The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-01-14

tIem only az MS helpers into power, would iea0
us to suppose that he has very little of an
abiding love for the church.
The blockade OF Au City Business.
We would direct attention to second commu-
nication from the Street Commissioner to the
Common Council, setting forth the illegality of
all expenditures on city account, in the absence
OF definite appropriations to cover the various
objects of disbursement as prescribed in the
thirty-eighth section of the city charter. The
ground taken is one of strict construction and
simple obedience to financial checks, which
should meet with the approval and support of
all who feel an interest in securing an honest
and less expensive city government. The Street
Commissioner being the only officer through
whom supplies can legally be drawn, and find
ing, under present circumstances, that no expen-
ditures can be incurred by him without fragrant
violation of the charter, is very properly deter
mined not to suffer others to assume his duties
and plunge the city into debt for supplies and
labor, which either may or may not be required.
The great need of our municipal system is firm
ness In it's officers and an undertaking respect
for law.
Can nothing arouse the taxpayers of this city
from the lethargy ofdisgust brought on by years
of civic pillage and delinquency? or are they so
hopeless of reform that its promise must forever
fall on unbelieving earss Can they not be made
to realize that the property Of the city is in
imminent danger, and that the whole fabric of
municipal government is fast verging towards
utter Reorganization and chaos?
In the face of provision in the Charter, which
prescrbes that mo expense shall be incurred by
any Of the departments, or officers thereof, whe-
Their the object of expenditure shall have been
ordered by the Common Council or not, unless
an appropriation shall have been previously made
covering such expenses" and with the fact well
known that, 30 far from appropriations having
been made, the mere estimates for the Tax levy
have not yet passed the Common Council, ex-
penditures are being incurred by unauthorized
parties, and efforts will doubtless hereafter be
made TO make the city responsible for debts
which should never have been contracted.
Far from meeting the difficulty, and applying
the remedy as soon as possible, we see evident
inclination In certain quarters to prolong the
present state ofthings in the hope, possibly, that
amongst the Illegal acts tolerated on the plea Of
necessity, there may also be introduced some
good fat Illegal jobs. in which the impeding par
ties have q private interest Meantime the
greater portion of our fire apparatus is out of re-
pair and not fl for services the late severe frosts
made the machinery more than commonly brit
ala. ana ah<s,ld Gvo traol out In fho loyor uo ~
Of the city tonight, we would be obliged
10 place Our chief reliance on the steam fire
engine recently purchased to save us from con-
fagration similar to that which consumed mil
lions worth of property in 1885.
The public Offices, station houses, courts, and
oil other public buildings, are rapidly running
short Of fuel, stationery, printing and all other
necessarics for the transaction of public bust
ness. All laborers employed by the city in re-
pairing whsrves, piers and slips, roads, avenues
and buildings, have been summarily dismissed,
and many Of them of the time when their SER
vices could be most useful and conservative.
On the breaking up of the present ice many
piers, already In q shaky condition, will vanish
altogether and there Is not q dollar legally
accessible by which these disasters can be pre-
vented.
The clerks in many Of the public Offices are
doing duty under notice that they can urge no
legal claim for remuneration in the absence of
any appropriations TO cover their employment;
and though this does not deter our new Comptrol-
Ter, who has both appointed his subordinatcs and
opened whole new set OF books we are not sure
that the law on the matter Is In favor of the
course which he has adopted. As another instance
of the same thing We might remark that the
illegally done, and that the charge for the same
must remain an illegal charge against the city,
unless covered In arrearagcs by some special f.
gislation.
The charter is wrong, the ordinances wrong,
the whole system Of city finance m-crably def
cient and imperative; but surely the way to
remedy these matters is no, to add further lille
galty TO the evils already inherent in the struc-
turc Of our city government The first radical
change which would tend TO abate these evils In
future would be a change Of the financial year
from the LIST Of January 10 the lsi Of July. IN
der the present system II is all but impossible
that expenditures should not be Illegally incur
red, ai least in the interval between the LIST Of
January and the passage Of the tax levy by the
Legislature; but change the commencement Of
the financial year TO the ls Of July-in other
words, let the present Legislature make appro-
priations for the year We have entered upon, and
up to the 3oih Of June, Isco-and we shall have
no more reason TO complain OF the present fnan-
cial marasmus. under which all the most useful
limbs Of our city government, are a, this instant
paralyzed. Let the taxpayers the Common