Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-10-17

be audited and paid instead. The auditor, and
commissioners on the state house. who were
invested by law with power to determine the
question, decided otherwise. In their opinion,
the honorable councillors could await the ac-
ton of the Legislature and endure the conse-
quent delay III the payment of small bill of
expenses, quite as well as the fireman. the
watchmen, and the washwomen about the
state house, to whom regular payments were
of the utmost importance, and whose bills
for labor honestly performed, already had the
precedence. The question was simply wheth-
or the honorable councillors should wait and
ask for an extra appropriation, or whether the
fireman, the watchmen, and the waShwomen
should wait; and whatever denials may now
be made, there is no question as to the edicts
OF certain cOuncillors-unofficial edicts, of
course-that no warrant would pass the coun-
Gil for the payment of these, till their own bill
of expenses to Hartford had been duly audited
and paid.
The communication of the auditor, advising
the council of the difficulty in the way of the
payment OF their bill OF expenses, together
with the warrent for the supplies and labors
about the State House, as before described,
was referred to a committee of the council, of
which Councillor Eames was chairman and
Councillor Rogers a worthy member. The
committee reported, it is said, that certain
items, covered by the warrant, items for news
papers, postage and fuel for instance, could not
properly be allowed and they therefore rec
commended the warrant to be returned to the
auditor with copy of their report" They
adued IN note, to be sure, that the balance of
the warrant could be properly drawn against
the appropriation, but the value of this conces
sion VIII be appreciated, when it understood
that the moment that the warrant under con-
SlueratIOn ot tba boi, al
for expenses would be entitled to the prece-
dence. When this report came before the
whole council, it is said, and on authority
winch can hardly be questioned, that His Hon
or, the Lieutenant Governor, moved to amend
by striking out all after the word report"
and inserting instead, ''that the warrant be
paid The motion prevailed The warrant
passed the council in spite of the committee
the fireman, the watchmen, and the washer
women were paid. while the bill of the coun.
ciliors for their expenses to Hartford was left
to be provided for by future appropriation.
Thus, the honorable councillors who insist
ed that their bills of expenses should be paid
at the expense of the humble workwomen who
scrubbed in the basement by the day. found
themselves foiled. That they took their dis
comhtnre sorely to the heart, is evident from
tl9 means to which they resorted for redress.
The intrigue to supplant the auditor was en-.
tered upon at once, Councillor Eames acting as
chief engineer and Councillor Rogers in the
somewhat anomalous capacity of an uncon-
scious candidate for honors to which he had
never aspired, while certain other councillors,
who should have been in better business, made
1t their special duty to see that another was
provided for the present auditor, and to glorify
the auditor expectant. There is no more
doubt that the effort to suppIant Mr.. White
originated in the council, and grew out of the
proceedings here detailed, than there is that
the effort was made. Other grievances like
wise growing out of his fidelity to duty, doubt.
less had an influence but still the movement
originated in and with the council. And if it
had been successful, instead of the meek dis
chalmers with which Mr.. Councillor Rogers
now seeks to satisfy the public, we should
have seen him submitting to the honor confer
red upon him, if not gladly, at least with very
much the same pious resignation as that with
which his illustrous namesake, the paternal
John, submitted to the fires of Smithfeld. A
man who assumes to know how the governors
duties should be discharged, better than the
Governor himself, would never have declined
the authorship