The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-09-30
The n1acsresor Clan.


The freedom Of public meeting is among
those things which we Americans love to
proudly call our "rights" But, like the right
to vote, It may be so tempered with, smothered,
or, what is worse, enlarged on in left-handed
sense, as to become practically nugatory in so
far as it is a guarantee of protection to
our liberties. The honest citizen who
goes to deposit his one vote at
the ballot box may justly complain.
when he finds that not only has some mus
cular fellow citizen obligingly voted for him,
and so deprived him Of his manhood suffrage,
but that he is compelled to look on while the
aforesaid ruf1ian votes from ten to twenty
times, as party expediency demands. Similar
to this must have been the feeling with
which the builders who convened at Teuton
Hall on Thursday night to oppose the present
building law and organize for the purpose Of
criminally prosecuting Mr.. Macgregor, the
Superintendent of Buildings, observed their
meeting taken possession Of by number Of
rowdies in the interest of the Macgregor.
Their establishment must have been still fur
Der of withdrawing resolutions which were
passed over their heads. These resolutions
coolly advised the necessity of asking Macgre-
gor what he thought of the charges advanced
against his honesty in administration, and
still more coolly advised the asking of that
worthy's opinion upon the building law as it
now stands on the statute book. There is not
the smallest pretension to sincerity in these
resolutions, viewed in the light of the object for
which the meeting was called. This can be
illustrated by a perfectly parallel case. Edwin
NJ Hagerty Is accused of stealing and burning
a number of vouchers. Strong evidence has
been given against him. What .. proof Of
public spirit it would be deemed for the
District Attorney to resolve on not prosecuting
the alleged burglar ''without first seeking
an explanation as to the TRUTH" &C.,
and in addition requesting Mr. Hagerty to
suggest what alterations he would like in the
building of voucher closets, and some hints on
the changes he would desire in the law on
burglary.
We say emphatically that the whole proceed
ing was one of outrage throughout, which, so
far as Macgregor is concerned, places him in
worse position than ever. The necessity to
use such means to defend himselfis tantamount
to the admission that he has no valid defence to
offer at all. Such glazing wrong will not help
any man in Macgregor's position. Its intro
duction in this city is no novelty; but its
inauguration at this critical period in our
municipal affairs is not only reprehensible,
but not to be tolerated. If Tammany sup
poses that through its ready Listed rufianism it
can put down the honest endeavors of the
citizens towards publication of our city
offices 1t will find itself mistaken. The chiefs
of the party are loud in their defiance of an
appeal to the courts, but in this first public
step to arraign one of their number it calls up
its DULLES and ''like very drab unpacks its
heart with cursing."
The builders intent on the prosecution of
this Macgregor should only be the more de-
termined to persevere in their perfectly just
course. We hope such will be the effect of the
lesson of Thursday night. -