New-York daily tribune., 1858-04-19

80 and have hear1 auibs nbchlly OF {" dnen -
,,rl,s of Which no account va, gwen 10 The pagers.
n d,,,tarcc of my duty as telegrapblc coFrespon-
Jcnt OF TnE TRIBuhE, an obliged 20 iraverse the
r,ptroi streets of .he city ttr two or three nler
each evening, aud have done 80 for The net sN
mcnths without having ever seen polceH.a
For The last week or TWO the principal cih1cns IA
each Ward have t.rDod oct add IatrOned the
streets in force In one Ward the patrol reported
Ialt week that they had gone their round aii nigf,
and had met only a single policeman, and nc az 80
drunk that they arrested him and TOOK hu 70 tAs
Guar1ilcuse.
lie city .warms with rutfians and ruwdies, n.lb
asssssins aid robbers, many Of whom, doubtless,
bayc been attracted hther from other cItes by .he
notorious ineffcirncy Of the metropolitan police.
The insecurity Of life and property is such tha. The
city f.. the ifst two or three months has been
literally under a reign Of terror. Few men have
gobc abroad at night unarmed, and many, 10 my
knowledge, bave aostalh"d from gong Out az al
after dark from sheer dread Of murder or robbery.
The distrefs, the suffering from tbs sense of H.
security, irtm apprehension and alarm, ia probably
tencod greater than that actually occas Oned Dy The
OuiTages Themselves.
Now il il easy enough 10 say that Washington
has City Government, whose duty u J. 70 protect
life and property. Very true Bat suppose tie
City Government is unable TO perform its duty, or
systematically negects it--what then Are the ci,-
izens Of the national metropolis, the Foreign Minis
ters, the Members Of Congress, and the thousands
hose duty calls them here, 10 be left 10 the tender
mercies Of assassins and robbers The City Cow
ernmeDt is not only Inefficient but p0verty-strIeken
II il too poor TO pay sun; pobce, even II II
were capable of creating and managing such force.
To accommodate the Federal Government and
By the action Of that Government, the City ol
Washington was laid out on most extraVagant aud
expensive scale with area ten times larger than
the same amount OF population requires IN other
cities of the civilized world. The streets are 30
long and broad that the cost Of paving and Lighting
is immense. The cOst Of watching and guardiug
such vast spaces is also very great. police force
that could protect with ease sixty thousand people
in a compact city is wholly inadequate To the area
of Washington. Furthermore, the Federal Gov
ernment occspies with IFS buildings, the best sites
in the city, amounting in value 10 many mill
lions Of dollars, on which it pays no taxes. ~
brings here as labOrers on its public works, as
clerks and petty office holders, large number Of
persons Of limited means most Of whom pay no
taxes and do not contribute in any way to the sup
port of the Municipal Government. There is no
city in the country so poor a. Washington, rea-
lively TO the population, for there s no city that has
so little commerce and few manufactures. It's
trade is retail trade for the supply of It's own
wants-there being scarcely any country pOpul4-
tion dependent on il for supplies
In short, from some cause or combination OF
morally, politically and financially to preserve the
peace and order of the city. Congress, therefore,
being the supreme government and having direct
and exclusive legislative power, has the RESPONSE
blity and the duty OF providing that life and prop
ery shall be secure in the national metropolis. The
constitutional right is unquestiOnable, and the pc
cunary, or, rather the pcayune, objection that the
rest the country ought not to be taxed for the po
lice of Washington, is rebutted by the fact that the
national Treasury received nearly mlliOnOi dollars
from the sale of lots in the city, Of which 1t took
possession when the place was laid ont The Gov
ernmen took every alternate lot throughout the city,
and sold them and pOcketed the proceeds, the III
terest which to this day would more than pay for
all that Congress has done Tor Washington for the
mere benefit of the people.
The debate in the House on this subject was
one of the most animating and interesting OF
the session. 1t was genuine debate, and
not like the KaDsas discussion, which was, for the
most part merely a reading Of written essays, to
which few persons listened The question at issue
was not 80 much the formation of police force as
tie mode Of appointment of the Chief and other
officers The bill, as introduced, vested the ap-
pointment in the President of the United States.
Mr.. DOdd, Of New-YOIk, offered an amendment
vtsting the appointing power i'll four Commissioners,
to be elected by the people m the same manner
that Inspectors Of elections are chosen in some
States, so that no more than two of the four could
able proposition Mr. GGOde, Of Virginia, objected,
in the first place, that it was unconstitutional an
objection that may be passed over, on the ground
that whatever ts pretenses, the gst of the oblec-
ton was, that the amendment of Mr.. DOdd would
impair the patronage of the Democratic party, and
the Democratic party being the Union, as the Gov
ernment organ here has repeatedly asserted any at-
tempt to impair its power e, OF course, all infringe
ment Of the Constitution
In the next place Nr. (OOue Objected that the
board would be composed of antsgonistc elements,
arrayed against each other in equal force and that
controversies arising in such board could not poss
bly, be settled, 20 that all unity would be prevent.
ed and all concert of action DESTROYED The gentle
man from Virginia evidently has no idea that the
force of truth and reason overcome party rulers
The police Of Washington is an affair Of business
and not Of politics, and board composed of Men Of
different political opinions can surely sct harluoD
ously in matters Of business.
Mr.. CoIlins Of Massachusetts, was Of opinion that
the state Of things in the city would continue until
the present dynasty Ill power at the White House
was oyerthrOwn. The murdeTers of kealing and
Hume, and the assaiant of Sumner were not pun
ished. The principles of justice and of law were
set at nought by the criminal Judge Of the District
Judge Crawford, and the result apPlauded by emi.
nent Senators ard Representatives" There was
little use in attempting reformation at one end OF
the government OF the District, without CORE
spending Change al the other Who are 10 be- the
officers of this auxiliary guard They are 10 he
the partisan appontees of partisan Prcsdent.
What security have We that they Will not be the
men, or of the men, who have stricken down IN
cold blood our brothers in the Territory of Kansas
From what source is this new government 10 enla-
nate From corrupt ard repud!ated Admin.-tra-
tOn-an Administration that has reached that point
Of corruption in which purity appears ridiculous
I IL