, 1861-01-29

Ac I'LL nOH Dclole LIE LeSlsIdtuTe ~
amend our City Charter, changes the time
for holding tue Municipal election from
March to May, and provides that the pres
ent City officers shall hold over until their
SUCCESSORS shall have been elected. Mayor
Wentworth does not like tllis, and he
threatens to get up piece Of practical
secession here at home, by vacating, or Sc
ceiling from, the Office on the 18th
day Of March. We are mot aware that
his honor will encounter ar rery yio-
lent opposition should hc undertake to
carry his threat into execution, OF that
thc people will be inconsolablc Oh
account Of his retirement. The secret
Of the mnttcr, is this: Wentworth wants
the public to believe that lc has been 1iy-
ing up TO the motto, Liberty and Econo-
my" during his municipal year; and as lie
has been kiting oyer 10 his successor in
Office large amount Of Indebtedness which
lie ought to have paid or provided fur, a
continuance in lis Office until May would
throw his oH'n sins upon his own shoulders,
and his precious system Of ltunlbuggery
would bcexposcd. Having set tllis nice little
trap for lis SUCCESSOR, he has no idea Of being
caugh, in it himself; therefore he declares
he will not meet the responsibility Of lis
own acts, but will leave the office on tile
18th Of March.
In regard to this Indebtedness which lie
is kiting over to the next administration, 4
large proportion Of it is due to the poor Ia
boring men Of the city. These men, Went
worth has put of with city scrip, payable
the 1st Of May next, bearing ten per cent
interest Meanwhile, the Wcntworthian
system Of killing having placed the city
credit at a low ebb, the poor laborers have
gone on the street with their scrip end sold
it for whatever they could get--say from
sixty-1ye to eighty conts on tho dollar.
Had it not been in the power Of the city
TO have raisad the money for these men,
there would be some apology for thus
cheating them out OF portion Of their
wages. But there is no such plea to
he urged. r. F. ". Peck, Esq, we are
crcdibly informed, offered to lend the mon
cy to the city to pay its workmcn, Mt ten
per cent. interest; but as it would have ex-
ploded the Mayors fayorile hunlbug 10
have performed this honest act towards IL
boring mtn, he refused 10 accept the pro-
position. The city, therefore, is sat:dlcd
with an additional amount Of interest, for
all Of tie scrip that llas been issued is da-
ted back, while those who have laborcd for
it have been practically cut down in their
wages by the share they hare been COM
PEELED to snbtnit TO on the scrip.
Alr. Wentwortll's "economy costs the
city IN immense amount Of money. 1nthc
first year OF his A1ayoralty he destroyed
one hundred thousand dollars in bends,
and the debt for which they would hayc
provided, at seven per cent interest, has
been k;ted along cyer since Ut 4 much
higher rate. Again, in the second year Of
Mr.. Haincs' administration, hc prevented
the issue Of the same amount Of bonds,
kiting that additional debt also; and in this
second year Of his own administration, lie
has not issued that amount Of bonds, and
so the debt goes kiting. Here are three
hundred thousand dollars of ou7 floating
indebtedness, all cf which is klted from
year to year on sch terms as can
l,c made, costing the city, annually, wc are
told, but little, if any, s:lert Of sixteen PEI
cent per annum. IF the bonds had beer
issued in accordance with the city charter
bu. which was prevented by the Went
WORKMAN policy, the rate Of interest woulc
only be scvcn per cent. What with thi
additional nine per cent interest On thre'
hundred thousand dollars, the extra inter
est upon the scrip issued during his prescn
administration by Wentworth, and tn
amount lost upon that scrip by those Il
whom ii was paid, We arc safe in sayinI
that the city has never had SO c1pcnsi7
AL administration as the present one, moi
withst.nding the Common Council ha
refused to orlcr any improvements What
ever. No wonder Wentworth desires
sccede It is quite time