two years to hold, has compelled me to witness past embarrassments, and to realize those which are to come, in consequence of this unprecedented organization of city power. Between the City Council, the Overseers of the Poor, and the School Committee, very serious and diflicult c|uestions have already arisen, and are yet unsettled. Nor is it possible, in the nature of things, that such contro\'firsIes should not arise and be productive of bitterness and discord, so long as in the great interests of protec- tion against fire, of education, and of support of the poor, the right to manage and expend money is claimed by one board, and the right to regulate, appropriate, and call to account is vested in another. As 1 have no question concerning the remedy, so also I have none concerning the mode in which it ought to be sought. 1st. By an arrangement of the details by the City Council relative to each board, conformably to the subject-matter of its power, predicated on the principle of election by that body. 2d. By an application to the legislature for its sanction of those details and of that prin- ciple. 3d. By an ultimate reference of the whole, for the approbation, by general ballot, of our fellow-citizens. Let it not be objected to such an attempt, that it will be construed into " a grasp after more power," by the City Council, and be opposed from jealousy, or prejudice. Those who thus object, do but little justice to the thoughtful and prescient character of the citizens of this metropolis ; at all times as distin- guished for jusdy appreciating the necessities of legitimate power, and for a wil- lingness to yield whatever is plainly requisite for a vigorous and responsible action of constituted authorities, as for a keen perception and quick resistance to tyrannical control. Grant, however, the attempt should fail, what then? The City Council stand before the public and before heaven, with the proud consciousness of ful- filled duty; discharged from all accountability for the inconveniences and embarrassments, which cannot fail to flow from the present organization so long as it exists. For myself, whatever may be the event, I shall have the satisfaction of that internal assurance, which is better than all human approbation, that none of tin-, evils which may occur, can be attributed either to the want of anxious precau- tion, or to the shrinking from just responsibility, in the executive ofhcer. Nor have I any apprehension that these remarks will be construed into any reflec- tion upon the gentlemen who now hold, or who recently have held seats in either of those boards. Many of them are among the most intelligent and patriotic of our fellow-citizens. Some of them, I know, concur in the general opinions above expressed. The sul ject has reference to the necessary and obvious cfiects of a 392 APPENDIX. particular organization of our city government, of which I am bound to speak, according to the state of my convictions, Avith a plainness authorized by the charter and required by the oath it has imposed. These obligations fulfilled, I leave every thing else to the candor, the intelligence, and virtue of my fellow- citizens, in wliich I repose an entire confidence. Gentlemen of the City Council: — The events of the past years of our city organization are full of satisfaction and encouragement. Between the branches and between the members of the City Council there has uniformly existed a harmonious, urbane, and conciliatory intercourse. The interests of the city have been studied and pursued with an exclusive eye, and a firm, unhesitating step. Neither the spirit of selfishness, nor the spirit of party, has ever dared to mingle its unhallowed voice in the debates of either branch of the City CounciL These are proud recollections, as it respects the past ; and happ)' auguries, as it respects the future. May they continue and be multiplied ! ]\Iay the members of the present, like those of former City Councils, close their labors with the approbation and applause of the multitude of their brethren ; as those, who have sought with singleness, sincerity, and success, the interest and honor of the city ; the im- provement of its accommodations, the enlargement of its resources, and the advancement of all the means which constitute a prosperous, hajjpy, and virtuous community. (E. Page 197.) THE mayor's inaugural ADDRESS. .TAXUARY, 182G. Gentlemen of the Citij Council: — To express gratitude for this rencAved instance of the confidence of my fellow- citizens, and to I'cpeat assurances of a zeal and fidelity in their service, in some degree proportionate to that confidence, are natin-al and suitable on the present occasion. It cannot be expected that he, who sustains the complicated relation of chief magistrate of this city, let his endeavors be what they may, should at all times satisfy the often-conflicting passions and interests always necessarily exist- ing in so great a community. Much less can it be expected from the individual, who, through the indulgence of his fellow-citizens, is now permitted to enjoy that distinction. In all cases, however, of doubt and difficulty, that individual will rest confidently for support, even with those who differ Avitli him in opinion, on the consciousness, which he trusts his general course of conduct will impress, that every act of his official conduct, whether acceptable or otherwise, proceeds from a single regard to the honor of the city, and to the happiness and best interests of its inluibitants. It is with great delight, Gentlemen, that I must here ])ay a tribute, justly due to the wisdom and public spirit of all our former City Councils. Their harmony, in APPENDIX. 393 relation to objects of piil)Iic improvement, tlieir vigilance in maintaining tlie checks of our city charter, and the reciprocal cooperation of the branches apd members in advancing the general interests of the city, without local, party, or selfish considerations, are facts at once exemplary and encouraging ; the results of which are apparent in our streets, in our public buildings, in the augmented value of our city lands, and in the increasing satisfaction of our fellow-citizens, with their new form of government. The unquestionable evidence derived from our recent census, has fulfilled the expectations of the most sanguine ; and has put beyond question, that the increase of this city, during the five years past, has been, to say the least, not inferior to that of any of our maritime cities, on the previous actual basis of its population. This fact may be considered as conclusive on its future prospects. For if, at a time when universal peace among European nations has changed and limited the field of commercial entei'prise, on which the greatness of this city was once supposed, in a manner, altogether to depend, it appears that, notwithstanding this change and limitation, its growth, instead of being diminished, is increasing with a rapidity equal to that of the most favored of our conmiercial cities, it follows conclusively, that our greatness is not altogether dependent upon foreign commerce ; and also, that the enter[)rise, capital, and intelligence of our citizens, determined inwards, and active upon agriculture, manufactures, and in our coasting trade, are producing results even more auspicious than our foreign commerce, in its most prosperous state, ever effected; — than which, to the patriot's heart and hope, no facts of a mere physical character, can be more encouraging or delightful. Similar grounds for satisfaction will be found in comparing the increasing results of the aggregates of our valuation, and the decreasing results of the ratio of our taxes. During the five years from 1821 to 1825, inclusive, it appears by the Assessors' records, that the Avhole aggregate of real and personal property in this city increased from twenty milUons three hundred thousand dollars, to twenty-six millions t\vo hundred thousand; making a regular annual increase of about one million two hundred thousand dollars. Of which increased capital, it will appear, by comparing the aggregate of 1S21 with that of 182.5, that four millions five hundred thousand have been invested in real, and one million five hundred thousand in personal estate. During this period, it is true, as is inevitable in a progressive state of society, increasing daily, not only in numbers, but in municipal exigencies and requisi- tions for expenditures, on account of improvements, the amount of our taxes have increased in the aggregate. Yet, at the same time, owing to the increased acrgreTates of our valuation, the ratio of assessment has diminished. Thus, if the ratios of assessment of the five years immediately preceding 1820, be compared with the five years from 1820, inclusive, it will be found that the average of the annual ratios of the former was eiglit dollars and twenty-five cents on the thousand dollars, and that the average of the annual ratios of the latter was only seven dollars and eighty cents. The ratio of the present year will be seven dollars. A farther illustration of our general prosperity is deducible from the fact, that, notwithstanding the amount of our taxes has increased, with the increasing wealth and population of the city ; yet the ratio of uncollected taxes lias, in every suc- cessive year, since the existence of our city government, been diminishing. 394 APPENDIX. I have been thus precise and distinct upon this point, because discontent at any existing state of things is most likely to appear in the form of complaints relative to taxes. Now, it is obviously impossible, in the nature of things, that the assessment of taxes, in any great community, should exactly proportion the burden to the ability of each individual to bear it. Some will unavoidably be taxed more and others less than their precise proportion. It cannot, therefore, but happen, even under the best fonn and ratio of taxation, that there must be some, Avho can complain with reason, as there will always be many, who will complain without reason. ^Vith. respect to the community itself, however, as the best criterion it can possibly have of its i)rogressive prosperity is a regular increase of its population, accompanied by a regular increase of its wealth, so ■when the aggregate of its wealth increases, and at the same time the ratio of its assessment's