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Chap. 8.] And from Minuten of the Common Council.

within this city, for avoyding the peril of fire.” No mention is here made ofengines, nor in the next extract, wherein the want of instruments to quenchfire is especially referred to. “ Feb. 28, 1686 : Whereas great damageshave been done by fire in this city, by reason there were not instrumentsto quench the same. It is ordered that every inhabitant within the citywhose dwelling house has two chimnies shall provide one bücket for itsuse : and every house having more than two hearths, shall have twobuckets.” Every brewer was to provide six, and every baker three buck-ets, under a penalty of six Shillings for every bücket ordered. “ January,1689 : Ordered that there be appointed five Brent masters for the city ofNew-York, as follows: Peter Adolf, Derek Vanderbrink, Derek TenEyk, Jacob Borlen, Tobias Stoutenburgh ; and that five ladders be madeto serve upon occasion of fire, with sufficient hooks thereto.”

November 16, 1695 : Every dwelling in the city was to be providedwith one or more buckets by New-Year ’s day. The tenants were toprovide them for the houses they occupied, and the cost to be deductedfrom the rent. Every brewer was again ordered to procure for his pre-mises six, and every baker three. Several buckets were lost, and thepublic crier was directed to give notice. These “ Orders” do not appearto have been implicitly obeyed, for they were frequently repeated, andin November 1703, a penalty was attached for noncompliance. “ Octo-ber 1, 1706 : Ordered that Älderman Vanderburgh do provide for thepublic use of this city, eight ladders and two fire hooks, and poles of suchlength and dimensions as he shall judge to be convenient, to be used incase of fire.” November 20, 1716, a committee was appointed “ to pro-vide a sufficient number of ladders and hooks for the public use of thiscity in case of fire.” In November 1730, fire-engines are first men-tioned. On the 18th of that month among other provisions enacted forthe prevention and extinguishment of fires, one is in the following words:“ And be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, that forthwith provisionbe made for hooks, ladders and buckets, and fire-engines, to be kept inconvenient places within the city for avoiding the peril of fire.” At thesame time the inhabitants were again directed to provide and keep bucketsin their houses. It does not appear that any active measures to procurethe engines were taken tili the next year, for under the date of May 6,1731, the common council “ Resolved that this Corporation do with allconvenient speed procure two complete fire-engines , with suction and allmaterials thereunto belonging, for the public Service: that the sizes thereofbe the fourth and sixth sizes of Mr. Newsham’s fire-engines : and that Mr.Mayor, Älderman Cruger, Älderman Rutgers and Älderman Roosevelt,or any three of them, b<? a committee to agree with some proper merchantor merchants to send to London for the same by the first conveyance,and report upon what terms the said fire-engines, &c. will be delivered tothis Corporation.”

On the 12 th of June the committee reported that the engines could beimported at an advance of 120 per Cent on the invoice ; and they wereordered accordingly. They seem to have arrived about the of De-cember, for on that day, a room in the City Hall was ordered to be fitted up“ for securing the fire-engines.” On the 14 th of December a committeeof two was appointed “ to have the fire-engines cleaned and the leathersoiled and put into boxes, that the same may be fit for immediate use.”January 2 d, 1732. The mayor and four members of the court were au-thorized to employ persons to put the fire-engines in good Order, and alsoto agree with proper persons to look after and take care of the same. Itappears that Anthony Lamb was the first Superintendent of fire-engines,