The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-01-22
LOCAL MATTERS.
OFFICIAL CHARGES OF CORRUP-
TTON.
Action of the Council on the Case of
the City Assessor.


the City Assessor.
At a called meeting: of the City Council
yesterday afternoon the following report
from the Committee on Finance was pre-
septed:
+" To the President and Members of the City
Council:
Gentlemen, Tho Committee of FL
nance have had under consideration the
report in the case of D. M. Miller, which
was recommitted to them by order of the
Council.
SIN addition to the testimony heretofore
reported your committee would call at
tention to the letter Of Mr.. J. L. Reeve, Of
Winston & Reeve, herewith exhibited,'
from which it appears that Mr.. Miller
stated to him that he was authorized to
receive the tax on merchants licenses,
and demanded the sum of five dollars
from said firm, which was not paid. This
firm commenced business in April last.
Since the money was demanded Of Mr..
Reeve, D. NJ. Miller, the Assessor, has
made out list Of those who commenced
business after his books were made out,
duu ICtuluCu IL w buC AoulGOl SluSO lho
placed it in the hands of the City Collector,
upon which list appears the names of
Messrs. Winston & Reeve, assessed at ten
dollars. This list was furnished to the
Collector about the 1st of December.
"Your committee have not deemed it
necessary to defer the investigation for the
purpose of procuring further testimony in
support of the charge of official corruption,
because in their opinion the testimony be-
fore them is sufficient to enable them to
come to a proper and satisfactory conclu-
sion upon that question. Your committee
were willing, however, and offered to give
Mr.. Miller any reasonable time he might
ask to procure testimony in his behalf,
either for the purpose of impeaching the
witnesses examined by your committee, or
for any other purpose he might deem rele-
want to the inquiry before them. No tes-
timony was offered by him.
"The testimony taken by your commit
tee and heretofore briefly reported to the
Council. establishes the fact that in four
cases Mr.. Miller, in violation Of his duty
as City Assessor, did propose to parties
who were, or should have been, assessed
with taxes, that if they would pay him the
several sums of money demanded by him,
he would relieve them, in whole or in
part, of the payment Of the several sums
with which it was his duty to assess them.
In these cases, for the reasons assigned by
the witnesses in their several statements,
the money demanded by the Assessor was
not paid. See the testimony of Mr.. Ell
lick and wife, Andrew Shutz, Captain
John Hill, and W. Jackson, contained in
the former report.
"The testimony, in the opinion of your
committee, further proves that Mr.. Miller,
in violation of his duty as City Assessor,
received from Thomas Neagle the sum of
S25 for the privilege of selling liquor, of
0. II. P. C. Jones the sum Of $25 for the
privilege of keeping bar, in payment of
the taxes with which they should have
been severally assessed for such privileges,
and that he omitted to enter the names of
said persons on his books or list as charge
able with such taxes.
HThe witnesses in the case unim-
peached and opposed to their statements,
we have the solemn denial of the officer,
his protestation Of innocence, and the plea
Of faithful service for a period of twenty
seven years, during which time no official
mlSCOQOuCG was Cfcl upulOu w
"Your committee have felt the full in
fluence of the considerations urged by
Mr.. Miller, but they cannot hold them sut-
ficient to overthrow the uncontradlcted
testimony of unimpeached witnesses.
"Painful as the duty is, your committee
are constrained by a sense of justice and
their obligations to the public service to
report that D. NJ. Miller has been proved
to have been guilty, in repeated instances,
of malfeasance in his office OF City Asses
sor, and they recommend that he be re-
moved from the same.
"Your committee submit the following
preamble and resolution for adoption;
"Whereas the Council of the city of
Richmond, at the request of D. M. Miller,
City Assessor, referred to the Committee
of Finance for investigation certain rumors
of official misconduct, and the said COM
mittee having reported that the testimony
taken by them proves the said D. M. Miller
to have been guilty, in repeated instances,
of malfeasance in office therefore
RESOLVED, That D. M. Miller, City AS
SCISSOR, be and he is hereby removed from
said Office.
Respectfully submitted,
"DAvID J. SAUNDERS,
"Chairman of Finance Committee"
Mr.. Macfarland, president, said that
vote of concurrence in the resolution
would involve the removal of Mr.. Miller
from Office. The vote was then taken, and
the report unanimously concurred in;
whereupon So
The President declared the Office of City
Assessor vacant.
On motion of Mr.. Saunders, the Pres
ident and two members of the Council
were appointed committee to wait on
General Schofeld, and to ask that no AS
SCISSOR be for the present appointed.
On motion of Mr.. Saunders, the ordl-
nance about assessment of property was re-
ferred to the Finance Committee for re-