The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-05-12


bishops and elders in the Church. Dr. New
man is physically one of the finest men in the
Methodist ministry, and intellectually also be
stands high. He is emphatically a self-made
man. He is not at present in the pastoral
charge Of any church, and is not member of
the General Conference, though attending on
its sessions. He isabout forty-six years of age
and has been in the ministry eighteen years
These are the most prominent though not
nearly all the candidates talked Of The diff
ferent sections Of the Church are looking for
the election Of their favorites DR.. L. c. Mat
lack, of the Louisiana Conference, and DR..
Alonzo Webster, of South Carolina, Drs. w.
California, Stephen M. Merrill, of Ohio, and
J. NJ Reid, Of Michigan, are also spoken Of as
likely to poll large vote, though not standing
as good chance for election, perhaps. as some
others named. The election of DR.. Harris, of
Central Ohio, for instance, would probably
hinder the election of any other candidate
from that region, and the choice of either Drs.
Foss or Andrews would be likely to defeat the
election of New England man. And, more
over, some of the colored conferences and peo-
pie are asking for bishop Of their race, and
Rev. James Lynch, of Mississippi, Secretary of
State Of that Commonwealth, and Benjamin r.
Brown, of Washington, are freely talked of.
The political standing of Mr.. Lynch would
doubtless be as great bar to his election as it
would be in the case of white candidate.
But portion of the African Zion connection
are seeking organic union with the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and if they should enter
that body they would want to bring their
bishops with them also. The prospect of an inn
mediate union is not, however, very favorable.
Rowdyism Rampant In the Metropolis.
Of late the dangerous classes in this city
have acquired decidedly disagreeable prom
inence in the metropolis. They have thrown
off the mask of nocturnal stealthiness and
surreptitious attempts on the property of our
citizens, and, emboldened by the supineness Of
the police and the utter Indifference of a cor
rupt judiciary, they ply their trade openly and
take undisputed possession not only of the
principal thoroughfares, but occasionally assert
their right OF search in private houses The
calendar Of crime has recently assumed alarm
ing dimensions, and we rarely hear of a
case Of condign punishment on the part of
the constituted authorities. Garroting, pocket
picking burglary and even murder seem to
claim an important part in the affairs of the
great city. Impunity of crime is, as all know
the most prolific means to extend it. The
fimsy excuses under which criminals have
repeatedly escaped the just chastisement of
their offences lead inevitably to the commits
sion of other and, perhaps, greater crimes.
The murder of Mr.. Charles II. Phelps in his
own house is a startling example of the bold
unscrupulous attitude of the dangerous classes
to-day The thieves that entered his house
were prepared to kill as well as to steal 1t Is
grave mistake to imagine that rufians who
venture on q career of robbery or burglary do
not mean to add murder to it if they are
detected and no other means offer them for
escape The Nathan and Rogers mysteries"
have already proved the contrary
This murder Of Mr.. Phelps is one of the
most cold-blooded and terrible occurrences that
periodically disgrace our criminal calendar.
At an early hour in the evening man enters
his house, finds two ruffians concealed therein,
and before even attempting to arrest them is
killed, OF, what is the same thing, MORALLY
wounded. The ruffians escape, the murderer
frightening away from his path two despicable
policemen, who were too cowardly to stop him.
There is no clue at present to either party, and
they are probably exulting in their escape and
only regretting that they did not succeed in
robbing their victim Also Another recent case
of ruffianism is the assault made upon work.
ingman, on Friday afternoon, in one of the
principal streets, by brace Of desperadoes,
who beat him and tore his clothes because they
could not find enough plumber about his per-
son. These ruffians were, strange to say, ar
rested and brought before justice, at the
jefferson Market Police Court They were ac-
companied thither by formidable gang of
rowdies and sympathizers who took tempo
rary possession Of the court room and acted in
manner that would lead people to suppose
they were the governing power there.
Now, this condition Of affairs is a disgrace
and shame to such city as ours. Every
citizen is at the mercy of these rufians and
such scenes may be repeated at any time,
either in the street or ones private residence.
No terms can be too severe when applied
to our police and judicial authorities for per-
hitting such things to happen, for on them
and on them alone the responsibility should
be placed. They have encouraged those
rufians until the very excuse Of law
has been torn away and crime in its
naked deformity stalks unchecked through
our city. Crime should be punished promptly
and sternly and should not become the vehicle
by which INSCRIPTIONS counsel gain an unen-
viable reputation for invariably cheating the
gallows of its due. Nowadays the terrible
crime of murder is yelled under so many
N;p,ov 1aoo1 d;couaaq that tho very fi1nda-