Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/407

 NEW YORK (CITY) 393 vote for more than four candidates), and three from each of the four lower senate districts (no one being permitted to vote for more than two). The upper senate district with the 23d and 24th wards elects four aldermen (no one being permitted to vote for more than three). The commissioners and heads of departments are appointed by the mayor with the consent of the board of aldermen. They receive sal- aries varying from $3,000 to $15,000 a year, and their terms of office vary from three to six years. The principal officers of the finance department are the comptroller and chamber- lain or treasurer ; the latter receives a salary of $30,000, out of which he pays clerk hire and office expenses. The department of taxes and assessments is under the direction of three commissioners. The mayor, comptroller, presi- dent of the board of aldermen, and presi- dent of the department of taxes and assess- ments constitute the board of apportionment, which fixes the amount to be raised by tax- ation. The president of the department of taxes and assessments and two others, ap- pointed by the mayor and removable at plea- sure, are commissioners of accounts, whose duty it is to examine the accounts and ex- penditures of the various departments. The commissioner of public works has charge of the public buildings, streets, sewers, water, gas, &c. The superintendent of buildings is charged with the duty of seeing that the laws and ordinances respecting the construction of buildings are complied with. The principal officers of the law department are the corpora- tion counsel, corporation attorney, and public administrator. The board of health consists of the president of the board of police, the health officer of the port (a state official), and two commissioners. Three commissioners of excise grant licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquors. The courts of general jurisdiction in civil matters are the supreme court for the first district, with five justices (salary $17,500), and the superior court and court of common pleas with six judges each (salary $15,000). The justices and judges are elected for a term of 14 years. The surrogate, recorder, and city judge (salary $15,000 each) are elected for six years. The superior criminal courts are the oyer and terminer, held by a justice of the supreme court, and the general sessions, held by the recorder or city judge (after Jan. 1, 1876, to consist of three judges, term 14 years). The marine court has civil jurisdiction to the amount of $1,000, and consists of six judges (salary $10,000) elected for six years. For the pur- poses of district courts, which have civil juris- diction to the amount of $250, the city is divi- ded into 10 judicial districts, in each of which a justice (salary $8,000) is elected for a term of six years. There are 11 police justices (salary $8,000), appointed by the mayor with the con- sent of the board of aldermen for a term of 10 years, each of whom has power to hold a police court in either of the six police court districts. Two police justices hold the court of special sessions, with power to try cases of misde- meanor. The sheriff, county clerk, district attorney, and register are the principal other officers. The county government in most re- spects is identical with that of the city, the aldermen acting as supervisors. The United States courts for the southern district of New York are held in the city. For police pur- poses it is divided into 32 precincts, with one sub-precinct. The river and harbor police constitute one of these precincts, employing a steamer and several small boats in patrolling the waters adjacent to the city. The force consists of a superintendent, 4 inspectors, 35 captains, 140 sergeants, 78 doormen (attached to the station houses), and 2,260 patrolmen. Included in these numbers are the sanitary squad, 64 men; court squad, 42; mounted squad, 13; and detective force, 30. There are in addition 20 surgeons, a superintendent of telegraphs and four telegraph operators at the central office, and a chief clerk and 21 clerks. The police department is under the control of four commissioners. Attached to it is the bureau of street cleaning. The central office is connected with the different stations by lines of telegraph. The value of lost property restored to owners by the de- partment in 1874 exceeded $1,200,000 ; num- ber of lodgings furnished in the station houses, about 230,000, of which three fourths were to persons classed as " habituals ;" num- ber of lost children restored to their parents, more than 4,000. The number of prisoners arraigned before the police courts during the year ending Oct. 31, 1874, was 84,821 (60,213 males and 24,608 females), of whom 35,561 were discharged, 49,251 held for trial, and 9 cases were pending at the date of the report. Of those held, 32,906 were males and 16,345 females ; 40,827 were disposed of by the magis- trates, and 8,424 were sent to the general and special sessions for trial; 10,671 were born in the United States, 18,089 in Ireland, 3,927 in Germany, 1,753 in other foreign countries, and the nativity of 14,811 was not given. The num- ber arraigned for different classes of offences, with the disposition of cases, was as follows : CLASSIFICATION. Male. Female. Total. Felonies 4,181 490 4,621 Held for trial 2,718 280 2,998 10,579 1,847 12,426 Held for trial 5,894 918 6,812 27,208 18,574 40,777 Convicted 14,186 8,927 28,118 11,959 6,805 16,264 Fined or bailed. 5,962 4,081 10,043 1,751 1,888 8.189 Held for trial 2,865 Children sent to reformatories 660 214 874 The fines collected through the police courts and court of special sessions amounted to $71,- 287 25. The paid fire department, organized in 1865, is one of the best equipped and most efficient in the world. The city is divided into