The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-04-23


sian naval preponderance in the Euxine to be
solveds By the sword and by the sword alone!
RIors IN THE WEsr.-It is obvious that some
thing must be done to put stop to the rioting
mania, which appears, from our telegraphic al
vices to be becoming chronic at the West. Riots
and bloodshed at Cincinnati, the same thing
at Chicago, the same thing at st. Louis, assur-
eddy betoken state Of things requiring inn
mediate attention. Whence do these pheno-
mena arise9
It is true that in all these instances the dis
turbers Of the peace have been Irish and Ger
mans, and that the fighting propenssies of
these two elements Of the population of this
country are notorious. 1t may be said that
Irishmen and Germans would fight whether
there was grouad of quarrel or not; that they
love fighting in the abstract; and cannot, until
the third or fourth generation, become recon
oiled to that peaceful way of life which Anne
ricans prefer.
But, allowing for this agency, it is quite
clear that there has been in this case good
deal of provocation. These foreigners come
here from monarchy more or less oppressive
to land professedly free. They-especially
the Germans-have never heard in the widest
freak oftheir native tyrauts of q mans liquor
being stopped; and they naturally look upon
this as savoring of tyranny which would
have appalled, even the Emperor of Austria.
Therefore they resist, as they would have
done at home and therefore blood is
shed. Of course it is all wrong for
men to take the law into their
own hands and shoot down. the po-
lice. But, at the same time, every nation
can point to period in her history when her
liberties would have been lost had not some
one or many taken the responsibility of this
wrongful act and how can these poor Ger
mans or Irish tell whether tina. time has come
or not? A wise legislator will avoid placing
the ignorant in dilemma between apparently
justiGable resistance and seryile submission.
The fact, is the North is becoming more and
more imbued with the narrow spirit Of New
England fanaticism. They were fine fellows in
many respects these old Puritans-may their
memory never be less but of all the races
ever born ofthe seed of Adam, they stand forth
as undoubtedly the most bigoted, the most ar
bitrary, the most narrow. minded. It is alto
gether mistake to suppose that they have
altered since the Mathers deplored with tears in
their eyes that no more witches were to be
hanged, and the peoples hearts misgave them,
but the stern men Of blood were right. They
would hang witches still if they did not happen
at this time to be busy trying to rob the South
Of her property, and to drive Catholic ladies by
insults out of their country. These keep their
hands full. The prohibitory law is theirs
just such law as the old General
dark browed Puritan preacher enforced. Itmay
answer in their old province, Maine, or that
other old settlement of theirs, Vermont: in the
country parts of New England, of course, 1t is
but a lineal descendant of their common Law:
but when you come to enforce it among men
who have not been brought up to consider
banging the proper cure for heterodoxy, or
parsons the best political leaders, it must fail.
And this for the simple reason that it is not
suited to any other race Of men than those it
originated with. You cannot make uniform
law for the world. You cannot feed the giraffe
on the same provender as the polar bear; nor
can you persuade men who mix with the world,
and are part oft, to be governed by the fana-
teal spirit Of New England asceticism.
Laws may be passed, of course-this is al
way easy: the Acts Of Trade and the Stamp
Act were very good and regular laws as such:
but can you carry them QUIT We do not be-
ieve it possible. Men will not after ali sub
init to the dictates of o bigoted fanatical ma
jority, at such cost The scenes at Chicago
are only the beginning: we warn the authori
ties Of this State to be prepared for something
similar here, and, for humanity's sake, to be
prepared in such way as at all events will
spare the efuson of blood.
LIBELs AND LIBEL SUITs.-A suit against the
Tribune newspaper for libel pu blished during
the last election is set down for trial to-day in
one of the courts OF law. The libel was a
charge made against one of the candidates to
the effect that he had set fire to his store in or
der to obtain the amount of the insurance It
is not to be supposed that the Tribune people
or any other journalists would willingly and
knowingly publish libels against any individual
in the community rendering themselves liable
in damages Libels originating in newspapers
are generally produced by personal or politi-