New-York tribune., 1870-12-03
THE ASCILLA8Y QUALITIES OF PETERS



When Mr.. A. Oakley Hall appointed Thomas
! J. Barr a Police Commissioner on the ground
! that in old days Mr.. Barr had exhibited, with
other ancillary qualities, o familiarity with
"police discipline and an appreciation OF
" the exigencies of life and society which re-
"quire police regulation" it might be sup
posed. by those who know the history of Mr..
Barr's official career as Alderman and AS
sistant Alderman of the Sixth Ward, that the
Mayor wickedly alluded to a certain trans
action, exposed in the Superior Court OF tins CITY,
which if Justice and law were always synony-
nous might have given not only Mr. Barr
| but Mr.. Barr's nephew q closer familiarity
with police discipline than either would nave
found agreeable, We cannot believe Mr.
Hall TO have been unacquainted with the
facts for they happened at time when bis
position as Assistant District Attorney made
il his duty to know of them, and
though reports of the trial were gem
orally suppressed, the circumstances were
notorious in official circles. We have before
us full notes of the evidence presented in the
case of Willard and Sweeny dgt. Pettigrew
and Sherman, tried on the 22d of December,
1854, before Judge Murray Hoffman of the Su-
perior Court. 1t appears that in 1850 John
Pettigrew and Edmund Il. Sherman were en-
deavoring TO procure from the Common Ceun-
Gil a grant for railroad in Broadway, and In
order TO assist their scheme they engaged the
services of Ammiel Willard, who was then
chief clerk and general manager in the Office
of the Corporation Counsel The opposition to
| a Broadway road was so strong that the ap-
plcation was afterward changed to one for
railroad in the Eighth avenue, and about the
time of the change Mr.. Peter B. Sweeny-fOr
reasons which will be plain enough before we
close-was associated with Willard as "coun-
"sel" for the applicants. The Chairman of
the Committee in tho Common Council to
which the matter was referred was Thomas j..
Barr; and nobody who understands the ancillary
relationship of Mr.. Barr to Peter b. Sweeny will
be surprised that the concession was obtained,
l. Sweeny and Willard claimed for their services
!. q one-fourth interest in the road, and this
h being resisted they brought suit. The defense
, was that the services in question were neithe
/: more nor less than the bribery and corruption
e of the Common Council, and therefore al
action could not be maintained moreover, that
the plaintiffs had waived their claim ant
,. accepted as compensation the appointment Of
permanent counsel of the Eighth-avenue Rail
:. road Company. The principal evidence for the
= plaintiffs was furnished by q Mr.. Vultee, who
Y was employed in their Office, and testified to
: the amount and value of the service which
/ they performed. lie knew of no improper
j practices, but it was well understood by the
i plaintiffs witnesses that personal influence
was to be extensively employed in manipulate
ing the Common Council. The defendants
: however, told pretty plain story. No fewer
than eight members of the Common Council are
mentioned in the testimony as having accepted
bribes through the agency of Messrs. Willard
and Sweeny. Assistant-A Alderman B. Of the
Nineteenth Ward said he knew what was
going on, and he'd be id if he would MI
"have some" He had sOme-$1 900 was the
7 precise sum-but whether he has been id OF
not we are unprepared to say. Assistant-Al-
dermen b., Eleventh Ward, NJ, Third Ward
and T., Second Ward, had $1,000 between them
Alderman William II. C's asking price was
$4,000, but he accepted $4,000. Alderman b. re-
received $500, and then wanted to be let of
because he could do better on the other side"
Alderman F. of the Tenth Ward had about
$500, and Capt Ryndcrs received $500 to dis
tribute where it would be most useful. There
not be bought. He was, consequently taken
down to Staten Island by Mr.. James NJ.
Sweeny, brother of Peter and now Clerk of
the Superior Court, and made so drunk that
he could not go home and vote. For this del
icate service James got 800, and Peter COM
planned that it was not enough: he ought to
have had $500.
We are especially interested, however, Just
now with the eminent legal firm of Willard
and Sweeny and their relations with Peters
ancillary uncle; and here we shall let their
employers tell their own story. We copy first
from the minutes Of the evidence of Sherman :
Willard was employed account Of his position In the
Corporation Counses office. and because he could both
uence members and procure favorable opinions from the
Counsel sweeny In before the grant was
made Willard said sweeny had influence with the mem
bers Of the Common Council Think he said sweeny was
relative OF Barrs. sweeny would say, 4" You
must see so-and-so." willard drew a letter from Barr
as Chairman OF the Committee 10 the Corporation COun
sell asking his opinion to the power of the Common
council to make the grant, and Willard also drew the
answer.
But the testimony of Mr.. Pettigrew was more
interesting still. He said:
Barr made his report In favor NJ the ors,t An ,o., =,
ne ran Oh 1850 Willard wanted eweeny associated with
ni" ne ssid sweeny boarded with Barr who was bis
aneie he i"iardl had seen strange 1ings take place
@r0a0h S'oeenv who had good deal Of influence with
nlemoers' and with Barr particularly 1t was under
o'o0u oSueIs oood procure Barr's services think
sWeeuy Drew the report Willard and s,geeny ouId cav
"sueh an Alderman must be got righto would 90 sH6
arrange II ana tel them what it cost TO do H. Botb Of
them knew what was being done, particularly s,Veepv
The names and amounts were mentioned what IL cost 20
buy them toid s"eeny that when he came in sun
posed ne vOuid secure Barr but that vs hod 1d ., 49,
him. sweeuy said he was sorry; If we had conS,',|J
him lsweenyl he would have advised against ne I'M
Barr. As to paying money, 1t was all talLc1 oy.r ta