The New York herald., 1869-02-13
The Abuse. in the shersa,s once.

Things are worse in the Sheriff's Office than
we thought. We have received from the
Sheriff the following letter in regard to the
escape of the convicts in Centre street,
SHERIFF's OFFICE New COURT HoUsE,l
CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW YORK, Feb. r. 1869. !
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD
SIR-An article In your issue OF this morning IN
reference to the escape OF C0nyicts has tendency
to reflect with great injustice on this Office. 1t Is
very evident that the writer OF that article was not
fully conversant with the facts, which simply
follows:-rhe party having charge OF those conycts
was an officer OF the Court OF Sessions appointed by
the Board OF Supervisors, and not deputy sheriff,
and consequently not under my control nor amena-
be to me IN any form. 1t has long been the custom
for the Sheriff OF this county at the request or the
presiding ofcer of any court OF justice to deputize
persons acting in the capacity OF attendants upon
such courts as special deputy sheriiis" who wear
badge thus engraved. This conveys other
authority than that to protect the public peace"
and can be used for no other purpose You win there
fore perceive that IN The present instance these con-
victs were not under the charge OF the Sheriff or
any of his deputies, and consequently that this office
is in no way answerable for their escape. am at
own ocal actions call Tor but do not wish TO have
the acts OF other parties over whom have no con-
troll imputed 10 me or TO my subordnateS. Very
spectfully yours JAMES 0'BRIEN, Sheriff.
The first observation to be made on this ex-
PLANTATION is that in one line we are told that
the officer who had charge of the prisoners is
a deputy sheriff, and in another line that he is
not deputy sheriff; and we cannot wonder at
the occurrence of any dereliction Of duty in
the Sherifrs Office when the kind of inteli-
gence that presides there is of the uncertain,
feeble, self contradcting kind that writes this
letter.
''The party having charge of those con-
victs," says the Sheriff. s'was an officer of the
Court of Sessions, appointed by the Board of
Supervisors, and not deputy sheriff, and
consequently not under my control nor amena-
BILE to me in any FORM" Here, then, is a
sufficient reason for the immediate removal
from Office of this Sheriff, and we demand
that the Governor remove him. Here is at
once an abuse in the machinery of justice that
the Sheriff impudently or ignorantly parades
as his defence. BY what right does he turn
over to persons not amenable to him Sin any
form" the performance of duties that the law
entrusts to him9 Where did the Supervisors
get the power to exercise q function belong
ing to the people at the polls-the power to
designate, in the election of Sheriff, who shall
have in custody the offenders against the
public peace under sentence? Here Is just
what we pointed to in the abuses of the
Sherif's office-the appointment by corrupt
politicians of men to have charge of the pri-
soners who are no better than the prisoner $
themselves. Fancy the men who are the asso
ciates of the rufians at Aliens dance house on
one day conducting them TO State Prison the
next day.
But the Sheriff shows by his leNer that he
understands that these men would have no
authority to take charge of the criminals
unless they received that authority from him.
He says it is the custom for the Sheriff to
''deputize" persons acting In the capacity Of
attendants upon the court, and these persons
wear the badge Of deputy sheriffs and do the
duty of deputy sheritfs and have authority to
protect the public peace. They are, in fact,
men "deputized" by the Sheriff to perform,
with his authority, sheriff's duty; and how
any man can set his hand to declaration that
snch persons are not deputy sheriifs il is
difficult to say
II appears, then, that the Sheriff gives the
authority of his Office in loose, indiscriminatc
way to cover any and everybody whom the
Supervisors or any one else may appoint TO
have charge of criminals. and thus abuses the
trust the people have rcposed In him; and for
this abuse, in which doubtless there are
many greater evils than the occurrence in
Centre street, he ought TO be removed, and IL
he Is not removed the Governor viii! be want
ing in his duty TO tho public.