New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-12-04
"CH4MPION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY"

"beng as funny as they cam Not content
with the solemn burlesque their newspapers
are playing on Civil Service Reform, they
have lust been giving q dinner to Mr.. John
Kelly as "the champion of religious liberty"
II was at Fordham, at the clubrooms known
IS the Tammany Hall of the annexed district,
and was presided over by that eminent
law-and- iaw-breaker, Henry d. Purroy. who
welcomed Mr.. Kelly as the champion of re-
I" ligious liberty and " tho champion of tree
dom of conscience" Mr.. Purroy Is chiefly
famous for having upon one occasion, at
Democratic Convention at Nyack, settled
somewhat summarily a question OF contested
seats by crossing rapidly over to contestIng
delegate and breaking his jaw. He was then,
az now a henchman of Mr.. Kelly's, and was
enoaoed in the work of Mr. Kelly and Tam
MANY Hall. lie was no doubt labOring under
some excitement at the time, but 1t did not
occur to the spectators that 1t was religious
excitement And yet it must have been. For
# seems his admiration for Mr. Kelly Is largely
on account Of the latter's championship of re-
Igious liberty and " freedom OF conscience"
1t is all right of course, but the idea OF this
law-and-iaw- breaker being so devoted TO
"relioious liberty and freedom Of con-
science" seems funny to some people. The
game people will be amused at the first toast
he announced, to wit: A pure judiciary the
safeguard of the Republc.n A pure-judiciary,
we su,pose. is one that lets man off on bis
own recognizance when he has been breaking
laws in the interest Of "rei gious liberty" and
" freedom OF conscience"
Mr.. Kelly was amusing, too He told them
with great solemnIty that " the liberties OF
the people are endangered by the class who
accumulate large fortunes without labor"
when the fact is notorious and undenlable
that ninety zine Of every hundred Of Mr.
Kelly's intimate political associates are doing
his bidding and giving him dinners like this
at Fordham with no other object than to get
into public offices. where they can accumulate
"loree fortunes without labor" He knew
that that was what the men whom he was adj
dressing were after And they knew as well
that he had accumulated considerable OF a
fortune himself without much labor
Wasn't it funny for him, of all others,
to be saying to them, of all others,
that the thing he had done, and
they all wanted to do, was endangering
the liberties of the people"7 And what
could be more amusing IMAM MS ueHuHcIaIlon
of the Bar Association for finding out and
getting out Gumbleton, and the earnestness
with which he said that If some OF the MEM
bers of the Association bad their just deserts
they would be in the State Prison? There
| could be nothing funnier unless it was the com
placency with which lie accepted the title of
| "champion of religious liberty aud freedom of
conscience on the score of having made an
| Irish Roman Catholic Mayor, when a large
majority of the municipal Offices were held by
| that class already. With people of his own
| nationality and church holding most of the
offices in the city, he puts in one more and
calls it a triumph of religious liberty and
" freedom of conscience"
We thought these people were funny enough
before election when they talked about the
Battle OF Gettysburg and how they won it,
| and how Democrats put down the Rebellion,
! but they gov funnier and funnier every day.
Tammany Hall will presently be appointing
delegates to the National Social Science Con-
yention. and Baxter Street be sending mis-
sionaries to Murray Hill. BY the way, we
hear nothing lately about the bold, bad Re-
| publican repeaters from Vermont who were
colonizing here just before election Mr..
Kelly's alarm on that subject excited consid-
cradle merrinent. Why was it discontinued :