New-York tribune., 1871-06-14
POLITICAL.

THE CITY's FINANCES AND SINKING FUND.
To The EDITOR OF The Trsbsns.
SIR: found your of truth and justice %
open to statement Of the facts in a former conmu-
nicaton relative 10 the City securities, that ven
ture to send you again statement the same sub
ject III another shape. My former note related 10
the status OF the funded debt of the City from the
point of view in which was interested as an Investor
would now add, from the same data. an answer IA
your question as to tho alleged discrepancy between
the statement certified and published last Fall dated
Oct. s. 1870, over the signatures Of Messrs Astor.
Taylor Roberts, and other gentlemen WHO examined
the Controllers accounts, and the other Statements
which are now given to the public as the Controllers
report of the condition of the Sinking Fund.
The following will show exactly the state Of thai
fund at tho time of the examination by the Com
mittee aud the amounts paid off as wen az accnm
lated SINCE and, as you will observe verify and
reconcile the two reports:
The amount OF the sinking fund, as reported
by Moses Taylor, MarshalSO Roberts, &C..
e in stocks o. S and TsS bonSS M P & Of y tot
Of New York, amounting sls,ossiSa a
Also 0utstanding bonds and mortgages held
~ the City, which. when collected, go to
this fund ia7i,5s7 "a
Total at that date s2o,ssi.oI
=, sinking Fund at that date Issse4s4 y
OF stocks OF the City OF NewYork. failing
due on the lst day Of November, 1870 viz:
Croton Water stock OF 1870 re.
Building Loan stock, No 3d.. Ge,OOo %.
flre Indemnity stock $3.50 90
Expenses advertising. &c..... 1878 I3- 2s2i.ssa 10
.sisi,7ss Of
soe529 81 bonds and mortgages paid OIL. aOoss.s 1
Capital May ls5i tsee Mayors Messaee). sisn57nV
InUcsted as fouoDs:
Stocks and bonds las per Controllers repOru
Of Of dividends May & c, r7sIO8
ing Fund after dividend books were closed uooO 90
Add cash on hand after providing for out
standing amounts ss7C7S ~
, hs,2l57uG
mortgages unpaid on May l, 1911.
Amount as reported by Taylor
Add received since ................ is4s %
S,ssO,iOsT 70
above receipts................... $500 81
- I,Se7T5 y
Available OF Sinking Fund May l. II SIg5l95l6
Here You will observe that the condition Of Il
Sinking Fund, as stated by the Committee, is vere
by the payments and investments since made an
that the operations of that fund leave a capital
nearly twenty millions stl on hand in that account
1t does not seem to me necessary to correct tho
distorted statements of the City debt and current
expenditures, when the footing is presented in such
a shape as to include revenue bonds as well
assessment bonds in the aggregate for mere pul
poses Of Misrepresentation. Revenue bonds are th
temporary vouchers or receipts issued in advance
the collection of the taxes and the assessment BONDS
are but the Endorsements or advances made by th
City to meet contracts and paycurrent expenses OF
the government in anticipation of funds TO be paid
in from private property benefited by the public i'm
provements 1t is fair say that all should b.
doubled up together as statement of aggregate.
1t is simply absurd to foot up the sum of tho
taxes and the loans scrip issued in anticipation OF
them as the total of expenditures. 1t is simply the
old Joke of giving your clerk thousand a year an
lending him money in advance, so as to charge
on the ledger as two thousand. But the confused
result of fifty different acts of the Legislature in as
many different issues Of bonds, has sadly needed
the new process of consolidation, or, as 1T nigh
better be termed, simplifcatiOn. As find that thh
law can be carried out with saving Of one or ono
and half per cent on interest, and the gain OF
premium of six to eight per cent on the whole debt
the result should be hastened as much as possible.
The ridiculous confusion which is observed in the
statements called forth by the Mayors Message and
Controllers Report is uniform in all the City press
that the task of clearing the matter up is not to bs
reached very easily. B.
Netc- York, June Is, 1871.