The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-02-07

IHE FRAUDS ON THE CITf IREASURY.-Ac-
cording as the multifarious committees engaged
in the investigation of frauds on the city trea-
sury progress with their labors, rich mines of
corruption and rascali'y are opened. The soil
| seems to grow fatter and more reeking with
foulness the deeper they go.
Our poor Comptroller was before the Coun-
Gil Committee again yesterday, with a budget
of fresh frauds dug up out of the books and
papers of his Office. These refer to jobs on Fiji
ty-second, Fpy-ffth and Fifty-scventh streets,
which were entered upon during the regime of
the late Street Commissioner Taylor. If this
investigation is pashed much further, we should
not be surprised to find that the public have
been defrauded in every transaction which for
years has emanatea from the immaculate Street
Department.; for it is remarkable that all the
alleged frauds now pretending TO claim the at
teption.of these various ommittees-whether
the alleged conspiracy" of Chemung Smith to
cheat the treasury out of $4,000, the frauds in
the Fifty-fourth street contract whereby Mr..
Contractor Farley is said to have pocketed
$9o8 more than he was entitled to, owing to
the mistake Of the City Surveyor, or the new
cases opened up by Mr.. Flagg yesterday-every
one of them had their origin in the iaxty with
which the affairs of the Street Commissioners
have been conducted.
II n several weeks now since these commit
tees commenced operations, and already there
have been developed frauds enough to appal the
community; yet in no single instance has the
name of the man who was charged with being
the head and front of all the offending against
public honesty in the city been implicated in
the scandaloas transactions which have come 20
light.
For months before the last municipal cleo
ten the columns Of the black republican papers
and the harangses of petty politicians tcemed
with vtuperative denunciations of Fernando
Wood as the father of all the corruption which
was eating at the heart Of the city treasury.
From the classic temple Of the MUSES. in Irving
place to the not over clean temple Of Plutus
in Wall street ribald abuse had been poured
out upon him without limit. He was sought TO
be held responsible for the Misrepresentation of
funds over which he had no control; for the
Improvement Of departments in whose
management he had no voice; but the great I'M
pardonable sin charged upon him was that he
had increased the city taxes to an alarming
amount by conniving at all kinds Of frauds,
which had Injured to his own benefit But no
sooner is the touchstone Of investigation ap-
piled than these charges are flung back in the
teeth of those who uttered them
II Mr.. Wood was the instigstor of all the
crimes alleged against him, why does he not ap-
pear now in connection with those which have
already been exposed! Mr.. Conover appears as
the prosecutor in these cases and surely no one
supposes that he would screen the late Mayor IL
he could put his finger on the smallest pecoa-
dillo that might he brought home to him.
We repeat, il IL significant fact that no i'm
plica,ion on the part Of Mr.. Wood In these in
famous frauds is even limited at, notwithstand-
ing the wild outcry raised against him 80 re-
Gently by his enemies On the contrary, the
turpitude lies mainly with the very party which
70 vilely assailed him.