The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1848-01-10


JERSEY CRY FKRRy.-It ia probable that the
committee to whom the petition Of the Jersey
City Ferry Company, for a renewal OF their
lease of the slip at the foot Of Courtlandt
street, was referred, will report to the Com
non Council this evening In case SUCH re-
port should be favorable to the prayer OF
The petition, we request that the Common
Council will not adopt it, until, at least, they
have investigated the manner in which the
affairs Of that ferry have been managed for few
years past. If they have been conducted in
proper manner towards the public-if there have
been no complaints on the part of the public, Of
either Jersey City or the city of New York-if
the public convenience has been consulted in the
manner of running the boats, and in the rates of
fefrisge-if, in word, that ferry has answered
its purposes, as public accommodation, and as
servant of the people, then by all means let the
lease be renewed to this company, on their agree
ing to pay reasonable rent for the use of the slip
they have applied for. If, on the contrary, the
affairs of that company have not been properly
managed, as far as regards the public conve-
nience-if they have not run boats as frequently
as the public convenience required-lfa boat has
not been run sufficiently often in the evening,
times three quarters of an hour, in cold and wet
if boat has not been run every hour after
twelve o'clock at night till sunrise the next
mornng-if, in a word, the affairs of that COM
pany have not been managed so as to conduce
to the public convenience, then we protest
against the renewal Of their lease, unless they
agree to pay the full value of the slip, and bind
themselves, un der the penalty of instant and i'm
mediate forfeiture, to so transact their affairs
that the public will have no cause of complaint.
Under the impression that this company's
lease expired last spring, and were then about
applying for a renewal of their lease, we went
into an elaborate investigation of the manner in
which it was conducted, and pointed out, as the
only remedy for the abuses which characterized
its management, that the slip should be put up
at auction, and leased to the highest bidder, for
ferry purposes the bidder agreeing to such terms
as the Common Council in its wisdom, might inn
pose, and such as would prevent foreign mo-
nopoly having foothold in our own city, and
imposing burdens and extortions on our own
citizens, at their own DOORS We stated then
aud we repeat it now, that gentleman well
known in the steamboat world, as one Of our
most energetic citizens, stood ready, and he now
highest price, (three or tour times as much as is
now paid tor it,) and run ferry to jersey City,
with which no fault could be found either in the
price of the ferriage, which he would put down to
the lowest point, in the frequency of the trips
which his boats would make. Under such cir
cumstances, we ask the Common Council, will
they renew the lease of this company without
instituting an inquiry into the circumstances
of the case1 We trust they will not; and
we beg of them to remember that the Comp
troler of the city of New York is, at the pre-
sent time, forbidden, by a resolution passed
by their predecessors in Office, introduced by
Assistant Alderman Smith, of the Ninth ward,
from executing a new lease to this company
This shows that the Common Council of last
year, considered it ipjudicious to renew it,
until the repeated complaints on the part OF
| the people of New Jersey, and of our own city,
were enquired into and redressed We can also
give another proof of this feeling by our public
authorities of last year, towards this ferry COM
pany, and this is, that in the charter convention
of this city, resolution was proposed, that leases
! should not be granted by the Common Council,
| ofthe wharves and slips belonging to the city
| in the manner in which they have been granted
but that all such public property should be put W
| at public auction, and leased for number OF
years, to the highest bidder. That resolution
prevailed, and was made part of the new char
| ter which emanated from that body, but which
was rejected by the people, at the succeeding
election. We have the best reason to believe
that that. very amendment to the proposed city
charter, was proposed and adopted for the ex-
press purpose of meeting the case under consi-
deraton, and of rescrving to the city authorities
of New York, the power and authority to correct
| the abuses which have marked the Management
| Of this ferry.
| That company have had lease of the slip al
the foot of Courlandt street for seven years
past, at nominal rent, not one fifth part as much
as it is worth to the city as dock 1t has been
| patronised to an extent which those not &C
| quainted with the amount of business it does,
| can have conception Of; its stock is 80 valu-
| able that share of it is never heard of in the
| market; its proprietors have become rich by it's
| extortions on the public; and yet, after seven
O'Clock in the evening, there is boat only once
every half hour, and frequently only one in three
| quarters of an hour, and none at all after one
| o'clock. When it is considered that a popula-
ton of seven thousand, on the other side of the
| river, many Of whom are our own citizens, are
dependent on this ferry to reach their homes
when it is also considered that this is the
connecting link between New York and the
| whole Soutk-when il is considered that our
corporate authorities have the power to cor
| rect the abuses which have characterised its
management for seven years past, we trust and
hope that their action in the matter will be well
| weighed, and will be taken with due regard
to the consequences
Now is the time to clip this company Of its
monopoly features. Put the slip up at auction
and our word for it, the city will cave money by
it in both ways-by an increase Orient, and by a
dminution in the prices of fare.