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Show 188 APPENDIX. firmly believe, a brief sketch of the "circumstances attending and connected with the destruction of Pennsylvania Hall." The building, which seemed doomed to destruction, was burnt down i1t the presence of thousands of our citizens, without a single arm being raised in its defence, sa\'e that of the Mayor and of his faithful followers. Had the gallant and daring spirit, with which Captain Hayes volunteered his services, been imitated but by one-twentieth part of that assemblage, the riot would undoubtedly have been quelled and the building saved. But no one, neither the friends of the building,* nor the friend:; of order in general,t yielded any assistance on the occasion. Perhaps, if but a single ejjOrt had been made to support the police; if a. solitary voice had been heard to respond to the cry of 11 support the Mayor," that voice, however feeble, might have been re-echoed from other parts of the crowd, so as at last to give to public authority the semblance of force. Of the subsequent disturbances alluded to in the resolution of Councils, a more satisfactory account can be given. The deep excitement, produceU by the events of the 17th, could not subside at once. Angry ami turbulent spirits, who fancied they saw in the destruction of the Hall a warrant for further disturbances, attempted to continue their lawless outrages on subsequent nights. But they soon found that the city authorities, though overmntched on one night, were not annihilated. Public opinion, returning to its formf:r healLhy state, r~stored to the police that confidence and that force which it should never Ttave lost. The active exf:rtions of the Mayor, the Recorder, and other city authorities, seconded by the zealous and fearless co-operation of many good citizens, succeeded in at once quelling every attempt to raise other riots; and the Committee have pleasure in stating that they are advised, on the best authority, that in no instance after that, was there any property of any amount destroyed, or person injured, within the corporate limits of the city. Many arrests have been made of persons suspected of a participation in the riot, and while they are awaiting their trial, the Committee feel it a duty not to attempt to particularize the names of the parties implicated, or the charges brought against them. The Mayor received from some of those who were connected with the Hall, letters requesting his assistance in the protection of their individual property; as appears from the documents K, L, and M, hereto annexed. The Committee express no opinion as to the rights of individuals to" de· cline any attempt to protect the property" they own; and, while they call upon the public authorities to lend assistance, to withdraw themselves all support from those authorities. It is sufficient to state, that whatever fears the writers of those letters may have entertained, and however unwilling they may have been to co-operate in the protection of their own property, no injury was done to it. The city authorities, assisted by numberless good citizens, protected them most efiiciently. A few resolute and well armed police officers, stationed in Mr. \Vebb's house, were found sufficient to secure it against any injury. In conclusion, the Committee beg leave to add, that it was a melancholy night for the city of Pltiladelpltia, and that it must ever be the source of mortifying recollections to lter citizens, that her heretofore spotless charac· " Nor the l\fay01·, nor the police, not· the City Solicitor, not• the police committee, not· nny member of the Council, not• ImY othe•· officer of the city! t The Mayor had prc\·iou!ily ' ' dt!sir-ctl the Manag:cl'S to disperse thcit• own friends; to stHtion pc•·sons on the leading avenues to the builtling, to inform those that wEn£ coming that the HMII was closed, and to pt·evcnl their approoching it," &c. so that this insinuation comes with a bud g:ntce h'Om the :Ma,·or or his offici:ll adviscn. REPORT OF TilE POLICE COMMITTEE. 180 ter should have received so deep a stain. It should be to all good citizens a solemn warning, never, on any account and by any provocation, to permit th_e .majesty of the law to be trampled wlder foot by violent and reckless indtvtduals. However excusable the excitement may ever appear to be, it can never . be tolerated without jeopanling our dearest and most valuable rights. lie that remains neutral on an occasion of this kinrl, may be conside1 ·ed as taking part with the enemies of the law. The mere admission of the principle', that good may flow out of evil, and. that the impurities of the social or political atmosphere can be removed by the storms of popular turbulence, is the first downward step in the course of moral and civil de· gradation. 'Ve hold our liberties and our rights indeed by the most precarious of all tenures, if the acts of a mob can receive any countenance from any good citizen. \Vhen, instead of the cold and impartial trial which the law provides, we admit that the populace may in any c:.tse be permitted to exercise their tremendous power, to punish what they deem guilt or indiscre· tion, what security remains? They become not only the executioners, but the prosecutors, the witnessea, and the judges. Admitting that on this occasion, any of the repo1·ts cif indiscreet or unpatriotic speeches, ascribed to some of the persons who spoke in the Hall, were true, (and it is but justice to say they have been most positively denied,) what evidence had the mob that they had been uttered? Ol' what propriety was there in involving, in in· discriminate destruction, the property of those who perhaps never counte~ nanced or approved of such speeches? It was a most fortunate circumstance, (and perhaps the only one in the dark drama which we may contemplate with some satisfaction,) that no lives were lost, and no person seriously wounded. But was this the result of llll!J kind consideration on the part of the rioters? Had. the Managers persevered, (as until after sunset they seemed determined to do,) in holding their meeting; and had the assault been made when some two or three thousand persons were gathered in the Hall, the fate of the building would probably, have been the same;.,. and the mind shudders at the contemplation of the number of human beings whose remains would have been buried under the burning ruins of the Hall. \Vhat would have been the feelings of the Managers in .such a case? how could they have justified their persevering firmness of purpose? whnt would have been the feelings of the active perpet1·ators in that outrage, when the morrow's sun would have lighted the scene of their devastation? what would then have been the feelings of the thousands who passively looked on this outrage, and withheld their active co-operation, when it was invoked by the Chief Magistrate of their city? Such might probably have been the result of the control which the mob WAS I'ERMITTED to assume. 1Vow it falls upon those whom the voice of many has censured as indiscreet or imprudent. Another day, a mob influenced by this example, acting under a delusion which may not be easily removed, ·will w~sa-il others with even less cause, or without any motive 'whatever, save popular and misguided excitement. In one city, the mob assails those who are supposed to be hoarding up flour, so as to enhance its price. In another, persons suppo~:~ed to be connected in some nefarious scheme of banking, are without proof or trial involved in danger and ruin. In another city, some unoffcnding females, worshipping their God afler the manner of their fathers, see their sanctuary invaded by a ruthless mob, and only secure their lives by fleeing at the midnight hour, from the crumbling ruins of their once happy and peaceful retirement. Such have been the e1I'ects of mobs within a few years, in cities but little distant from ours. Our own city has followed the baneful example, and unless public opinion shall recover its healthy tone, and our citizens wi~h one heart and one * \Vould {li'Obably not have been the same. |