New Orleans daily crescent., 1856-05-31
THE prAYoRALrY-rrsE MERCHANTS.

THE hTAYOTsALTY--TEIE MERCHANTS.
The Importance that attaches to proper occu-
pancy Of the Office Of Mayor can hardly be over
estimated. Under all circumstances the chief magis
trate of commercial city, no matter how circum-
sserbed his powers, can do much to advance, and
much to harm the wellbeing Of the corporation Of
which he is the head This is fact that admits not
Of cavl or disputation It is as clear as sunbeam
and as incontrovertble as demonstration itself.
For some years past the authority Of the Mayor
has been confined within narrow compass But. by
law passed BY the last Legislature, The functions
and powers Of the Mayor were judciously and wisely
increased The office is not now one of simple use
less ornament. which amounts to an affeotation Of
dignity, alike discreditabe to the electors and to the
they had designated for the first station within
their gift. The incumbent is now the representative
of real, absolute power and ii bis hands are feposea
responsibilities Of no ordinary character.
The Mayor IS now. what he ought to have been all
She time the supreme head Of the Police Department
endowed With unappealable power to appoint and
dismiss 1t pleasure There can be, and there ought
not to be, any intermediate authority to impede and
hammer is action for, as he is held responsible for
the peace and good order Of the cty-as the public
look to him and to him alone should be invested
with prerogatiyes adequate to8lis responsibilities
We presume the foregoing propositions will
not be controverted. They are plain and palpa-
Bile to the commonest understanding. With the
powerso Yetoing ordinances Of the Common Coun-
fcil-and it lis very seldom executive vetoes are
oyersaugh ghed-and with the absolute control of the
police in his hands, the Chief Magistrate Of the city
1n
vast amount of good-he can do Ia vast amount Of
evil Hence it follows that the tax payers,
and the merchants Of the should exercise a
sound discretion in ehoosin There are
few objects which can have hgher claims upon their
serious consideration. We invoke their earnest at.
tention to the subject.
Ever since we have been residents Of New Orleans,
we have heard the merchants Of the city grumbling
because the mercantile influence was not felt sufd
GENTLY in the direction Of municipal affairs. We
now contend, as we have always contended and ex-
pect ever to contend that the commercial men of a
commercial city should give tone and vigor to the
legislation Of that city in all matters where the inter-
ests of commerce were directly involved. In most
of the cities of the Union, the commercial voice is
heard and ;obeyed-giyes shape and animation to
public measures and civic policy If such has not
been the case here, our merchants should charge the
fault to their account for they are, in downright
reality, responsible Their sins of omission have
wrought all the evils they complain Of. They seldom
in fact never, move in solid phalanx, and when any
considerable portion of them do move they start too
soon ortoo late.
We have, also often heard it remarked that nc
merchant ever filed the post of Mayor of this com
nercial metropolis Well, admit this to be the case
Whose fault is it Who are to blame in the premises
Certainly not either the two great political parties
Had the merchants of New Orleans ever Indicated .
decided preference there is little or no doubt that one
or the other, perhaps both, of the political parties
would have withdrawn their candidates from the field
and left the track open and unobstructed.
So far back that the memory Of the Oldest inhabit
ant runneth not to the contrary, no merchant has
been called to the office of Mayor. Politicians gen
tlemen, and lawyers, have been invested with that
high dignity. ALI may have been very good and ca
pable men, for aught we know, and we impute moth.
ing to their prejudice yet the great fact stands uni
peaehed that the mercantile interest has never had
representative in the magsteraI chair of the corpora
tion. ss
may seem strange that in a city like New Or
leans the advancement, greatness and prosperity of
which depend exclusively upon the extension, growth
and increase Of its commerce-for commerce alone
has made New Orleans what she is, and her entire
future depends upon the fruition of that element
that no commercial man has ever presided over its
government! Still the fact is indisputable; and it
may be laid at the doors of partyism and culpable
remissness on the part of those most Immediately
concerned ~
| An opportunity is now afforded the merchants Of
New Orleans to place distinguished aad rreproach
able merchant in the chair Of the Mayolalty. II
they do not embrace that opportunity let them here
after say nothing about neglect of the mercantile in
terest. 1t will be their fault if Charles NJ Waterman
is defeated He is one of them-of them-with
them-and inseparably identified with their welfare
He is honest, capable, fathful-comes up to the full
measure of the requirements of the office-and will
make one of the best Mayors ever elected in the
| United States.
We might enlarge on this topic to an indefinite ex
tent but consider we have done dnty in specially
calling public attention to the matter,