NEW YORK. 



NEW YORK CITY. 



ssa 



Forest Preservation. On (he re< .menda- 



ti.'ti nf tin- (invernor, a forest commission was 

 created, having for its objects : 1. Tin- securing 

 of tracts of the Adirondack fon-ts owned by 

 individuals or private associations as purl of 

 I In- State forest preserve; these to l>e guarded 

 against denudation by a contract between the 

 owners and the State whereby, in consideration 

 of forest protection furnished by llio State and 

 exemption from State taxation, the owners and 

 their grantees would refrain from removing the 

 timber, except under conditions imposed by the 

 State. 2. The acquiring by the State of a con- 

 siderable revenue by granting permission to fell 

 trees above a certain diameter on State lands, 

 and to remove the timber. The commission re- 

 port that 225,000 acres of Adirondack land have 

 been offered to the State upon the terms of the 

 proposed contract, and that standing spruce tim- 

 ber exceeding 12 inches in diameter has been 

 sold on 17,468 acres of State land, from which it 

 is expected that the first year's cutting will 

 yield to the State a revenue of $ 52,400. 



Political. The Democratic Convention was 

 held in Saratoga Springs on Oct. 5-0, when a 

 platform was adopted, of which the prominent 

 features were a rehearsal of what the Democratic 

 party had done for New York, telling how 



It put New York entirely out of debt. It gave the 

 people the lowest tax rates in a generation. It in- 

 rivu-r.l the tax receipts from corporations and in- 

 heritances by over $3,500,000. 



It enacted a scheme for the preservation of the 

 Adirondack and Catskill forests. 



It established a State department of agriculture. 



It maintained an efficient management of the ca- 

 nals, and endeavored to increase their usefulness by 

 the introduction of new motive powers. 



It abolished the iniquitous " sweating system" in 

 the manufacture of garments. 



The platform further recommended tariff re- 

 form and the repeal of the Sherman bill, and 

 closed by praising the administrations of Presi- 

 dent Cleveland and Gov. Flower. Besides nomi- 

 nating 15 delegates at large to the Constitutional 

 Convention, the following ticket was chosen by 

 acclamation: Judge of the Court of Appeals, 

 Isaac II. Maynard ; Secretary of State, C'ord 

 Meyer, Jr. ; Comptroller, Frank Campbell ; State 

 Treasurer, Hugh Duffy; Attorney-General, 

 Simon W. Rosendale; and State Engineer and 

 Surveyor, Martin Schenck. 



Almost simultaneously the Republican State 

 Convention was held in Syracuse, over which 

 Frank Brundage presided. 



The platform adopted attacks the State organ- 

 ization, Judge Maynard, the last Legislature, 

 and the State government. Its declaration of 

 principles pledges the candidates nominated to 

 nonpartisanship as a State canvassing board, and 

 the Republican Legislature and State department 

 officers, if elected, to the strictest economy. It 

 pledges reforms in the election law, and promises 

 nonpartisan election boards. It further pledges 

 advocacy of such provisions of the Constitution 

 as shall result in establishing home rule in every 

 city and village in the State. 



The following ticket was nominated : Judge 

 of the Court of Appeals, Edward T. Bartlett; 

 Secretary of State, John Palmer; Comptroller, 

 James A. Roberts; State Treasurer, Addison B. 



Col v in : Attorney-General, Theodore K. Hcncock; 



Engineer and Surveyor, Campbell W. Adams. 



Candidate-, for the various offices were alo put 

 in nomination bv the Prohibition party, the Peo- 

 ple's party, and the Socialist party. A short 

 canvass followed, in which the contest practical I v 

 reduced itself to a fight for and against Isaac if. 

 Maynard, the Democratic candidate for Judge of 

 the Court of Appeals. The election was held on 

 Nov. 7, when the vote given to Bartlett was 

 579,222, against 473,158 for Maynard. The other 

 Republican State candidates were elected by plu- 

 ralities from 23,000 to 35,000. Local candidates 

 for State Senators and Assemblymen were also 

 chosen. 



As returned by the State Board, the Senate 

 will stand Republicans 18, Democrats 13, Inde- 

 pendent 1 ; the Assembly Republicans 74, 

 Democrats 52. 



On Jan. 17 the Legislature chose Edward 

 Murphy, Jr., Democrat, as United States Senator, 

 to succeed Frank Hiscock. The ballot was: 

 Edward Murphy, Jr., 90 votes ; Frank Hiscock, 

 64 votes ; and V^hitelaw Reid, 1 vote. 



Election Troubles. Subsequent to the elec- 

 tion in November serious charges were made in 

 the public press that the privilege of voting had 

 been denied in the township of Gravesend to 

 those who were politically opposed to John Y. 

 McKane. At the instigation of Mr. McKane, 

 who is the " boss " of that place, reputable citi- 

 zens were driven from the polls, and thus de- 

 prived of their rights. In consequence, James 

 W. Ridgway, District Attorney of Kings County, 

 made request of Gov. Flower that he would sug- 

 gest the names of one or more capable and hon- 

 est lawyers whom he could appoint as his assist- 

 ants, and to whom he could turn over the entire 

 cares and responsibility of collecting the evidence 

 and conducting the prosecutions of all persons 

 who had been guilty of violating the laws in the 

 election troubles in Kings County. 



In compliance with this the Governor named 

 George G. Reynolds and Edward M. Shepard, 

 and with their aid McKane was brought to trial. 



NEW YORK CITY. Government-The 

 city officials who held office during the year were : 

 Mayor, Thomas F. Gilroy : President of the 

 Board of Aldermen, George B. McClellan ; Reg- 

 ister, Ferdinand Levy ; and Sheriff, John J. 

 Gorman, all of whom are Tammany Democrats, 

 and, with the exception of the sheriff, entered 

 on the duties of their offices on Jan. 1, 1892. 



Finances. The condition of the city debt on 

 Dec. 31, 1893, is shown in the table on top of 

 next page. 



During the year the cost of permanent im- 

 provement amounted to $1 1,456,075.69, for which 

 amount bonds were issued. The redemption of 

 other bonds and the revenues of the sinkinir 

 fund lacked $2,132.840.19 of that sum, and in 

 consequence the city debt has been increased to 

 that extent. The interest charges on bonds ma- 

 turing previous to and in the year 1904, bearing 

 interest at 4, 5, 6, and 7 per" cent., amount to 

 $3,429,780.08 annually, and these bonds could 

 be refunded for long-i>eriod bonds issued at a 

 rate of interest not exceeding '! per-cont., there- " 

 by saving $1,745,689.63. Legislation should be 

 had authorizing the Comptroller to refund, 

 whenever practicable, the city's higher-rate se- 



