The Daily Herald

FOR THE HERALD.
Messrs. Editors,—In my customary visit to the Atheneum, yesterday, my attention was attracted to a paper which lay on one of the tables containing a list of signatures. On a closer inspection I ascertained the object of this document to be the call of a meeting of the proprietors of this institution for the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of excluding from its archives the New-York Courier and Enquirer.
Without pretending to decide on the expediency of such a call, for such a purpose, at this particular juncture, I may be permitted here to state some of the motives that induced me to become a contributor to this institution. It will be needless to advert to that public spirit which every good citizen is bound to manifest on such an occasion, and I must therefore necessarily confine myself to what is dictated simply by pure selfishness. For the past eight or ten years of my life, I have made it a matter of habit so to arrange my business matters, as to enable me to devote, at least, one hour each day to newspaper reading. and on the establishment of the Atheneum I was afforded the opportunity of gratifying this inclination more to my choice, with the additional privilege of occasionally introducing a friend to its privileges. To these, numberless other little conveniences might be added, which I should be extremely reluctant to relinquish, and amongst them the perusal of the paper in question. It certainly cannot be denied that this journal is one of the most prominent, both in its political and commercial character, in this country, and that it is the vehicle of the earliest and most important intelligence which we find on our files. This fact conceded, there should be good and substantial reasons assigned for excluding it from them; what those reasons are we shall probably learn at the meeting. But without laying any wonderful claim to the gift of prescience, I think I may venture to predict that they have grown out of the recent tragical affair at Washington, in which the senior editor of that paper performed so conspicuous a part.
Now, Messrs. Editors, there is no member of this or any other community, who more sincerely deprecates the conduct of all the parties concerned in that murderous transaction than myself, and no one who would more freely volunteer his services to bring the perpetrators to condign punishment. But by the method premised we become the party punished instead of Col. Webb, who probably is not aware that the Athenæum is on his subscription list. Could we arrive at the Colonel's feelings by the course proposed, arrest his propensity for setting other folks by the ears, improve his moral character and make a "gentleman" of him, why, then I grant there would be a pretext for the contemplated course. But I despair of such a result.
There are already on the list alluded to some twenty or thirty names of our worthy citizens, who are doubtless influenced in this matter by the purest and best of motives, but these are interspersed by others, who, without calling in question their moral sensibilities, would seize upon any pretext to exclude from our files, any periodical which partook in the slightest degree of the political character of the journal in question, without even going into the inquiry whether its editor was a duelist or a Quaker.—One name in particular struck me very forcibly, and would have shown forth prominently had not the tear of sympathy for the unfortunate Cilley unluckily imparted its discoloring quality to the liquid mixture employed in affixing it.
Finally, Messrs. Editors, if such a meeting is called, I sincerely hope that it will be characterized by a more liberal and better spirit than that which so frequently discovers itself in discontinuing newspapers.
CYMBOLAE.
The getting up of this meeting we esteem a piece of "censurable conduct," calculated to break up the institution. As to making "a gentleman" of Col. Webb, there are names on the list referred to that possess none of the ingredients of that character.—It would be hard for them to make what they do not understand.