The New York herald., 1871-10-28
Tho Suits Axninst tho city pccuiatcrs--A
NudJlc Of Law aud Politics.

Ingersoll, Garvey and Woodward. for the re-
covery Of moneys alleged to have been fraud
ulently drawn from the treasury Of the city of
New York, was yesterday served upon one of
the defendants, Tweed, and the amount of
bail required was furnished by five citizens
| Jay Gould, Bernard Kelly, Terence Farley,
Benjamin Fairchild and Hugh j. Hastings, OF
the New York Commercial Adeer&fser. The
amount in which the bail justified was two mil
lions Of dollars-the largest, we believe, ever
required of defendant in civil suit In this
State The proceedings are taken with view
of securing the return to the city of the
amounts drawn from the treasury over and
| above the fair estimate of the work done and
supplies furnished by the contractors who are
made parties to the suit, which amounts are
alleged to have been corruptly and illegally
| divided between certain city officials, only one
of whom, however, is made a defendant in the
present proceedings. The suit is civil, and
not criminal one, and will be subjected to
all those delays for which the law is proven
bial Already questions are raised as to
whether any progress can be made in the
action against Tweed until service OF process
upon the other defendants, two of whom are
said to have disappeared and left no trace of
| their whereabouts behind them. Should this
difficulty be overcome, witnesses will, no
doubt, be discovered whose testimony is Of
importance and whose residences are now in
I New Zealand Australia or Nova Scotia, and
commissions will be applied for to examine
them before any further step can be taken.
Then it appears that other suits for
the same object as that embraced in
the Albany case have previously been
commenced on the part of the city by the
Corporation Counsel, Richard OGorman, at
the instance of Mayor Hall, and it is legal
point how far these will debar the Attorney
General from prosecuting his later litigation.
1t is true that the Attorney General seeks to
dispose of the proceedings taken by the Cor
| poratOn Counsel by the argument that they
were not commenced until the day after the
authorization had been given by him to Charles
OConor to bring the suits of which this
Albany one is the pioneer; but II is alleged,
on the other hand, that the facts upon which
the actions are founded we're not known to
the Corporation Counsel sooner than to the
Attorney General and his agents or associates,
aud hence that no speedier movement could
have been made on the part Of the city
in the matter. However this may be, it
is evident that the affair is resolving itself into
a long, wearisome and expensive litigation,
and that win or lose, the result Is not likely
TO be such as the citizens expect or as the
momentousness of the occasion demands
The people are getting tired Of reports, reso-
lutlons, accounts and legal complaints in con-
nection with this municipal corruption busi-
ness. The result Of all the long stories
startling disclosures aud iuterminable array
| Of figures with which we have been satiated
during the past two months is always the
same; the city has been robbed Of several
millions of dollars and the amount has been
| divided up between contractors city officials
and clerks who have been acting as agents or
go-betweens in the disgracefal transactions.
One portion OF the money thus corrupuy OBJ
tanned has gone into the pockets of
individual operators and another has
been devoted to the purchase Of re-
publican votes in the State Legislature
and the bribng Of republican journals in order
to secure the laws that have rendered such
wholesale plunder practicable. We are called
upon to publish to-day some half-dozen col
umns OF reports about armories, drill rooms,
pay rolls sinecures and other denominations,
together with speeches Of members Of the in
vestigauns committees and long legal CON-
t,la nd uaf I'm of tha whn of
words and figures adds one iota Il The ilfor-
nation already in possession of the public
They show that the people have been plum
dered, but this was pretty well known before.
They prove that men are in power in the mu-
nicipality who are undeserving OF public con-
fdence; but this information can scarcely be
looked upon in the light of revelation.
What they all fail to do is TO point
ont a abort and direct road by which
we can emerge from our present difficulties
and this is just what the people most DESIRE
They are not afraid Of the amount of taxation
| that has been fastened upon them; New York
| is rich city and can afford to stand little
plunder. Ii those who have stolen the peoples
money can be made 10 dsgorge, well and
good, even ii the whole amount recovered
from The plunderers should be swallowed up
in law expenses and counsels' fees, and not
single dollar should go back into the treasury.
Justice aud the sense OF fair play demand that
restitution should be required if il can only be
secured. Bu what the citizens do demand is
that their municipal administration shall be in
honest hands, and that law and order shall take
4 the place OF irreguarity amounting almost to
anarchy. They are tired Of being made the
| shu;tlecocks TO be tossed backwards and for
wards between the bat,ledoors Of Office hold
| ing and ofice-sceking-of those who have