The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-05-18

| properly.
Th@ Dsy ss0 IT'S Dcgsaaraoy.
| IT Il We not for the activity Of public opia-
;cn and the constant guardianship Of the indie
l ISs.d,ut prss> we should believe the republic
ss- in dspgr Of an carly terminstiOn.( Look
.h.rv We ~iI 90 see nothing bh the struggles
| ~ fscti0us, the strife Of dems3ogues, the in
| ~c~se OF lcentiousness, tho multiplication Of
coI rups and u~cle~ laws, the decline Of the
judiciary, the GENERALIZATION of courts, and the
| exo~pe OF orissinsis. SucA, unfortunately, are
he extent and value Of the public domains, tho
| amount OF otSoisi patronage, tho receipts OF the
| reveuue~ and ,he emoluments OF Office tsat poli
| tios have become = distinct profession, looking
solely 10 socoes~ ~ = mesos OF public spoliation.
| The country is Q continual scene Of partisan
struggles, and parties are formed exclusively in
NE hope OF pecuniary advantage. We are
rapidly dcgcnsrating to the sad level Of Mexi
| eau q. ~ saatioH in all social AID political
morals
Let Us look Ia the condition Of things ia this
city alone, end we shall fnd il an illustration of
~bst is gong on through the whole country.
To become rich without sork IL tbe great OBJ
| ject of the masses Fine houses, ins egu' pages,
6ne clotbes-tbe-e are the main springs whch
| give motion 10 social life, ard are the am
hilton OF all To sell millions of dol
lars worth OF goods IN = year, and millions OF
dollars worth OF stocks in a mouth, to build
| railways and towns tor tbs benefit of the mana
| gers sod agents. 10 speculate ia patent rights,
70 seize upon government contracts, are the
| sole business Of hundreds OF thousands OF
| people. Even agriculture RUS Wild after new
machines Ia do its preliminary work; dollars are
given for dozen doubtful seeds; exotics are
bought By the bale. to wither in our inconstant
| climate; and now horse tanners are rising up in
| regiments to break in the colts in the country
| and sweat the credulous out of their money.
| The mechanical arts are, consequently, rapidly
falling into The hands of industrious emi grants,
who design our publ C buildings carve their de-.
cor atoms, carry aud lay the bricks and temper
the mortar; and Young America, too proud
to work, and too smart to get living in that
wsy, is running riot amid scenes Of violence
and lawlessness, confident of escaping all
punishment. RevoiVers are carried openly,
and freely used. Thieves, rioters, gamblers
! end pckpOokets frequent our public a.
seDbles and turn our places of public
| amusement into arenas Of riot, debauchery and
| purdcr. II is becoming unsafe to Leave oue's
d~eliing in the night and murders OF The most
| shocking description, and OF every day occur
renee, escape even the appearance of punishment.
| Our prisons are no longer able to contain their
inmates, and nothing short Of Vigilance Com
mittee seems to promise any relief.
Our LAYS are no more than cobwebs, il q
criminal or bis friends have money, aud our
police are not only inefficient, but are suspected
Of being in league with the villains who prey
upon society. Many Of our public officers who
are entrusted with the public funds do not hest
tate to abstract them st every opportunity, and
the records of official transactions arc interpo
lated with forgeries to cover the moot infamous
frauds Indeed, 80 unsafe are the repositories
Of our public records, that gangs Of policemen
are stationed at their doors to protect them from
burgsrious attempts, while our private dwell
iDgs are not watched ut all, but are entered with
IMMUNITY almost every night Our literary,
learned, and benevolent institutions do not
escape the spirit of the times. They are chiefly
used as the means of advancing private interests,
of furnishing means of support TO fsvorites and
idlers, of elevating empty aud arbitrary pre-
tenders, and huubugging the real and unsus-
p,cting friends OF humanity aud education.
Our political managers are continually on
| gagged in personal contests for supremacy, the
ballot box Is profaned by illegal votes, our
Offices are occupied by ignorant aud brutal in.
cumbents, disorder marks our municipal legis-
lation, and money is received in the most open
manner for the support of local measures by the
peoples representatives. Investigations into