New-York tribune., 1869-05-21
LEGISLATIVE CORRUPT7ON-THE LATEST
NOSTRUM

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LEGISLATIYE CORRUPTYON-THE LATEST
NOSTRUM.
That our late Legislature was corrupt is de-
plorably true; but the popular conception of
! this fact does gross injustice TO scores of as
good and true men as ever grew. A very con-
siderable proportion Of either House, not all of
one party, were nowise tainted by the prcva-
lent lcprosy No iObbcr in official ycnality
ever dreamed that the course OF such men as
Samuel Campbell, 4. w. Palmer and \. y.
Parker could he influenced by money. SEN
ator Murphy and Judge Miller (Democrats)
often voted for measures essentially wrong
and carried by bribery; but they were not
brbcd and could not be. An operator around
the preceding Legislature remarked, about the
time it gave up the ghost that he could not
say as to fifteen Members of Assembly, but as
to the remaining one hundred and thirteen, hc
kneW they sold their votes for cash. We do
not doubt that number were sold; we greatly
doubt that those who sold some Of them were
able to deliver the goods A jobber often ascer-
tains which way member purposes to vote,
and then sells him to the side lac would have
supported any how, pocketing a heavy bonus for
securing the vote Of one whom he dare not even
speak to on the subject. A still sleeper swindle
is pTaCticed by selling the same vote IN stTictest
confidence to each side on the "NO Cure No
"Pay" basis and so making sure Of payment
from one or the other. The rascalties Of the
Lobby are infinite; he whom they cannot buy
they-will often defame by hints, and winks, and
dastardly innuendocs. We presume that there
were at least forty members (one-fourth of the
a1,or oh To hot bn
took penny beyond their regular pay, and
went home decidedly poorer than they
came to Albany. Such ought not to suffer in
repute from their reluctant association with the
gravest malefactors.
We trained our guns throughout on those
cOnuptiOnists who were chosen as Republicans,
because we had their range and could thus do
most execution. We could have effected moth
ing by harping on the conuptiOns of Demo
Gratis, and our exposures and reprehcnsiOns
were earnest. If we could induce the Demo
cratic journals to pursue a Ike course, cor
ruptiOn would soon be chased out Of the Cap
itOl. But those Democratic journals which pro-
fess to reprObate corruption talk as though
none were corrupt but Republicans and so ac-
complish nothing whatever toward a cOrrec-
tion of the evil. If we are to war on couup-
ton with effect each journal must strike at
the culprts in its own party. If we expose
and denounce only those on the other side the
public will regard this as but phase of party
warfare, and give it little heed OF none what
ever.
Sundly Republican journals have discovered
or rather adopted-a sovereign remedy for
legislative venality in what they call local self
government. AS corruption (thcy say is mainly
developed in connection with the Tax-Leyies
and Commissions for this City, they propose to
abolish it by putting Commissions aud Tax
Leyies unrescrvcdly into the control Of our
Municipal rulers, and letting them tax and
govern Us at discretion, This they call self