The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-06-25
The Mayors Conterapt Case.

Vhe Mayors COntenapt Case.
We published yesterday morning the report of
the contempt oase in which the Mayor was ar
raigned before Judge Hoffman on charge OF
having resisted service Of process upon him by
the Coroner, last week The point Of the case
was one Of fact, and lay in nutshell. Coroner
Perry declares that he went to serve warrant
of arrest on the Mayor and was forc:bly pre-
vented from doing 90; the ofScials of the Mayors
osice and some twenty policemen swear that Coro-
aer Perry did not state the object of hsvisia when
be called and that neither they nor the Mayorcoud
divine that he had writ in his pocket Ac-
and discreet behavior of the Coroner were the
means Of defeating hio~ object. As Judge Eoff.
man neatly put it in h;s provinonsl Judgment
either the Coroner is mistaken, IS a man of his
profession may well be /, trying 20 remember so
exciting On occurrence, or the Mayor, Deputy
Sheriff, Captain of Police, and some twenty
Others, have committed rank perjury. Every
person Of Judgment can decide which is the more
likely contingency.
In point of fact, this arrest and trial OF the
Iayor is merely another link in the long chain
Ct frauds acts OF violence, tricks, and rascslities
by which the Albeny oligarcGy and their agents
here are endeavofing to get our money for their
political uses. When th Legislature had before
it the network of acts by which the administration
of me city government as proposed to be taken
from the city officials an, bestowed on the crea-
lures Of the oligarchy, tn only defence that was
made by the organs Of Ii oligarchy was fat
denisl Of the meaning tn at We put upon them
They said that the acts 0 question did not con-
template the transfer of IL 'e city government TO
Albany, or the disposal of the money of the peo-
pie OF She city for the ben eft of Thurlow Weed
and hisfriends at Albany. Weh, the acts passed;
and from that hour the org ans OF the oligarchy
changed their line of defenc =. II was nc longer
possible TO argue tsat the &C Is did not constitute
q partial Acknowledgement OF TIE city, for there
was the text Of them, plain an clear, transferring
the appointment of or police to Albany, taxing
Us to support a State consti bulary, taking our
money ard putting il in the hs ndjof State officers
TO build city halls ard lay OF 1t parks, 6eprivirg
us OF the control Of sach ne ,es,ary officers even
rs port wardens. Ii was onl necessary to pub
lish the text Of the acts to sho what their mean
ing was, and how truly we Ia i-terpre.ed il.
From that moment, the r olioy OF TIE Organs
changed. They abandoned he ground of bare
vague caluInny. The cours they adopted was
unmitigated abuse Of Mayor Wood. The Ai5as
Evening Jlrraal, the Trbune, Ta'cs, EcMixg Pos
and C6uri,N OF this city exhau sted the vocabuloS
OF explosives on the head Of Mayor Woo d
They sod he was a ielon, an alaw.breakes;. Al
associate d thieves and gam blevJ a rogue AZ d
liar; a ruaian, ard a candida tie for the peni ten
tiary. They abused hin for discourse befai e b
was Mayor, and after; they abused him fl II nj
private acts and hir public course; they .buse
him for carrying on. The law, and they abuse
him for aeglecting IT,
The object Of all this was ty sso'Gr first I
Brighten the Mayor from the course he hai adopt
ed; sec ndly, to belly the quiet pooRs of IN
city into desertion from support &C his Wbe
we put Il to these ijsurnals t,nt it wouiS he NOR
manly md more sensible to argue thes ,ase of IN
obnoxious law on lie merits. the only answer v
could get was tho; Wood was afasz Al. We r,
minded them thai, whatever Wood !, ,icbt b.. b
was ..siing in this matter merely a. the chi,
magistrate Of the city, in accord AM concert wit
the elected city authorities; that ie was. al N
very worst, merely carrying out the State Law
and defending Cur municipal rigts TO the best {
his Judgment aad ability: bat M word could "
get from these partisess but ti old apa,hem,
against the individual, Fernando Wood.
Md when at the last, the corrupt and inf
nous oligarohy saw their sehs mes defeated an
perceived hat they ooas / neither bull
tie people into. hostility 20 the uavo
rpr ftigAten Mr.. Voc from bi, NJ
ssiion; when they do ,erned uneouiyoc,
signs thai the mass os TIA people were again,
them, that the eourts va aid infallibly explod
their corrupt scheme fo7 invading our liberties
and that they had actD lily damaged their part
irretrievably in the sS lie without any conper
eating pecuniary gain in the city: then II wa
that they decided, asia last desparing effort am
eoup detat, to arrest y ae Mayor.
Arrest the Mayor Did ever anybody hear Q
SO outragsously, 81 ly and impudent an attempt
Suppose riot In THE city, and the Mayor at tn
head Of the conss ibulary and military auihori
ties suppose bic cd TO have begun TO aow, an,
life and pToper' y at large to be in danger, VIVA
would be Thought of Judge who, in that emer
gency, should, on the affidavit of a rioter, issue
warrant to drag the Mayor away from the seen
of action, and facilitate the aim Of the rioters b
depriving the defenders Of order Of their legit
mate head? What would have been thought G
Judge who when the Plug Uglies were drag
ging cannon through the streets Of washingto
the other day. had issued a warrant on the appl
cation of Plug Ugly, to get Mayor Magrude
out Of the wsy2 Would such thingbe tolerate
at alll And wherein does II differ from The wal
rant issued against Mayor Wood
| Whatever Mayor Woods character may b.
he i' tie Mayor Ct The city; thoroughly ar