The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1853-02-11
THE NEW ENGINEER.

r
We have been looking over the ordinance
e,.a;,ng this Office, and we find, what e sus-
pec,eo. that il is nothing more nor less than
.,ns;i,u,e for the Commissioner OF Streets'-
Tbs csntleman who fills that office is very &C.
eep,ab,e to the people, but ne is not sufhcient'
I, supnle to answer the purposes OF the CIVIC
Esena,es. He has been wrong; he should
.,wavs cone cap in hand, when he appears
hefo,e his superiors. They have determined
~ nsosh him, and take his Office out of the
hands of the people who have been SO unmnd-
full Of their wishes as not TO choose man
whom they approved. They will thus kill
several birds with one stone. They will pun
ish the people for presuming TO have an opin-
ion different from theirs. They will crafty
fsyorie passion by usurping large portion OF
power. They will punish an enemy. But
above all, they will have it in their power to
hes,ow an office Of value on some Of their
needy friends. We can show, if il be required,
tina, the immaculate Council are by no means
.yerse 10 provide for their own friends at the
expense of the public.
But the Engineer will still have a trouble
sorne time of il. He is to be superlntended by
the Commissioner Of Streets, God save the
marx! The mathematical operations of man
of science are TO be subjected to the supervi-
sion Of nine ablebodied men, who know no
more about the sciences than the majority OF
them does about the sermon on the mount
&c ,bor nnf n
their lives, what right angle is-and meme OF
whom could cross the pores asfn0rum. 10
the entire want of capacity on the part OF these
men, ia owing the deplorable condition OF the
grades which have been made in the city
They have had the adroitness, and we must
add, the meanness, to lay the blame entirely on
the Superintendent but we ere determined
that the public lall know the truth. They
are the men who are altogether in fault. The
Commissioner has no power. He IS Obliged
10 make grade when and where they tell him.
and precisely as they wish him. He has nc
free agency, but is mere tool in their hands.
When he has made a survey, if any person
who has vote complains to the Commission
srs, they make him alter it. AS grades for
sewerage and drainage must be made with re-
ference to some one point, the lowest 10 be
found, one single alteration Of the kind will
throw whole system into confusion. The
Commissioner of Streets has, on some occa-
sions, been made to alter grades three times,
to please some man who had influence, and
when every thing was thrown into confusion
by il, they have always been the very first
persons TO join in the hue and cry raised
against him. These facts we do not get from
the Commissioner Of Streets, nor from any
other man on whom the small malice of the
Council can be exercised. We have them from
persons who despise their malignity as heartily
as we do ourselves.
The Engineer is t0 be under the guidance Of
these same Solomons. We wish him joy with
all our hearts.
That BELL.-The oft repeated tolling OF
the State Bell makes our city melancholy
The echoes of the last mournful tolling are
hardly dead among circumjacent hills and val
lies, ere the public guard repeats his solemn
office Of prolonging the doleful reverberations.
The stranger asks what is it tori Why, know
then, that our Industrious Legislators are not
willing to neglect any of their duties-their
private, theii social, nor their public. So they
have standing rule that the public bell shall
be toled whenever there is vote to be taken.
This is wisely done; for should any Of those
mul,ifarious obligations which are not TO be
disregarded, fake them from the capitol, the
sonorous twang Of the bell will remind them
tina, that duty they owe the public is also to
be performed--a fact they are in danger some.
times OF forgetting amidst the cares of private
business, or the delights of social pleasures
Is'Rt il wise and patriotic regulaton7 Have
you, stranger, any such wise and public,spirit-
ed people your way? Now, in old times,
which are miscalled the better days of the
Old Dominion" the Legislators were not Saga
eious enough for this. They were set OF SIM
pie old fogies, who were weak enough to 60 to
the Legislature, apd sit there and listen to de.
bate, and vote, and leave the larger part of the
objects of thei, coming here entirely neglected
Poor, simple men. How much they might
have saved to themselves if they had but beer
as wise as their successors of the present day
Our present Legislators initiate the wisdom O
that Eastern King who kept slave to admon
ish him ally and hourly that he was mortal
and must die. They will not permit themselves
to forget their public duties-and TO be sure o
this, they put the bell TO ring it in their ears
1t says 10 them, 'Oh men, who represent tn
people remember you must represent them
Go and vote, let your name upon the roll ap
pear, or sad will be your fate! Al home yo'
will roam miserably mad that you forgot t
cote And ii will be sung, and rung and fun
in your ears, and you will be left at home-t
roem from home no more!" But they don
forget 10 vote-all, from the speakers down, ar
fully aware of the grand duties of legislation
But the other day, in the House, member il
sdvertently suggested that the bell be rung.-
The Speaker promptly replied that the men
her need not be uneasy, the chair fully undo
stood its dutes-it would attend 10 the ringin
sf the bell So, oh stranger. you see how we
we order things in the General Assembly
Virginia. -
~ Ajax of $3.50 has been imposed on co
Zee houses or restoratives in New Orleans.
Ey Will the Montgomery Ala, Journs