Civil Rights Riot 1871

7/29/2019 Civil Rights Riot 1871

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T K C H J :E'.A.F^rR O I F T K C E I ^ E O I ^ X J E ,I S T H E B E S T F A R M E R S ' P A P E R P U R E I S H E DT h e m o s t e m i n e n t and s u c c e s s f u l A g r i c u l t u r i s t s w r i t e p r a c t i c a l a r t i c l e s for

T ' K C E S 'XT^T'353 E ! KL XJI-X^ TP H . I:]B XJ JSTNOW IS THE TIME TO SUBSCKIBE FOR THE GREAT FAMILY NEWSPAPER.

ITS (JlKdULATION IS LARGER THAN THAT OP ANY OTHER NEWSPAPER.isiow I S a^HK 'riMim T O I T O R T V J : C X ^ X J B S .

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A s aF a m i l y I V e w s p a p e r ,T H K W E E K L Y T R I B U N E is p r e - e m i n e n t . In a d d i t i o nto the s p a c e d e v o t e d to Reviews, Not ices of N e w B o o k s ,P o e t r y , & c . , w e in t e n d to p u b l i s h S h o r t S t o r i e s , o r ig in a lor se lec ted , which w il l gen era l ly be c o n c l u d e d in a s in g l ei s s u e , or at m o s t in two or t h r e e . We i n t e n d t h a t T H ET R I B U N E s h a l l k e e p i n t h e a d v a n c e in a l l t h a t c o n c e r n st h e A g r i c u l t u r a l , Ma n u f a c t u r in g , Min in g , and o t h e r int e r e s t s of the c o u n t r y , and t h a t for v a r i e t y and c o m p l e t e n e s s , it s h a l l r e m a in a l t o g e t h e r the m o s t v a l u a b l e ,i n t e r e s t i n g and i n s t r u c t i v e N E W S P A P E R p u b l i s h e d inthe wor ld .T H E T R I B U N E is t h e c h e a p e s t a n d b e s t e d i te d w e e k l yn e w s p a p e r in the c o u n t r y . W e h a v e a l l t h e a d v a n t a g e sa r o u n d u s . W e h a v e g r e a t D a i l y and Semi-Weekly Edit i o n s , A ll the e l a b o r a t e a n d i n t r i c a t e m a c h i n e r y of oure s t a b l i s h m e n t p e r h a p s t h e m o s t c o m p l e te in A m e r ic a is devoted to the p u r p o s e of m a k i n g THE W E E K L YT R I BU N E t h e b e s t a n d c h e a p e s t n e w s p a p e r i n t h e w o rl d .T H E W E E K L Y T R I B U N E is the p a p e r of t h e p e o p l e .H e r e the e a g e r s t u d e n t may l e a r n the l a s t l e s s o n s ofs c ie n c e . H e r e the s c h o l a r may r e a d r e v ie w s of theb e s t b o o k s . H e r e may be f o u n d c o r r e s p o n d e n c e f r o ma l l p a r t s of the world , the o b s e r v a t i o n s of s i n c e r e andgif ted men, who serve THE T R I B U N E in a l m o s t e v e r yc o u n t r y .

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1 0 C o p i e s . . $ 1 , 6 0 e a c h .2 0 C o p i e s . . 1 , 3 5 e a c h .50 C o p i e s . . 1 , 1 0 e a c h .A n d One E x t r a C o p y t oe a c h C l u b .T h e New-York Semi-Weekly Tribune

i s publ ished every TUESDAY and F R I D A Y , and b e i n gp r in t e d t w ic e aw e e k , we of c o u r s e , p r i n t all t h a t app e a r s in our w e e k l y e d i t i o n , i n c l u d in g e v e r y t h in g on thes u b je c t of A g r ic u l t u r e , and can add m u c h i n t e r e s t i n ga n d v a l u a b l e m a t t e r , for w h ic h t h e r e is not suffic ientr o o m in THE W E E K L Y T R I B U N E THE S E MI -W E E K L Y T R I B U N E a l s o g i v e s , in the c o u r s e of a y e a r ,THREE or FOUR of theBE S T AND LA T E S T P O P U LA R N O VE LS ,b y l iv in g a u t h o r s . The c o s t of t h e s e a l o n e , if b o u g h tin book form, would be from six to eight dol la r s . Nowhere e l se can s o m u c h c u r r e n t i n t e l lig e n c e and p e r m a n e n t l i t e r a r y m a t t e r be had at so c h e a p ar a t e as inT H E S E M I - W E E K L Y T R I B U N E .T e r m s o f T l i e . S e m i - W e e k l y T r i b u n e .O n e C o p y , one y e a t , 1 0 4 n u m b e r s $ 4 . 0 0T w o Co p ie s 7,00F iv e Co p ie s , or o v e r , for e a c h c o p y . . . . 3 . 0 0F o r $ 3 0 ten c o p ie s , and an e x t r a c o p y , one y e a r .F o r $ 1 0 0 we wil l send th ir ty- four copies and THED A I L Y T R I B U N E one y e a r .

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K v v b a n k s ' H y d r a u l i c s a n d . M e c h a n i c s . S ix t e e n t h e d i t i o n . La r g e O c t a v o . C l o t h , $ 5 .P e a r C u l t u r e f o r P r o f l t , Q u i n n . $ 1 .M o n e y i n t l i e G a r d e n , By P. T. Q u i n n .$ 1 . 5 0 .E l e m e n t s o f A g r i c u l t u r e . W a r i n g . Newe d i t i o n . C l o t h , $ 1 ,D r a i n i n g - f o r H e a l t h a n d P r o f l t ,W a r i n g . C l o t h , $ 1 , 5 0 ,Sent free on r e c e ip t of p r i c e .

I n m a k i n g r e m i t t a n c e s , a l w a y s p r o c u r e a .draft on N e w Y o r k , oraPost Office Mone/y Order, if p o s s ib l e .W h e r e n e i t h e r of t h e s e can be p r o c u r e d , s e n d the m o n e y , hut always in a R E G I S T E R E D letter. The r e g i s t r a t i o nfee has b e e n r e d u c e d io fifteen cents, a n d the p r e s e n t r e g i s t r a t i o n s y s t e m has b e e n f o u n d by t h e p o s t a l a u t h o r i t i e sto be v i r t u a l l y an a b s o l u t e p r o t e c t i o n a g a in s t l o s s e s by m a i l . All P o s t m a s t e r s are obl iged to reg is ter le t ter s whenr e q u e s t e d to do so.T e r m s C a s h in a d v a n c e . A d d r e s s THETRIBUNENeWYoik


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CIVIL RIGHTS.THE HIBERNIAN KIOT

A N D T H E

"nSTIRRECTION OF THE CAPITALISTS;^A HISTORY OF IMPORTANT EVENTS IN NEW YORK,

IN T H E MIDSUMMEE O F 1 8 7 1 ,

- ^ > -

WITH NUMEROUS PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS,A C A R T O O N B Y T H O M A S N A S T ,

A N D

A N A P P E N D I X ,I N C L U D I N GOFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, SKETCHES OF PROMINENT TAMMANY

L E A D E R S , "THE SECRET ACCOUNTS,"AS PUBLISHED BY THE TIMES, ETC., ETC.,

W I T H M U C H NEW AND OEIGIINAL M A T T E E ,

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INEW Y O E K :B A K E R & G O D W I N , P R I N T E R S ,

PRrNTING-HOUSE S Q U A R E .1871.


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T H E f o l lo win g pa ges ha ve been prepa red w i th the v iew o f f urn i sh in g areco rd in co n ven ien t f o rm o f the prev a i l in g sen t im en t o f th e go o d c i t i zen s o fN e w Y o r k , i n 1 8 7 1 , u p o n t h e s u b j e c t o f C i v i l R i g h t s , a s i l l u s t r a t e d b y t h e i ru n a n i m o u s a n d i m p e r a t i v e d e m a n d , t h a t , t h e e n t i re m i l i t a r y a n d c i v i l f o r c es h o u l d b e e m p l o y e d fo r t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f t h e O r a n g e m e n i n p a r a d i n g ; a n db y t h e i r e q u a l l y v e h e m e n t d e m a n d fo r th e l o n g - w i t h h e l d s t a t e m e n t o f th efin a n c ia l c o n d i t i o n o f t h e C i t y G o v e r n m e n t . T h a t th e r e s h o u l d b e a n yr e la t i o n w h a t e v e r b e t w e e n t h e H i b e r n i a n R i o t a n d t h e s o - c a ll ed " i n s u r r e c t i o n o f t h e c a p i t a l i s t s , " w i l l b e a m a t t e r o f s u r p r i s e t o a n y p e r s o n w h o h a sn o t ca ref u l ly s tud ied the even t s o f the Summer; a n d i t i s hop^d t h a t t h ec o m p l e te a n d a u t h e n t i c i n f o r m a t i o n g i v e n h e r e i n w i l l l e a v e n o d o u b t u p o nthe subjec t . ,

[The illustration s of Riot scenes herein ha ve been co pied, by permission, from theadmirable drawings of Frank Leslie. The cartoon by the dist inguished art istThomas Nast, was prepa red expressly for thi s work. Mr. N ast does double dutyagainst the rioters and corruptionists in New York; for, while producing by hispen cil effects amon g the people, uns urpass ed by thos e of an y leader-w riter, he alsoholds himself in readiness , at all times, to ans wer the calls m ade upon him as amember of the Seventh Regiment, in the ranks of which he marched on the day ofthe Riot.]New York, August, 1 8 7 1 .


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THE HIBERNIAN RIOT.ON the 12th day of Ju ly , 1870, cer ta in c i t izens , res id ing in N ew Y o rk ,indulged in a p icn ic a t E lm P a rk . They inc luded near ly equal num bers o f men , wom en , an d ch i ld ren hus bands , wives , and l i tt le on es .

They reached the p icn ic grounds in a quiet way, without any proces s ion ,and had passed the day in innocent and peaceable enjoyment; but when itbeca me kno wn to the I r ish herding in the neighborhoo d of the P a rk ,tha t the ga ther in g wa s ma de up of" Orangemen," there fo l lowed animm ense exc i tement am on g the C elt ic po pula t ion , mo re espec ia l lyno t iceable am on g the labo rers in the em plo ym en t of the c i ty , who , a tthe t ime were working, or ra ther pretending to work , on one of the newB oulevards then co ns t ruc t ing. The res ul t w as , tha t l a te in the da y, amo s t b ru ta l and ind i s c r imina te a t tack was ma;de upon the O rangemen ,by the Ir ish labo rers a l luded to , in which men un arm ed, an d helplesswo men , an d even infants were assa i led with demon iac v io lence. I t mu stbe especial ly o bserve d that thes e r io ters were rea l ly hirel ings of T am ma n y I la l l , and l ived off the in dus t ry of tax-pa yers of the c i ty . W hi lethe r io t was in pro gres s , i t was difficult to as certa in w hether the po l icepresen t were no t supp ort in g the r io ters . The end wa s , tha t two of theOrangemen were k i l l ed , and a number were wounded , among thes ela t ter being women and infant chi ldren .

In the accomplishment of this direful result , the same heathen barbarism which a t tended the death of C apt . O 'B rien , in the " Draf t Rio t s , "cropped ou t . E ve ry s ent im ent of hum an ity was ou traged. I t wo uldseem as i f the perp etra tors w ere s im ply savages , insp ired by the s ingleinsan e idea of shedding bloo d. To these grea t wron gs the judic ia lau tho rit ies of the c ity afforded n o red res s . The mu rde rers , who evenpro bab ly no t on ly kn ow n to the autho r i t ies , but whose na mes were onthe pay-rol ls of the c ity, were never arrested, and to th is day , no no t icehas been off ic ial ly taken of this most unchris t ian outrage.

On the ap proac h of the 12th of Ju ly , 1 8 71 , the ho rr id scenes an dwic ked results of the r io t a l luded to we re recal led by our c it izens, an dsoon the exc i tement becam e in tense, as the an no uncem ent was m adethrough the press , tha t the Oran gemen no t o nly in tended to have theirann ual p icn ic , but in tended to march to their campin g groun d in proces-


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6s ion , accom panied by their wives and chi ldren , wea r ing the ins ignia oftheir " lo dg es ," or bea r ing a loft their ban ne rs . To every c lass of ourcosmopol i tan popula t ion , th is announcement gave only the surpr ise , tha tthe I r ish C atholics who were so dem on st ra t ive on " S t . P a t r i c k ' s d a y , "and the occas ion o f" Fen ian celebra t ions ," and the reception of " the pardoned I rish con vic ts from B ri t i sh p r iso ns ," should ta ke the m at ter insuch ser ious and ant i -American spirit; but the feeling am on g our well-disposed and law-abiding cit izens reached a cl imax of interest , asdevelopm ents were made , tha t the H ibern ia ns had dec ided tha t theOran gemen should n ot app ear , and tha t th is threa t was to be c arr iedo ut by men who had the teme ri ty to ca ll prel im in ary meet in gs , by glaring a dvert isemen ts in the pa pers , and by inf lamm atory appeals to the lowest po rt io n of a brutal ized an d fanat ical m o b. The chief men in thi s i l legal agi ta t ion being wel l-know n T am m an y po l i tic ian s , the mo st conspicuous for evi l, being one E dw ar d L. C arey, a port -warden of the c i ty ,drawing f rom the Sta te |7,500 per annum, for his pretended services ,under h is ap po intm en t f rom Go verno r Hoffman.

On pretence of having targ et excurs io ns , the H ibern ia n so c ietiesheld their meetings, openly advertised' for volunteers , and announcedthat ar m s wo uld be furnished. Th e chea per class of gun-shops were depleted of every sort of deadly weapon, and in the vicinity of theseHibern ian places of meet ing could be seen , a t mid-da}^, men drunk withvi le whisk y brand ishing their mus kets an d kn ives , and swear ing vengeance upon the P ro tes tan ts who dared to unfurl their ban n ers in th ec i ty of N ew Yo rk. Al l th is cha rac ter is t ic con duct on the pa r t of thesem en , disgraceful al ike to the rac e they repres en ted, the religion theyprofessed, and the co untry tha t gave them a hos pi table hom e, culmin atedwUth the " o rde rs " tha t the different divis ion s of the Hi bern ia n s , ful lyarm ed, meet on the 12th of Ju ly to engage no min al ly in a gran d targ etexcurs ion , but rea l ly to put down the Orange process ion .

To Mayor Ha l l , a s ch ief magis t ra te , public opin ion turned, with thefull expecta t ion tha t he would is sue a proc lama t ion co mm an ding tha t a l llaw-abiding c i t izens should have nothing to do with breaking the peace,and, a t the same t ime, declar ing the grea t American pr inc iple of governm en t, tha t l ib erty wa s, by^ law, ac corded t o all c i t izens in the enjoymentof an y civil or rel igious r ights , an d that ne ither pol it ical , no r especia l lyrel igious inf luences, should in terfere. B ut no pro cla ma tion was issued,and the suspicion w as aroused tha t n one would b e. In the me an t ime ,the p repara t ions w ere going on , both on the Ora nge s ide and on tha t oftheir C athol ic o ppo nen ts , of a very formidable cha rac ter . I t was sa id


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tha t the C athol ic I r ishm en had tak en mea&ures for the most bi t ter oppos i t ion to an y process ion t ak in g p lace , and tha t they were boun d tos top i t by any n/eans in the i r po wer . I t wa s even sa id tha t ab o ut10,000 Cathol ics were arming in thi s c i ty, and would be out on the 12th,wi th the express purpo se of s to ppin g the other s ide f rom pa radin g. Onthe O ran ge s ide , the p repa rat io n s were of a no less po s i t ive charac ter,and i t was s t a ted tha t so me 5,000 wo uld be o ut fully eq uipp ed to defend themse lves aga ins t an y a t t ack which m ay be m ade upon them .Determined as bo th these oppos ing e lements were , i t was ce r t a in tha t i fthey did m eet, a blo o dy r iot in the streets of ou r ci ty wo uld be the resul t . B y a general o rder of S uper in tend en t Kelso , the en t i re force hadbeen ordered on duty for the 12th, and specia l ly to protect the Orangem en . I t was even sa id tha t so me regim en ts of the mi l i t i a would be inreadiness to give help, i f necessary.

The Orangemen seemed more qu ie t than the i r opponent s , but no le s sde te rmin ed. They he ld tha t if the I ri sh paraded on S t . Pa t r i ck ' s day ,they had a perfect r igh t to pa rad e on an y o ther day . B ut betweenr ight and pol icy, there seemed to be an abyss which poss ibly and probably was to be f illed wi th huma n bloo d.

A t the meet in g of the C on vent ion s of I ri sh So cie t ies , the specia l bus i ness was to co ns ider wh at ac t ion wo uld be tak en in the event of theOran gemen ce lebra ting the 12th of Ju ly by a pa rade and p i cn i c . N o n ewere ad m it ted except delegates . A t and around the doo rs , large crowdscol lected, and warmly discussed the quest ion of Orange celebrat ionsbeing a l lowed in N ew Yo rk by the autho r i t ies , a nd a lso the du ty ofl ibera] I r i shmen in such an event .

One delegate , i t was unders tood, made a mot ion a t a meet ing to theeffect that a co mm it tee be appo in ted to wa i t on the M ayo r , to r eques th im to i s sue a proc lamat ion prohib i t i ng the Orangemen turn ing out , andi f he did no t do so , then the soc ie ties would tak e the m a t ter in han d,an d se t t le i t a t once and forever by cut t ing down every O ran gem an inthe process ion, and to be found in the c i ty wi th an emblem of Orangeismab o ut hi m . Th e delegate a lso suggested tha t , in case the M a yo r shouldn ot i ssue the pro cla ma t ion , the pa r ty in pow er s hould lose the I r i shCathol i c vo te .

On Sa turday , the 8 th , the a g i t a ti on i n the c i ty becam e so a l a rm ing,a t the demo ns t r a t i on of the I ri sh C a tholi c s aga in s t the Oran gemen , tha tcer ta in p ap ers , on the fol lowing day, co nta in ed a req uest from Arch bisho p Mc C losk ey, tha t the c lergy un der his au tho r i ty would speak ofthe coming parade a t each mass , and advise the i r congregat ions to avoid


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9" There is no use (wri tes an other) in a rguing the ques t ion of the pa radeto i ts f iner po in ts . Le t the bloo dy-min ded interfere a nd we mu st sco ur

them out. I s top here to in vok e the bless ing of God upon the C hris tl ike and beautiful sp ir i t of the C athol ic clergy ; bu t the ign o ran t andbloody bigots of a turbulent c lass need no w wha t they m ust get soo neror la ter . Al l eyes in Am erica are turned tow ard N ew Yo rk. The 12thof Ju ly wil l prove whether or n ot A meric an s are ema scula ted. ' T h a tOra n ge pa ra de should be pro tected un der forms of law if i t tak es theava i lable E xecu t ive force of the S ta te , or reaches out for the F ede ra lforce and deluges N ew Yo rk c i ty with blood. This as a m ere ques t ionof Am er ican hono r . B ut here i s m y po in t : I am a yo ung s ing le ma n .I have no one to hold m e bac k. I have fought in twelve ba t t les , an dhave Am erica on the bra in . I deprec a te a ny breach of the peace ; bu t ,i f those d is turbers of our seabo ard c i t ies , these perso ns who have perjured themselves when n a tura l ized in sw ear ing to ' renounc e a l l a l legiance to an y foreign pr inc e, po tenta te or p ow er, ' and now unco ns t i tut ional ly hold American off ices while acknowledging the ' p o t e n t a t e ' a n d' power' of the Va tican , these p erso ns who head the l is ts of ou r pol iceco urts , houses of correc t ion , ja i l s , pen i tent ia r ies , g ibbets a nd as ylums ,alms-houses and ho spita ls , causing f if ty pe r cent, of our munic ipa l t axesif these persons s tr ike the f irs t blow, I shal l go fornot one of t h e m bu t for the neck of the nearest native Am erican demagogue politicianwho has had a hand in pamperjng and fostering those elements intopol it ical inf luence, and who, having the power to protect the peace, shal lfa i l so to do ."[Cor. N. Y. Times, J u l y 11.

" T h e publ ic min d ( sa id an other) i s agi ta ted over the expected pro cess ion of the Oran ge soc ieties on the 12th. W h y ? On e sec tion of thepubl ic i s mo ved acco rding to i t s own degraded instinctsthat is , theignorant I r ish Roman Cathol ic mul t i tude, whose only concept ion of theirrelat io n s to men of an other fa ith is , tha t they should knock them on thehead. A n o ther sect ion of the public is a larm ed acc ording to i ts self ishfears tha t is , the Ro ma n C athol ic h ierarchy, who, from the P o pe do wnthrough a l l their obsequious ranks have taught , tha t Protes tants have norigh ts of conscience wh atever, and so are respo ns ible for the disgracefulthrea ts of their mo re igno ran t d isc iples . As the a im of th is h ierarchyis to in t rench their a l ien organiza t ion in Am erican publ ic o pin ion , theyare n atu ra l ly alarm ed at seeing their princ iples in respec t to rel igiousliberty.prematurely carried out on the 12th.


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10" But there is another sect ion of the public watching this affair with anemot ion tha t needs only an open display of th is impudent in to lerance to

be kin dled into flame that is , the grea t, long-suffering bo dy of A m eric a ncit izens, who , if we mi stak e no t , have s ilent ly regis tered their oa th inheaven tha t when the occas ion comes they wil l ma inta in our relig iousl ibert ies with their bloo d. This is pla in an d it is exact ly w ha t the casedem an ds. W e wo uld ins ult no ma n for his rel igious fa ith : ra ther wouldwe hon or him for keeping to i t . B ut let us no w declare, in the face ofa l l men, tha t the l iber t ies and pr iv i leges of Pr o tes tan ts sha ll no t beabr idged because they are Protes tants , whether organized as Orangemenor o therwise. An d these l iber ties we wil l main ta in , whenever i t sha l lbecom e neces s a ry , wi th our r igh t a rm s . Am er ic an s ! when P ro tes t a n tI r ishmen are prohibi ted f rom marching in our s t reets by a RomanC atho l ic mo b, then be sure you and I, an d al l of us wil l fall dow n an dbloo dy treas on f lourish over us . If the c ity au tho rit ies take no ad eq uatemeas ures t o p reven t an a t tack upon Pro tes t a n t I ri s h bro thers , then l e tthem call for 5,000 Amer ican Pro tes t an t s t o march wi th them a t the t apof their drum."

Late on Monday n ight , when the busy press was about c los ing up i t smult ifarious labo rs , there was issued, from the pol ice hea dq ua rters , an" ord er," s igned by S uperin tend en t J . J . Kelso, an d followed -by a s imilar ly worded doc ument from M ay o r H a l l , addressed to the pol ice , commanding tha t the proposed Orange process ion bo suppressed.The rum o r tha t th is had been done, wa s c ircula ted before midn ight a t

the ho tels and th ea tres , and caiised feelings of indign at ion an d ala rm ,even amo ng those for whose benefit i t had been pro m ulga ted. Th easto nis hme nt amo ng citizens, ra ised from childhoo d un der our free ins t itut io n s, wa s mo st profoun d, an d th ey wo uld n ot , a t f irs t, bel ieve suchpol i t ica l insa n i ty was po ss ible . The mo rnin g of the 11th of J u lycame, and, with the exception of one daily paper, the publicat ion of theorder was accompanied by editorials express ing the most unqual if ied condemn at ion of the proceedin g. N o such upr is ing of pa t r io t ic sen t imen tin this country, hud ever been developed before l iving men, except whenthe fearful an no unc emen t cam e tha t the reb els of Ch arleston had daredto f i re on For t Sumter .

" There was a t ime," sa id the Post, " in this c ity, when the authorit iesordered an ant i -s lavery mee t ing to be d ispersed, on the same groun dwhich M ay o r H al l and his super in tenden t of pol ice tak e now to jus ti fy


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1 1their prohibi t ion of the Ora nge process io n . I t would i r r i ta te their oppo nen ts ; these could no t co nt ro l their tempers , andbeing lawdess ruff iansw^ould at tack the ant i-s lavery m e n ; therefore, the lat ter must notmee t tog ether. Th ere was a t im e when LTiiion men, peaceably meet ingin som e pa r t s of our co untry , were d ispersed on the sam e plea . An dthe men wiio no w, rul in g this c ity, or m isru l ing it ra ther, forbid theOrange process ion, in these days just if ied those other concess ions to thedemands of the mob. * * * - t * It ought to be remembered, injus t ice to the Ro ma n C atholic pr ies t s in th is c i ty , tha t they did no t , onthis occa sion, fa il in their du ty to the cause of ord er. * * * T hep r e s s , too , with one or two exception s , d id i t s duty . B ut the Tam m an yRin g, which has the c i ty in i t s c lutches , reckless , uns crupulous , shameless , witho ut rega rd to the welfare of the c ity, and with a cyn ica l con-temj3t for law and order , have taken the par t of the mob."

"The people o f New York ," s a id the Commercial Advertiser, "feel asense of humil ia t ion which they l i t t le thought those to whom author i tyand po we r are ent rus ted wo uld have bro ught upon them . Once beforethe mob spir i t , in one of i t s f ierces t and most a larming demonst ra t ions ,has been vigorous ly repressed, and the au tho r i ty a nd majes ty of lawhave been vindica ted. N ow , in presenc e of a threa tened d is turban ce,the Mayor and the pol ice can reach no better conclusion than to offer adel ibe rate su rren der, and to refuse to the Ora ng eme n the privileges sofreely acco rded to al l other orga niz at io ns . Th ey have qua iled beforethe menaces of a secret force which it was their duty to drag to the l ightand to pun ish for an y infraction of the law . If an o rder or a proc lama t ion was is sued, i t should ha ve been " p a c k e d " with v igor . I t shouldhave soun ded for th the terr o rs of the law in term s no t to be mis takenIt should have shown no t imidity in the face of lawlessness , and no disposit ion to shrink from duty, no matter what sacrif ices were involved inits ful l performance. ^ * * N ow all is yielded, and a few hun dredor a few thousand lawlessly-disposed men t r i um ph in their ma s tery ofthe law . I t is a sad sc ene for the gre at m etro po l is , an d one that thoseco nc erned in arra n gin g wil l be hea rt i ly ash am ed of. Much future trou blewil l be traced direc t ly to the truck l ing surre n der no w m ade to the fellspiri t , which has heretofore been la id only by the severest appl icat ion offorce."

" There wil l be but one opin ion ," sa id the Evening Mail, " among thelaw-abidin g cit izens of N ew York as to the o rder of our Chief of Po l ice

f;


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1 2forbidding the O r a n g e p a r a d e t o - m o r r o w . As to the p r o p r i e t y of thepro po sed pa rad e itself there we re different view s, al though we p r e s u m et h a t a major i ty of our cit izens regretted any such in t rus ion of OldW o rld feuds upon our so i l . But to forbid a parade under duress f romthe sa me elements tha t e ight yea rs ago filled our s t reets with gangs ofc o w a r d l y and cruel r io ters , is to m a k e a surrender that wil l cause evens t rong men to weep tears of rage, and good men to use the l anguage ofO U V ' T O U f f h s ^ ^ v f ^ % ^ ! ^ ^It is terr ib ly unfor tunate tha t we are again brought face to face withs ome of the more dangerous e lement s of our c i ty , and t h a t too in ana t t i tude encouraging to them and dis hea r ten ing to good men. There isb u t one way in which these elements ought to be conf ron ted . Whatt h a t way is, ask any decent- looking man you may m e e t on the s t reet andthe answer wil l come out, hot and s t r o n g . The s u p r e m a c y of the lawm a y yet be vindica ted in our s t reets at far greater r isk than would havea t tended its as s er t ion to -morrow. We warn those who have th is t imesucceeded in adjourn ing tha t day of t r ia l tha t the delay wil l be of noa d v a n t a g e to t h e m . " >

" W h e n H i b e r n i a n and other Ir ish Cathol ic Societ ies ," sa id the Roches te r Express, " th rea ten r io t and bloodshed, all the p o w e r of the civil andmil i ta ry author i t ies should, if neces s a ry , be e m p l o y e d to pres erve thepeace and protec t peaceable c i t izens in the exercise of their r ights . Ifthe c ity pol ice is not s t rong enough , the Sta te mi l i t i a mus t be called out,an d if that fails, the mil i t a ry power of the Gejieral G o v e r n m e n t m u s t bei n v o k e d . ^ ^ * Noth ing s hould be done which would even look l ikea concess ion to the mob, howl ing at cit izens, and threa ten ing their molesta t ion when engaged in a peaceful celebrat ion. * - No issue couldbe more p l a in ly made. For once it has b e c o m e the duty for the Orangemen ' s Soc iet ies to do the fool ishness which they had con templa ted , as theonly v indica t ion of law and order , and for the s ame reas on it becomesthe duty of all good cit izens of every par ty and rel igious bel ief to susta in popular r ights by s us t a in ing the O r a n g e m e n ' s p a r t y . "

T h e B o s t o n Journal, with equal earnes tness , in c o n d e m n i n g M a y o rH a l l ' s c o n d u c t , a d d s : " A s a m a t t e r of fact, too, the Orangemen havethe grea test c la im upon our l aws for pro tec t ion , for they have alwa ysrespected them the m os t fully. Ta ke them all in all, they are peaceable,respectable and valua ble c it izens. T hey do not m a k e a bus iness of


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1 3drunkenn es s , rowdyis m and c r ime. They have no t kep t the co un t ry in aturmoi l fo r yea rs pa s t b y Fen ian demon s t ra tion s and C anad ian f armya rd ra id s . They have no t pro ved the wil ling tools of the pol i t ica ld isorganizers of the n a t ion , or exerted themselves to subvert the veryGo vernmen t tha t p ro tec ted them. They d id no t burn and mu rder innocent co lored peo ple in 1 86 3, no r have they ever been the chief candida tesfor ma tr icu la to ry ho no rs a t our reforma tor ies , ja i ls and pen i tent ia r ies .If they desire to celebrate any l i t t le family affair , in a legit imate way oftheir own, they, the Orangemen, have a perfec t r ight to do so , and mustbe p ro tec ted in tha t r igh t . "

T h e N e w Y o r k Tribune expressed the general feel ing, as fol lows:" A struggle for c ivil r ig hts has sud den ly gro wn out of the a t tem pt ofour c i ty autho r i t ies to repress the Oran gemen . The ex c i temen t of w art imes is the only para l lel to the s torm of indignat ion aroused in the community , by the denia l to a smal l band of I r ish Protes tants of the r ight toma ke a public ' demo ns t ra t ion , wi th s uch bann ers and mus ic a s m aypleas e them, in a t ime o f p ro found pea ce . E ve ry in s t inc t o f Am er icans ,habi tua ted to a f reedom of ten appro ac hing l icense, i s a roused in pro tes taga ins t the propo sed abr idgm ent of the r ights of a port ion of our c i ti zens , and the at t i tude of the c ivil au thori t ies , is un ivers al ly declared tobe that of base surrender to the mob, which has for two weeks been inexis tence, holding secret mee t ings , equipp ing i t sel f with a rm s, l i s ten ingto inf lammatory speeches^ and defiant ly threatening to carry out i ts mur.derous purpos es . The priesthood has pleaded for peac e, bu t confessedthat the sp ir i t of v io lence wa s break in g over the boun ds of C hurchinfluence. Good cit izens, tau ght by the exigencies of the wa r, expec tedto see ample prepara t ions made for prompt ly crushing the mob elementwhich has mo re than o nce d isgraced th is me trop ol is . To their amazement, however, they found, with the dawn of yesterday, that the chiefsof the C ity G o vern m en t had ho is ted the wh ite f lag. I t seemed l ik e thet reachero us surren der of a powerful mun ic ipa l i ty in to the hands of i t senemies . The a( t could be interpreted in but one wayTammanyHall , rul ing the c i ty by f raud, no longer dared to curb the rabble of i t sfo l low ers . The Ora ng eme n, though otherwis e deba rr ing themselvesf rom sympathy by needless ly perpetuat ing i r r i ta t ing t radi t ions of feudalt i m e s , were imm edia tely elevated to the d ign i ty of v ic t im s of outrageupon c iv i l r ights , and an a lmo st u n ive rsa l vo ice of condem nat ion sp ok ethe s ens e o f the communi ty . "


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1 4A volume of s im ilar exp ress ion s of ou traged publ ic opin ion mightbe co llected, i l lus trat in g no t on ly the pa trio t ism , bu t the in tell igence of

the Am erica n P re s s . Of the cause of th is shameful and everlas t inglydisgraceful con duct of the C ity autho r i t ies , the N ew Yo rk Times jus t lysa id ,"The City author i t ies f ind their mas ters too much for them.Th ey dare no t d isobey the co mm an ds of the I r ish C athol ics . So i t i sno w officially an no unc ed tha t the Ora nge process ion is pro hib ited. Ino ther wo rds, i t is set t led as a rule that when ever C athol ics object to aprocess ion , tha t process ion shal l not be a l lowed to appear . * * *The reaso n has a lwa ys been pla in , and i t i s now pla in er than ever .The C ity au tho rit ies are afraid of their own su pp o rters . Th ey now offic ial ly proc laim tha t the C ity is abso lutely in the han ds of the Ir ishC athol ics . They cann ot even un derta k e to preserve the publ ic peacewhen the P a pi sts threa ten to brea k i t . I t is for this tha t the c ity istaxed more heavi ly than a t any per iod of our historyit is for this sortof Go vernm ent tha t we are ma de to expend o ver $50,000,000 a y e a r .Two out of four of our City rulers are bigoted Roman Cathol ics , the menwho pro p up the C i ty Go vernm ent a re Ro ma n C a tho l ic s , and now i t i sdec ided tha t P ro tes tan ts have on ly such r ights a s Cathol ics choose toacco rd to them . W e suppose th is will be subm it ted to , l ike every o therabuse. W e l ive in easy-going t im es . B ut the day wil l come when agrea t and f ree community wil l not a lways l ie down meekly, to be r iddenover by the men who burn down orph an as ylums , an d who se influenceis fatal to every phase of c ivil or rel igious l iberty. * * * *

" T he O range proces sion would have exc it ed co mpa ra t ive ly l i t tl e in teres t or a ttent ion if the C atholics had no t taken up so outrageo us ana t t i tud e in rega rd to i t . Th at was the sec ret of a l l th is exc i tem ent .W ha t occas ioned the d is turban ce wa s the fac t tha t C athol ics ca me ou tand sa id , 'Protestants as a body shal l not venture to show their heads inour s t ree t s . W e canno t abs o lu te ly in terd ic t the Pro tes t a n t re lig ion , bu twhenever a pa r ty o f P ro tes t an t s march in p roces s ion w e will break the i rheads . ' Th is to ne is a l l the mo re in to lerable , co ns ider ing the coolnesswi th which the C athol ics seize the C ity whe nev er they w an t i t for theirown purpos es . Archb is hop McC los key s pok e o f the Oran gemen ' violat in g the law. ' B ut their process io n w ould have been no mo re avio la t ion of the law than the proc ess ion which takes p lace on S t . P a t r ick ' s D a y, or on the nu mero us o ther days in the year when C athol icsturn out with ban ds of music and f lags. I t is , however, a l l set t led no w.W e are officially inform ed tha t we l ive under the rule of pries ts an drowdies , Pro tes t a n t s m ay be a llowed to wa lk the s tree t s in two s o r


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1 5threes , bu t never let them da re to form in proc ess io n. If they do, theCathol ics wil l e i ther come down upon them and ' cut them to pieces, ' orset the c i ty author i t ies to d isperse the m ."The co wa rdly surren der of the C ity by the " Rin g " author i t ies wa sthe them e of universa l execra t ion . Ev eryw here i t seemed the topic ofabs orbi ng in teres t . Men o rdin arily indifferent to al l agitat ion wereov erco me with in dign at io n. Th ere wa s no langua ge sufficient to me as uretheir profoun d disgust and ho rro r at the ama zing d isplay of injust iceco nta in ed in the M ay o r ' s le t ter , and the genera l order of the Po l iceS uper in tenden t . The rema rka ble s im ilar i ty of the two doc umen ts was amat ter of s imul taneous remark , and the opin ion was genera l ly expressedthat even if Mr. Kelso did s ign and issue the order upon his own respons ib i l i ty , as he has a l leged, the M ay o r ' s h in t and nod of com man d wereno t far in the bac kgro und. The whir lwind of co ntem pt and shame tha tswept the var ious thoroughfares an d rendezvous of publ ic opin ion wasno t confined to an t i -Tam ma ny pol i tic ians a lone. Al l the mo re decent andrespectable c lasses were as a un i t . The s turdies t of D em oc ra ts weref ierce and bi t ter in their denuncia t ion s of those who had thus bro ugh tsham e an d ruin to the pa r ty . S t ron g men even shed tears and t rem bledwith emo t ion , as they spo ke of our humil ia t ion . M an y w ho had votedthe s t ra ight D em o cra t ic t ick et for scores of yea rs so lemnly declared tha tthey wo uld vo te aga ins t the pre sen t dyn as ty un t il a l l i ts detestable rottenn ess shal l be buried out of s ight . M an y of the pol ice op enly expressedtheir so rrow and sha me for the disgraceful pos it ion in which the forcewa s placed. N o t a few of our mo st pro mi ne n t and law-abiding c i t izens ,in their f lame of exasperat ion, were heard to declare excitedly in favor oflynching the v i le c rea tures who had brought about th is co ndi tion oaffairs . Never w as there such a violent spa sm of public indign at ion feltin the M etrop o l is , and neve r wil l the sca nda lous event be forgotten, n o teven in the graves of i ts i l l -famed originators . * -

Superin tendent Kelso was not only amazed, but c rushed by the s tormof publ ic indignat ion which burs t so sudd enly an d w ith such terribleforce upo n him. On the prev io us evening he had seemed to bel ieve tha the would be sustain ed by al l those he cal led " law an d order lovin g citizens , " and that of al l the journals , the Times alo ne wo uld find fault wi ththe surren der . W he n he found tha t every inf luent ia l pap er had jo i n edwith the Times in holding him up to publ ic co ntem pt and execra t ion , hewas ama zed. Tha t the new spa pers bu t feebly po rt rayed the s ta te ofpubl ic feeling, he soon had overw helming proofs . E a rly in the mo rnin gof the day these facts dawned upon h i m ; a gent leman who w as ent irely


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0

1 6unkno wn to everybody in the Po l ice H ea dq ua rters , and was therefore no ta placeman, hurriedly entered the off ice of the Superintendent , and look-

Y \. ing M r. Kelso sq uarely in the eyejhanded him a new spaper , and poin t ing0^ J j to the odious o rder, ask ed, " D id you s ign that. S ir f Super in tenden t^^ I Kelso ans wered, " Y es , s i r . " " T he n , s i r ," excla imed the exc i ted c i t izen ," you ought to be shot ."

The Hib ern ia ns a lone, of a ll the pop ula t ion of the c i ty , were exult ant ; Mayor Hal l and Chief Kelso were pra ised in every vi le p lace anddisgus t ing s lum, from the B atte ry to " M a c k e r e l v i l l e . " The headquarters of the I rish r io ters were a t N o . 42 Pr i n ce s t reet . A t 9 o ' c lock , thef i l thy room was crowded with human beings , many of the lowest type ofphys ica l degrada t ion . " Tho s . Kerr ig an ," who is sa id to be a 85,000pe r yea r Ta m m a n y H a ll office-holder, cal led the mo b to o rder. " N o w,me n ," sa id he, " in consequence of the proc lama t ion of S upt . Kelso , wehave broug ht you together, in the hope of get t ing yo ur sanc t ion to thepubl ica t ion of a'manifesto which shall set forth our tha n k s for, an d theviews expressed by, our c i ty go vern m en t ." A scene of cha rac ter is t icconfus ion , q uarrel ing, and profan i ty fo llowed, when " Ed w ar d L . C arey,"Go v. Hoffman ' s P o rt -W a rde n , and by r ight , chief r io ter of the H ibern i a n s , made a charac ter is t ic speech, indors ing the peaceable, law^-abidingcha rac ter of the I rish ! This ma n was fo llowed by " Tho s . K err iga n ,"w ho assured his exc i table hearers , tha t the ac t ion of Mayor Hal l , throughhis super in tendent , " was the greatest concession ever given the Irish inany country. Go to your hom es ," he con t inued , " N o Oran geman wi l ldare to show his nose in the s t reets to-morrow."

W hile th is deep pa l l of S ta te an d c i ty d isgrace wa s set t ling overt h e " E m p i r e C i t y ," N e w Jerse}^ afflicted by the same disorganized elem en ts of a d iscon tented an d turbulent I rish popula t ion , than ks to ademocra t i c , bu t no t a Ta mm an y-Ha l l , Go vernor , d id n o t s uccum b. In spired by the reco llect ions of the re vo lut io n ary s truggles of his n at iv eS ta te for l ib erty of thou ght and rel igious belief, he rose equal to theoccasion, and gave to the world the fol lowing s t irr ing P r o c l a m a t i o n :

" T h e C ons t i tu tion o f the S t a te o f N ew J ers e y enum era tes , amo ngother ' rights and privileges, ' that ' the peo ple h ave the r ight to freelyassem ble together . ' I t a l so proc la im s tha t ^ no person shall be deniedthe enjoyment of any civil r ight merely on account of his rel igious princ iples . ' I t a lso ma kes th e G overn or of the S ta te ' C omm ander-in-Chiefof the m il itary and na val forces of this S tate , ' an d un der his oa th ofoffice ma ke s i t his duty ' to prom o te the peace and pro sp erity and m ain -


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B i nT A T B T I T T . Y 1 9 T I 1 V I E W 0 > ' K I(i]ITH. AN.i'JyUi; bOOKJ.NO_jaiUM-'T\VHN|TT-FJr .JTOWAUD THE-UttAKl) Ot'EKA nOUg-~l


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1 8bel ieve, by any large number of s incerely pa t r io t ic and Chris t ian peoplein the expediency of the exercise of that r ight at this t ime.

Given a t the Execut ive Chamber, in the c i ty of Trenton , th is 11thday of J ul y , in the yea r of our Lo rd, 187 1, and of the independence of the United Sta tes of America the n inety-s ixth .

T H E O . F . R A N D O L P H .Attest: S A MU E L C . B R O W N , P r i v a t e S e c r e t a r y .

I t was th is ins pir ing proc lam at ion tha t bro ke the shameful s i lence ofGOV. Hoffman . S t an d ing upon a b road er p l ane than the t ruck l ingMayor, he fel t tha t h is asp ira t ion and the hopes of h is par ty for na t iona lrecogn i t ion was gon e, unless he cam e to the rescue. B ut h is e leventh-hour p roc l amat ion , coun termanding the o rder o f Super in tenden t Kel s o ,and the M ay o r ' s endo rsemen t , wa s felt to be a po l i tica l nec ess i ty , andno t a pr o m pt effort to se cure eq ual r ig hts . I t seem ed inc redible tha tGo v. Hoffman could have been in N ew Y ork on Mo nd ay, and w itht ruthfulness co mm enced his proc lama t ion on the next da y, the 11th, withthe a s s er t ion

" Saving been only this day apprised, whi le at the C ap itol , of the* ac tual condi t ion of th ings here ( in N ew Yo rk ) with reference to prop os edprocess io ns to-m orro w, and having, in the belief th a t m y presenc e w asneeded, repa ired hi ther immedia tely , I do make th is proc lamat ion , & c . "The revocat ion , or death-bed repentance, was too l a t e ; it did not satisfythe peo ple. A t the same t ime , i t occas ioned the grea tes t confus ion in thec ity. I t found tha m ili ta ry , a nd the pol ice, with different idea s a nddif ferent orde rs . I t co mp rom ised his chief subo rdina tes , and placedM ay or H a l l and Sup er in tenden t Kel s o in the mo s t c on tempt ib le pos i t i o n s . The Orangemen who had yielded to the f ia t of munic ipa l orderswere un prepa red to m ak e tha t d isplay of s t reng th which w as con son antwith their des ires and abi l i ty .

T he Tribune expressed the publ ic sen t imen t under the head ofChange of Front, sayin g : " The absence of pr inc iple and the open shame-lessness which are the chara c ter is tics of o ur c i ty go vernm ent , for onceserve a good purp os e. If we could no w be asto nis hed at an y ac t of th eD irec tory which go verns us , the news of th is m orn in g wo uld f ill theco mm un ity with am azem ent . The Kelso C ircular i s withdraw n, an d theG ov erno r offers to use the en t ire p ow er of the S tate to pre serv e thepeace in case i t i s threa tened by the r io tou s op po nen ts of the Ora ngem en . This is a desp erate though tar dy effort on the pa rt of Go vern o r


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1 9Hoffman to save the D em o cra t ic pa r ty of the S ta te , w hose pos i t ion hasnow assum ed a na t iona l im po rtan ce, from the con sequences of the enormo us blunder which spra ng from the igno ranc e and reck lessness of theC ity H a l l D ire c to ry. A s there is a po s i t ive com fort in a feeling of conf idence toward the head of the State, we wish we could ascribe this act ionto the G o vern or ' s sense of r ight and of c iv ic duty . B ut i t i s on ly tooevident tha t i t was forced upon him and the pa r ty he repres en ts by theunexpected vehemence of the popular protes t aga ins t the wretchedtruck l ing of the c i ty au tho r i t ies . N o t on ly in the publ ic pres s , which,with the so le except ion of the h ired tool of T am m a n y, deno unc ed thesu rren der to the mo b in dignified an d f it ting lan gua ge, bu t also on thes t reets and in a l l p laces of publ ic reso r t , there was but one voice of detes ta t io n of the craven bet ra ya l of the very pr inc iple of go vern men t bythe gan g of unp r inc ipled spoi l smen by whom we are mis ruled. I t wa srare ly yo u co uld find any o ne so los t to a l l sense of ma nl in ess or na t iona lself-respect, as to speak in app rova l of the Kelso c ircular . B y a s ingularfreak of po etic jus tic e, even the ruffians in w hose behalf the order wasissued' expressed no gra t i tude for i t . They growled a t M r. H al l forspo il ing their da y's fun. B ut al l decen t c it izens felt th at the fa ir n am eof the city had been stained, by the bungl ing han ds of tha t coarse caba l ,which is so reckless tow ard the law, and so co wa rdly tow ard the m o b.La ter in the day, every cheek which had reta in ed i t s cap ac i ty to blushwas reddened wi th s hame when the p roc l ama t ion o f the Dem oc ra t icGovernor o f New Jers ey appeared , in which he no t on ly warns the ev i ldoers of his ovv n S tate of the sure pun ish me nt which wil l follow a ny attem pt at the fulf il lment of their r io tou s design s, bu t also tak es occasionto inform our own rowdies of the recept ion which wil l await them, if theexpected le isure of to-day should tem pt them over the wa ter . F ro mthe universa l applaus e bes tow ed on tha t sens ible and sp ir i ted pa per , o urown rulers may have ga ined some idea of the depth of publ ic contemptin to which they had fa l len by their own subservience to the mob.

The proc lama t ion of the Go verno r was the on ly w ay out of the untenable pos i t ion the D em o cra t ic organ iza t ion of the c i ty had ass umed.His ac t ion comes too la te to save the .party f rom that popular condemna t ion which a lwa ys fo llows such cr im ina l b lun ders . I s i s sca rcely poss ible tha t the Oran gem en , who had a ccepted the s i tua t ion of forcecreated by the Circular of Superltitendent Kelso, can now so far modifytheir a rra n gem en ts as to go on with their in terrupted celebra t ion . Th eve ry cha nge of fron t , executed so sudden ly in the face of crit ica l c ircum-


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20stan ces , is a sufficiently c lear eviden ce of a confusion of co un sels, whic his fatal to the discipl ine and success of a pol it ical party.

I t i s poss ible tha t an a t tempt may be made to load the whole f iascoupon S uper in tenden t Kelso , an d to send him out in to the wildernessbendin g under the s ins of the Rin g. B ut no such pa l t ry device can succeed with the people a t l a rge. B ehind Kelso s tan ds our M ay o r , and nojugg lery of s igna tures can prev en t the recogn i t ion of tha t won derfuls tyle where D o n n ybro o k vies with the C ity H a l l for adeq uate express ion . B ehind the M ay o r is tha t t r io of sh if ty ad ven turers who own andcontrol him, and it is this f inal power which has inspired and guided HisH o n o r 's fatal ly facile pen . Th e city suffic iently un ders tan ds this . Inthe hones t ancl f resh indignat ion of yes terday, there were no wordsw asted on Kelso . Ta m m a n y wa s the source of a l l the sham e and w ron g.The co untry wil l readi ly learn th is evident lesson . A s long as we wereon ly rob bed of our mo ne y, and insul ted by the open prof ligacy of ourru le r s , the in terio r seemed to c are ve ry l i t t le for i t . B ut now tha t agrave offense has been committed against the very spirit of social order,a blow has been s truc k a t the foun dat ions of c ivil f reedom, the' wholec o un try wil l recogn ize the peril we are in from this obl iga rchy of t r icksters so weak as to qua il before a handful pf rowdies , and s o igno ran tand reckless as no t to kn ow or c are when they are rudely touching avital point of c ivil f reedom."

Th e fata l mo rnin g of the 12th of J u ly arr iv ed. N ew Yo rk c i ty int im e of profound peace, wo re the appea ranc e of a p lace a bo ut to bes to rmed by a v ic tor io us en em y, when ga ther ing his s t ren gth to ma ke thefinal a t tac k . An d the cause of al l this mo st disgraceful ex citem en t, eventual ly to end in bloodshed an d death , was a mob of bruta l ized foreignerswho, t ran sp lan t in g their b igo t ry and their inca pac i ty for self -governmentirom the Old World, determined to renew their f ight in the home of theiradoptionproving for the thousa ndth t im e tha t they kn ow no thing, andunder their leaders learn nothing, and prac t ice nothing, common to a l iber ty- loving c i t izen of the United Sta tes ,

The cowardice of the leaders of Tammany, the hes i ta t ion and incompeten cy of i ts offic ials broug ht the terri ble bu t n atu ra l fruits of s orro wand disgrac e. T he m o re than weak, the pus i l lan imo us su rrend er ofM ay or H al l to the mo b, of course on ly enco uraged i t to m o re des pera tereso lut ion , for i t was a thing to have been co nq uered by defiance ; con cess ion on ly f lat tered the hyr a headed m o ns ter and gave it s tren gth. B utafter the fatal error of concess ion had been part ial ly remedied, at the in-


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2 1dignan t demand o f an ou t raged publ ic s en t iment , mis management a lmos tas s tupid led to resu l t s as pa inful, though no t so mo men tous as thosethrea tened by the s ur render .

Threa ten in g demo ns t ra t ion s o f the r io ter s ea r ly in the mo rn ing , re vealed tha t the o utraged cry of the peo ple had no t curbed them as com pletely as i t f rightened Ta m m a n y. Sul len gro ups ga thered on the s t ree tcorners in threa tened dis t r ic t s or in the loca l i t ies where the I r ish res idein grea tes t nu mb ers . Am on g thes e groups wom en were mo s t cons p icuousby the vehemenc e with which they deno unced Ora ngem en, Po l ice an dSo ld ier s a l ike ^ and chi ldren of both sexes ga thered about them, ignoranta l ike of their own dan ger and the despe ra te resolut ion of those abo utth e m . The men genera l ly were gruff and s i lent , evidently angry tha tthe ir o pp o rtun it ies for pil lag e ha d been wre sted from them by the enfo rced ac t ion o f the men who m they had m ad e M ay or and Go verno r .Separate gangs of ruff ians , s ix or eight in number, moved from street tostreet , eager al ike for f ight or pil la ge. A t the severa l rendezvo us of theH ibern ia n s m an y bo re ri fles without being in terfered with or even repro ved by the pol ice. In the upp er pa r t of the c i ty the r io ters began tomo ve southward a t an ear ly hour , co mpel l ing a l l wo rkm en on theirro ute to des is t and jo in with them. In on e or two ins tan ces mo vemen tswere ma de aga in s t the houses of men who had protec ted the Ora ngem enduring the r io t s of las t year , but as the r io ters were without leadershipthey gradu al ly d ispersed before ca rryin g their threa ts in to execut ion .At t ac ks were made by the r io ter s on one o r two a rmor ies where a rm swere kno wn to be s tored, but the res is tance of a few determi ne d pol icemen cowed the m o b. Th e rio ters were vicious and f ierce enough for an ypurp o se, but i t was pla in tha t they were witho ut the organiza t ion theyhad boa s ted. S t i ll their dem on st ra t io ns w ere so threatening'before 10o'clock that the pol ice w ere compel led to se ize Hibern ia Hal l , and Gen.S haler ca l led for a regim ent of t roo ps from B roo klyn , w here, as in Je rs eyCity, a l l had been comparatively qu ie t .

Whi le the mob w as without d irec t ion a t a l l , d iv ided counsels a lmostw holly des troye d the effect iveness of the troo ps and po l ice. Th ere doesnot appear to have been perfec t consonance of ac t ion between the Super ,in ten dent of Pol ice and the C om ma nder of the M il i t ia , and to th is fac twil l eventually be traced many of the blunders which have aided to makethe r io t mo st ser ious in i t s con sequences . B oth pol ice and t roo ps wereeag er to do their full du ty.

Ab o ut noo n the fac t beca me kno wn tha t the Ora ngem en had reso lvedto pa rade , s ta r t in g from their lodge in Eig hth Aven ue and T wen ty-n in th


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22S treet , and thither the r io ters from al l po in ts of the c ity began to concen tra te . M an y ma rched in la rge bodies through the pr inc ipa l s t reets ,undis persed. A large pol ice force had previo us ly been sent to pro tec tthe Oran ge Lo dge, and these kep t the r io ters a t a d is tance. La ter in theday f ive regim en ts of t roo ps ma rched to the sam e poin t , and by twoo'clock the ehtire briga de and a la rge body of pol ice had formed inEighth Avenue, hemmed in a t a l l the cross s t reets by an angry mob.

Short ly a f ter 2 o'clock the M as ter of the O ran ge Lo dge cal led i t toorde r , prel im in ary to forming in process ion in the s t reet . A resolut ionwas passed, tha t i t was dangerous for'the l adies pres en t to tak e pa r t inthe publ ic demo ns t ra t ion as or ig ina l ly in tended, and they were reques tedto remo ve an y lodge or o ther ins ignia ca lcula ted to provo ke an ass aul t , an dproceed uno s tenta t ious ly to their hom es . An imp ress ive app eal to theSupreme Being w as then ma de by one of the m em bers , ask ing a id andprotec t ion to thos e who were to r isk m ar tyrd o m for the ass er tion of apr inc ip le .

So on af ter the Oran gemen m ad e their app earan ce in the s t reet , prepara tory to tak ing their p laces in the l ine of march, the mob in Twenty-n in th s tre et bega n hoo t ing, and the pol ice at on ce put them to f light.Subsequent ly Twenty-eighth s t reet was c leared in the same way, thePo l ice ac t ing with grea t sp ir i t . B ut the rio ters soon return ed to theplaces f rom which they had been dr iven , an d prep are d to renew theirhoo t ing, or to indulge in mo re violent demo ns t ra t ion s . A few s ho t swere f ired from ho uses in the aven ue, before the process ion m ov ed, thePo l ice in one in s tanc e return in g the f ire by a s in gle shot , but no thingrea l ly se rious oc curred u n t il the head of the l ine had reached Tw en ty-th ird s t reet , and the Orangemen were oppos i te Twenty-fourth s t reet .Here they were f i red upon f rom a tenement house on the corner ofTwen ty-fourth s t reet . B ut no t m o re than ha lf a dozen shots were d is charged in al l , an d no ne of them a pp ar en tly took effect on tro o ps o rpol icem en. The 84 th Regim en t , how ever , im med ia tely d ischarged theirw eapons at the house and at the crowd in the avenue and along thes t reet . The m em bers had previous ly loaded with ba l l ca r t r idge in theopen s treet , as if to int imidate the r ioters , and the effect of their f ire wasm urde ro us . A t the same the 9th and 6th R egim ents in the rea r of theO r a n g e m e n also began f ir ing indiscriminately, sweeping Twenty-f if th-Tw enty-s ixth , Tw en ty-seven th, and Tw enty-eighth s t reets , the ex t remere a r of the 9th f iring a few sho ts up E igh th aven ue, at Tw en ty-nin ths t reet . The troo ps of the 6th , 9 th , and 84 th Regim en ts , were for a mo ment thrown into confusion, as usual af ter f ir ing, but at command of the


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23off icers , instant ly fel l into l ine and marched on, leaving the dead andwo un ded behind wh ere they fel l. Th e s ide s treets , as mi ght be expected,from Twenty-f if th to Twenty-eighth s treets had been instant ly cleared byall who were able to f ly, the r ioters abandoning their fr iends without thes l igh tes t compunc t ion .

Th is ended the conflict. Th e wretche s w ho had defied the law an dcrea ted a l l th is ru in , discovered tha t the author i t ies were in earnes t , andtheir cowardly sp ir i t qua i led with in them, making the hes i ta t ion and sub-serven cy of the M ay o r and Sup er in ten den t Kelso dou bly o dious , asil lustrat ing how easily a l i t t le f irmness at the proper t ime, on their part ,would have rel ieved the c ity of any riot whatever.N um ero us min or inc iden ts of the day i l lus t ra te the despera te charac ter of the m o b. Al thou gh witho ut organ iza t ion or leadership ther io ters were eviden t ly prepa red for f ight, mo st of those arres ted havin gconcealed wea pon s . H ad the l ine of t roo ps been brok en , or the pol icebeen forced'from their po sit io ns , the mo st frightful butc hery and pil lag emus t have inev i t ab ly ens ued . Only" the act ivity of the pol ice early inthe day, a t Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth s t reets , prevented the concentra t ion of the mob before 4he app earan ce of the t roo ps . I t i s pro ba bletha t the volley of the m il it ia saved the c ity from grea ter bloodshed at a la terhour , when n ight w ould have lent courage, and t ime would have swel ledthe ranks o f the mob.

T he Tribune's r e p o r t said:" A gentlem,an who saw the firing froma house on the wes t s ide of Eighth avenue, jus t nor th of the OperaHouse, represents the mob on the block between Twenty-fourth andTwenty-fifth s t reets , as pa r t icula r ly feroc ious in cha rac ter . Th e s idewalkwa s densely pa cked w ith the r io ters , who hissed, hoo ted, and shoutedthei r threa ts of defiance. Thi s gen tlema n s ay s the firs t sho t which led tothe gen eral f ir ing wa s n o t discha rged from the hous e on the no rth-eastco rner of Tw enty-fo urth s treet , bu t from the s idewa lk in fron t of i t .The pol ice were assa i led a t the sam e t ime on the south-eas t corner . Thedem on st ra t io n here was of such ma gn itude and feroc i ty tha t , in theopin ion of the gent leman (an o ld mem ber of the 7th R egim en t) , the84 th wa s justif ied in f ir ing a volley, as on ly tha t co urse could hav e pre ven ted the break in g up of the l ine. W hi le he believes tha t the pro vo cat ion of the f irs t volley wa s an iple, this gen tleman does n o t a t tem pt toexplain or just ify the conduct of the rest of the regiments in f ir ing withou t o rders and in d i s c r imin a te ly . Sergean t J a m es M . Mil le r o f the S ix teenth Precinct res ides in the house from in front of w'hich the firing


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24began, and says tha t a t the t ime i t w as occupied on ly b y three ladies ,h is wife , daugh ter , and a M rs . Go odrich. The exc i tement yes terda y inf ront of th is house was so grea t , and threa ts of des t roying i t so f requent ,that Sergeant Miller was compelled to detail off icers to protect his proper ty an d family. Vio lence of this kin d is gre at ly to be deprec ated. Inthe exc i tement of the moment of f i r ing i t was not poss ible to know pos it ively whenc e sho ts proc eeded. B esides, the ruffianly r io ters occ upiedthe awnings and roofs of buildings in which peaceful c it izens res ided, andby the i r demons t ra t ions b rought innocen t pers ons in to jeopardy o f l i f e .Th is was p rob ably the ca s e a t N o . 265 Twenty-fourth s t ree t . Aboutthe t im e the f ir ing o cc urred in Eig hth a ven ue, three ruffians in S ixthaven ue, meet ing in f ront of Fa irc hi ld ' s B azaa r , betw^een Twenty- th i rdan d Twenty-fourth s t reets , a l ad y who wore o range-colored r ibbo ns inher bon net , a t once a t tacked her , and tore her head-dress to f ragmen ts .S he w as fr ightened by this unex pec ted as sa ult , and f led in to on e of theneighboring s tores where she was protec ted.

" S o o n af ter the process ion had s tar ted a feroc ious-looking wo ma nrushed out from the side-w^alk, seized the regal ia of one of the Ora ng eme n , and a t tem pted to pul l them from his sho ulders . A soldier wa rnedher back With the but of his musket , but the infuriated Amazon spit inhis face, and with imp reca t ion s an d shr ieks of rag e, reproac hed herco un trymen for their co wardice. W he n the f ir ing began, a dense ma ssof people were s t ruggl ing toward the cent re of the s t reet , apparent lydes irous of break ing up the l ine of ma rch. M an y of the r io ters werearm ed with revo lvers , and a s t i l l l a rger n um ber with br ic ks , c lubs ands ton es . S evera l you ng ruffians were seen to thro w pav ing s tones a t theprocess io n . Th e f i rs t v ic t im of the r io ters w as s t ruck by a p iece ofcoping of a house.

" M a n y of the r io ters were seen to tak e del ibera te a im a t the M arshal of the Orangemen, who, being on horseback , was a very conspicuousmark fo r p i s to l s ho t s and br ickba t s ." Pr iva te O 'Byrne of the 9th Regiment , while guarding the body ofa comrade in the ranks , was approached by a s tea l thy ruff ian , who

at tem pted to assa ss ina te h im with a swo rd-can e. The blade pen etra tedthe breas t of O 'Byrne ' s coa t and glanced f rom his body." C harles D ra k e was t ran sferr ing the bod y of a dead s o ldier of the9th Regi me nt from the s idewalk to a gro cer ' s wagon, when he was bru

ta l ly a t tack ed by severa l row dies . An I r ishman kn ock ed over a r io ter ,who was c l imbing in to the car t , and shouted to Mr. Drake to dr ive on .This was ins tant ly done, and severa l of the mob were knocked over .


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./"

SCENE ON EIGHTH AVENUE AT THE CORNER Of TWENTr-FOURTH STREET.AM. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHIC CO. N.Y. I OSBORNE'S P R OCE S S )


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2 5" The f ina l a t tack of the r io ters was ma de on the pol ice com pos in gthe rea r guard between Fif th an d Sixth a venues , but was v igo rous ly

repelled by an eflfective use of c lubs ." Whi le the 9 th Regiment were on du ty , a gang o f r io ter s b roke in totheir a rm ory in W es t Twen ty-s ixth s t reet , an d s to le the pr iv a te boo ksand papers of the officers." T h e re were coun t less b raw ls and arre s t s in the evening, espec ia l lyin the vicin ity of the s trug gle of the af ternoo n. A large crow d co llectedat E ighth avenue and S ixteenth s t reet , ea r ly in the evening, and anofficer who a t tem pte d to dis perse the row dies, w as s tabb ed with a po ck et-

kn ife. A scuffle en sued, dur in g whic h his club wa s w res ted fromhim , an d his life threa ten ed, w hen a secon d officer ap pea red, an d therin glea der was tak en i nto cu sto dy. A s the officers were proc eedin g tothe S t a t ion H ou s e wi th the i r p r i s on er , a mo b ga thered beh ind them,and assaul ted them with showers of s tones , but the pr isoner wasretained in spite of the efforts of his turbulent fr iends.

" A mos t b ru ta l a s s au l t was made dur ing the even ing nea r the News bo y ' s Lodging H ou s e , in Pa rk Plac e , upon W . J . Tho rn , f o rmer ly ares iden t o f W es tbro ok , Ma ine , and now res id ing a t N o . 45 Robin s ons t reet . Three mis crean ts whose brogue as wel l as their#stealthy mode ofa t tack , bet ray ed their na t ion a l i ty , assa i led h im with c lubs , and kno ckedhim in to the gut ter . H is outcr ies a t t ra c ted the a t tent io n of f riends , an dh is das t a rd ly a s s a i l an t s re t i red has t i ly . "

N igh t cam e at las t , an d the c ity af ter i ts day of turm o il exultan t inbloodshed was qui et . The w ails of the wounded only , were heard'andl amenta t ions over the s l a in .The number of r io ters and c i t izens k i l led outr ight , or who died soonafter, was 3 7 ; wo unded, 67 . Two mil i t iamen we re k i l led, and 24wo unded. Of the r io ters 63 were arres ted, a t var ious po in ts , beingfound in the a c t of co mm it t ing or a t temp t ing vio lence, an d havin g intheir possess ion dead ly weapo ns of var io us k in ds . Af ter tw o or threed a y s , they were all released on bail to keep the peace for one yearthel ightes t sentence ever impos ed un der s im ilar c i rcumstan ces !

T h e B r o o k l y n Eagle, a De mo cra t ic p ap er , even while the smo ke ofthe contest s t i l l hung over the bloody f ield, said: " The dead are take n tothe Morgue, and the wo unded lie in the H o sp i ta l . Fif ty l ives have beenlos t , and mo re than an equa l nu mbe r have been impa i red by wo unds .F o r a who le day a g rea t c i ty has been in exc i tement and co nvuls io n . .W^hat is the quid pro quo for al l this t rouble and sacrifice? I t is a large


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26pricewhere i s the equivalent ? Not in the bare fac t tha t a r id iculousan d sp iteful co mm emo rat ion has been had by a hundred men of an obscure skirmish in a foreign land two centuries a g o ; but in the inc identa lvind ica t ion of the su prem ac y of law, of the f idelity of mi n is ters of rel ig ion to their voc a t ion of -pea cem ak ers , of the t rus tw orthin ess of thepol ice an d m il i ta ry to their duty of pres ervi n g o rd er , of the fa ithfulnessof the Governor to h is respons ib i l i ty as chief magis t ra te , and, above a l l ,of the unconquerable determinat ion of the w hole peo ple to pro tec t thepers ons and r igh t s o f an y min or i ty , however co n tempt ib le in nu mb ersand asso c ia t ion , aga in s t mo b vio lence. These are va lua ble co nt r ibut ions t o our fa ith in each o ther a s m em bers o f a co mm on co mm un i ty .Before l a s t Sunday , men might have ques t ioned , and many d id ques t ion ,whether th i s cos mopol i t an met ropo l i t an communi ty w as a unit in support of law and order; wh ether there were no t such c lass ha treds between us as wo uld para lyze the hand of the go vern me n t , from M ay o rdown to pol ice pa t ro lm an ; whether there was n ot so v io lent an an t i pa thy between different na t ion a l i t ies a nd relig ion s amo ng us , tha t wecould no lon ger organize ou r pol i t ica l pa r t ies , or con duct our publ icaffairs , except by dividing into posit ively host ile camps."

T he morning f the 13th dawn ed up on the c i t y ; there was evidentregret among the law-abiding c i t izens tha t innocent par t ies had beens t r icken down with the gui l ty ; but a l l fe l t relievedthere was s ome a s surance, a t leas t , tha t the mob was not mas ter .Comment ing on the resul t , the Herald s a id : " The c i ty o f N ew Yo rk ,in the maintenance of the Ccmstitutional righ ts of the peo ple, an d ofliSerty and law^, s tands vindicated before the country and the world.The publ ic indignat ion aga ins t the a t tempted surrender of the c i ty to themo b was chan ged to publ ic co ngra tula t ions with the publ ica t ion of theG o vern o r ' s an no unc emen t tha t to the extent of the mi l i ta ry forces an ddefens ive resources a t h is co mm an d, the Ora nge soc iet ies , i f nec essa ry,wo uld be pro tected in their pa ra de . B est of al l , when put to the testupon th is proc lama t ion , in behal f of the law and of the grea t pr in c iple

of equal r ights , the Go verno r and the c i ty author i t ies , proved themse lvesa t a l l po in ts equal to the emergency and to a l l poss ible combinat ions ofr io tous men though ten t imes in numbers g rea ter than the combina t ionsrouted and dispers ed. The cro wn ing resul t i s the t r ium pth of l ibe r tyan d law"; and, a l l th ings con s idered, so grea t a v ic tory has seldom beens o cheap ly purchas ed . H o w rema rka b le have been the t rans i t ion s o fthe public feel ing from day to day s ince Monday last | * * *B ut on Tues day , wi th the p rom ulga t ion o f Order N o . 57 from po l ice


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27headquarters , and the indignant comments of the publ ic press thereon, ac loud of d isgrac e cas t i t s dark shado w over our fa ir metro po l is , andma de g loomy the coun tenance o f every hones t m an . W ednes day cameupon usa beaut iful summer dayyet mo ral ly lur id and threa ten in gfrom the om ino us ga ther ing s and m ov eme nts of reckless desperadoesben t upon mischief, while, a t the same t ime, every honest face hadbrightened f rom the reading of the Go vern o r ' s ma n ly proc lama t ion . OnT h u r s d a y morningthe ba tt le hav ing been fought and w on for equa lr ights , the Cons t i tu t ion , l iber ty , and lawthe brightness of the uncloudedfirmam ent wa s fully reflected in the ho n est faces of ou r fellow-citizens ofa l l na t iona l i ties and creeds , races an d c lasses , Pro tes tan ts and Ca tholics ,na t ives and foreign bo rn , whites , yel low s, and black s . The hon or of ourc i ty had been vindica ted, and the supremacy of law and order here hadbeen ma in t a ined . "

In con cluding i t s edi tor ia l co mm ents on the resul t , the Times exult-ingly sa id : " In o ne asp ect i t was subl ime. On e hundred and s ix tyado pted c i t izens of N ew Y ork were esco'rted in a br ief parade by about800 pol icem en and 2 ,200 so ldiers of the S ta te mil i t ia . I t ma y be safelysaid that , even in the l i t t le band which formed the core of this imposinggather in g, there was ha rdly one who thoug ht much of the events , twocentur ies o ld , w hich they were m et to c elebrate. I t is tolera bly certa intha t of the co mpa ct phalan x which guarded them, there were no t half adozen who would have turned out to do publ ic honor to the memory ofKing W il l i am of Oran ge . Amid the s er ried ran ks o f po l ice and m i l i t a ry ,there was but on e sentimentthe duty which they owed to the comm u n i t y o f w hich they w ere m em bers , an d of the po pula r l iber ty ofwhich they were repres en ta t ive s . Am erican f reedom had been def iant lychal lenged, and i t s enemies had enjoyed a br ief t r iumph over i t s bet rayalby the me n who had sworn to pro tec t i t . The people had ar isen , witha unanimity and a determinat ion which they have not exhibi ted fory e a r s , to demand that the " equal r ights for al l ," w hich form our proudes t boa s t , should no t be ma de a sham and a laughing s tock . Yes terday ' s process ion , with a l l i t s abnormal fea tures , was a noble v indica t ionof the m igh t of the po pula r wil l , an d of the just ic e w hich l ives in theun per ver ted in s t inc ts of a free peo ple."

T he Tribune, extending i t s v iews by giving wider range to i t s comm e n t s , said:

T A M M A N Y R I O T !" Aga in , as in 1 863, the c r imin al weak ness an d vac i l la t ion of the

autho rit ies have caused the peace of the c ity to be bro k en and its s treets


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28to be spr ink led with blood. Th e sense of humilia t ion and disgus t whichpos s es s ed the co mm uni ty on Tu es da y , on accoun t o f the c raven s ur renderto the mo b which the Ma yo r and his sa tel li tes had ma de, yes terda ychanged to one of ho rro r when the ta rdy a c t ion of the Gove rno r hadbro ught the arous ed an d savage row dyism of the cr imin al fac tions in toconflict w ith the represen ta t ives of the law . F ro m the hour when M r.Kelso pus i l lan imously consented to s ign the capi tula t ion which gave thec i ty up to the gut ter-sn ip es , i t was evident tha t a sp i r i t had been ca l ledin to li fe tha t n othin g but a b loody s t ruggle could sub due. ^ And, af termidnight on Tuesday, the Execut ive, l ashed by the express ions of publ icopin ion f rom every quarter , goaded by telegrams f rom every sec t ion of theS ta te , and s tung by the ma n ly ac t o f G ov . Ran do lph , conc luded to a s s er tthe d igni ty of the C om mo nw eal th aga ins t d iso rder , the shedding of bloodwa s in evi tab le . F o r three days the ma nifes ta t ions of the lawless in tent ion s of the bas er so r t of I r ish (enemies to Pr o tes tan ts , but repud ia tedwith loa th in g by C atho l ics ) , had go ne on unchecked and had been encouraged by the sym pa thy of the D em o cra t ic leaders and the devi lishins t iga t ions o f the co r rup t Ta m m an y pres s , and w hen on Tues day thec i ty , through i t s pol ice autho r i t ies , dran k tha t f ina l cup of humil ia t ion an dperform ed an offic ial a ct of ho ma ge to the m o b, i ts ins olen t arro ga n cereached a po in t which ad m it ted no o ther remed y but tha t of a s tern an dremo rseless force. Succ ess ive surren der an d defiance had b red by yesterda y mo rnin g a full-blown spir i t of r io t .

" From a very ear ly hour the r io ters of the upper port ion of the c i ty ,v/ith tha t res t less and imperious genius of a l l insurrec t ions which ins is t supon forc ing in to i t s ra n k s a l l who objec t to i t , wen t abo ut co mpel l inglabo rers to qui t w ork under pe na l ty of v io lence un t i l a l a rge mo vablecolumn was ga thered together , of which only a port ion w as r io tous lydisposed. They had* no espec ia l organiza t ion , and ac ted with no concert,but bro ke in to sm al l gan gs , and carr ied through the c i ty the infec tion oflawlessness and exc i tem ent . W ea k an d inef fec tive dem on st ra t io ns weremade aga ins t severa l a rmories which were eas i ly repulsed, and soon af terno on , i t seemed as if the da ng er of serio us r io t wa s to be local ized at thecorner o f E ighth Avenue and Twenty-ninth s t reet , the rendezvous of theOra ng emen . A vas t c row d gathered there aw ait ing the format ion of thel ine of m arc h. P a r t of them cam e for r io t an d i t s inc identa l chance ofpi l lage an d m urd er . The s idewalks suddenly sw arm ed with ga l lows-faces such as a re never seen in ordi na ry t im es , but which a lwa ys com e tothe surface in hours of grea t c iv i l upro ar . B ut the vas t ma jor i ty weredraw n by idle cur ios i ty to tha t fa ta l t rys t ing-p lace . Th ey were men


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2 9wo men , and chi ldren of the poo rer c lass , una ble to forego the exc i tementand dis t rac t io n of the show and the turm o il . The crowd was perm eatedwith the un eas y sp ir i t of m ut in y. The adven t of the f irst Ora ngem anwas greeted with a shower of curses an d mis s i les . Th e pol ice aga in an dagain charged upon the crowd, and dro ve them w ith merc iful c ruel ty aw ayfrom tha t dan gerous p rox imi ty , bu t they s urged back aga in the mo men tafter, l ike refluent wa ves . I t was plain to be seen tha t those closelypacked thousands were one mass of t inder wai t ing for a spark which wassu re to co m e. I t ca me, of cours e. A few sho ts we re fired and the regim en ts in line , who had been ma rchin g and wa it ing under the blazing sununt i l their tierves had suffered so mew hat, gav e wa y for a few mo m en ts totha t impu lse of a ct ive defense wHich a lways a t t acks t roops under thes ec ircum stanc es , and a hundred vic t ims were left dying or dead on the s idewa lk a s the p roces s ion moved awa y . * * * * These frightful sceneswil l n ot cease unt i l that-corrupt party which depends for i t s exis tenceupon the votes of the ignorant and vic ious loses i t s tyrannica l cont ro l ofo ur pub lic l ife. I t is in i tself organ ized lawlessn ess an d pil lag e. I t inc i ted, through the infamous speech of the man i t has ma de G o ve rn o r , thethree days revel of c r im e an d t reaso n , which a lmo st n eutra l ized by itsshame the new glor ies of Vicksburgand G et tys burg . I t p rovo ked andpal l ia ted the r io to us a t tacks of a yea r ago, and th is y ear with the m o stcynica l and vulgar insolence, i t dared to g ive up to the mob the las t pretense of respect for the laws of the land, where they confl icted with thecapr ices of i t s vot ing ma ter ia l . O ur co rrupt rulers ra ised on Tuesd ay ademon they could no t lay on W edn es da y . The s ta in o f mu rder i s onthei r han ds , and they m ay set t le and divide i t a s they best k n o w h o w . "

In the ca lmer view w hich resulted from a we ek 's reflect ion, M r.Beecher leaves the f ie ld of personal observat ion upon the immedia teevents and ac tors con nected with the r io t , an d lays down in c lear languao^ethe grea t pr inc iple of pol i t ica l and relig ious to lera t io n as founded an dfoughtfor by o ur forefa thers; an d which wil l be pers is ted in by al l t rue A m er ican c i tizens (na t ive or na tura l ized) as lon g as we rem ain a free peo ple.H e s a y s : " I t i s the undo ubted r ight of bodies of men sma l l or la rge ,peaceably to assemble, and peaceably to march in process ion , in fur therance of enterpr is es benevolent , re lig ious or po l i t ica l . This i s so und doct r ine . I t i s the t rue Am er ican do c t r ine . W e a re an a s s o r ted peop le ,ga thered from a lmo st every na t ion un der the sun . The Teuton ic andthe Cel t ic races have contr ibuted the la rges t share to our popula t ion .Sp eak ing their own lan guages , holding their own rel ig ions , reta in in g theirna t iona l cus toms , they come to a na t ion which deman ds of no m an tha t


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30he shal l change e i ther h is opin ion s , sent im ents , or tas tes , but only tha t heshall so exercise his r igh ts as no t to l im it or vio late the r igh ts of o thers .

" T h e r ights of a l l m ust be respected. This grea t l iber ty is no ts im ply a pr iv i lege, i t i s an educa t ion . I t requ ires every ma n to a l lowin others that l iberty which he cla ims for himself. I t thus imposessel f-res t ra in t . N o m an has a r ight to be prov ok ed a t any exerc ise ofan other ' s r ights which does no t res t r ic t h is ow n. The Ro ma n C athol icm a y preach, publ ish , ma ke publ ic exhibi tion s ; ma y co ntro vert everyPro tes t a n t no t ion o r s ym pa thy , and i t i s the bus ines s o f every Pro tes t an t to mind his ow n busin ess , and if he does no t rel ish C athol ic exhibit i o n s , to keep out of s ight of them. *

" This do ct r ine is v i ta l . The re ca nn ot be peace in a heterogen eousco mm un ity on an y o ther bas is . Other men ' s l ibe r ty is no t to be am enable to our do gma s , our tas tes , or our suscep t ib i li t ies . Ea ch sec t, rac e,o r pa r ty is to determi ne i t s pol icy , rel ig ious belief, mo de o f wo rs h ip ,an d method of exhibi tion , and no on e, whe ther ma gis t ra te or pr i va tecit izen, has an y right to judge for them , or to ma k e his own feel ings thetes t of o the rs ' r igh ts . I t i s no t poss ible tha t so la rge a l ibe r tyshould be exerc ised without a t t imes tending to s t i r up antagonis t icfeelings. A t precisely such t im es is the prin ci ple of freedom bro ugh tto a tes t . The feebles t p a r ty in the c i ty of N ew Yo rk, mad e up ofthe most unpopular men, and profess ing a cause abhorrent to everysent iment of the major i ty , ought to be protec ted even more sedulous lythan i f they were a popu lar ma jor i ty . G reat pr inc ip les a re m

Documents

Civil Rights Riot 1871