Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1866-01-13

IN SEARCH OF s425.

'LC 'HSHiAa VIZ. A'SaSui. Ne Sf-V' "HiSH
Mr.. w. NJ. Gillespie, late City Clerk, lille
gally drew thcrefrom, for alleged extra"
services We saved $500 by a exposure
Of its elected payment, at the precise mo-
ment when the warrant, signed by his
Honor, the Mayor, was in the hands of
the Clerk. Immediately upon our exhibit
Of the facts in the case, Mayor Jones very
properly caused the warrant to be returned;
and he administered rebuke to the Board
of Aldermen for their temerity in voting
such IN appropriation in plain violation Of
the City Charter. 1t is barely possible
that one or two Of the Board may feel a
little >,yc, on account Of Mayor Jones up
braid.ng them with Il violation OF the law,
when he. himself. had al along been read
lily signing exactly similar warrants. II
there is to be a comparison, in this respect,
instituted at all. surely the astute Mayor,
long experienced as n business man and an
officer. should be quickest TO note the
direction and command of the organic
Statute under which his administration
proceeds. But-so It seems-Mayor
Jones was ignorant. for a period Of six
months. of the fac; that the Virginia City
Charter absolutely forbids such appropri-
atoms as we have referred 10.
Very we'll: Let that pass. Mayor Jones,
thanks 10 the News, knows better now
and he brings the Board of Aldermen up
with a sharp turn. accordingly.
Now, the question is: Can the 1925,
heretofore paid Gillespie, for "ex,ra" SER
vices-paid before Mayor Jones learned
from US wha, the Charter prohibited, in
this particular-can this waste OF money
OF the taxpayers of Virginia, &c in any
manner. reclaimed /: Il is an amoun, worth
restoring to the City Treasury. l, will be
impossible to reclaim it from Gillespie
certainly i, will be vain TO attempt res,or-
alton on G~Illespie's immediate account,
unless the City Attorney could reach the
late City Clerks boDdsmen and that is
said 10 be wholly impossible. One of his
bopdsmen, John Dohle, is in Austin and
the other we have no, heard named. He
is probably an irresponsible party. And
G~;llespie's official repor,ership having been
over-ruled by the Assembly, he is existing
spareinsly on ra,ions from the Double Ids.
office.
We were mistaken in supposing that the
Board are required to give bonds. So it
was not worth while to push the extra"
charge against Alderman Eddy and he
cannot be reached on G~illespie's extra ac-
count.
Blu; here: l, not Mayor Jones rcspon-
slble TO the City for this Illegal appEopri-
alton Of 1925: II so, he is abundGntly
able TO respond to the call upon him for a
reimbursement. lie need not be required
10 give bonds for his large interests in
connection with Storey county's indebted
ness are a guarantee for the honorable dis
charge Of his official duties. And admir-
ably has he performed his official duties.
But he signed the warrants on which
these 1925, were improperly taken from
the City Treasury. He could have disap-
proved Of the appropriations, or stopped
them at the out set for his disapprobatIon.
presented in some such form as tina: in
which he reproved the Board for passing
the 5000 account. would At once have
placed a quie,us on the whole ~iagrantly
wrong series OF "extras."
l, may be. tina, Mayor Jones cannot be
required, under any legal requisition. TO
make up for the Gillespie grabbinSs-
amounting 10 the respectable sum of 1925
Blu, when he recognizes how much he
has been 10 blame in this matter, may not
he feel his conscience cooperating with
the force of public sentiment, and very
strongly insisting that he make the City
good for this illegal out-go from the Trea-
sury: His well known probity and lib
erality, and his pride in his Official record
here, and as Mayor Of Placerville, will
very likely conspire with conscientious
computations in the premises-inducing
him to refund what he inadvertently but
nevertheless actually signed away TO VIM.
Martin Gillespie, late City Clerk, without
right and in contraven,ion of clearly writ
ten law
We shall not be surprised, therefore, if
on tomorrow or perhaps mex, day, WI
hear of Mayor Jones returning to the City
Golfers the only sums tina, did improperly
slip off under his signature that We know
of as yet; >to-wit, S425. or 1927. paid
Gillespie for extra work." when doing
his simple duty, and no more, as City
Clerk. Then we shall have occasion,
anew, to congratulate the people OF Viz
ginia on the presiding over their City in
terests of a man unsurpassed in all the
attributes and qualifications that can pre-
eninen,ly adapt the individual for the
place.