.

31,175 Bush.

38,409 1,091,596 401,339 3,689 17,915 Tons. Cot. 761 12

120 10 4,466 00 1,759 00 4,189 00 841 04

1,126 01 159 11 143 04 271 03 579 09 3,514 03

.

OUTWARD.

Schools. By the annual report of the Superintendent of Common Schools, the following results were given for the year 1826 :

8114 school districts, being an increase of 341 districts since the last return, (vide last vol. 330.) Returns were received from 7544 of these districts, showing that in those districts there were 411,256 children, between the ages of 5 and 15, and that 431,601 children received instruction in those schools during the year.

The sum of $185,965 was paid from the school fund. of which $80,000 was paid from the state treasury, 94,244 rai sed by a tax from the respective towns, and $11,721 derived from local funds possessed by certain counties. Capital of the general school fund, $1.353 477 revenue from this fund in 1825, $85,267 Treasury.—The balance in the state treasury, Nov. 30th, 1825, was The receipt during the

Bores. 9,145 Cords. 20,193

$248,430

Tons. Cot.

year ending Nov. 30,

February. Mr. Van Buren was elected Senator of the United States without opposition. In the House of Representatives the vote stood, Van Buren 82, scattering 31.

The following communication was addressed by him to the Legislature, upon receiving an account of his reelection :

Washington, Feb. 13, 1827. SIR-I have received the resolution of the Senate, appointing me a senator to represent the State in the Senate of the Congress of the United States, after the third of March next, and have to ask permission to communicate to the Senate, through you, my acceptance of the office.

Relying on the indulgence of the Senate, and in justice to my own feel ings, I avail myself of the opportunity thus presented. to say, that having con sidered my first appointment as an evidence of confidence and liberality to which my public services could have given me no pretension, I cannot but regard my re-appointment under existing circumstances, and with such gratifying unanimity, as an act of favour demanding the expression of my utmost gratitude. I do assure the Senate that I am deeply sensible of the honour which has been conferred upon me; and to justify their confidence, it shall be my constant and zealous endeavour to protect the remaining rights reserved to the States by the Federal Constitu

tion; to restore those of which they have been divested by construction, and to promote the interests and honour of our common country.

With great respect,

your obedient servant,
M. VAN BUREN.

The Hon. Nathaniel Pilcher,
President of the Senate
of the State of New York.

A bill was introduced into the Senate, authorizing provisions to be contributed on the part of the State, to the suffering Greeks It there passed; but upon its coming before the House, it was rejected, 67 to 40.

April-A law which passed both Houses of the Legislature, prohibiting the sale of tickets in the lotteries not authorized by the state, and compelling venders to take out licenses, was referred to the Legislature by Governor Clinton, with his objections to its becoming a law. These were founded on the circumstances under which the state lotteries were placed, which showed that the managers had made a contract with the state, and that by preventing them or their agents from selling without a license, the state would violate that contract, and interfere with the vested rights of the managers. These objections prevailed, and the bill did not become a law.

Sheep. A destructive malady ap. peared among the sheep in the town of Waterville, N. Y.; hundreds died off very strangely; considerable pains were taken to ascertain the cause, which terminated very satisfactorily. A kind of grub worm was discovered in the head, a little above the eye. The largest was about three fourths of an inch long, and as large as a pipo stem, and many others were found in the same sheep's head, some but little smaller, and others quite small. They were alive after the sheep was dead. They were put in spirits of turpentine, but this did not kill them.

Revised Statutes.—The Legislature of this state adjourned on the 17th inst. to meet again on the second Tuesday of September, at a special session, to be devoted to an examination of the revised

code of laws now in progress, of which some detailed account is necessary.

To a full understanding of this plan, a retrospective view of the history of the statute law in this state is essential. Soon after the peace, which established the independence of the colonies, the state of New-York appointed Samuel Jones and Richard Varick to collect the colonial and British statutes, reduce them into proper form, and prepare them for re-enactment Those gentlemen performed the task with great assiduity and care, and with a caution suited to the times and the occasion. Upon their report, all British statutes were repealed; but many of them were so interwoven with the system of law, that it became necessary to retain their substance. This was accomplished by selecting such as were adapted to our institutions, copying them almost literally, and re-enacting them as original statutes. Sometimes different British statutes, on the same subject, were drawn together with very slight alterations of their language, and were enacted as one statute, without an effort to expunge what was obsolete, or to reconcile conflicting proVisions. This, however, is not a cause of censure. Many and great changes were necessarily made by the revolution and the organization of an independent government. Time was not afforded for a careful examination of all the laws relating to property, nor was the occasion propitious to a reformation of those laws. In consequence, many ancient statutes were inserted in their original English language, or in literal translations from the French or Latin in which they were enacted. No effort appears to have been made towards any scientific arrangement of the statutes reported. The revision of Messrs. Jones and Varick was completed and published in 1789. From that time to 1800, numerous acts had been passed by the state Legislature, and the general constitution had, in the mean while, been adopted. A new revision became necessary, and James Kent and Jacob Radcliff were selected for te the task. They followed the plan of the prior revision: retained the ancient

Gers

MA

acts

From this period until 1825, the laws multiplied at each session. New interests and relations arose. The state doubled its population. Nearly one half of its territory was reclaimed from forests, and changed into cultivated fields and populous villages. A canal uniting the great western seas with the Atlantic was constructed; new sources of industry were opened, and enterprise discovered new fields for its operations. Internal trade extended beyond calculation, and the character of the greater part of the whole population was varied. Laws became necessary as these new interests and relations arose. The adoption of a new state constitution, changed radically nearly all the existing laws relating to the administration of the government. While the multiplicity of the statutes rendered a revision more necessary than ever, it was obvious that it could no longer be conducted on the old plan. Most of the old statutes had become absolutely inapplicable to the new state of things; others required the most extensive alterations; new cases had arisen for which adequate provision had not been made; the temporary expedients were not calculated for permanent provisions; heterogeneous and contradictory statutes were to be reconciled, and from a mass of more than 5000 pages were to be extracted a set of laws adapted to the wants, and correspondent to the intelligence, of the age.The Legislature of 1825 appointed John Duer, Benjamin F. Butler, and Henry Wheaton, to collect, revise, amend, and collate the statutes, with the most ample powers to propose any modifica

tions, alterations, or additions, that should appear to them proper. This law was passed upon a representation of the two first named gentlemen, (who had been appointed in the previous month of November to revise the statutes,) accompanied by a plan of the proposed work, and a specimen of its execution.

The first public account of their progress is a report made on the 15th of March, 1826, in pursuance of a resolution of the house of Assembly. In this report they state the proposed arrangement and classification of the statutes into five parts, as follows:

1. Those which relate to the territories, the political divisions, the civil polity, and the internal administration of the state

2. Those which relate to the acquisition, the enjoyment, and the transmission of property real and personal; to the domestic relations; and generally to all matters connected with private rights.

3. Those which relate to the judiciary establishments, and the mode of procedure in civil cases.

4. Those which relate to crimes and punishments, to the mode of procedure in criminal cases, and to prison discipline.

5. Public cases of a local and miscellaneous character; including the laws concerning the cities, and such other acts of incorporation as shall be deemed necessary.

This comprehensive arrangement obviously required the entire breaking up of the existing statutes: the distribution of their dissevered members to their proper places, and such changes in their phraseology as would adapt them to their respective situations and functions. In the winter of 1327, the first eight chapters of the first part, with the tenth, the nineteenth, and a part of the ninth, were printed, and laid before the Legislature It was soon found that the examination of the proposed revision by the members of the Legislature, during the session, and in the midst of the pressure of ordinary business, was wholly impractica

ble.

One of the chapters prepared

only was acted upon. That was passed by the Senate. A special meeting of the Legislature was directed to be held in the month of September, for the sole and exclusive purpose of considering the reports of the revisors. In the course of this winter, Mr. Wheaton was appointed by the Government of the United States, Charge des Affaires at Copenhagen, and resigned his ap pointment. On the recommendation of the remaining commissioners, Gov. Clinton appointed John C. Spencer, a member of the Senate, to supply the place of Mr. Wheaton. Having thus, in the order of events, introduced the name of Mr. Clinton, as connected with this revision, it is but an act of justice to state that in his official communications to the Legislature, for years previously to the act of 1825, he had strenuously urged various important reforms in the laws of the state; and that these recommendations prepared the public mind, and in a great measure led to the great work of which we are now giving an account. It constantly received his cordial approbation and vigorous co-operation, so far as his station afforded the means.

Mr. Spencer entered on the duties of his appointment the last of April, 1827; the Legislature assembled on the 11th of September in that year, and conti nued in session until the 6th of December, devoting their time and unabated attention to the consideration of the reports of the revisors. The remaining chapters of the first part, with a republication of the fifth chapter, of that part much enlarged and improved, together with all the chapters of the second part, except the first, were laid before the Legislature, and enacted as laws. The titles of these chapters are here given, as the only, although imperfect means of arriving at a knowledge of the plan of the work, and of the labour of its execution.

The first part consists of twenty chapters. The first is entitled, of the boundaries of the state, and its territorial jurisdiction; the second, of the civil divisions of the state, and contains the boundaries of each county, city, and town in the state. The third, of

the census or enumeration of the inhabitants of the state. The fourth, of the rights of the citizens and inhabitants of this state. The fifth, of the public officers of this state, other than militia and town officers; their election or appointment, their qualifications and the terms of their offices. The sixth, of elections, other than for militia and town officers. The seventh, of the Legislature. The eighth, the duties of the executive officers of the state, &c. The ninth, of the funds, revenue, expenditures and property of the state, and the administration thereof. The titles of this chapter are given from the belief that they will be interesting to all classes of readers: title 1. of the general fund, and the expenditures chargeable thereon; title 2. of the canal fund, and the adininistration thereof; title 3. of the literature fund; title 4. of the common school fund; title 5. of the public lands and the superintendance and disposition thereof; title 6. of mortgages to the people of this state, and the freemen thereof; title 7. of the public buildings and erections; title 8. of the state library; title 9. of the canals, consisting of nine articles; title 10. of the salt springs; title 11. of the interest of the state in mines; title 12. of escheats; title 13. of the recovery of forfeited estates. The tenth chapter is of the militia and the public defence: the eleventh, of the powers, duties, and privileges of towns; the twelfth, of the powers, duties, and privileges of counties, and of certain county officers; the thirteenth, of the assessment and collection of taxes; the fourteenth, of the public health; the fifteenth of public instruction; the sixteenth, of highways, bridges and fences; the seventeenth, of the regulation of trade in certain cases, including the auction and inspection laws; the eighteenth, of incorporations; the nineteenth, of the computation of time, of weights and measures, and the money of account; and the twentieth, of the internal police of the state, consisting of twenty-one titles, embracing the most interesting provisions respecting internal economy. The second part consists of eight

chapters. The first, relating to the tenure of real estates, the nature of estates, and the persons capable of conveying, was not prepared during the last year, The second chapter is, of title to real property by descent; the third, of the proof and recording of conveyances of real estate, and the cancelling of mortgages; the fourth, of title to personal property in certain cases, consisting of three titles: title 1. of limited partnerships; title 2. of promissory notes and bills of exchange; title 3. of the interest of money. The fifth chapter, of title to property real and personal, transmitted or acquired hy special provisions of law, treats of proceedings against absent, absconding, concealed, imprisoned, and insolvent debtors, and of proceedings by insolvent debtors for a discharge from their debts, or for an exoneration of their persons from arrest; and of the custody and disposition of the estates of idiots, lunatics, and drunkards The sixth chapter is, of wills and testaments, of the distribution of the estates of intestates, and of the rights, powers, and duties of executors and administrators. This chapter is in itself a complete code of the law on the subject. The seventh chapter is, of fraudulent conveyances and contracts relative to real and personal property; the eighth, of the domestic relations, and has four titles: title 1. of husband and wife, including the solemnization of marriage, and the proof thereof, divorces and separations; title 2. of parents and children; title 3. of guardians and wards; title 4. of masters, apprentices, and servants.

The remaining third and fourth parts are expected to be completed during the year 1828.

A severe critic of the titles of the different chapters of the first and second parts, above given, might infer that they comprised a codification of the whole law written, as well as unwritten. on the subject of which they treat. Nothing could be more erroneous.They contain a certification of the statules on those subjects, and of the constructions which have from time to time been given to them by the decisions of