Evening journal., 1897-07-01
THE SEAL OF NEW YORK.
Two Hundred Years old and II sIay
Dc Laid Away Forever.


lie Laid Away Forever.
In September, 1855, Thomas Dongon,
governor of the province of New York,
wrote to England that "a new seal of
this province was very much wanted,
and We people extraordinary desirous to
have ye kings seal to their patents and
other papers that concern them" Not
withstandipg this recommendation, no
real was provided for the province OF
New York until August "a, 1857, two
years later, when a warrant was issued
for it by King James IL. The seal i'm
This warrant was described as "engrayen
on the one side with our royal efhgIes,
on horseback, in arms, over a landsldp
Of land and sea, with rising sun and a
scrole." On the other side were the
royal arms with the garter, crown, sup
porters and motto with this inscription
on the circumference: "Siglum Novi
Eboraci." Such was the seal Of the city
OF New York during the period of the
English supremacy, but prior TO that
time the original and now restored seal
was used-the Dutch seal of Dutch New
York. 1t had its origin in Dutch times
when the chief commercial activity of
the townsmen Of old New York was dis
PLAYED in the purchase of furs from the
Indians and nothing was so potent in
bringing about a trade as gunpowder,
whisky, or beads. The contracting par
ties were sailors and Indians. Hence
there are on the seal sailor and an In
dian, representing the traders, and two
] 1. 1.u, ~ Inn
articles traded in. The windmills of
Holland, celebrated In the seventeenth
as we'll as in the nineteenth century,
also are represented, and the four arms
serve for the quarterings. An eagle sur
mounts the shield.
The first seal for New Amsterdam
was granted in 1854, the city having
been incorporated the preceding year.
For this the seal of the duke of York
was substituted under Gov. Nicells, in
1869, and it was continued in use until
1886, when the first acknowledgment of
the Dongan letter was made from Lon
don, the warrant authorizing the seal
following the year after. When Thomas
Dongan resigned his Office he turned
over the seal of the city to Sir Edmund
Andres, who after,Vard filed with the
colonial secretary of state in London an
extract from the published direction oi
James ii. Though antiquarians do not
observe II, grammarians will remarl
that the spelling of this letter of in
struction is somewhat primitive, par
ticularly as regards the word I'VE"
"And, whereas. since our accession tC
the crown, wee have appointed q new
seal for our colonies of NeW- England
as also another seal for our provino'
OF New York. which being BOW uniteC
: under one government, Wee do hereb,
I direct and require that the seal ap
D pointed for the said colony of New Eng
r land. be henceforth made use for ol
v that our territory and dominion in il
e largest extent and boundaries afore
n mentioned. and that the seal for ou
, province OF New York be forthwith
broken and defaced in your presence" :"
Such was the ignobie end of what wa
= known as the English seal of New Nor'
and later on the Dutch sealwas restored
but il is now a question whether, for tn
Il Greater New York, it will not be nece:
sary TO establish a new seal for the ne'
u city. Though Brooklyn was orfginall
settled by Hollanders, as New York wa.
Is Brooklyn makes no claim to the Knicl
/ erbocker descent and there has recent
y been some talk of the establishment {
"a Greater New York seal designed
y have representation upon it of the tw
large cities in the new municipality an
perhaps some representation for Queen
- and Richmond connties.-N. Y. SIM.