New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-04-15

deripg it forever impossible that the night Of the
msjority should be usurped By q local clique. Is 90
patent in every line OF the act taAt oil hope Of de-
feating it by fair argument hiss been abandoned,
asd The Time, condescends to initiate The Journal,
10 representing it as a disgrseeful and dangerous
attempt "to force voluntary religious aud oeaevo-
"!ent Societies to do the work Of political p.rti-
"ssns."
Should there be any persous--not directly inter
ested in keeping the control OF tiese Societies IN
CITY habds-with whom the ipse dizn OF The Jour
nal or The Tunes carries conviction, however pal
pably and ridi:ulousy absurd the proposition, with
them even this drOn assertion may be conclusive.
But men Who think for themselves will see that
the bill neither " dragons nor forces" nor
violently interferes with" the Societies. nor
compels the members 10 vote this way or that, or
to vote at all. 1. simply en,bes the m,jority of
the members conveniently to exercise their right
to vote, if they choose to do so.
The fact il that this act, based upon the brosd
Anne rican principle Of equality and selfgovern-
ment, and enabling al the members of these Soce-
ties, now entitled to vote to be represented at the
City Anniversaries, 10 being opposed by the City
managers and members OF the Tract Society, who
are evidently afraid that their disbursement Of the
funds of the institution, and the course of policy
they have adopted, will not be approved BY
majority Of the country members. Hence this cry
of persecution" and " interference with char
tered rights" and all the virtuous indignation
which we are accustomed to hear from our Injured
ofice-holders, contractors and agents, whether OF
the peopls or of corporations at every measure
that tends to make them accountable for their
behavior.
If the principle OF the bill is right let the Senate
pass IT, even though the managers of the Tract So
ciety should fear that the Society at large, thus
enabled to speak for itself, may disapprove their
policy or their acts If there be any good reason
why the Tract Society should be excepted from
the bill. and its 25, 900 members compelled to sub
nit to the dictation of the handful in this City let
a motion be made thus to amend the bill, and let
the rea,ons for such monopoly in this particular
instance be frau lily STATED. But let not right prin.
cpls be ignored in its application to the various Ma
tional Societies embraced in the bill, whose men,
beers are numbered by tens, if not hundreds of
thousands, simply because the managers OF single
association shrink from meeting the judgment OF
their constituents or because it is for the interest
of the Democratic party to exclude the country
members of the Tract Society from participating
in the management of that institution, with whose
recent policy the party are 30 well satisfied that,
as The Journal Of Commerce remarks, the mana
gers can bring to their cooperation, under the
proxy system "the entire Southern States, how
lever remote"
We are not surprised at the strenuous efforts OF
the Democrats Of the Senate TO perpetuate their
monopoly of the wealth and power of the Tract
Society, and to exclude from all share in its man.
agement the rural districts. The Democrats owe
its managers a debt for the past to say nothing OF
their hopes for the future. But We may be per.
mitted to feel some surprise if any other than
Pro.Slavery Democrats shall attach the weight Of
feather to the shallow pretense that act which
enables all the members Of Society to vote in its
elections, either tramples upon their rights, In
vades their privileges, or interferes with their vo'
liton.