The Portland daily press., 1866-06-22
Y..w,essness in New York.

The Twenty-first Annual Report of the
New York Prison Association, which has just
been published, contains some extraordinary
accounts of lawlessness and crime in that
State After showing that through the neg
lect of the officers OF the law, criminals find
it easy to get off, and that in particular for
feited bail is in the greater number of cases
never collected, SO that "only twenty-five pei
cent. of those who were indicted were tried
eighteen per cent. were convicted on trial
twenty-five per cent confessed their guilt
forty-one per cent. forfeited their recognizan-
ces, amounting in the aggregate to $9s,OO0-
not one penny of which was recovered"-the
report proceeds as follows:
There is family residing in Oneida coun-
ty, who, according to common fame, have fol-
lowed the profession of thieving for nearly
twenty years. They have grown rich by thei1
unlawful practices. Their children are edu-
Gated in the best and most expensive semina-
ries. They dress genteelly, their manners are
somewhat polished, and they appear tolerably
well in society. Their operations are carried
on through the counties of Oneida, Oswego
Otsego, Madison. Chenango, Schoharie, Della.
ware and Sullivan. They have numerous
well-trained confederates in all those coun.
ties, who are ready, by day or by night, at a
moments warning, to ride off in any direc-
ton for the sake OF plumber, or for the conceal
ment or protection of associates who are in
danger OF falling into the meshes of the law
These men have been indicted times with
out number in the above mentioned counties
but none of them have ever been convicted
nor have any of them ever been in jail for q
longer time than was sufficient for abondsman
to arrive at the prison. 1t is generally be-
lieved that there are farmers, apparently re-
spectacle, who belong to this gang and share
in its profits. Whether this be so SO not, it is
certain that whenever bail is needed, any re.
quired number of substantial farmers will
come forward and sign their bonds, without
regard to the amount of the penalty. These
men, as might be supposed, exert great Pc
litical influence, and it Is well understood thai
they are always ready to reward their friends
and punish their enemies, both in primary
conventions and at the polls. Although, as
we have said, they have been repeatedly in
dicted, yet the number of their indictments
bears but small ratio to the number OF theil
depredations. si
1t usually happens that any one who is par
ticularly active IN Bringing any of the gang to
justice has his barn or dwelling soon after
burned, or his horses are missing from the
stable, or his sheep or cattle from the pasture
These things have happened SO often that peo-
pie are careful how they intermeddle in the
matter of seeking to bring them to Justice
If a person SO intermeddJing happens to have
a mortgage on his property, it is apt to- be
very soon foreclosed. II he has political as
pirations, thousands of unseen obstacles inter-
pose to prevent the fulflment of his hopes
Ii he is a trader, his custom falls off. If he is
physician, malpractice is imputed to him, OF
other malicious stories are circulated to his
discredlt; and at length matters come to such
a pass that his only recourse is to leave the
county.
As an Illustration. the report goes on to give
an account of man and his wife, found in