USA > New York > New York City > History of New York city from the discovery to the present day, V. 2 > Part 31
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The manipulation of the ballots-"Ringing" the ballots, as it is appropriately called-is a very beautiful operation, and it is said by those who have tried it
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APPENDIX XI.
to be perfect. It is now the favorite plan ; it is simple, inexpensive, and effec- tive. When one of your good, innocent Republicans, we will suppose, is going to the polls to vote the wrong ticket or support the wrong man, as you are so fond of doing, your unwise intentions are quietly frustrated. The inspector holds in his hand the ballot you oughit to deposit, and when he receives yours quietly substitutes one for the other and drops yours on the floor before he puts his in the box. This is a simple sleight-of-hand trick, easily learned and readily applied. If, however, you are suspicious, and watch the official, or if the latter is awkward and inexperienced, a man near by pushes against you, or the policeman seizes you and accuses you of having voted before. Of course ample apologies are immediately tendered for the rudeness, the inspectors are indignant that so respectable a gentleman should be insulted, they abuse the rough or the policeman, and you are shown out with great respect ; but your ballot is thrown down on the floor, and the substitute got into the box. Repeating is expensive, false counting is troublesome, our Tammany men are not experts at arithmetic, and figures are often trouble- some, as our amiable Comptroller will admit at this moment ; but "Ringing" ballots is a complete success. It is only necessary to buy a Republican inspec- tor, and a small place or a few hundred dollars will usually do that.
The third plan is false counting. This is done generally by transferring the figures boldly. For instance, if Jones, the Tammany candidate, gets one hundred votes, and Smith, the opposition candidate, receives two hundred, the two hundred of Smith are transferred to Jones, who gives his one hundred ยท to Smith. This is an exquisitely simple process, but in practice it is said to work badly, and great complaint is made of it by those who have tried it. In the first place, the candidates are often too nearly equal to give Tammany its just preponderance, or to overcome some persistent opposition in a district where this plan cannot be worked, for it is found utterly impracticable in some districts. Its defects can sometimes be cured by a false count. That is to say, the votes are counted by tens, one canvasser taking them up and counting ten, when he calls " tally," and slips a piece of elastic around the bundle. Of course he has only to take five votes instead of ten, and call " tally," to aug- ment greatly the chance of his favorite. In one instance this was done so enthusiastically that the Tammany candidate had received fifty "tallies," or five hundred votes, and had a large quantity yet uncounted, when the poll- clerk felt it advisable to inform the canvassers that there were only four hun- dred and fifty names on the registry.
Between these three schemes the voice of the people of New York has been utterly stifled up until last fall, when, by the cruel and tyrannical interference of the United States Government, under the vile bayonet election law, we got a fair vote. The wrong was not so much done to Republicans, for the inspect- ors saw that comparative justice was secured to their party on general issues ; but it was alowed full scope against opposition Democrats-Democrats who believed in a pure government, and were opposed to Tammany Hall. Thus it is that Democrats have to bear the entire odium of the misrule of our city, while we Democrats still believe our party to be the honest one.
This odium we cannot endure. I speak as a Democrat to Democrats. If we would see a chance of carrying the next Presidential election, of taking the nation from the hands of those who, in our opinion, are unfit to have contro!
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of it, of restoring to general acceptation the principles we have at heart, we must vindicate our party ; we must remove the load of disgrace brought on us by official corruption in this city. Here we are in control. We have undis- turbed possession of all branches of the municipal government, and an immense majority of voters. For all frauds, peculation, venality, and iniquity in the municipal government we are responsible, and no party with such a record will ever be given the possession of the National Administration. We must crush Tammany, or Tammany's dishonesty will crush us. Large portions of the money stolen from our treasury were used to bribe Republicans; notoriously, the very charter under which we live was carried by the purchase of a Repub- lican. Municipal officers and the spoil of our citizens have been divided between both parties. But none of this excuses us. We are in power ; we can correct the abuses; if we do not, we ought to suffer, and we will. If Republi- cans are not blameless, we are mainly guilty.
Already we are threatened with the loss of the Germans. That economical people will not submit to have their houses mortgaged by the issue of munici- pal bonds in order to give to corrupt men wealth and luxury. From all sec- tions of the country come complaints from Democrats that they have to defend the iniquities of Tammany Hall, and that they are beaten by the bad record of our city rulers. If Democracy would survive, it must put down with a strong hand these abuses. We can still do so. The people are not so entirely help- less as our masters would have us believe. The latter cannot defy an outraged and indignant community with the impunity they hope. The power is still with us if we are willing and determined to exert it. In times of great excite- ment the usual barriers are swept away, and the people rush along in a mighty current which carries all before it. Those who would resist it are overwhelmed and perish, but the corrupt always cower before it and are most-earnest to con- ciliate it. So it will be here. Canvassers, inspectors, and registers, be they Democrats or Republicans, are as fond of their lives as though they were hon- est men ; and no one appreciates the danger of irritating the people more than they. An aroused and outraged public is not patient, and Judge Ledwith laid down good law when he told his friends that if they saw an inspector tamper with their ballots they could shoot him on the spot. The man who cheats a nation out of its birthright has committed the highest of crimes, and deserves no mercy. We are living under a wrong system. To allow a mayor elected for . two years to appoint all other municipal officials for five years may be Tammany Democracy, but it is not ours. That system must be changed ; a proper mode of selecting polling officers must be established; every protection must be given to the ballot ; and, incidentally to these reforms, the Ring which secured control of Tammany Hall must be put down ; and then, not only will our city's . fame be redeemed, our taxes lightened, our business affairs improved, our com- merce increased, and our metropolis made what it should be, the grandest city in the world, but Democracy and Republican institutions will be relieved from the discredit which has been brought upon them.
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APPENDIX XI.
LIST OF PRESENTS
RECEIVED BY MR. TWEED'S DAUGHTER ON THE OCCASION OF HER WEDDING.
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Cornelius Corson, coral set. $1,000
Cornelius Corson, watch in finger-ring 1,000
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Charles E. Loew, pearl set. 700
Mrs. E. A. Garrett, diamond locket, gold chain 5,000
Peter B. Sweeny, diamond and enamel bracelet. 1,000
James M. Sweeny, diamond bracelets.
Harry Genet, diamond cross. 1,000
2,000
Edward Boyle, gold, diamond, and pearl cross
1,000
James Ryan, sable chain necklace, gold and diamonds.
1,500
Superintendent Kelso, ice-bowl.
500
Henry Smith, filagree armlets.
700
Mrs. R. B. Connolly, gold and silver ice-dish.
500
Mrs. E. A. Woodward, silver punch-bowl
500
Mrs. Geo. J. Miller, silver cake-baskets.
500
M. J. Shandley, paintings and wax flowers.
1,000
Charles H. Hall, pitcher and goblet. 500
Mrs. Edward Hogan, silver ice-cream dish.
500
Mrs. Augustus L. Brown, fruit-dish, bowl, and pitcher.
250
Sheriff Brennan, silver dish and spoons.
500
Mrs. Joseph B. Young, two silver castors.
500
Nicol & Davidson, bronze statue of Juno.
500
Thomas J. Creamer, gold and silver ware. 1,000
500
James Fisk, Jr., silver ice bowl
Mrs. L. Ingersoll, bouquet-holder 500
John Garvey, silver gong. 500
Senator Norton, gold chain and diamond pendant 1,500
Mrs. John J. Blair, cameo, diamond, and pearl set. 2,500
Frank Voorhies, turquois and pearl set .. 500
Joseph G. Harrison, cameo sleeve-buttons, with diamonds. 1,000
John McB. Davidson, neck-chain, gold, pearls, diamonds, and enamel .. 1,500
John H. Keyser, necklace and diamond cross .. 1,000
James H. Ingersoll. diamond wheat-spray for the hair .. 2,000
John Cox (Judge), chain and diamond locket. 2,500
Hugh Smith, emerald and diamond locket 5,000
Joseph S. Bosworth, Jr., diamond and pearl ring 1,500
John H. Williams, full silver service. 1,000
Thomas C. Fields, gold and diamond necklace and eaf-rings. 5,000
W. E. King, emerald, diamond, and gold bracelets. 5,000
George G. Barnard, gold, diamond, and pearl necklace 1,000
Edward Kearney, amethyst and diamond set .. 1,000
A sincere friend of W. M. Tweed, diamond set, in gold and glass box. . 5,000
Charles G. Cornell, silver pitcher and goblet. 250
Dr. Carnochan, silver-ware. . . 250
J. H. Tooker, silver-ware. 500
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APPENDIX XI.
Thurlow Weed, sugar-bowl $500
Andrew J. Garvey, silver set.
500
Eugene Durnin, silver set. 500
J. S. Bosworth, silver-ware 250
Jay Gould, silver-ware.
250
W. W. Watson, silver set.
500
H. J. Hastings, silver punch-bowl 250
E. D. Bassford, silver ice-pitcher
100
Walter Roche, silver-ware.
250
Dr. Schirmer, silver-ware.
250
E. J. Shandley, card-basket.
400
John J. Deane, card-basket .. 250
Isaac Bell, clock and chandeliers. 1,000
Thomas W. Hall, vases.
500
Lord & Taylor, bridal parasol .. 1,000
J McGinnis, clock and candlestick.
500
James J. Gumbleton, fan. 250
Ely Ingersoll, French clock. 500
APPENDIX XII.
ACT OF INCORPORATION OF THE TAMMANY SOCIETY.
AN ACT to Incorporate the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order in the City of New York. Passed April 9th, 1805.
Whereas, William Mooney and other inhabitants of the City of New York have presented a petition to the Legislature setting forth that they, since the year 1789, have associated themselves under the name and description of the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order, for the purpose of affording relief to the indigent and distressed members of the said Association, their widows and orphans, and others who may be found proper objects of their charity ; they therefore solicit that the Legislature will be pleased by law to incorporate the said Society for the purposes aforesaid, under such limitations and restrictions as to the Legislature shall seem meet.
Therefore, be it enacted by the people of the State of New York, repre- sented in Senate and Assembly, that such persons as now are or shall from time to time become members of the said Society shall be and are hereby ordained, constituted, and declared to be a body corporate and politic in deed, fact, and name, by the name of " The Society of Tammany or Columbian Order in the City of New York ;" and that by that name they and their successors shall have succession, and shall be persons in law, capable of suing and being sued, pleading and being impleaded, answering and being answered unto, defending and being defended in all courts and places whatsoever, in all man ner of actions, suits, complaints, matters, and causes whatsoever ; and that they and their successors may have a common seal, and change and alter the same at their pleasure ; and that they and their successors shall be persons capable in law to purchase, take, receive, hold, and enjoy to them and their successors any real estate in fee simple or for term of life or lives or otherwise, and any goods, chattels, or personal estate, for the purpose of enabling them the better to carry into effect the benevolent purposes of affording relief to the
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APPENDIX XII.
indigent and distressed, provided that the clear yearly value of such real and personal estates shall not exceed the sum of five thousand dollars; and that they and their successors shall have full power and authority to give, grant, sell, lease, devise, or dispose of the said real and personal estates, or any part thereof, at their will and pleasure; and that they and their successors shall have power from time to time to make, constitute, ordain, and establish by-laws, constitutions, ordinances, and regulations as they shall judge proper, the elec- tion of their officers, for the election or admission of new members of the said corporation, and the terms and manner of admission, for the better govern- ment and regulation of their officers and members, for fixing the times and places of meeting of the said corporation, and for regulating all the affairs and business of the said corporation ; provided, that such by-laws and regulations shall not be repugnant to the Constitution or laws of the United States or of this State; and for the better carrying on the business and affairs of the said corporation there shall be such numbers of officers of the said corporation and of such denomination or denominations to be chosen in such manner and at such times and places as are now or shall from time to time be directed by the constitution and by-laws of the said corporation, made or to be made for that purpose ; and that such number and description of members shall be suf- ficient to constitute a legal meeting of the said corporation as are now or may hereafter be directed by the said constitution and by-laws of the said corpora- tion.
And be it further enacted, that this act be and hereby is declared to be a public act, and that the same be construed in all courts and places benignly and favorably for every beneficial purpose therein intended.
STATE OF NEW YORK. SECRETARY'S OFFICE.
I have compared the preceding with the original on file in this office, and do hereby certify thiat the same is a correct transcript therefrom, and of the whole of said original law.
Given under my hand and seal of office at the City of Albany, this 24th day of January, in the year 1859.
S. W. MORTON, Dep. of Secretary of State. [SEAL.]
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APPENDIX XIII.
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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF HENRY INMAN, THE ARTIST.
FROM THE PRIVATE MANUSCRIPT DIARY OF THE LATE MRS. COL. WILLIAM L. STONE.
NEW YORK, August 12th, 1838.
"I CALLED this morning on my husband's friend, Henry Inman, to sit for my portrait. When I went in I found Vanderlyn, the favorite pupil of Gilbert Stuart, with him. He, however, soon went away and left us together. Inman looked haggard and worn .* He seemed glad to see me, and gave me more of his confidence than usual. To-day he related to me the particulars of his early life-struggles. I listened attentively while he unfolded before me pages in the history of his inner life. He has a beautiful mind, the most exquisite percep- tion of moral, intellectual, and natural beauty, and a keen relish of the harmo- nies. He possesses the choicest social qualities and the finest sensibilities. Indeed, his feelings are so delicate, that it requires a very refined nature to understand him. As a natural consequence, he is quite often misunderstood by coarser minds.
"In speaking of his early life, Mr. Inman said : ' From my boyhood my greatest recreation was a pencil and piece of paper. My father was possessed of a harsh, uncompromising temper, and thought every one must be brought up alike. He had made up his mind to dispose of me very differently from what my taste suggested. But my mother was gentle and persuasive ; she spoke in my behalf, and argued that my success would be far greater in a branch of business that suited my talents. Shortly after this, my father met John Wesley Jarvis, the painter, who was then in the zenith of popular favor. He spoke of me to him, and procured an interview. Jarvis at once proposed to take me (then only fifteen) as a pupil. Soon afterward, I went with him to
* This was just after Inman had lost nearly all of the means he had acquired by his art, through unfortunate speculations in 1836.
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APPENDIX XIII.
Albany, where we put up at Crittenden's, tlfe most expensive hotel in the place. He represented me as a wonderful boy, and kept me living at great expense, thereby creating a taste for a style of life far above my means to sup- port. Here he left me for several weeks, while he went to a distant city to fulfill an engagement. When he returned, I told him I was in difficulty ; that I had incurred heavy expenses in his absence, and had no means to pay my bills ; and that I had written to my father for advice, but had received for an answer that he had no money to give me, and I must take care of myself. "Then," said Jarvis, " you must paint. You can paint now better than any one in this country except me ; and you can paint cabinet-pictures, in a style in which I will instruct you, that will consume but little time. You can turn them off very fast, and charge low, say five or six dollars ; you can paint half a dozen in a week. I will speak to all the great people here, and tell them what a wonderful lad you are; you will soon have plenty of work. You can stay here this winter and pursue this course, while I go to New Orleans. I will pay what I can of Crittenden's bill already run up, and in the spring, upon my return, we will begin again in New York." Jarvis was as good as his word, and during that winter I painted every member of the Legislature, which brought me in a considerable sum. Jarvis, though very dissipated, and careless in money matters, was always very kind-hearted and liberal, and willing to share all he had with me. My disposition was timid. and I never received any encourage- ment from my father ; but Jarvis wound himself round my heart by his kindly sympathy. He always tried to make me believe I was equal to anything I had a mind to undertake. The best society and the finest abilities in the State con- gregated at Crittenden's ; and my stay had its advantages in that respect.'
" I recollect well a morning passed in Inman's studio last spring. We had considerable talk of pictures, and of one in particular that happened to be at the time on his easel-a picture of a little boy of two years of age. On my expressing my surprise at his having attained a perfect likeness of a sitter who was not one moment quiet, he replied that it was difficult ; it made him a little nervous, but that he painted parts-the form of the head and features-while the child sat asleep in the nurse's lap ; for the rest, he gave him some toy, and, when he was full of delight, caught the expression.
" I remarked, it had often surprised me to see pictures where the form and features were correct, and yet entirely spoiled by the expression-either the absence of expression, or a smile about the mouth, in which the other features did not participate. The expression lacked harmony-the indescribable play of the features was wanting.
"' Ah, yes,' cried he, 'there you have it; I always consider, when I fail to convey in a picture the play of the features free from constraint, that I have failed altogether-it is all labor lost.'
" I remember Inman's showing me a portrait of Miss T-, the general's daughter. He had taken great pains with the composition of it. A friend, who was with me, found fault with it. and told him the attitude was not natural. He was a little nettled by the criticism. My friend doubtless was wrong, as that is a part of the picture which had been greatly admired by artists. Miss T- was celebrated for her beauty, and, when abroad, appeared at the differ- ent courts of England, France, Austria, Russia, Italy, etc., where she was styled " The beautiful American.' She has the most perfect self-possession I ever saw 93
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APPENDIX XIII. 1
in one of her age, for she is now only eighteen. After her return, several artists were engaged to paint her, but the pictures were declared by her father and admirers failures. I asked Inman what he thought of her face-if people did not err in styling it symmetrical,-and if he were not surprised to observe one of her age so entirely placid and unmoved under all circumstances. He said he was-that her features, considered separately, were far from handsome; but, as a whole, they produced a very agreeable impression. 'But, in illustration of your last remark,' he continued, 'I will tell you what happened when her father brought her to see me, and engaged my services. He began by telling me how sadly he had been disappointed in all the likenesses taken of his daugh- ter; how much trouble she had given herself to sit for his gratification, and with how little success ; that persons who had much reputation, and succeeded with others, failed here, etc. To relieve us from a conversation which was rather embarrassing, I turned to Miss T-, and in 'a playful manner said, " Let me look at your face, Miss T-, and see if I can discover what it is which makes your face so difficult to paint." Instead of bursting into a laugh, as most girls would, or blushing a little, and thus imparting a higher interest to the expression of her features, she turned her face toward me without the least change of expression, and with the utmost coolness, as if the face had belonged to a third party. " Alas," thought I, " it is sad to think your friends should have taken so much pains to repress in you the natural expression of those emotions which are so beautiful and so natural to youth, and which impart to them an interest which no accomplishment can give !"'
" I remember, also, seeing on one of his easels a very sweet picture of a young girl, in a straw gypsy trimmed with a simple blue ribbon. On inquring who was the original, he showed me an extremely awkward likeness by a rude hand, from which he assured me he had composed this. He stated that the young lady was dead, and this sketch, by an unfledged artist, was all the parents possessed of their child. The family assured him that his likeness was a perfect representation of the original. What a beautiful and wonderful art! It seems as if it might belong to angels both in its earthly and spiritual attributes !
"The rapidity with which Inman paints is marvelous. A few months since my husband (by preconcerted arrangement) came into his studio accompanied by his father, an aged Revolutionary veteran. My husband had long been desir- ous of having his father sit for his portrait, but the latter had always resolutely refused ; and he now came into Inman's room ignorant that it was an artist's studio. Inman placed the old veteran in his sitter's chair, took a seat at a desk, and began to converse with him about his exploits in the Revolutionary War, and of General Washington, and the great men who figured in that struggle for . liberty, and soon the Ad gentleman was quite absorbed in his narrations. After half an hour had been thus employed, the son walked up to Inman's desk, and, looking over his shoulder, involuntarily exclaimed; ' Why, it is perfect.'
" The old gentleman started to his feet. 'Surely,' cried he, 'you have not stolen my likeness ?' It was even so; and never was there a more perfect portrait.
" Inman tells me that when he has made himself comfortable in circum- stances by portrait-painting, he intends to go abroad, and paint several pieces
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APPENDIX XIII.
which lie enshrined in his thoughts, and only require time and opportunity to embody and render tangible. He is exceedingly fond of his children, especially his eldest daughter, Mary. She is not over fifteen, but has the development of one of eighteen or twenty ; and he says her mind is remarkably mature. He tells me he does not mean to yield to his desire to visit Europe till she has fin- finished her school-days, and can go with him and share his enjoyment .* He has met with many disappointments, but he never croaks nor complains of the world's churlishness. In person he is somewhat short and thick-set. He has a rather large head, which seems bigger on account of an abundance of light-brown hair which grows low down on his forehead, and injures some- what the appearance of his head. His eyes are light blue, and his nose rather (as he playfully expresses it) of the 'snub order belonging to a par- ticular order of classical noses.' The expression of his face is not particu- larly striking, but exceedingly amiable, and about the mouth and chin there is much sweetness. The latter contains a dimple. He has a large share of that simplicity and enthusiasm in his pursuits which are the concomitants of true genius. He possesses, also, an exquisite imagination. A constant succession of beautiful images seems to pass before him when he is in health or spirits. But the imagination takes its tone from the state of the health which affects the mind ; and they who in health revel amid a world of ideal splendor, pay a heavy tax when sickness, sorrow, and suffering clothe every object which imagination presents in the most revolting or gloomy drapery.
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