NEW BRITAIN BECOMES CHARTERED AS A CITY 1871
The population of New Britain rose from 5,500 in 1860 to 10,000 in 1870, and the citizens were feeling their power.
“So, in 1870, the General Assembly of Connecticut granted the borough a charter of incorporation which gave greater civic powers to the governing officials and recognized the importance of New Britain in the economy of the state . . . After incorporation their first act was to raise money to operate the city government. The first tax levy for the city was five mills, with a five per cent discount for prompt payment.”
(from Herbert E. Fowler,
History of New Britain, 1960)
Connecticut in 1837 passed legislation to empower the state to charter corporations, evidently the first state to do so. The advantages would be the same for a city as a business: extended life, rights as a “body” in court etc., and limited liability.
I. Excerpted from the
New Britain Record
, Jan. 6, 1871 (newspaper to be found in local History Room)
____
“New Britain a City”
“ . . . The borough exists under a shockingly slipshod and incomplete patchwork of charter, private acts and municipal ordinances . . . They were right and proper for the exigencies which made them necessary . . . but inadequate to her present condition . . . let New Britain take a name and title commensurate with her rank among the cities of Connecticut.
“Citizens . . . will appear at Union Hall, Friday the 13th day of January at 1 o’clock p.m. and vote the acceptance of this charter.”
-
II. Excerpted from the New Britain Record, Jan. 6, 1871
-
“Twenty Reasons for a City Charter”
-
“1. The census shows a sufficient population for a city.
-
“5. The borough Charter makes no provision for a police department.
-
“6. The borough charter makes no adequate provision for a fire department.
-
“7. It has been found impracticable to assess benefits for sewers under the borough charter.
-
“11. New Britain already has the water works, gas works, side and cross walks, criminal court, etc. which usually make expense when a town becomes a city.
-
“12. The city charter provides no source of taxation not existing under the Borough charter of by Borough usage.
-
“19. No member of the common council can, while a member thereof, become interested in any contract the expense of which is to be paid by vote of the council.
“20. The best provisions of the charters of all the smaller cities in the state have been incorporated into the New Britain charter.”
Questions:
1. How many of these reasons are inspired by civic pride and how many are purely practical?
-
2. What criticisms are already being answered in this editorial?
3. The term “borough” refers to an incorporated town of lesser size than a city. New Britain had become a borough when it separated in 1850 from the town of Berlin. The citizens of Kensington and Worthington parishes had petitioned the change. New Britain’s center then had become a borough and the less inhabited area the town of Mew Britain. Is population then had been 3,029.
What other areas in the state would you guess were going through the split-off from larger, older pariah and town areas?
III. Excerpted from the
New Britain Record
, Jan. 13, 1871
“All opposition to the adoption of the city charter seems now to be adoption to the single proposition that city limits should extend north to include that part of New Britain known as Dublin Hill.
“ . . . When the borough was extended s few years ago the were left out of that extension as it was understood at the time, and not since disputed that they wished to be left out . . . A serious obstacle to admitting them seems to be . . . borough indebtedness, $100,000.
“It seemed unwise and unjust to include in the number subject to this indebtedness a district which did not incur it.”
-
IV. Excerpted from the
New Britain Record
, Jan. 20, 1871.
“The Charter Election”
“At 3 o’clock ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ began to run neck and neck . . . From that hour active canvassing was going on in the hall, on the steps, along the street. The o position made use of the familiar tax argument, but this was sufficiently answered by the almost uniform vote of the large tax payers in favor of the charter. At 7 o’clock the polls were closed, and counters retired to discharge their duty.
Whole no. of votes
|
1,041
|
Yes
|
521
|
No
|
520
|
To this declaration Col. Moore publicly protested basing his protest on the fact 2 votes found folded together and discounted. The dense crowd in hall expressed their satisfaction further in considerable vociferous cheering in the streets, hand shaking, bonfires, promiscuous dancing in the hall . . .
The result was somewhat unexpected. Many voters strongly in favor staid away from the polls because from the overconfident sir of the opposition they had received the impression that no hope remained.”
V. From the
Hartford Times
, as quoted in the
New Britain Record
, Jan. 20, 1871.
“The charter we are told has been crowded upon the people of New Britain . . . It is designed to afford easy offices and comfortable salaries for a little ‘ring’ of Radical managers and runners. It divides New Britain into
3
wards instead of 4 according to the natural lines which would take Main Street one way and the railroad the other, for boundaries. Instead of this it separates moat of the Democratic vote into a ward by itself, where it will always give 200 majority and so carves out the other two, that the radicals think they are always sure of both by at least 50 majority . . . the
offices
by them to be awarded will be numerous.”
-
III, IV, V 1. Who lived on Dublin Hill? What might be part of the purpose of not including them in the city?
-
2. What costs do you think might be included in the $100,000 debt left from the borough?
-
3. What do you learn about the voting procedure that is surprising?
-
4. Was the
Record
for or against incorporation?
-
5. Why might the
Hartford Times
be against the are becoming a city?
6. This manipulation of voting area is called “gerrymandering.” Do you know of any districts so arranged today?