The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-02-23

FERRY LEAsEs-THS STATEN ISLAND FERRY.
- In the report of the committee recently ap-
pointed to investigate the condition Of the
Staten Island ferry it was stated that the Ferry
Company elsded the provisions of the United
Sates statate mhecting steamboats, to inspec-
ton by pleading that ferries were beyond the
purvieu of that act Assuming this preten-
sion to be well founded, the public fall back
on the Corporation for protection. No pro-
lection is afforded at present, in consequence
of the refusal Of the present Ferry Com
pany to be bound by the terms Of their
purchase, to sign the ferry lease and provide
sureties
But as it is quite plain that matters cannot
remain on their present footing, and that it
will shor.ly devolve upon the Comptroller to
fix the conditions By which new ferry to
Staten Island shall be controlled, it is we'll to
look to the law of the case.
The city claims, and exercises, complete
control over the ferries plying from it to the
suburbs from which it is separated by water.
1t asserts, and enjoys undisputediy the right Of
uAlllk Vic AuAAOCA VA hOoeo " w ODoA1 S~s~
character, size, and build Of those boats; the
times at which they shall run; the character
Of their crews; and the rate Of ferriage
they shall charge. This is not sta
tute right; it exists at common law.
We have before US the volume OF
ferry leases, showing how invariably
and unsparingly it has been exercised.
In the case Of the Catherine street ferry to
Brooklyn for instance, among other stipular
tons the lessee is bound Eat his own proper
cost and expense to furnish and navigate upon
said ferry three good and substantial single keel
steam ferry boats to be approved by the Com.
mittees on Ferries" In subsequent lease OF
the same ferry, these three boats are required
to be "ef the same size and power, and equal
in all respects to those used upon the Fulton
ferry" In the lease of the Grand street ferry,
the boats are required to be "new, swift, good
and substantial single keeled steamboats," On
the Peck slip ferry, they "shall not be less
than $50 feet in length, and of corresponding
dimensions" And all these boats I" shall be fin
lshed in q style equal to that Of the boat styled
the 'Wyandank. All ferry leases stipulate
that no more than fixed sum shall be charged
for ferriage. With regard to the times of run
ming, some OF the leases contain the vague and
foolish provision that the boats shall run at pro
per times but mos. Of them specify the times
as for instance, on the Peck slip ferry, where
the boats are bound to run "once in every ten
minutes, from one hour before sunrise to one
hour after sunset, and one every half hour
from one hour after sunset to IL o'clock p
M = on the Jersey City ferry, where the boats
are bound to make regular fifteen minute
trips to one hour after sunset in the winter and
two hours after sunset in summer, and half
hourly trips at night till IL P. Nj" and on
the Fulton, South and Hamilton avenue fer
ries, on which the I" time Of departure of the
boats, the time Of starting the same on the
morning of each day, or laying up the same
at night, or Of running the same during the
night" are reserved for the regulation of the
Committees on Ferries. Many of these leases
specially stipulate that the company shall hire
sober, honest, skilful and able-bodied men"
to manage the boats. Some 60 SO far as to
covenant that sin case any of the agents en-
ployed on said ferry shall at any time con-
duct themselves improperly in their official ca
to the public for whose convenience this lease
is granted, the lessees shall discharge such
agent"
1t appears then that hitherto the city has
exercised as full control over these ferries as
could we'll be imagined. Circumstances no
doubt unavoidable have prevented the extern
sion of this control to the Staten Island ferry
The lease made out last May in favor Of Jacob
L. Smith (Which the present company refuse to
execute, as being too stringent contains but two
clauses which impose obligations on the lessees;
the one requiring them TO furnish safe boats
the other to build and keep in repair suitable
ferry houses. As it happened, it did not suit
their means OF their convenience to furnish
either safe boats or ferry houses; and even
these poor paltry covenants for the public
safety and interest were evaded. What course
they would have pursued had the corporation
exerted it's right Of specifying the hours ct
which boats should run, and the size and man
ner in which they should be built, cannot rea-
Oily be coDjectured. That such covenants
ought to have been inserted in the lease may
be inferred from the fact that last week the
most serviceable boat on the Staten Island
ferry was taken off the route in order to carry
hay to the city on freight
THE CONTROLLERS REPORT appeared in the
HERALD yesterday, and commends itself to
public attention, inasmuch as it shows the SUP,