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Show SELECTED. MAYOR HALL'S DEFENCE. Mayor Hall of New York being interrogated in-terrogated by a correspondent of the Philadelphia Evening Star, as to the cause3 which induced him to issue his order forbidding the Orange parade on the 12 M insL, says: The order was printed as early as Saturday, the Sth. You will notice my letter to Mr. Bond, the Orange Grand Master, dated the Gth. The question of forbidding the parade was decided in the Board prior to that. Id the discussion my view was earnestly sustained sus-tained by Commissioner Manierre, au American Methodist Protestant; Commissioner Com-missioner Bosworth was out of town; decidedly urged by Superintendent Kelso, an American Protestant; Commissioner Com-missioner Barr supported it, of course, and Commissioner 8rmth acquiesced in it at the time. I am unable to state his present opinion. All the others with myself hold tho same views as at the time cf the de:iion, except that the sad events of Wednesday have deepened and strengthened tho opinion of last week. My idea was that if early published the order would have the effect of giving time to arrange demonstrations demon-strations in other shape, which would have led to the same danger and disorder dis-order we sought to avoid. 1 wished to communicate the order Tuesday evening,too late to allow ofits discussioD till after the anniversary had passed. That the surprise should prevent pre-vent the procession and the adverse target excursions and the peace of the city would be preserved, and bloodshed prevented. In this my voice was overruled over-ruled and tho order published Monday night; I think unfortunately. My duty under the charter is to preserve and protect the public peace, to keep order, not especially to guard public or private rights, constitutional, legal or natural. While studying this question ques-tion last year I, with Superintendent Jourdan, went to the Historical Society's So-ciety's Library to consult the contemporaneous contem-poraneous history, the press of 1S49, in reference to the Astor place riot. We found the Tribune calling on Mayor Woodhull in advauce to close the Opera House and prevent the assemblage assem-blage which threatened the place an infringement of the rights of the manager man-ager and the public. The Herald, less judicious, alter tho bloody tragedy blamed tho Mayor for neglecting to close the house. If it was proper and the duty of the municipality in 1849 to prevent the riot even by forbidding an assemblage of citizens in a house of public entertainment it might surely not be incompetent now to stop, an assemblage as-semblage in the public streets, which at most is but a permitted privilege. The streets arc set apart for the uo of people traversing them, not obBtruot-,ug obBtruot-,ug them. This matter of processions is uot very fully understood, but there are some quite poiuted legal decisions sustaining the idea that even two persons per-sons standing for five minutes on the walks are an infrinment of the rights of the highway. lu the language ol tho London police they may be ordeied to "move on." A procession interrupting inter-rupting the ordinary business of streets is not so very clearly a right. A competent for police authorincB-SLea.rLy strict when it threatens to produce violence. I most positively believe that when the people consider the consequences con-sequences of Wednesday's parade in their sad solemnity they will assent as-sent to the propriety of my preference pref-erence to stop the procession and omit the funerals. Popular opinion or sentiment sen-timent has usually two stuges: the tirst emotional, sympathetic, elTervesceut, almost uureasoning. Time brings what President Van Buren so hapyily termed "the sober second thought of tho people, always right." To this settled judgement of the future I trust for approval of my plan Jbr discharging discharg-ing the duty of my office to preserve order in the city. For the consequences consequen-ces of the revocation of tho order by superior authority I am not responsible. responsi-ble. Already some of the organs of public opinion begin to look on the other side. The Springfield Republican, Republi-can, a rabid, puritanio paper, fully supports my position. The 'Jribunei discusses it, the Standard is talking it over and the Herald is agitating it. The funerals are to come, and the inquests; in-quests; people will look at the causes of slaughter to consider whether it might not havo been avoided, and whether the result was worth the expense. Correspondent But, Mr. Mayor, was not Order 57 a public confession that tho public authority is unable to cope with mob force in this city? Mayor Certainly, sir, and a most truthful confession, too. A very simple mathematical calculation will show that without any doubt. If an unorganized mob made sufficient resistance to cause such an effusion of blood as that on Wednesday, what would have been the result of a collision between the military mili-tary and Orangemen and 10,000 or 12,000 Hibernians fully supplied with the best arms, well officered and drilled? Of our city troops only ana regiment is provided with breech-loaders; the others are good for one fire, and then they must go through the old clumsy process of muzzle-loading. As for the newspaper attacks on me, I have not the slightest objection to them. I have been a press writer myself, and "know how the thing works." I have written i or all kinds of papers, even for the Sun. They must have sensational paragraphs to sell their editions. That's all in the way of trade. Some of the hardest hits on me came from myself Those things never hurt me. 1 wrote originally the title the Sun gave me Von O'Uall. I havo been twenty years in continued public position, and 1 don't fear any attack. If any paper wuiits a hitting paragraph on mo I will willingly write it for them, and do it better than they can get anybody else to do it. |