The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-04-07

| T~ ""other column the importaut
We pusSiiish II $780, - ..;.
decisiou Of the court OF last rea0rs ---' osss9
on the oase OF Nccs!one, a member Of the old
Municipal Police ag ains The metropolitan Police
Commissioners, taken up to coat court on appeal
from the decision Of the Supren...a Court, by the
commissioners.
This decision declares that The members Of the
old force continued to be, by the provisions II
the law, and are now, members of the Metropoli-
tan force-that is to say, all alch as have not ro-
signed or been legally dismissed-and that they
are entitled to all their back pay up to the pres
ent time, which amounts in the aggregate To
about 1878 900. Five Judges OF the Court az
Appeals concur in this dec'sion-Judges Strong.
dissent observation-disclosures, DEMO and Grover,
and the decision is therefore final.
When the Metropolitan Police Commissioners
came into power they attempted to dismisa
these members of the old force, who, act
ing under the counsel Of Mayor Wood, re-
fused to acknowledge their authority until
the courts pronounced upon the constiel-
tonaity OF the law; and they accordingly
sent notifications to this effect to the capita ms
of the different precincts. 1t appears that the
captains did not deliver these papers to the men.
who considered themselves still as policemen; and
though refusing obedience to the commands OF
the new Board, acted in conformity with
the general orders of the old commission.
and held that they were members OF
the force. The new commissioners declared
them removed, and refused to pay them:
and hence these actions Of German va the Ne
tropolitan Police Commissioners, and McCuse
against the same, which were brought to test
the question, and both of which the Supreme
Court in this city decided favoraby for the
plaintiffs. These decisions establish that the
new Police law of 1857 Retained in Office all the
members Of the old force then doing duty, and
that the removal of any of them by the Police
Commissioners was void. 1t was commended
further in defence that the refusal of the men to
recognise the authority of the new Board was
legally resignation of Office but this point also
has now been settled adversely to the Commits
aoDers by the Court of Appeals.
In accordance with this decision, all the mem
bers of the old force who have not accepted
Office in the new are restored, and their arrears
Of pay must be handed over to ali such of them
as have not assigned their claims to the Metropo-
Titan Commissioners for some consideration.
About three hundred of the old force have gone
over to the Metropolitan Police Commissioners,
and about fifty have assigned their claims
The substance of the recent decision ia, that
the members Of the Municipal Police force con-
tinued i'll Office under the new law until they
were either dimissed in regular form, upon due
notification and trial, or had formally resigned;
and that, as the plaintiff in this case (wh0 re-
presents the whole with few exceptiors,) has
not been proved to have resigned, or had not
been legally notified and tried previous to the
pretended removal, he is still member
Of the police force, and is entitled to
his pay from June, 1857, to the
present time; or, in the words Of Judge Strong,
=" that the plaintiff is fairly entitled to restoration
to the Office from which he has been ir.egularly
ejected, aud to the emoluments appeItainiig to
such office"
We learn that, in this emergency, the Police
Commissioners contemplate trying and dismiss
ing all the refractory members Of the Old force,
as there is no appeal from the decision of the
Cou,t of Appeals. This, however, will be rather
tedious business On the whole our police
affairs have reached that complicated condition
which we always predicted would be the result
Of the interference of Albany legislation with
our municipal rights, and the consequent appli-
cation to the cOurts for redresa
II is hardly necessary to say that the ss7s,O0O
due to the members Of the old force will have to
be added to the tax levy now before the Lcgis-
lature.