Alexandria Gazette

Letter from New York.
Correspondence of the Alexandria Gazette.
NEW YORK, November 3, 1851.
Beyond the politicians, I observe not a great
deal interest in our elections this week. Great
apathy prevails, especially among the Whigs.
I heard an old merchant (who ought to be
ashamed of himself for two things, first, for being
an old bachelor, with plenty of money to
support a family, and second for being a hard-swearer,)
blowing out strong yesterday against
those who nominated the various tickets, now
placarded in big letters at all the corners of the
streets. "They were all," he said, "a pack of
scoundrels." This condemnation of the nominations,
and of those who make them, is very
common with a certain class of grumblers who
never attend the ward meetings. If citizens
will neglect their duty, and stay away from the
primary meetings at which the nominations are
made, they ought not to say a word against the
tickets offered by their party. Very shabby
tickets are nominated sometimes, and through
the negligence of the respectable portion of the
community to participate in making the nominations,
the men elected to office in this State
and City are sometimes entirely unworthy the
confidence of the people. Hence, we see the
functionaries more intent upon plunder and personal
ease than upon the execution of the laws.
and thousands of public nuisances have a free
swing, because the magistrates, policemen, &c.,
&c., are too lazy or corrupt to do their duty —
Cattle are driven through the streets and destroy
human life with impunity; garbage is cast
into the gutters to rot; thoroughfares are obstructed
with piles of old bricks; 6,000 grog
shops are in full blast on the Sabbath; and all
manner of work is going on. Recently there
has been formed an association of "Patriotic
Americans," (I think they style themselves)
composed of respectable and influential citizens
for the express purpose of guarding the public
against the election of any save good men and
true.
As I write, a company wearing helmets, red
shirts, and black frocks, is passing my window.
On their flag is the name "Clayton Guards."
They are determined to riddle that target.
A few minutes elapse, and with loud acclaim
of fife and drum, on marches another
corps with another target to be made into a
colander. These are marked F. G., and
as they carry a number of paper flowers
perhaps they are the Flower Guards. Squads
of 40 or 50 young fellows may be seen every
day on our streets, marching forth for target
shooting; and it is astonishing what a penchant
they have for artificial flowers. Even the
rough firemen decorate their machines with
paper roses.
Speaking of machines, I was in at the Fire
Annihilator office, this morning, and saw a
number of the articles ready for action with
the exception of the all-important fuses, which
have to dry by a very slow process. My confidence
in the efficiency of the Fire Annihilators
is unabated, notwithstanding the vexatious
delay in getting them into use.
We do not believe all the stories that are told
against Kossuth. Some of our papers publish
a letter from an anonymous writer at Marseilles,
purporting to describe an alleged disagreement
between Kossuth and Captain Long,
of the steamship Mississippi; but the editors
express their belief in its falsehood. Even
George Washington had his traducers in his
own country, and why not Kossuth? "The
King has a long arm."—The Emperor of Austria's
tongue and pen are longer than his
sword or sceptre. We have Austrian emissaries
in Washington; and Wall street is not free
from them; but their web will be powerless to
ensnare us.
T. Butler King, I see is in trouble with
the San Francisco merchants, and F. A. Macondray,
esq, the rich and well known California merchant,
came in the Cherokee, for the purpose
of complaining to the authorities at
Washington.