The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1857-09-16
STATE OFFICIALS AGAIN.
The Treasury Law Shamefully
r-- Disregarded.

ten upon the Chase Administration, the
most shameless and criminal neglect in
their guardianship and control over the
public money. In Kelley's new Treas
ury law, passed April 6, 1855, this Sec
tion has prominent place:
"SEcrroN l8. It shall be the duty
of the Auditor quarter annually, on the
18th day of March, June, September
and December Tor If any such day should
be Sunday, then on the day previous, }
to ascertain the amount of money in the
Treasury belonging to The Sinking Fund,
specifying in every such draft the source
or sources from which the money 30
drawn for was derived"
Now mark the duty imposed by the
above section, and the consequences that
would have resulted from its prompt
and faithful performance: 7r,sss .- !.
First. It was the duty of tie State
Auditor to ascertain 'quarter annually"
from the books of his Office, the amount
of money in the Treasury belonging to
the Sinking Fund; and 10 csrat6 tic SAME
therefront on behalf of the acting Com
missioners of said fund: Between the
date of the passage of this law, and the
time at which Gibson defaulted, the duty
imposed by the 18th Section tabove
quoted) on tho State authorities, should
havo been performed at each of to&r dis
tinct quarterly periods, to wit:
l.. On the 18th day of June, 1856;
g. On the 18th day of Sept, 1856;
3. On the 18th day of Dec, 1856;
a. On the 18th day of March, 1856;
Let the reader mark, that at each of
the above dates, the law-Kelley's ',elo
law of April 8, 1s56-made it the duty
of the State authorities, to ascertain the
whole amout of the Sinking Furd in the
Treasury and DRAW IT THERE
FROM. This duty was not optional
but imperative Had it been faithfully
performed, the whole amount of Sink.
ing Fund rightfully in the Treasury at
each of those dates, would have been
Withdrawn from the Treasury and ol-
piled to the public debt Of Ohio.
Second The sum of $4,000 &C
knowledged by Gibson to be missing
on the day he resigned his office aoas
money belonging to The Sinking Fa1nd,
and is alleged to have been lost OF used
by Breslin and never paid over by him
to Gibson. Now presuming for the SAKE
of the argument that this allegation is
true, why has this immense delinquency,
charged back gear and q half on Bres-
lin, been so long covered up by the con-
current knayery and neglect of the
Treasurer, Auditor and Fund Commits
sioners? It will not do to offer as a
sufficient apology the alleged fact that
Gibson 't'fooled'' the Auditor and Inves.
tigating Committees by producing for
their inspection, moneys and drafts
which he had borrowed for the sole pur-
pose of deceiviug them This humiliat-
ing plea may suffice to show why they
reported that the money was all in the
Treasury; but 1t does not erplaln why
the 18th section of Kelley's new law
(above quoted, } was not promptly and
fully carried into effect. 1t does not er,
plain why the State Auditor and the
Commissioners of the Sinking Fund neg
lected to ascertain the safety of that
fund by drawing on the Treasury for
the full amount that ought to have been
there on the 18th day of June, 1856,
five months after Mr.. Breslin retired
from Office. 1t does not captain why they
did not draw in like manner, on the 18th
day of September, 1856, as the law re-
duired. 1t does not captain why this
duty was again omitted on the 18th day
of December, 1856. 1t does not captain
why it was STILL NEGLECTED on
the 18th day of March, 1856. At each
of these four distinct periods it was with
in the lawful power-nay it aoas made
the IMPERATIVE LEGAL DUTY
of the State Auditor and Sinking Fund
Comm issioners to have applied such A
TEST to the condition of the alleged
defalcation of Breslin, now claimed I'd
have been Screened and covered up by
his successor:
Did this defaiccsstion of $547,060 ao-
tually occur under Breslin? The Black
Republican State officials allege that it
did so occur. Taking them at their
word, then, tho it be in the face of all
their official reports, how are they to es-
cape the indignant rebuke of an outraged
people for having so long and so shame
fully omitted to discharge the duty re-
quired by the 18th section of tie Kel.
ley law Of April 1856, when faithful
performance of that duty would have
given the public true aud timely
Knowledge Of the condition of the Treas
ury. There is no escape from the GEN.
sure which is so justly merited by their
deliberate and repeated disregard of
positive duties required by law But
what the public has lost by the indolence
and neglect referred to, has been hap
py gain to Breslin. For, on tho sup
position that he is the sole defaulter "a
presumption which is ridiculous,) their
culpable omission to do what the new
statute expressly commanded, has given
him a full long gear to put the fruits of
his specu'a alton beyond the reach of the
law. Had these neglects occurred
under the Administration of those
whom Gibson & Co., on the stump in
the, campaign of 1855, denoInced as
'sTHIEvEs and 1MBEc1LEs," it would even
then have been bad indeed, But that
such gross and fatal negligence should
have occurred under an Administration |
which was to have been NODDED for |
all its successors to pattern after, has
no other apology than that the fact that /
the double duty, of attending both to
Kansas and to Ohio, has been found to
impose greater labors and responsibili-
lies than any one set Of public officers
lave found themselves able to discharge
With benefit to the people.-Nesoark
4RUocate. v7fi ds,.lv 3als5P ="
Set Sparrow 6 Wright to work again!