This State is said to be naturally the least fertile of the New England States; but skilful and laborious cultivation has much improved large tracts of land. It is estimated, however, that much. less than half of the total area of the State is under cultivation. The State depends mainly, though not wholly, upon its manufactures and its commerce. In manufactures it is said to stand at the head of all the States. The water-powers afforded by the Merrimac and smaller streams are everywhere utilized to their full extent; and of late years steam-power has been profitably used, partly in aid of water-power, and in some instances by itself

RHODE ISLAND.

This State is bounded north and east by Massachusetts, south by the Atlantic Ocean, and west by Connecticut. It contains 1,306 square miles, or 835,840 acres, of which less than half are improved.

This State was at first embraced within the charters of Massachusetts; so, at least, it was asserted; but in 1662 a separate charter was granted, incorporating the colony of Rhode Island and Providence plantations; and under this the political institutions of the State existed and were conducted until 1843, when a new constitution was formed.

By this constitution the government consists of a governor, a lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, and attorney-general, all of whom are elected by the people annually. An auditor is also elected by the assembly. The senate consists of the lieutenantgovernor, and one senator from each of the thirty-four towns in the State. The governor presides in the senate. The house of representatives consists of seventy-two members, which number cannot be exceeded. The legislature is called the general assembly; and the assent of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the general assembly is required to every bill appropriating the public money or property for local or private purposes.

The judges are elected by the general assembly, the justices of the peace by the towns and city. The judges hold office until their place is declared vacant by a resolution of the general assembly.

This State was founded, to its honor be it said, on the principles of entire religious liberty. Roger Williams, who maintained, both in politics and religion, opinions which did not conform to those which were held by the ruling powers of Massachusetts, was banished from that colony. They would have sent him to England; but he unexpectedly left Salem in the midst of the winter, and took refuge with the Indians, with whom he remained some months, when, with five companions, he sailed in a log canoe to the spot where he fixed

his habitation. To this spot he gave the name of Providence, in acknowledgment of "God's merciful providence to me in my distress." Here it was that Williams proclaimed what was then a new doctrine, and has now become the doctrine of this great nation; namely, that no magistrates or other civil authorities have any right to prescribe, enjoin, or regulate religious belief. He was soon followed by others, who were persecuted as he had been, and the colony rapidly grew in population. It suffered severely from King Philip's war; and this Indian chief was killed in 1676, in a swamu near Mount Hope, on Naragansett Bay.

The climate of the whole State is perhaps the best in New England, especially in Newport and its vicinity. Its soil is only moderately fertile, and is on the whole better adapted for grazing than for the cultivation of cereals. The State has but a small foreign commerce, but its coasting trade is large. The manufactures of the State are very various, extensive, and profitable.

CONNECTICUT.

It

This State is bounded north by Massachusetts, south by Long Island Sound, east by Rhode Island, and west by New York. contains 4,750 square miles, or 2,940,000 acres.

The constitution was adopted in 1818, and has since been amended. The governor (who must be thirty years of age), lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, treasurer, and comptroller, are chosen by the people biennially. The general assembly consists of a senate of not less than eighteen nor more than twenty-four members, who hold office for two years, and are chosen one-half each year; and a house of representatives who are chosen annually. The chief peculiarity of this constitution is the narrow limit of the power of the governor. If he disapproves of a bill, the two houses may pass it over his veto by a majority. He makes few if any important appointments. He may grant a temporary reprieve to a convicted criminal, but the pardoning power is vested in the general assembly. The judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts are chosen by the general assembly for eight years; of the Courts of Common Pleas and the District Courts for two years. Judges of Probate are elected by the people for two years. Judicial officers are not retained after the age of seventy years. The duty of wor ship of a Supreme Being is acknowledged, but entire liberty of conscience as to the manner of it permitted.

The early history of this State is somewhat intricate. The first settlement by white men was made in 1632, from Plymouth; but the Dutch claimed the country as a part of the New Netherlands,

and purchased of the Indians the land on which Hartford now stands, and built there a trading-house and fort in 1633. The same year an expedition from the colony at Plymouth sailed up the Connecticut, and, passing by the Dutch fort, built their trading-house in Windsor. In the mean time several companies from Massachusetts prepared to settle along the Connecticut, and went there in the year immediately succeeding. During this same period, John Winthrop, under a commission from the patentees, Lord Say and Seal, Lord Brook, and others, built a fort at the mouth of the Connecticut River. In the midst of these conflicting claims and settlements the Pequot Indians attacked the colonists with great violence; but in the short war which followed, this tribe was almost annihilated. New Haven was settled in 1638, by a company which consisted mostly of Londoners, who at home had been traders, and brought with them much wealth. Not until 1665 were the colonies of Connecticut and New Haven united. But a charter had been granted by Charles I. in 1662. This charter continued in force until the declaration of independence in 1776, and then continued to be the constitution of the State until 1818, when the present constitution was formed.

There are many manufactories, most of which are of moderate extent; but the manufacture of rifles, revolvers, and other fire-arms, is very large; and in other establishments, axes, carriages, and agricultural and mechanical implements, are made in great quantities.

The commerce of the State is not large, and is mainly carried on through New York. From New London and Stonington whaling expeditions were formerly fitted out in great numbers; but this business has of late years much declined.

NEW YORK.

This great State is bounded north by Canada and Lake Ontario, east by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic, south by the Atlantic, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and west by New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Lake Erie, and Canada. It contains 47,000 square miles, or 30,080,000 acres.

The constitution was first formed in 1777, and it has been repeatedly amended.

The governor and lieutenant-governor, the secretary of state, comptroller, treasurer, and attorney-general, are elected by the people, every two years, by a plurality vote, the governor and lieutenant-governor on one year, and the other officers on the alternate years. The canal commissioners and inspectors of state prisons are (by statute) elected for three years, one for each year. The canal appraisers are appointed by the governor, with the consent of

the senate, for three years. The superintendent of public instruction is elected by the legislature for three years. All the judges and justices are elected by the people. There are seven judges of the Court of Appeals, and thirty-three justices of the Supreme Court, so called, although the Court of Appeals has power to correct and reverse the proceedings of the Supreme Court. The judges of the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court hold office for fourteen years. The county judges are elected for six years.

In 1609, Henry Hudson, an Englishman employed by the Dutch East India Company, discovered the river which bears his name, up which he sailed near to the site of Albany. Because this land was discovered by a navigator in their employ, it was claimed by Holland, and named the New Netherlands. Many and sometimes bloody were the conflicts between the Dutch settlers and the Indians about them, with the English upon the Connecticut, and with the Swedes upon the Delaware. The English claimed the New Netherlands as a part of Virginia, founding their claim upon the earlier discovery by Cabot. In 1664 Charles II. granted to his brother, the Duke of York, a charter which included the New Netherlands and a part of the territory which had been previously granted to Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. The duke proceeded at once to take possession of the territory, and in the same year an English force reached New Amsterdam and demanded its surrender. This demand was complied with from utter inability to resist, and the whole country passed at once into the possession of the English, quietly and permanently; for although New York was afterwards for a short time held by the Dutch, it was almost immediately again surrendered to the English. Names were changed. New Amsterdam became New York, which name was also applied to the whole territory, and Fort Orange became Albany. The earliest government of the English was exceedingly obnoxious to the people; and the revolution which placed William and Mary on the throne of England in 1689 was regarded by the people as full of promise for them; but large estates had been granted, and manorial rights acquired which continued in force for nearly two centuries, and were then with some difficulty removed.

The territory about the city of New York was almost constantly involved in the hostilities which belonged to the War of Independence; and the Revolution, in fact, closed by the evacuation of New York by the British in 1783. During the first years after our independence, this State grew, if not slowly, at least no faster than its sister States. But the great Erie Canal, first proposed in 1800, actually begun in 1817, and finished in 1825, which brings the water

of Lake Erie to the Hudson in an almost straight line through the centre of the State, began at once to give to the State the promi nence and prosperity which it has ever since enjoyed. The city of New York became the commercial head of the Western continent. About six-sevenths of the tariff revenue of the whole country are collected at the custom-house of New York City. Numerous railways covering the State help to bring to her the traffic of the whole. country.

The manufactures of the State are various and extensive, and the list of them embraces almost all the important works of human production.

Its agriculture does not fall behind its commerce or its manufactures. Its climate is said to possess a wider range than that of any other State in the Union. But away from the mountains and its northernmost regions, it is generally mild; and through the greater part of the State both soil and climate are well adapted to the cultivation of the principal crops and fruits of the temperate zone. The lands along its rivers, especially the Mohawk, are singularly rich ; or were so, until long cultivation without the restorative help of manures had produced its inevitable effect, and lessened the production of wheat to the acre one-half, and this is their principal crop.

NEW JERSEY.

This State is bounded north and north-east by the State of New York, east by New York Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, south by the Atlantic and Delaware Bay, west by Delaware and Pennsylvania. It contains 8,320 square miles, or 5,331,000 acres.

It adopted a State constitution in 1776 and in 1844, which was amended in 1875. The governor is chosen for three years by a plurality vote, and cannot be chosen for the term next succeeding. He must have been for twenty years a citizen of the United States. The secretary of state, prosecutor of the pleas, and clerks of the Supreme Court and of Chancery, are appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate, for five years. The treasurer and comptroller are elected by the legislature for three years. The senate consists of one member for each county. They are elected for three years, one-third each year. The members of the house of assembly (or representatives) are apportioned among the counties according to population, but shall not exceed sixty. The Supreme Court consists of five justices, who hold office for seven years, and are appointed by the governor. The chancellor is also appointed by the governor, and for the same period. The Court of Errors and Appeals consists of the chancellor, the justices of the Supreme Court, and six other judges, whom the governor appoints for six years, one judge going out of office each year.