00000285 |
Previous | 285 of 866 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
254 HISTORY OF MARYLAND.
" Subordinately, you are like myself, sworn in your sphere to put forth your powers
in this behalf, and I have come to the city to confer with you and ascertain what provision of an extraordinary character you propose to make to meet apprehended disorders of
a character like those which have heretofore successfully defied the ordinary Police force
of the city. I shall be most happy if you can assure me of any detailed preparation on
your part which will allay my solicitude and certify me that the citizen may not have the
occasion to reproach us as derelict in duty.
" It will never do for a great commercial metropolis like this to be dishonored by the
unchecked violence of mobs, and it is necessary that the civil power should at once brino-
under subjection those evil-minded citizens whose acts are tarnishing the honor of the
City and State, and destroying the prosperity of our commercial, mechanical and manufacturing interests.
" Not doubting that you concur with me in these sentiments and will appreciate the
sense of official duty from which I invite your co-operation, I have addressed you this
letter and ask most respectfully an immediate reply.
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant.
" T. WATKINS LIGON."
This overture of the governor to aid in the enforcement of the laws, was
rejected, and the executive authority "in the matter disputed, as will be seen by
the following response of the mayor:
" Mayor's Office, City Hall, Baltimore, October 28,1857.
" To His Excellency, T. Watkins Ligon, Governor of Maryland:
" Sir—I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 27th instant, in which you
say that ' representations from a large number of most respectable citizens of the condition of things in this city added to my own convictions of my constitutional duty, impose
upon me the obligation respectfully to consult you as Mayor of the City of Baltimore, as
to what provision should be made by you to guarantee personal security and the free
exercise of suffrage by the legal voters at the approaching election.' Your letter goes on
to indicate duties which are incumbent upon us both. The constitutional sphere assigned
to you as Governor of the State of Maryland, and to me as Mayor of the City of Baltimore,
is believed to be sufficiently defined. While I should c!aim, by virtue of my commission
the privilege of the initiative in any demand which I might consider necessary to be made
upon your Excellency, for your aid and co-operation in preserving the peace of the city
and the rights of its citizens, I do not object at any time, to impart to you or any other
citizen, the fullest information in regard to matters connected with the government of the
city, in which the public might feel an interest. It could not fail to excite my surprise,
that in a letter inviting a consultation with me, your Excellency, after pronouncing summary judgment upon the inefficiency of the City Government, should have thought proper
to refer to the events of the Municipal and Presidential elections of 1856, with which, as
Mayor of the city, I had no official connection, and to impress upon me that you were
resolute in the determination to use your constitutional power to fulfil the guarantee that
the citizen is entitled to good government.
" In your reference to the representations you have received from a large number of
most respectable citizens, your Excellency would seem to have lost sight of the fact, that
by the authority under which he is acting, the Mayor of the city is made the judge of,
and is responsible for, the completeness and efficiency of his arrangements for preserving
the public peace, and that the only official source of information, in reference to the plans
heretofore adopted, was in him alone and the officers acting under him.
" As to what your Excellency has said about the importance of maintaining law and
order in a great commercial metropolis like this, I need hardly assure you, that no man
| Title | History of Maryland - 3 |
| Creator | Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas) |
| Publisher | J. B. Piet |
| Place of Publication | Baltimore |
| Date | 1879 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000285 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 254 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. " Subordinately, you are like myself, sworn in your sphere to put forth your powers in this behalf, and I have come to the city to confer with you and ascertain what provision of an extraordinary character you propose to make to meet apprehended disorders of a character like those which have heretofore successfully defied the ordinary Police force of the city. I shall be most happy if you can assure me of any detailed preparation on your part which will allay my solicitude and certify me that the citizen may not have the occasion to reproach us as derelict in duty. " It will never do for a great commercial metropolis like this to be dishonored by the unchecked violence of mobs, and it is necessary that the civil power should at once brino- under subjection those evil-minded citizens whose acts are tarnishing the honor of the City and State, and destroying the prosperity of our commercial, mechanical and manufacturing interests. " Not doubting that you concur with me in these sentiments and will appreciate the sense of official duty from which I invite your co-operation, I have addressed you this letter and ask most respectfully an immediate reply. " Very respectfully, your obedient servant. " T. WATKINS LIGON." This overture of the governor to aid in the enforcement of the laws, was rejected, and the executive authority "in the matter disputed, as will be seen by the following response of the mayor: " Mayor's Office, City Hall, Baltimore, October 28,1857. " To His Excellency, T. Watkins Ligon, Governor of Maryland: " Sir—I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 27th instant, in which you say that ' representations from a large number of most respectable citizens of the condition of things in this city added to my own convictions of my constitutional duty, impose upon me the obligation respectfully to consult you as Mayor of the City of Baltimore, as to what provision should be made by you to guarantee personal security and the free exercise of suffrage by the legal voters at the approaching election.' Your letter goes on to indicate duties which are incumbent upon us both. The constitutional sphere assigned to you as Governor of the State of Maryland, and to me as Mayor of the City of Baltimore, is believed to be sufficiently defined. While I should c!aim, by virtue of my commission the privilege of the initiative in any demand which I might consider necessary to be made upon your Excellency, for your aid and co-operation in preserving the peace of the city and the rights of its citizens, I do not object at any time, to impart to you or any other citizen, the fullest information in regard to matters connected with the government of the city, in which the public might feel an interest. It could not fail to excite my surprise, that in a letter inviting a consultation with me, your Excellency, after pronouncing summary judgment upon the inefficiency of the City Government, should have thought proper to refer to the events of the Municipal and Presidential elections of 1856, with which, as Mayor of the city, I had no official connection, and to impress upon me that you were resolute in the determination to use your constitutional power to fulfil the guarantee that the citizen is entitled to good government. " In your reference to the representations you have received from a large number of most respectable citizens, your Excellency would seem to have lost sight of the fact, that by the authority under which he is acting, the Mayor of the city is made the judge of, and is responsible for, the completeness and efficiency of his arrangements for preserving the public peace, and that the only official source of information, in reference to the plans heretofore adopted, was in him alone and the officers acting under him. " As to what your Excellency has said about the importance of maintaining law and order in a great commercial metropolis like this, I need hardly assure you, that no man |
