The New York herald., 1875-08-16
Our Imperial city ana state.

upon the census of 1870 of 2O3, 201. 1t is
thought that the increase in population, all
told, will advance the unit oflegislative repre-
sentation in the Assembly to thirty-fve thou
sand, and in the Senate TO one hundred and
thirty-eight thousand, giving New York seven
Senators and twenty nine Assemblymen. In
a few counties like Chenango, Delaware, Llv-
ingston and st. Lawrence, there Is decrease
Of population, but generally the population
has largely increased, especially in Albany,
Buffalo and New York. In the interior towns
the advance is only moderate. We see the
progress of manufactures from New England
westward to New York in the case of towns
like Cohoes which, in five years has advanced
from 10 320 to Is, 327 thus far outstripping
towns that ten years ago were much ahead Of
it. Rochester and Syracuse show large in
crease The gain is mainly nominal in
Rochester, arising from the territories added
to the city by annexation. New York gains
partly in this way on account of the annexa-
ton to the city proper of the lower districts
| of Westchester county. So far as this city is
concerned, enough is known to show that we
| have a population Of at least eleven hundred
thousand souls, and most likely twelve hun
dred thousand. In Brooklyn the return is
about five hundred thousand So that the two
cities-two'in name, but one in fact-may be
estimated in round numbers at seventeen
hundred thousand. Now, if we add Newark,
Jersey City, Patterson, Elizabeth the towns
on Staten Island, Long Island, in New Jersey
and on the Hudson, we have a population
depending directly upon New York, doing
business in this city and in all respects cit
liens Of the metropolis, Of more than two
millions
This is an interesting fact The Republic
which came into being as an independent
government hundred years ago with a
population of four millions has metropolis
numbering more than two millions. A. CEN
tury of national growth has expression in
capital almost as large as the capital Of
France. The small struggling seaboard
town which century ago scarcely extended
beyond Pearl street. which regarded Madison
square as far outlying suburb and the
Central Park a Wilderness almost as distant
as the Adirondacks to-day, has grown to be a
mighty city, queen Of the continent and one
Of the chief cities of the world. The growth
Of New York-and we do not use the term as
expressing the municipality known under
that name, but the real New York which sur
rounds it and contributes to its prosperity
is q suggestive centennial fact and worthy Of
deep thought, especially when we look into
the future and try to picture what this city
may become. A hundred years ago, and
New York did not possess her unchallenged
supremacy. Philadelphia was the elder city
and the national capital. Boston was ahead.
/ Other cities-New Orleans, Baltimore
Charleston and Norfolk-were not without
claims to future ascendancy. New York
might easily have been surpassed in the race
if the statesmen of other sections had been
wise; for, while nature docs something to
indicate city, enterprise and foresight do
much more. We boast of our bay rs an ele-
ment in our imperial growth; but there is a
better bay at Fortress Monroe Boston and
! Charleston and Portland have noble harbors,
and there is none in the world to surpass the
/ Chesapeake In a military point of view our
situation is exposed to the navies of any en-
terprisng Power. The country Immediately
| about New York is not especially rich in
agricultural or mineral resources. We are
not, as a city, the growth of merely local ad-
vantages like Birmingham or Newcastle or
Philadelphia, but the growth of the country.
New England, Illinois, Virginia, have all
contributed as much to the rise of New York
as the State itself or the neighboring State of
Connecticut or New Jersey.
The greatness Of New York is therefore
national The city is metropolitan in the
widest sense. Now that we are about to enter
upon the second century we should look
carefully upon the duties it imposes npon us.
( The supremacy thus maintained is not be-
yond challenge or discontinue. We must
/ labor to maintain our greatness We have
! not, with all our marvellous progress, grown
as rapidly in the last ten years as many of
our sister cities. II is because we haye been
willing, as a city, to remain content with
what we have DONE to feel that our greatness
is assured, and to allow the government TO
pass into the hands of the Tweeds and
Sweenys, who robbed it at their will. We
have been too busy amassing wealth and sue
ceeding in business to think of those higher
/ duties of citizenship without which there
could be no honest, healthy growth. AS
consequence, therefore, we have allowed the
city to fall into decay and neglect We per-
mitted Tweed to rob it, and now we permit
Green and his party to strangle it. The
Sweeny pohcy--the policy for in
stance, which governed the manage
ment of the parks-would, if it had been
honestly carried out have made New York as
noble and inviting as Paris. But there was
no honesty about it. The city was plundered.
Money was paid out in millions for work that
was never done. Tho work that was done
was of a shameful character, as may be seen
] LIZ lnnl,inn Of anv one of the avennes and