The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-01-26

New YORK Charter Rcv1serss
The State Legislature is now engaged in the
work of perfecting the new charter for the
city of New York, and the committees on the
affairs of cities of the Senate and Assembly are
holding joint meetings for the purpose Of
affording persons interested in our municipal
government an opportunity of presenting their
several views on the subject Last week the
Committee of Seventy was represented in full
force at Albany, and offered numerous objec-
tons to the draft of charter prepared by the
republican committee, but suggested few alter
atoms that commend themselves to the Judg-
ment of the legislators The trouble with tne
Seventy appears to be that they desire to AT a
law to their own particular interests and to
interests of the present ofice-holders friendly
to their views, without regard to the perma-
nent good government of the city or to the
probability of future change in its personnel.
Mayor Havemeyer has been their chairman,
and appreciates their public services and their
qualifications for the leading positions in the
various municipal departments, and hence
they wish to place in his hands the unre-
stricted power of appointment to Office;
but they do not stop to reflect that Mayor
Havemeyer may be succeeded by an executive
in whose hands such power might not be so
discreetly and honestly exercised Others
who have propositions to submit in relation
to the new charter are similarly influenced by
Individual notions and interests, and demand
that the laws shall be shaped to meet these
special objects. The Legislature is not how
ever, called upon to frame charter for Mayor
Havemeyer, but for the city of New York; it
is not legislating for the interests of the Com
mittee of Seventy. but for the interests of the
Committee of One Million-of all the resi-
dents of the metropolis. It will fail to do its
duty or to satisfy the people unless the
charter it now gives the city shall be one
founded on broad principles of polity. with
proper safeguards thrown around every de-
partment, from the highest to the lowest, SO
that the public protection against misrule and
official dishonesty shall not be dependent
solely upon the personal integrity of the
Mayor or of any other municipal officer, but
shall rest upon the solid basis of an efficient,
responsible and well guarded government.
The main features of the charter drawn
by the republican committee have met with
general approval, but on some few points i'm
provement can no doubt be made. It is pro-
posed to give the appointment of heads of
departments to the Mayor, subject to conirma-
ton by the Board of Aldermen. This follows
out the system prevailing in the national and
State governments, but there should be some
means by which good appointments may be
made certain in case of disagreement between
the Executive and the Aldermanic body.
Without this, Objectionable officers might be
kept in power by collision with majority of
the Aldermen, or the Mayor might be coerced
into making nominations which his Judgment
disapproved. When the Aldermen fail to con-
firm the Mayors appointees the absolute
power Of appointment should vest in some
authorities who would command public conf
dence. The Mayor should, of course, be in
cluded in any such appointing board, and his
associates should be Independent of the Execu-
tive, such as the President Of the Board of
Aldermen and, say, the Chief Commissioner
of Taxes and Assessments. Great caution
should be exercised in the formation of the
Board of Apportionment and in the
remodelling Of the Finance Department
which, under the Tammany rule, was built
up into an enormous political power for
the use and benefit of Comptroller Con-
molly. The recent attempt of Mr.. Green to
absorb the patronage Of the Chamberlain
Bureau will direct public attention to that
portion of Mayor Havemeyers Message in
which he condemns the practice of making
commissioners of the municipal departments
members of the Board Of Apportionhent, and
thus enabling them to pass upon their own
estimates. Under the present system Mr..
Van Mort, the Commissioner of Public Works,
and Mr.. Green, the Commissioner of Parks,
are both members of the Board of Apportion-
ment, and as such vote upon their estimates
for those departments. In Mr.. GREEN'S case
the evil is the most glazing, since he also has
enormous patronage as the head of the Finance
Department, and not only passes upon the
estimates for that Department, as well as for
the Department of Parks, but, as Comptroller,
audits and pays all his own bills in both de-
partments and the numerous bureaus
attached thereto. The power he thus
Yields is too great to be wisely concentrated in
any one public officer. AS head of the
Finance Department Mr.. Green appoints an
army Of ofice-holders. Besides the patronage
of his own Office he controls the Bureau of
City Revenue, the Bureau of Collection of
Taxes, the Bureau of Arrears, the Auditing
Bureau, the Bureau of Collector Of Arrears of
Personal Taxes, the Bureau Of Markets,
and the appointment of numerous sui
ordinates. The present heads of these
bureaus in their order are as follows-
Thomas Dunlap, democrat, appointed by
Richard b. Connolly and reannointed hv