The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-11-17
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER II, 1871.
Legislative and JndiciaI Co,ruu,;o,

The present age is regarded as more venal
than the past. We are led to believe that our
forefathers were men of great purity-that our
legislators were models of uprightness, and
our Judges, like Cssal's wife, above suspi
cion. This is no. the fact With all the stern
severity of manners which prevailed years ago
among our ancestors, there were corrupt men
as now-profsate legislators and Judges who
had San itching PALM" The only difference
between the past and the present is that
temptations are greater now, and we are more
slow to punish venality than years ago.
Take Aaron Burr for example; he was the
first to inaugurate wickedness i'm the halls of
legislation. He has lett a monument of his
legislative conduct which is peculiarly his
own. and is quite equal in sublime rascaLty
to anything ever accomplished by the Tam
many leaders. We allude to the celebrated
Manhattan Banking Company of New York
for which he dexterously smugged per-
petual charter through the Legislature while
member of Assembly, under the pretence
that he was providing supply of pure and
wholesome water for the City-a dangerous
power of unlimited banking, unlimited trad
ing, stockjobbing, manufacturing, or any
other means of creating money being granted
the direction or the stock might fall, hy an
ertf.al eiaaee L.permittii.g the surplus capital
OF $2,000,000" to be employed "in any way not
inconsistent with the Laws and the Constitu-
tion OF the United States or of the State of
New York." This act at the time caused
quite as much indignation as any piece of ras-
cality of the present time. During the ad-
ministration OF Governor Tompkins, our high
est judicial tribunal was suspected of sealing
with unclean hands," and of making mer.
chandise of justice. Judge Van Ness, while
Judge OF the Supreme Court aud member of
the Council of Revision, received in connec-
ton with Elisha Williams, of Hudson, bribe
of 10000 from the Bank of America. The
money was gwen to Van Ness and Williams
as ga gratuty" for 'expediting" their special
charter through the Legislature. So utterly
corrupt was the bench and the Legislature
that Governor Tompkins was forced to pro-
rogue them in order to check the mutual vii
lainies Of two of the highest tribunals in the
State-the Supreme Court and the House of
Assembly. These parties were not Wings,
but were true blue Jeffersonian Democrats
The granting of bank charters by the Legis-
lature during the regime of Jackson, Van Bu-
rem, and Marcy was so notoriOusly wicked
and corrupt that it led to revolution in poll
tics almost as memorable and sweeping as the
revolution of last Tuesday-the Wings elect
ing some ninety-eght members of Assembly
and the Democrats about thirty. During
these corrupt times John G. Kemble and Isaac
W. Bishop, both Democrats, were expelled from
the Senate on account of corrupt transaction
in connection with the Harlem Railroad
And yet to hear Mr.. TIlden on the stump you
would come to the conclusion that under
the dynasty of Jackssn, Van Buren and Marcy
every Democrat was saint, aud had a mis-
sion to perform. and that mission was to pro-
tect the treasury from the rascally thieving
Wings. The old gentleman went so far not
long ago, in one of his garru'ous orations, as
to say until Seward and Weed obtained pow
er in this State there never had been heard
anything of corruption among public officers.
He made the declaration knowing OF the ras-
calities in granting bank charters. He could
not have forgotten that Samuel SwaItwout
was the Democratic Collector of the Port OF
New York under Jackson, and that he went
out defaulter for more than million dol
lars. 1t could not have escaped his mind that
VIM. NJ. Price was the Democratic United
States District Attorney who carried off a
quarter of million of dollars, and would
have taken more if he could have laid his
hands upon it, Never in the history of any
administration were there so many thieves in
Office as under the administration of Jackson.
Every fellow in Office pocketed every dollor
belonging to Uncle Sam he could rake and
scrape. These things are all matters of pub
lie record, and yet Mr.. Tilden has the un;
blushing assurance to say that venaity and
rascality came in with the Republican tide.
The fact is, corruption in our political system
is an epidemic like cholera and the yellow ie-
yer. Desperate remdies are required for
these terrible diseases. Let them be applied.
Tne whole body polite needs to be parSed
and famigated.-Commerctdt Advertiser.