The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-02-25

Il MUNICIPAL EkyOEM or hEvOLUTt0N.-ls tncSe
ever 10 We my rrfoym or Improvement in the
| nnpc,pal government Of this cityy Nothing
| can be clearer or more certain than that our
| prrscD, municipal system is rotten and inefa-
| cieut IN ali Its branches. Ii has been subjected
| to the tnkering OF corapt politicians for the
last twenty years The last electicns-both
! State ard Municipal Indicated. beyond all
doubt, the desire of ,be people TO effect some
| .rrs, a,d rsdcsl changes in The existing sys-
! tom. The members Of both branches Of the
Legislature went to Albany impressed with that
idea What effort has been made to carry it out,
| We zee y number Of separate measures con-
| irituied 10y members from this portion Of the
State, each of which will prove utterly power
! less TO arrest the downward progress of things.
| Mr.. Mathcr, al amiable and accomplished man,
| has proposed an entire repeal of the new Metro
| poli,an Police act and certainly his PROPOSE
ton is backed by the most powerful reasons,
! arising Out Of the folly. the Encouragement and
| tho costlinCss of the present system of police.
| These reasons are fully act forth in the
report recently presented to the Assembly by
Dir. Weir, from the Committee on Iacorpo-
| ration of Cities AID Villages. Mr.. Mather's
bill ia good one IA far as it goes, but as 1t
merely applies to the police, it viii only afford
! partial relief from the evils under which we
| ore suffering. In another direction we find
| Mr.. Silly, with all the affected wisdom OF
| grog-room Socrates assuming the character Of
| refOI Wer, and proposing to abolish the offices
| Of City Judge and Corporation Counsel. This
| idea is fit 10 have been suggested by the fact
| that some drunken loafer amongst his constitu-
| eDts has received bis deserts at the hands OF
the City Judge, or that the Corporation Coun-e,
has refused to appoint another equally respec-
| table protece TO rome lucrative Office. Such
are, III all probability, the reasons that have
dictated this stupid and ridiculous propo-
| si,ion to abolish the Office of City Judge,
| which bias been the only STAY We have had for
| the last twelve months against the garroters,
burglars and thieves 10y whom the city has been
! Overrun.
Several other distinct propositions have been
| made in the two houses. affecting different
branches of the city government, all of course
under the guise of reforms. That many of them
are jobs may easily be inferred from the antece-
dents Of the persons offering them. We shall
have large accession to this list of jobs during
the course of the session, and amongst them
probably bill for the appointment of three
commissioners to levy tribute by the unneccs-
cary opening Of new streets about Washington
Heights and the northern end of the city, con-
trary to the interests and expressed wishes of
the inhabitants. The docket of the Legislature
I'LL 4 l. l. IL Il Il
minute projects Of reform, efecting but little,
and these in their turn will be overiaid by
larger and more comprehensive schemes of cor
rup,ion. These are not the changes that our
present condition calls for. 1t would be better
to leave matters as they are than under the
cover of palliatives to afford corrupt legislation
an opportunity Of giving wider extension to
the grievances of which We complain.
What is it that we really want to remedy
those evils. We want positive, q radical and
an effective reform in our whole municipal sys-
TEN; we want to abolish the communicable
Boards of Commissoners-and the independent
departments which are at present such plant
instruments of corruption. Every one of those
boards, from the School Commissioners to the
Commissioners of the Almshouse, have been
latterly presenting evidences of folly aud in
congruity which renders the expediency OF their
extinction undeniabe. There lie, in fact, no
government in this city which deserves the
name; all that we have in its place is hydra
headed monster, with myriad Of craving
mouths.
Let political cmpyrics suggest what reforms
they please, no municipal system will ever work
harmoniously or give satisfaction to our eiti-
zens which is not based on the principle Of uni
ty. Whilst the legislative power Of the city
should be exercised by the Boards Of Alder
mon and Councilmcn the whole executive
power should be vested In the hands Of the
Mayor. The heads Of the police Of the public
schools OF the Almshouse and the various other
departments should he nominated and appointed
by the Mayor. Until this be done all the
propositions at present before the Legislature
to effect reform in the existing system will be
found little better than waste paper, whilst of
the majority of them we are entitled to say
that they are conceived in the same spirit Of
folly impudence aud ignorance which of late
years has marked all the measures Of the Legis-
lature in regard to this city.
A QUEER DEMOCRATIC ORGAN.-The Rich
mond Enquirer IL o very queer democratic
organ. II says the Kansas question IL not