The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-02-26

possession Of the field. The most notorious
Of it's operators have been in attendance at
Albany during the whole session up to the
time of the temporary adjournment and every
night the rooms of many of the leading re-
publican Senators and Assemblymen have
been niled with outsiders whose occupation is
well known, and who can have no business
with legislators except of a disgracefut
and criminal character.
The natural result of such a commerce-
ment OF the session is before the people of
the State. In the first republican legislative
caucus held this year a prominent member of
the Assembly, identified with the Couklinp
clique, charged upon Mr.. Alvord and his sun
porters friendly association with the lobby.
Stung by the taunt, the Fenton faction devoted
themselves to the exposure of official venality
on the part of administration republicans,
and ever since the organization of
the Legislature the time that was pledged
to reform has been FILTERED away in these dis
graceful party squabbles. Not measure is
introduced without being subjected to the fac
tional test. A law to enable the city Of New
York to pay its public bonds and interest was
only passed after having gone through the or.
deal of faction fight. The Audit bill, de-
signed to relieve the sufferings of city laborera
and employees who were kept out of the money
honestly their due, became bone of con-
tention between Conklingites and Fentonites.
The Clerk of. the Senate, identified with the
former interest, has been proved guilty at
least of official indiscretion, aud has been
driven to resign One Senator has been ar
raigned for receiving brides, and his case has
been hanging on before an investigating COM
mittee for weeks. Others are openly threat
ened with similar exposures. A leading res
publican printing firm, shown to have re-
ceived hundreds of thousands of dollars every
year from the State for all sorts Of unneces-
sary jobs, has been proved to have altered the
figures of bills for legislative work in
its own favor to have paid ten thou
sand dollar brides to lobbymen to carry
through its claims in the Supply bill, and to
have allowed liberal percentages to legislative
clerks and employees of State departments for
work done for the State. One-half the legs-
measure has been yet secured. The only
progress that has been made in the matter of
charter for New York city has been the
discussion in the Assembly of the expert
mental hodge-podge prepared by the Com
mittee of Seventy, and which Mr.. Alvord and
his friends openly denounce as piece of
impracticable absurdity, which, if passed at
all by that body, will only be passed in the
expectation that it will be defeated in the
Senate or vetoed by the Governor. Not
single idea of charter has proceeded from
our lawmakers, while many of them have
been intriguing for power under the existing
municipal departments, with the intention to
leave the city in it's present condition should
their efforts prove successful. Meantime,
there has been an evident and notorious
evasion of every real reform. The recently
denounced Canal Ring has been left untouched,
OF only fed with new appropriations, while it's
principal heads, one in the Senate and one in
the Assembly, have been making combina-
tons for mutual protection with all who have
exposure to dread or schemes to prosecute.
The Erie Ring and the Erie lobby have been
laboring 80 successfully with Senators and
Assemblymen that they now openly boast
their ownership of both bodies. On the first
day of the session Senator James O'Brien,
faithful to his reform pledges, introduced q
bill to repeal the Erie Classification act, which
before election was denounced by the republi-
can party as law Of infamy, passed by
I-;y~ nd nd
Senate has resorted to succession of tricks
to delay action upon the measure and to
escape the responsibility of direct vote.
Tweed has been left untouched-Fields has not
been troubled, and common report declares
that neither Senate nor Assembly dare to
move against the indicted Tammany officials.
lest their own venal practices should be ex-
posed by the men who have used them as
their hired tools.
Is there any honest act to be set of against
this fifty days record of bad faith, cowardice
and corruption, laid up against reform
republican Legislaturep A few investigating
committees have been formed, and as some OF
the persons whose acts are to be inquired
into are of an adverse political status, and
are neither likely to bride nor intmidate
their investigators, it is possible that in few
instances a result favorable to justice may
be reached. The impression prevails, how
ever, that many of the inquiries started by
the Legislature are of the customary black
mail character, and il the feeling be unjust it
IL ct least not unreasonable, in the light of the
experience of the first half of the session. Up
to the present time, then, the republican legis-
lators, with majority in both houses large
enough to enable them to carry through every
measure Of reform to which they stand
solemnly pledged before the people, have done
no act except in the interest, directly or