The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1858-08-25
PIERCE COUNTY, TO
lStYscrrisor's Office.

Supervisors OFtcc.
November lsta. 1857.
This dav the County Board of Supervisors
settled the above and the general accounts of
tie Treasurer of said County. al d found them
CORE according to the vouchers in his hands,
which vouches We're examined and DESTROYED
III the presence of said Beard. Attest
II. BOUGHTON, Chm.
OLIVER GIBBS .r., CLERK.
These certificates were droun 5Y Tim
self precious to his going before the
Board and appear on tie book IN his own
,erittRg;; and it was evident hen they
were presented to your Committee, and
has since been satisfactorily proven, as we
will show that the 'vouchers" therein
mentioned as DESTROYED. were actually
nothing but the Comfy Orders redeem
ed BY him, and which the statute requires
the Board to dispose Of in that manner,
/ and which in amount AMI detail have
been fully ascertained from the records of
/ the Board, and about which there is no
/ dispute. AT the same time they bear on
/ their face the evidence of his intention of
/ producing them if necessary at a future
time to check inquiry and cover frau |.
] lne records of the Board do not show
that anything but Comfy Orders were
| DESTROYED at the time these certificates
were drawn, and we understand that the
parties by whom they are signed utterly
repudiate the idea that they were intend
ed by them to cover anything else as
being destroyed. Notwithstanding this,
he claimed them as proofs that his general
receipts and vouchers had been DESTROYED,
and insisted that the Committee could not
| 90 behind them in their examination
and seemed to think that although his
accounts might be proved erroneous, and
the errors identified and demonstrated
beyond question, still the County will
have no redress.
To give this assumption additional force
he had procured the seal of the Board of
Supervisors and impressel it himself on
these certificates, ne Of which was drawn
a year, AMI another several months be-
! fore said seal a0as III eristenceI He re-
fused to leave the book containing these
accounts and certificates in the office, al
though the book was Of importance as a
record of his own and f,rmer official acts
as Treasurer; but finally, II on being
strenuously urged, consented to do 50
upon the assurance that the certificates
should he preserved for his benefit.
As the investigation proceeded, and
| Ayres was called upon from time to time
to show receipts and vouchers % disburse-
ments, he would refer the Committee to
the statement in the certificates, that they
had been "destroyed in the presence of
the Board " But finally, when driven to
the wall, finding the receipts were indis-
pensable to secure his own interest, he
admitted the existence of some of them,
and brought them before the Committee.
But here was disturbed another mares
nest" as may be seen from the following
extract from Report, page 2l:
at must not be inferred that the ac-
counts to which the foreoo no certificates
of Chairman and Clerk were attached in
the book, and his reports to the Board,
and the account presented to us for set
| Element, were identical. On the contrary
the language is varied, and sums put
| down under different headings so us 10
be construed to mean cns thing in one
case and another thing in another; and
/ while each of these different statements
| OF the same transactions are made t. bal
/ ance III the foutings, the same TINS of
/ disbursements vary i'll sums from one dol
lar to upwards of one til >usan dollars
! But we forbear commenting too extern
! sivc' Y upon the subject matter of the Re
! port. since every clcctor i'll the County
should procure copy and read it. The
matter has as many heads as points, and
rs many points as heads, and as many
horns as both heads and points counted
together.
But we must take the liberty to make
q few remarks upon the practical nature
and character of this business transaction
/ 1t it evident from the character of the GER
titicates produced by Mr.. Ayres, that the
Chairman of the Board of Supervisors
did not examine, at the time of signing
even the certificates to achieh their names
1rere attached, for tho Board Lad not the
right to destroy the receipts. Farther,
if we concedc the intelligence of that Hon
orable Body, which nobody will question,
we cannot for moment suppose that the
Board had ever examined" as asserted
! in the certificates, the accounts of the
Treasurer. This would imply stupidity
| to an unwarrantable extent But it was
the proper business Of the Board to sex
anime the accounts, orders and receipts"
of the Treasurer. and to kno,c that they
were correct" Had this Teen done in
the outset, things could never have come
to this strange pass. The first years set
Element would have set the matter right
and saved the County the disgrace,a as well
as the expense of this investigation.
The amount secured to the County by
this investigation and for the payment of
which Mr.. Ayres has given security, is
s1372,s4.
The are ninety -one banks in the
/