The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-03-24

The absence of Mr. Hall from his home,
places of resort, and the failure of all at
tempts to trace or discover him. begin to
wear o serious and even an alarming aspect.
At first, until two or three days had
passed, there seemed nothing very re-
markable in the fact that gentleman
had left the city without informing any
body Of his intention. It is supposable
enough that Mr.. Hall or any other citizen
might have affairs of SO private a nature
that he did not choose to take anybody into
his confidence. and that he preferred to
avoid troublesome inquiries by making
no mention of his intended absence. So
long as there was no reason for disbelieving
this to be the real state of the case decent
respect for the privacy of q gentleman and
for his right to control his movements ac-
cording to his own discretion should have
precluded impertinent scrutiny by the
public. But full week having elapsed
since the mysterious disappearance,
and all attempts to obtain inf0rma-
ton respecting his whereabouts having
proved fruitless, there are now good grounds
for serious apprehension. It may be, after
oil, that the considerate theory which
naturally suggested itself at first may turn
out to DO correct, and that some accidental
cause of detention has prevented Mr.. Halls
return as soon as he anticipated when he
left. But every days further delay weakens
this ground of hope, and unless he should
reappear to-day or tomorrow it will not be
easy to resist the conclusion that he has
been foully dealt with. Every other theory
which has been preached seems inconsistent
with what we know of Mr. Halls character
if we are compelled to abandon the hope
that it is temporary absence on some
affair too private for communication with
friends.
The theory of suicide is generally dis
credited and by none with SO much cmpha-
sis as by those who have known the ex-Mayor
longest and most intimately. The other
theory which has been most discussed in
the press and private circles is that Mr.. Hall
suddenly sailed for Europe in one of last
Saturdays steamers. The only tangible mo-
tive assigned for his absconding from the
country was Mr.. Halls reluctance to testify
in the suit against Mr.. Sweeny. This seems
weak conjecture. In the first place, Mr..
Hall had no reason TO fear any i'll conse-
quences to himself from the Sweeny trial,
having been honorably acquitted some years
ago and being exempt by law from answer
ing questions tending to crminate himself.
In the next place, he can have no more to
tell about Sweeny than about Tweed, and he
found no reason to fly from that ordeal.
In thesthird place, Mr. Hall, being lawyer
of quick intelligence, must have foreseen the
postponement of the Sweeny trial, which
was actually ordered yesterday to the month
of June He knew that the application for
postponement would be made he knew
the grounds on which it would be urged,
and that on application on such grounds is
seldom or never refused by court. 1t is
improbable that he would make a precipi-
tate flight from n danger which he was so
capable of measuring. 1t is altogether more
likely that he has suffered violence from un-
known hands, if he did not leave the city on
private business and find himself detained
beyond his expectation.