r 126 •37 •"f 128 .37 .G35 Copy 1 ^HE JMPRESS NATIONALITIES UPON Xhe City of New York A PAPER READ BEFORE THE New York J-Jistorical Society JAMES W. GERARD, (May, 1883.) NEW YORK : COLUMBIA SPECTATOR PUB. CO. 75 FULTON STREET. 1883. 'J^HE JmPRESS NATIONALITIES ^he(^ityofNewYok.k A PATER READ BEFORE THE New Yo^^ Historical Society JAMES W. GERARD, (May, i883.Tl!^;" ] ] NEW YORK : COLUMBIA SPECTATOR PUB. CO., 75 FULTON STREET. N X 0. JLlt\ I 1 Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Historical Society : There is no more interesting branch of sociological re- search than the formation of national character. It is proposed to review such formation as applicable to our ancient city. New York was termed ancient, in the Dongan charter of 1686 ; and the Batavian, the Anglo-Saxon, the Celt, the Teuton, the Gaul, and even the sons of Ham and Shem, have been factors, in various degrees, in forming its civic character. It began its life when man was bloodthirsty, when natu- ral rights were little respected, when religion was intolerant, when science was in its cradle, when tyranny made the laws : and, when Civilization herself, still inhumane, en- forced her progress by the sword. * PRINCIPLES OF COLONIZATION. To the nervous energy of races, under various conditions, is due the exodus that — spreading from Central Asia, the cradle of man — has, in progressive migrations, populated the globe. The theory of a number of primordial ' ' autoclitliones ' ' (or %)olygenism>i is not substantiated by either tradition or science. Migrations and crossings, and the effects of new latitudes and conditions have produced, in time, the varied races of a single species. Mixed races cease in time to be mere hybrids^ and when, in a few generations, the new conditions have completed their influence the new race is formed, with distinctive pliysical, mental, and even moral features. The force of the strongest parental stock still dominates, liowever, and gives tone to the other elements that finally harmonize under it. The causes or conditions that induce the migration of grouj^s are numerous. The hunter seeks new areas for game, the agriculturist fi'esh and fertile fields, the strong and the warlike march for conquest, the weak for safety, the enterprising and curious for discovery ; the flight from justice, the thirst for gold, the craving for change are also potent motors. And, in later times, the struggle for political rights and religious freedom have driven millions to brave the terrors of the seas and the wilderness. The air breathed, the food eaten, the water drank, the physical requisitions, the local surroundings, the stub- borness of Nature or her bounteous smiles, the new priva- tions or the new relaxations — all these operate on the migrated man. Energy may be aroused and nerve force stimulated ; or peace and plenty may so prevail that life becomes easier, and the character becomes softened and sublimated. The migrated race has its period of critical infancy before it acquires the strength of adult existence. . The Physiological changes at first are gradual ; but soon the subject, under the throes of acclimatization, enters upon a new life that, unless there be sufficient endurance, may not reach the stage of re-naturalization. A new struggle begins under conditions foreign to the na tural status, which leaves to survive only those who can best stand the contest. History is full of cases where colonization has seemed impossible. "The character of a peojjle," saysTaine. "is an abridge- ment of all its jDreceding actions and sensations. "Man, forced to accommodate himself to circumstances, contracts a temperament and a character corresponding to 5 them ; and his character, like his temperament, is so much more stable as the external impression is made upon him by more numerous repetitions, and is transmitted to his progeny by a more ancient descent." THE ENGLISH EACE. The development of the English national character, under successive race infusions, affords suggestions for similar investigation here. The English field is wider, although less complex ; and Time, while extending the area, has condensed the view. The English national character may be deemed formed, and its race characteristics defined ; ours is still crystallis- ing under new ingredients. The Roman occuj^ation of Great Britain left no natural impress. A few mural remains — a road — a tomb — the names of a few towns, are all that survive to tell us that the great Latin race had grasped at conquest there. It came and passed like a sweeping wind. So, too, the Norsemen, although sovereigns in the realm, contributed nothing to the national life or character. The blood that flowed in torrents during their occupation gave no permanent footing ; and the remnants of them be- came amalgamated with the dominant race. The Angles, Jutes and Saxons — tribes of the great Teu- tonic race — in the i5th century, fastened themselves upon the land. The native races melted away before them. Not only the former social and political life was obliterated, but the language itself was banished, and no trace of it became mingled in the speech of the conquerors. Although silent the harj), and deposed the club and the spear, the ancient Briton — a hermit in his kingdom of stone — ^still combats the composite language that emblems the successive invaders Cymric gutturals still cling to the rocks and haunt the 6 rugged vales, and cluster Avithin tlie weird i-ecesses of Snowden — a stubborn lingual protest — fit pendant to the Druid monolitli — both grim monuments of a race The composition of the present English language, and the very name of the country illustrate the tenacious Saxon hold, and its underlying strength in forming the habits, thought and much of the civil polity and social life of the people. The Saxon language illustrates the home and natural life and the inf Uvsion of Latin and Norman additions owe their origin, mainly, to the political institutions and ceremonies of the new rulers, to the workings of the Courts of Law and to the machinery of ecclesiastical rule, Saxon thought and its lingual expression came forth, after a time, as did those who used it, from their Norman subserviency, and rose into active representative life. Like one of the native English oaks — the vine is there and parasites are there, and the axe of the conqueror has been wielded for centuries ; but the undying strength from the roots and the soil still produces the Saxon bloom. The amalgamation of the Saxon and Norman elements has formed a language, noble, varied, and strong : and it has established the present English race — hardy, courageous, progressive, and endowed with a nerve force that has caused it to spread over the globe, planting colonies and wielding empires. COLONIZATION OF NEW YORK. The history of the settlement and colonization of tliis city is doubtless familiar to you. It may l^e well, howevei-, to recall that it is more than two centuries and a half since a few Dutch adventurers established a trading post here, for the purpose of obtaining peltry from the Indians. Soon colonization began under the Dutch West India Company, which governed the colony, as New Nederland, until its surrender, in 1664, to the English fleet of James, then Duke of York, and proprietor of the extensive domain granted to him by his brother, Charles. After regaining possession for a year, the Dutch finally ceded the province to England, in 1674, under the treaty of Westminster. The English thereupon ruled, under successive colonial governors, down to our Revolution. In 1628, fourteen years after the permanent landing, the infant city, called New Amsterdam, contained only 270 inhabitants ; in 1664, at the time of the first surrender, 1,500 ; and, at the time of final cession to the English, in 1674, about, three thousand inhabitants. About eighteen languages were spoken, we are told, at New Amsterdam, showing the extent and diversity of its early trade. In 1703, there were about 4,400 inhabitants ; and, in 1750, the population had increased to 1 3, 000. The numbers then slowly increased, down to the time of the Revolution, when it was 22,000 ; and, in 1800, amounted to over 60,000; showing a great increase after the Revolution. Thenceforward the increase has been rapid. In 1810 the poj)ulation had arrived, in round numbers, at 96,000 ; in 1820, to over 123,000 ; in 1830, to 202,500 ; in 1840, to nearly 313,000 ; and, in 1850, to 515,000. By the last census of 1880, there is a population in the city of over 1,206,000 ; of which 198,600 are Irish born, 163,480 are German born, and 1,860 are Holland born. Of course, this vast population is due more to immigra- tion than to natural increase. The tide of immigration, at first, scant, has now assumed the proportions of a flood of peoples. The first Dutch settlers were humble adventurers. 8 Subsequently came those of more wealth ; as the Turkey carpets, pictures, Spanish leather chairs, tapestry, flowered tabby chimney cloths, silver punch ladles and tankards, silk petticoats and breeches, damask furred jackets, and embroidered cloaks noted in old records of administration abundantly attest. Those that settled New Nederland during the Dutch period Avere attracted by land grants offered by the gov- ernment, which were continued under the English. Many of the immigrants were so poor that they could not pay their passage money. They were sold in servitude for it, after arrival, at public auction. This system was continued during the English period, and even after the Revolution, as late as 1819. It was not until 15 or 20 years after the permanent Eng- lish occupation that Englishmen of means, culture and position came over, with an idea of settling in the country, and bettering their conditions. Among other processes, they took pains to ally themselves with the daughters of the rich Dutch Burghers. There are on record many such marriages between the years 1680 and 1700. Early in the 17th century the little city began to lose its provincial aspect and to x)artake of the character of a me- tropolis, the seat of Vice Regal rule. Tradesmen imported foreign novelties, the residences be- came separate £rom the .slioi)s ; and emulation and display entered into social life. The household of the Provincial Governors, and the taste and gaiety of the French refugees, gave a lively tone to social life. The anniversary of the Restoration, of the Powder Plot, and the Royal birthday, vied in display with the old Dutch festivals of Faas and Pinxtei\ and the day of the Nieuw Jar and of Santa Glaus or St. Nicolas, which still retained their old-fashioned prominence. 9 The latest Engiisli fashions were adopted by the ladies, and the bucks of the place became peruke wearers and snuff-takers. The English governors and their wives were mostly peo- ple of rank ; and officers in the English army and navy swelled the social glories of the new regime. Among the prominent men of rank who were governors of the English Colony were Sir Edmund Andros, Colonel Dongan, afterwards Earl of Limerick ; the Earl of Bella- mont ; Lord Cornbury, subsequently Earl of Clarendon, a cousin of Queen Anne, who, like Nero of old, used to amuse himself by dressing in female attire and so perambulating about the Fort. Another governor, General Robert Hun- ter, had been an aid-de-camp to Marlborough. Lord Love- lace, another, was Baron of Hurley. Governor John Montgomerie lived here in great style ; his cellars abounded in wines, his table with silver ; he had a score of horses in his stable, and drove his coach with gilded harness, and postillions in gold-laced liveries. Governor Fletcher, who squeezed money out of the Province like a Roman Prjetor, flourished in a coach with six horses. Another, Governor Clinton, was a son of the Earl of Lincoln ; Governor Burnett was a son of Bishop Burnett, and took here to wife a lady of the old Dutch stock of Van Horn, To show the then social impress of the English aristo- cratic rule, I give an extract from a newspaper slip written by the "Jenkins" of the day, chronicling the visit of a sprig of nobility in 1732 : "The Mayor and Aldermen of the City of N. Y. being informed that the Riglat Hon. the Lord Augustus Fitzroy, Son to liis Grace, Charles, Duke of Grafton, was arrived at Fort George, they waited on his Lordship in a full body, attended by the principal officers of the City Regiment, and, being introduced to his Lordship, the Recorder addressed himself to him in the name of the corporation, congratulat- ing his Lordship's safe arrival, and returning the thanks of the City 10 for the Honour they received by his Lordship's Presence, as also for his Lordship's Condescension in being pleased to become a Member thereof. Then the Worshipful, the Mayor, presented his Lordship with the copy of his Freedom, enclosed in a curious gold box with the arms of the City thereon neatly engraved ; which his Lordship was pleased to receive in the greatest goodness and Complaisance." As to the general characteristics of the people in 1750, Mr. Biirnaby, who then visited New York, says, "More than half the inhabitants are Dutch, and almost all traders. "They are, therefore, particularly industrious, frugal and parsimonious. Being, however, of different nations, different languages, and different religions, it is almost im- possible to give them any determinate character." Mr. Smith, the historian, says, "the inhabitants are a mixed people, mostly descendants from the original Dutch planters. English is the most i^revailing language, but not a little corrupted by the Dutch dialect, which is- still so used in some counties that the sheriffs find it difficult to ob- tain English speaking jurors to serve in the courts of law." In speaking of the social life of the city, he remarks ui)on the honesty and fair dealing of the inhabitants, who are mostly, he says, merchants and traders. He speaks, however, of the general neglect of mental culture, and all arts for the improvement of the mind, especially among the fair sex, who, he says, "although comely, modest, and well dressed, and characterized by neatness and economy, and with no taste for gambling or other vices, neglect nothing so much as reading, and all arts for the improvement of the mind." He further says : " In the City of New York, through an intercourse with the Eng- lish, we follow the London fashions, though, by the time we adopt them, they become disused in England. Our affluence during the 11 late war introduced a degree of luxury in tables, chairs and furniture, with which we were before unacquainted. But still we are not so gay a people as our neighbors of Boston, and several of the southern colonies." The descendants of the Dutch settlers during the Eng- lish period kept equal in the race with their English brethren in all matters of political or military action and enterj)rise, and their names figure prominently in the State and municii)al annals. INDIANS. No impression has been left by the Indian Aborigines upon our national character. They were driven back and away by the axe, the gun. and the diseases of the invaders. A j)laintive lament of this appears in a petition of the Mohawk Indians to Grovernor Clinton in 1746, against the sale of more of their lands, without their consent. They say : "This and such like dealings, with the bring- ing rum to our castles, has made us dwindle away, as the snow does in a warm, sunshiny day." One of the protesting warriors signs himself "J/b^es," showing the incoming civilization and its effects. The name of another, " Teg-a-roii-de-ge,''^ sjDeaks of the old barbaric race in its pride and power. The names of some places and a few Indian words alone remain to tell us that the Red man once chased tlie wolf, and waged fierce battles over the site of our metropolis. THE FRENCH. The French element of our population was early among us. Under the persecutions of the Protestants in the time of Richelieu, after Rochelle was taken, and the unsuccessful revolts in Normandy, Picardy and Champagne, the exodus began. 12 Many settled in Holland, and thence emigrated here ; between 1650 and 1670. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, also added largely to our population. The Huguenots were eminent for industry, charity and courtesy, and, in social matters, at least, have left an im. press upon our habits and character. Many Huguenot names are familiar among us. Promi- nent among them are those of Cosseau, Ray, De la Mon- taigne, De Lancey, Tourneur, Lozier, ])ef orest, Giraud. Goelet, C-fuion, Lisj^enard, Delaplaine, Dubois, Delamater, Jay, Le Roy, Bedell, Bethune, Gallaudet, Lorillard, Des- brosses and Angevine. Dongan, in his message to King James, in 1687, speaks of numerous French families coming over from England and St. Christopher. In 1696, there were 200 French families in the city ; and, in 1704, a French Huguenot Church was erected ; and soon afterwards, a French club was established. Commencing about the year 1793, there arose an extra- ordinary affection for France, and hostility to every thing- British. Fugitives arrived from the French West Indies, under the ferocious negro rebellions there. Also, came the French emigrds fleeing from the Reign of Terror. Then French cookery, confectionery, cotillions, ragouts and fri- cassees, w^ere introduced, and the city was relieved by them from the frying-pan of the pioneer and much of the heavy horrors of the English cuisine. Their national gaiety and courtesy, also, tended much to modify the habits and manners of our people, from the hardness, stiffness and arrogance which somewhat charac- terize our Anglo Saxon prototypes. Under the early Dutch Colonial rule also came over many 13 Walloons, from Flanders, who settled mostly on Long Island — lience tlie Wal-about, Waal-hoght, or Walloon Bay. Under the English rule, in 1708 to 1710, also came Swab- ians and Palatines in large numbers, driven away by poverty and the horrors of war. Most of the Palatines were sent over by Queen Anne, and naturalized by Royal proclamation. Among the Palatines, then aged thirteen, was little John Peter Zangerin, subsequently known as Zanger ; the hero of the great battle for the liberty of the press. All these Walloons and Palatines have long since been amalgamated into the general formation ; and their indi- viduality has long since ceased. NEW ENGLANDERS. There is another element here, which, although Anglo. Saxon, and formed into our local life, has, still, distinctive features. I refer to that of New England. The New Englander is more conservative in character, more grave in temperament, and at the same time, more enterprising, and more persistent in action than the de- scendants of the Dutch and English settlers. There has always been a sort of antagonism between New York and New England. The latter colonies were always jealous of New Neder- land, and continually threatening war. Connecticut sent a request to Cromwell asking him to exterminate the Dutch settlement. And New Englanders came to assist the English fleet, under Nichols, when New York was taken by him, and even proffered Indian auxil- liaries. Director Kieft, in a letter responsive to certain com- plaints of the United Colonies of New England, in 1646, \ 14 observed that their complaints of ill usage were the com- plaints of the wolf against the lamb ! GovernorNichols, in 1666, in a despatch to the Earl of Clar- endon, advocating a direct trade between Holland and New York, uses as an argument that "The strength and flour- ishing condition of this place will bridle the ambitious saints of Boston ! " In 1688, New York and the otlier New England Colonies were consolidated under one provincial dominion, which lasted until the accession of William and Mary. Chroniclers tell us that New York protested against this annexation "As an unmerited state of degradation ; which they contemplated with just dissatisfaction, as an abhorred connection." It seems, therefore, there was no love lost in the olden time. There is good feeling and fellowship enough now, and a peaceable quiet invasion of New York in business and professional circles is continually in progress, without mur- mur. The laudation of New England and its sons, however, is rather too much dinned into our ears by those sons deni- zened here, and the changes are played on Plymouth Rock until we have become heartily tired of the contimial reveille. With all due respect for New England, and admiration for its enterprising and cultured sons and daughters, the queer question arises continually in our minds, why, if it be such a delectable and superior place as is so abundantly lauded, should her sons and daughters desert it in such flocks and locate themselves in such an inferior place as New York. POLITICAL PRINCIPLES. As regards the political principles planted among us by the various settlers here, although the Dutch possession was comparatively brief, that people left a strong political impress materially modifying that of the succeeding na- tionality. The Dutch founders of this State brought with them the same principles and spirit of independence that had char- 15 acterized their forefathers and made them, in Europe, the pioneers of civil rights. These principles had become national instincts, and, with them they laid the foundations of a State to be as free and tolerant as the fatherland which had been rescued from the tyranny of Spain and the thraldom of the Inquisition. In Holland oppression had united them and made them self reliant. Indignant at the outrages inflicted by hereditary rulers, they revolted against such dominion, and transferred to these shores not only their industry and their hardihood, but also the seeds of liberty, which, germinating in a free field, bore the sturdy plant that in time worked its way into strong life and fruition. Our municipal system was founded on the burgher sys- tem of the Dutch communities. The Declaration of Independence of the United Provinces against the Spaniard, appears to be the precedent of our own declaration of 1776 ; and the model of Government established by the United Netherlands was the model of our own national system. Although the Dutch here cheerfully submitted to the English rule, which was, in the main, parental and kindly, a Dutch democratic counter current against the aristocratic tendency of government and society was obvious. This mani- fested itself , prominently, when Rip Van Dam, the President of the Council, in 1735 occupied the gubernatorial chair dur- ing an interregnum prior to the arrival of the English Gov- ernor Cosby, and who was removed by that Governor for disloyalty. The Dutch and Presbyterian elements of the population were generally in political, and even social opposition to those of the Episcopal Church. Of the former were the members of the Whig Club formed in 1762, who used to drink toasts to the memory of Oliver Cromwell, John Hampden and Parson Hugh Peters. The actions brought against Trinity Church to oust 16 her from her farm lands bore a semi-political character, and were instigated by the Presbyterian or Whig party, as against the Ej)iscopal or administration party. The lirst New York Bill of Rights was passed by the iirst Colonial Assembly, in 1683. This Assembly was com- posed mostly of men of Dutch name and descent ; and although it was repealed in 1686, by direction of James, its principles of religious tolerance, and of taxation only by representation, had taken root, and the violation of its spirit by King James and his governors sowed the seeds that brought fruit in the vindication of such political rights in 1776 as the Dutch had fought for in 1572. Prominent among incidents during the English political period was the assumption of the government by Leisler, who claimed to hold the province for the Prince of Orange on the abdication of James. His action was supported mainly by those of Dutch descent and sympathy. Leisler was supposed to be the leader of this party as opposed to the aristocratic element. Governor Sloughter on his arrival, siding with the latter, had Leisler executed for treason. Another prominent occurrence, showing the growth of Democracy, was the trial of Zenger in 1735. It was the out- come of a struggle of the j^ojDular party, wdiich manifested itself in articles in a newspaj)er published by Zenger re- flecting on Governor Cosby' s administration. On the trial of Zenger for libel the patriotic and the aristo- cratic party took sides, and the jury gave the former a tri- umph by acquiting Zenger. By this trial the principle was established, in New York, that the people had a right to criticise and protest against the acts of those in power. It has been said of this trial, that it gave confidence to infant opinion which caused it to be regarded as the morn- ing star of American freedom. Following down the tide of time the organization called the Sons of Liberty next appears upon the scene, in the momentous period that preceded the Revolution. Both races, Dutch and English, had now become inter- mingled. 17 - A community of dangers and of interests made tliem united. The principles of tlie Dutch Declaration of Freedom .and of the English Bill of Rights formed a common ground of protest and of resistance. Our local annals are full of the deeds of these Sons of Liberty. They oi3posed the Stamp Act passed in 1765 ; they held public meetings on the Common, they hung the Lieutenant- Governor and a figure of the devil in effigy and burned them before the fort. Under their influence leagues were formed with the other colonies against the imi^ortation of English goods — homespun became fashionable — ladies re- fused to be married so long as their licenses had to be on stamped joaper ; liberty poles sprang uj) around the city — armed bands paraded the streets — which Anally marching to a vessel newly arrived caj)tiired all the stamped paper that had been sent over. A tea party, also, took place, similar to the one at Boston, and a body of citizens calling themselves Mohawks, but acting without Indian disguise, discharged into the river the tea chests imported by the ship London, in A^^ril, 1774. Resistance to the Stamp and other acts of the British Parliament continued here with a spirit and determination quite equal to that of the New Englanders, until the spirit of resistance culminated in the Revolution. As early as 1744 Governor Clinton had thus written to the Duke of Newcastle with reference to a proj)osed stamp duty : ' ' The people of North America are quite strangers to any duty but such as they raise themselves, and was such a scheme to take place without their know- ledge, it might have a dangerous consequence to his Ma- jesty's interest." In July, 1775, Governor Tryon thus wrote to the Earl of Dartmouth, when speaking of the condition of affairs in New York: "Oceans of blood may be spilt, but, in my opinion, America will never receive Parliamentary taxa- tion." 18 Wlien we consider the principles and origin of the then population of our city, we can well imagine that the men there were not afraid of Revolution. There were the descendants of the Dutch patriots, of Independents of the English lighting stock under Crom- well ; of French Huguenots, of banished Covenanters from Scotland, of soldiers of Monmouth's rebellion, and of men who had fought under the banner of both of the Pretend- ers. TRADE. A review of the trade of the Early Dutch, its develop- ment under the West India Comx)auy, and its subsequent course under English colonial and subsequent state rule would be interesting. Time, in a discourse of this nature, will not allow a re- view of that feature of our municix:)al life. A spirit of commercial enterprise seems to have charac- terized this city from its origin, when in 1610 Dutch vessels were sent over to open trade with the natives ; and in 1G24 four thousand beaver and 700 otter skins were exported. Tlie thrift and plodding industry and business sagacity of the Dutch has left its mark to this day, and laid the foundation for the commercial eminence of the Metropolis. During the English period the commercial enterprise and prosperity of the city rapidly developed. The English administration sought in every way to de- press and discourage all efforts at manufactures here, but the busy city rose above the jealous policy, and not only had a large commerce but many manufactures. In 1750 we find the city exporting to England grain, furs, oil, spermaceti, lime juice, snuff, candles, skins, lumber, whale oil, bones, logwood, mahogony and general West India goods. To the West Indies lumber and European and East In- dia goods ; also, flour, bread, j)ease, pork and horses. From 19 the West India were imported mostly rum, sugar, logwood and molasses. There was also an active coasting trade witli the N. E. colonies and Virginia of grain, lumber and Eng- lish goods. There was also an active trade with Madeira, Teneriffe, ports on the Bay of Biscay, and with Minorca and Gibral- tar. The above shows what a busy city this was even before the Revolution. The slave trade was one feature of our municipal life that both Dutch and English were responsible for. Slaves were dealt in as an article of import and export without any sense of moral wrong. In 1718, there were as many as 517 slaves imported here from Africa and the West Indies. As an instance of the moral darkness even of those days, we find that slaves were kept in ignorance and not tutored in the Christian faith, under either the Dutch or English rule, until 1688, when a law was passed which was generally disregarded. The ignorance in which they were kex)t was doubtless under the moral theory propounded by Lord Coke that Christians being servants of Christ might lawfully hold in bondage pagans, who were bond holders of Satan. Therefore Satan was not interfered with ; and, under Gov. Dongan, some Spanish Indian slaves were ordered to be sent out of the Colony if it was found they could say the Lord's prayer. TOLEKATION. The Spirit of Toleration which prevailed under the Dutch, and even under the English rule, laid the foundation for the liberal and tolerant principles which have distinguished this State. New Amsterdam was always a refuge for those persecuted for conscience's sake. 20 Tn Holland, religions freedom was acknowledged as a hnman right, and the Dntch States became an asylum for the oppressed of all lands. These principles of toleration were maintained by the Dutch settlers of new Nederland ; and not lost under the English rule. Walloon fugitives came there from the Spanish Netherlands, Lutherans from Germany, Puritans from England, Huguenots from France, Waldenses from Piedmont, harassed Jews from Spain ; also Quakers and Anabaptist refugees from New England. Francis Doughty, a clergymen, driven from Massachu- setts for asserting that Abraham's children should have been baptised, Lady Deborah Moody for her views against infant baptism, Throgmorton and his followers, Roger AVilliams, Anne Hutchinson, and even old Katy Harryson, the Connecticut witch, and many other religious refugees from New England, and also Father Jogues, the Jesuit missionary, found aid and shelter here. In fact, little New England colonies of refugees were planted all about New Amsterdam. There is no stain of blood on New Amster- dam for any condemnation for religious opinion. The witchcraft delusion found no home with the peoj^le of this place ; although they had New England for an example, distracting homes and leading protesting innocents to the stake. By the terms of surrender to Colonel Nichols, in 1664, the Dutch inhabitants were to enjoy liberty of conscience, and of Church discipline. In 1687 James II. made his proclamation in England and the colonies, declaring liberty of conscience and of wor- ship, and suspending all laws against non-conformity. It was this declaration that the English Bishops refused to read from their pulpits ; and which precipitated the English Revolution of 1689. Governor Dongan, who was a Catholic, in his report to the Board of Trade in 1687, says : 21 "New York has, first, a chaplain belonging to the Fort, of the dhurch of England ; secondly, a Dutch Calvinist ; third, a French Calvinist, and fourth, a Dutch Lutheran. " Here bee not many of England ; a few Roman Catholics ; abund- ance of Quaker preachers, men and women especially ; Singing Quakers; Ranting Quakers ; Sabbatarians; anti-Sabbatarians; some Anabaptists ; some Independents ; some. Tews; in short, of all sorts of opinions there are some ; and the most part of none at all !" Under William and Mary, however, and the subsequent reigns, there was great intoleration against Roman Catho- lics. By the penal laws in force, many were virtually dis- franchised, and John Wry, under the main charge of being a priest in disguise, was hung in 1741. By a law passed in 1700, also, Roman Catholic priests found in the colony were subject to imprisonment for life. The English test act was also in force here after the Eng- lish revolution, and city officials, before qualifying, had to make declaration of their " disbelief in transubstantiation and that the sacrifice of the Mass and the worship of the Virgin were idolatrous and superstitious." CLIMATE AND NEW CONDITIOlSrS OF LIFE. In the beginning of this paper reference has been made to the general physiological changes attendant upon col- onization in new latitudes. The Anglo-Saxon has been the dominant type of the colonizing man here, and the deviations from that tyjje, in the course of two centuries, are notable. The original colonizing Dutchman and Frenchman have been absorbed by intermarriage into the more numerous Anglo-Saxon ; and the conditions of settlement and acclim- atization, acting on that type, have produced, at this time, a new deviating race. Such deviation is apparent in the physical, mental, and, perhaps, moral attributes of the new race ; and also in its lingual expression. Under the conditions of the new life, to a great extent adventurous, nerve force and energy were called upon, and developed rapidly. 22 There was a struggle with Nature and the savage, a deprivation of luxury, and no repose from toil or care. Hence, the colonist and his offspring became active, rest- less, industrious, anxious, enterprising, and ingenious. Each colonist stepped out into his individuality and laid the foundation of self-sovereignty. The dependence of his old life was lost ; and the energy and self-reliance of his new one began. A spirit of enterprise and restlessness — a dis23osition to advance became characteristic of the new race, and have contributed in causing physiological modification. Climatic changes and local stimuli, therefore, have, in time, irritated the nervous system into impulses that have caused an abnormal activity, resulting, as it is claimed, in a disturbance of the general j)hysiological balance. Speaking of the changes induced by increased nervous nutrition, Dr. Verity, an English writer of note, on nervous changes, says : "Among jjie changes effected in the course of the physiological amelioration of the human type, are those of the nervous system at large; where, besides the amplified volume and enhanced tempera- ment of the cerebral masses, the different structures of the body become interpenetrated with a more copious interlacement of nervous webbing, whereby all the complicated mechanism of animal and organic life is made to perform its various functions with more energy, more breadth, and more endurance. " On the other hand, he dej)recates the over-development of the nervous system, as tending to physical deterioration ; and argues, that the proper equipoise of the physical and mental frame must be maintained through a more athletic development, by a return to the muscular activity and invigorating habits, pursuits, and regime of the ancestral type. Three local words that have been coined into our lan- guage seem to illustrate the effects of the developed nerve force here, and portray the new resulting moral race-char- acteristics — these are the verbs, to "progress," to "locate," and to "realize." 23 The physical changes produced by nervous action, were noticed by early historians and travellers here. The historian Smith speaks, in abont 1760, of the inhabi- tants of New York as being generally healthy and robust, but shorter lived than Europeans ; and, both with respect to their minds and bodies, that they arrive sooner to an age of maturity. He says, also : Breathing a serene, dry air, they ai-e more sprightly in their natural tempers than the people of England. John Lambert, a traveller who visited New York in 1808, speaks of the general ill health and debility of the inhabi- tants, and the prevalence of bilious and nervous diseases. He also speaks of the premature decay of the teeth, among the j)eople ; and, although he pays a tribute to the attrac- tions of the New York ladies, he states that they do not "enjoy their beautie for so long a period as Englishwomen, neither do they possess the blooming countenance and rosy tinge of health." Quatrefages, a recent and learned French wiiter on ethnology, thus writes : "Two centuries and a half, twelve generations at the most, separate the English race in America from the epoch of its permanent settle- ment in the country; and, nevertheless, the Anglo American (the ' Yankee ' ) no longer resembles his ancestors. The fact is so striking that the eminent zoologist, Andrew Murray, when endeavoring to account for the formation of animal races, finds that he cannot do better than appeal to the condition of man in the United Stfites. * * * * At the second generation, the English Creole in Nortli America presents in his features an alteration which approximates him to the native race. Subsequently the skin dries and loses its rosy color, the glandular system is reduced to a minimum, the hair darkens and becomes glossy; the neck becomes slender, and the size of the head diminishes. In the face, the temporal fossae are pronounced, the cheek bones become prominent, and the orbital cavities become hollow. Lastly, the woman, in her structural proportions, approaches to those of the man. " The anthropologist, Knox, and others who think with him, take the extreme view that the European immigrant, after several generations, loses the power of perpetuating 24 tlie race ; and that a continuous stream of immigration from robust European sources is necessary to maintain the white population of the United States ; and as a corrollary to this, they claim, that were it not for the stream of Ger- man and Irish immigration, the Red Skins would again reign in North America ; and the descendants of the Mon- tezumas in the South. We can, in this view, picture to ourselves, instead of the New Zealander of the English humorist gazing over the ruins of London, some Pawnee or Flat Head from the West chasing the cougar or the moose over the tottering arches of the Brooklyn bridge, or a bevy of squaws pound- ing corn in the ruined chancel of Trinity Church ! A more recent observer, Miss Beecher, says, in her letter to the people, ' ' Travellers when they go to other countries, especially when they visit England, from whence our ances- tors came, are struck with the contrast between the ap- pearance of American women and those of other countries, in the matter of health." She also says, that the standard of health among Ameri- can women is so low that few of them have an idea of what a healtliy woman is ; and that she (Miss Beecher) is not able, in her immense circle of friends and acquaintances, all over the Union, to find so many as ten married ladies born in this century and country, who are sound, healthy and vigor- ous." The above and other writers seem to conclude that the effect of the excessive development of the nerve force not accompanied, as in the early days of pioneer life, with mus- cular effort, and the deprivation of luxury and other con- comitants of civilized life, have, together with the effects of a climate of extremes, caused a fibrous and muscular relax- ation which have induced physical deterioration and dis- eases that have become almost national. An argument a posteriori, as to the general changes of health, suggests itself in the fact that the most showy and 25 most numerous of all the shops in our villages and cities is the druggist shoiD ; and it is the favorite social exchange of the place. In our cities druggists are found at every corner, while at London or Paris it is difficult to find one, anywhere. At this day, the physical changes of the average Ameri- can of the Eastern cities, as distinguishing him from the English progenitor, are the following : The neck has become elongated ; the hair has ceased to curl ; the bones are smaller ; the foot is shorter and higher in the instep ; the jaws or jowls have become narrower, and cannot maintain the normal amount of teeth ; the normal pulse is quicker ; the voice is higher and thinner, with a nasal intonation ; the lungs and chest smaller ; the stature is at least a half head shorter ; the frame fifteen per cent, less in bulk ; the sx^eech is in a monotone, direct and quick and without inflections ; the complexion has become dry and sallow ; the expression of the face has become sombre, and the brow corrugated ; and the dryness of the air has darkened the hair and the skin. The curious tendency to exj)ectoration at all times and places, has also been much observed as a national dis- tinction. The above changes are not so remarkable among the people of the Western States and Territories, who are nearer the pioneer period, and where muscular life still con- trols. The above changes, however, in general distinguish the Anglo-American almost as much from the Anglo-Saxon of England, as the Anglo- American is distinctive from the American Indian, who, after being so entirely acclimated as to have arrived at the perfection of physical health, is now physically deteriorating under the influences of civili- zation. As to the physical advantage or the aesthetic excellence of the above physiological changes, I am not prepared to speak. 2Q There is no doubt that, at this time, we have assumed a distinct normal type and are becoming accustomed to it. Perhaps, even to the disinterested international observer, the light, graceful Mercury flying to the skies and waving the magic cadueeus that changes everything into gold, will be preferred to the massive, club-wielding Hercules, accom- plishing, it is true, great labors, when aroused, but compar- atively heavy and passive. The type of the Hebe, too, may charm as much as the stately Juno over the water ; and possiblj^, in time, when the amalgation of races is complete, immigration diminished, and nerve force in better equipoise with the rest of the sys- tem, unless a Mongolian ingredient is introduced, new Ap)ol- los and Venuses may arise and Anglo-Americans become a typical race of perfected humanity. So, evidently, thinks our admirer. Professor Quatrefages, above alluded to. The Professor combats the conclusions of Knox that the changes above enumerated are signs of a degradation al- ready accomplished and of an approaching extinction. He perorates as follows : ' ' We are sufficiently acquainted with American men and women to know that, altliough modified, tlie pliysicial type is not lowered, in the scale of races : and the social grandeur of the United States, the mar- vels they have accomplished, the energy with which they pass through the rudest crises, prove that, from every point of view, the Yankee race has retained its rank. It is simply a new race formed by the American conditions of life, but which remains worthy of its elder sisters in Europe ; and will, perhaps, some day, surpass them." Dr. Verity also gives us some comfort, when he lays down the law that the progression of nervous nutrition in the hu- man body is a law of advancing civilization. The mental and moral changes between Englishmen and the Anglo-American are also sensible. 27 As mental activity has been more quickened, the area of intelligence has proportionately been more diffused. Under the influence of common dangers and efforts, and a com- munion of interests, the disposition has become less rigid and selfish, and more sympathetic and generous. There is less individual pride and more general courtesy and cordiality, although less polish. There is also less brutality and bloodthirstiness here, es- pecially among the lower classes. There has disappeared from the Anglo-American the curious instance of Atavism so common in England and the delight of the French caricaturist — the open mouth, elevat- ed nostril and projecting front teeth — relic of the flesh- tearing cave-dweller or flint- sharpener. As another instance of our changed humanitarianism, there has disappeared from our prayer book, the bloody anathemas and the invocation to the God of battles to de- stroy and cut off all those who are not Englisli, which still characterize the religious formula of the European descend- ants of our Anglo-Saxon progenitors. IRISH AND GERMAN. We come now down to the i^eriod of the great Irish and German immigration. These nationalities have exercised great influence upon this city and its inhabitants. The general causes of their leaving their native shores have been the inducements of higher wages, cheap land, political freedom, social equality, lighter taxation ; and, for the German, above all, exemp- tion from military service. Great periods of famine have sent increased numbers ; also great commercial jDanics, distress in manufacturing districts, and reaction after revolutionary movements. New York City endures most of the evils, and gets least of the advantages of immigration. The bulk of those that have money pass through — the pauper and the vicious generally remain. 28 Our city lias been compared to a filter in which the stream of immigration is purified before ir passes westward. Of immigrants from the continent of Europe, seventy-five per cent., it is estimated, pass westward, and only about twenty-five per cent, remain. Of those from Ireland, seventy-five per cent, remaiii, and twenty-five per cent, pass on. In 1780 to 1794, the average arrivals here were only 8,000 per annum ; from 1820 to 1826, there was an annual aver- age arrival of 9,500. In 1842 there was 104,505 ; in 184G, there were 154,400 ; and, in 1847, 284,900. From 1845 until 1854 inclusive, in consequence of signs of revolution, 1,226,392 Germans arrived at New York, and, for the same iDeriod, 1,512,100 Irish. During the last year (1882) nearly half a million alien passengers arrived at this port, of whom the most numer- ous were Germans, and the next in number Irish. This is an increase over the immigrants arriving ten years back of 200,000. The first Irish immigrant we hear of was a servant girl belonging to Isaac Allerton, the English tobacco merchant, in 1655 ; who is recorded to have beaten her for skylarking with his servant man, Jonathan. A letter has come down to us from an early Irish immi- grant (one James Murray) written to his old pastor, Rev. Baptist Boyd, in 1737, extolling the advantages of the new land. An extract is as follows : • ' Read this letter, Rev. Baptist Boyd, and look and tell aw the poor folk of ye place that God has opened a door for their deliverance. Desire my Fether and my Mether, too, and my three sisters to come here ; and ye may acquaint them there are lads enough here ; and bid my brother come, and I will pay their passage. Desire James Gibson to sell aw he has and come ; for here aw that a man works for is his ane; and there are ne revenue hunds to rive it frae us here; but every yen enjoys his ane, and there is ne yen [one] to tak awa yep Corn, yer Potatoes, yer Lint or yer Eggs — na, na, — ! blessed be his Name, ne yen gees Bans for his ane here. Ye ken I had but sma' learning when I left ye ; and now, wad ye think of it, I hea 20 pund a year for being 29 a Clark to York Meeting house; and Keep a Skulle for wee weans — Ah, dear sir, there is braw living in tliis same York — for big learned men — for, I will tell ye, in short, this is a bonny country and aw things grows here that ever I did see grow in Ereland." Immigration might well be induced also by sucli mel- lifluous descriptions of tlie land as were written by Mr. Charles Wooley, an English traveller here, in 1678. He described the climate in the following highly Latinized English : " The climate is of a sweet and wholesome breath. Nature kindly drains and purgetli it by Fontanels and issues of running waters in its irriguous valleys, and shelters it with the Umbrellas of all sorts of trees from pernicious lakes; which trees do insensibly suck in and digest into their own growth and composition those subterraneous particles and exhalations whicli Avould otherwise become matter for infectious clouds and malign atmospheres. I myself, seemingly of a, weakly stamen and a valetudinary constitution, was not in the least indisposed in that climate during my residence there." The early immigrants devoted themselves, if possible, to the obtaining of land for agricultural purposes ; and, although the wages of labor were high in the city, as soon as they arrived sought to be proprietors of farms. Gov- ernor Moore, writing in 1768, says : "They quit their masters and get a small tract of land, in settling which, for the first three or four years, they lead miserable lives and in the most abject poverty ; but all this is patiently borne and submitted to with the greatest cheerfulness. The satisfaction of being land- holders smooths every difficulty and makes them prefer this manner of living to that comfortable existence which they could procure for themselves and their families by working at the trades in which they were brought up. " This feeling for agricultural pursuits seems strongly to influence the Continental immigrant in his march west- ward. The Irish, from their knowledge of the language, have exerted a stronger influence upon our city than the Ger- mans, who keex) more ai)art, and a greater proportion HO of wliom travel westward, or settle in districts of the city where they are separated from the rest of the population ; while the Irish mingle in more promiscuously with the earlier population. Indeed, from the number of the Irish and their descend- ants now established here, Ireland, instead of England, might now be regarded as the mother country ; or, rather, the step-mother country. An ex-state senator, at a late public meeting, said, exult- ingly : " Probably the time will soon come when the Irish 'Will have 'New York, and elect an Irish mayor." An Irish- man, lately, in our House of Representatives, where his principal occupation is to assail the British lion, paid America the back-handed compliment of stating that "Ire- land was the nursery of American brains and bravery." He quoted a good deal of poetry to sustain his position. We have thus briefly reviewed the various elements and nationalities that have united in forming our citizens. The race nucleus with us, as it is in England, is the An- glo-Saxon. The Dutchman and the Frenchman of the early settle- ment have flowed into the general result, although each has impressed upon it a part of his distinctiveness. England, however, is still recognized as the mother country. Its race still dominates while the new one is forming. The history of England is ours — its language, its literature, its morals, its modes of thought, and princi- ples of action. We still look to English opinion for approbation. We wince under the criticism of its authors and its press, and look up to its learning and culture. Our youth adopt its manners and pursue its sports ; and our maidens are willingly cast to the Moloch of English titled grandeur, or look to temporary admission into the spangled arena of a London season as the acme of social delight. The vast floods of Irish and Germans that make with their descendants a great and useful part of our population, have 31 been of too late introduction to be factors in the formation of our general local character. They are still to a certain extent apart from each other, and from the descendants of the colonial denizens. They still retain their race individualism of temperament and physique. Their robust industry and powers of endurance have made them mighty agents in building up the city and the nation, and their great numbers, their active and ag- gressive spirit, and, above all, their cohesion, have made them powerful in our political life. We are now indirectly, if not directly, ruled by immi- grants, or the sons of immigrants. While New England thrift and pertinacity have made the New Engiander here comparatively at the head of our commercial life, those of Irish blood are practically the con- trolling political power. If others murmur at this condition it may be answered that it is one of their own sufferance. It is natural that the immigrant should seek rule if he lias the enterprise to grasjD it, and when the door is left wide open ; and those of other thought and nationality must often bear the rule, even, at times, of those not morally fitted for power, if they have not the energy and the public spirit that makes thought action, and action success. Probably there is no city in Christendom where there is such an indifference on tlie part of the enlightened citizen to public affairs, where public spirit is so sluggish, and where political principle is so absorbed and controlled by partisanship. This may, perhaps, arise from the fact that our mixed races, not being yet consolidated, are wanting in that unity of thought and character that forms and harmonizes public sentiment and impels its action. There is much political effort here, but such efforts made frequently without political conviction and for private aims lead to demagogism ; and, in time, debase public life and make it odious. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 32 0'002 551 201 % With many drawbacks, however, there is much to praise and love in our ancient city. There is among us a wide-spread charity — a liberal and tolerant sentiment towards all men, a general appreciation of what is good and noble, a generous hospitality and a lofty spirit of enterprise and ambition, that impels us on- w^ard in spite of the heavy drags upon us of a great part of the crime and pauperism of foreign lands, and the evils of political misrule. • As in the days of our Dutch predecessors, we open our arms to all men, and welcome, still, the religious exile — the political refugee. The oppressed and dow;n-hearted of all lands find wel- come and relief here. Those who leave behind them a depressed condition of existence in the Old World, find here a higher and freer life, where all may aspire and all may succeed. Here they may live in peace and equality, under the Mgis of the. Spirit of Liberty, soon to be emblemed on our shores, holding aloft her torcli of guidance over the West- ern seas, and beaming with a light that shines for all. r ^'fi'UiiVoF ^^^GREss '"''^^l^Ol