The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-05-02
Our Expose of Civil Corruption.

1t becomes our duty. this morning, to lay be-
fore the public another instance of civil cor
ruption We trust we may be allowed to use
this term though in the case before us the
City Council figures as the agent and not the
patient, the donor, not the recipient, of bride
If any sensible distinction can be drawn be-
tween the two shades Of guilt, that is no doubt
the most heinous which involves subornaton
as well as direct criminality and which not
| only degrades its own perpetrator, but impli-
Gates others in his offence. Grave as is the
wrong done to society by the individual who
barters his conscience for bride, the tempter
and purchaser deserves at least equal reproba-
ton. His offence isfearfully aggravated when,
as in the case we are about to disclose, the high
credit and reputation Of the donor and the
poverty Of the recipient smoothed the path for
the nefarious offer, and the consideration was Of
such magnitude that the most resolute integrity
might have been shaken-not that we would
urge these matters in extenuation of the guilt
OF the Victims poverty as every body knows.
is no excuse for crime We renounce the benefit
of this and all other pleas in mitigation. and,
CUultssiIS Win USSouliHS SUutllGoA suot VIC
ourselves received the bride humbly throw
ourselves on the mercy Of the public for for
giveness.
To some few of our readers, whose means en-
able them to add to the substantial comforts of
the HERALD the luxury of other city papers
further explanation may be superfuous They
learnt long since that we had attained the en-
viable distinction of Corporation Printer"
and that, az such we were bound to defend the
City Council at all hazards 1t is true that &C.
casional articles in our columns may have
seemed to initiate against this belief. and must
have appeared widely at variance with the
theory Of our elevation to the post Of Corpora
ton organ. The readers Of our contemporaries
must have found it difficult to reconcile the Sc
verify of our structures on many Of the acts Of
the aldermen, with the notion that we were
paid for supporting them. But the fact lad
been stated by men Of unquestioned veracity,
and the simplest mode of explaining the contra
diction was to suppose that, though the paid
defender of the aldermen. we defended them
badly, and so far forgot our compact as occa-
sionally to administer somewhat vigorous cas-
tigation to our employers. That this was the
conclusion to which many came, we are quite
ready to believe.
To those whose newspaper reading is confined
to cur own columns it is right that we should
explain that for the last twelve months our CO.
temporaries have periodically charged Us with
being the paid organ Of the Corporation. When
we refused to join in the hue and cry against
an alderman until his delinquency was estab
lshed, We were told we had been paid to defend
him. When we showed that many Of the griev-
ances Of which the public complained were due
to the imperfections Of the law, and not
to the faults Of it's administrators, we were
told we had been paid to defend them.
Some charitably inclined persons expostu
lated with us on the cnormity Of our con
duct, but the majority preferred the more
pitiless course Of biuntly denouncing Us as cor
rupt. Under the weight Of 80 grave a charge,
We trust we may congratulate ourselves on
having preserved tolerably creditable equan-
nifty We have borne The scorchng epithct Of
Corporation organ with uniform composurc and
resignation. We have submitted to the torrent
Of inveetive which cur juvenile contemporaries
delight to pour on our heads with fortitudc
that We con look back upon With satisfaction.
so far as thc merits Of the charge are con
cerned we are here to confess cur iniquity and
plead entity In April, 1852. we agreed to
publish the Corporation advertisements from
Nay ], Of that year to Nay ], Of this year for
The sum Of 50 600 We might say that so large
an offer was serious temptation TO journal
Of very limited means, like the HERALD; but VIZ
seek no excuse for our conduct. We took the
three.thcasand-dolar bride. and bccane a.
cur cotcmporaries have said in the Vistloas
Indignation, Corporation Printer.
For these $4,000, VIC have published every
day from ono column and a half to two Columns
Incorporation advertisements. Carefully cacn
ate1, these ads .lscmen,s would have been