PART II.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OF PHILADELPHIA.

By the charter of William Penn, the city of Philadelphia was intended to be bounded on the north by Vine street, and on the south by Cedar, or, as it is now called, South street. Population, however, pushed itself beyond these bounds, and that part of it beyond the charter limits is nearly equal to that within them. For municipal purposes, the Legislature has from time to time established corporate governments in different parts of the suburbs, so that Philadelphia is divided into the following districts-the corporations of the city of Philadelphia, of the Northern Liberties, Kensington, Spring Garden, Southwark, and Moyamensing. Passyunk, Blockley, &c. are still governed as townships.

The first charter of the city was granted on the twenty-fifth of October, 1701, by William Penn. The provisions of this instrument were such, that, as has already been observed, it found no favour with the people, and the jealousy which it excited led to a general distrust of the municipal officers, and operated with the legislature to prevent the grant of powers often necessary to the corporation. One of the first measures adopted by the legislature after the declaration of independence, was the annulling of this form of government. In 1789, an act of incorporation was passed, which continued in force until 1796, when the existing frame of government was established.

City of Philadelphia.

The municipal government of the city is vested in a mayor, a recorder, fifteen aldermen, and a select and common council, besides subordinate executive officers. The recorder and aldermen are appointed by the governor, and hold their offices, like other judicial incumbents, during good behaviour. The mayor is annually chosen by the councils from among the aldermen; he appoints the city commissioners, the high constables, corders of wood, &c., and receives an annual compensation of two thousand dollars. The members of the select and common councils are chosen by the people, on the day of the general election: the former serve three years,

and vacate their seats in rotation; the latter are annually elected. They receive no compensation, sit in separate chambers, and each body has a negative on the legislative acts of the other. The mayor, recorder, and aldermen, or any four of them, whereof the mayor or recorder must be one, constitute "the Mayor's Court," which has the same jurisdiction of offences committed in the city, as the courts of Quarter Sessions in their respective counties. The aldermen have respectively the powers, and perform the duties of justices of the peace, as to all matters arising within the city.

Northern Liberties.

The district of the Northern Liberties was incorporated on the twenty-eighth of March, 1803, and consists of that part of the original township of the Northern Liberties which lies between the west side of Sixth street and the river Delaware, and between Vine street and the Cohocksink creek. The act of incorporation was amended by another act, passed on the sixteenth of March, 1819. The government of the district is, by these acts, vested in a board of commissioners, twenty-one in number, who are elected for a term of three years, and vacate their offices in rotation, seven new members being chosen on the day of the general election annually. The municipal officers of this corporation are appointed by the commissioners, but no commissioner can be appointed to any office to which a compensation is attached.

Spring Garden.

Adjoining the district of the Northern Liberties, to the west, is the incorporated district of Spring Garden, which consists of that part of Penn Township lying between Vine street and the middle of Hickory lane, and between the middle of Sixth and the middle of Broad street. The act of incorporation was passed on the twenty-second of March, 1813. The powers of the corporation are vested in, and conducted by a board of commissioners, twelve in number, who are elected for a term of three years, and vacate their offices in rotation, and have similar powers to those of the commissioners of the Northern Liberties.

Kensington.

Kensington, which lies east of the district of the Northern Liberties, and between that and the river Delaware, was incorporated on the sixth March, 1820. Its municipal officers are a board of commissioners, fifteen in number, who serve for three years, five new members being elected every year. Their powers and duties are similar to those of other corporations.

Southwark.

The district of Southwark was incorporated on the eighteenth of April, 1794, and is also governed by fifteen commissioners, who serve for three years, five being elected annually, and whose powers are similar to those of the preceding corporations.

Moyamensing.

Moyamensing was incorporated on the twenty-fourth of March, 1812, and is governed by nine commissioners, elected for three years, vacating their offices by rotation, and in other respects similar to those already noticed.

For the convenience of elections, assessment of taxes, &c., the city and the Northern Liberties are divided into wards, of which a plan is subjoined. For each ward there are annually elected a constable, an assessor of taxes, and an inspector of the general election.

Representation.

The city of Philadelphia sends six representatives to the state legislature. The adjoining districts, united with the remainder of the county, send seven representatives. For the purpose of choosing members of congress, the city and county have been divided into three districts, of which the city, with the exception of Cedar and New-Market wards, forms one; these wards, together with Southwark, Moyamensing, Passyunk, Blockley, and Kingsessing, form another; and the remaining portions of the county constitute the third district. Each district sends one member to congress.

PART III.

TOPOGRAPHY, SOIL, CLIMATE, HEALTH, POPULATION, &c.

THE city of Philadelphia, strictly speaking, consists of that portion only of the town which is bounded by the Delaware on the east, by Cedar street on the south, by the Schuylkill on the west, and by Vine street on the north; but in its more general and popular acceptation, includes the large and increasing districts of Southwark, the Northern Liberties, Kensington, &c. which are not otherwise distinguished from the city than in municipal government. In the following pages, the city will be considered as comprising the built parts of the adjoining districts, unless the distinction is other

wise made.

Philadelphia lies in latitude 39° 57' north, and longitude 75° 8′ 45′′ west from Greenwich, and is about 120 miles distant from the Atlantic ocean by the course of the Delaware, and about 55 miles from it in a direct line to the south-east. At the beginning of the settlement, it was expected that the fronts on both rivers, between Vine and Cedar streets, would be first built upon, and that the buildings would extend gradually in the rear of each; but experience soon convinced the settlers that the Schuylkill was not adapted to the purposes of commerce; whence it followed, that the town increased northward and southward of the original plot on the Delaware front, and now occupies a space nearly four miles in extent on that river, while the buildings westward have not (except in Market street) extended much beyond a mile. Philadelphia, within its original limits, consists of nine streets running east and west from Delaware to Schuylkill, and twenty-five crossing them nearly at right angles. Market street, which is nearly in the centre, is 100 feet broad, and Arch street 66 feet: the rest of the east and west streets are 50 feet each. Broad street, which was originally intended to be in the centre of the streets running north and south, is 113 feet broad; the other streets running in that direction are each 50 feet, except Front street, which is 60 feet broad. Besides these original streets, there have, since the city was

laid out, been opened a great number of others, of different breadth and extent. Of all these streets, Dock street is the only one not crossed at right angles by any other street. At the first settlement of the city, the space occupied by this street was a creek, the water of which flowed as high as the corner of Chesnut and Fourth streets. William Penn granted it to the city, "with liberty to dig docks and make harbours for ships and vessels therein;" but the accumulation of mud and foreign substances in it, which the current was unable to carry off, soon rendered it offensive, and it was at an early period arched over from Third to Walnut street. In 1784, an Act of Assembly was passed, in pursuance of which the arch was continued to Spruce street, and a handsome street, nearly 100 feet broad, was thus acquired. Water street is also a deviation from the original plan, which contemplated a thoroughfare on its site, but provided that the stores to be built on the bank should not exceed four feet in height. A regard for their present interest, however, made the proprietors of front lots urgent for an alteration in the plan, to which the proprietary at length consented; and the consequence has been, the formation of a dark, narrow, and dirty street, offensive to taste and pregnant with disease. The whole number of streets and alleys, of all sizes, in the city and districts, is upwards of five hundred and fifty.

From the marine deposits which have been at different times discovered several feet below the surface, and from other indications, it appears probable that the site of Philadelphia was once covered by the ocean. A few years since, hickory nuts were found more than thirty feet below the surface, by persons engaged in digging a well; and the trunk of a buttonwood tree was discovered, near the corner of Arch and Seventh streets, imbedded in a black mud, and surrounded by acorns and leaves. The immediate substratum of the soil of Philadelphia, was clay, mixed with more or less sand and gravel.

The climate of Philadelphia, like that of other parts of the state, appears to have undergone a considerable change of late years, at least so far as respects the intensity and duration of the cold weather. During the last century, the winters were more uniformly cold, and the rivers were more completely and for a longer time obstructed, than at present. It is recorded, that in 1704, snow fell three feet deep; that in