The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-02-22

The BILL TO AMEND THE CiTY CHARTER
REPORTED TO THE SENATE WITH THE Re-
COMBINATION THAT IT Do Nor PASS
The Senate Committee on. County, City, aad
Town Organizations met yesterday at&O A.
M. for the further consideration Of the pc
tition to amend the city charter so as to make
the offices OF City Engineer, and Superin-
tendents OF Gas and WaterWork elec-
tive by the people.
Sundry petitions from large and impor-
tant classes Of property-holders were pre-
seuted by Colonel Cary, Mr.. A. Austin
Smith, DR.. Coakley, and others, asking that
the charter be not amended; and Major
Stiles, in summing up the arguments and
papers submitted, said in substance thatcit
had been impossible to bring the other side
to any discussion OF the principle involved
in the proposed amendment, but that the
only point made by them OF any apparent
weight was the number OF the petitioners,
which Mr.. Wise had repeatedly stated ag-
gregated 1900, being large majority Of
the Conservative voters Of the city.
Mr.. Stiles then made the startling an
nouncement that the list OF petitioners filed
had been repeatedly and carefully counted,
and that the names aggregated but 1891 in
all. He then filed list Of 144 names,
which were signed more than once, and 80 OF
titioners who desired their names stricken
off-thus leaving but 1,s0S, instead of 1900
as claimed. MIR. Stiles then filed further
list Of some Is of these, who had personal
grievances against the city and Engineer
disappointed contractors, discharged EN-.
ployes, &C., DC. He then filed a par
tial list, showing that the real estate rep
resented by the list so pnrged, as tested
by the Commissioner books, would proba-
bly, not aggregate S150,000, and after fur
ther comment on the composition OF the list
wound up with the statement that the gen.
tlemen who had made the examination, upon
which the foregoing statements were based
were well-known and respectable citizens,
who were present in the room and ready to
substantiate under oath the results an
nounced, with this additional statement
that the work OF purgation was still III
complete from lack Of time to finish, and
that many OF the names still left upon the
paper could not be found at al, either on
the property-book or directory OF the city.
Mr.. Stiles disclaimed any idea Of suggest
ing that Mr.. Wise had Intentionally misled
the committee, but he had been mistaken in
his statement.
DIR. Coakley then read one or two OF the
lists Of names appended to counter-peti-
tions, and it was claimed that the intelli-
gence, influence, and property OF the city
was Overwhelmingly against the proposed
change. i ,l
General Joseph r. Anderson, by request
Of the committee, made 4 statement as to
the character of the City Council and the
City Engineer, and the propriety of the ap-
pointment Of that officer being retained by
that body.
He was followed in the same strain by
Messrs. P. Fl. Starke and George L. Chris
tian, and the discussion closed.
The committee then decided by unani-
nous vote to report the bill to the Senate
with the recommendation that it DO not
pass; and during the morning hour the bill
was reported to the Senate by Mr.. Gayle,
chairman. -.a.r,t..l ztsgs,as. ~
1t is due to Mr.. Walston, the senator from
Accomac, who presented the original petf-
tion in the Senate, to say that at the hrst
days session of the committee he stated
publicly that he offered the petition by spe-
cial request, without any idea Of commit
ting himself to the measure, and with ex-
plantations entirely satisfactory to the Rich
mond senator's. Indeed, so entirely clear
was Mr.. Walston's record In the matter that
Major Stiles not only diselaimed any idea OF
rejecting in the least upon him, but added
that under the circumstances he would do
what Mr.. Walston did.