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Show 184 APPENDIX. lice force was very small; that during the day he could put do~vn al.most any disturbance, but that after night ~'is power was very much zmpau·e.d; that at night disturbances were more drfficult to quell; and he would g_1ve them no assurance that if they pe rsisted in their efforts to hold everu.ng meetings, the police was able to afi"ord to them an .adcq_uate and ~fTecltve protection. But he promised that he would do all 111 .hrs power; that ~1e would attend in the evening, and endeavor by add_ressmg the cro\~d to tnduce them to disperse; at any rate he would be wtth them, and gtve them all the assistance in his power. . As their meetinu was to be at 8 o'clock, he summoned the pollee force to be at his quarters bat an early hour; he ~equested som~ active citizens, whose courao-e and firmness were known to hun, to meet h1m ah;:o there; .he con· aultecf with some of his most judicious friends as t~ th? state of affairs; and he used every exertion during the day to pro~uce tndtrectly npon the. Ma· nagers 3 favorable influence, that should convmce them of the neceSSll!J of closing their Hall in the evening. . . . . The powers ()/the JJ!layor to guard at; a mat t_lte com~msswn of cn_m~, or to arrest those who m.etlrtate the executwn of tl, are tndeecl very llmtted. H e has power to secure an offender; he may w~tch a su~pe~ted individ~al, but until an actual breach of the peace occurs, Ius authonty IS very restnct· ed, and he must needs use it with great cau tion and r:udet~ce. \Vere our preventive police invested with greater powers, our ~tty ought have been spared the deep mortification o~ the e~ents of that mgh~. ln other countries where the arm of the magistrate ts strong, ~ot only .o arrest th~ offend· er, but also to anticipate the perpetration of cnme, and even to mterf?re (when occasion justifies it,) to prevent the recurrence of tlw_se causes whwh may incite others to it, an event like the recent one can reachly be prevented. There the marrislrale would have had AUTHORITY TO CLOSE THE DUILDJN'G j he might hav: placed a military force around it, and have guarded all the avenues to it; he might by a military fore~ have _disperse.d the firs_t _nucleus of a mob • but such harsh measures are as mcons tsteut with the spmt of our people, at~d the genius of our institutions, as they are with the Je ll?r of our laws. 'Vith us, however, such powers have never yet been r.eq.uired; al· though our police has but. a ve:y.limited physical pow~r, there IS 111 the well directed influence of pub he opuuon, a moral force which has hereto for~ al· ways sutliced to preserve the public peace. Thi.~ system, th? happiest, soundest, and best of all, can continue only so long as there contmues to be, on the part of individuals, a disposition to respect and sun~r~-r: TO PUBLIC OPINION;* and on the part of the public at large, a keen se~slb llttr to every attempt to disturb the public peace, or to en~roacl~ upon pnvate nghts. Had tl1e advice of the Mayor been complied with, and an announcem~nt been made at an early hour in the day that the }/all would be closed durtng the evening, it is probable that no breach of the pe~c~ would have occurred; but the Managers had unfortunately a~opted the opm10n that they would not be justifiable in yielding their own wishes and plans .to what they m~y have considered illiberal prejudices on the part of the p~blic i and that wh1le they kept within the bounds of the law, they wer~ entitled to .a?d could not fail to receive adequate protection from the co~s~ltuted au~honli.es.t It does ~ot belong to this Committee to expr~ss an op1n1on on th.1s subject. E.very Ill· dividual can and will judge for lumself of the propnety and expedtency of the course adopted by the Managers. • If, as the ;\·byor s::tys, H public opinion makes mobs,' ' how long will it be bcf01·e mobs make public: opiuion ? • t If they did, they wel'e wofully m1staken. m:PORT OF 'filE l'OLICE COMilUT'l't:I::, 185 The Mayor was waited upon in the course of the afternoon Ly several gentlemen, interested in or connceled with the Pennsylvania Hall, to all of whom he repealed his wishes. After G o'clock in the evening, two of those gentlemen expressed their concurrence in his views,* and promised to urge the mauer with their fr iends. They left his onice to consult with their frientl~; ami subsequently returned with an invitation to the Mayor to come up to the Hall and confer with them. He went up accompanied by a few of his friends, among whom was Captain Thoma3 llayes, whose assistance and co·operation in the evening the Mayor hnd that morning solicited. In the assemblage whirh tlwy found in front of tbe Hall, he saw a man ha· rang~ing the crowd, and exciting them against the abolitionists. The May· or seized the speaker, and removed him from the scene of excitement. He then entered the building where the Managers were assemhled; and one or more of his friends followed him in. A long and somewhat doubtful con· saltation took place among them. They asked whether he, as Mayor of the city, would require of them to close their 11 all. IJe dischimed this inte ntion, tell ing them that he had no authurity to require this from them, or he would have done so at a mueh earlier hour of the day. lle could not compel, but he would atlvise the adoption of that course. At last, they all assented to the propos ition, and at:compaoied him to the front door of the Hall; where, in a short but emphatic adtlress,t he informed the crowd around it that the Managers had agreed not to open their Hall that evening, but to place their keys in his hands; and by every consideration which the subject and the occasion could prompt, he mged them to desist from all il~ legal acts, and to disperse and retum to their homes. The crowd consisted the~1 o_f about lhreP. hundred persons, very young men, chiefly boys and strzplmgs, and some respectable persons attracted there by curiosity.t No signs of violence were manifested by them; and at the close of his address, they applauded his views, gave him tltree cheers, clapped their hands, and expressed their acquiescence in his wishes. The Commiuee have felt anxious to fix the precise time at which this circumstance occurred; ancl from the concurrent information of many, they think it must have been shortlv after sunset, or at or about a quarter after 7 o'clock. The Mayor then rf· turned to !tis office, and the crowd for the most part followed !tim. He directed some of his friends to remain at or near the building, to watch the movements of the people there; to communicate to all the arrangement that had been made; and to urge upon all to retire at once. lie desired also the lJfanagers to disperse their own friends; to station pers?ns on the leading avenues to the building, to inform those that were commg_ that the Hall was close~l, and to prevent their approaching it; and he particularly ~rged the exped~ency that their invited guests, and the co· lored pP.ople cl11elly, should be earnestly advised not to come near to it. It has been stated in a publication, that "the Mayor received the keys," (of the Hall,)" put them in his pocket, and went down to his office." The Mayor has positively denied having received them at that time, and the Com· mittee, anxious to ascertain the exact ~:;tatement of fact, have made further • Neither the l\Ianagers, nor any persons nuth01·ized by them, did concur with the Maror in his "iews in relation to this matte~·, so far as such l'iews ha,·c been ma<le known to us; we. tl1ink they we•·e as crrooeous, as his conduct w11s puerile and cowardly. t Tl1is" emphatic add,·ess" or the Mayor to "his police," the peaceable little mob or" three hundred"" very young men, chiefly boys and st•·iplings,'' will l.le round at page 140. f The l\fayor has one hundred and si:(ty watchmen, besides a large numbet• or scswengcn and workmen, all or whom he had a right to call upon,-and yet could nnt disperse this little mob of peaceable little bnys! 24 |