ALBANY. 



9 



ye Towne of Albanie to goe to New YorLe and 

 Procure ye Charter for this Citty, wh. was 

 agreed upon between ye Magistrates and ye 

 Right hon Col. Tho. Dongan, Govr. Genii., 

 who accordingly have brought the same along 

 with them, and was Published with all ye joy 

 and Acclamations Imagineable, and ye said Two 

 Gentn, Keceivd ye Thanks of ye Magistrates 

 and Burgesses for there Diligence and Care in 

 obtaining ye same." 



The charter was engrossed on July 9, 1686, 

 and given to the city on July 22 following. Not- 

 withstanding it has been handed down from 

 city father to city father for two centuries, 

 the writing is still plainly legible on all but 

 one sheet, and in that it has suffered more 

 from constant handling than from the ravages 

 of time. The charter is written on one side of 

 nine large sheets of parchment, knotted to- 

 gether with what was originally red or blue 

 tape or cord. The sheets are twenty -four 

 inches broad by twenty-two inches in length, 

 and retain their original stiffness, with the ex- 

 ception of the top sheet, which is the last one, 

 as it contains the signature and seal of Thomas 

 Dongan, the Governor. Dongan's name is par- 

 ticularly plain, and as written stretches one 

 half of the length of the sheet down at the bot- 

 tom. A knot of red and blue tape in the shape 

 of a diamond separates the Christian name 

 from the surname, and from the knot depends 

 Gov. Dongan's great seal, which was originally 

 contained in a thin silver box. The cover of 

 the box is missing, but the other half remains. 

 The seal looks as if it were made of cement, 

 and it is attached to the cord by sealing-wax. 

 The same design is stamped upon the face of 

 the seal, but it is only faintly distinguishable. 

 On one corner of the last sheet is this writ- 

 ing : " Kecorded in the Secretary's Office, Prov- 

 ince of New York, Book of Patents 440 to 

 470. J. S. Sprague, Secretary." The nine 

 large sheets are yellow with age and dingy ; 

 but the engrossing shows that it was done by a 

 skilled penman. 



According to the charter, the mayor had the 

 authority to give and grant licenses annually, 

 under the seal of the city, "to all tavern-keep- 

 ers, innkeepers, victualers, and all public sell- 

 ers of wine, strong water, cider, beer, or any 

 other sort of liquor." The mayor was also 

 clerk of the market and coroner. As clerk, 

 he, "and no other person or persons," had 

 " the assize or assay of bread, wine, beer, wood, 

 and other things to the office of clerk belong- 

 ing or concerning." The penalty for refusing 

 to hold and execute the office of mayor was a 

 fine of not less than 20 ; for refusing to per- 

 form the duties of his office, an alderman was 

 fined 10, current money; and the chamber- 

 lain, assistant, or sheriff, 5 of like money. 

 Other forfeitures were provided for the minor 

 offices. The right was given the citizens of 

 Albany to "all waste and unoccupied lands 

 lying within the limits of said city," together 

 with the royalties of fishing, fowling, hawking, 



mines, and minerals, and all other privileges be- 

 longing to and pertaining to said city, gold and 

 silver mines excepted, likewise including the 

 honorable purchase from the Indians of all 

 lands that might be required for the city's wel- 

 fare. All laws enacted by the Common Coun- 

 cil were limited to one year only, unless con- 

 firmed by the Governor for a longer period, ex- 

 ception alone being made of the laws regulating 

 Indian trade. The penalty for illegal trading 

 with the Indians was the imposition of a fine 

 not exceeding 20. The City Court was or- 

 dered to convene on the Tuesday of each alter- 

 nate week throughout the year. All grants 

 given during the previous twenty years were 

 secured under the charter, and also all privi- 

 leges heretofore enjoyed, provided they were 

 not inconsistent with or repugnant to the laws 

 of the kingdom of England. The Common 

 Council should take special charge of all lands 

 granted to the city by citizens for charitable or 

 religious purposes, so that no construction 

 should be made thereon other than that which 

 might tend most to advance religion, justice, 

 and the public good. Power was granted the 

 mayor to issue papers of naturalization to those 

 qualified to receive and desiring them. This 

 was of the utmost importance, as no persons 

 other than free citizens could use any art or 

 trade mystery, or manual occupation, within 

 the city limits, saving at the time of fairs and 

 during the continuance of such fairs only. 



The changes in the original charter have not 

 been frequent; but the rights of the people 

 have been steadily maintained. The name of 

 the corporation is no longer " The Mayor, Al- 

 dermen, and Commonalty," but " The City of 

 Albany." The latest charter was granted in 

 1883. Under its provisions the nominations 

 of the mayor must be confirmed or rejected at 

 the meeting of the Common Council to which 

 they are sent or at the next regular meeting, 

 or they will stand confirmed. The mayor, on 

 the other hand, must send in nominations as 

 soon as terms expire or vacancies occur. 

 Hence dead-locks are impossible, and no politi- 

 cal favorites of either the mayor or the Com- 

 mon Council can be kept in place by trickery. 

 The Council is not allowed to audit its own 

 bills. The different heads of departments are 

 made more responsible for their acts, and the 

 people are kept informed of what is going on 

 by monthly statements. Best of all, the mayor 

 holds his office for two years, and he is ineligi- 

 ble until another term shall have intervened. 

 Perhaps in no other municipality in the coun- 

 try have the lessons of two hundred years been 

 observed to so great advantage as in the city of 

 Albany. 



The Hudson river was the official eastern 

 boundary of the new city of 1686. The south- 

 ern boundary extended from the northern end 

 of Martin Gerrison's Island for fifteen English 

 miles in a northwesterly direction, to a certain 

 kill or creek called Sandkill. The northern 

 line extended from a post erected by Gov 



