The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-02-15

Henry Clays funeral .,.........,.... 1854 10
P Psa sdo ws0'ters funeral S ssas g g
S4s,O4e 81
Claim unpaid for Kossuths banquet 1859 %
$5l $50 81
We have. ALSO reason TO know that members
Of the Common Council have illegally charged
for carriage hire. when not on the business Of
the city government; and the Comptroller up
to the present has steadily refused to pay the
bills. unless vouched on oath. The expenses
of the tea room are enormous. Just think Of
50 672 in one year, after the Common Council
receiving in lieu of banqueting 81 per day. In
future. if they must have canvas back ducks.
brandy and segars. they will have to pay for
such good living themselves. The tea room
stands abolished.
Mr.. Flagg exposes the illegality of making
contracts, and drawing money out Of the city
treasury unless appropriations shall have been
previously made for the purposes specified
The violations Of the law, in this respect, have
been of the most daring description. More
over THE detailed statement of receipts and
expenditures" for the year, required by the
charter to be published two months before the
annual election for charter officers, has not been
given to the people On all hands the law has
been violated. and taxation is swelling from
year to year to the most enormous dimensions
Neither the Common Council. nor any Of its
committees have a right to make contracts or
audit accounts. This executive business has
been expressly taken from them by the charter,
and assigned to the heads of departments. The
Comptroller is determined to take the finance
business out of the hands Of the Aldermen. and
to enforce the charter.
We recently published tabular statement
showing the increase Of taxation from the year
1885 to the present time. Mr.. Flagg goes back
ten years further as will be seen by the impor-
tant table. No. A. appended to his report. The
following being the first and last items Of the
table will show the tremendous progress of
taxation in twenty-six years =
1926 SS4 sO4 $50 $42 93l sl07 23s 9sl $3.50, 1853
1852. 253,27s 1854 ss490,042 428 3,3so,57l
But even this increase is nothing compalsd
with the levy for 1853, which will be
$5.l7l6O2 "A. being an increase over the levy
of 1852 of $179l.39l.
This increase for the present year is caused
by borrowing. from the Sd Of November to the
end of December, million and sixty thousand
dollars Of which $4,000 was obtained on the
three last days Of the year. All this must come
into the account for the year 1858. What
humbug, therefore, was the apparent balance in
the treasury on the LIST Of January Of $l36,S77.
If the amount raised to pay the deficiency
Of 1852 had been levied, as it ought to
have been, in that year, the tax would have
been $4.l22.699, and the rate. instead Of being
96 cents would have been III cents on each
hundred dollars of valuation.
1t is urged by those who do not pay much
respect to arithmetic that the increase OF
taxation is only in proportion to the popula-
ton. This the Comptroller completely refutes.
He shows that the population of1s25, compared
with 1850. has increased in twenty-five years,
2lO per cent estate 168 per cent, and taxes 40
per cent This is q frghtful fact that no special
pleading can explain away. There are one or
two others equally astounding. The bare def
cheney in the amount expended. over and above
the estimates Of last year, namely, 1887 100, is
within So 900 of the aggregate government ex-
penses of six of the Western States, and only
s237 900 less than the sum expended by the six
New England States including Massachusetts
which expends half million in the year. And
the whole estimated expense Of the city gov
eminent proper for the present year is only
s640 1871 less than the aggregate annual expen-
ses Of the entire thirty-one States Of the Union,
including half a million for California If this
is not enough to scare the Island City we know
not what is.
The Comptroller has taken the bull by the
horns like man. Let him hold him fast till
the people come to his help. He will be sus
tanned by every class of citizens Taxation
must and shall be abated. We call upon all
our readers to give this report an attentive pc
rusal To the citizens Of New York it is as in
teresting and important as ever was Presi-
dents message to The people of the United
States.
The PHILOSOPHERS CAUGHT NAPPNC.--The
philosophers Of the Tribune for the benefit Of
the parties concerned make the following ex-
PLANTATION OF a rather awkward mistake They
say that
The Washington Union parades an extract from
letter OF OF our Washington correspondents
which contains paragraph directly rejecting upon