New York Dispatch

RECORDER HACKETT.

Recorder Hackett has recently conducted himself on the bench of the Court of General Sessions in a manner that has excited the just surprise of our citizens. On Wednesday a boy of sixteen was convicted before the Recorder of the theft of a gold watch, whereupon Hackett, raising his voice to its highest pitch, declared that if anybody tried to rob him on a street car, he would promptly shoot him dead. Now, Mr. Recorder, what sort of law is that? If you killed a pickpocket that committed no violence upon you, you would be guilty of the crime of manslaughter. Such statements made by a Judge on the bench are not only foolish in the extreme, but they should not pass without official animadversion. On the preceding day the Recorder had collared a witness, shaken him furiously, and roared at him that if he would not tell the truth, he should be punished severely for contempt of court. Previously, the Recorder had repeatedly and most ungratefully abused the newspapers of New York, to whose energetic support he was principally indebted for his election. Let him bear in mind that the press, which made him what he is, will not permit him to act on the bench as he has recently done without letting the public know of his shortcomings.