DOCUMENT No. 1.

BOARD OF ALDERMEN,

MAY 14, 1844.

The following Annual Message was received from his Honor the Mayor, which was read and directed to be printed for the use of the members.

By the seventeenth section of the Charter it is made the duty of the Mayor" to communicate to the Common Council, at least once a year, and oftener if he shall deem it expedient, a general statement of the situation and condition of the city, in relation to its government, finances, and improvements ;" and "to recommend to the adoption of the Common Council all such measures connected with the police, security, health, cleanliness, and ornament of the city, and the improvement of its government and finances, as he shall deem expedient."

It cannot be expected, gentlemen, that either branch of the duty thus assigned to the chief magistrate of the city shall be performed, or undertaken, except in a very general way, by one just entering upon the office for the first time, and who has never. taken any part whatever in the administration of the city government, in either its legislative or executive department. For the general statement of the situation and condition of the city he must, of course, be dependent on the heads of the several departments at the time of his election; and for guidance in recommending measures to the Common Council, he has only such knowledge of the city's wants as may be acquired by the observation of any citizen unconnected with office or public employment. Bearing these things in mind, I shall undertake to offer only some very general observations on the course of official duty that lies before us.

And, first, it is proper to advert, briefly, to the peculiar circumstances under which we have been called to undertake the civic administration. It is undeniable that, for many years past, not only the choice, but the official conduct of the city government has been connected with, and made dependent on, the determination of political questions properly belonging to the whole State, and even the whole Union; and the consequence has been, that the peculiar interests of the citizens, as such, have too often been lost sight of in the exclusive regard that has been paid to their interests or their opinions as a portion of the whole American people. This, in itself and specifically an evil, has become, in the course of time, one of great magnitude; inducing disregard of qualifications, other than political, in the selection of legislators and officers for the city, and too often disregard by them of the duties which they were especially chosen to perform, in their superior devotion to other duties or interests, having very little to do with the convenience of the citizens, or the good government of the city. Hence arose complaints, augmenting in loudness and frequency year after year, that the good government of the city was not adequately provided for; that wholesome laws were

not enforced; that expenses, and, consequently, taxation, were enormously increased, without any corresponding advantage to the tax-payers; that official duties were neglected; that measures were undertaken and persevered in for mere political objects; and, in a word, that the administration of the city's affairs had become rather an evil than a benefit. The dissatisfaction hence arising became at length so general and so deep rooted, that it led, almost unavoidably, to the formation of a third political party among the citizens, or perhaps I should rather say, a political organization distinct from party, which specifically set forth as its object the removal of the causes inducing that dissatisfaction, without reference to any other political movement or purpose whatever, and proposed the establishment of a city government unconnected with purposes and considerations relating to the government of the State or of the Union. That the principle thus avowed by the new organization met with the approbation of the citizens generally, is shown by the fact, that as soon as its purpose was matured and presented in a form admitting of popular sanction, it received that sanction in the most emphatic manner; the late election showing the largest vote ever known in the city, and the candidates presented by the new organization receiving almost as many suffrages as both the old parties united.

It is not without a purpose, gentlemen, that I have recalled these facts to your consideration. It is fitting for us to remember the great mark of confidence bestowed upon us by so large a number of our fellow-citizens; and to remember, also, that we have pledged ourselves to deserve it by the faithful devotion of all our powers to the attainment of the good ends for which our fellow-citizens have put us in the offices we hold. We have a mighty work before us; expectations of good from our ministry are raised high; all, or most of us, are without experience in legislation and the performance of official duty; if we fail utterly to accomplish what is expected of us-if we subject ourselves to the reproach of having promised largely, but done nothing in fulfilment of our promises-then, gentlemen, disgrace and scorn will

be our meet portion. But the people are not unjust; if we succeed even partially, and make it manifest that want of complete success has been owing, not to deficiency of zeal and integrity, but to the magnitude of the work and our own inexperience, our fellow-citizens will not withhold from us the due reward of their approval and their respect.

With these preliminary remarks, gentlemen, I proceed to the fulfilment, as I may be able, of the duty assigned to me by the seventeenth section of the Charter.

Of the financial condition of the city-its revenues, property, expenditure, and debt-I have at present but very imperfect information, and am not prepared to lay before you an intelligible statement. I shall proceed to make myself more accurately and minutely informed upon the subject as soon as possible, and lose no time in placing before you such suggestions as may present themselves to my mind tending to the reduction of debt and expenditure. In the mean time, however, I would mention to you, as sources of very great expenditure, in which economy may probably be introduced with eminent advantage, the provision for the support of the poor, and that for cleaning the streets. The Almshouse department has occupied, of late years, a very important and conspicuous place in the annual list of disbursements; and it seems to me that plans might be devised both to reduce the number of paupers deriving their support from the tax-paying citizens, and to make them contribute more largely, by their labour, to the cost of their own maintenance. If these could be effected, the moral and pecuniary advantages resulting therefrom would be very great. A recent English traveller in this country has gone back, and reported to his countrymen, that when he visited the New-York Almshouse, it had two thousand and five hundred inmates, of whom five hundred were able-bodied men; that there was no separation of the sexes, no enforcement of labour, no restriction upon readmission as often as drunkenness or laziness might make it a desirable temporary refuge! This information,

false though it may be, was widely circulated in the English newspapers. To the thousands and tens of thousands of miserably poor in England, such a picture of an American almshouse must convey almost the idea of a paradise, in contrast with the severe and stringent regulations of their own poor-law unions; and we cannot wonder if thousands are induced by these reports to desire removal from the wretchedness of their own country to one where wilful pauperism meets such encouragement-a removal for which we know that their local authorities are willing enough to make provision. In this country, where, as a general rule, the meet reward of industry is sure, there should be no wilful pauperism; and if "able-bodied men" are found by hundreds in our almshouses, at least there should be ample and strict provision for making their bodily ability useful to the public from whom they receive subsistence. It is proper to bear in mind, however, the necessity of giving such a direction to pauper labour that it shall not come injuriously in competition with that of the industrious citizen who relies upon his own hands for the support of himself and his family; and therefore the employments of the Almshouse and its dependencies should as much as possible be such that their products would fall within the consumption of the institutions themselves. Agriculture seems to be the most obviously proper to this end; and it has the other advantage, of being morally and physically healthful. I submit to you, therefore, whether it would not be expedient to provide suitable places for the production, by the labour of the able-bodied paupers, of the fruits of the earth, for use in all the public institutions; and as auxiliary to this, a workhouse would be very desirable, for the employment of women and children, and for that of the males in winter. There can be no doubt that such provisions would greatly reduce the number of paupers, as well as the expense of their maintenance. I invite your particular attention to this subject, because pauperism is one of the sorest evils with which any society can be afflicted, and no effort should be spared to root it out from among us, or at least to check its growth, and reduce it within the smallest practicable limits.