The New York herald., 1875-10-31
The Closing Canvass.

acter Of two or three Of the candidates on the
anti-Tammany ticket renders them unworthy
of support. The injustice of the attack upon
Recorder Haekett, especially, has already
produced the natural result in all such
assaults-an arousing of our sense of fair
| play and reaction in favor of the person
/ assalled. The conclusive answer even from
democratic and Tammany Hall point of
view, to every charge thus far brought
! against Recorder Hackett is that, mp to
the day Of the Tammany Hall Nom
mating Convention, he was in full ac-
cord with the party and worthy of its
confidence and respect. And even Tammany
Hall men are asking why it is that
in day this democrat Of esteem and rep
utation should be deemed unworthy, not
only as Judge, but Of the confidence of his
own political associates. They naturally
ask what security is there for any democrat
in the organization if it is to be within the
power Of Mr. Kelly or any leader OF Tam
many Hall 20 prescribe him because Of the
expression Of his free opinion relative to the
| government Of the discipline Of the party.
/ But the people will look upon the canvass
4 from still higher ground They see in
| Recorder Hackett man whose record, con-
sidering how many years he has been before
the public in positions of trust and response
bility, is singularly free from objection
Arguments are made against his fitness
for reelection based upon his old
political relations with the men who
once controlled Tammany Hall We venture
the remark that there is scarcely democrat
holding Office under Tammany Hall who
could submit to the same ordeal without re-
ceiving assaults as violent as those made
| upon Mr. Hackett If Mr.. Kelly himself
were subjected to the same scrutiny we can
well imagine the nature of the allegations
that would be made against him. He knows
himself what political malignity succeeded in
compiling year or two ago. when he was in
antagonism to the late Mayor Havemeyer
but the common sense Of the community, the
men who respected Mr.. Kelly for his
admitted qualities, resented the attacks Of
Mr. Havemeyer's friends upon his char
acter and denounced them as mere cleo
ton ISLANDERS and roorbachs, invented to
serve partisan purposes. The same gen.
erous sentiment of confidence shown
to Mr.. Kelly, when he was assailed in the
interest Of Mayor Havemeyer, will certainly
be given to Recorder Hackett, now that he
, is slandered by the minions Of Tammany
| Hail. Bad as the old Tammany regime was
under Sweeny and Tweed, there were hun
dreds and thousands Of democrats who gave
it fealty, who held Office under its
reign, who to a certain extent, were
in the friendship and in the confidence
Of its leaders, who were in no way cog
infant Of the great crimes committed upon
the Treasury and who cannot justly be held
responsible for those crimes. 1t was a long
time, as our readers will well remember, be-
fore those crimes were detected or even their
existence was suspected. When discovery
came honest democrats like Recorder Hackett
and Mr. Kelly revolted from the infamous al
lance, and it is unfair alike both to Recorder
Hackett and Mr. Kelly to make this canvass
upon the theory that because a man was a
Tammany democrat in the time of Tweed
and Sweeny therefore he was thief and
peculator Of tie public treasury.
This is the beginning and the end Of all
the charges against Recorder Hackett. As
Judge, no one questions his integrity, his
capacity OF his courage. In fact,
Mr. Kelly himself, in his well con
sidered speech, comedies to Recorder
Hackett those qualities as a magistrate
which have won him the respect of the peo-
pie, and the question naturally arises
whether the people Of New York will submit
to see an honest, capable magistrate dragged
from the Bench because he will not be the
vassal of the leader Of political organization.
There is no other way Of putting the case.
This is all there is Of the contest against
Recorder Hackett, and the attempt to cry out
upon him as 4 member Of the old Ring is
50 absurd on its face that it will DO the
authors harm. These arguments against the
integrity Of judges who were once members
Of Tammany Hall, and who came into
power under the reign Of Sweeny and Tweed,
would apply to three Of the judges, at least,
who are now presented by Mr.. Kelly for the
suffrages Of the people. These judges,
like Mr. Kelly himself, held high Office
by the assistance and consent Of the
Old Tammany party, and are as much
open to criticism on that account as Mr..
Hackett The people see clearly enough that
if our judges arc to be brought up before the
bar Of political conventions, TO be arraigned
and condemned because they have indepen-
dence Of spirit, because they refuse to drag
their ermine in the mire Of politics, then
republican institutions have received the
severest blow, because if we cannot protect
Justice from the communicating influences Of
party strife society will come to an end and
overnment become another name Tor anar-
chy and oppression This is really the IN
derlying thought in the canvass, looked at
from the highest point Of view Mr.. Kelly
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