Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1846-03-27
count by an agent, g., was presented for
allowance. The dates sc. omitted.

To doys at 400 1881 1884
| To days at 1900 3i3 lS.43
To 10 da v. nj 5000 l6 80 &C. 80
To pad DO tage 260
| 7 o pcr cent commission on $l95,35 $40
To balance on hand POPS
$685.
Contra.
BY cash collected of sundry persons, $l95, 81
This account will serve to illustrate the
practice of charging the State for services,
where the law had made no provision. Gus.
tom in such cases becomes law, and TO show
how this custom has progressed and as in H.
lustra,ion of the utter insufliciency of the law
in securing thorough accounting" will
transcrbe portion Of letter, addressed TO
the former Auditor, by former Treasurer,
in answer 10 letter on the subject of such
accounts.
ut is not for me to say how much would
be an ADEQUATE COMPENSATION for --'s
services, but supposed, as you state, that
$500 per day and expenses was, with you,
an established rule. Permit me to remark
however, that in my opinion, the mode Of
settling accounts of that agency, formerly,
was not of the kind, best calculatedto insure
the interest and safety of the State. be.
I
State, it mistake not, had to JUMP accounts
with him) the accounts of the out. going agent
have been adjusted by his successor.-seldom,
If ever, rendering a report 10 any ONE
Though probably fair and honest, yet ex.
tremelv convenient and somewhat tempting
to allow liberal charge to predecessor, as
precedent TO govern that of the incum-
bent"
Some further remarks and illustrations, of
the Differences of the law, will be reserved
for another number. DAVID PIERCE.
No. III.
A thorough system of accounting would
probably have transmitted to US, in record,
the loss or gain of the old Vermont State
bank ;-as 1t Is, the books Of that institution
are thrown into corner of a private garrett,
buried in the dust and darkness of the past
gencralion: the ultimate loss to the State
can never be ascerlained. All the branches
together were restricted to q circulation, at
no one time exceeding S3,600,O0O. Here
was ample space and verge for banking on
a large scale, and had the scheme succeeded
no doubt it ould have been continued. Ii
is known, that the State sustained loss of
$50 900 at one branch, which sum II ielt In
the hands of the tax-payirg community, at
the annual increase of 6 per cent, would al
this time have exceeded 100000. But i,
is possible that IA, l.3, or even a greater
proportion, of the authorized or actual de.
posts of that bank was lost to the State, and
in such case the pccunary condition Of the
tax.payng community would ue inurously
| hn nd l,,,, IN
Private corporations have lost their whole
capital invested, and they are quite as likely
TO manage their interest with prudence, a,
the agent of the Government. In a private
corporation the loss or gain will be known
in the case Of State bank, those who may
have mismanaged its concerns have an inter.
est to conceal the result. The same iaxltv
of the law is observable in the case Of State.
Attorney. Good bonds were required. bu
the law secured no supervision, and hence i
occurred, that those bonds we're seldom take,
from the Clerks Office, after their first de-
post among his flies. The law became il
dead letter: dc!lnquencies were frequen,
, but prosecutions rare, because the law hat
established no efficient supervision. In 1874;
: the Auditor, in pursuance of a resolution o
, the Legislature, looked up and pu, in trail
of collection more than $4,000 in Stat
, claims, large portion of which, it was tn
duty of Office under bonds to have col
, lecled, and yet the investigation extende'
I back 10 only about five years. The duty O
7 officers was clearly pointed out by law, goo
bonds were taken, and here the law was
: virtually, left to execute itself, The system
5 resembled a we'll made cask, wanting only
S bottom; 1t would hold nothing. The sam
Z objections could be made to the bonds take
;, of County Clerks, military Quarter masters
0 Sergeant alarms &c, the bonds and sure
ties we're unohJectionabe, but there was n
v adequate power 10 call those respective off
! GERS to account, and the funds of the PEG
h pie might be squandcred to an indefnit
:. amount, and still those bonds avail nothin,
a Indeed so reckless had become those, who's
. duty it was to take bonds of Officers, intius
n ed with the funds of the Government, III;
). on an examination of the Treasurer's offic
n the legal depository of those bonds, il 1S4
a not one in three, required by law 10 be d,
a posted there, could be found.
Another serious mischief in the law wa
a that il conferred power on several dif1erel
! and distinct boards, to allow in their discr'
:, ton, for many services, for whose compel
- salion no specific provision was made in Il
:, fee bill. As matter Of necessity, this ga,
!. occasion to great inequality OF allowance, f
!. the same kind or amount of service. TT
n &C, of October 9Th, 1898, after prescribiI
the compensation for every defined servic
j., in that Statute, concludes in these words viz
,s sand for any other duty or service, done
|. performed, such sum, as shall be in prOpO
err tion to the fees, specially provided by tins
70 any other act" In that part Of the act r.
:. laling to the fees Of Clerks, il is provid,
IN that they shall receive such sums, as shall
n. allowed by the Courts, and it is suppose
is that the Courts, interpreting the whole a
a, together, would regard the provisions of Il
Sc second Section and apporion the allowanc
I'd 50 as TO be in conformity to the law. ST
~ this discretionary power of allowing &C count
re by many different boards, has been an occ
he aion OF great diversity of practice, and a s.
he s'ous waste Of the public funds. The Sla,u
10 evidently was framed to Sc cure allowances
". all cases, proporlloned 10 the fees establsht
All by law. Such is the phrase logy of the
S. and a similar provision has been retain,
in all the acts on the subject since 1898, al
he still il is impossible 10 reconcile the allowan
of such claims with the Statute. Scarce
c. would the practice have been more vsriar