The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-01-20

| The Comptroller's Battle for the Cham
! DsriaInsnfp--A Suggestion for the
state Lsgisiaturs.
Whatever may be the decision of Judge
Barbour in the case of Palmer against Foley,
in regard TO the appointment of the Deputy
Chamberlain. II is evident that Comptroller
Green, who is 30 eager to undertake the man.
agemont of the Chamberlain's bureau, is igno-
rant Of the practical business of the office,
and would be likely to involve 1t in inex'rica-
BILE confusion. In the matter of the interest
on the city deposits the Comptroller refused
to allow the interest to BE- collected by the
Chamberlain and paid over to the credit of
done by Chamberlains Sweeny and Bradley,
after deducting the expenses of the bureau,
and insisted that the banks holding the do
posts should calculate the daily interest
accruing on each separate fund, credit the
same to that fund, and pay the several
amounts only on the warrant of the Comp
troller, countersigned by the Mayor or the
President of the Board of Supervisors, accord
ing as the accrued interest might belong TO q
city or county fund.
This order is of isself sufficient to show the
unfamiliarity of the Comptroller with the SIM
plest business of the Chamberlain Office. One
bank alone is designated by the Chamberlain
as the depository of the public moneys, but
the law provides that at least three banks shall
hold the deposits or balances which shall be
equalized as far as practicable between them.
The designated bank originally receives oil the
into either of the other banks-and keeps
regular account of the several separate funds.
When portions OF the balances are transferred
to the other banks of deposit they are drawn
out of the designated bank in lump sum on
warrant signed by the Chamberlain and
countersigned by the Comptroller, and the
banks receiving them receive them in lump
sum, and have no record of the particular
funds to which they belong. If these banks
pay interest at all they must pay it in one
sum, without regard to the separate funds,
and hence they could not, if they would, obey
Comptroller Green's singular and unautho-
rized directions
We could multiply instances to show how
detrimental to the public interests it would be
to crafty the Comptroller's unaccountable
ambition to draw the Chamberlain's Office
under his immediate and direct control We
could show the injustice and absurdity of
forcing the Chamberlain, who is under one
million two hundred thousand dollars bonds
for the safe keeping of the public moneys, and
who has frequently millions within his reach,
to accept at the hands of third party
deputy who is by law clothed with all the
powers of his principal except that of desig
mating the banks of deposit, and who could at
any moment bring the responsible head Of the
bureau to ruin. The very absurdity Of
the proposition should suffice to prove
that the law could never have contemplated
such an injustice. But it is only necessary
now to point out the importance of some i'm
mediate legislative action by which the pow
ers, duties and responsibilities of the several
city departments and bureaus shall be def
nitely settled, SO that the disgracefur and in
furious conflict of authority and departmental
squabbling and fighting, to which the city has
| for the past twelve months been subjected,
may be brought to speedy close. Judge Bar
bour's decision will probably prevent repeti-
ton of the scandalous scene enacted in the
Chamberlain s Office few days since; but there
are other public offices that are either kept in
turmoil or paralyzed by similar contests, and
the sooner the Legislature puts an end to
them, one way or another, the better it will be
for the credit of the city.