The New York herald., 1874-07-25
The Proceedings In the Board Of Ap.
porttonment-A Conspiracy to Defeat
Retrenchment and Reform.

yesterday deserves severe apprehension If il
could be regarded only az al undignited ex
hibltion OF anger against their associates IL
fhe Board 1t might he passed over with the
simple regret that the two leading positions
IN the city government are so unworthily filled.
But, unfortunately it indicates q determine
tion on the part of the Mayor and Comptroller
to embarrass the public business and to do all
in their power to nullity those desirable re-
forms and retrenchments secured through the
trmness of the President OF the Board OF
Aldermen and the President OF the Depart
ment of Taxes and Assessments. The pre-
arranged attempt of the two former members
of the Board to drive Mr.. Wheeler from the
Secretaryship by personal abuse, or to wrest
|, the position from him by a trick, cannot be
regarded merely as an attack suggested by
jealousy or malice. 1t takes the more serious
aspect of conspiracy to place the minutes
and documents of the Board in the Comp
trollel's hands for some ulterior object. Nor
are We permitted to doubt what that object is.
The proceedings of the Board of Apportion-
ment prior to the last six weeks had been
conducted in a manner inconsistent with the
plain intent of the law. The charter provides
that the tour members OF that Board shall at a
stated time 'meet, and, by the affirmative
vote of all the members, make a provisional
estimate OF the amounts required to pay the
expenses of conducting the public business Of
the city and county of New York in each de-
partment and branch thereof and the Board
OF Education for the then next ensuing year"
In order to facilitate this work the several
departments Of the government are required
to ''send to the Board of Apportionment'
their departmental estimates, specifying in
detail the objects thereof" and ''including q
statement of each of the salaries of their
officers clerks, employees and subordinates. "
The Board is required to consider such de-
partmental estimates and other statements in
making the provisional estimates and in ap-
proving the salaries of the officers, clerks and
other persons before named" In every
special law that has been passed to authorize
the reopening OF the estimates made final, SO
tar as the provisions of the charter are con-
cerned the Board of Apportionment has in
like manner been required 'by the concurrent
vote of all the members to reconsider, revise
and redetermine'' such estimates. So ir the
issue of stock and bonds, the Board is required
to inquire and decide whether the provisions
OF law have been complied with before author
izing the issue.
1t is thus clear that the law intends to hold
every member of the Board responsible for
every action of the Board, and that it is in
violation Of the spirit, if not Of the letter, of
the law, to suffer any one member to
assume the authority CT making the
estimates and submitting them to the
approval of his associates. or Of deciding
upon the issue Of bonds and simply present
ing resolution for such issue and demand
ing vote of the Board Yet up to within the
last two months exactly this course has been
pursued. The Comptroller has demanded and
received from the several departments the de-
partmental estimates required to be sent to
the Board of Apportionment. From these he
has made such budget as he desired, cutting
down the appropriations Of departments that
enjoy his enmity and making extravagant ap-
preparations to departments that are burdened
with his friendship When q reopening Of
the estimates has been authorized by law he
has in like manner required the revised de-
partmental estimates to be submitted to him
instead of to the Board, and has made the re-
apportionment in his own office, only pre-
senting his own budget to the Board for ap-
proval When bonds were to be issued he has
decided whether the law has been complied
with, and has gone before the Board armed
with resolutions for the issue of mill
ions Of dollars and demanded the
blind vote of his associates thereon. He
has undertaken, indeed, to constitute
himself the Board of Apportionment, and the
Mayor of the city has been used by him to
warrant and uphold the usurpation. The re-
suit has been that up to the present year the
debt has been increased and the taxes i'm
posed in accordance with the will of the Comp
troler alone He has refused explanations,
and his whole policy has been one of conceal
ment and deception. This is the reason why
the public improvements have been paralyZed;
why some departments have been extrava-
gantly supplied; why there has been no econ
omy where economy could be judiciousy
practised why the people have been kept in
! ignorance of their true financial condition. why
the debt is now one hundred and thirty-sx
millions, exclusive of twenty millions of float
! ing debt and why the years taxation is over
thirty-four millions.
The illegal and dangerous practice of trans
! ferring the powers and duties OF the Board Of
Apporti onment to the Comptroller has been
brought to close this year by the action Of
two of the members of the Board, Mr. Vance
and Mr.. Wheeler, who responded to the gen.
eral demand for reduction of the expenses
of conducting the city government, and in
sisted upon cutting down the appropriations
wherever economy could in their Judgment
be properly enforced Their efforts have Sue