The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-02-17

DIR LAW OFFICERS.

yUha, vb.v D,d Durtns Is,O- Defects Ia the
Road Jury Laws-BiG saIts and Their End
iBas-City solicitor Worrai's An"aHt REPORT
We have been permitted to see the annual re-
mort of the City Solicitors Department, or the
Department of Law. Mr.. Worrall says
The past year has been one of unprecedented
labor ia the history of this department, multi
plying and increasing with each month, until at
fast the mere attention to trials lud executive
duties engrossed all the time vi myself 2 al as
sistants, leaving no interim for research OF ue-
liberation.
Office there have been 129 common law actions,
TO which the city was party, down Tor trial In
the several courts-11S in the District Court 10
in the Common Pleas, and l at Nisl Frlus;
Many of these were not tried, but they required
the same care and preparation as If they had
been, and the personal attendance of myself or
assistants was necessary III court ln each case.
Among those adjudicated was that of Prowat-
tain VS.. the city, in which the plaintiff sought to
recover damages TO the extent of $4,000, done TO
the drainage of his lot by the Board OF Health
iu abating nuisance. The plaintiff was nom
suited. Two of the suits by the contractors for
cleansing the streets, to recover the contract
price for the same up to the time the act trans
ferring the cleansing OF the streets to the Board
of Health was passed, have been tried, aud as
the contractors were entitled to some amount
Crawford received $23S4 "a, instead of 8670S n
claimed, and McGlue $1,000. instead of SS2SI
In the case of Blanche Williams, claiming dam
ages for injuries received at Fairmount, the jury
In the DlStrlCL court aWaTueQ utT ElOOOV.
The case involving the largest amount of
money tried by this department during the year
was Jenkins q Taylor VS.. the City, commonly
known as the Ncolson pavement case. The
Supreme Court having finally decided that the
property owners were not liable for the cost of
laying this pavement on Broad street. the con-
tractors sued the city for the price thereof,
amounting to $l12,000. The jury rendered a
verdict against the city for the full amount. On
my motion for q new trial. the Court has set
aside this verdict, and the is now to be tried
again at some future day.
At the present time there are twenty-five
road cases in active operation, in each OF which
the jury are meeting at least once a week, To
view, hear testimony and arguments of coun-
sci. Many of these cases involve large claims
for damages. One of them is for widening a
street for two and half miles, in which there
are forty-eight separate claimants for damages,
and seventeen counsel; and there are several
others not far behind this one in magnitude. In
each of these cases the city is represented by
myself or assistants. There are some radical
defects in the present system of conducting these
cases, viz.:-There is no power to compel the
attendance of witnesses; there is no person
clothed with authority to exclude improper tes-
timony; the jurymen, by the act of 1870, must
be selected from the ward in which the street
is located, and are thereby affected by local and
social influences in favor of or against claim
ant. These defects ought to be remedied by
proper legislation.
There have been over two hundred cases for
and against the city before aldermen during the
past year, at each OF which one OF my assistants
appeared. 1854 municipal claims have beeu
fled
The most important cases for the city, exist.
ing during the year, were those commonly
known as the Schuylkill Navigation cases, being
suits brought by that company for damages
caused by the appropriation of the water in the
Schuylkill for city purposes. These number 400,
One of these was tried as a test case before
Judge Thayer. The court charged against the
city, and the jury rendered in accordance there
with. writ of error has been TAKEN the case
has been fully argued, and the matter is still
under advisement
The collections of the department can only
be given from the date of my taking possession
of the same. They are as follows
From water-pipe claims. ........... $9,3S7 SO
insurance 90 ............. S794i
p" assessments for the opening of
new streets. ts.........'......... 26 $40 O3
interest and cost on claims 1851
- railroads ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 7.45S'4G
all other sources Ian IS
Total reneints S46 741 .3E