The city hall was supported upon brick arches over the sidewalk, under which pedestrians could pass from street to street in all directions. One of the rooms on the first floor was at a later day (about 1730) appropriated for the reception of the two first fire engines in New York, imported from London. The court-room was in front, on the second floor, as shown in the diagram. In winter the chief justice and judges were attired in robes of scarlet faced with black velvet; in summer they wore full black-silk gowns.
THE FAMOUS ZENGER TRIAL.
The edifice was for nearly a century the great political and judicial center of the province, as well as of the city, in which were held the sessions of the General Assembly, the Supreme Court, the Admiralty Court, and the Mayor's Court. It was the scene of the famous Zenger trial in 1735, which excited the attention of all America. The court-room was crowded to suffocation, and every kind of business was neglected during a whole summer. The freedom of the press was at stake, as was also liberty of speech. Zenger had started a new weekly paper, and filled it with satire. He had criticised the officers of the government, and everything generally. He was on trial for "false, scandalous, malicious
