The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-07-14
NEW YORK HERALD, TUESDAY, JULY H. 1857.

before the Supreme Court in September will pro.
baby have the effect Of staying proceedings till
then. And a. speedy decision cannot be ex-
pected even then, IL is quite possible that ii may
60 over till next election.
The most Consoling feature 10 this prolonged
litigation is the prospect that Governor King
will not probably establish a precedent for the
appointment of municipal officers by the State
executive. The attempt to do 30 was an out
rage; any escape ought to be joyfuily welcomed,
SUNDAY Liquor TRAFFIC--It has been report
ed that the Deputy Superintendent of Police,
Carpenter, issued an order two Sundays since
that all drinking saloonsin this city should be kept
closed on the Sabbath and also that that order lie
intended to hold good for year. Our reporter, in
noticing the little measure of obedience that was
paid to this command last Sunday, observed that
as all attempts to effect this object had hitherto
proved signal failures, there was very little
chance Of success now. There is some error in
that remark. When the present Mayor of the
city undertook, two years ago, to enforce the pro-
vision of the then existing Maine Liquor lax, uni
yeIsal obedience and reepectwere paid to bis man
date by the liquor dealers Of the metropolis
Their places of business were kept closed for sue
cessive Sundays, and it was not till the absurdly
restrictive law was declared to be generally in
operative ard void that the effort to prevent SUM-
day liquor traffic was abandoned, for then there
was no valid legislation whatever on the subject
and the Mayor and every other officer Of the city
were Of course powerless in the matter.
But now there is no such reason existing why
this universally acknowledged evil should be
tolerated in the city The act to suppress inten,-
perance and to regulate the sale of intoxicating
liquors, passed by the Legislature last session. is
peremptory on the subject. And that act,
although it is to be assaied and contested on the
ground Of unconstitutionality, must be deemed
and taken, to all intents aud purposes, as being
now in fun force ard vitality. The Excise Com
misioRers, to be sure, do not intend TO commence
prosecutions against dealers for selling without
license until the full period within which licenses
are TO be grented shall have expired. II will ex-
pire in FIVE weeks hence. But that arrangement
or understanding Of theirs has nothing whatever
to 90 with the enforcement Of the provision
"E@.iist ZIG Soiiuny A4uoi aoinS. AHsit etoEus nc
If It were purely independent piece Of iegisia-
ton, and it is to the police, and not to the Excise
Commissioners, that the public is to look for its
enforcement. The 21st section Of the Law pro-
vides that
No Inn tavern or hotel keeper, person licensed 10
sell liquors, shal sell give away any intoxicating
liquors. wines Sunday So 70 any person Hhstevef
q beverage -. Whoever shall offend against the
provisions u this section shall be guilty Of
ard on conviction shall be imprisoned in the county a
wofkhouse or penitenilary moi more than twenty days
The law seems to draw distinction between
the offence Of selling without license and hat of
selling on Sunday. For the former the penalty
is forfeit Of fifty dollars, which forfeiture, it
has been just decided, is recoverable only by civil
suit; whereas the latter is explicitly declared
misdemeanor, punishable with imprisonment.
Perhaps Deputy Superintendent Carpenter, in
avoiding resort to arbitrary measures to en-
force the Law, has an eye to the palpable omis-
sion Of the section which applies only to licensed
dealers, leaving those who decline applying for
license untouched by its provision. A nice COM
mentary on the Legislative abilities Of our black
republican lawmakers! At all events there is
direct Legislation now against Sunday liquor traf-
&c. Why Is the law not enforced?