Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1860-01-10
A picture of New York CITY.

Ing "Ihe LOSC ana -FOun0, OF the Rev. MIR.
Halliday, who for twenty years has been the
agent or missionary of the American Female
Guardian Society, and Home for the Friend
less"-yet in the present year of glace, 1859,
half million of men and women-two-thirds OF
the population of New York-are compelled by
reason of their own poverty and the avarice OF
certain capitalists, to live 10 what are technically
known as''tenement- houses" or more pertinent
ly, barracks; ;"--hulks of brick, put up by Shy
locks anxious for twenty per cent, and lived in
--GOd knows hOw-by from four to ninety four
families each. Of1l5,986 families residing in
the city of New York, only 1890 are able to
enjoy the luxury of an independent home; H.
| 1862 other families live in comparative comfort
| two in house 4416 buildings contain three
families each, and yet do not come under the
head of tenements; and the 1866 dwelling
houses which remain. are the homes of 1886
families being an average of seven families, or
| thirty five souls to eaah nousej
| But this IS only an u ss.ge. 10 the eleventh
ward 1l2 rear houses aeuses built on the backs
ofdeep lots, and separated only by a narrow
and necessarily dark and filthy court from the
frcnt houses, which ere also Barracks con-
tain 1868 families, or nearly Is families or 70
souls each "a others contain 407 families, being
an average of 80 souls to each and in another
ward 70 such houses contain no less than 19
families or 50 souls each.
| This seems shocking. But this is by no means
the worst There are $50 tenement-houses in
New York which contain. by actual count, TO-
933 families, or about 85 persons each; 1913
others, which accommodate III persons each
II others, which cover 40 each, and, finally,
I29-these must be themost profitable (which
have total population Of no less than 5,449
souls, or 1877 to each house
| That part Of Fifth Avenue which holds the
chief part of the wealth and fashion of New
York, has an extent ot about two miles, or,
counting both sides ofJhe street, four miles
These four miles OF stately palaces are occupied
| by four hundred families; while single block
of tenement houses, not two hundred yards out
of Fifth Avenue, contains no less than seUes
hundred families, or $500 souls! Seven such
blocks, Mr. Halliday pertinently remarks, would
contain more people than the city of Hartford,
which covers an area ofseveral miles square.
Such astounding facts as these, the industrious
Buckle of the year 5000, intent upon a history
of our American ciyilzation, will quote to the
croakers of that day as samples of our nine
teenth-century barharlsm.
sBut," some one may object, "if the houses
were comfortably arranged, and land was really
scarce, after all, thesepeople were not so badly
off"
The "tenement-house," which is now ore Of
the ''institutions" of New York, stands usually
upon lot 25 by 100 feet, is from four to six
stories high, and is 50 divided internally, as tc
contain four families bn each floor-each family
eating, drinking, sleeping, cooking, washing and
| fighting in room eight feet by ten and bed
room six feet by ten unless, indeed-sohich 0ery
Ursq1ently happens, says Mr. Halliday-the
family renting these two rooms takes an another
to board, or su6-lets one room to one or eUe taoe
other families!
i But the modern improvements
One of the largest and most recently built o
fthe New York sbar-acks" has apartments fol
/ 1zS lamiilss. Il f.s auiit especially for this
use 1t stands on lot so by 25O feet, is entered
at the side from alleys eight feet wide, and, by
reason of the viciolty of another barrack o
equal height, the rooms are so darkened that or
cloudy day it il impossible to read or sew il
them without artificial light. 1t has not one
room which can in any way be thoroughly ven
tilated. The vaults and sewers which are tc
carry off the filth OF the 1875 families, have grated
openings in the alleys and doorways in the Gel
lars, through which the noisome and deadly mi
asmata penetrate and poison the dank air of the
house and the courts. The water closets for the
whole vast establishment are range of stall.
without doors and accessible not only from the
building, but even from the street. Comfort is
here out oi the question:; common decency has
been rendered impossible; and the horrible
brutalitles OF the passenger-ship are day after
| day repeated-but on larger scale. And YET
this is a fair specimen. And for such hideous
and necessary demoraizing habitations, for
two rooms, stencil, indecency and gloom, the
poor family pays-and the rich builder receives
-"tharty .Jige per cent annually on the cost Q,
the apartments.
When q ely has half million of inhabitants
who must contaut themselves with such quarters
as these, which even beast of the field would
perish III, GOES any man woLder that $4,000
women Were arrested in the last years. that In
three mouths ending January 31st, 1859, 13, 765
arrests were made by the city police, OF which
over one-tbird were females, one in six under
twenty years of age, and more than one-hali
under thirty that in 1866 there was one death
in every rs 1-8 of the population9 that in 1865
the five ety dispensatores were called on to
treat (gratnitously) ,442 infaut patients that
IN 1855 1888 infants were stllborn, and 6,399
or ln 50 Of the population, did not live the
hrst year outa while, at the present time, 20,
uOo children roam the streets, and never enter q
scho0lro0ms
| SHETLAND MARRIAGEs-AI the Shetlanders
marry about the age of twenty, that Is the men
| marry al twenty as for the women, they follow
quite different rule. 1t sometimes does hap
pen that both the man and woman about to be
married are Of age, but this is seldom; the
greater number of marriages are between the
youths of nineteen and maids of thirty-tWo-
Wheuevlra man can act his part in manning
of 9 boat. he has arrived at the height OF his
ambition, snd therefore there is no wonder at
bis marrying early but why he pitches on an
old naid, instead of young girl, is not so easi-
|ly acaouEted for, unless it be that young men
Ihave peculiar affection for old maids, as old
men nave a peculiar affection for young girls
This system of marriage holds good only with
/ with tsiose never leaving their native soil. He
who becomes a sailor, cannot generally marry so
young; but he is always sure, before leaving his
home to single out the object OF his future atfec
tions. In no country is a lover so faithful to
his mistress as in Shetland. / never heard of
q Shetland sailor who was guilty of breach of
promise, although he should be absent for ten
years
There is one thing worthy of observation a.
bout all Shetland marriages. never knew
ealoriginal native man of Shetland who had
married a woman of ANY other country; on the
other hand, Shetland woman often gets mar
risd to men of oth1sr counties throughout the
kingdom, and het parents were exceedingly
fOns of such extraneous matches. Thus the
Shetland women have better chance of getting
married than any other women in Britain,
s,sens--night. Two volunteers wrapped in
tlesir blankets, aEld half buried in the mud.
SsIim," says dpe, show came you to volun-
ssan