The New York herald., 1872-12-29

ment would again request that the same be
furnished as required without further delay. :"
No such reports were ever furnished, and o
year has been suffered by Comptroller Green
to pass away without any interest ON the city
deposits being paid into the treasury for the
benefit of the taxpayers. The city and county
balances in the hands of the banks have
reached the enormous average daily amount
of five millions and half for the whole year,
and thus the taxpayers have been defrauded
out of some two hundred and twenty thousand
dollars
Comptroller Green has made no direct off,
cial explanation of his singular action. Indi-
rectly he at first professed ignorance of the
fact that no interest had been paid by the
banks on the city deposits, and pretended to
believe that the amounts had been credited to
the several accounts as directed by him last
December. We exposed the falsity of this
pretence by showing that the Comptroller
must know of every dollar paid into the bank
to the city and county account, and that he
receives weekly statements from the Chamber
lain of the exact amount placed to the city 8
credit The Comptroller must, therefore, have
been aware that no interest whatever was
allowed or credited on deposits, even if the
failure of the banks for whole year to make
the reports called for by him in December
and February last had not sufficiently ap-
prised him of the fact Driven from
this excuse the Comptroller endeavors
to raise side issues, first. by pretending
that Chamberlain Palmer and not the
Comptroller, was responsible for the non-pay-
ment Of the interest when he had himself
tied the Chamberlain's hands and pre-
vented him from receiving the interest. and
next by denouncing the appointment Of
bank President as City Chamberlain, and ac-
cusing the Chamberlain Of illegal action in
appointing his own deputy and paying his
salary, the Comptroller claiming that the ap-
pointment of the Deputy Chamberlain should
be made by himself, and that the Chamber
lain ''has no right to draw money out Of the
public treasury to pay the salary Of the
deputy, Except on warrant signed in the
usual way" We know nothing and care moth
ing about Chamberlain Palmer's action in the
matter, but the policy Of appointing banker
as Chamberlain is by no means new. Shep-
pard Knapp, while Chamberlain, was Presi-
dent of the Mechanics Bank. Chamberlain
Edmonds during his term Of Office was Presi-
dent Of the same bank, and Chamberlain Stout
was President Of the Shoe and Leather Bank.
If Comptroller Green knows anything of the
city laws he must be aware that the law of
1866 gives the Chamberlain directly the ap-
pointnent of his deputy, and that the salary
Of that officer is not drawn out of the city
treasury at all, but is paid by the banks hold
ing the city deposits
Comptroller Green cannot by these shifts
evade the responsibility of having stopped the
payment Of interest on the city and county
deposits and thus taken out Of the pockets Of
the taxpayers unnecessarily in year over two
hundred and twenty thousand dollars. The
impression prevails that his personal jealousies
and enmities induced this singular and repre-
hensible course; that he was resolved that
neither Chamberlain Sweeny nor Chamberlain
Palmer should receive the credit Of the crea-
ton Of an important fund for the benefit OF
the taxpayers, which the one had inaugurated
and the other was desirous Of carrying to still
greater success At all events the Comptrol-
Ter is bound to explain to the citizens an act
which upon its face bears very questionable
appearance. The people would like to know
why an officer who has been involving the
city in suspicious litigation, and who has dis
played such excessive watchfulness over the
pay rolls Of laborers and the accounts of scrub
women, should have shown SO much incom-
potency and neglect in matter involving the
loss Of quarter Of million dollars to the pub
lie treasury. When the Comptroller explains
this singular piece Of official blundering we
have some other questions to put to him on
the subject of his management Of the financial
department Of the city government.