The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-05-12
THE LAWLEss AUDITOR.

incur such extravagant expenditures in elect
ing legislators and converting the Genera
Assembly every year, if the laws they max
are not to be respected? Why is q Governor
who is styled the Executive, with his numer
GUS retinue of appointees, supported at grea
expense to the State, if the laws are not to b
enforced? Why should judges, attorneys
iuries and their attendants, be retained a
public expense, if the law be but bubble
by-word-a something to punish the good
and protect the bad?
| SEC. 81. Be it further enacted, etc., Tha
| if at any time of any inspection and examina
ton of the State Treasury, as provided by
this act or by law, or at any other time, there
should be any deficiency OF money or of Other
funds or property in the treasury, or if there
should at any time be an act of breach Of
trust or embezzlement, as described by this
act, committed by the State Treasurer or Au.
ditor of Public Accounts, such fact shall be
Immediately reported to the Governor by any
one or by all of the members OF the Board
Of Inspection, az herein proU ed: the
Governor, on receiving such report, shall, it
he finds the facts SO reported to him to be
sufficient, forthwith make affidavit against
the Treasurer or Auditor, charging him with
the crime or crimes, offense or ofenses com.
mitted, and upon the arrest of the accused
his official functions shall be suspended, and
the Governor shall appoint Treasurer or
Auditor pro tempOre; and should the accused
be convicted, he shall remain suspended until
the close of the next session of the Legisla-
ture when, if not removed by impeachment,
he shall resume his duties as Treasurer or Au.
ditOr as the case NAV be.
In report of joint committee Of the
General Assembly of 1875, consisting of nine
members, it is alleged that Charles Clinton,
State Auditor. had embezzled public funds.
This report was adopted by both Houses
by more than two-thirds vote of each. The
allegations are all made under oath. One
affidavit, that Of J. A Greene, Assistant
Secretary of the Senate, which is also sup
ported by other testimony, is snmistakable in
its language. See page II of the report where
the following words will be found:
J. A. Greene, who, being duly sworn, de-
poses and says:
"The following list is a correct statement
of outstanding orders-issued by the Auditor
and not paid into the Treasury on March TO-
1874 These orders, with the cash, had been
turned over to the Auditor by the Tax-Collec-
tor, and had not been paid into the Treasury
at that time. This know, because checked
the said statement with the Treasurer's books
on March 10, 1874, the day previous to my dis
charge"
The list referred to foots up 81, 610 Is, and
he report goes on to say, pages and Z: "Up
10 the present date there is no evidence that
my more than s32, 227 63 of said sum has
ound its way into the Treasury.
ave are compelled to infer, says the CON-
mittee, "that the Auditor still retains $45,-
3S2 IS Of said amount, which, in the first in.
stance he received in violation of the law, and
now holds in fraud of the State"
Sec. 80 of act AZ Of 1871 is too long to be |
recited here, but it provides that if any off, |
GER shall apply any public funds to any pur-
pose whatever, except as provided by law,
shall be held as guilty of embezzlement, and
The act is declared to be high crime and
and punishable by imprison-
meAt in the penitentiary, and transcript of
he books of the Auditor showing such to be |
he fact shall be taken on trial as prima facie |
evidence of guilt.
It is nearly one month since the report was |
published to the world, and yet no steps have |
,een taken to have the law executed, except |
he request by the Governor to the Attorney |
General to bring a civil suit to recover the
money thus alleged to have been embezzled. |
Charles Clinton is Auditor to-day, and exer-
Uses the authority to draw his warrant in |
avor of whom he will, and to refuse whom |
,e will, irrespective of the provisions Of the
aw.
Burn up your law books, close up your
courts, discharge your juries and save all
hese expenses, or let the law be respected.
Attention of the Grand Jury is invited to |
ection 49,. of the Revised Statutes, which |
70 append:
Sec. 1888. Any grand juror, at any time of |
curt when q grand jury is impaneled, who
hall fail to inform the grand jury Of any vio-
alton of the criminal laws of this State, or of
ny crime committed within the parish for
which he is impaneled as grand juror, since
he sitting OF the last grand jury In that parish.
which may have come to his personal knowl-
,dge, or Of which he may have been in
ormed, upon due conviction thereof shall,
it be an offense not punishable in the PEN
tertiary, of which he has not given informa-
ion, be fined in a sum of not less than fifty
Tor more than five hundred dollars; and, if
be an off-nse which may be punished by
!eath or imprisonment in the Penitentiary,
lie shall be punished by imprisonment in the
oenitentiary, at hard labor, for not less than
me nor more than five years.
BESSIE TURNER DISCOUNTED remarkable |
,ase of somnambulism occurred at Murfrees-
,ofo, few evenings since. One Of the
,oung lady students of the W. F. College,
Turing the night got up from her bed, threw
,ver herself loose wrapper and started down
own. She went into Col. Vaughn's residence
nd into his room, and laid on q lounge. It
,reatly surprised and frightened the Colonel,
houo oh he knau a0methinp was WRONG and