New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-03-27
ANOTHER swINDLE.

The City Tax Levy now pending before the As
~mby at Albany contains one section which reads
% follows:
and conduct IN Bis name business the Cooperation
bsse on behalf officer thereof
ssoa he % isSn authority the TO
tion which have not been conducted IN his name shs De
ls recovered against the sale Cooperation be
enecus notwithstanding such proceedings aud the Controller
IssS5 been
against 'aid Corporation from which an appeal duly taken by
have not upon his application, been duly set s'ide
This provision involves fraud upon the tax
payers Of this city which it is hoped to consummate
through the action of the Legislature The pur-
pose of this section is to repeal salutary provision
contained in the Tax Levy of last year, which gave
the Controller the power to apply to the Courts to
set aside any Judgment obtained against the city
wherever he had reason TO suppose it was obtained
frauduleny or wrongfully, and for this purpose he
was authorized to employ any counsel he chose.
Acting under the authority conferred upon him, the
Controller has, during the past year, by means Of
counsel other than The Corporation Counsel, sue
eeeded 10 setting aside large number of judy
ments against the city. We do not know the pre-
else amount Of the judgments 80 set aside, but it
must be at least $780, 600, and there are judgments
to the amount of many hundred thousand dollars
more which should be and will be set aside if the
Legislature do not interfere. Jacob Sharps judg-
ment of some $50, 900 for supposittious damages
in connection with the Wall-street Ferry lease is
one Of those already set aside.
In fact, in every case in which the Controller has
avaled himself of the power given him under the
law of last year, he has succeeded in setting aside
the judgment attached, except in some small cases
in the Marine Court where the Solons on the bench
decided that they had no power to act. In other
cases the Courts on the facts being represented to
them have decided that numerous judgments against
the city were wong; whereupon an attempt is
made to induce the Legislature to override the
Courts. Mark the provisions of the section we
have quoted. Every word is pregnant with mean
ing and mischief:
porso any thereof In relation any action in which
The party without the consent or authority OF
Quoted in his name, shall be inoperdtirs and rotd"
Why not say at once all judgments obtained
against the city, which the Courts have declared
fraudulent and void, are hereby declared good and
valid That would be an open way of doing the
same thing. Again:
"Ths Controller hereby authorized and directed pay all
such aud all unsasded which have been
heretofore recovered against said Coz poson from which
appeal taken by the Counsel the Corporation IA not
pending which have not his application been duly oct
ssde."
Marx the language again, "not now pending
Ia this intended 10 cover the West Washington
Market judgment of some S70,O00l The choice Of
language taken in connection with the fact that,
though Mr.. Busted, the Corporation Counsel,
originally appealed from that judgment, yet on
Dec 81, 1862 the last day of his Official term, he
withdrew the appeal, looks very much like it.
We SEQ that Mr. Tucker Of this city reported
tbs bill. Of course he was deceived into doing so,
and of course the Committee were deceived into
agreeing 10 it. We call upon Mr. Tucker and
Messrs. Pond, A. Smith, and others on the Commit
tee, to move at once to have the bill recommitted
with instructions to strike out the section we have
quoted. We ask them to do it, if not from regard
for the welfare Of the city at least from regard for
their oan reputation And We ask the Assembly to