The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-03-21

THE PROPOSED POLICE BILL A meeting is to
be held at the Tabernacle tonight, to protest
against the Seward bill which is now being
forced through the Legislature, for the purpose
of diyesting the Mayor Of his control over the
police, and entrusting it to Commissioners
The nature of the bill has been rendered fami-
liar to the public by the correspondence which
has passed between the Lieutenant Governor
and the Mayor on the subject. It's, in brief,
an attempt Of the Hon. William II. Seward to
prepare matters for his Presidential enterprise
by obtaining the control of the police. The
Commissioners will be named in the bill should
it pass; and the Seward majority will of course
have the choice OF them. They will thus not
only provide fat berths for three of their friends,
but will moreover enable Mr.. Seward when
the time comes to use the police as politi-
clans have used it for the last twenty years
at elections. This will be done at total sacri-
fee Of the efficiency Of the force, and safety to
life and property in New York. 1t is in tact
impossible to exaggerate the importance OF the
measure to this community. From the time
when the municipal Offices were rendered elec-
tive and the Mayor Invested of the power OF
appointing his subordinates, the police force
became the favorite weapon Of the agents OF
corruption at the elections. They sided with
the rowdies; were intimate with them person
ally; befriended them at need; and with their
aid controlled the polls in the city. Hence 1t
came about in the course of few years that
New York was the worst governed city
IN fho MN
more robberies, more assaults on women,
more cases Of arson, and less convictions
than any town north of the Equator.
Every man recollects the time when it
was quite common for citizens to carry arms,
and when grand juries refused to indict those
who shot down an assailant in the open street.
These-the case of Baker winding up the list
were the fruits of placing the police under the
control Of politicians, and divesting the Mayor
of authority over them.
For the last two or three years, sheer necessi-
ty has compelled q measure Of reform. The po-
lice has made great Improvement in efficiency,
in honesty, in character. That the work is not
yet complete the case Of Baker is there to show.
But while we are hoping every day that it is
progressing and that time will come when
our police will be equal to that of Boston and
Philadelphia, not to speak of London and Paris,
up start the Seward men in the Legislature and
threaten to restore matters to their old footing,
and the Lieutenant Governor with mingled
irony and inpudence chuckles over the pros
pect Of securing fighting men for his leader at
the election, and three snug sinecures for his
friends.
Tonight the people of New York will have
an opportunity of saying what they think
Of this. By all means let everyone who can
spare time 60, and speak his mind. Property,
life, comfort hang on the issue. Three years
of-as we believe-zealous supervision has not
weeded all the Bakers out of the force, vastly
as it has tended to purify it. One month Of
the new law-with its necessary division Of
power, and consequent antagonism of depart
ments-will make the police what it was in its
worst days: and the complete disorganization
of the force, its prostitution to political pur-
poses will restore the well remembered time,
when fathers and husbands trembled to escort
ladies home at night without a revolver or .
knife in their belt, and the list of unpunished
outrages filed the daily papers. Go to the
meeting.
MUcu ADo ARouT NorUINa-Tho eYnulsion