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 A BRIEF 
 CONSIDERATION 
 
 OF 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 1753 
 
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 SEYMOUR DURST 
 
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 When you leave, please leave this hook 
 
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 OLD YORK LIBRARY — OLD YORK FOUNDATION 
 
 Avi;ry Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift or Seymour B. Durst Old York LiiiRARV 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/briefconsideratiOOIivi 
 
CONSIDERATION 
 
 OF NEW YORK 
 
Heartman's Historical Series No. 39. 
 
A BRIEF 
 
 CONSIDERATION 
 
 OF 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 With Respect To Its 
 
 NATURAL ADVANTAGES 
 
 Its Superiority in Several Instances 
 
 Over Some of the 
 
 Neighboring Colonies 
 
 By WILLIAM LIVINGSTON 
 
 Reprinted from 
 THE INDEPENDENT REFLECTOR 
 
 1753 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 EARL GREGG SWEM 
 
 LIBRARIAN WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE 
 
 Forty-one Copies Printed for 
 
 CHARLES F. HEARTMAN 
 Metuchen, New Jersey, 1925 
 
offsnc 
 
 / '2- "^ 
 
 No of Forty-one Copies Printed. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE 
 
 In Number 8 of 'The Independent Reflector," Thurs- 
 day, January 18, 1753, William Livingston printed the 
 first instalment of **A Brief Consideration of New York, 
 with respect to its Natural Advantages: Its Superiority 
 in several Instances, over some of the Neighboring Col- 
 onies." The second and final instalment was printed 
 in Number 52 of The Independent Reflector, November 
 22, 1753/i> The author has presented his thought with 
 such clearness and force, and with such prophetic vision, 
 that these two numbers of the Reflector constitute a dis- 
 tinct contribution to the history of the development of 
 New York City. The author did not write as a modern 
 press agent, with all the paraphernalia of exaggeration, 
 but as one who loved his native province, with a desire 
 to proclaim its advantages modestly, and to offer some 
 suggestions for its commercial improvement. The de- 
 velopment of New York province and of its chief city into 
 the Empire State and City fully confirm the opinions of 
 William Livingston as expressed in these two numbers 
 of the Reflector. 
 
 William Livingston, the editor and founder of "The 
 Independent Reflector," was born at Albany, November 
 
 (1) This was the last number published of The Independent Reflector 
 
 I 
 
30, 1723. He was the fifth child of Philip and Catharine 
 Van Brugh Livingston. In 1737 he entered Yale College 
 and graduated at the head of his class in 1741. In a 
 short time thereafter he was entered as a law student in 
 the office of James Alexander, the constant advocate of 
 popular rights and privileges, and one of the most emi- 
 nent lawyers in the province. In the trial of Zenger, in 
 1734, Alexander supported the cause of the printer 
 with great ability. In 1748 Livingston had completed 
 his preparation for the law and received his license. 
 His character had already displayed originality and much 
 independence. It was not strange then that he should 
 establish **The Independent Reflector,*' the first number 
 of which appeared on November 30, 1752. Mr. Theo- 
 dore Sedgwick, his biographer, says "This was, I believe, 
 the first periodical in the colonies, certainly in New York, 
 which, with no professed attachment to any political 
 party, devoted itself to a close and impartial scrutiny of 
 the existing establishments, and pursuing its course with- 
 out fear or favor, had for its object the exposure of official 
 abuse, negligence, and corruption in whatever rank they 
 were to be found. "(2) j^ the eleventh number of the 
 work, when he had become somewhat excited by opposi- 
 tion, the author thus describes his purpose: *The Re- 
 flector is determined to proceed unawed and alike fear- 
 less of the humble scoundrel and the eminent villain. 
 The cause he is engaged in is a glorious cause. 'Tis the 
 cause of truth and liberty: what he intends to oppose is 
 superstition and bigotry, priestcraft, tyrrany, servitude, 
 
 (2) Sedgwick — Life of William Livingston, 1833. p. 74. 
 
 II 
 
public mismanagement, and dishonesty in office. The 
 things he proposes to teach are the nature and excellence 
 of our Constitution, the inestimable value of liberty, the 
 disastrous effects of bigotry, the shame and horror of 
 bondage, the importance of religion unpolluted and un- 
 adulterated with superstitious additions and inventions 
 of priests. He should also rejoice to be instrumental in 
 the improvement of commerce and husbandry/'(2> In the 
 last sentence we find his reason for devoting two numbers 
 of the Reflector to "A Brief Consideration of New York, 
 with Respect to its natural Advantages." With a royal 
 governor controlling political thought and an obsequious 
 clergy representing the dominant church, the established 
 Church of England, we may be sure that the path of such 
 an outspoken and daring editor would be beset with dif- 
 ficulties. "The editor was defamed in private society 
 and denounced from the pulpit. The mayor recommended 
 the grand jury to present the work as a libel ; the author 
 was charged with profanity, irreligion and sedition, and 
 his printer, alternately menaced and cajoled by the en- 
 emies of the paper, yielded at length to their efforts and 
 refused to continue it."(^> Livingston v/as especially bit- 
 ter in his denunciation of the attempt to establish the 
 new college(^> by charter rather than by act of the legis- 
 lature. His argument for the latter method was that 
 this would permit a choice of college officials who would 
 not be dominated by the clergy of the Established Church. 
 
 (3) Sedgwick p. 75. 
 
 (4) Sedgwick p. 76. 
 
 (5) Now Columbia University. 
 
 Ill 
 
There were other contributors to the Reflector besides 
 Livingston, their letters appearing under the names of 
 *'Shadrack Plebeianus/' "Atticus/' and "Philathes." 
 Sedgwick affirms that Livingston's own pieces may be 
 easily recognized by their editorial character, and by the 
 use of certain letters for signatures. There can be no 
 doubt that Livingston was the author of the subject mat- 
 ter of this reprint, "A brief Consideration of New York " 
 for, at the end of the first instalment the editorial as- 
 sumption of the authorship of it is unmistakable. 
 
 So great a reputation had the "Independent Reflector" 
 established that there was an insistent demand for the 
 republication of all the numbers. It was accordingly, 
 republished, with a long preface by Mr. Livingston, in 
 January, 1754. 
 
 Sedgwick says that the printers of Boston and Phila- 
 delphia, when approached for its republication, refused 
 to have anything to do with it. The title page of the 
 reprint bears the imprint "Printed (until tyrannically 
 suppressed) in 1753." 
 
 The vigorous sentiments expressed in the "Independent 
 Reflector" were influential in developing a liberal con- 
 struction of the political and religious establishments 
 prior to the revolution. This paper was widely read and 
 quoted. President James Madison is authority for the 
 statement that the subject matter of the Reflector was 
 discussed frequently by the Princeton students of his day. 
 
 Livingston's career at the New York bar was eminently 
 successful. In 1772, he retired to his country seat, Lib- 
 
 IV 
 
erty Hall, near Elizabethtown, N. J. From this time, he 
 was closely identified with the political affairs of New 
 Jersey, representing it in the first, second, and third Con- 
 tinental Congresses. He was chosen its first governor, 
 and was reelected annually until his death, July 25, 1790. 
 A comprehensive biography of William Livingston, writ- 
 ten in the light of the manuscript and other source 
 material now available, is much to be desired. 
 
 E. G. SWEM. 
 
A brief Consideration of NEW-YORK, with respect 
 to its natural Advantages: Its Superiority in 
 several Instances, over some of the neigh- 
 boring Colonies. 
 
 O Fortunatns niniiiim Bona si sua norint Eboracos. 
 
 Virg. 
 
 Awake the Muse, bid Industry rejoice, 
 And the rough Sons of lowest Labour smile. 
 
 Thorn. Brit. 
 
 WITH Respect to what Nature has done for 
 us, there is not a happier People in the 
 World, than the Inhabitants of this Pro- 
 vince. I hope the assigning a few Instances from 
 whence this Happiness is derived, will not be dis- 
 pleasing to them, as it tends to inflame them with a 
 Love of their Country, and at the same Time excite 
 their Gratitude for the Happiness they enjoy. 
 
 The Necessaries of Life, which for that Reason, 
 are its most substantial Blessings, we possess with 
 
the richest Afliiuence. The natural Strength and 
 Fertility of the Soil we live upon, will, by Grazing 
 and Tillage, always continue to us, the inexhaustible 
 Source of a profuse Abundance. There is nothing 
 we possess, that Mankind can well be without, and 
 scarce any Thing they really want, but we either en- 
 joy, or may easily procure, in luxuriant Plenty. 
 
 Provisions, in short, are our Staple, and whatever 
 Country sufficiently abounds with so necessary a 
 Commodity, can never fail of Wealth, a sure Maga- 
 zine ! which will always be attended with Power and 
 Plenty, and many other Springs of social Happiness, 
 as its natural Concomitants. The Want of such an 
 unfailing Staple, is a Fountain of Misery, to a Pro- 
 vince on the East, of more Shew than Substance, 
 Pom.p and Riches. By constant Supplies from our 
 Exuberance, we hold them in Debt, and annually in- 
 crease it; while we are so happy, as to taste the 
 Sweets of the Truth of what they have remarked, 
 that there are fewer poor Men in this, than in any 
 one of the Plantations on the Continent. I have, 
 myself, spent a Month in their Metropolis, the most 
 
splendid Town in North- America, not without some 
 Pleasure, in reflecting, that I had not a Morsel of 
 Bread, even at their common Tables, that was not 
 the Produce of this Colony: Nor has the prettiest 
 Beau in the Town, so easy an Access to their Ladies, 
 as a certain Baker of ours, universally celebrated 
 there, for the Goodness of his Biskets. 
 
 But this Opulence is not our only Advantage, for 
 raising the Trade of this Province, and enlarging its 
 Extent: Every Thing in it conspires to make New- 
 York the best Mart on the Continent. Our Coasts 
 are regular, and the Navigation up to the City, from 
 the Sea, short and bold, and by a good Light-house, 
 might be rendered safe and easy. 
 
 High-Roads, which in most trading Countries, are 
 extremely expensive, and awake a continual Atten- 
 tion for their Reparation, demand from us, compara- 
 tively speaking, scarce any public Notice at all. The 
 whole Province is contained in two narrow Oblongs, 
 extending from the City East and North, having 
 Water Carriage from the Extremity of One, and 
 from the Distance of One Hundred and Sixty Miles 
 
of the Other; and by the most accurate Calculation, 
 has not, at a Medium, above Twelve Miles of Land 
 Carriage throughout its whole Extent. This is one 
 of the strongest Motives to the Settlement of a new 
 Coimtry, as it affords the easiest and most speedy 
 Conveyance from the remotest Distances, and at 
 the lowest Expence. The Effects of this Advantage 
 are greater than we usually observe, and are, there- 
 fore not sufficiently admired. 
 
 The Province of Pennsylvania, has a fine Soil, and, 
 thro' the Importation of Germans, abounds with In- 
 habitants ; but being a vast inland Country, its Pro- 
 duce must, of Consequence, be brought to a Market 
 over a great Extent of Ground, and all by Land-Car- 
 riage. Hence it is, that Philadelphia is crowded 
 with Waggons, Carts, Horses, and their Drivers; A 
 Stranger, at his first Entrance, would imagine it to be 
 a Place of Traffic, beyond any one Town in the Col- 
 onies; while at New- York in particular, to which the 
 Produce of the Country is all brought by Water, 
 there is more Business, at least Business of Profit, 
 tho' with less Shew and Appearance : Not a Boat in 
 
our Rivers is navigated with more than two or 
 three Men at most ; and these are perpetually com- 
 ing in from, and returning to, all Parts of the adja- 
 cent Country, in the same Employments, that fill the 
 City of Philadelphia with some Hundreds of Men, 
 who, in respect to the public Advantage, may justly 
 be said, to be laboriously idle : For, let any one nicely 
 compute the Expence of a Waggon, with its Tackl- 
 ing; the Time of two Men in attending it; their 
 Maintenance; four Horses, and the Charge of their 
 Provender, on a Journey of One, tho' they often 
 come, Two Hundred Miles; and he will find, these 
 several Particulars accumulate a Sum far from being 
 inconsiderable. All this Time, the New-York Farmer 
 is in the Course of his proper Business, and the 
 unincumbered Acquisitions of his Calling; for, at a 
 Medium, there is scarce a Farmer in the Province, 
 that cannot transport the Fruits of a Year's Labour, 
 from the best Farm, in three Days, at a proper Sea- 
 son, to some convenient Landing, where the Market 
 will be to his Satisfaction, and all his Wants from 
 the Merchant, cheaply supplied : Besides which, one 
 Boat shall steal into the Harbour of New- York, with 
 
a Lading of more Burden and value, than forty Wag- 
 gons, One Hundred and Sixty Horses, and Eighty 
 Men, into Philadelphia ; and perhaps with less Noise, 
 Bluster or Shew, than One, 
 
 Prodigious is the Advantage we have in this Ar- 
 ticle alone ; I shall not enter into an abstruse Calcu- 
 lation, to evince the exact Value of it, in all the 
 Lights in which it may be considered ; thus much is 
 certain, that barely on Account of our easy Carriage, 
 the Profits of Farming with us, exceed those in Penn- 
 sylvania, at least by Thirty per Cent, and that Differ- 
 ence, in Favour of our Farmers, is of itself sufficient 
 to enrich them ; while the others find the Disadvan- 
 tage they are exposed to, so heavy, (especially the 
 remote Inhabitants of their Country) that a bare 
 Subsistance is all they can reasonably hope to obtain. 
 Take this Province throughout, the Expence of trans- 
 porting a Bushel of Wheat, is but Two pence, for the 
 Distance of One Hundred Miles; but the same Quan- 
 tity, at the like Distance in Pennsylvania, will always 
 exceed us One Shilling at least. The Proportion be- 
 tween us, in the Conveyance of every Thing else, is 
 
 f 
 
nearly the same. How great, then, are the Incum- 
 brances to which they are exposed ! What an im- 
 mense Charge is saved to us! How sensible must 
 the Embarrassments they are subject to, be to a trad- 
 ing People ! 
 
 There is Nothing more common, in Connecticut 
 and the Massachusetts-Bay Colonies, in discoursing 
 of their Provinces, than for Gentlemen to urge the 
 great Number of their Towns, as a Proof of the Pros- 
 perity of their Country; whereas Nothing can be of 
 more mischievous Consequence to all new Settle- 
 ments. Sound Policy will teach them, that Hus- 
 bandry calls for their first Attention ; erecting Town- 
 ships being never adviseable, till the Number of 
 Planters can supply their Necessities; nor even then, 
 are they to be encouraged, unless the Rise of Arts 
 and useful Manufactures, render the reciprocal Aids 
 of the Inhabitants indispensibly necessary. Every 
 Town unemployed in these, is a dead Weight upon 
 the Public ; for when Families collect themselves into 
 Townships, many Tracts of Land, must, of Conse- 
 quence, lie unimproved: Besides, such Persons will 
 
always endeavor to support themselves by Barter 
 and Exchange ; which can by no means augment the 
 Riches of the Public. The same Commodity passing 
 thro' never so many different Hands in one Com- 
 munity, tho* it may inrich an Individual, others must 
 be poorer, in an exact proportion to his Gains; but 
 the collective Body of the People not at all: Now, 
 suppose, what really is true, that not a Town in those 
 Provinces, of which there are not less than three 
 Hundred, is, in the least Degree, supported by any 
 kind of Manufacture whatsoever; how vast must be 
 their Consumption! how incredible their Expence! 
 how ruinous the Loss of their Time ! and how difficult 
 the Remedy! This Subject puts me in Mind of the 
 Story a Gentleman in this Province told me, of his 
 Tenant. James had to his Wife's Portion, a Barrel 
 of Rum, upon the Strength of which he set up for a 
 Tavarn-keeper; he purchased a Licence, and the 
 married Couple settled it as an inviolable Rule, that 
 not a Dram should be drawn, but for Cash upon the 
 Nail: — A Dram was sold, and James had a Groat 
 for it: The Day after, with that Groat, James pur- 
 chased a Dram of Betty: It was not long, before 
 
Betty^s Qualms extorted the Groat for a Dram to 
 relieve her ; then James took the Money. The Cash 
 kept a constant Circulation, till the Barrel was 
 empty. The Application of this Story to the Pro- 
 vinces I have mentioned, is as easy, as to determine, 
 whether James had increased his Wife's Portion, or 
 not. 
 
 Another Consequence of their clustering into 
 Towns, is Luxury ; — a great and mighty Evil, carry- 
 ing all before it, and crumbling States and Empires, 
 into slow, but inevitable Ruin. — Like sweetened 
 Poison, it is soft but strong, enervates the Constitu- 
 tion, and triumphs at last, in the Weakness and Rot- 
 teness of the Patient. It is almost impossible for a 
 Number of People, and absolutely so, if they are 
 idle, to live together, but they will very soon at- 
 tempt to outvie each other, in Dress, Tables, and the 
 like. This is the Case in the Massachusetts-Bay: 
 Let a Man enter one of their Country Churches, and 
 he will be struck with the Gaiety of Ladies, in Silks 
 and Lawn ; while, perhaps, the Houses they came out 
 of, shall scarce afford a clean Chair to sit on. — Bos- 
 
ton is their Pattern, and too, too closely imitated! 
 I knew- a Gentleman, that could tell his Distance 
 from it, by the Length of the Ruffles of a Belle of the 
 Town he was in; and perhaps it may deserve the 
 serious Consideration, of their Society for the Pro- 
 motion of Industry, and Employment of the Poor, 
 whether the first Step they took, should not be, to 
 dissipate their Towns, and multiply the Number of 
 their Farms. I am sure, it would turn out in the End, 
 a Scheme more to their Advantage, than peopling 
 their Eastern Frontiers; tho' it had no other Effect, 
 than to sink the Ballance we have against them in 
 Trade; which, as some of their own Merchants, of 
 Truth and Intelligence, have informed me, is not less 
 than Forty Thousand Pounds per Annum, lawful 
 Money of this Province. 
 
 Of the Inconveniences of too many Towns, we 
 have, as yet, no Cause of Complaint. The Lands 
 near New- York, and at a considerable Distance from 
 it, were, in the Infancy of this Colony, taken up by a 
 few Gentlemen in large Tracts; which, tho' it has 
 been some Discouragement, to the Improvement of 
 
 10 
 
the Lands within those Grants, has nevertheless had 
 its Use ; as, in Consequence thereof, our Settlements 
 have been carried up Hudson's River, to the Ex- 
 tremes of the Province ; and thereby made that, the 
 Heart of the Colony, and the securest Retreat, which, 
 at every Indian War, would otherwise have been, 
 what our Northern Frontiers were the last, derelict 
 and abandoned, or a miserable Aceldema and Field 
 of Blood; but contains now, many Thousands of 
 flourishing Farms; which are daily improving and 
 increasing, as well to the Advancement of private 
 Estates, as the publick Emolument. 
 
 Copious as this subject is, I shall beg Leave to 
 resume it but once, in some future Paper, and in the 
 mean Time, take this Opportunity to fulfil my Prom- 
 ise, by giving Place to a Letter from one of my most 
 industrious Correspondents. 
 
 11 
 
The Consideration of the Natural Advantages 
 
 of New York 
 
 Resumed and Concluded 
 
 Lo! swarming o'er the new discover'd World, 
 Gay Colonies extend; the Calm retreat 
 Of undeserv'd Distress, the better Home 
 Of those whom Bigots chase from foreign Lands: 
 Not built on Rapine, Servitude and War, 
 And, in their Turn some petty Tyrant's Prey; 
 But bound by social Freedom, firm they rise; 
 Of Britain's Empire the Support and Strength. 
 
 Thom. Lib. 
 
 THO* Boasting in general be a Foible worthy of 
 Contempt, yet when our Country is the Sub- 
 ject, our warmest Commendations are, me- 
 thinks, neither illaudable nor disgraceful. So early 
 do we receive this patriot Passion, and so intimately 
 are we concerned in that Object of our Affections, 
 that the Praises we bestow upon the Place of our 
 Nativity, tho' often repeated, justly admit of Apol- 
 ogy, and even of Excuse. For my own Part, to dwell 
 upon so interesting a Theme, affects me with singu- 
 
 12 
 
lar Pleasure ; and the Evidences which appear in my 
 Papers of an unfeigned Regard to this Province, I 
 esteem their greatest Ornament. My Countrymen 
 at least can have no Reason to repine at the Contin- 
 uation of this Subject. The Public Weal is my only 
 Aim, and I flatter myself that the Display of our 
 superior Advantages naturally tends to advance it. 
 I proceed, therefore, according to my Promise, to 
 resume the Detail, and make it the Subject of an- 
 other Reflector. 
 
 With regard to our Situation in respect of foreign 
 Markets, New- York is to be preferred to any of our 
 Colonies. It lies in the Center of North-America, 
 and is therefore most happily situated for support- 
 ing a Trade with all the Plantations from Georgia to 
 Hallifax. Connecticut on the East, and New-Jersey 
 on the West, ai'e fertile and well cultivated Colonies, 
 and thro' natural Necessity, must always contribute 
 their Aids in rendering this City a plentiful Mart, be- 
 cause their Exports cannot with equal Ease and 
 Safety be conveyed to any other Port of considerable 
 Traffick. The Projection of Cape Cod into the 
 
 13 
 
Ocean, renders the Navigation from Connecticut to 
 Boston, at some Seasons, extremely perilous. Nor 
 is it uncommon for their Coasters to be driven off the 
 Cape, and obliged to winter in the West-Indies. But 
 their Vi|?inity to us affords them a safe and easy 
 Conveyance to New- York thro' the Sound. Phila- 
 delphia, indeed, joins New- Jersey on the West; but 
 it is well, worth remarking, that the Lands adjacent 
 to the River Delaware, on the New-Jersey Shore, be- 
 low Philadelphia, are unprofitable Barrens, and the 
 River navigable but a few Miles above it ; and that a 
 voyage from the eastern Part of New-Jersey to Phil- 
 adelphia, exposed to the open Sea on one side, and a 
 hazardous Coast on the other, and then to a danger- 
 ous Navigation in Delaware, is a Circuit of not less 
 than Three Hundred Miles; while four Rivers, roll- 
 ing from the Heart of that Colony, disembogue 
 within a few Miles of our City. And thus two Prov- 
 inces, both capable of the highest Improvements, 
 from their natural Situation conspire to aggrandize 
 New- York, almost as effectually as if they were part 
 of this Colony. Not one of the Provinces has a 
 River so far navigable into the Country as ours; 
 
 14 
 
whence it is that the Indian Trade from those vast 
 Territories on the North, determines its Course to 
 Albany, and thence down Hudson's River to New- 
 York, as naturally as a Stream gliding in its proper 
 Channel. 
 
 Our Harbour, or rather Road, is as safe as others 
 generally are, most of them being subject to impor- 
 tant Objections, and often indebted for their Secur- 
 ity to very expensive Improvements of Art. The 
 mooring Ground is good, free from Bars, and not in- 
 commoded by Rocks, the Water of an equal and 
 convenient Depth, and the Shore bold to the very 
 Edges ; and but for floating Cakes of Ice in the Win- 
 ter, our Shipping would be intirely exempted from 
 Danger. Nor is it difficult perfectly to secure them 
 from that Inconvenience. The Place called Rotten- 
 Row, has hitherto been their only Assylum, tho' un- 
 happily of late, it annually becomes less and less fit 
 for that Purpose : The Scheme I propose to perpetu- 
 ate, or rather increase its former Usefulness, is both 
 simple and cheap. The whole Length of this Open- 
 ing should be filled up to the Extent of One Hundred 
 
 15 
 
Feet, and from each End of it a strong open Pier 
 carried out into the River; between which, our Ship- 
 ping will have all proper Security and the greatest 
 Conveniency for lading, unlading, and careening, 
 that can either be expected or desired. The free 
 Passage of the Tides under the Bridges of the Piers, 
 will always preserve a sufficient Depth of Water. 
 The Part proposed to be filled up will be very spaci- 
 ous, and being at an equal Distance from the two 
 Extremes of the Town, the fittest Place for erecting 
 a large Market-House, very advantageous to the ad- 
 jacent Inhabitants, as well as ornamental and con- 
 venient to the whole City. By this Alteration also, 
 the putrid Stench, arising from that Sink of Corrup- 
 tion, so prejudicial to the Healths and Lives of the 
 People, will be effectually prevented. The contin- 
 ual Evacuations of the Sewers at the Slip and Meal 
 Markets, as well as the main Stream of the River, 
 have already rendered Rotten-Row much shallower 
 than it was, and will make it in Time, incapable of 
 skreening our Ships from the Ice: But this Project 
 will always protect them from that Hazard and 
 Damage. 
 
 16 
 
The City of New- York consists of about Two 
 Thousand Five Hundred Buildings. It is a Mile in 
 Length, and at a Medium not above half that in 
 Breadth. On the South it forms a Point into a large 
 Bay. The East Side lies on a Streight, which at 
 eighteen or twenty Miles eastward, opens to the 
 Sound. It adjoins to Hudson's River on the West; 
 and such is its Figure, its Center of Business, and the 
 Situation of its Buildings, that the Cartage in Town 
 from one Part to another, does not at a Medium, 
 exceed one Quarter of a Mile : The prodigious Ad- 
 vantage of which, to a trading City, is more easily 
 conceived than expressed. It facilitates and expe- 
 dites the lading and unlading of ships and Boats, 
 saves Time and Labour, and is attended with 
 unnumerable Conveniences to its Inhabitants. 
 
 The City of Philadelphia is situated along a fresh 
 Water River, at the distance of near two hundred 
 Miles from the Sea. The Navigation up to it is 
 tedious, and as I said before, difficult and dangerous. 
 During the Severity of Winter, it is locked up from 
 all marine Correspondence with the rest of the 
 
 17 
 
World, and thus, necessarily for several Months 
 every Year, exposed to an almost total Stagnation 
 of Trade. Numberless must be the Inconveniences 
 resulting from this their melancholly Imprisonment 
 — Commerce groans — a listless constrained Inactiv- 
 ity prevails, and an unprofitable Consumption de- 
 vours the Fruit of their Labours, 'till the returning 
 Spring takes off the Embargo, unlocks their River, 
 and again opens the Theatre of Business and Profit. 
 But the Trade of New- York boasts an Exemption 
 from such Embarassments — No Season prevents our 
 Ships from launching into the Ocean and pursuing 
 their Traffick — The Depth of Winter scarce obstructs 
 our Commerce, and during its greatest Severity, an 
 equal unrestrained Activity runs thro' all Ranks, 
 Orders and Employments. Even then our Mer- 
 chants exult in the Return of their Ships, while our 
 Neighbours of Philadelphia wait for Intelligences 
 they are unable to improve, or concert Schemes 
 which it is beyond their Power to execute. 
 
 Tho' we abound in no one Kind of Fish sufficient 
 for a Staple, yet such is our Happiness in this Article, 
 
 •18 
 
that not one of the Colonies affords a Fish-Market of 
 such a plentiful Variety as ours. Boston has none 
 but Sea Fish, and of these Philadelphia is entirely 
 destitute, being only furnished with the Fish 
 of a fresh Water River. New-York is sufficiently 
 supplied with both Sorts. Nor ought our vast plenty 
 of Oysters to pass without particular Observation: 
 in their Quality they are exceeded by those of no 
 Country whatsoever. People of all Ranks amongst 
 us, in general prefer them to any other Kind of Food. 
 Nor is any Thing wanting, save a little of the Filings 
 of Copper, to render them equally relishing even to 
 an English Palate, with the best from Colchester. 
 They continue good eight Months in the Year, and 
 are, for two months longer, the daily Food of our 
 Poor. Their Beds are within View of the Town, 
 and I am informed, that an Oysterman industriously 
 employed, may clear Eight or Ten Shillings a Day. 
 Some Gentlemen a few Years ago were at the Pains 
 of computing the Value of this Shellfish to our Pro- 
 vince in general. The Estimate was made with 
 Judgment and Accuracy, and their Computation 
 amounted to Ten Thousand Pounds per Annum. 
 
 19 
 
Their Increase and Consumption are since very much 
 enhanced, and thus also their additional Value in 
 Proportion. I confess it has often given me great 
 Pleasure to reflect, how many of my poor Country- 
 men are comfortably supported by this Article, who 
 without it could scarcely subsist, and for that Reason 
 beg to be excused for the Length of this Reflection 
 on so humble a Subject, tho' it might justly be urged 
 to the Honour of our Oysters, that, considered in 
 another View, they are serviceable both to our King 
 and Country. 
 
 It is generally believed, that this Province abounds 
 with a Variety of Minerals. Of Iron in particular 
 we have such plenty, as to be exceeded by no Coun- 
 try in the World of equal Extent. It is a Metal of 
 intrinsick Value beyond any other, and preferable 
 to the purest Gold ; the former is converted into num- 
 berless Forms for as many indispensible Uses, the 
 latter for its Portableness and Scarcity is only fit for 
 a Medium of Trade : But Iron is a Branch of it, and 
 I am perswaded will, one Time or other, be one of 
 the most valuable Articles of our Commerce. Our 
 
 20 
 
annual Exports to Boston, Rhode-Island, and Con- 
 necticut, and since the late Act of Parliament, to 
 England, are far from being inconsiderable. The 
 Bodies of Iron Oar in the Northern Parts of this 
 Province are so many, their Quality so good, and 
 their Situation so convenient, in respect of Wood, 
 Water, Hearth-Stone, proper Fluxes, and Carriage, 
 for Furnaces, Bloomeries, and Forges, that with a 
 little Attention we might very soon rival the Sweeds 
 in the Produce of this Article. If any American At- 
 tempts in Iron Works have provM abortive, and dis- 
 appointed their Undertakers, it is not to be imputed 
 either to the Quality of the Oar, or a Defect of Con- 
 veniences. The Want of more Workmen, and the 
 Villany of those we generally have, are the only 
 Causes to which we must attribute such Miscarriages. 
 No Man who has been concerned in them will dis- 
 agree with me, if I assert, that from the Founder of 
 the Furnace to the meanest Banksman or Jobber, 
 they are usually low, profligate, drunken and faith- 
 less. And yet under all the innumerable Disadvan- 
 tages of such Instruments, very large Estates have, 
 in this way, been raised in some of our Colonies. Our 
 
 21 
 
Success, therefore, in the Iron Manufactory, is ob- 
 structed and discouraged by the Want of Workmen, 
 and the high Price of Labour, its necessaiy Conse- 
 quence, and by these alone : But 'tis our Happiness 
 that such only being the Cause, the Means of Redress 
 are intirely in our own Hands. Nothing more is 
 wanting to open a vast Fund of Riches to the Pro- 
 vince, in this Branch of Trade, than the Importation 
 of Foreigners. If our Merchants and landed Gen- 
 tlemen, could be brought to a Coalition in this De- 
 sign, their private Interests would not be better ad- 
 vanced by it, than the public Emolument; the latter 
 in particular, would thereby vastly improve their 
 Lands, increase the Number, and raise the Rents of 
 their Tenants. And I cannot but think, that if those 
 Gentlemen who are too inactive to engage in such an 
 Enterprize, would only be at the pains of drawing up 
 full Representations of their Advantages for Iron 
 Works, and of publishing them from time to time in 
 Great-Britain, Ireland, Germany and Sweden, the 
 Province would soon be supplied, with a sufficient 
 Number of capable Workmen in all the Branches of 
 that Manufactory. 
 
 22 
 
Of the Fertility of our Soil there needs no other 
 Proof, than the vast Quantity of Flour and other Pro- 
 duce we annually export, by which alone we have 
 been enabled to bear up under our late prodigious 
 and expensive Importation of dry Goods from Eu- 
 rope. The Province is well watered, and abounds 
 with Timber and other Materials for naval Stores, 
 and is capable (as hath been said) to raise annually 
 Forty Thousand Tons of Hemp. Whenever our 
 Husbandmen are driven to a greater Attention to 
 Agriculture than is necessary at present, it will be 
 found that we are most happily supplied with a Va- 
 riety of Manure, adapted to the different Genius of 
 the Soil in various Parts of the Province. In those 
 near the Sea, where the Ground is light and yielding, 
 the Shore is covered with a Sea Weed, by which it 
 may be exceedingly enriched. The Land along 
 Hudson's River, is in general colder and tough, but 
 Lime, which is its natural Cure, may be every where 
 obtained: Hills of Lime-Stone being plentifully 
 found on both Sides of the River. 
 
 I might inlarge this Detail, with the Enumeration 
 
 23 
 
of many other Marks of the exuberant Bounty, and 
 peculiar Favour of Providence to us, beyond any 
 other Province on the Continent; but the Limits I 
 have prescribed to my Papers forbid a more ample 
 Display. 
 
 24