New-York tribune., 1869-05-11
MAYOR HALL-THE SWLNDLING TAX Levy.

MAYOR HALL-IHE SWLNDLINU LA LEI l.
Mr., Oakley Hall took the trouble to tele-
graph from Albany his personal and official"
assurances that the Assembly tax levies are all
right. AS Oakley aforesaid is understood TO
have prepared them, and is about the only
person who has yet been permitted carefully to
examine them, he speaks with all the force
which knowledge Of the case gives. I'm
fortunately, beside the fact that he labors
under the disadvantage of the partiality which
parent has for his child, the public is disposed
from his past associations, to receive his assur-
ances with all the dstrust with which they
receive the assertions of a convicted thief as
to the righteousness Of his transactions. But
even Oakey's praise is qualified. The Assembly
levies are only $35O,OOO larger than the big
swindes OfTast year. Such little one J" as the
peccant maid explained. Even to reduce IL
to these alleged insignificant proportions ne mas
TO except bonds authorized to be issued and
judgments In other words, the sum the citizens
are to pay is very small, if we leave out the
claims in the Sheriff's hands and those on which
q little time is to be given in which to make
the payment. Alas, that these two classes
should cover such large amounts.
We beg leave to assure Mayor Hall that
the mind of the public is made up as to these
levies, and that there are some facts which
he can neither telegraph nor joke away, ofncial-
ly or personally. The public know that the
levies were passed by the Senate at an aggre-
oregate sum of about S5,6000O0; that the
Democratic leaders in the Senate voted for
them at this amount; that they did not then
pretend that these enormous additions
were needed, nor even suggest them.
The public know that these levies were
sent from the Senate to the Assembly
some weeks since; that the Mayor and
Controller took care that they should not be
reported from the Assembly Committee till
Friday, and that then they came in with no
dissenting report from the Democratic member
of the Committee. The public know that when
the levles came up for consideration in the
Assembly. on Friday, mOngrel Republican
from Brooklyn rose and offered entirely new
bills as substitutes; that these new bills were
handed to the Brooklyn members by
the Controller of the city; that they
were fully engrossed, and had been
so since the Sunday previous, but that down
to that moment no human being outside of the
Democratic ring had seen or heard of them.
The public know that they were passed in the
Assembly without being read, with the votes
of all the Democrats but one (though many i'll
private denounced them), and with the votes
of a dozen or more Republicans, (every one
previously regarded as anything but models
of integrity; and that these Republicans
so voted after interviews with the leading
lobbyists
The public know, too that the bills teem
with swindling items, to say nothing of the
regular allowances increased even beyond the
Controllers own official estimates. Not less than
$2J0,000 is given in charitable appropriations
chiefly to sectaran schools, bearing the names
of every imaginable Saint. Beside this, over
100000 is appropriated not only for this year
but for every year hereafter, to be
distributed expressly among sectaran schools
not named. Then there is the item of S50O,000
to buy piers which the city don't want; 100000
for back salaries to volunteer liremen 100000
for an oflal depot, to be purchased, it is said,
from Senator, when for seven years the city
cannot, unless it breaks its contracts, have any
offal to take there 100000 for Fish concrete
pavement; $4,000 for Judgments mostly OBJ
tanned in violation of law; SSOOOOO for
the new Court House, in violation of
an explicit pledge of last year that no more
should be asked; $4,000 for refurnishing the
Controllers Office; q long list of increases of
salary, including many heretofore made by the
Common Council in direct violation Of law,
and brigade of smaller swindles. Beside all
these, nearly all the restrictive clauses of the
Senate levies are stricken out, and, instead of
the aggregate of s5,GOOOOO with which they
left the Senate, they now amount to $9,2OOOOO.
Mayor Hall is grieyously mistaken if he sup
poses any number of teegraphc dispatches
can persuade his honest constituents that this
increase is a joke.
Probably no State Legislature has ever car