New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-11-27
~ EEHi'U.iNIS 1ND SHIrPF"S

III" politics Of the city have been
in ,oue measure purified by the late
storm which pissed over Tammany
Hail. The Corporation government has
been partially reformed. aud we are
promi a.l IN honest administration. Bat few
department., are still corrnpty administered;
IN effort Is required to purify these; and as
far as the Dock Department, QHaran.in".
Custom House, and IIarbor Masters are
concerned this reform depends on the
Joint and earnest efforts of the merchant,
aid shippers OF This city. TIL" revolution in
the City Government was brought about 10y
revelations of the actual theft Of about
$4,000 .OOO and the waste Of an additional
$4,000 600 Immense as these sums arc they
are only fractions of the amounts lost to New
York annually by the false Taminany policy,
which is destroying our commerce and which
vet remains to ruin us though Tammany j."
dead. That policy Tons us less directly
than the more infamous one of Tweed.
Woodward, and Connolly, WHO appropr
atcd millions on forged paper and
greater. We are dcspOilcd by it net of wnat
we have gained, but Ci wealth Which the city
might hopo, under wiser direction, TO gain III
tho future. 1t robs us not only Of what we
own, but takes away the means whereby we
live The direct robbery of millions of profits
j.. less than the indirect loss Of tie trade and
industry whereby that gain was accumulated.
We have shown in previous articles that New
York has lost during the last ten years Of
Tammany rule $jo,OoO,OC0 annually of its trade.
And this is not all the sad truth the los, still
continues at the same ratio.
The chief causes of this great less have been
tho extortions of the Iarbor- Mas crs, Custom
House, and Quarantine, and the mistaken
policy of the Dock Commissioners. We lave
shown in our exposures of Quarantine outrages
the painful facts which have made our port
terror to every shipmaster in tho trade with
the tropics, in the revelations of the exactOns
of the HarbOr- Masters, who have taxed shippers
beyond endurance, and by exposition of that
policy of the Late Collector which, by COM
promising with rascals, encouraged smuggling,
and by exactions on honest men imposed
u tax on fair dealing and honest traffic.
We publish elsewhere facts and figures which
show how tho false policy Of Tammany
Hall. even under comparatively honest admin
is.raton uses the docks and piers Of the city
to drive away the commerce it ought to invite
and shelter. These wrongs can only be- rene
died by the merchants Of New York. We ask
their careful attention to the articles we have
published and those which We shall publish
from time to tinc. They are prepared by
writer's familiar with tho facts, from official
documents and sworn testimony from the prin-
cipal ports in the country. and contain cOnclu-
sivc evidence that Our commerce is diminish
ing, and that the causes are ~ we have stated
them. These facts are irresistible to any
thinking merchant familiar with the growth of
Ncw-YoIk and it's commerce; aud the moral
they carry is clear that the relief can only be
had by prompt action by the merchants them
selves. There is no longer ally power in all
thOrity to be dreaded now, as there was few
months ago. and we trust that merchants will
not hesitate now, as they did then, for fear of
"Tamnlany prescription" to furnish facts
and illustrations of tho cxactions Of the
men who administer these departments
for their own profit and on the false
system inauguratcd by Tammany Hall. Our
columns are open to them without reserve,
and we trust to ngitatc and expose these
abuses until reform is obtained from the
next Legislature.
To aid in this work. which is for their benc-
st. we invite and urge every merchant in the
City OF New-York. The legal profession has
united. under the lead Of the Bar Association,
TO reform the great abuses in the Courts, par
ticularly those Of tho Referee system, which
We have fully exposed and shall continue
to dcnOuncc. The medical fraternity,
at tho call of the Mrdico-Lcgal Society.
" preparing to obtain laws from
tho next Legiylature which shall punish abOr-
1sa'sHl prevent the licensing Of abortioaists
ny bogus colleges. We have given full spaco |