The Mayor is, by virtue of his office, a justice of the peace.
It is highly important to the welfare of the city that a man of
integrity, energy and abilities should fill this office, which is by
no means a sinecure. The members of the City Council receive
a per diem of $1 50 for their services; these also should be per-
sons of sound discretion, and less devoted to private interest than
to the public welfare. We admit that it is sometimes extremely
difficult to discover persons who possess the latter qualification,
but they who make the greatest approximation to this species of
excellence should always receive the preference. When we con-
sider that to the hands of these officers the destinies of a city
are almost entirely committed, those remarks will not appear to
be either unnecessary or misplaced.

Chapter V.—Public Buildings for Civil Purposes; Im-
provements, &c.

In this and some of the following chapters, we intend to adhere
as much as possible to an alphabetical arrangement which we
presume will be best adapted to the purpose of reference.

Alms-House.—This building is situated two and a half miles
from the courthouse, on the Franklin road. It has a very hand-
some appearance, and is under the best possible management. It
was formerly the country seat of Dennis A. Smith, Esq. but was