The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-06-08

The Municipal Contest.

The Municipal Contest.
1t is not little remat kable that while we have
directed cur comments on the usurpations of the
Legislature in this city, to the principle of the
laws passed at the late session, and have assaied
those laws solely on tie ground that they were
erroneous in principle, the advocates Of the laws
and the defenders Of the Legislature have con-
fined their efforts to assaults on Fernando Wood.
We do rot believe that there has appeared in any
city journal defence of tie Metropolitan Police,
City Hall or Central Park acts on their intrinsic
merits Nopublic newspaper has so far risked its
reputation as to defend, openly, the right OF the
Legislature to step In without our leave and take
away OR municipal rights. There DID indeed,
before tie passage of these ncs appear IN article
in The Courier and Enquirer, justifyiog them on
The broad ground that the people of this city
were absolutely Incapable of selfgoverameat
snd therefore required TO be governed by people
from Albany; but The editor Of tia. sheet aas
doubtless repeated ere this Of that unfortunate
burst Of candor and is pot likely to repeat 1t.
The other friends of the bills, and organs of Mr..
Sewsrd have restricted their action to mere abuse
of Mayor Wood
We flatter ourselves that had the acts in uues-
merits, that defence would have bsen ELECTED by
the repeated structures we have felt bound to
make On them. When they were so vehemeutly
assaulted, some one at least would have stepped
forward to controyert our arguments, and show
either that the acts in question were not usurpa-
tons or that usulpation was not bad thing, or
municipal liberty good one. But not one voice
has been raised from first to last to meet us on
this ground. We have enjoyed monopoly of
rational logical comment on the acts in dispute.
What have the organs of Mr.. Seward and his
Albany clique said during the contest? Nothing
at all, except that Fernando Wood is law
breaker, and SO forth. II is very easy to show
that the Mayor, so far from breaking the law, has
been observing and obeying it in the most rigor-
Gus and exact manner, and that, with the Mont
gomerie and Doc gan charters-ratified by the act
of last session-belore him, he would have de-
served impeachment had he acted otherwise than
he has done, Or allowed our civic liberties to be
filched away without manful resistance. But the
rghtfulness or wrongfulness Of Mayor Woods
ID u WY sulaii iLCiuCIeui,
matter; the real question at issue is-Has the
Albany Legislature right to strip lis of our
chartered rights, and appoint police, build city
halls, lay out parks for us, with our money With
cut our consent?
That is the only question that is really worth
discussing at the present crisis, and that question
the Seward organs have never once touched.
n,o that he,
ton to the establishment of any quantity of
Metropolitan Police by the State, provided, Of
course, that they are paid by their employers and
not by us who have nothing to do with them.
The more police there are, the safer life and
property should be; and we shall not complain
If the Etate ehould bostow o thousand upon us.
But what we do oppose and resist, and shall re-
sst to the uttermost constitutional limits and by
any and every means lawful and manful, is the
abolition of our chartered rights by the Leglsla-
turc the Acknowledgement of this city, the scam
dalous breach, by the Legislature, of the COM
pact between the city and the State expressed in
every charter that we ever had, and confirmed in
the very last-the attempt, ia a word, to strip us
Of our natural rights Of selfgovernmcnt, and to
inaueurate, in this State, the policy OF State
Capitalization and municipal nothingness which
has led to the present helplessness and political
ruin of France. These nefarious endeavors of
Mr.. Seward and his friends at Albany will meet
with an unwavering resistance by The bulk of the
people Of this city; and this, not only because
We have our own rights to defend, and will de-
fond them, but because We have an example to
set TO the ether cities of the State which will be
next attacked, should the political usurpers sue
coed in DISTINGUISHING US.