The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-04-17


the last three months, came to an end yester-
day by the concurrence of the Assembly in all
the amendments made by the Senate to the
New York city charter and the final passage
of the bill in the exact shape in which it left
the latter body The bone of contention has
all along been the manner in which the sew
eral heads Of departments and other officers
should be appointed. Those leaders known
as the Custom House "Ring," headed by ex-
Collector Thomas Murphy, and representing
more directly the national administration,
desired that all the municipal patronage
should by some means be secured to the re-
publican party to the exclusion OF the demo-
cratic Mayor, and their object was to devise
some plan by which the real control over the
appointments might be placed in their own
hands. A difficulty at once presented itself
in the constitutional provision requiring that
city officers when not elected by the people
must be appointed by some local authority.
At first the Custom House plan was to allow
the Board of Aldermen and the Mayor to elect
heads of departments, but it was soon evident
that majority of the Board could not be
relied upon to make selections of an accepta-
BILE character. The next proposition was to
give the appointing power to the Mayor and
the Presidents of the Boards of Aldermen and
Assistant Aldermen, but then arose the danger
that sudden change might be made in the
presiding officers of those bodies; and so this
project was also abandoned. On the other
hand the republicans of the Thurlow Weed
i 4 ~ Il IL.
tician and his immediate followers, objected to
to the monopolizing policy of the new
Custom House politicians, and insisted
upon saving such of their friends as
are already in Office. They desired that
the Commissioner of Public Works. the Presi-
dents of the Boards of Police and Public
Parks and the Corporation Counsel should be
retained in their positions for the full term for
which they were appointed. The Custom House
leaders struggled against this claim, and for a
time there was deadlock in the Legislature.
Eventually a bargain was made between Mayor
Havemeyer, the Weed republicans and the
friends of Comptroller Green, by which the
latter was also to be retained in Office, and
enough strength was thus secured to carry the
compromise charter successfully through both
houses. As passed the charter retains Com
missioners Van Mort, Henry Smith and Steb-
bins, Comptroller Green and Corporation
Counsel Delafield Smith The result is the
rout of the Custom House faction, horse, foot
and dragons, and the triumph of the Mayor
and the Weed section of the republican party.
The spols will be divided between the sue
cessful allies Thnrlow Weeds letter to the
Legislature, which we publish to-day, sets
forth this fact, and its practical good sense,
politically speaking, doubtless secured for the
Senate amendments the large vote they re-
ceived yesterday in the Assembly.
We publish the charter in full as finally
passed and sent to the Governor for his APP
prevail There have been very few material
alterations from the Assembly bill except such
as relate to the appointing power; but the
subject is of sufficient interest to our citizens
to warrant the reproduction of the charter as
whole, SO that the people may understand
all its provisions. The present Board of As
sistant Aldermen is continued for the full
term for which it was elected, but the Board
is abolished from and after January l, 1875.
With the exception of the heads of depart
ments specially retained the power of appoint
ment rests in the Mayor, subject to confrma-
ton by the Board of Aldermen. The powers
and duties Of the head of the Finance Depart
ment are defined more clearly and explicitly
than under the present charter, and much of
the arbitrary and miscellaneous authority
claimed by the Comptroller to the detriment
of the public interest is directly denied to
that officer. The great trouble with the
present municipal government is the
4 want Of harmony between the departments,
and the constant exhibition of jealousy and
mistrust on the part of their several heads
Public progress has been checked, public
improvements delayed or abandoned, and the
credit of the city impaired by all this scandal
Gus discord and petty malice, and the people
have looked anxiously for any change that
would give us harmonious, enterprisinS and
vigorous government. Many of our citizens
believe that the most certain mode of securing
this desirable result would have been to give
the uncontrolled power of appointment and
removal to the Mayor, and to hold that officer
directly responsible for the honesty and eff
cheney of every subordinate department This,
despite their professions before election the
politicians declined to do, and the probability
is that in practical operation the new govern
ment they have given us will be found to be
just as irresponsible as that we have
been living under for the past year.
Whether the palmer definitions of the
powers of the several departments under
the new charter will get rid of some Of the
most glaring evils Of the past remains to be
seen The republican majority are directly
responsible for the future government of the
.trhn L..