St. Mary's beacon., 1858-06-24

laws WHO have been permitted "a emf % a.
nloSt perfect immunity in ahe caHn1aisspu .
crime They are men linked with - 1owes
and most brutal classes Of society, ieazir asss
directing those classes in tljeif furay aklkins
| pefsssss and property, and still Will .distin
guished a. the vilest amUng TIE vile, fH< mos
| brutal in the exercise Of their bruriss pen
sites, and the most daring IN their dz1eeart
OF al rights, have spccseacd in surfSz1ndins
Themselves with protective influence sgains
which the spear Of Justice IS harmlesz Il 4
scarcely nccsssaS ~ refer 70 the experiekce g,
lother cities t,za1cw that the existence 81 TAI.
Glass Of desSeradOcs is an e.ideif.ic and Hof an
Zen demi>disease OF American society. With ahs
exceveon Of Boston, where FmuniripzI gov
| erp4fent has been maintained at STANDARD
yseiul both as an example and an incentive
>thef@is no other large city in the country
which has not developed and permitfca the
class OF law-defying outlaws TO which we refer.
InBaltimore it is undeniable that flley have
existed under various notifications aid with
different changes Of personnelfm the. IasI If
teen or twenty years. This fact mag be vcri-
fed by an APPEAL to the memory of aIiy of our
citizens familiar with the events Of this period
Even IN the days Of the eloquent Richardson,
and under the conservative rule Of tie Whiy
party, this class Of privileged outlaws existed,
one Of whom was known rs the .sCezzlas Pet, =
who closed an almost numhcriess ST 5at-
raszs by shouting bis brother, In-i
for the first time, was iucaseef&teI la pfiz =
where he still Temaius..< The old @Swingletree
Club, was also then the terror Of good citi-
zens. Its members carried on long course
Of outrage and crime, until an offence so helm
Gus as to excite universal Indignation aroused
Justice from its sluinbers, and nerged public
sentiment TO the point Of energetic action. The
class was however Unly Suppressed, not exter-
minated, and il again ruse 10 life and action in
the notorious Empire Club, which, first formed
a political club, became finally the nucieus
around which gathered the bullies, gamblers
aud shoulder-hitters Of the city. The reign of
terror which these parties maintained during
the administration of Mayer Hollins was too
veritable, and is yet too recent to be easily for
gotten. The strifes aud esmities fihis organ
ization brought into bad relief those pests of
the city in later day, among whom were
Country Thompson, Archibald McAleese-both
sent to their punishment without the all of
court or jury-the Kopigs. Petty Naff, and a
host Of others ct Omne genus male, who, being
out Of favor with the dominant party, have
become more quiet, if not better. citizens, as
their names are now seldom seen connected
with acts of crime or violence. At the present
day we have the notorious Bony Lee with his
associates Brown, Williams, Wesley Gade, and
Others, who have succeeded To the privileges
and immunities of their predecessors, and out
rage and disregard the peace OF the city with
out fear of the law or it's penalties.
We have not INDUCED in this retrospect Of
the succession OF outlaws aud ru1ians in our
city with any intention Of excusing present
evils by pointing to those of past days, or Of
shielding the apathy that may allow the exist
ence, either now or heretofore, of q class Of
men obnoxious to every instinct of public safe
~ and good order. Our purpose is more
practical. 1t has for its object an effort to
show that, whist we have alternately blamed
this or that party as encouraging, for political
ends, the existence of organized gangs of bull
lies, and loudly censured the police because
they have not been promptly extirpated, in
truth there has been no party which has not
sought and prOfted by their services, and that
to reach the real seat Of weakness, the diseased
spot in otif social organization, we must GO
deeper than the surface; in fact we must trace
it not to the inefic!ency or connvance of the po-
lice, but principally to the criminal laxity and
indifference of the community, and especially
IL.
is not one of this class of desperadocs who has
offences which, If prosecuted, would have
brought upon them certain punishment There
is not one who could not now he arrested and
consigned to the penitentiary for crimes for
which they never have been called TO account.
But the grand error is that the business OF
prosecution in criminal cases is considered tor
much an individual and private affair, anil
there are lacking the tone and vigor of public
sentiment, which should insist that every
breach of the peace and violation Of personal
rights should be effectively punished. People
rail at outrage in the aggregate, but disregard
or even excuse it in particular instances. for
getting that these individual instances make
up the aggregate of which they complain.
The safety of these outlaws is not in immu-
nifty from arrest that they seldom seek tn
avoid, as, with the right which they as citizens
have to demand release on bail for trial, an
hour or two of detention is all the inconveni-
ence they suffer but it il in the certainty
they have that, by the delays and bubbles OF
ingenious and reckless counsel, and the indis-
position of their accusers IN spend the time ne
cessary to bring them to Justice, or the par
tisanship of juries, they will ultimately escape
punishment. Here, then, il the true seat Of
the disease. Our laws are stringent enough,
our police sufficiently effective, our courts pos
sessed of the necessary power; but those who
should prosecute offences TO punishment fail to
do 50 because Of the trouble and annoyance
they mus suffer, with the prospect Of seeing
the offender finally escape. ANY offence what
ever, involving breach of the peace, Is not
only an offence against the Individual. but
against the people, and the community should
see 70 it that it receives punishment. Three
things are required to remedy the present state
of affairs; the restriction of the privileges OF
counsel in criminal cases within decent limits
q strict supervision Of the jury-box and q di-
rect responsibility Of each juryrnan for the
verdict be may give, and, more important than
all, an absolute requirement that offences
should be prosecuted BY all compiainants r.
indictment and trial. All other remedies viii
be mere plasters upon the surface Thest
only can extirpate.the evil, ard, until they are
applied, rowdyism and outrage will, as hereto
fore, exist and flourish, encouraged and stimu-
lated, in fact, by the Law itsclf, for it vii
continue to bold out q promise and pretence o.
protecting the rights Of the citizen which il
win fail to BaltimOre American.
The CHANGES OF A QuARTER OF A CEs.
rURY "A man named BaFnum was last weet