and thence to the Mohawk river above Cohoes Falls. Up the Mohawk to Rome the old route is for the most part to be retained; but from Rome to Clyde there is to be a diversion so as to utilize Oneida Lake and Oneida and Seneca rivers. Westward from Clyde the new channel, like the old but larger, will pass through Rochester and Lockport to the Niagara river at Tonawanda. Each of the three canals is to have a minimum depth of 12 ft., a minimum bottom width in rivers and lakes of 200 ft., and in other sections a bottom width generally of 75 ft. Their locks are to be 328 ft. in length and 45 ft. in width.
The imports to the port of New York increased in value from $466,527,631 in 1897 to $891,614,678 in 1909, while the exports increased in value from $404,750,496 to $627,782,767. Other ports of entry are Buffalo and Dunkirk, on Lake Erie, Niagara Falls, on the Niagara river, Ogdensburg and Cape Vincent, on the St Lawrence river, Plattsburg, on Lake Champlain, Oswego, on Lake Ontario, Rochester, on the Genesee river, Albany and Syracuse in the interior, and Sag Harbor at the E. end of Long Island.
Population.—New York outstripped Pennsylvania in population in the first decade of the 19th century, and Virginia in the second decade, and since 1820 it has been the most populous state in the Union. In 1880[1] the population was 5,082,871; in 1890, 5,997,853; in 1900, 7,268,894; in 1905, according to the state census, 8,067,308; and in 1910, 9,113,614. The foreign-born population in 1900 was 1,900,425, including 480,026 natives of Germany, 425,553 of Ireland, 182,248 of Italy, 165,610 of Russia, 135,685 of England, 117,535 of Canada, 78,491 of Austria, 69,755 of Poland and 64,055 of Scandinavia. More than two-thirds of the foreign-born were in New York City. The coloured population constituted only 1·5% of the total, and was composed of 99,232 negroes, 7170 Chinese, 5257 Indians and 354 Japanese.
Most of the Indians were on eight reservations: the Allegany Reservation (30,469 acres) in Cattaraugus county; the Cattaraugus Reservation (21,680 acres) in Erie, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties; the St Regis Reservation (14,030 acres) in Franklin county; the Tonawanda Reservation (7548 acres) in Erie and Genesee counties; the Onondaga Reservation (7300 acres) in Onondaga county; the Tuscarora Reservation (624 acres) in Niagara county; the Oneida Reservation (400 acres) in Madison county; and the Shinnecock Reservation (400 acres) near Southampton, on Long Island.
Of 3,591,974 members of all religious denominations in 1906, 2,285,768 were Roman Catholics, 313,689 Methodist Episcopalians, 199,923 Presbyterians, 193,890 Protestant Episcopalians, 176,981 Baptists, 124,644 Lutherans, 57,351 Congregationalists, 35,342 Jews (heads of families only), 26,183 members of the German Evangelical Synod, 19,302 members of Eastern Orthodox churches and 10,761 Universalists. The urban population (i.e. population of places having 4000 inhabitants or more) increased from 3,805,477 in 1890 to 5,176,414 in 1900, or 36%, while the rural population (i.e. population outside of incorporated places) decreased during this decade from 1,834,119 to 1,625,859 or 5·9%.
The cities having a population of 15,000 or more in 1905 were: New York City, 4,013,781; Buffalo, 376,587; Rochester, 181,666; Syracuse, 117,503; Albany, 98,374; Troy, 76,910; Utica, 62,934; Yonkers, 61,716; Schenectady, 58,387; Binghamton, 42,036; Elmira, 34,687; Auburn, 31,422; Niagara Falls, 26,560; Newburgh, 26,498; Jamestown, 26,160; Kingston, 25,556; Watertown, 25,447; Poughkeepsie, 25,379; Mt. Vernon, 25,996; Cohoes, 24,183; Amsterdam, 23,943; Oswego, 22,572; New Rochelle, 20,479; Gloversville, 18,672; Lockport, 17,552; Rome, 16,562; and Dunkirk, 15,250.
Government.—Since becoming a state, New York has been governed under four constitutions, adopted in 1777, 1821, 1846 and 1894 respectively. The first state constitution, adopted by a convention at Kingston, made few changes in the provincial system other than those necessary to establish it on a popular basis, but the powers of the governor were curtailed, especially his powers of appointment and veto. These limitations worked unsatisfactorily, and their removal or modification and the extension of the franchise were the principal changes effected in 1821. Under the first constitution the decentralization of administration, which began early in the colonial era, continued without interruption, and under the second it was checked by a few measures only. The third constitution, besides reorganizing the judiciary, transferred to the people the choice of many officers, state and local, who had been appointed by the governor or the legislature; and placed numerous restrictions on the law-making power of the legislature. Under this constitution the theory of local self-government was more fully realized in New York than at any other time.
Since the middle of the 19th century an attempt has been made to meet the problems arising from a rapid industrial and social development by creating bureaus or commissions to exercise a central control over local officials, corporations and even private individuals, and as most of the heads of these bureaus and the commissions are appointed by the governor the importance of that officer has increased. The constitutional changes since 1846 affect principally the judiciary and cities. A constitutional convention met and proposed a new constitution in 1867, but every article was rejected by the people save one relating to the judiciary, which was adopted separately as an amendment in 1869. The constitution of 1894 made further important changes in the judiciary and in the government of cities. The first constitution made no provision for its amendment or revision. The second provided that whenever a majority of the members elected to each house of the legislature voted for an amendment and two-thirds of those elected to the next legislature approved, it should be submitted to the people for their adoption or rejection. The third modified this provision by requiring the approval of only a majority of the members elected to each house of the second legislature, and directed that the legislature should call a convention to revise the constitution at least once in twenty years if the people requested it. The present constitution contains the same clause as the third for the proposal of amendments by the legislature, and makes the unique provision that if the people vote for a convention when the question is submitted to them—this must be as often as once in twenty years—the delegates shall be elected and shall assemble at an appointed time and place without the call of the legislature, this being the result of the governor’s veto, in 1887, of a bill for calling a convention in response to an overwhelming vote of the people in favour of it. Under the first constitution there were property qualifications for voting which amounted in the election of the governor and senators to a freehold estate worth £100 ($500) and in the election of assemblymen to a freehold estate worth £20. ($100) or the payment of an annual rent of 40s. ($10). But under the second constitution the most that was required of any white voter was the payment to the state or county of taxes on either personal or real property, and by an amendment of 1826 this requirement was abolished. The second constitution, however, imposed a property qualification on coloured voters amounting to a freehold estate worth $250, and this restriction was not removed until 1874. Since 1874 the aim has been to bestow suffrage on all male citizens who shall have attained the age of twenty-one years and shall have been inhabitants of the state for one year, but for the protection of the ballot citizenship for ninety days,[2] residence in the county for four months, and in the election district for thirty days next preceding the election are required. Conviction for bribery or of an infamous crime disqualifies, and personal identification of voters is required in New York City. A statement of receipts and expenditures of an election campaign, showing the amount received from each contributor and the name of every person or committee to whom more than $5 was paid, must be filed by the treasurer of every political committee within twenty days after the election; each candidate also must file a statement of his contributions. By an Act of 1910 women may vote on financial questions affecting a village in which they hold property.
Executive.—When the state government was first established, the governor and lieutenant-governor were the only state officers elected by the people. The state treasurer was chosen by the legislature, and for the appointment of other state officers as well as county officers and mayors of cities the Assembly chose four senators to constitute a council of appointment, a body
