The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-06-12

lottery. dau Judge CuAuonoS Pionouaocu Sucn I'LL
opinion, We would not have been surprised, for
either the weird sisters" the knocking spirits,
might have operated upon him; but We had looked
for more sensible thing Of Judge Edwards, young
man though he be.
The Judgment of the Court, pronounced by Judge
Mitchell, cuts up that principle by the roots "The
good object" he says, (which men have In view,
often diverts their attention from an examination
Of the means which are used for that object AS
an instance Of this the Court adverts to the Of
the preSssed gambler who is regarded the pest of
society by men Of good character, who do not con-
slider it inconsistent with their good character to
play for very small sums; and though in this they
violate a known law, they are not Influenced by a
base pecuniary motive. The object of members Of
the church bringing their wives and daughters into
the ice cream saloons is very good, yet they contr
butte to u great evil by the sanction Of their ex-
ample.
The following extract contains the pith Of the
whole matter =
The lottery less evil because large proportion
Of the profits is to be applied for good purpose All lot
les which the sanctioned probably
for such purposes or were ut least so esteemed by
the legislatures which sanctioned them Some were to
promote the cause of charity. some Of literature and
the Of religion Yet all were indscri-
minaojy condemned both by the constitution OF ISL
and that Of 1916.
The constitution of 1921 provides that "no lot.
terry shall hereafter be authorized in this State"
This is admitted by Judge Edwards himself, who
says
1t will be seen by reference to the statutes which
existed previous the adoption of the constitution that
the Legislature had passed general Inv declaring that
lottery other than such had been authorized by
law should be dc, med awful aud nuisance
: laws 1919 p 25s - The demoraiizing effect OF
lotteries flt and acknowledged at that time such
an extent that II was deemed exped,n to make all
sons engaged in promoting them The subjects of punish
ment Eu they were IN some instances specially autho
nzed by he Legil ture in reference TO what sup
posed TO be the pubic good and sometimes for charitable
and religious obi cts But in the convention which eab
lshed the constitution the preservation Of the morals
OF the community deemed paramount to all other
CON derators and the Legislature was deprived Of the
power TO authorize sanction any lottery by the funda
m.ntal law Of the State
But Judge Edwards stumbles over the word lot
terry. He says the difficulty is to determine what
lottery s-in other words, whether lottery is a lot.
teiy or is not lottery. Judge Mitchell helps him
to a right conclusion on this point, by showing from
the Revised Statutes that the provisions of the law
rafting and lotteries" are not confined to the
offences technically so called, but forbid any one
setting up proposing any money, goods. chattes,
SC, to be distributed by lot chance, to any per-
son who shall have paid any money for the chance Of
obtaining such article Thus this matter is set at
rest. we hope forever; and the decision at which
Recorder Tillou long since arrived, when the New
YORK HERALD was indicted for denouncing as ille-
gal, unconstitutional and immoral, the Art Union
and its management, is now fully sustained by the
Supreme Court. The Recorder deserves all praise
for his clear head in interpreting the law, and his
moral courage in giving that Interpretation to the
world. The Art Union committee were defeated
then-they are now completely ov@thrown
We are sorry for the Art Union managers. For
the gentlemen constituting the Committee Of the
Art Union particularly Mr.. Cozzens, the President
we have always entertained much respect; not so
for the abolition newspaper portion Of them. But
they permitted themselves to be led astray by g.
norant and presumptuous advisers, who said, " Who
for the opinions Of the HERALDl-Down with
it." But when the HERALD, any honest, fearless,
and Independent paper, is right it cannot be put
down, and will always come out triumphant. Mr..
Cozzcns, and those other gentlemen, committed an
egregious mistake, and we suppose that they are
sorry for it, OF they ought to be. We arc willing
to forgive the rcpentant sinner, and therefore have
no objections to take them into our good graces
again-always excepting the clique of the little
penny paper concern.
This decision, however, involves other conside
ra;ions besides triumph Of the liberty of the press
and it is far more important than at first blush
rlight be supposed. For some time past certain
members Of the legal profession. AMI certain class
of educated SPECTATORS have been sapping the
foundations Of the constitution Of the State in
variety Of ways To satiatc the cravings Of ava.
rice, corruption, and ambition, specuatons of the
most extensive nature have been set on foot organic
ed, and carried out, to plumber the tax paying
One of the most fragrant examples
of this Wholesale corruption the illegal appro
rriation of nine millions Of dollars for the canal
which developed n system of fraud
that startled the whole country At the time, this
iniquity was denounced, not only a plumber Of
the public money, but as illegal and unconstitu
tiona; and by the pure and upright decision of the
Court Of Appeals, the opinion Of the honest por-
ton Of the community was sustained, and the foul
effcctually rebuked.
This Art Union concern was Of the same type, |
but only on a smaller scale The same unhappy
spirit of illegalty prevailed in the organization of
both transactions. The alleged motive, in both |
cases, is good In the case Of the canals it was to
increase the facilities Of transportto deveopc the
Of the State in the case Of the Art Union
70 promote the line arts In this country; but the |
means bad and immoral in both instances, and
neither law, morality religion, would sanctify
such transactions.
In conclusion, we have only to ask one question |
relative to the funds and property Of the Art Union,
now that the Association is broken up. Its property
amounts to something like 100000 To whom |
does this property belong Will it be confscated |
Or will the subscribers be repaid Who are its |
rightful and lawful owners We wait for reply. |
KossUTH GONG The great Hungarian is now |
living privately at the Irving House, but in few |
days he leaves for England, there to wait and pre-
pare for the beginning Of the great European
lnton. What are you doing there T. asked
traveller Of an amiable half witted person who |
stood nearly aweek, from morning until night, op.
poste the great rapids of Niagara. 81 am waiting |
for the water to run all down until can walk over
TO the British side" "Ohp' Kossuth and the
countryman are great philosophers.