, 1876-04-12
q z AVIS"
From the ". Y TYmes.)

5nfamous memory was Iegislated out of
existence in April, 1870. The interim
Board of Audit, which held its first and
only meeting in May OF the same year,
was cre8ted to administer the inheritance
.ot. fraud left by the body of which TWEED
aud Fox, HANK" SMITH aud HAYES had
been the most prominent members. The
Board OF Audit improved ON the example
OF its predecessor. On the motion of
Mayor HALL, it gave TWEED and WooDs
WARD carte blanche to manufacture bogus
claims against the Treasury, and LETT it to
County Auditor WATsoN to put these
claims in such a shape as would give them
legal validity. After taking counsel with
G4RvkY, ~iNGGRsoLL, and others, who bad
already been we'll trained in the Ring
methods Of addition and division, the trio
above named concocted bills enough to
abstract, through the connivanc9 Of CuR-
MOLLY, some SIX millions and q quarter
from the County Treasury. The issue Of
warrants on account OF these bills began
very soon after the meeting OF the Board
OF Audit, and continued until the attacks
OF THE TIMES rendered it next to impossl-
BILE for the Ring to sell either their revenue
bonds or the long bonds into which, by
q piece OF swindIing legislation, authority
had been given to convert them. The ex-
tracts from the Controllers books pub
lished by The TIMES in July, 1871,
brought down tho whole edihCo OF fraud,
Of which the plumber realized under the
resolution of the Board of Audit had
formed only q part. Three months later,
legal proceedings were begun for the re-
covery of the stolen money, and TWEED
was called upon to answer TO n complaint
based upon the figures of the The TINES.
which the Investigations OF the Citizens
Committee had verified, and whose slgnlt-
canoe was made fully apparent by Mr..
TILDEN's analysis OF the Broadway Bank
accounts:
And now, five years after the frauds were
committed and four years and a halt after
the first legal steps were taken to recover
the money, the State, acting ON behalf OF
the City and County of New-York, has
obtained judgment against TWEED tor a
sun approximately equal to the fraudulent
PROMOTION of The claims paid under the
resolution of the Board Of Audit. A jury
whose collective character, business ex-
perience, and social standing are proba+
bly without any parallel in the records OF
our courts has found that about thirty per
cent of the total amount OF these claims
represented work actually done or sup
plies furnished. For the remaining seven
ty per cent, amounting to about tour
millions and three-quarters, or, with &C.
c.ued interest, to six millions and q halt,
Judgment has been given against TWEED.
The amount actually traced into his pos
session through the Broadway Bank ac-
counts was but slightly over q million OF
dollars ; but, as the City has failed to re-
cover from any of the other conspirators
with the exception Of some four hum
dred thousand dollars recovered from
WATsoN's estate-TwEED is responsible
for the whole amount OF the plunder
which he was the chief agent in securing.
It must be- remembered, however, that
the Board of Audit frauds form but a small
portion of the total stealiDgs of the Ring.
In 1871. TWEED could hardly have been
worth less than seven millions OF dollars
and auarv dollar OF that was, directly OF