The one eaft, is Long-lfland, which is 140 miles long, and narrow, and furrounded by the fea. The one extending north is about forty miles in breadth, and bifected by the Hudfon. And fuch is the interfection of the whole ftate, by the branches of the Hudfon, the Delaware, the Sufquehannah, and other rivers which have been mentioned, that there are few places, throughout its whole extent, that are more than fifteen or twenty miles from fome boatable or navigable ftream.

Bays and lakes.] York bay, which is nine miles long, and four broad, fpreads to the fouthward before the city of New-York. It is formed by the confluence of the East and Hudfon's river, and embofoms feveral finall iflands, of which Governor's Island is the principal. It communicates with the ocean through the Narrows, between Staten and Long-Ilands, which are scarcely two miles wide. The paffage up to New-York, from Sandy-Hook, the point of land that extends fartheft into the fea, is fafe, and not above twenty miles in length The common navigations is between the east and weft banks, in about twenty-two feet water. There is a light-houfe at Sandy-Hook, on Jersey shore.

South-Bay, is the fouthern branch or head of Lake Champlain. It commences at the falls of a creek, which is navigable feveral miles into the country, and forms most excellent meadows. From the falls to Ticonderoga, is thirty miles. The bay is generally half a mile wide near the head, but in feveral places below, a mile. Its banks are fteep hills or cliffs of rocks, generally inacceffible. At Ticonderoga, this bay unites with Lake George, which comes from the fouth-weft, towards the Hudfon, and is about thirty-five miles long, and one mile btoad. After their union, they are contracted to a finall breadth, between Ticonderoga, on the weft, and Mount Independance, on the caft. They then open into Lake Champlain before defcribed.

Oneida Lake lies about twenty miles weft of Fort Stanwix, and extends weftward about 25 miles.

Salt Lake is finall, and empties into Seneca river, foon after its junction with the Onandago river. This lake is ftrongly impregnated with faline particles, which circumftance gave, rife to its name. The Indians make

their falt from it.

Lake Otfego, at the head of Sufquehannah river, is about nine miles long, and narrow.

Caniaderago Lake is nearly as large as Lake Otfego, and fix miles. weft of it. A ftream, by the name of Oaks Creek, iffues from it, and falls into the Sufquehannah river, about five miles below Otfego. The beft cheese in the ftate of New-York is made upon this creek.

Chatoque Lake is the fource of Conawongo river, which empties into the Allegany. The lower end of it, whence the river proceeds, is in latitude 420 10'; from thence to its head, is about twenty-five miles. From the north-west part of this lake to Lake Erie, is nine miles, and was once a communication ufed by the French.

On the north fide of the mountains, in Orange county, is a very valuable tract called the Drowned Lands, containing about 40 or 50,000 acres. The waters, which defcend from the furrounding hills, being but flowly difcharged by the river iffuing from it, cover thefe vaft meadows every winter, and render them extremely fertile; but they expose the inhabi

tants

tants in the vicinity to intermittents. The Wallkill river, which paffes through this extenfive amphibious tract, and empties into Hudfon's river, is, in the fpring, ftored with very large eels in great plenty. The bottom of this river is a broken rock; and it is fuppofed, that for £2000, the channel might be deepened fo as to let off all the waters from the meadows, and thereby redeem from the floods a large tract of rich land, for grafs, hemp, and Indian corn.

Face of the country, foil and productions.] The ftate, to speak generally, is interfected by ridges of mountains running in a north-east and southweft direction. Beyond the Allegany mountains, however, the country is a dead level, of a fine, rich foil, covered in its natural state, with maple, beach, birch, cherry, black walnut, locuft, hickory, and fome mulberry trees. On the banks of Lake Erie, are a few chefnut and oak ridges. Hemlock fwamps are interfperfed thinly through the country. All the creeks that empty into Lake Erie, have falls, which afford many excellent mill-feats..

Eaft of the Allegany mountains, the country is broken into hills with rich intervening vallies. The hills are clothed thick with timber, and when cleared afford fine pafture--the vallies, when cultivated, produce wheat, hemp, flax, peas, grafs, oats, Indian corn.

Befides the trees already mentioned, there are, in various parts of the ftate, the feveral kinds of oak, fuch as white, red, yellow, black and chefnut oak, white, yellow, fpruce and pitch pines; cedar, balfam, or fir-tree, butternut, afpin, commonly called poplar, white wood, which in Pennsylvania is called poplar, and in Europe the tulip tree, fugar and rock maple, and linden tree, which, with the whitehood, grows on the low rich ground, the buttonwood or fycamore, fhrub cranberry, the fruit of which hangs in clusters like grapes as large as cherries; this fhrub, too, grows on low ground. Befides thefe is the fumach, which bears clusters of red berries; the Indians chew the leaves inftead of tobacco; the berries are used in dyes. Of the commodities produced from culture, wheat is the ftaple, of which inmmenfe quantities are raifed, and exported. Indian corn and peas are likewife raised for exportation; and rye, oats, barley, &c. for home comfumption.

In fome parts of the ftate large dairies are kept, which furnish for the market butter and cheese. The best lands in this ftate, which lie along the Mohawks river, and weft of the Allegany mountains, are yet in a state of nature, or are just beginning to be fettled.

Civil Divifions, Population, Character, &c.] This ftate, agreeably to an act of their legiflature, paffed in March, 1788, is divided into fixteen counties; which, by another act paffed at the fame time, were divided into townships, as in the following table.

TABLE.

*These two counties were not conftituted in 1786, when the above enume ration was made, and were included in fome of the other counties.

Thefe counties are claimed by New-York, but are within the limits, and

under the jurifdictions of Vermont.

Not mentioned in the ad.

In the above mentioned acts the limits of the counties and townships are defined. These townships are corporations invefted with certain privileges. The act directs, that the freeholders in the feveral townships fhall affenible in town meetings, on the firft Tuesday in April, annually, and choose their town officers, viz. one supervisor, one town clerk, and three to feven affeffors, one or more collectors, two overfeers of the poor, commiffioners of highways, conftables, fence viewers, pound-mafters, &c. Thefe are to hold their refpective offices one year, or until others be chofen. This act, which appears to have originated from a fpirit of pure republicanifm, is to be in force after the first day of April, 1789. I cannot but notice, with pleasure, the happy tendency of this act, to diffeminate through the ftate fuch information and fuch principles as are calculated to cherifl the fpirit of freedom, and to fupport our republican government. The frequent recollection of people in town-meetings makes them acquainted with each other, and affimilates their ideas and their manners: Their being invefted with power, makes them feel their importance, and roufes their ambition Their town-meetings will be a fchool, in which all the free citizens in the state may learn how to tranfact public bufinefs with propriety, and in which they may qualify themfelves for the higher offices of the ftate. The number of public offices will be encréafed, without increafing the expences of the ftate; and as the defire of promotion is innate in human nature, and as ambition to poffefs the requifite qualifications commonly accompanies this defire, the probability is, that the number of perfons qualified for public office will be increased, and of course the number of good citizens proportionably multiplied, and the fubordinate civil affairs of the state more faithfully and more regularly transacted.

pro

The number of inhabitants in this state, in 1786, was 238,897, of which 18,889 were negroes. In 1756, there were 83,233 whites, and 13,543 blacks, 96,775 in the whole. In 1771, there were 148,124 whites, and 19,883 blacks, total 168,007. The blacks, fince this enumeration, have decreased 1000, which is a happy circumftance. From the humane exertions that are making in this ftate, for their emancipation it is bable that they will continue to decrease. From the above enumerations it appears, that the average increase of inhabitants, from 1756 to 1786, has been 4554. A confiderable part of these, however, have emigrated from Europe and the New-England ftates. These emigrations have been very numerous, particularly from Rhode-Ifland, Connecticut, and Maffachusetts, fince the peace of 1783.

The population for every fquare mile, including the whole ftate, is only five, fo that this state is but a ninth part as populous as Connecticut. But is to be confidered that Connecticut has no wafte lands, and not half the ftate of New-York is fettled. The ftate of Connecticut, however, throughout, is at least three times as thickly populated as the fettled parts of New-York. For if we fuppofe only one-third of the ftate fettled, the population for every fquare mile will then be only fixteen. From these calculations, one of these conclufions will follow, either firft, That the foil of Connecticut is preferable to that of New-York; or fecondly, That the fettled parts of New-York would support a number of inhabitants treble to their prefent number; or, thirdly, That the people in Connecticut are better farmers and economists, or are lefs affluent and live poorer than the

people

people of New York. The reader is left to adopt which of these conclufions he pleases.

Previous to the year 1756, Mr. Smith, the hiftorian of New York, obferves, that the colony met with many difcouragements, in regard to its fettlement. The French and Indian irruptions,' faid he, to which we have always been expofed, have driven many families into New-Jersey. At home, the British acts for the tranfportation of felons, have brought all the American colonies into difcredit with the induftrious and honeft poor, both in the kingdoms of Great-Britain and Ireland'- - The bigotry and tyranny of Tome of our governors, together with the great extent of their grants, may also be confidered aniong the difcouragements againft the full fettlement of this province. Most of thefe gentleu en, coming over with no other view than to raise their own fortunes, ifsued extravagant patents, charged with finall quit-rents, to fuch as were able to ferve them in the affembly; and thefe patentees, being generally men of eflates, have rated their lands fo exorbitantly high, that very few poor perfons could either purchase or leafe them. Add to all thefe, that the New-England planters have always been difaffected to the Dutch; nor was there, after the furrender, any foreign acceffion from the Netherlands. Such were the difcouragements which this ftate had to encounter, in regard to its fettlement, fo long as it remained a British province. But the revolution has removed most of these obstructions, and produced effential alterations in favor of this ftate. The few Indians who remain are, in general, friendly. Cargoes of thieves, buglars, pick-pockets, cut-purfes, and other villains and flagitious banditti, from Great-Britain, who had forfeited their lives to fociety, are not now forced upon this any of the other ftates, as they were before the revolution. They have no royal governors, independent of the people, to tyrannize over, and opprefs their fubjects, and to enrich themselves and their particular friends at the expence of the effential interefts of the ftate. The overgrown eftates, which have hitherto proved an effectual bar to population, and are oppofed to every principle of democracy, are diminishing, or are put upon fuch a footing as in fome measure to prevent thefe inconveniencies. The unhappy fpirit of difaffection and jealoufy, which formerly fubfitted, in a high degree, between the province of New-York, and the New-England colonies, has, fince the revolution, in a great meafure fubfided, and would perhaps have now been extinct, had it not been unfortunately revived, of late, by fome political and commercial differences. But the growing 1 berality of both parties, and a wife and harmonizing government, will, it is hoped, foon rite fuperior to all local prejudices, compofe all differences whether they are of a political, commercial, or national kind, and form the whole into one band of affectionate BROTHERS.

or

The effects of the revolution have been as greatly, and as happily felt by this, as by any of the United-States. The acceflion of inhabitants within a few years, has been great, and fo long as New-York is the feat of the general government, will continue to increafe. The new fettlements that are forming in the northern and weltern parts of the ftate, are principally by people from New-England. It is remarkable that the Dutch enterprize

Smith's Hift. New York, p. 207. 210.