cating drinks are easily obtained, and the article so abundant, and accessible at all times, and by all classes, as it now is under the present inoperative liquor law, there being 1,927 places where intoxicating liquors are sold in the city, as appears by an account recently taken by the police, by my direction,-it cannot be a matter of surprise, even to the strongest advocates of temperance, and the most zealous defenders of the law, that the most ignorant and those most destitute of the ordinary physicial comforts of life, and those under the least moral restraint, should become the victims of intemperance and consequent misery and vice. If we add to the 1,927 places where intoxicating drink is sold openly, 235 houses of ill-fame where intoxicating liquor is sold, and the number of dwelling houses among the lower classes where it is sold and dealt out, we shall have a total of some 3,000 places in our city where intoxicating drinks can be obtained. It is, I believe, an admitted fact, that intemperance is the direct origin of more poverty, more crime, and more human suffering than all other causes combined. Should the Legislature in its wisdom enact a law, the practical operation of which would tend to diminish this great evil, by keeping the traffic in intoxicating liquors within prescribed limits, such a law, it is believed, would meet the approbation of public opinion, and its benefits would be realized by thousands who are a prey to the vice of intemperance; and if the evil cannot be wholly remedied, it might, like many other evils, be diminished and controled. It will be seen that 9,037 persons have been furnished with lodgings by the police during the year, showing clearly that there are a great number of persons in the community who are houseless, homeless, and almost, if not entirely, friendless. It is to be regretted that while the philanthropic and benevolent are so humanely engaged in giving aid to support and assist those who are in want, in foreign states and countries, that poverty, destitution and want, in our midst, appeals in unmistakeable language for that relief which would render those destitute victims more secure from vice and misery. The great number of minors, which, it will be seen, have been arrested for various offences, furnishes alarming evidence of the progress of crime, and affords an ample field of labor for those engaged in moral reform. It will be seen in this Report that 341 persons, insane, sick, and injured, have been provided for by the police. Many of these unfortunate individuals, from the neces sity of the case, for the time being, have been placed in the criminals cells, where those are confined, who are charged with every offence known in the calendar of crime. A wise and liberal philanthropy should furnish more hospitable and appropriate accommodations for the class of persons above described. Should an epidemic prevail the necessity for an asylum for those requiring immediate relief, being houseless and destitute of home comforts, would be fearfully realized. There are many occasions demanding sympathy with the needy and those in distress; and the police officer, from the nature of the labor he is engaged in, has unequalled opportunities of witnessing such instances; and I am happy to say, that many cases occur, where the officers, with a zeal prompted by the kindest motives, have rendered that aid, without which, even the munificence of the benevolent could not accomplish the desired result. The execution of the laws is among the most important objects of the municipal government. This duty falls mainly upon the police, and hence the importance of selecting those only who are best qualified for a judicious discharge of those duties. Respectfully submitted. DANIEL J. COBURN, Chief of Police. Office of Chief of Police, January 10th, 1857. |