The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-11-22

ton Union desires to bsow the precise value Of
those Belmont certificates, from gentlemen
whose evidence 10 but confession Of their
entire ignorance Of the sub'ec matter in dis
pute, or if the President is really ignorant Of
the financial operations Of his proteg< At the
Hague, we have no doubt that great deal Of
valuable information may yet be easily obtained
in the case. The case is still open. Let Bel
mont be sworn u on the Old Testament, 10 an
exact denial Of his alleged implication in be-
half Of Russia for Q loan from the Rothschilds,
snd the Jews may be ieve him.
The Duties OF Mayor Under the City Charter.
| After the expulsion of the Kings OF Rome, the
government was entrusted by the people to two
men, who were called Consuls. Their au.hori-
| ty was so great as TO appear at the present day
inconsistent with personal liberty. They ini-
tiateo all laws, and gave them validity at last
by their assent: assembled the Senate and con-
y0ked meetings Of the people: controlled the
whole foreign relations of the republic: levied
taxes r. ceived the revenue, commanded and paid
The army: acted Is Governors of the Dquer-
ed provinces, and enjoyed the most part Of the
State patronage. Yet this ~ stem lasted nearly
J five centuries without producing any evil ef
s,,,ts The reason was very simple: the Con-
la sere elected annually, and were two in
s,. - that, in the words of quaint histo-
n mber,.~ - restrain one another, and
rian, they mign. : great power"
not become insolent by thel. the Con-
The plan which at Rome prevented
sular ty ranDy from being felt for 30 long pc
hi g. NJ
mind OF the Trainer of our city charter Of lS49
The tenth section OF that law enacts that "The
executive power Of thu Corporation shall be
vested in the Mayor, the heads of departments
and such other executive officers as shall be
from time to time created by law" This
enactment is preserved by q continuing clause
in the subsequent legislation Of 1853, and is
still in force. 1t is manifest, at the very first
reading, that it was the intention OF
the legislator to restrain and balance the
authority of the heads Of departments
by connecting the Mayor with them
in all executive acts The act of 1880
afforded some excuse for the preterce that the
Mayor had no concern with the heads OF de-
pa1tments In that law it is said (sec. zD that
"the executive business Of the Corporation of
New York shall hereafter be performed by dis
tinct departments" without allusion to the
Mayor. But this concentration Of power in
the b, ads OF departments obviously ceased the
moment the act of 1849, above quoted, came
into force. The distinc. departments" ceased
to perform the executive business Of the Cor
poratioa," for that executive business and
"power" were thenceforth vested in the
Mayor and heads of departments" Unless we
suppose that the words of the act of lS49,
VIII. reinsoever they differ from those of the act
| of 1880, were written in inadvertence, md
Inconsistencies Of their import, we are hound
to conc udo hat it the intention OF the
| former statute TO confer upon the Mayor larger
powers than he had formerly possessed, and to
| invest m with SORT of general superietend-
| epce over the departments TO which the trans
| action of the executive business was compit
ted. If this has not been urged before, the
| anomaly is due to the inertness of our Mayors
| and the ambition of the heads Of departments.
| The former have not sought to extend their
| authority, for responsibility would have been
commensurate Herewith: while the latter,
generally elected by chicane, fraud and cor
ruption, have invariably made it q paramount
object to engross all the power they could.
But neither the usurpations Of the latter
nor the acquiescence o. the former can
altar the rue meaning Of the law. If
the section we have quoted associates the
Mayor with the heads of department in the
transaction of the executive business-and this
is the meaning Of the words used, if they have
any meaning ct all-no act of individual OFF,
GERS Of the Corporation can divest him Of the
right or exonerate him from the obi cation of
sharing in every act performed by these indie
pendent subordinates. He is bound to take
cognizance Of the acts of the Street Depart
| ment, and sanction Or withhold his consent from
| the opening Of new streets: bound to partici
pate in every act of the Department Of "Re-
pairs and Supplies;' OF that of "Streets and
| Lamps;r of that of the "CrOtOn Aqueduct
Bcard;'' Of that of the Aims House, and in fact
of all the other departments organized by the
charter. If he follows the example Of his pre-
decessors, and permits the heads of departments
to transact the executive business of their de-
partments without him, he Isl principal az well
as an accessory in violating the law.
We cannot exageerate the benefits which
| might flow from this construction Of the Law
| by our new Mayor. In the single Department
| of Finance q world Of good might he done by
new and energetic man who should refuse to
| allow himself to be hoodwinked and led by The
nesc by the Comptroller. This officer, who
under the presence Of economy, has been
s'aunching petty leak here and there IN the
CRY funds, while he took ont the spigot alto
pether on the other eide, would act very differ
entity if he we're compelled to secure The acqui
essence of the Mayor before carrying out his
IN, assures. We should then find that IL Is pos
sible to cry loudly about economy without
practising it: to plunge the city into law suits