The Portland daily press., 1869-02-15

Letter from New v...

Letter from New York.
Death Of James T. Brady-Ttoo Interes,;n,
Cdses-Crime in Neao York-Womon,.
Rights and Strikers-A Nooelty,in Bene.
+ fit Societies-Amusements
NEW YORK, February II, 1859.
To the Editor of the Press:
The sudden death on Tuesday Of James T
Brady is an event felt not only in legal circles
but throughout the city generally. The feel
ing is due not so much to his great eminence
at the Bar, as to his genial manners and the
host of personal friends which he numbered
| in the profession and out of it. And speak
amiss to faiets and lawyers it may not be
| 80 CAUSES cfIaG
IN Brooklyn court which excite conn.
among the general public. One was libel
suit against the well known SUNDAY Meycur,
for damaging statement made concerning
political candidate. The paper was mulct-
TO the tune of $1,000. Without expressing
any opinion upon the merits of this particn.
lar case, 1t may be said that there are good
many who will not regret to see that sheet
smart for some of its personalities.
The other case was a suit brought aua;n.t
.ne ERE railway Co., for damages sustained
ny MI. Dixie in the great accident of last
year IN which large number of passenger
were killed. or injured. The verdict was for
po0'Voo' SAID to be the largest ever given In
tnS country in such case. One of the
good sayings in the trial is worth preserving.
Ihe counsel for the company had shown that
tne accident occurred under a lofty cliff
Wnere the sun shone on one side of the
tf9ck and not on the other, and that this was
the real cause of the accident. the rails and
ro1d bed being affected thereby; and claimeI
.n'' 'he company were not liable Or
tns result. Mr.. jerks, counsel for the plsin-
h9 replied that this was no excuse, f,r, said
ne, Ar. James Fiske, Jr., would hay. had no
ulinculty IN obtaining an injuuctDn from a
New York court to prevent the sra's shining
thus unequally."
cRIMEIN THE cIF.
Judging from paragraph in the Press a
lew days since, you think that New York is
very unsafe place to esell in, and tAattr., /
are soon to have vigiIanGdss i. Quite reached
Il
among us. Things .effain that within the
,nls pass but has abounded, and numerous
'aS' year ealrlffng robberies have taken place.
Ell very boldness seems to have aided the
perpetrators in effecting their escape. Bank
messengers have been waylaid in broad day.
light in the crowded street, and but day or
two since two or three men actually broke in
the window of jewelry store ON Broadway,
and succeeded in getting off with their plum
del Ia tray of valuable diamonds. 1t is un-
deniable that these things have created
feeling OF alarm, ~sSweli as caused good
deal of harsh criticism upon the management
of the Police and of the criminal courts.
Whatever the cause then seems to be a de-
termination on the part If the latter, at pres
ent, to make an example IF the despsradoes
who fall into their hands. They are sending
up burglars and robbers :. Sing Sing rapid
and for full terms, for ten aid twenty years
in many instances. One coud not well COM
plain in late instance that jstice was NOV
ing slowly when party wasrrested while
in the act of committing burlary, convict
ed and sentenced to forty years Imprisonment |
all within a week. II this nev spirit will |
only hold out our dangerous classes will be
likely to prove less troublesomeor the fu-
ture. Another of the
OLD LANDMARKS
of the city will soon disappear. The New |
| York Hospital, which has stood IL many
years just above the City Hall Park, to 60
far up town, and its valuable ground offer
for sale. Land in that section of he city
is too high to be used for other than buiness
| purposes. One by one all the old buildings
on Broadway are disappearing, and sAtely
structures Of stone or iron take their race
What an essentially American street It's
| always building and never builtl 1t is worhy
Of notice as showing what an immense fmc-
tion they perform in modern society, that
some of the largest and most elegant of thee
structures are being erected by insurano
companies.
| "wcMAN's RIGHTS"
| What these are is still somewhat mooted
question, and / doubt not will remain so for
some years to come, despite Mr.. John Meals
earnest advocacy of his view, backed as he is
by the Press. However, that they ought to
have the right to earn their living, if they de-
sire to do SO, ispretty generally acknowledg-
ed. The printers strike is likely to be prac-
tical contribution to their cause, as it has led
/ tol the opening Of many Offices TO women
and some of them, am glad to say, putting
all their employees on equal footing. Anoth-
erihopeful scheme is the opening OF school
of telegraphy at that noble benefaction, the
Cooper Institute, for the instruction of young
women in that art, with the assurance of po-
sitions after they have learned. These little
| steps in advance are not likely to call forth
any great amount Of hurrahing-not being Of
the snowy order which commands public ac-
clamations-but their results may prove in
the long run quite as important as those ol
events more loudly heralded.
Iwonder if there is any place in the coun-
try where strikes are so periodical and fre-
qdent as here. Almost every trade has its
union, which rules as despotically as the Eng.
lish trades unions-and great many of these
!. strikes are disgraced by the use of intimida
tiqn and force upon those who will not fall in
with the strikers.
/ NOVEL BENEFIT SOCIETY,
or rather a novel feature in one, came to my
notice day or two since. In addition to the
ordinary features-such as the payment oi
burial expenses and of a certain amount to
any member when sick, it is proposed to hire
physician for the whole society, who for q
small annual fee shall attend all its member