The New York herald., 1874-11-19
Mayor Havemeyer's Explanations.

Mayor Havemeyer's Explanations.
In his interview with Sun reporter on the
subject of the removal of the Commissioners
of Accounts poor Mr.. Havemeyer makes
statements calculated to seriously damage his
friends. He commits the customary folly ofa
blundering, over-anxious witness in proving
too much. His first complaint against one Of
the removed Commissioners is, in his own
language, as follows: when Mr.. Howe went
into Comptroller GREEN'S Office to make his
examination he went with an air as though he
was about to take possession of the Office, and
when Mr. Green said, IF you want any help
my clerks will give it to you, lie replied that
he wanted no help, but had come over to
make an investigation himself, and he was
going to do it himself" Instead of being
cause of complaint this action proved that the
Commissioner understood his duty under the
charter, which requires him once in three
months, or oftener "to examine oil vouchers
and accounts in the offices Of the Comptroller
and Chamberlain" and to publish the result
an investigation as is contemplated by the
law except by personal scrutiny of the ac-
counts, and if he had suffered his statements
to be prepared or controlled by the Comptrol-
ler and his clerks, while he would have
averted the enmity of Mr.. Green and escaped
have performed his official duties with
fidelity.
On examining the securities held by the
Commissioners of the Sinking Fund the Com
mssioners of Accounts failed to find bonds
to the amount of over ninety thousand dollars,
which ought to have been there. In explana-
ton of this poor Mr.. Havemeyer says, This
ninety thousand dollars was represented by
the City Chamberlain's check for the amount,
which lay beside the box containing the
bonds, and the check represented bonds that
had not yet been issued, making up the correct
amount" In the absence of the bonds the
''check" or receipt representing the bonds
was the only security for the money held by
the Sinking Fund Commissioners. 1t should
have been placed safely in the box with the
other securities, just as much as if the amount
had been absolutely represented by bonds.
That it should have been suffered to "lay be-
side the box containing the bonds," shows
gross carelessness in the custody Of the
securities which should have drawn down
censure on the Comptroller and not have
excited enmity against the Commissioners Of
Accounts.
This sinking fund mystery has mover been
satisfactorily cleared up. When the Commits
sioners Of Accounts made their first investi-
CATION new bond of one hundred thousand
dollars was found in the box, signed by
Mayor Havemeyer, representing one hundred
thousand dollars paid out of the sinking fund
for such bond year and three months be-
fore, when MIR. A. Oakley Hail was Mayor
Either the sinking fund had been left without
this bond for fifteen months, although two
half years interest had meanwhile been paid
on it or the old bond had been destroyed and
new one substituted. At the same time
other bonds to the amount of ninety-six thou
sand dollars were missing. 1t was subse-
quently unoficially stated by private citizens,
friends Of the Comptroller, that the missing
bonds, or within q small amount of them,
were represented by receipts, the bonds not
having been then issued. But this was no
satisfactory official proof that the securities
were intact. AS soon as new official in
vestigation of the sinking fund securities was
commenced by the same Commissioners of
Accounts who had discovered the former ir-
regularites those officers were abruptly re-
moved. These are facts deserving the atten-
tion of the taxpaverS and demanding the
serious consideration Of the Mayor elect.