The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-10-05
BALTIMORE.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1859.

While The Baltimore american is congratulate
;no itself and the friends of the Reform movement
generally, upon ''what has been done, ana tine
s'oood already accomplished" important fact
should moi he forgotten that we are now within
one week of the day of election, and that up TO
this Time the Reform Committee has utterly failed
TO obtain from the constituted authorities" or
any of them, anything likes satisfactory assurance
of a peaceable ard quiet election. We are sorry
70 disturb the harmony of our neighbor's praises
of everybody and everything, itself not excepted
by the suggestion Of a fact so disagreeable--but
the truth is as we have stated, and cannot be
disguised Wednesday next-Wednesday, the
18th of 0ctober-is the day appointed by law for
holding the municipal election, and no guaranty
for the preservation of the peace and the protection
of legal voters has yet been given, which can JUS
tify return of public confidence or induce quiet
and respectable people to 90 to the polls. Not one
of the measures suggested for that purpose by the
Reform Committee, and approved by the people in
Town-Meeting assembled, has been adopted by the
authorities" Upon the insuficiency and evasive-
ness-to use no harsher terms-of the MAYORS re-
ply to the respectful overtures of the Committee,
we have already sufficiently commented. TheSHER-
IFS letter is scarcely less unsatisfactory Evading
the direct and only point of the Committees COM
munication to him, Mr.. DREAMER treats it as an
application for Gan interference his part
"with the conduct of the two important elections
"now near at hand;" when, in point of fact, the
Committee had merely asked him to exercise those
powers for the preservation of the public peace on
the 18th of October, which he possesses, and is
bound to exercise, on any and every day in the
year. Avoiding the suggestion even of doubt
as to the suficeney of his own powers in the
premises he bases his refusal to accede to the Com
mittee's request, upon grounds of expedency only,
and regard for the official sensibilities of Mayor
SWAMI. That we may not be suspected of doing
injustice to his position in this respect, we quote
his own language:
'sMy best Judgment induces that any resort
upon my advance Of actual outbreak to measures
wholly novel in the experience Of this community would
tend rather evaporation and excitement than to
that quiet which, in common with yourself, earnestly
desire. 1913 ac# So.
officer very careful do nothing calculated
cite of the constituted authorities city,
dcedt either the honest purposes power Of the Mayor
to maintain tranquility.
If the 'tnovelty'' of the measures which he was
called upon to take, impressed the SHERFF's
Judgment unfavorably, he should have reflected
that the occasion requiring their adoption was,
happily, 'novel," also, 'n the experience of this
Community" Extraordinary emergencies justify
and require extraordinary measures to meet them,
and that Sheriff DREAMER is aware of this fact and
has made it, before now, the basis of his own of
fetal action, even Gin advance of actual out
''break,' is sufficiently proven by the precautions
adopted on the day of the execution of the four
murderers, CROP, CoRRK GAMBRnL and CYPRUS,
and by the special guard of policemen with which
he then deemed it prudent to surround the foot of
the scaffold, Neither do we think it a sufficient
excuse on the part of Mr.. DREAMER, for not exer-
cisng the powers with which the law has clothed
him. and the existence of which he does not pretend
to deny-to say that their exercise may be constru
ed into a reflection upon the 'honesty of purpose
or the power of the MAYOR If Mr. DREAMER
possesses the authority which the Committee at
tribute to him, he is under corresponding obliga-
ton TO use it. and from that obligation the con-
sideraton that Mr.. SWAMI possesses similar or
equal powers can in nowise absove him. As he
was not asked to 'discredit' either the "honest
purposes or the power of the MAYoR"--so he can
nv
not to 'excte distrust of the constituted author-
"ties of the city" 1t was to him, as to one of
those CONSTITUTED authorities" and-according
to their interpretation-the highest of them all
that the application of the Committee was made
So far from implying 'dstrust," their application
was, under the circumstances, the strongest posi-
BILE proof of confidence in his personal and official
integrity, nor can conceive how that conf
dence could have been weakened, or stdistrust ex-
"cited," by compliance on his part with the Com
mittee's request. Mr.. DREAMER, however, pro-
fesses himself Satisfied" with the sufficiency of
the MAYORS arrangements, and this, perhaps,
is intended additional reason on his part for
declining to act If so-Mr DREAMER must be re-
garded as adopting as his own the measures which
may be taken by Mr.. SWAMI. If he declines to
his powers as SHERIFF, because he believes that
the arrangements which are being made by the
MAYOR will be sufficient for the preservation of
the peace-of which he is the chief conservator-he
makes himself responsible to this community for
the suffcency of those arrangements, and must
be content to bear his share of the risk and blame
of failure. AS the MAYORS "arrangements'' have
not yet been made public, it is not in our power
to say how far this confidence ON the part of Mr..
DREAMER may be justified. Nor, indeed, so far as
he is concerned, is that our business but his.
Whether the community will be inspired with
equal confidence, is, however, another and
different question, in which we have an
interest but which yet it may be pre-
mature TO discuss. A few days will de-
termine that. AT present the matter stands pre-
cisely where it did on the of the last election,
with this difference only, that we now have Mr..
CREAMER's expression of confidence in the Ear
Engagements of the MAYOR, against the expert
of that election in proof of their futility We
do not wish to be understood as undertaking.
the importance of the assurance which Mr.. CREAM
Err has given of his entire faith in the suficiency
of the measures which are being prepared by Mr..
SWAMI. We have high respect for Mr.. CREAMER's
judgment, though not to the extent of surrender
ing the use of our own. His honesty and readi-
ness to do his duty, we have never called in
question. That he has mistaken the path of duty
in the present instance, we have endeavored to
show, and we are sorry for it. His own reputa-
ton as careful and prudent officer, not less than
the best interests of this community, may have
to bear the consequences of his error.
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