Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-10-13

DEcRYISe WARRINGTON. 1t has become
fashionable. of late, to decry our city as being
the sink of iniquity, and perfect paradise of
blacklegs, rowdies, ffians, &c. We take from
Yesterday 81 ew York T1bune an extract from
letter of one Of these persistent slanderers
of Washihgton's fair fame, whose Illustrations
rately aipSar without embracing some such
budget Of bugaboo Interpretations of the
condition Of society here. 1t is Is follows
"Thc Federal city Is fast following In the
wake of Baltimore. Last night, - a
prominent politician, and Republican was shot
at three times by rowdies. The same gang broke
intetSwo private houses, and fred several shots at
the inmates The massacre by the Government
troops on the LIST of June has emboldened the dis
orderly characters Of the Democratic party TO the
commission Of all sorts Of outrages. few nights
| since, party Of them set upon procession of
peaceable dremen, and regular engagement took
place on Pennsylvania avenue. One hundred
shots were fired, and seven persons were wound
ed, one, It has been reported fatally; Vigilance
Committee Is spoken of. PENABUID."
If one believed Washington to be in the state
which this writer describes, 1t would require
but little stretch Of the Imagination also to be-
leve that it is the daily or nightly scene of
eutrages hardly second in atrocity to those dis
tinguishing Sepoy rule in India. Neverthe-
less, we have to assure the distant reader that,
though not manufactured by this Abolition cor
respondent out Of whole CLOTH" flor these
wholesale ISLANDERS on Washington are old ac-
quaintances Of the Washington public,) Wash
ington is at least rs peace able and safe for the
orderly and reputable citizen and stranger as
any other city of its population in the United
States.
The truth Of these matters is in n nut she'll,
and is as follows: For some time past the Fed
eral Metropolis has been favored with the pres
ence of two squads of mauuais snjets fleeing
from Baltimore to escape prosecution. One
squad are known as thimble-riggers, patent
safe-game men, and artists generally, after that
fashion-fashy dressed young mon, ready at all
times for row or a robbery, when and where
either may be perpetrated without the prob
ability of due punishment-their number is
perhaps half dozen. The other squad follow
some legitimate business in the day time, and
render night hideous through the disturb
ances they generate under the pretence of
being firemen. The latter were the parties
who joining issue with similar fre-following
rowdies-not reputable fremen as tho wri-
ter we quote intimates-for whom Washing
ton is fairly responsible, thus created the {" fire
riot that occurred at the corner Of Pennsylva-
MIA avenue and Four and a-half street on the
night Of the 29th September ultimo. Tho two
squads arc now understood to have united
forces, and have commenced the business of
acE- tha y.,,.l
who are supposed to follow practices which the
law forbids --
Washington, in common with all other Amer
lean cities, contains, we regret to have to Writ
its due proportion of gambling houses anu
houses OF ill-fame, which rely for the most part
on the patronage of strangers from the States,
by the by. They exist here, as elsewhere, in
defiance Of law Their inmates and habitues
OF course prefer to submit to the preparation
of outrages upon themselves to bringing their
affairs before the public, at law. Calculating
upon the immunity which this state of things
secures for them when attacking such parties,
the rowdy rufIians above mentioned have, of
late, attacked, under cover of midnight, two or
three gambling houses and as many houses of
of ill-fame, where they are said to have been
refused brides to induce them to refrain from
such outrages
Though no public sympathy attaches to the
attacked In these cases, the law requires the
due punishment of the offenders, and those of
them that can be identified arc now fugitives
from the officers Of justice, renturing abroad
only in the night. -Cg
So far, these gangs have confined their at
tacks numbering half a dozen in all, almost
entirely to such places; and it is very certain
that If they remain sojourners in Washington
much longer, their career will end between
stone walls on the banks of the Potomac; FOX
they have fairly aroused all here to the neces-
sity of taking care of them after that fashion
We repeat they are strangers-not WASH
ingtonians; and our own people are not the
parties responsible to public opinion for their
brief temporary presence among us.
NAVAL COURTS OF INoUIRY-On concluding
the case of late Passed Midshipman Hall yes;
terday, Court No. l adjourned over until to-
morrow "wednesday morning; when they ex-
pect TO take up the case of Passed Midshipman
Bohrer. +.t 'f'
Before Court No. 2, to-day, the case of Lieut.
Alexander Murray furloughed) is being tried
The reading of dispositions In this case had &C.
cupied them all the morning Rob't Guild, Esq
is Lit. NJ. s counsel. .".
Before Court No. 3, the case of Commander
Shaw (retired on full leave pay) is up. Com
modore Perry, Captains Ellison, Gardiner, and
Morris, and Commander Swartwout have been
examined in it on the applicants behalf, for
whom Mr.. Scott is counsel.
NAVAL OFFICERS ORDERED.-The following
officers have been fitting for sea at the New
York Navy Yard, destined for the African
squadron Viz: Commander, B. J. Totten
Lieutenants, E Lloyd Winder, J. W. A. NiohoI-
son, VIM. c. West, Daniel L. Braine, and VIM.
E. Fitzhugh; Surgeon, John Thornley,; Assist
ant Surgeon, Frederick Van Bibber; Purser.