nually by the people. Notaries public are appointed by the governor.

375. Powers vefted in the Towns. All the towns are corporations, authorised by law to chufe certain officers, who execute the laws within the limits of the towns. A town meeting is by law to be held annually in December, at which are to be chofen certain men, who are called felemen, to fuperintend all town concerns; also conftables, collectors of taxes, furveyors of highways, grand jurymen, and other officers. Thefe officers have the care of the poor, of roads and bridges, of ferries, and other local concerns.

376. Judiciary. The judiciary power is lodged in the juftices of the peace, who try caufes, civil and criminal, where the debt or penalty does not exceed seven dollars, without appeal; in the county courts, which try fmall offenfes, and decide, without appeal, all demands under feventy dollars; and in the fuperior court, which has fupreme jurifdiction in all caufes, both in law and equity; but a writ of error lies from this court to the fupreme court of errors, which confifts of the nine judges of the superior court, and is held in June at Hartford and New-Haven alternately. The state is divided into small diftricts, in which are established courts of probate for the trial of wills, and granting of administration. All judges are annually appointed by the legislature.

877. Militia. All the able bodied men in the state from the age of eighteen to forty-five, except officers of government, officers and students of college, clergymen, and fome others, are enrolled and form the militia of the ftate. The militia is formed into thirty-five regiments, eight brigades, and four divifions. The officers are appointed by the general affembly, and commiffioned by the governor; the captains and fubalterns being first nominated by their feveral companies.

378. Religion. The most numerous denomination of Chriftians, is the congregationalifts; next to which in numbers are the epifcopalians. There are several socie

ties of baptifts and fome methodists in the state-a few quakers and others of different perfuafions. The state is divided into parishes or ecclefiaftical focieties, which are legal corporations, with power to chufe their minifters, make contracts with them, and lay taxes for their maintenance. All perfons within the parish are bound by the vote of the inhabitants in legal meeting; but à perfon diffenting from the worthip of any congregation, may lodge a certificate of his diffent, and of his joining some other church, and be exempt from taxes laid by the parish.

379. General Remarks. The five eastern states, may very properly be denominated New-England; for almoft all the inhabitants are descendants of Englishmen. The first settlers, with a view to preclude differences in religion, made laws to prevent ftrangers from fettling among them, without the approbation of the men in authority. Hence the people of these states have a diftinct and uniform character and language. Their language is nearly the fame as that of England, at the time of the first emigrations, unadulterated with modern corruptions. Their laws, manners, and institutions are also very similar.

380. Mode of Settlement. The fettlers of New-Eng land divided the country into townships of a few miles fquare, and convenient for small corporations, which were to regulate their own local affairs. A church and a school house, deftined to be the nurseries of religion and improvement, were fixed near the center of the townfhip; which invited the first fettlers to build their houses in a compact affemblage, in the vicinity. Hence NewEngland was parcelled into townships, and foon overspread with towns-a mode of fettlement highly favor able to fociety, civil manners, and moral improvement. The emigrants from New-England pursue a fimilar mode of fettlement in the western states.

NEW-YORK.

881. Situation of the State of New-York. This ftate, which takes its name from the duke of York, the ancient

proprietor, lics on the weft and fouth of New-Englan, from forty degrees and a half to forty-five degrees of latitude, and between seventy-three and eighty degrees of weft longitude. The form of the ftate is very irregular and Long-Ifland, Staten-Ifland, with Fishers and Gardners iflands, lie detached from the main body of the ftate.. 382. Bounds. From the city of New-York, on Manhatten island, to the north line of New-Jerfey, about twenty miles, the Hudfon is the western boundary of the ftate which is only twenty miles in bredth. To the north of New-Jerfey, the ftate of New-York fpreads weftward along the north line of New-Jetfe), and Pennsylvania to the bredth of three hundred miles. On the north, it is bounded by Canada-on the eaft by Connecticut, Maffachusetts and Vermont, and on the fouth by the ocean.

383. Extent. The length of this state, from the fouth end of Staten-Ifland to the Canada line, is about threehundred and fifty miles-its greatest bredth from M.fachusetts to lake Erie, is about the fame as its length. But this bredth of land does not extend a hundred miles, north and fouth, and as the fouthern part of the ftate is narrow it is probable that the area of the ftate may be bounded by fides of three hundred miles by two hundred -which will give, for its furface, fixty thoufand fquare miles, and thirty-eight millions, four hundred thoufand acres. This estimate does not include the waters of Ontario, a large part of which is within this ftate,

384. Mountains. A range of mountains runs across this ftate, about fixty miles north of New-York, called the highlands. At the place where the Hudfon penetrates this range, the river is compreffed into a narrow deep channel between the mountains. For this reafon, and the advantageous fituation of the hills, commanding the river, this place was selected for a military poft, and fortified, during the war. It is the key of the river and called Weft-point. On the weft of the fame river, one hundred and thirty miles from New-York is the Kaatfkill mountain one of the higheft elevations in the northern states.

M

385. Rivers. In addition to the Hudson, which penetrates the state, with navigable water to Albany, and its western branch, the Mohawk, which have beer. described, this ftate boafts of numerous smaller ftreams, which water all parts of it. On the eaft, in Hoofuck which has its fources in Lanesborough and Hancock in Maffachusetts, and enters the Hudfon, eight miles above LanfingburghBattenkill, a confiderable ftream, furnishing numerous mill feats, proceeds from a fpring at the foot of a mountain in Bromley, in Vermont, and enters the Hudfon, oppofite to Saratoga. The head branch of Otter Creek has its fource on the fame mountain and defcending it, approaches within twelve rods of the fource of Battenkillthen runs northerly and enters Lake Champlain. Still larger is Black river, which enters the Ontario and Of wegatchie, which discharge's its waters into the Iroquois. -The Saranac and Sable rivers water the western shores of Champlain, while the Geneffee, the Seneka, the head ftreams of the Sufquehanna, the Delaware and the Ohio, with Buffalo, Cataraugus, Tonewanta, and other creeks, water the western districts of this large state.

386. Divifions of the State. The ftate of New-York is divided into thirty-three counties. On the fouth LongIfland contains three counties, King's, Queens, and Suf folk. Statten Island compofes Richmond county, and York-Island, the county of New-York. On and near the Hudfon are Weftchefter, Dutches, Rockland, Orange, Ulfter, Green, Albany, Columbia, Renfellaer, Saratoga, and Washington. On the north and weft, are Clinton, Effex, Montgomery, Schoharie, Herkemer, Otfego, Onondago, Ontario, Tioga, Steuben, Cayuga, Shenango, Delaware, Geneffee, St. Lawrence, Jefferfon and Lewis. The townships and cities amount to two hundred and eighty.

387. Population. The ftate of New-York was first fettled by the Dutch, and for more than a century, the population was flow. In 1756, when the ftate had been fettled nearly one hundred and fifty years, the number of the inhabitants waseftimated at one hundred thousand only,

After the conqueft of Canada in 1760, the northern parts of the ftate began to be fettled by emigrants from New-England, and at the clofe of the war in 1783, the ftate contained by estimate, two hundred and forty thoufand fouls. After that period the emigration from NewEngland were more confiderable, and in 1790, the state contained three hundred and forty thousand inhabitants. In 1800, the number had increased to five hundred and eighty-fix thousand, of which twenty thousand and fix hundred are flaves.

388. Soil. The weft end of Long-Ifland has a fertile foil; further eaft are extenfive barren plains, interspersed with fruitful lands. From New-York to Albany, the foil is generally dry and gravelly; and about the higlands, rocky. The western counties confist mostly of rich loam, clay or mold, and they are not mountainous nor stony, Above Albany are rich intervals or meadows along the banks of the Hudfon.

389. Productions. This ftate extending through five degrees of latitude, produces all the varieties of grain, fruits and roots which grow in fimilar climates. The fouthern part of the ftate being in the mild region of the United States, is furnished with fruits of the best kinds. The northern part near Canada, will not produce the peach and water melon in perfection. Wheat is the staple commodity of the state.

390. Manufactures. The people of this ftate, make a part of their clothing in their own houfes, but by no means a fufficiency for their confumption. Iron, hollow ware, ftoves, nails, glafs, paper, fnuff, tobacco, wool cards, pot and pearl afhes are manufactured in this ftate. The iron caftings are principally from the air furnaces in and near the city of New-York or the highlands. In the city alfo are refined large quantities of fugar; beer and porter are furnished by the feveral breweries-beer being the common drink of the inhabitants.

391. Chief Towns. The city of New-York is the metropolis of the ftate, and one of the principal towns in