New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-03-28
TIM CASE or MR.. TWEED.

The State Senate is beginning to feel the
consequences of its long neglect to act upon
the case of William M. Tweed. 1t is nearly
seventeen months since he was reelected q
representative of the WITH District, In the face
of recent exposures of his extraordinary frauds
II is fifteen months since resolution for MS
emulsion was offered in the Senate. Yet the
Senators have refused to vindcate the good
name of the body to which they belong by
taking any steps towards his removal; and 1t
is only at the end of the last session for winch
he was chosen that they attempt an lnvest-
CATION of his conduct. Now Mr.. Tweed meets
them with the plea that he is not member
of the Senate, and is consequently beyond
their jurisdiction. He has never taken the
oath he has never presented himself at the
Capitol, and he has never meant to. 10 avoid
dispute about the matter, he will go through
the form of resigning but he wishes 1t to be
understood that it is fictitious resignation OF
a thing he never held. Of course this is an
insolent and preposterOus plea. Tweed made
vigorous contest for the election in 1871. He
was returned by large majority. When ODOn-
ovan Rosa claimed the seat on the ground that
Tweed was ineligible, Mr.. Tweed appeared
O'Donovan was not admitted. Thus 1t is
established that Tweed became candidate In
earnest, and that he accepted the office which
was bestowed upon him by his constituents.
The fact that he did not comply with the rule
of law i'll respect to taking the oath does not
affect the case in the least. 1t is a well estab-
lished parliamentary principle that the rights
and duties of membership are conferred by the
election alone and not by the oath. 1t Is set
tied that the privilege of exemption from ar
rest applies to members who have not been
sworn in, and it has even been decided that a
member may be appointed on a committee,
not merely before he has been sworn in, but
before an official return has been made of his
election. Before a return be made" says
Jefferson, "a member elected is to every in
"tent member, except that he cannot vote
"until be is sworn"
If the Senate had done its duty year ago,
Tweed would not have ventured to interpose this
frivolous objection. The case must have been
settled then on its merits. Now the ex-Chiet
of the Ring is allowed to save himself the dis
grace of expulsion, and to withdraw, with some
affectatiOn of dignity, from the tardy investi-
CATION. The fact is the Senate has not dared
to pursue this inquiry, and Tweed knows 1t.
The matter would be dropped now, if it were
not for the pressure of an Overpowering pub
lie opinion; and if chance should offer an ex-
cuse for dismissing the Committee from fur
ther consideration Of the question before them,
we may be sure that more than one Republl-
can Senator would feel an enormous relief.
But this must not be. The reputation of the
Senate is too deeply affected by the charges
that have been made. If common re-
port is not grossly at fault there are
at least five members of the present
Senate who rendered Mr.. Tweed valuable
service in Ring legislation, and did it pre-
sumably for an adequate reward. According
to ex-MayOr Hall, who ought to be good
authority, Mr.. Tweed established such rela-
tons with eight Republican Senators from
the interior that the present Legislature could
not harm HIM. A week ago these men were
in despair Three days ago, their faces were
all bright with renewed confidence. Had
they, in the meantime, "seen" Mr.. Tweed,
and arranged that he should not be pushed,
and consequently somebody should" not
get hurt "?-that he should pretend TO resign
an Office he declares he never held, that there
upon he should be let alone, and they should
escaped The charges must now, all the
more, be thoroughly investigated. We do
not know that they are true; but we do
know that the action of the Legislature ever
since January 1872, has given strong color
of probability to them, and that they are cur
rently believed. Tweed himself has been
suffered to escape; but his guilty comrades
| remain, and it may be that in tracing them
4 I'LL l.oLN al,,nl Nl ftnf.a
| nation respecting the new Ring, in which Mr..
| Tweed il understood to be a silent partner,