New-York tribune., 1871-08-28
WHAT TIE ACCUSED SAY FOR THEM

SELDES AND 1HEIH SEhJIIOHo
Whatever judgment may be passed upon the
charges and proofs on which our Municipal
rulers stand arraigned, no impartial judge can
doubt that the defenses set up are the weakest
and most damaging that were ever profieIed
in a civilized community. just ponder once
more this extract from Mayor Halls last man
ifestO:
"We are all generally familiar with those legislative
events which preceded attended, or followed the pas
sage popularly known the city Charter and the
superysors Law of 1870. These laws could not have
been enacted unless some compromise OF personal,
official, and political differences between legislators, or
between them and county or city officials had been first
made Tho recovery OF supreme local government by
the city and county appeared t. large majority OF the
commonalty to be OF vital importance. IL would have
been inconsistent in the highest degree to retain cleo
tive independent Board of Supervisors, some leg
islaors wished. Beside the existing Board was com
posed Of both Republicans and Democrats and tho effect
OF moOted change would be to make s new members
entirely OF party Democratic and to legsate out OF
Office all who Republicans. Many legislators were
found prepared to vote the Charter who would not
vote for the of the Board of Supervisors unless
some means could devised whereby all existing con
tracts and claims then pending before the old Board
should be paid"
Comments by The Tribune.
The Legislature of 1870 was Democratic in
both Houses SO was the Governor. SO was
the old Board of Supervisors. So was every
other department of the Municipal adminiStra-
ton To be sure, four of the twelve Supervi-
sOrs had been elected as Republicans; but they
had no rights which Democratic Legislature
was bound to respect and they neither were
nor pretended to be able to do aught for their
party as Supervisors. The Republicans had
twice aided to elect anti-Tammany Democratic
Supervisors expressly that the Board should
not be longer equally divided in politics, and
so their party responsible for half its iniquites.
Who was it, then, who could it be, that the
aforesaid Democratic Governor, Senate, and
Assembly, wereE obliged to compromise with
In order to "recOver supreme local govern
"ment by the City and Countyp Most GER
tainly, no Republican obstacle thereto any
where existed. And, as to existing contracts
and Claims" why devise a Board to ratify
the former or pass and pay the latteri We
thought we had heard the old Board accused
of every possible iniquity, but no one ever
charged it with unwillingness to recognize
contracts or pay claims.
-Perplexed and amazed by the Mayors
cloudy utterance, we turn to the more per-
That journal, disdaining antiquities, squarey
says:
"what he the MayorI says on that matter is true and
defensibe; but to notion he would have improved
it by being little honest and blunt. We prefer
taking the bull by the horns. Why should anybody at
this late day. attempt TO screen the fact that the passage
the Charter and its attendant measures was the
result of a legislative bargain, 10 which the Republicans
and Tweed Democrats were partes The fact ia noto-
~ t.,-.
abolish the old Board Of Supervisors directly after the
passage Of the Charter. Tha, Board was universally
denounced the most corrupt part OF bad system and
all honest citizens desired its extinction there was
pending In II mass OF unsettled business and IL could
not have been abolished without some method OF clear
ing of old There great arrear OF unsatised
claims and unpaid bills honest otherwse) which had
been authorized by the Board and In whose settlement
many Republicans and many Democrats had an iptere.t
These interested parties had much influence in the
lobby and Legislature that they would have defeated
the bill for the abolition Of the Board OF Supervisors II
they had not been assured that those pending claims
should be paid The choice lay between letting the old
accepting and paying the bills already incurred. II was
made" '
Cross -eramined for the plaintiff
Messieurs of The World! if you know what
you have above affirmed to be true, then Won
know more, and can tell it. On behalf of the
taxpayers, we demand of you the names of
those Republicans Qeaving you to deal as Won
will with the Democrats) who had cold
scores" charged up against the City, which
which were 80 bad that even that old Board of
Supervisors would MT pass them, so that they
had to bargain for special tribunal-a tribu-
nal composed of Messrs. Tweed, Oakley Hall
and Connolly-which supervisor Foley says)
passed over Sir Millions of Dollars of those
tainted Claims at one sitting, and added
their amount to the "Accpmulated Debtr of
this County. viii you give US the namesi
Here is tho very grayest mputation of