Year: 1860

tnls DAY! 1t would rank as fourth or df0
rate Power, or, perhaps, be no Power ct all,
instead Of being, ~ it IL, second to no other
Power In the world, on sea or land.


Mayor Wood shows that the assault upon the
social relations Of one-haf the Union must, II
successful, break up the government; that the
success of the republican party must result in
the destruction of our commerce, and reduce
great nation to a number Of petty, poweriess
States, with jarring interests, each Of as little
Importance in the world as . German duchy or
principality. All classes, from the highest to
the lowest, would be injariously affected and
degraded. To prevent this result is the aim Of
the Mayors speech, and he does not come fog
ward as partisan of any candidate but in sd-
vocacy Of the defeat of the party who mediate
revolution. This is evidently the right view of
the question, and amidst the barren mass Of po-
ltical verbiage, without meaning, which meets
the eye, the speech of Fernando Wood is like
q refreshing oasis in the desert. The path
which il points ont Is the only one to victory.


PARTY MAcALAERY-THE METROPOLITAN Po-
LICE IMPRESSED INTO THE SERVICE OF LINCOLN
When the Metropolitan Police bill was first in
troduced in the Legislature we denounced it ss
measure copcocted purely and solely for party
objects, and pointed out the dangerous uses to
which 1t would eventually be turned. We were
met by arguments the plausihility of which had
weight with many well meaning persons, mas
much as they were based ON the acknowledged
abuses and ineficiency of the old police system.
1t was contended that any change must be for
the better and that fair trial should be given
to the scheme embraced in the new bill Not
withstanding 1t was shown that under the old
law no such latitude Of mischief existed a. was
furnished by this measure, 1t was forced through
the Legislature by tyrannical majority, ut
terly regardless Of the remonstrances OF the
community whose interests were most affected
by it,


For time q certain show Of impartiality was
kept up by the maintenance on the commission
Of few democrats, care being taken, however,
that the republicans should always be in the
majority. The constituting the Mayors Of New
York and Brooklyn ex-offcio members was, how
ever, merely q temporary concession, which th.
trainers OF the scheme were compelled to make
to public opinion. SO sweeping and revoiu-
tionary q change would have at once betrayed
its objects il the chief magistrates Of the dis
tricts most affected by the provisions of the
bill were excluded from all share 10 is admin
istrstion. They were, therefore, put upon the
Board to give to it at the outset something Of
municipal character, and to impart a coloring
of fairness to its purely partisan organizatio.


For q time this farce was kept UP, and inno-
cent people began to believe that we were at
last going to have a model police. A show
Of severity in the regulations touching
the discipline Of the department helped
to confirm this opinion. Those, however,
who look to results rather than to pro-
fessions, soon found out that, as far as the
public service was concerned, the new system
was not going to work any better than the old
one. And in fact the statistics Of crime in the
metropolis exhibit relatively no greater i'm
provement to day than that which they present
ed anterior to the reorganization Of the force.


But in other respects there has been very
great change, and that for the worse. Intoxi-
Gated with the success of their scheme, the
black republicans in the Legislature threw aside





sion the only elements that impaired to 1t .
character of fairness and respectability, thus
converting the department into what II was
originally designed to be, q mere political en-
gine. Not only are its members now compelled
to do personal service for the party contrarystc
the duties which they owe the public.
but every man Of them is placed under contri-


button, in sums ranging from five to one hun
dred dollars to aid the fund for carrying the
election Of its political nominees in November
next Even the money paid over to the Com
missioners by the orders Of the japanese Am
bassadors has been withheld from the force,
under some hirnsy pretext, to be appropriated,
no doubt TO the same object.


Such are the men who aim to wield the
destinies Of the country for the next four years.
There is no injustice too barefaced, no mean
ness too petty, that they will stop short Of to
carry out the gigantic schemes Of plunder
which they have in view. They know that ons
Presidential term must damn them forever a. Q
political organization; but 70 gain II there arc
no depths Of infamy that they will not stoop 10.
VIII the people Of New York submit any
longer to be thus trampled upon and plum
dered by this vile and unscrupulous faction
Let their conduct at the polls in the ensuing
elections at least show that they know how to
distinguish false democrats who further their
neisrious schemes from those who remain loyal
TO the canse Of good government and the main
tenance Of the federal compact.


WHAT IS THE DuTEREScK.-In the contest
now going forward, between conservatism on
one side and revolutionary black republicanisu