Year: 1872

Mayor Halls Trial-The Lessons Of


the Past.


Mayor Halls trial ended yesterday in the
disagreement of the jury, seven of whom are
said to have been in favor of technical ver-
dict of wilful neglect of official duty in omit
ting to audit certain accounts, without any
fraudulent intent, and five for absolute acquit-
tai. After their discharge the jury conversed
freely in relation to the case, and their fore
man stated the point of disagreement to have
been on the ''wilfulness' of the neglect alleged
against the Mayor. No juryman, however,
suggested or wished to suggest that the Mayor
had committed any fraudulent act. Two jury
men asserted that they had themselves done
the acts charged as offences against Mayor
Hall, in signing checks and warrants
without personal examination, on the
certificate Of o duly appointed audi
tor, whose honesty they had no reason
TO doubt. From first to last it appears that no
dishonest or corrupt motive had been shown
on the part Of Mayor Hall, and that if neglect
OF duty had been established it would only
have been neglect growing out of common



have been equally chargeable, and which,
without complete change in our municipal
government, future Mayors will be practically
unable to avoid. The business of auditing
accounts occupies large clerical force in the
Comptroller's Office. If the Mayor is to do
the same work over again nothing is more
certain than that he will require similar assist
<1,o ox,I,o l.. oc AZ
70 be blocked. If Mayor Hall had supposed
that all his associates in Office were corrupt he
would no doubt have subjected the papers
placed before him for his signature to q close
and rigid scrutiny. As he believed them to
be honest he accepted their official acts as
faithfully performed, and signed the warrants
without investigation. This is the whole case,
and the people will regard the result Of the
trial as satisfactory. i. .,,s. ..;.
Two lessons may be learned from this pros
;ecution Of Mayor Hell aud its termination
The one teaches us that the attempt to turn
any great public question to political purposes
is as unwise as it is UNJUST the other cautions
us against allowing long continued custom to
render us too confident and careless in the dis
charge of o public trust. When the exposure
OF the official frauds on the City Treasury first
took place the political wire workers set their
organs at the task Of turning it to partisan ad-
vantage. Every member of the city govern
ment and every prominent democrat was de-
nounced indiscriminately as thief and a
felon, and the whole party was held response
BILE for the crimes of few of its members
Mayor Hall was depicted in prison
dress in vulgar caricatures and sub
jected to coarse abuse day after day
in the party journals. Meanwhile
political bargain was made with the real
criminals, and for partisan services rendered
they were suffered to escape the consequences
OF their crimes. The HERALD at the time de-
nounced this perversion of justice; and to-day,
while Mayor Hall is not even charged with
fraud, and his conviction for simple neglect
OF duty cannot be obtained from jury of un-
usual intelligence and honesty, the really
guilty parties are at large, shielded by the
politicians, and enjoying their stolen wealth.
II the political traders and bargainers had not
been suffered to meddle with the matter every
sensible citizen is now well convinced that the
dishonest officials and their accomplices who
committed the felonies would have been in the
State Prison paying the penalties Of their
offences against the law. To-day they are at
liberty, and the farce of Tweed's trial has
been postponed ''until after election" as we
predicted it would be; but, then, number of
patriotic politicians are in possession Of snug
Offices, and another batch is striving to ride
up to the public crib on the old hack Of mu.
nicipal reform.


We do not justify the carelessness evident
for the past few years on the part of all our
city officials and of others whose business or
position must have made them familiar with
the large amounts being paid out to such men
as Ingersoll, Garvey and their associates We
do not justify Mayor Hall in doing as his
predecessors did and taking for granted the
honesty of men who were evidently making
large fortunes by some means or another.
We hope the lesson of this experience may not
be lost on the people or their officers, and that
in future all public officials may be held to
strict accountability But we insist that the
result of the Mayors trial fully justifes the
HERALD's condemnation Of the prostitution
of the reform movement to the purposes of
political adventurers and traders, and proves
that the indiscriminate abuse Of partisan
organs, impudently assuming to be the special
champions of reform, has resulted in aiding
the escape of the real criminals and turning
justice into farce.


CONGRESSMAN AT LARGE-Cox OR IRE
MAM9-The Albany papers which advocate
the election of Mr.. Tremain as Congressman