Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II THE EARLY CITY 1652-1830 § 2. The Dutch City. The beginnings of New York city government carry us back to a time when the conception of a municipality was considerably different from the one now most common. An old-world town of those days came very much closer to the every-day life and business of its citizens than does a modern city. Its charter, granted — often not over graciously — by the sovereign or feudal lord, freed it from many of the burdens imposed on other parts of the community; and conferred upon it, along with political and judicial powers, special business privileges and a marked degree of authority over the industry and commerce of its inhabitants and of the neighborhood. The bestowal of lands and other property rights, and of power to levy all sorts of indirect taxes, tolls, and dues, assured the municipality an income. The city was a close corporation, and the conditions of entrance to its full citizenship were frequently severe; while to the ' freemen' were restricted many of what are now often considered natural rights. Practically only they could engage in any craft or business.They were exempt from many charges that were exacted from their less fortunate fellow-townsmen and from outsiders; and they alone enjoyed the privileges of the common property. The influence of this system of city governmentl has left traces upon the administration and finances of New York which are not found in American cities of more recent origin. The fact that New Amsterdam was originally the colony of a private corporation, bent upon its own pecuniary gain, for a time modified the application of European municipal precedents materially.2 Despite frequent demands, no form of local self-government was granted by the West India Company to the town till 1652, an... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.