Weekly American. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1858-1858, 1858-04-03
Meeting of the Patrol Committees.

A meeting of the committees appointed by
the meetingat Temperance Hall, on Wednesday,
evening, on the subject of setting on foot city
patrol, took place on Thursday evening in the
Council Chamber in the City Hall. There were
present twenty committee men out of the
thirty-five appointed on the previous evening
viz: .
DIR. Storrow, Fielder r. Dorset, Of the First
Ward; w. Fl. Digges, Samuel Lewis, and
George Jillard, of the Second Ward J. A. NJ.
Duncanson, DIR. Antisell, DR.. Borrows, and j.
Y. Bryant, of the Third Ward; f. Mohun,
w. P. Browning, S. Bacon, Geo. Fl. Varnell,
Of the Fourth Ward E. G. Handy, and B. F.
Beers, of the Fifth Ward James Gordon, J.
Ward /; and DIR. j. ID. Stewart, w. e. Rich
ards, James Birch, VIM Wise, and Jackson
Humphrey, of the Seventh Ward. .r
DR.. BoRRows, moved that Mr.. SAMUEL BA-
CON be called to the chair. On Mr.. Bacon's
taking the chair DIR. SToRRow was chosen Sc
cretary.
The resolution of the Temperance Hall
meeting constituting the committee was then
called for and read for information.
Mr.. DUNCANsoN said that he did not under
stand the aim of the meeting on Wednesday
evening to be as stated in the newspaper read.
What he understood was that the committee
were not to assume the selection Of the persons
to be put ON the patrol, but to leave that duty
to the citizens of each ward in ward meeting, las
provided for by the ordinance of the Councils
on Monday EVENING" He must acknowledge
for himself that he did not know on Wednes-
day evening that the City Councils had taken
any action whatever on the subject Of patrol,
and he believed there were great many per.
sons at Temperance Hall as ignorant on that
head as himself Only to-day had he read the
resolutions of the Councils. He therefore saw
nothing else now to do, so as to avoid conflict
with the constituted authorities of the city, but
for this meeting to go back to their respective
wards and report to the Mayor for authority to
act ...a.. ..F .f .H
DR.. STEWART offered resolution, as follows:
Resotced, That no PERI IN shall serve on this
patrol who is not bona fide citizen Of
Washington, whose name Is enrolled upon the
poll-list returned by the Board of Assessors
as subject to school tax for the year ending on
the 3lst day Of December, 1867. .I
DIR. ANTIsELL thought this resolution pre-
mature. The meeting must first find out its
power to select members Of patrol before they
undertake to discriminate about them. The
City Councils. He thought also, that the seve-
raj wards ought to have the control of their
patrols and could not see that this meeting
had any authority to form a patrol. This
meeting should resolve itself into ward COM
mittees. He hoped the mover Of the resolution
would Withdraw it.
Mr.. GORDON advocated the resolution rs ne
cessary to keep the patrol respectable.
DR.. BoRRows was opposed to volunteer
patrol, and believed it would, if appointed turn
out a greater trouble than the rioters. He was
willing to rely for the protection Of the city
upon the authorities, municipal and national
DIR. ANTIsELL proposed to strike out all after
the word Washington. .an af
DR.. STEWART insisted on the whole or none.
The latter part Of the resolution was neces-
sary, as it showed how the real citizens OF
Washington are to be known. ...... d.
Mr. JNo. Y BRYANT said IL the resolution
passed he would be excluded from the patrol,
because, though he had performed all the du-
ties Of ctizS nship for many years, his name
had not been enrolled for three years.
Mr. j. W. THOMPSON thought the resolution
too sweeping. ...s .a...
DR.. BoRRows supposed the meeting only in
tended to recommend persons to be members
of the patrol, and did not suppose we had yet
arrived Mt the point OF taking the power IN
this matter out Of the hands Of the Councils.
He believed most of the disturbances in the
city arose from the followers of the fire com
panies II the committee should organize pa
trolls independently Of the city authorities, the
end Of it will be that we shall have a new band
Of Regulators which it will require the call
ing out Of military TO put down.
The resolution Of Mr.. Stewart was passed Al
amended s,g.i4.a. .a
The Chair (Mr. BAcoS) offered the following
resolution
Resolped, That the ward committee appoin
such number Of citizens from the severn
wards as they may deem necessary to serve OF
the patrol, and, on the completion Of the list
they be required to hand the said list to tn
Mayor for the necessary authority to act law
fully.
] DIR. ASTIsRLL approved this, and took deci