The New York herald., 1875-07-16

VII pienounce upon tnls decision. IL was the
second triumph OF Peculation.
Wnatever may become Of these two decisions
the third is nKeiy to live IN st0ry. IL forms the
precise subject ofyeur inquiry.
William N. Tweed was accused OF nfty-one mis-
demeAnors IN as many separate counts OF one and
tae same inaistment. He was tried for them all
at once and convicted OF them all. The trial was
nad IN q Court OF Oyer ana Terminer held bcfoIe
you, ana several successive or accumuatve
onences. amounging IN the whole 20 twelve years.
imprisonment in the New York Penitentiary. with
For single ofenee OF this sort the utmost pun
ishnent allowed BY Law Is one years imprlson-
prison. PAID Co the proper receiver $3.50. and then
sued out a writ OF habeas corpus claiming TO 90
nS e1sSenarged: After dsclsions against him In the
Court OF Appeals and, as usual peculation trl-
umphant He was discharged. And here we en- ter
nDon view OF the circumstances which give this
event deep interest
AS ABOVE remarked. Tweed's government had
quite too much influence In the New YORK local
tribunals to admit OF success in criminal pros
ecutions nj the outset OF the campaign against
omc.ai oIHa nc swinSilnx; But time aud persistent
judges were impeached, and by their compulsory
resignation. or alsquanfying conviction. together
Wlth the destruction OF Tweeu's control over the
bahot boxes. the local Judiciary was changed.
Events are approaching whIon will guide Inteli-
gent opinion In the inquiry whether it was COM
petely purined or still needs expurgatlon through
the impeacnlng power, iour-nrths OF which will
soon ,So oe eiectea. osner Juages were chosen by
ter Justice Among these was yourself; ana hone
Viii deny taat In trying the Indictment against
aeavorsd TO perform your duty.
But 1t Is said by the Court of Appeals that how
ever just and legal it might nave been to innict
them on as many different indictments, these sue.
cessive punlsnments should not have been I'M
posea In a single case ana under one Indictment
Your integrity ana love Of justice are not ques-
toned; bus you are said 20 have violated law.
Tne highest Court has pronounced you just, but
not learned or wise Honest but not able, Is the
sentence retorted upon you by the liberated MALE
lactor's friends; TAey excla!m IN triumph that
that your judicial reputation has received
blow. lt Is confidently asserted that tue judg-
tina. of the upper Court and pronounced YOUR ac-
tiOn erroneous. That high Court has rendered one
evidence OF this. IL has condescended to accept,
adopt and Promulgate as aptly expressing It's own,
my opInlon against the practice pursued by yeu at
the trial. That citauon has forced upon mo the
The judgment OF the Court OF Appeals was not
pronounced on q writ OF error brought to review
q decision by which Tweed was compelled, against
his objection, acquiesce In hearing OF ali Inese
charges AZ one uMe. lt was determination that
no tribunal In this State mas power to try and
punish a defendant for several distinct and
separate offences under one Indictment. Even
though The defendant should acquiesce In the
In one trial, and even though ne should prefer
that course, ne well might under some clrcum-
tnat there must be a separate indictmsnt and
trial for separate offence, winch to rec-ive
tne full punishment. Nay, more the settled forms
OF adlng whlch are the best evidence of the COM
mon law. allow numerous counts In the same in :
dictment and require eacn count TO allcge q seps-
rate and dlnerenJ onencei yet It Is held, in effect,
by the Court or Appeals, taat IT, by separate pleas
to each count OF an indictment thas framed, de-
fendant should confess his guilt, still the Court
would nave no Jurisdiction to impose any greater
amount OF punishment than that prescribed for
one offence.
rms decision draws after 1t many serious incon.
venlences. Some OF them may be ad dverted to. II
there was no JURISDICTION to adjudge against MIN
tention OF Tweed IN the Penitentiary during the
last nve or six months was altogether unlawful.
concerned In 1t for such damages, reRuneratlve
or vindictive, as a jury or twelve men may see nt
10 award In tne exercise OF Iaer UNLIMITED discre
Warden OF the PeRitentlary, yourself tthe Judge).
the CLERK Of sne ",,s court IN ,6e counsel who
Indictments would lie and eacn OF these
persons might be put to an appeal for
o doom TO the occupancy OF Tweed's vacant
cell in the Penltentiary. Had some one not
af1ected by the Tilden animus been nominated and
irst judicial triumph, an event not then deemed
impossible, tae chance OF these well meaning but
misguided del1nquents to escape the vengeance OF
peculators' law might be less perfect than 1t
things have turned out. Another circumstance
our venerable Governor DIX, indignant at the
favoritlsm walch screened Tweed from the puni-
took measures to compel more rigorous course.
Tne snarp reDuke con yained In his letter Novem-
Der last will be remembered. Thus II may appear
tnat ne also brought himself under lasn OF
tnat la now announced by the Court OF Appeals.
Let not THESE suggestions be deemed visionary.
nverance from the Penitentiary, the following
announcement was maze In city journa whose
area OF CIRCULATION is the whole cvized world ana
whose credit as chronicle Of current events aud
OF the various sentiments OF classes b equally
extensve:-
'rwEED's CHANGE or RESIDENCE
release from Blackwells Island to be immured the
same DAY in Ludlow street Jail gain: bat
liberty but ne SSs put
10
70 eat the rood doed out 70 elons and sleep in narrow
diet ne can Dsy tSr and employ 81. time .ccOrdnE
tion iSeTs may be in tSs sumsos s'er Of the Juse
who pronounced his illegal sentence ind who has been
% ordsr so ns SsSss
% proSS SeT M yo1e n MS
mind the question Of e3actng satisfaction Tor that part
STATE a.s.TsJ a.s 70 Gs nega Tweed enjoys 6s
ne couo nc no, nah 30 pee en- tne eneet OF Exeeg
om and IN. fact that % S
ting mis- heavy sentence annued encourages his conf
SheTsrore IDLE to that Tweed e does not think
himself better On than ne was in mis- convcrs suit
SO far as that article might be thought to imply
on your part censnraols motives or detected
ignorance, IL does not express tne Journalists be-
Il was merely designed 10 exhibit prominently
In the editorial column the common sen timent
irenas In toe news column Of tss sane Vs and sss
lollowing day, the public are informed In their
cnaste phrase, now DAVIS nad 0cen l0rced Dy the
Court OF Appeals Ito eat his " ords'
We thus md, as a consequence oil the peeulator's
third triumph In the Court Of Appeals, that you,
SIR, can escape the loss OF Jour estate in damages
only through weeds f0roearance or that oil par
tial jury. You, as well as Governor DIX and nearly
All wno have seen actively moved by hostility 20
Tweed's peculatIon can only avoid taxing his
place In the penitentary tnrough some similar In
dulgence. One point, more important tnan all
these In every true mans estimation, affects you.
You must submit TO mental humiliation. You
must 60 down In our judicial historJ stained with
the impata;ion OF hauag Deen led into illegal op-
precision BY ignorance. Al least this is SO unless
you can be vlndicated at the cost oI others. Ths
Is not pleasant issue.
Let us tnen see now this matter OF the accumu-
lattve sentences stahds AS between yourself aud
the Court OF Appeals. That nigh tribunal BY
Allen - among other things, thus argues In sup
port OF Its Judgment
Eminent counsel claim with great plausibility and
show OF reason that the rule permitting trial OF
person for several offences At the time IL
thorauvely estabisoed and thstit ought net to be.
cannot do better than 10 quote literally from the brief
q Mr. o'Conor before referred 70. and adopt his
language, tor tins reason that he very clearly
and tersely sxpres:e: the position and the argu.
Of consideration That eminent urlst after referring
and criminal prosecutions says:-And accordingly,