The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-10-02

are still open 10 their favors upon the drought
and the crops, and that it is to the interest of
all classes of the community that the whole
truth should be known.
CRIME AND ASSASSINATION IN THE METRO
poLIs.-Week after week it has been our pain
full duty to chronicle accounts of numerous
murders and assaults committed by bands of
ruIlans who set law and order at defiance, and
laugh at the feeble efforts made by the author
tiles to check their daring and fendish afro
cities. Within the last month no less than
seven human beings have been sent suddenly
into eternity by the violence Of these ma
RAIDERS, who generally go abroad in the night
time; in order tina. darkness may afford them
some cloak to their Ubiquitous designs. The
late murder in Twenty-seventh street shows
that men are not safe, even in their own
dwellings, from the attacks of these assassins:
and their d,ring has now reached such point
that they do not hesitate to attack and shoot
down the police in the open streets. The per-
petrators of these outrages are for the most
part young vagabonds, whose sole occupation
is to plumber, rob and murder all who offer a
temptation to their cupidity. The knife, their
constant companion is used in the destruction
Of human life with as little conjunction as
by the butcher at the shambles, and upon any
fancied or imaginary insult the dirk is plunged
with unerring aim into the heart of unoffending
citizens, the perpetrators escaping, nine times
out of ten fl I'm the hands of Justice.
1t is a remarkable fact, though not less true,
that few months prior to our municipal cleo.
lions the statistics of crime show large a.
crease in this latter class Of outrages. den in
open day light in the most public aid frequent
cd thoroughfares, are knocked down and beaten
to death, upon the most trivial pretexts, but in
most cases where no offence whatever is given
and The police, as matter of course, arrive at
the scene of disturbance only in time to convey
the body Of the unfortunate victim to the hos
pital or to his residence, if there is enough life
left in him to enable them to ascertain it, giving
the perpetrator of the outrage sufficient time to
escape unmOested.
Who is to blame for allowing such mon
strous state Of things to exist in large CON-
munity like ours? is the oft repeated question
Chief Of Police to investigate an TRACE of
this description, he-the latter-refers him to
the captain of the ward wherein it has taken
place. The captain refers him to the policeman
for the beat. Upon questioning this indi-
vidua1, various and curious are the ar
guments that he will urge to prove that
it is no fault of his that such disgraceful
nLo -
Many of them will say that they are repri-
manded by their superior officers if they arrest
any of certain class of persons-people very
useful on election days t, intimidate honest
men from approaching the polls. The chief
argument used. however. to exculpate them
selves is this That those rowdies whom they do
arrest make their appearance in their old haunts
in a few days afterwards, and that it would
be useless task for them to repeat the opera
ton Of arrest two or three times month; and
as the police magistrates and captains of the
various wards would not do their duty, it would
be at the risk Of their own lives to perform
theirs; for those characters who are to be found
in hundreds in the different sections of the
city, encouraged by the friendship manifested
towards them by those in authority and to
whom the city looks for faithful discharge Of
their duty, will not at all hesitate in taking the
life of even a policeman, should he attempt to
modest the m in their nefarious designs.
Who, then, is really to blame ?-the Mayor,
Chief Of Police, the captains, the policemen, or
the magistrates? Until this question is salts
factorily answ cred there will be no security
for either life or property in this great Wanted
metropolis of ours. Let the Reform Commit
tee apply themselves TO the inquiry, and they
will be rendering practical benefit to their
fellowcitzens which will atone for all their past
errors. The fact is that if some remedy be not
soon applied to the evil, our public thorough
fares will soon become as dangerous as the
Italian highways. 1t is grievous alternative
for men to be obliged to take the law into their
own hands; but unless our city authorities do
their duty, it will soon become question
whether it may not be necessary, for the secu-
rity Of the city, to appoint vigilance CON-
mittee to supersede the corrupt and mbecile
functionaries to whose guardianship it is at
present entrusted.
rr.o,p Dxu..-