The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-12-01

East New Yerk-A Now Field for Mission.
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East New York has lately come into unen-
viable notoriety through the lawlessness and
blackguardism Of the crowd Of roughs and row.
dies that seem to make that suburban locality
their headquarters. At one time . number Of
quiet, sociable Germans, enjoying their music
and lager at picnic, are set upon by these
rufaans and maltreated, and again we hear Of
hotel being sacked by them. Similar out
RACES are Of weekly occurrence there and that
neighborhood, one of the most pleasant spots
in The City Of Churches, has now become the
theatre Of guerilla warfare and the head
quarters Of r6Wdyism. No measures have been
taken by the authorities to check this nuisance.
Eight policemen on Sundays and four on other
days are supposed to be sufficient force to
preserve order, although the population Of the
village is nearly eight thousand and as for the
guerillas, their name Is legion. Here is
field Of operations for the knights Of the locust
to exercise their military abilities upon, and
vary their Sunday duties from watching de-
llnquent liquor dealers to protecting peaceful
citizens against the assaults Of rowdies. Why
does not Major General Kennedy "move i'm
mediately on their works" and abolish the
reign Of terror they have inaugurated in this
harmless villages Of course, peeping through
keyhoies and arraigning liquor dealers is less
irksome work than encountering crowd Of
roughs, but the police should never shirk their
duties as guardians Of the peace.
But wide field ia also open here for mis-
sionary labors. We have societies for the con-
version and amelioration of the Fejee Island
ers, the Ashantees, the Esquimaux, the bush.
men Of Australia and other communities not
particularly blessed with civilization. White
cravatted clergymen Of Pickwickian proclivi-
ties and specialized ladies of uncertain age 60
around, subscription book in hand, and elo-
quently dilate on the benighted condition OF
the poor heather. Shiploads Of Bibles and
tracts are annually sent out to the delighted
aborigines Of the Pacific, and missionaries
strive to convince the Celestials Of the "Flowery
Kingdom" that there are stranger things in
religion than ever Confucius dreamed of in his
philosophy. And all this zeal is not unattended
with danger, to judge from the demand for
boiled missionary among the Feejees. Now,
why not look nearer home, and send mission
aries and tracts to the benighted heathens Of
East New York; Surely there is . sad want
Of Christian forbearance and charity among
the target companies that select some of the
peaceful residents or their houses as marks for
practice or among the soldiers that sometimes
inaugurate camphEn there. The philanthro-
to East New YorE alone if he turn his eyes
homewards. There are hundreds of similar
fields for his labors On every side Of him. Let
him once withdraw his mind from the contem-
plation of the benighted souls Of Abyssinia
and Hindostan, and he will find at his own door
more darkness, misery and distress than ever
he imagined. The trite yet often neglected
adage, "charity begins at home," comes in here
for share Of his philanthropic attentions.