The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-01-11

Tho Clty Rsssuces and che Powers 81
CousDsrsiior Grocs.
The Legislature yesterday acted upon the
suggestions made in the HERALD in regard to
the bill comforting extraordinary powers upon
Comptroller Green, and passed simply that
portion of the measure which authorizes that
officer TO raise and apply the funds necessary
to meet the city bonds and interest now falling
due. 1t is to be hoped that no attempt will
be made to revive the discarded provisions;
they have already been generally condemned
as creating q violent revolution in the
city government when no such extreme
policy is demanded by the public voice
or for the public good, and recent events
have removed all pretence for their enactment
We have now q Board Of Aldermen In which
our citizens repose confidence, and the cleo
ton Of John Coohraue as Its presiding officer
gives US an Acting Mayor, during the with
drawal of Mayor Hall from his official duties,
whose capacity and sterling integrity are un-
questioned. The Departments are In the
the city are well and economically managed; in
the Departments of Public Works and Parks, In
the several courts and city Offices, the expen-
ditures have been materially reduced
by the removal of all drones, sine
curists and incompetent employees the
finances are administered by an honest
man. There can be no cause for making any
further changes or any experiments at this
time In our municipal machinery, and the
wisest and most prudent course to pursue Is
to suffer the city to remain in its present con-
dition until the Legislature shall have care
fully matured new charter, under which we
can re-establish an efficient and permanent
municipal government.
It must not be supposed that our opposition
to Senator Benedicts bill, as originally intro
duced, implies any want of confidence in
Comptroller Green. As the head Of the
Finance Department of the city, he should be
afforded every facility necessary to disem-
barrass the government. to pay the honest
creditors Of the municipality, and to maintain
the public credit untarnished. No power or
authority that he could ask in this direction
should be withheld from him. But it is no
part of his duties, as an appointed officer
himself to create offices or to make
appointments in the several departments
and we are convinced that he cannot
desire any such responsibility, especially when
no public interest is to be subserved there
by. The executive power is vested in the
Mayor, and should there really be any neces-
sity for further changes in the subordinate
executive departments the temporary power
to remove, appoint and create should be vested
in President Cochrane, and not in Comptroller
Green. As we have already said, We can see
no present necessity for further temporary
legislation, unless 1t should be such as
financial emergency may require; but
if it should be deemed expadient
to bridge over the time that must
elapse before q new charter can be enacted
and an election under its provisions can take
place, the Legislature, by a simple amend
ment of the existing charter, should confer
upon the President of the Board of Aldermen,
while filing the duties Of Acting Mayor, the
power of appointment and removal throughout
the whole city government. Such power
would be as faithfully and discreetly exercised
by John Cochrane as by Comptroller Green,
and the executive and financial branches
OF the city government would both
be confined to their legitimate flnc-
tons. The principle Of comforting greater
authority upon the Executive is one for which
the people contend, and hence the course we
recommend would not be open to the objec-
tions urged against Senator Benedicts bill,
which was condemned as departure from all
our ordinary ideas of sound municipal gov
eminent, and as creating violent revolution
in our city affairs only as temporary expe-
dent to meet questionable emergency.
THE FACTION FIeHrINa IN NEW ORLEANS
continues as bitterly as ever. According to
our dispatches the death of Wheyland is
attributed to Garter, inasmuch as he was an
accessory before the fact, though it is not
stated whether he ordered the shooting or not.
After the verdict of Coroner Creagh had been
made public Warmoth intimated that he had
ordered Carter's arrest. The New Or
leans press stigmatizes the whole affair as
disgusting in the extreme; and while on the
one hand call for federal Intervention is
raised to prevent further bloodshed and cripple
the power of the rowdies, who are now violat-
ing every law known to civilized communi-
ties, on the other side the merchants cry aloud
l. L.