New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-01-08

2,
city, by virtue OF his Office, tbh poses 70 do I.cs'st
P.fti.sbism i bad enough on the Bench, and should
not be allowed 10 erttnd its eVl inndt nces saioas ~
pobIe Police who, by good regusnons eod se'see
ciilrg have been plsced under seutmha'! aus
cipIre, highly advantageous 10 it. etiicleney anu
rorae Rather than disuact sch 8 body oy ptsoins
il under mere partisan heads, or even ID co9'nue
under the direction Of q divided authority however
cbo.en II had better be Dissolved. Better ths We TO
.,ye socety into its original eleuen's and protect our
psscrs AZ property IS best we can
With the truth OF the first clause quoted, which
We take 10 be ely dig at Judge Whiting, as well
a. The Recorder. we have nothing TO do. Nor do
We purpose to compare the noble Police with the
JUDICIARY, either in point Of morale or PartisanshP
or to Jgue upon the advantages or Disadvantages
Of substituting state Of nature for safe OF mis-
rule and leg.liztd robbery. Bot We should Ike 70
ask al who remember the 4th Of November whether
a more exquisite piece Of irony could be framed
than what Mayor Wood puts forth as state nent
Of the events of that day In what manner, we
should be glad TO know, did the Recorder interfere
with the Mayors regulations for the preservation
.of the peace and the security of the citizens IN
the exercise of the right OF suffrage ''-reguls-
tons of uh ch no mortal has heard I'll yesterday.
What power TO do mischief did he assume "has
executive duty did be perform Inc facts oil the
case. as stated in The TRIBUNE and other journals
on the 18th of November, are simply that Recorder
Smith repaired to his Office a. an early hour sur
misipg that there might be dis .urbances at the
polls, aid prepared 10 exercise his duties IS mag
l,,rate, if called upon. As magistrate be issued
some ten or a dozen warrants; as magistrate ne
held he only offender brought before him to bail;
as magistrate be sought to have bis warrants ex'
suted. and having been deprived of the police
force attached to bis Court by the Mayors :" rega'
l,tious, and having asked that functonary in vain
for more, he was engaged q magistrate in swear
ing in force Of special deputies, when the polls
closed.
The source Of Recorder Smiths zeal, the motives
by which he was governed, are not our concern.
Enough that his was an attempt to perform the
duties of criminal magistrate, not offs Executive
officer, or Police Comnissioner-an attempt which
was fooled By the action or inactiOn, as the case
might be- Of the head Of the City Government.
We have no interest in defending this or that man,
90 an individual, from unjust aspersions; but when
ruffanism goes UNPUBLISHED, when great metropo-
lie, or part of great metropolis has been wholly
in the hands of a set of ruffisns for a day or an
hour, we Ike to see the responsibility lie and con-
tnue to lie on the right shoulders. To Mayor
Wood and Mayor Wood alone are all the occur
rences which dsgraced New-York on the 4th Of
November last justly ascribsble. He had the
"ncb's police" wholly at his disposal, and could
have leps the city throughout the day as free from
riot as the Bowery was in the days when Dutch
Frauleins plucked flowers there years ago. Let
every man bear bis own burden.