New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-09-21
PTBLIC MEETINGS.
POLICE COMMISSIONERS.

~,b q smile extended ms hand' ana inquired
y" are YOU to-day. General Glad 70 see YOU
A. Tsllmadop took his hand aud 'cat at the same
enc. =, -. .., .r,,o.,.d
oonn.el for the General Superintendent and read
o.. charges and specifications AMI answer 70 the
charges, as follows a.. ,..oir,;on &c r,e
- Cbg'gtux 'tronolitan Police Commi- soners, | pre-
DE- - clo,gitg charge against me GENERA Saperln-
seiS 20" IS police in and for the Metropolitan Police
District: Ncglct q my .........-
~ anarontine on the morning Of tine second Of
- '.S g. when notified by Captain Weed that
H. nnbIc hospitals mad been fired by a mObl
~ reouired do by section - Of the kes ana kegu-
p,oT. of the Department.
iSu'T u tbst the said General Superintendent, did not
.ha morning Of September the second, direct patro
.. ~ be stationed nj Quarantine to protect the pub
Tc hospitals which had not been iire 9iyvs " yvr
o., " rxssrr. Chief Clerk Of Board
wv AHSHcr:
Il, H., ne B,ar9 Of The M,irorohtaa Police Commi'
no s'1", hscrber answers the charge and specica
,bibted against him, copy Of which was served
',o, him on the 10th Of September, Instant as fol-
lows: -. 4. A., r. -. e.: l. ,;.l
r., on the morning Of the "a day OF September, at
between half-past and O'Clock he was called upon,
~ js. house in Thirt y-irst street by Captain Weed
and a member Of the lIarbor Police and Informed that
al, the buildings at the Quarantine Station had been
set on fire by very numerous mob, who We're
armed with guns and pistols. At the time there
90 police force upon Staten Island, ten police officers
who had been previously upon duty there having been
cent home days before. Upon consultation with
Captain Weed, as 10 the time il would require to mus
Ter police force and the to transport II thu
Their il manifest that il would be impossible 10
get force ready to start for the Quarantine and OBJ
tain boat to carry it before the regular OF clock
boat left for that place and from the information re-
ccived II seemed certain that before that time all the
buildings would have been consumed, the purpose Of
the mob thus accomplished, and the persons compos
ing il dispersed. The facts subsequently ascertaned
JUSTIFIED this conclusion At daylight the whole mob
had dispersed that if the subscriber had arrived at
the Qnarantine within an hour from the time he was
called upon he would have found not only no police
force there to take command of to and protect
property" but persons disturbing the peace 10
arrest The subscriber could not by any practicable
means have gone to the Quarantine Station, dis
tance Of eleven and half miles from his house. so Us
to reach there in less than two hours aud he could
not have reached there accompanied with any force
earlier than by the boat which left New-York at
O'clock For this reason he deemed it his duty not to
attempt going Immediately to the Quarantine Station,
but to order force TO be IN readiness to go there ID
fe morning if il should be found necessary, and then
hold it and himself readiness to start the nforma
ton which might be expected should require Their
The subscriber further saith that he understood the
object Of the requirement of the Ory-ith section to
De that he should go to riot in order to take the per-
sona direction of the police force there in saving and
protecting property and in aresng the dsturbers OF
the peace; ana that the object would not be accOmp
Hshed by his proceeding Immediately to the scene of
an instruction of several hundred persons armed and
engaged in the burning Of the Hospital buildings with
out police force being present accompanying him
10 enable him TO resist and arrest the insurgents And
be further saith that he did not understand the rllet
require him 10 proceed TO the place where mob had
assembled, when il morally certain that il would
have ceased its operations and dispersed long before
he could reach II.
Second. IN relation to the second specification he
saith: That Immediately being Informed of the dis
turbance AZ the Quarantine Station he ordered police
force to be in readiness at o'clock in the morning to
proceed to that place if ii should then be deemed
necessary that such force in readiness during the
whole forenoon Of that day, and that from the in.
formation received their services were not deemed
necessary that from the fact that the Commissioners
of Emigration who had charge Of the Quarantine
Station had boat constantly plying between
NewYork and the Quarantine station which would
keep them constantly advised of the state OF things
there; and the further fact that such Commissioners
accustomed, whenever they deemed tt police
force necessary, TO make requistion upon the ST.
pernteadent for IT, and that such had been the custom
upon all previous occasions; the subscriber expected
that If there any indications at the Quarantine
Station OF a renewal on repetition Of the ourages com
United there, the Commissioners OF Emigration wond
give hun information and make the usual requsition
upon him In season 10 enable HIM to send II force
there sufficient tn protect the station. That during
the day he remained expecting such requison until
about - o'clock when he received from the President
ent letter, Of which the following Is copy:
Spp~iassndest pepHty Superintendent Of Police:
fou will send what men the Commissioners OF Emf
salon wsnt 10 Quarantine tonight guard the remainder OF
Sept ? 1858 JAMES W NYE.
That he thereupon made the necessary arrange
mcnts to order such force as the Commissioners o
Emigration should require him to send to the Quaran-
tine station for the purpose and intended to accom-
pany them himself; that he remained at the office OF
the General Superintendent from the time OF receiving
+infau a. NJ in
the purpose of receiving the requiston from the Com
missiUers of Emigration but that none was received
tina, at about O'Clock in the evening, at the direction
Of his Honor the Mayor, he gave an order to send
force Of 90 men there, but that within few moments,
upon his Honor being informed by the Collector of the
Port that he had sent force OF 100 marines there iUr
the protection Of the establishment, he informed the
subscriber that the force sent by the Collector would
be sufficient and render unnecessary that any police
men should be there, and the subscriber there
upon revoked the order confidently believing that the
marines would furnish all the protection necessary
The subscriber therefore submits that the clrcum-
stances of the did not impose upon him any duty
ot sending police force to Quarantine on the morn.
ing Of the 2d nst and that with the facts existing he
would have erred III sending force there after day
tght without notice of some new emergency requiring
n, or the requsition of the Commissioners of Emf
eia,"h w +. a. TsLLMADGE.
Capt Weed of tine Second Ward, sworn-I am In
spec,or of the Second Precinct have been such since
the lst OF January last was IN command Of that
tftCct on the W VI Scpt'hotIt DctNccn tue houIs
al two and four O'Clock, the morning of September
ID | discovered light aud supposed il came from a
fire on Staten Island, | was then in Broadway be-
tween the Park end Pearl streets the Deputy Super
intendent, Mr.. Carpenter, with me; came
10 this place General Office directly; when we came
here there were two persons here members oi the
force, direct from Quarantine they stated TO the
Deputy Superintendent that the buildings al Qusran.
tine had been set On fire and burned Mr. Carpenter
told me to get csrisge and proceed direct 10 the
General SupeYin,endents house, and inform hun OF
what had taken place; | did so; the General Superin
feDdapt lives Al No K, Wesf Thirty first street in