The city government is composed of a mayor, a common council of 26 members (2 from each of the 13 wards), a treasurer, controller, city attorney, superintendent of education, city engineer, overseer of the poor, and 3 assessors. It is often claimed that B. is the healthiest city of the United States, having the best water and the most complete sewerage; its water-supply is procured from the Niagara, through a tunnel extending almost to the middle of the river. The police department, with a force of 174 men, is under the control of a board of three commissioners. The city has a paid fire department, 3 volunteer hook-and-ladder companies, and a volunteer protection company; a fire and police alarm telegraph, with 70 m. of wire, 68 signal-stations, and 27 alarm-gongs. The telephone has been introduced and extends to various parts of the city. The gas of B. is supplied by three private companies. There are several lines of street railroads. The total debt of the city in 1879 was $7,514,264.72; the assessed val uation of property was $88,876,545; (real estate, $80,929,165; personal property, $7,947, 380).
The position of B. on the great water and railway channels of communication between the west and the east gives it a large commercial importance, Its harbor is capacious, rind is protected by extensive breakwaters. The city is the center of an important sys tem of railroads: it is the eastern terminus of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroad, of the Canada Southern. and a branch of the Grand,Trnnk railroad of Canada; it is the western terminus-of the Erie canal, the New YOrk Central railroad, and a divis ion of the Erie railway; and other lines converge here. There is a board of trade, organized in 1844 and incorporated in 1857. The immense quantities of grain moving from western states to the sea-board constitute the most important feature of the com merce of the city. The facilities for handling and storing it are unexcelled by those of any other city on this continent. The first grain elevator was built in 1843 by Joseph Dart, and thirty years from that date, in 1S73, there were 32 elevators, with a capacity for handling 3,000,000 bushels a day. The record of receipts and exports is as follows: receipts, 1836-45, 41,851,483 bushels; 1846-55, 174,717,437 bushels; 1856-65, 432,390,318 bushels; 1866-75, 571,255,254 bushels. During the same length of time the exports kept
pace with the receipts. Many of these elevating warehouses arc costly structures of stone, or of iron and brick; several of them have grain " driers" attached. The live stock trade of B. is second only to the grain trade, but will probably exceed it before long. For the accommodation of this branch of business the New York Central railroad company has built large yards in the eastern suburbs; these yards are well sheltered, paved, watered, and taken care of with strict regard to cleanliness. In the amount of this business this city has third rank among the cities of the United States. B. has a large trade in anthracite and bituminous coal, received from Pennsylvania and distrib uted both e. and w.: great improvements have been made lately for handling and ship ping this article. The rapid growth of the coal trade may be seen from the fact that the lake shipments westward during the season of 1879 amounted to 612,976 tons against 325,676 tons in 1878. The lumber and timber trade is large, although want of harbor and proper storage has driven a great part of it to Tonawanda on the Niagara river, about ten miles below Buffalo. The receipts in 1879 amounted to 207,531,000 ft., exceed ing those of 1878 by 30,000.000 feet.
The manufacturing interests of B. are extensive, and have grown with marked rapidity in recent years. especially the manufacture of iron, which is carried on in more than 30 large establishments, employing 5000 men. The leading establishments are blast furnaces, rolling-mills, foundries, breweries, tanneries, manufactories of agricultural implements, and flour-mills. Of the last-named there are eleven, with a yearly capacity of 839,000 barrels; the average annual production of flour being about 250,000 barrels. Wooden ship building was formerly carried on here, but it has been superseded by iron ship building. Two extensive establishments are devoted to this industry; these have constructed the finest lake steamers, besides supplying the government with a number of iron revenue vessels.