The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-07-18

for it was not long ago-when ii was sought TO
sti1e the structures of this journal upon existing
abuses and outrages by perpetually denounclng
its course as hostile to the interests Of Baltimore
If an inoffensive man was assassnated on the
street or by his hearth-a holiday assemoiage OF
women and children insulted and maltreated by
rufians-the operations of trade or industry ar
rested, in open day, by banded outlaws-an election
disgraced by open fraud and ostentatous murder
and we presumed to comment upon the facts
and the authorities by whom they were tolerated
or encouraged, in the language which they de-
served-it was the fashion to hold us up, straight
way, to public indignation, as traducers OF the
fair fame of Baltimore 1t was bad enough that
outrages should be committed, but to speak of
them WAS intolerabe. Strangers would not visit
our CITY, it was said, if such things were talked
of in the newspapers. We should hold our peace,
and make the best of things-nay, even deny a
disagreeable fact now and then, by way OF keep
ing up respectable appearances ! And so The EX-
CHANGE was proclaimed BIPARTISAN" and fire
"brand'-good men and true were warned to
keen clear of it, and the mercantile and adver-
Using community, in particular, were implored,
bors, 10 confne their patronage exclusively to
Journals less outspoken and dangerous. The de-
monstration against us was certainly formidable.
Long habits of disgraceful silence, on the part of
the press, and shameful acquiescence on that of
the community, had made the plain truth told
and heard, almost startling novelty. Still we
were satisfied that such a state of things could
not last-if invaded with ordinary courage
and honesty. We were convinced that false
hood and base trucking to crime and power,
could not continue to be relished by any
community which had the choice of the
truth and of free Speech instead. But whether
wise or unwse in that conviction, we determined
to take the consequences of acting up to it. We
preferred that THE EXCHANGE should not exist as
journal, ifsuch existence could only be purchased
by a sacrifice of its duty as public press, and of
our own selfrespect in conducting it. We think
that we are at liberty, now, to congratulate our
selves upon having taken that better part. We
believe ourselves to have established the fact that
an independent newspaper is possibility in Baltl-
more. We have seen those of our contemporaries,
who were the oudest in denouncing our temerty,
compelled to assume at least the appearance OF a
boldness, which year ago would have frightened
them from their propriety. We find them every
day admitting-nay proclaiming with the air of
original discoverers-the rampant and riotous pre-
dominance of the very evils, abuses and Delinquent
cies, which, twelve months back, they would have
had US ostracized for venturing to name We see
them ingenuously suggesting remedies-as if they
had invented them-which we have pressed and
dwelt upon, painfully, week after week, under all
sorts of insnuaon, assault and reproach. We
have the satisfaction of knowing that the COM
munity has at length awakened to some decent
sense of its own forsaken manhood, and is ready
and anxious at least to know the truth-even if
not quite willing yet, to move in the direction to
which it points. A little while longer, and we are
satisfied that even that step will be TAKEN and the
people of this city, in indicating themselves, will
vindcate the truth and those who have proclaimed
and adhered to it, through good report and evil.
These observations, which have unavoidably
taken somewhat personal direction, have been
suggested to us by the facts to which are
about to refer, and which afford melancholy
illustration of the results of the system of silence
and submission so long approved and adopted
among Us, but by the THE EXCHANGE, so constantly
and unyieldingly condemned and resisted. For
the truth of these facts, We ourselves vouch, hay
ing taken to satisfy ourselves Of their perfect
accuracy. They are connected with a matter to
which the public attention has already been par
italy drawn.
Our readers will scarcely need to be reminded of
the gross and outrageous attack, made by the no.
orofr,
panying him, short time since, upon the negro
caulkers, in the employment of Messrs. COOPER 4
SLIcER, on Fel's Point. The attack was but part
of an avowed SYSTEM long organized and perfect
ly we-known to the authorities, by which the
gang in question, and their comrades, have taken
forcible possession of the caulking-trade upon the
South side Of the Basin, and the ramifcations Of
which they are striving to extend to the Point, by
the same course of violence and terror. The late
outrage in question was rendered particularly
noticeable, by the fact that it involved an unpro-
voked attempt upon the life of Mr. COOPER himself,
one of our most estimabIe fellow-citizens The
history of the whole affair and its causes and conse
quences is as follows A South American gentle
man. of large means, having recently purchased
the barque Thistle of this port, and intending to
send her around Cape Horn, with cargo, was
dissatisfied with her caulking, which had been done,
but a few weeks before at one of the yards in
South Baltimore. He accordingly sent her. to be
re-caulked, to the yard of Messrs. COOPER SLIcER
of whose work he had previously had satisfactory
experience 1t was TO prevent the execution of the
ship-owner's ORDERS that the attack was made, by
EDWARDS and his confederates, upon the negro
workmen, and it would astound the citizens of any
civilized community, but that of Baltimore, to
know, that the ruffans were able fully and salts
factoriy to effect their purpose. The perfect i'm
punity with which outrages of the same nature
had been previously perpetrated, by the same par
ties, under the very eyes of the police and with
timely notice to the MAYoR-the we-known reck-
lessness and desperation of the outlaws themselves
emboldened by liberation and success and actually
governing with absolute sway, considerable
portion of the town-and the manifest and serious
peril of their displeasure and vengeance-all con-
Cured to render the prosecution of the work upon
the Thistle so unsafe that it was discontinued for
those reasons and none other. In plain words the
ship-owner could not have his vessel, recaulked
simply and solely because it was the will and
pleasure of EDWARDS and his associates, to do the
work themselves, in their own way, or not permit
it to be done, at all The Thistle, accordingly,
was cleared for New York, whittier she has pro-
ceeded, and where the job of recaulking her is to
be concluded. 1t is not easy to describe the as
constituent of her owner, upon being told that in
the UNITED STATES, under government profess
eddy of freedom and law, he could not carry on
an ordinary and lawful operation of commerce, in
his own way, without placing at risk the lives
OF unohending laborers-to say nothing of ex-
posing his own valuable property to conf1ragra-
ton. we are mortified ourselves, to confess,
that although we have, for some DAYS past. been
in possession of the knowledge of all the Facts
we have hesitated to draw the attention Of +be
public to them, until the removal of the Tb;s,,.
from the harbor has rendered it entirely safe r.
her owner, for us to do so. We have been forced
on his account to recognize the unhappy but un
questionable truth, that we live in community
where the law has no majesty or terrors and tn,
strong hand is master. When we add, that thu
ship-owner in question came to this city-attrac
ted by the fidelity and skill Of its shipwrights
and expressly for the purpose of ordering thu
construction of two fine vessels, in add
ton to the one which he purchased-and
that in consequence of the outrage of which we
have spoken he has transferred his orders to New
York-we think that the business men of this