

506 



NEW YORK. 



746, of which $3,397,234,679 was real estate and 

 $382,159,067 personal property. The general 

 average of assessed value of real estate was 65 

 per cent. The full value of the realty was 

 $5,202.503,337. The value of personal property 

 owned in the State liable to taxation is estimated 

 to equal the assessed valuation of real estate in . 

 1891. The increase of assessed valuation of 

 realty from 1890 was $98,910,746, and the full 

 increase of valuation in that year was $151,- 

 471,893. The assessed valuation of personal 

 property decreased, in 1891, $3,170.064. Twenty- 

 four counties increased their real-estate valua- 

 tion $111,046,331, and 31 decreased $12,135, 

 585. Thirty counties increased their personal 

 property valuations $3,204,557, and thirty 

 counties decreased $6,374,623. The increase 

 of real estate value outside of New York 

 County was $44,334,615. The decrease of per- 

 sonal values outside of New York County was 

 $3,670,644. 



The following cities increased their real-estate 

 valuations: New York, $66,711,716; Brooklyn, 

 $25,689,471; Buffalo, $4,620,049; Syracuse, 

 $2,101,263; Rochester, $4,272,696; total, $103,- 

 395,195. 



In personal property New York city lost 

 $2,703,979 ; Brooklyn lost $628,469 ; Buffalo in- 

 creased $747,115: Rochester, $369,317; and 

 Syracuse, $101,544. 



Legislative Session. The one hundred and 

 fifteenth regular session of the Legislature began 

 Jan. 5 and ended April 21 a period of seven- 

 teen weeks making the shortest session since 

 1867. An extra session was held April 25-26, 

 for the purpose of reapportioning the State into 

 Senate and Assembly districts. The tax rate 

 was the lowest since 1857, with the exception of 

 1891. The whole number of laws passed was 

 715, about 200 more than the average for many 

 years past. 



The Legislature assembled under peculiar 

 circumstances. The long contest over the elec- 

 tion of November, 1891, had ended by a decision 

 of the Court of Appeals that 15 Republicans 

 and 15 Democrats were elected. The seats of 2 

 other Senators were in doubt. The State Board 

 of Canvassers, a few days before the Legislature 

 met, awarded one of these seats to a Democrat. 

 The Democrats, being thus in a majority of 1, 

 voted that the other seat should be filled by a 

 Democrat. This made the Senate stand 17 

 Democrats to 15 Republicans. The seats of 3 

 Republicans were contested, but not one of the 

 three was removed. The seats of 2 Republicans 

 and 1 Democrat were contested in the Assembly, 

 but none of these were removed. 



The first important law enacted appropriated 

 $205,000 for an enumeration of the inhabitants 

 of the State. The enumeration was made be- 

 tween Feb. 18 and Feb. 28. For refusing to 

 vote upon this bill, 3 Republican Senators were 

 placed in contempt and were disfranchised for 

 one week. The apportionment of the Senate 

 and Assembly, based upon this census, gave an 

 increased representation to the cities of New 

 York, Brooklyn, and Buffalo, at the expense of 

 the smaller counties. This increases the proba- 

 bility of the Legislature being Democratic in 

 the future. The Congressional Apportionment 

 bill was passed, based upon the Federal cen- 



sus of 1890, which also gives an advantage to 

 the larger cities, and makes the congressional 

 delegation in Congress about equally divided 

 between the two great parties, instead of the 

 advantage being with the Republicans, as 

 hitherto. 



The work of the commission on statutory revis- 

 ion was perfected by amendments made to the 

 general railroad law, to the general corporation 

 law, to the stock corporation law, and to the bus- 

 iness corporation law. The new laws from the 

 commission were these : Constructing the general 

 statutes relating to the boundaries and the sov- 

 ereignty of the State ; relating to Indians ; codi- 

 fying the election laws ; relating to public of- 

 fices ; relating to legislation ; relating to execu- 

 tive officers ; relating to salt springs ; relating to 

 municipal corporations ; relating to counties ; 

 relating to banks ; relating to insurance com- 

 panies, and amending the penal code generally. 

 The work of the commissioners to promote uni- 

 formity of legislation in the United States was 

 extended. The powers of the Comptroller over 

 funds paid into courts were enlarged. The is- 

 sues to a trial by jury must be more distinctly 

 stated. An unsuccessful attempt was made to 

 exempt bank officials and veterans in the late 

 war from jury duty. Persons from outside the 

 State who take an oath before a notary public 

 must be identified. More notice must be given 

 in reference to Us pendens. Judgments for the 

 prevention of waste or injury to property may be 

 obtained against corporations. Stenographers' 

 fees are made a part of the costs. Indictments 

 against corporations must be more strictly 

 drawn. The minimum punishment for all kinds 

 of crimes has been stricken from the penal code, 

 thus allowing very short sentences at the dis- 

 cretion of the court. Corporations may be fined 

 not more than $5,000 if convicted of an offense 

 for which a natural person might be imprisoned. 

 The term of imprisonment in a penitentiary 

 for a felony has been increased from three years 

 to five years. The validity of a will can 

 be contested in the Supreme Court, even after 

 it has been probated in the surrogate's court. 

 The code of evidence failed to become a law, 

 but a law was enacted allowing a subscribing 

 lawyer to a will to testify. Every document 

 bearing upon it a printed scroll or the word 

 " seal," or the letters " L. S.," is made a legal 

 document. 



Another of the bills from the statutory revis- 

 ion commission that became a law was the in- 

 surance code. This gave more privileges than 

 are now enjoyed to fraternal societies for doing 

 an endowment business. Aside from this, insur- 

 ance laws were enacted as follow : Authorizing 

 the formation of corporations by benevolent, 

 orders for the acquisition of real property and 

 the erection and maintenance of buildings for 

 the use of such orders ; giving the fire commis- 

 sioner of Brooklyn power to enter any building 

 where he has reason to believe combustibles are 

 stored ; for the protection of policy holders in 

 fire insurance companies by providing that no 

 such companies shall add any fees or charges to 

 the premiums on policies ; allowing the transac- 

 tion of both fire and marine insurance in this 

 State by any one company. 



A new law establishes a State park within the 



