Union Society; the New York Protestant Episcopal Press; the New York Protestant Episcopal Missionary Society; the New York, Manumission Society, and several Temperance Societies.

The Book-Concern of the Methodist Episcopal Church is located in the city of New-York with a branch at Cincinnati, Ohio. The business is conducted in a commodious building lately erected in Mulberry street, on a plan designed for extensive additions hereafter, which, when completed, will probably be the largest publishing establishment in the United States, as it now is in the city of its location. There are at present (1832), thirty presses in full operation, one of which being a power-press is equal to five common presses; and constant employment is furnished to above two hundred persons in the various departments of printing, binding, folding, &c.

In connection with this book-concern, is transacted the business of the Bible, Tract and Sunday School Union Societies of the Methodist Episcopal Church, auxiliaries and branches of which are numerous throughout the United States and territories, and all supplied with books from this source, or from the branch at Cincinnati. From this press is issued weekly "the Christian Advocate and Journal, and Zion's Herald," a religious paper, having upwards of twenty-seven thousand subscribers.

Of the numerous works here issued, a large proportion are stereotyped, and the profits of the establishment, after defraying the expenses of its management, are wholly devoted to religious and charitable uses.

Literary Institutions.-The literary institutions of New York are numerous, but for the most part in their infancy. By far the most venerable and important is Columbia College, founded by charter in 1754, under the name of King's College, partly by the munificence of the corporation of Trinity Church, and partly by the British Society for the Promotion of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. During the interval which elapsed between the years 1776 and 1784, the business of instruction was necessarily suspended in consequence of the trials of the revolutionary contest, and the college edifice appropriated to the purpose of a military hospital. Upon the restoration of public tranquillity certain individuals were appointed by an act of the legislature, dated May 1, 1784, to superintend the general interests of education throughout the state, under the title of Regents of the University, whose number was subsequently increased by an act passed 26th November in the same year. By this body the duties of trustees of the college were also discharged, until the year 1787. On the 13th of April 1787, an act was passed by which the original charter of the college was confirmed, the name of the institution altered to Columbia College, and its direction confided to certain persons mentioned in said act, who were authorized by the provisions of the same to discharge the duties of trustees of the college, and were empowered, for the time to come, to fill all vacancies which might occur in this number by death, resignation or otherwise, after it should be diminished to twenty-four. The government of

the college has continued to be exercised in conformity with this act since that time.

Columbia college is liberally endowed, possessing property to the amount of nearly half a million of dollars. It was formerly composed of a Faculty of Arts and a Faculty of Physic. The latter was abolished in 1813. The Faculty of Arts consists at present of a professorship of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy, Rhetoric, Belles Letters and Political Economy; a professorship of Greek and Latin Languages, a Jay professorship of the same, a professorship of Natural and Experimental Philosophy and Chemistry, a professorship of Mathematics, Analytical Mechanics, and Physical Astronomy. Certain branches of instruction and the general superintendance of the college are committed to the charge of the president of the college, who is chosen by the trustees. The number of students is generally about one hundred and thirty. There are two literary societies connected with the college, composed of under graduates, the Philolexian and Peitholopian societies, and a grammar school recently organized, containing one hundred and ninety students, subject to the government of the trustees of the college.

The number of graduates of Columbia college since its foundation is about eleven hundred; many of whom have been eminent in the service of the church and state.

Columbia college possesses an excellent library of about four thousand five hundred volumes, and ́enjoys an admirable location in a commanding part of the city: it is one of the finest specimens of architecture in New York.

University of the City of New York. This is the name of a college recently projected by a number of gentlemen of New York, and designed to embrace a more extensive system of literature and science than any heretofore established. A literary convention was held in the city in October 1829, with a view to its formation; subscriptions to a considerable amount have been already obtained among the citizens for this object; a board of council has been chosen, by whom the Rev. James Matthews, D.D. has been chosen chancellor of the institution. A distinctive character of this establishment is an entire exclusion of all sectarian influence. A scite for the contemplated building has been chosen, and the whole is in a train of successful progress.

The several faculties are divided into a Faculty of Letters, a Faculty of Science and the Arts, a Faculty of Law and a Faculty of Medicine.

The General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States.-This institution is situated about two miles from the City Hall, on the eastern bank of Hudson river. The block of land on which the seminary is located is an oblong square of eight hundred by one hundred and eighty feet; the present value of which is sixty thousand dollars, and was presented to the seminary by Clement Moore, son of the late Right Rev. Benjamin Moore, D.D.

The present building is one wing of those contemplated, whenever the funds of the institution will enable the trustees to complete the design, and

is a spacious stone edifice of Gothic architecture, one hundred and ten feet in length, sixty feet wide and three stories high. At this seminary (instituted in 1819, partly by the funds of the Episcopal church and partly by a liberal bequest of the late Jacob Sherrard of this city), about one hundred and forty candidates have been prepared for the minis try. The late Mr. John Kohn of Philadelphia has recently bequeathed to this institution one hundred thousand dollars, on the demise of his widow; at present it relies for support in a great measure on the liberality of the friends of the church. The faculty consists of a Professor of Biblical Learning and the Interpretation of the Scriptures, a Professorship of Systematic Divinity, of Oriental and Greek Literature, and also a Professorship of the Nature, Ministry and Polity of the church.

Mercantile Library Association-This institution was organized in 1821, and occupies appropriate apartments in that substantial and superior edifice denominated Clinton Hall. An elegant lecture room is provided, in which lectures are delivered on several branches of the physical and ethical sciences. The present number of subscribers is thirteen hundred; the library consists of about six thousand volumes. The annual income derived from various sources, is about two thousand five hundred dollars. Active zeal and rigorous enterprise characterize this institution, and no small share of its present flattering condition is owing to the liberality of Philip Hone, late mayor of New

York.

General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen.This society was incorporated in 1792, and was originally designed for the purpose of affording aid to the widows and children of deceased members, which it has effectively done, to a large amount annually. Meeting with flattering support, it established a school for the education of the children of deceased members whose circumstances required their assistance, and subsequently the school was enlarged, so as to accommodate many of the children, both male and female, of the more wealthy members, whose attention was attracted to the school by the high character it maintains, and which it yet fully sustains; by this arrangement the tuition fees of those who pay, defray the whole expenses of the establishment. The children are all alike educated, and the distinction, always odious, between those who do and those who do not pay, is unknown in this valuable school. Some years ago the society enlarged the sphere of its usefulness, by the establishment of a library, for the exclusive and gratuitous use of the apprentices of mechanics. The library is open every evening (excepting on Sundays), and contains about eleven thousand volumes: the number of readers now amount to fifteen thousand. A more spacious building has recently been purchased, which will enable the society to enlarge the school and library, and add thereto reading rooms, for the apprentices of mechanics. The society is conspicuous among the many valuable institutions of New York, and has exercised a large and salutary influence on those for whose immediate benefit it

was specially designed. The amount of its property is estimated at seventy-five thousand dollars, and its annual revenue at four thousand five hundred dollars.

MEDICAL. The nature of the medical profession is such, that its cultivation as a science becomes a duty of vital importance to society; and whenever individuals are congregated to any considerable amount, measures, the offspring of individual efforts or of municipal authority, are adopted to aid in the advancement of the healing art. A careful examination into the lives and services of those who exercised the abilities of the medical profession in this city even at an early date, will show that New York has at all times been favoured with some few in this profession, whose career was a blessing to the state. Long before the establishment of any thing like a medical school, some pupil of Boerhaave, or a well educated physician of a foreign university, might be found among us; and Dubois, Dupy, Magrath and Farquhar are often mentioned as conspicuous in their day and generation. As quackery, however, is always. found to prevail, wherever there are knaves and fools to dupe and to be duped, the historian of New York, Smith, has given an early evidence of this species of dishonourable livelihood. As far back as 1753, speaking of this city, he observes, "Quacks abound like locusts in Egypt, and too many have recommended themselves to a full and profitable subsistence;" and notwithstanding numerous and salutary, as many of the statutory regulations of this state since that period have been, it cannot be denied that there is much room for further legislation, to place the profession of the healing art on a sure and honourable foundation, and to guard against the pernicious encroachments which are still found to prevail on this subject in this metropolis. The establishment of schools of medical learning, on a broad and liberal principle, the avoidance of monopoly in the system of instruction, and the generous cultivation of the profession, as the first of the liberal sciences, are the only means which a wise legislature will countenance and support in order to secure to the medical character its proper dignity.

The first essay in the United States for the purpose of imparting anatomical knowledge by means of dissection, was made in this city in 1750, by Drs. John Bard and Peter Middleton. The first attempt towards the promotion of a medical school was made in 1768, during the administration of Sir Henry Moore and Lieutenant Governor Colden; and in the following year it was organized, under the direction of King's College, and Jones, Middleton, Smith, Clossy, Tennent and Bard appointed its respective professors. Eminent as several of these individuals were, the prospects of this school were early destroyed by the revolutionary war. In 1783 the regents endeavoured to re-establish this organi. zation; but this attempt proved abortive. In 1792 the trustees of Columbia College created another medical faculty in their institution, and appointed distinguished individuals to lecture on the several branches of medical and chirurgical knowledge.

various periods to confer grants upon it of the public money. These were increased from time to time, until March 1806, when an act was passed, authorizing 12,500 dollars per annum to be paid to the institution out of the duties on public executions, till the year 1857. The funds of the institution are also augmented by a tax on seamen's wages, and the members the corporation pay on their admission forty dollars each.

The government of the hospital is under a Board, consisting of a president, a vice-president, a treasurer, secretary, and twenty-five other members. The Board appoint a visiting committee, and elect the physicians and surgeons annually. Of these there are four physicians and four surgeons. There is also a house physi. cian, house surgeon, apothecary, &c. There is a large and excellent medical library connected with this institution, embracing nearly four thousand volumes on medicine, surgery, and the auxiliary branches of science; besides a well chosen botanical library, purchased by the Board from Dr. Daniel Hosack.

Asylum for the Insane.-This institution is at Manhattenville, about seven miles from the city; it was built by the government of the New York City Hospital, and is under their immediate care and control. As early as 1808, a building for the accommodation of lunatics was erected on the grounds of the city hospital, capable of accommodating sixty patients. But the inadequacy of this establishment being too clearly evident, the governors of the hospital applied for legislative aid, to enable them to erect the present asylum; and through the instrumentality of the late Thomas Eddy, De Witt Clinton, and others, the liberal appropriation of 10,000 dollars per annum for fortyfour years was made in behalf of this benevolent undertaking. The Bloomingdale Asylum is admirably situated, and commands one of the most extensive and interesting views in the United States. The plan of the building is the design of Thomas C. Taylor, Esq. The front view is four hundred and fifteen feet by one hundred and eighty, which includes the wings; the whole is three stories high, exclusive of the basement story, and is intended to contain two hundred and fifty rooms. The central part is two hundred and eleven feet in front by sixty feet deep; it is built of brown hewn stone of excellent appearance, and of the most durable nature. It is not too much to say that this institution is the first of the kind in the United States, and that New York has worthily displayed her resources in the ample provision she has made for the afflicted inmates of the asylum.

LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.-There are several associations in New York whose prominent abject is the promotion of general and scientific knowlege. The following are the most important. New York Historical Society.-This association originated from the example of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Its commencement was in 1804, and an act of incorporation was obtained in 1809. Its professed object is to collect and preserve what

ever is best calculated to illustrate the natural, civil, political and ecclesiastical history of the United States and the state of New York in particular. That the society has not been unmindful of this high trust, its extensive and unique library of ten thousand volumes, embracing materials for the American historian, its cabinet of medals, maps, engravings and valuable MSS., abundantly evince. It has published several volumes of Collections, illustrative chiefly of facts and circumstances in American history. Its most efficient founder was John Pintard. This society has recently obtained an admirable location in Broadway.

Literary and Philosophical Society.-This association originated in 1814, and was incorporated by an act of the legislature the same year. It has published one volume of Transactions, quarto, which contains among other matters the inaugural discourse of its first president, De Witt Clinton, L.L.D. The second volume, part 1st, is enriched with the results of Capt. Sabine's late experiments.

Lyceum of Natural History.—This society was incorporated in 1718. It possesses a valuable cabinet of minerals, an herbazium of great extent, a rich cabinet of zoology, ichthyology, &c. &c. No institution in the state has so ably and so zealously devoted itself to the important object of its formation, and its printed transactions, in several volumes, are extensively known and commended. Its most distinguished patron was the late Samuel L. Mitchell, M.D. L.L.D., who long held the office of president.

Horticultural Society.-Incorporated in March 1822. This association has effectively directed its energies to the best means of improving the cultivation of our vegetable productions, and to the acclimation of exotics of an esculent nature. It has acquired a substantial reputation for the services it has rendered horticultural science. A periodical journal under its auspices is published in the city. The society, besides ordinary members, has honorary and corresponding members.

Academy of Arts.-This is the oldest institution of its kind in the United States. It was commenced in 1801. Among those who suggested the plan of the undertaking, and who have zealously patronized it, might be enumerated the names of several gentlemen of the first importance in the state. The property of this association consists of a large collection of fine paintings, among which are a portrait of their former president, Chancellor Livingston, and a full length portrait of Benjamin West, painted by Lawrence, a large collection of antiques, statutes, busts, bass-reliefs and a library of books on the fine arts. Besides these treasures, the society possesses a copy of the engravings and views of Piranesi, in twenty-four superb volumes, presented to the Academy by Napoleon Bonaparte. The accommodations of the institution are well calculated for the purposes of its exhibition, and are situate in Barclay street, near the Park. The members are divided into academicians and associates; the former must be artists by profession. The venerable historical painter, John Trumbull, Esq. is the present president.

National Academy of the Arts of Design. The enterprise of a number of young gentlemen, artists and amateurs, gave origin to this association. It was organized in 1826, and opened its first exhibition in a private room in Broadway. They have recently been accommodated with suitable apart ments in Clinton Hall. None but the productions of living artists are admitted for exhibition. The objects of the society, as announced by them, are the mutual improvement of its members, and the instruction of all others who wish to become students of the arts of design. To secure these intentions, lectures are delivered, and apparatus and models furnished to the pupil.

New York Society Library.-The beginning of this society may be dated back as far as 1729; it is the oldest and most valuable library in the state, and contains upwards of twenty thousand volumes on the various subjects of general literature, theology, history, law, medicine, political economy, &c. &c. The building which it occupies is situate in Nassau street, opposite the middle Reformed Dutch Church. It is supported by the annual subscription of its members.

The Athenæum.-This is a recent establishment, which was formed in 1824. Its objects are to sustain a library and reading room, to maintain lectures on various branches of general literature and science, &c.

Medical Society of the City and County of New York. This is an institution created in conformity to a law of the legislature, passed in 1806, organizing medical societies throughout the different counties of the state.

Charities. No city in the union, perhaps none of its size in the world, can claim a greater number of efficient charitable institutions than the city of New York. Her paupers, embracing a large body of emigrants from the shores of Europe, find the hand of Christian beneficence liberally opened to them, both in poverty and sickness. To notice at length these numerous institutions, would far exceed the limits assigned to this article. The following enumeration of the principal ones must suffice. The establishment, on a broad and liberal scale, founded and supported by the corporation of the city, denominated the Alms House and Fever Hospital at Bellevue, is delightfully situate on the bank of the East river. The New York Dispensary, incorporated in 1795. The Northern Dispensary, incorporated in 1830. The House of Refuge, which combines together the advantages of a prison, a manufactory and a school on the Lancasterian plan. Two Lying-in Hospitals. The Eye Infirmary. Several Orphan Asylums. The Humane Society, for the resuscitation of persons from suspended animation and for the aid of imprisoned debtors. The Society for Aged and Indigent Females. The Deaf and Dumb Institution, a noble establishment, incorporated in 1817. The Medical Mansion, built by the munificence of Jacob Lorrillard, Esq. though not strictly a charity, deserves also to be noticed. It is designed for the accommodation of invalids generally, and particularly for those who

visit the city for the purpose of obtaining the benefit of the advice of the distinguished members of the medical profession, and who can here be accommodated (with or without their families) with suits of furnished rooms, in a spacious building, which is situated in a retired and pleasant part of the city, surrounded by fine pleasure grounds, and in full view of the Hudson river: the inconveniences ofttimes incident to the sick in boarding-houses, led to the establishment of the Medical Mansion, where invalids have the advice and attendance of any physician they may prefer, and are accommodated with apartments and attendance in accordance with their means or wishes. Besides these, there are many Assistance Societies of mechanics, tradesmen, poor widows, &c. &c.

School Fund and Common Schools.-The city of New York participates in the munificent fund of the state appropriated to the advancement of common education.* There were in 1829, eleven public schools; nineteen charity schools; three incorporated schools; and four hundred and thirty-six private schools, at which were educated twenty-two thousand nine hundred and forty-three pupils. Since that time the number has been greatly augmented. At the Sunday schools upwards of twelve thousand children are educated. Besides these, there are a number of infant schools, at which probably from two to three thousand children under the age of four years are instructed. At the Roman Catholic free schools about thirteen hundred children are educated.

Penitentiary System.--The penitentiary, formerly at Bellevue, is now removed to Blackwell's Island, on which are being erected edifices of great extent. The penitentiary system of New York embraces details far too extensive to allow of adequate notice in this place.

Municipal Government.--This is in the hands of a mayor and two separate councils, the one consisting of the aldermen, the other of the assistant aldermen of the fifteen wards into which the city is divided.

Courts.--In the city of New York, are holden the sittings of the United States circuit court, for the southern district of New York, in April and September. The United States District Court for the southern district of New York, on the first Tuesday of November. The May term of the New York Supreme Court; and at stated intervals, the sittings of the New York State Court for the county; the court of Chancery; the vice chancellor's court; the court of Oyer and Terminer; the New York Superior court; the court of Common Pleas; the court of Sessions the Marine court; the public court, and the several justices' courts.

Public Amusements.―There are four theatres in the city, the Park theatre, the American theatre, the Chatham theatre, and the Richmond Hill theatre. The two former large and magnificent buildings. At an early period, theatricals seem to have met with great encouragement in New York, but the reader is referred to the History of the American Stage, by William Dunlap, Esq. for