The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-02-02

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been 80 thoroughly ventilated and admitted
that we did not expect 90 strong recommend
alton Of it After careful perusal of the re-
port we are unable to appreciate the advan-
tages which 1t is said to Offer. On the con-
trary, In point Of tediousness Of construction,
extravagant outlay and injury to property, we
are more than ever convinced Of its inexpe-
diency. In referring to the successful con-
struction Of the London underground line the
report omits to state the very different condi-
tons under which that work was executed.
Of the three great parallel thoroughfares
which traverse London the route was selected
for the undertaking which offered the greatest
these reasons but little danger Of interfering
with the sewers and gas mains or of shaking
the foundations Of the buildings. Should such
line be attempted here it will injure an in
calculable amount of property and give rise to
endless litigation. Besides these objections
we have to take into consideration the time
that will be consumed in its construction.
The city wants immediate relief from the an
noyances to which 1t is subjected by the pre-
sent 0vercr0wded and ill-conducted system Of
transportation. II 1t be committed 10 the un-
dergr0und plan it will be years before II can
derive any benefit from it The upper portion
Of the island is composed Of hard rock, and
the process Of excavation will necessarily be .
very tedious and difficult one. Az regards
expense It will increase it to point that will
render il much costlier than any Of the
other plans proposed. We don't want
10 20 into On undertaking like the tun-
nelling Of Mount Gents, or tho Hoosic
tunnsl in Massachusetts,, which will CON
sumo dozen Or fifteen years In execu-
ton, and viii then neoessitate . charge for
travel that will defeat the object Of the
work. We repeas hat tho only system Of
lines which can give immediate and cheap
relief to the city Is that running through the
yards Of The houses parallel with tho great
leading thoroughfares and traversing the cross
streets q such en- elevation - will not inter
fere viii The existing tFaalc. Seven or eight
roads constructed on this plan would give al
the accommodation required and would enable
US TO remove the horse cars which have 90 cut
up and disdgured our streets. We believe
that oil the property necessary for the purpose
could be purchased ct much lower cost than
that Of The underground plan; for Il would only
interfere with back buildings and would leave
the stores and dwellings untouched. We trust
that when The report comes up for discussion
these facts viii receive due consideration, and
that no plan will be decided upon that does
not combine the two essentials Of expedition
and economy. or al the projects submitted
certainly that Of IN underground railway is
the least recommendable In both these respects.
Raids On City Property The Duty 81 tho Csr-
psrattsa.
We publish to-day an interesting communi-
cation from Mr.. Richard O'Gorman, Counsel TO
the Corporation, addressed to Mayor Holman,
in relation to the proposed conveyance Of a
portion Of the Battery to the United States for
the nominal consideration Of Eve dollars.
While the present able protest of the Cor
poration Counsel refers only to the attempted
sacrifice Of this particular piece Of pro-
perty, ib clear and convincing argument
covers all cases Of . similar character, and
destroys al blow the proposed sale Of the
lower portion of the City Hall Park a. one
sixth of its value, and tho whole batch Of jobs
connected Herewith.
Mr.. O'G0rman shows that the Corporation
cannot derive the power thus to dispose Of the
public property under any legislative act
authorizing them to convey real estate belong
ing to the city 'upon such terms and for such
price ~ may be agreed on with the federal
authorities" The real estate Of the city and
the net proceeds thereof, whenever sold, are
pledged to the public creditors The Commits
sionen Of the sinking fund are constituted
trustees for the city and its creditors and are
empowered to sell the real estate Of the city,
but then only whom IL is not in use or reserved
for public purposes, and upon the terms which,
after an apprsisement Of Its value, they may
6nd the most advantageous for the public
interests. II il clear. therefore, that any real
estate belonging to the city, If sold by any
authority, can only be disposed Of at sum
bearing q fair proportion to its actual value.
This II Q duty owed to the public creditors
and which cannot be evaded. The real estate
OF the city 10 held in trust as security for the
payment Of their claims, and the proceeds Of
is sale must be applied TO the reduction OF the
city debt
This legal objection disposes OF the attempt
Of Hoffman, the Mayor, to sell to Hoffman, the
Commissioner on the part Of the United States
for the sum Of half million dollars, portion
Of the City Hall Park, valued at three millions
and thus to plumber the city and is creditors Of
two millions and half Of dollars in the trans
action. Public meetings should be called at
once 10 endorse the Corporation Counsel's
action and 10 protest against the consumms-
ton Of this outrage. The people should put
their veto on the whole batch Of new city jobs
and stop these guerilla raids upon the city