The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-03-19

tusity for the exercise of their critical powers,
and they will not scruple to take full advan-
tage Of It. 1t may be pleasant for members OF
Congress to read these comments upon their
misconduct; but we can assure them that 1t Is
not particularly agreeable to such of their con-
stituents as may be travelling abroad. It
! would be hard, indeed, for the most enthusiast
tic American to carry along such fellows as
Forney and Pryor, or even to give any reason
able apology for their occupancy Of the places
they disgrace.
| The Market Rates OF Public Virtue At
Albany and Elsewheee.
We print elsewhere very comical article
! published tho other day In the Courier and En-
qalire,, and certainly one of the richest pieces
Of fun that has come from the pen Of our mill
tary and diplomatic contemporary for many .
day. It was altogether too good to be rolled
mp in Wall street blanket, and We reprint it as
one Of the very best Of recent contributions to
the current comic literature Of the day.
The Chevalier Webb should be quite compe
this article, from broad, phIlanthropic stand
point. For thirty years and more he has been
Sin the business" in one way and another, and
should be capable of telling US exactly the
market price Of the goods of all kinds, from
6fty-two thousand dollar doaceur to news.
paper editor, down to ten dollar bride for
school officer. We cannot deny that the Cheva-
lier does give US some valuable information.
His subject is the big Gridiron brought into
the Senate by George Law. OF course he Is
very angry about the extensive utensil. He
does not, however, say word about the five or
six nice little steaks which are broiling In the
Assembly for somebody. Is it possible that
Thurlow Weed is watching one of these little
fellows, and will turn it over for the Chevalier
Webb
AS regards the Chevaliers style, there are
people who object to it. They call his distinc-
tons absurd and his argument all nonsense,
and say that he injured rather than helped his
case; but we believe, with Sir Lucius O'Trig-
ger, that when affection guides the pen hed be
brute that would quarrel with the style. We
admire Webb's style. We always did. 1t is
sui generis. He is like some clowns, who,
without the smallest perception of wit or hu-
utter and irrepressible stupidity.
The Chevalier Webb goes to work mathema-
tically to prove himself donkey. He pro-
ceeds to tell US that Senatorial votes were
bought for the Gridiron bill at from twenty
five to seventy-dve thousand dollars each; that
upon test vote nine republicans and seven
democrats voted for the Ubiquitous measure.
And further, the comical Chevalier proceeds to
argue that the republican party is very vir-
tuous and pure organization, because greater
proportion of democrats than republicans were
bought up by the Law clique. Grand is the
Chevalier when he says that 90 majority Of the
republicans proved themselves incorruptible,
honest and honorable men, when the enormous
sum Of seventy-ive thousand dollars, well se-
cured, was offered for VOTE" Wonderful
chaps they must be. Astonishing fellows,
who could resist such temptation to commit
official perjury, and become amenable to the
penalty Of ten years incarceration in the
State prison" Well may the Chevalier
be proud of the virtuous fraction of his
party, a greater fraction than that of
the ineorruptible Solons on the democratic
side of the chamber. The way in which our
contemporary ignores the fact that the repub-
lican Senator'S outnumbered the democrats in
the proportion Of nearly four to one is as
good as play.
Then look at bis virtuous indignation-"N No
honest man will offer excuse or apology for
any legislator who can be induced to sell his
vote" That's true that's a wonderful dis
covery. Further, every debauched public SER
want should be made to serve ten years in the
State prison. no matter to what party he may
belong Good But let us have enlarged
prison accommodations, or a Governor like
Clark or King or Seward. The facts in the case
are all in favor Of the integrity of the repub-
lican party, says the Chevalier, directly after
stating that a considerable number of the Sena-
tors on that side sold themselves out and out.
II that does not reach the climax of absurdity,
then we have no idea of what the article is.
Come now to the grand heroic and magnani-
- nous peroration. The Chevalier will give
one word of Justice to the two democratic
Senators who voted against the bill. Irish vir-
the. in the person of Mr.. Connolly, proved too
much for the wies of the seducer, though he
offered seventy-fve thousand dollars " guaran-
teed' webb emphasizes that; and the repu-
tation Of Long Island was safe in the hands of
Mr.. Gardiner. Thus the Metropolitan Police
District has two just men (at least two whose
price has not been ascertained) who keep the
Senatorial toga clean, and who may yet save
it from the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, to
which localities we are affeetionately compared
by the rural editors.