Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-09-13
The StOlsn Vouchers not yet RecgV-
sred---eOnnoIIy Says He can
Replace Them.
The Ring BrOksn---lt Is now Hail
ans Sweeney We. Connolly and
TWsed---What the Press
Have to Say.
Where There Is so Much Smoke
There Must be Some Fire.
We Shall See.
HALTsLETTER To CONNOLLY.

| tlOn throughout the city last evening.
| There were various opinions in regard
to who stole the vouchers, and what
they were stolen for. Some think
the affair was one of the rings trick,
| for the purpose of forcing the Comp
troller to resign, and this theory
seemed to have acquired plausibilitY.
When very late last evening il
was announced that Hall had deliv-
| cred the Comptroller a cOmmunica-
| ton setting forth that he, as Mayor,
was constrained to conclude that the
exigency demanded his retirement
| from the head of the Finance Depart
nnent in order that another might
be placed there by the Mayor, who will
be enabled to investigate the affairs
of the COmptrOller's Office and restore
! public confidence. The Mayor adds
/ in his letter that as he cannot suspend
| any Of the persons at the heads Of de-
partments pending the inves tigatiOn,
and as the charges could only be re-
| ferred to the Court of Common Pleas,
/ which alone can remove, after con-
| siderable time and trial he is COM
| pelled to throw himself upon the
magnanimity Of the Comptroller in the
request made.
| CONNOLLY's ANSWER.
Comptroller Connolly has Just issued
his letter in reply to Mayor Halls
request for his resignation, which the
| Comptroller peremptOrily declines,
| and refers to circu stances which
places the conduct Of the Mayor in a
very questionable shape. The letter
has produced great excitement among
the Tammany people.
The following is COnnOlly's ans Wer
to Mayor Halls letter asking his re-
signstiOn:
COMPTROLLER's OFFICE,
New YORK, Sept, II, 1871,
Hon. A. Oakley Hall. Mayor:
My Dear SiT-YOUr letter of Sep
bember 11th, asking my resignation as
| Comptroller, was presented to me
last night at II o'clock. At inter
views, sought by yourself, similar yer
| bal requests from yourself and others
have been, within the last four weeks,
received and delivered. The official
course and subject matter Of your note
as then read to me and as published
by you in this mornings press, de-
manded and has received my earnest
/ EDlELuELdLAAlua - Z
| ton of papers from the Financial
Department, seems to be the reason
for your letter, so far as any is therein
suggested
In common with other city officers,
l now stand before the public and our
constituency charged with malfeas-
snce in the administration of high
trusts so long cOnfded to my care; and
| legal proceedings, wherein such
| charges are made and to be substan-
! tiated, If at all, are now being heard
| before a fearless and Just tribunal.
/ Nv answer thereto is before the pub
| lie and my complete defense is ready
/ to be presented both to that high
court, our constituents and to the
| citizens Of New York at large. My
/ counsel has urged, by my wish, a
| speedy trial and a rigid investigation.
I am fearless Of the result, and anxious
| for procedure. During the many
years of my administration Of
/ this Office I have not seen, and
/ fail now to see, any dimlnutiOn of
public confidence, and such fact would
/ have been readily marked, nothing
being more sensitive to general Opin-
| ion than financial administration. I
| beg leave to differ from your Honor in
thinking the robbery of my Office ere
ated any unexpected or sudden emer-
gency. I am not spprehensive that
either yourself or this community will
suspect that l am an accOmplice in
| that depreciation. I 8m happy to
assure you that il has effected no Sc
rious mischief. The archives of the
department contain abstracts of all the
stolen papers, and whoever planned
or executed the cZime has reaped no
benefit, and inflicted no injury upon
the public interests. Would not my
resignation at this particular time
give the advocates Of partisan attacks
upon the city government just cause
to believe me to plead guilty, not only
to a patiOn--at least passive-in
the burglary, but as well to all the
charges now made in the legal pro-
ceedingS. So Il seems to me that my
official acts have been supervised and
approved by your superior vigilance.
So far as my administration
is questioned, an equal responsibility
attaches to yourself. in your answer
and affidavit, read IN the pending liti-
cation, you have adopted and vindi-
Gated those acts. You could not justify
yourself without go doing. COnse-
Quently, l do not perceive why my
resignation should be asked, or how,
If rendered, 1t would have any Just in
fuence in appeasiDg popular clamOr.
Confident, therefore, in the steadfsst
good opinion Of friends in the ultimate
Judgment to berendered by the courts,
Il 81 u col
accede to your desire. I am unable to
submit myself a vicarious sacrifice to
satisfy the hungry appetite Of adver-
saries for a victim, or at this juncture,
and under these circumstances, beTey
weakness as to my position, or fear
rigid investigation, by rendering my
resignation l cannot now anticipate
the effect upon my determination that
future events may produce. When my
past administration shall be vindicated
and the pending accusation shall be
repelled, / shall not fail to act as may
seem to be demanded by the changed
circumstances which may then exist.
Very respectfully,
RICHARD B. CONNOLLY,
Comptroller.
ON WALL STREET.
On Wall street during the afternoon
when the decline was produced in Sc
curities, in which the Ring leaders
were especially interested, the city
stocks also fell of. Dislrust prevailed
on the street all day. Comptroller
Connolly was greatly dispiEited as he
had been diligently engaged last
week Ia the preparation OF accounts
which would explain the missing
vouchers. Many Of the ComptrOller's
friends claim that the vouchers have
been abstracted by some enemy OF
his for the purpose OF creating
the erroneous impression that ne was
privy to their extraction
HALL AND SWEENEY, vs.. TWEED AND
CONNOLLY.
1t has been asserted for some time
past that Hall has been anxious TO
have the place Of Connolly filed by
some other person. and that breach
had occurred between the ring, which
placed Hall and SWeeny in coalition
as against Tweed and Connolly, and
that the attack made upon the latter
two gentlemen In certain Democratic
papers, and the requests therein for
their resignation were inspired by the
former, who, in some newspaper arti-
cles, were the subjects of cOmmenda-
ton rather than attack; and it Is be-
lieved If Connolly had made way for
some one else, s0meof the gentieman's