The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-06-15

Closing scenes Of Inc Testetal Delusssn.
Mayor Dow has published long letter or
message on the late riots in Portland. The
Aldermen Of the city concur in it which is
not at all surprising, as the last thing we heard
OF them was their concurring in scheme,
proposed by the Mayor, to buy Neal Dow's
liquor for the city grogshop. They seem, in
fact, to be pleasant, accommodating set gene
rally The message states that the riot was
foreseen" that for some time before it broke
out "numbers Of excited persons were assem-
bled round the City Hall"; that the police
pared to defend the place to the last extremi-
tyr; that I" the mob collected in great force,
and exhibited every symptom Of savage Zero
city,; that the first Captain applied to for
assistance declined to "expose his company to
the fury Of the mob without cartridges; that
during the whole time were heard the fero-
cious sounds of the mob; that the Sheriff,
when he went out, was assailed "by jeers
and savage brawls" that the Mayor was
met by groans, howls and showers Of stones"
that after warming the "shower Of missiles
continued as before with every expression Of
rage; that a. the roar Of the mob, with the
rattle and crash Of missiles and the occasional
volleys Of pistol shots from the police came up
in mingled confusion" that " the police could
not hold out five minutes longer, but would
fall sacrifice to the fury Of the
mob; that "the voice Of the infuri-
ated mob drowned every other sound" that
the mob was the most determined aud
ferocious ever seen in the city,; that !" if that
Infatuated mob had accomplished their first OBJ
ject, they would have become mad, and God
knows how far their passions would have car
ried them" and so on. For the love Of tenn
perance, good Neal Dow, Of what city or den Of
wickedness have you written such things? Is
it of village in Ashantee, or South Sea can
nibal island? Do they refer to scene in the
Jacquerie, or conflict between the Imperial
lists and the Triads in some barbarous nook Of
China? It cannot be that the " infuriated,"
"ferocious" raging mob" here described, which
was go nearly DISCRIMINATING the police, and
going mad afterwards, was nothing more than
the citizens of the quiet, orderly, peaceable
little city Of Portland.
Yet so it seems The people Of Portland,
who have never been mentioned in the news
papers, save for their hospitality to strangers
and the vigorous attempts they are making to
promote the. trade of the State, became on the
occasion referred to, crowd which SO calm a
man as Neal Dow characteristics with these cpl
thets. Men whom hitherto nothing has ever
stirred but desire to show attention to
visiters and to extend their commercial inter-
course with the world, acted, according to
Neal Dow, more like savages than civilized
men. We do not vouch, be it remembered, for
their having acted thus, but Neal Dow says
they did, and that sufices for the present.
/ what tbsn are we to think of the cause
| character Of the ps5tiao transformation in the
which according to Neal Dow c6nva measure
from peaceable, lawfearing citizens into an in.
furiated bloodthirsty mob? What ahall we say
of the Prohibitory law when these are its
fruits?
| All communities are liable to become reck.
less, excitable and turbulent. They do SO when
! oppression goads them to resistance. During
| the height of the Revolution, excuses were
committed by the wings as well as the tories,
of which few historians care to boast, and which
would have been inexcusable had they been
perpetrated in cold blood. The cause was OBJ
vious: oppression had goaded the people to.fury
and they broke loose from all restraint. The
fact, to the thinking mind, ispregnant with the
principle that such oppression as that attempted
by the tories and the King cannot be practised
on men bred to liberty. This riot at Portl and
is a perfectly parallel case. According to
Neal Dow's own showing, the mob was driven
to pitch of frensy which frightened him out
of his wits this is the parallel fact; and the
parallel principle follows, namely, that law
such as that attempted to be enforced by Neal
Dow and his associates cannot be carried into
eff ct among free people. 1t is one Of the
misfortunes Of large communities that antago-
nistic interests must arise, and that time may
come when the one which has the majority
may legislate oppressively for the others. This
is the secret ofthe passage of prohibltory laws.
The country and the towns have opposite in-
terests; the country insists on prohibition, and
tries to force it on the towns; having the ma
jority Of votes, it can pass laws, but when they
come to be executed, mobs and riots like that
of Portland intervene, and supply what is
wanting in justice in the legislative organiza-
ton of the State. Force is not always right;
but it often is, and this seems to be one of the
cases in which this can be said of it.
On other sides besides Portland, we see evil
dence that the Prohibitory delusion has passed
the climax, and is on the decline. In the State
of Illinois, the law has been referred to the
people and has been defeated by large ma
jority. In this State, there is set purpose on
the part of the public generally, to defeat and
nullify it. Even the friends of temperance are
shocked at the scandalous proceedings of the
Carson League and are ready to lend n hand