Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1858-01-30

without the taking Of any, and the neg
ligence exhibited in hat office during thu
term Of Mr.. Marsh is inexcusable in thu
conduct of any public officer,a and the com
mittee have felt sensibly the responsibility
and difficulty of the duties imposed upol
! them in making their investigation Blu
haying gone back to the original files o
! said office, and pursuing our investigation
} step by step, we have been able to detec'
errors both great and small.
The county has not been properly cred.
) tied with moneys received. Money re.
quired by law to be collected by the
County Treasurer has not been accounted
for,& in nearly every instance of error dis
lowered by us it has been made against
the county and in favor of Mr.. Marsh
The resolution authorizing this investiga
ton requires US to report the condition Of
the affairs of the late County Treasurer,
and the committee will here endeayor to
show a few instances of the loose manner
in which the accounts of that Office were
kept during the term of office of Mr.
Marsh, and which may afford some EXCISE
for the erroneous settlement made with
Mr.. Marsh in November, 1856.
For instance there are, on the books OF
Mr. Marsh about twenty-five hundred en-
tries or charges, which are left entirely
without dates. All of these entries OF
charges with the exception of about two
hundred are the taxes paid by individuals
after the returns Of the delinquent or I'M
paid taxes were made to the County
Treasurer, by the several Town Treasures,
and previous to the sale of lands in April
for delinquent or unpaid taxes.
The Revised Statutes. page l57, sec. SO,
requires that all persons discharging the
taxes on lands, after the return of the town
treasurers, and before they are sold, shall
pay to the county, interest from the first of
January preceding, at the rate of twelve
per cent. per annum. The committee
therefore could not in consequence of the
want Ct dates, to each payment Of such
delinquent or unpaid taxes SO returned,
calculate the interest which would be due
the county and received by Mr.. Marsh on
each of such payments, and have ha1 to
arrive at the amount rather Indefinitely and
only in a mode in which the county must
still be the loser. During the two years
Fof Mr.. Marsh's official term, no. enc cent
of interest has been credited 20 the county
by Mfr. Marsh, on the lands on which taxes
were paidsto him before Or after sale. The
amount of this interest, as near as the
committee can ascertain for the two years
during which Mr.. Marsh was County
Treasurer (by charging n months inter
est at the rate Of twelve per cent. per an
mum, on the full amount of taxes on lands
returned unpaid, one months interest OH
lands advertised, and one months interest
on lands sold,) is one hundred and eighty
seven dollars and sixty-seven cents, 1S7,-
I67.) 1t is evident that by this system Of
computation the county must lose the in
terest on the taxes On all lands paid be-
tween the date of the return of the town
treasurers, and the time of advertising.a and
also between the advertising and the day
of sale.
The Office Of the treasurer is almost
wi bout vouchers for monies paid out dur
mo the term Of Mi. Marsh, and even those
retained are so obscure and void of the
proper endorsements, as to leave so much
room for fraud and mistake that the com
Imittee have been at great trouble and
some expense iii ascertaining exactly what
is correct.
In the year 1855, certificates for delin-
.a - H. S1,-Nu.
towns for the aroonnt Of four thousand
eight hundred and ~ifty-six dollars and
seventy-nine cents (s4s56 TOY Of which
amount the Treasurer had paid three thou
sand eight hundred and eighty dollars and
seyentv-eight cents, but vouchers were IN
the office for only two thousand and one
dollars and forty nine cents, (s20ol 49.)
The committee were therefore compelled
to send messengers to all parts Of the
~county, to procure the original certificates
in order to ascertain what amount should
be credited to Mr.. Marsh, he having re-
fused to furnish the information himself =
There were no entries OF the books in the
office whereby the committee could arrive
at the amounts paid on the ~certitic ties, and
we therefore felt it our duty to collect the
information at the expense of the county,
in order to have a final settlement as the
resolution of the Board of Supervisors re-
ouired, with the late treasurer.
We find there is due the several towns
upon such certificates the following a
mounts, and for which amounts the Coun-
in IL