New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-05-04

last ninIer ID ooVlsing ana executing scnonio7 "
plundsr and oppression at the expense Of tn"
unhappy City. Not merely the Mayor, whose
power is seriously curtailed by the Police bn ana
other measure Of the session, and whose ambition
revots at the restriction and the Heads Of Depart
ments whose Offices are abolished by those acts, ana
who of course affect to believe them unconstitu
toual, but mighty and wealthy interest behind all
these, are now moving all that can be moved 70
blscken the character of the Republican party, and
especially Of the Republican ascendency at Albany,
in order that our State Judiciary may be driven by
Fictitious clamor into the career of notification
and anarchy which the holder conspirators have
chalked out
| The interest which gives " form and pressure
TO this movement is that of the Liquor-dealers
| They possess great wealth in this City, are
making money rapidly with little risk and no large
outlay Of talent or industry, and can poll fully
| Twenty Thousand votes in this City and ito
suburbs within our State. They manage the ma
| chnery and control the politicians Of the
Democratic party. Most of the Sunday journals,
being largely patronized by or through the grog-
| shops, are inclined to sympathize strongly with
their keepers in view of any danger or tribula-
tiop and, being edited by Democrats, are eager,
from behind their mask Of neutrality to stab the
Republican cause. Hence the camor against the
late Legislation at Albany is essentially Rum
clamOr intended TO coverand excuse the meditated
notification Of the new License law by the
grogsellers of this City and its neighbor
hood Mayor Wood, who commenced his reign
I.,J ,f 20
force rrtry law and ordinance, quailed and let his
boasted energy wilt away the moment he was con.
fronted with the Liquor interest Instead of say
ing, at is my dlty to enforce the laws as i find
''them on the statutebook: if you deem them UNI
constitutional the Courts are open to you" he
framed instructions to the Police expressly calcu-
lated to render the Prohibtory Law dead letter
in our City. He killed that law at the outset so
far az this City is concerned. And the Liquor
dealers reasonably count on him to do the like with
the new License law if he only retain his abso-
lutte power over the Police. His fight against the
Police Commission is their fight; and if he cannot
get money out of the Treasury to prosecute It,
they will doubtless supply it out of their full Golfers.
And their influence over large portion of the
Press Of this City is sufficient to i,re! any extent
of defamation by such Press Of those who run
counter to the Liquor interest.
This City is, of course, the headquarters of that
interest Here it makes its French brandy, its
Holland gin, and most Of ts European wines, trans
forming by the help Of few cents worth of drugs,
gallon of fair whisky, worth thirty cents, into six
quarts Of four-dOllar brandy or gin, or a dozen
4 A. Il av,,ap
in this City whose incomes from this source range
from fifty to one hundred thousand dollars year.
Some Of these have stocked on credit from fifty to
FIVE hundred grogshops whereof each sells their
liquors exclusively, and, being always in debt to
them, pays such prices as they see fit to charge.
OF course, both manufacturer and retailer assert
the unconsti!utionaity of the new License Law.
But while they assert this, they have no earnest
faith that tie Courts will agree with them. They
can get opinions from (some) lawyers by paying
for Them but they do not just how to get those
opinions transmitted into judicial decisions. Hence
they see but three roads open before them-since
they cannot think of giving up their lucrative bust
ness--I: To get the law practically nuifed by re-
storing the local omnipotence Of their friend Wood,
until they can, g Raise clamOr throughout the
State which shall work political revolution, in the
whir of whica they may hope to repeal or cripple
the stringent provisions of the act, or 3: Divide
our State, making new Free Liquor State of the
counties below the Highlands How this plot is
developed may be gathered from the following ex
tracts from yesterdays papers:
The Sunday atlas thus declares the purpose of
the agitators in calling City Convention:
" Is intended that this Convention shall be elected
without reference party, for is the madness Of
patty which is to be rebuked. And in this the
proportion will there be agteted, rhether the THREE
ISLANDS, Manhattan ElaHd, Staten Island and Long
Island, with their immense wealth, population and
resources may not be compelled, from absolute
necessity TO form themselves INTO ner State. This
il indeed most startling proposition at frst but, as
we examine il closely We become reconcilcd 10 it,
and our objections vanish There Is now, apparently,
no other way left the people of this great metropolis TO
escape from the domination OF the rural districts,
which unable to manage their affairs with com.
mon dexterity are perpetuay interfering with those
of this wealthy and Populouscy.
owe can endure this longer. We must revolt |
against this oppressive power of the State as exercised
at Albany. The time has now come Tor US TO vindi-
cate our rights or give them forever; and the Con-
venlior directed by the resolutions above quoted may
have TO meet this question square IN the face. For.
bcarance is longer virtue-it Is crime! We |
cannot consent TO be ruled municipality by the small
onehorse iuntas of country towns, who get into the
LEGISLATURE without honor and too often leave it with
81. grace We dc net want any OF their fanati-
cal temperance demagogues, req III the lace with fury,
if not with wine to shut or hye thousand OF
places of reeshment in this city ana convert the rest
into miserable holes for loet country travellers.
And he only way TO get nd Of these increasing and
nsrtferabe abuses is that have named, the FORM
alton Of new State of our own and an eternal sepa-
ration from that portion OF New-fo north of Spuy