In 1816 the village of Brooklyn was erected out of the town, and constituted a distinct government; thereby forming an imperium in imperio.

The present government both of the town and village, approach as near a pure democracy as that of any other place in this state. No business of importance is undertaken without first having the sanction of a public meeting. Here these sterling principles, that all power emanates from the people, and that public officers are but public servants, are fully recognized, and acted upon.

This head the compiler will divide into two divisions, in order to avoid confusion: First, the Town Government, and second, the Village Government.

First—the Town Government.

The government of the town is administered by

A Supervisor, elected by the people, at the annual town-meeting, on the first Tuesday of April. The duties of this officer are principally confined to the apportionment of taxes, presiding at elections, &c. He is also ex officio a commissioner of excise for granting tavern licenses in the town, and the general guardian of the town rights. There is no salary attached to this office: the supervisor receives a compensation of two dollars per day, for attending the general meeting of the supervisors of the different towns in the county, and a trifling amount for granting licenses. The present supervisor is William Furman, esq.

A Town Clerk, also elected by the people. The duties of this officer are to call special town meetings on the request of twelve freeholders, record the proceedings of town meetings, and preserve the records of the town. In 1698, Jacob Vandewater, town clerk of this town, received the sum of £6 5s. for two years and six months salary.[20] In 1822, in order to make the town clerk’s salary in some degree proportionate to the increase of business, the town voted him a salary of $50. In 1824, the town clerk’s salary was increased to $75. The office is at present held by John Doughty, esq. who has been successively elected since the year 1796.

Five Assessors, also elected by the people—whose duties are to assess all real and personal estate liable to taxation within the town, and to forward such assessment to the supervisors, that they may apportion the amount of tax on the same. The present assessors are Messrs. John S. Bergen, Richard Stanton, John Spader, Joseph Moser, and Andrew Demarest. Their compensation is one dollar and twenty-five cents per day during the time they are employed in making and completing the assessment.

There are also elected two overseers of the poor, Messrs. William Cornwell, and Isaac Moser; one constable and collector, Mr. John M’Kenney; two constables, Messrs. John Lawrence, and Samuel Doxsey; and several other officers, whose names and duties will be set forth in the subsequent parts of this work.

The judicial business of this town is at present transacted by three justices of the peace, viz. John Garrison, John G. Murphy, and Samuel Smith, esqrs. These magistrates are appointed by the judges of the common pleas, and the supervisors of the county.

Second—the Village Government.

April 12, 1816, the village of Brooklyn was incorporated by an act of the legislature of this state. By this act the freeholders and inhabitants are authorized annually to elect, on the first Monday of May, “Five discreet freeholders, resident within the said village, Trustees thereof;” and these trustees are authorized to appoint a president and clerk. The first trustees, Messrs. Andrew Mercein, John Garrison, John Doughty, John Seaman, and John Dean, were appointed by the legislature, and continued in office until the first Monday of May, 1817; when the first election was made by the people, and they made choice of Messrs. William Furman, Henry Stanton, William Henry, Tunis Joralemon, and Noah Waterbury. The present trustees are Messrs. Joshua Sands, John Doughty, Joseph Moser, John Moon, and Samuel James. Joshua Sands, esq. president, and John Dikeman, esq. clerk of the board. The president previous to 1824 received no salary; at present his salary is $300. The clerk formerly received a salary of $100, which in consequence of the great increase of business is now raised to $200. The powers of the trustees are principally “to make, ordain, constitute, and publish, such prudential by-laws, rules and regulations, as they from time to time shall deem meet and proper; and such in particular as relate to the public markets, streets, alleys, and highways of the said village; to draining, filling up, levelling, paving, improving, and keeping in order the same; relative to slaughter-houses, houses of ill fame, and nuisances generally; relative to a village watch, and lighting the streets of said village; relative to restraining geese, swine, or cattle of any kind; relative to the better improvement of their common lands; relative to the inspection of weights and measures, and the assize of bread; relative to erecting and regulating hay-scales; relative to the licensing of public porters, cartmen, hackney coachmen, gaugers, weigh-masters measurers, inspectors of beef and pork, of wood, of staves and heading, and of lumber; relative to public wells, pumps, and reservoirs or cisterns of water to be kept filled for the extinguishment of fires; relative to the number of taverns or inns to licensed in said village; and relative to any thing whatsoever that may concern the public and good government of the said village; but no such by-laws shall extend to the regulating or fixing the prices of any commodities or articles of provision, except the article of bread, that may be offered for sale.” The powers of the trustees, in opening, regulating, and widening streets, are enlarged and defined by an act passed by the legislature of this state, April 9, 1824.

The board of trustees have the appointment of several officers. The following is a list of the names of the officers at present holding under them.

Three village Assessors are also elected by the people, for the purpose of making an assessment on which to apportion the village tax. The present assessors are Losee Van Nostrand, Gamaliel King, and John D. Conklin.

The Trustees, by an act passed April 9th, 1824, are constituted a Board of Health. The President and Clerk of the Trustees are ex-officio President and Clerk of the Board of Health. The salary of the President of this Board is $150.

A Health Physician is appointed by the Board of Health; which office is at present held by Dr. J. G. T. Hunt, with a salary of $200.

The duties of the Board relate to the general conservation of the Health of the village.

As early as 1809, during the prevalence of the yellow fever in this town, the inhabitants met together in consequence of repeated solicitations from the Common Council of New-York, and after stating in their proceedings, that “reports prevailed, that disease exists to an alarming extent in the town of Brooklyn,” they appointed the following gentlemen a committee “for the purpose of inquiring into the state of the health of the inhabitants of said town, and to act as the case in their opinion may require,” viz. William Furman, John Garrison, Burdet Stryker, Henry Stanton, and Andrew Mercein. A sum of money was raised by subscription to meet the expenses of this Committee.

In the year 1819, the Trustees, although not strictly invested with power, yet feeling the necessity of acting with some degree of energy, in order to quiet the fears of the inhabitants, arising from reports of the existence of a pestilential disease in New-York, published an address; in which they state, “that during this season of alarm, they have not been unmindful of that part of their duty incumbent on them as a Board of Health for the village,” and that “measures have been taken to obtain from time to time, a report of the state of health throughout the village, that the inhabitants may be early apprised of any change affecting their welfare.”