The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-05-14

The card OF Mr.. r. e. Blnnkcnship and
the letter Of htaior II. D. W!iitc0mh, lately
published in the Dispatch, call for an eH-
PLANTATION from me-.
More than month ago a-bi!l, in dupli-
cate, for the funeral expenses of Mr. Hail..
and warrant, all in one batch, and fasten-
ed together by brads, were presented to
me for my approval as auditor OF the
James-R River Improvement COMMITTEE. Be-
ing Of opinion that the committee had
no right to use the appropriation Tor that
purpose declined to audit the claim, and
endorsed my disapproval on the back OF
the papers. That very evening met Dir.
Bankensilip 1.-THE chairman OF the commit
tce), and told him OF my action and my
reason for it. He disagreed with me, and
SAID he would call meeting OF the commit
tee to consider the matter. This. however,
he did not DO, and cn last Monday week
ago first learned, to my surprise, that the
claim had been paid As soon rs l learned
that I went to Tue Office Of the City Auditor
and there examined The warrant and the
copy OF the bilt there. Not finding my.
endorsation OF diSapproval on the warrant.
where thought l had put if, | inferred
that another warrant had been prepared.
In this it seems that l was mistaken; for
since reading Mr. Bankenship's ca.d, find
upon inquiry ut the Engineers office that
my disapproval was written on one OF the
duplicate bills, which was attached to the
warrant and on the outside when the papers
were first presented to mr. The bill hay
ing my d;sapproval written on it was re-
tained at the Engineers Office, and the other
bill was sent With the warrant to the City
Auditors office. If the bill on which my
diSapproval was endorsed had been sent,
the City Auditors attention would have
been called at once to the absence OF my
requisite signature to the warrant and II
he had passed the claim my examination AT
bis office would have 1T oncc informed me
OF luy mistake in suDpos!ng lin. my dishp-
Droval bad beeU written on the warrant.
Here, then, was a warrant which could
not he properly paid without my approval,
which in fact had been paid, not only
when my approval was wanting, bat after
had declined to approve it, haI personally
notified the chairman OF Tie committee zone
OF the requisite arprOVcrs) Of my dcciila.
ton. and when the written evidence 0i my
d:sapproyal was in the ufic4 OF The En-
gineer (hc other of the requisite approycrS).
This was al itregularity which thought
it proper to call attcrtlo 20, rs | did by
the resolution offered by nc in the Council.
Major Wnitc9mb, in his letter, says that
when he informed Mr.. Bknkenship OF the
payment of the warrant they, after some
conversation, concluded that I. had recon-
sidcred my diSapproval aud directed the
bill to be paid. cannot imagine the ground
on which this conclusion was based, op-
posed as it was to my emphatic acts ana ue-
cIarations, which were known to them.
| certainly never said Or did thing to
Justify any one in concluding that L llad
changed my opinion.
They could easily have found out By
coming to me; but so far from dong this,
never heard 4 word from either OF them,
and when discovered at last that the war
rant had been paid, it was not from either
Of them that learned it.
In his card Mr.. Planl,enship says that
after hearing from Mainr Whitcomb that
the warrant had been delivered and the
money paid, lie gave himself no further
concern. Whether OF not, Is public otl-
Ger, he should have felt any concern after
finding that the warrant had been impro-
perly issued and mprolerly paid. oTShould
have felt called upon to make any effort to
correct the error, is Lot for me to deter
mine; but do not think it unreasonable
that should have eX Xpected, after what had
passed between us, to receive information
OF any such improper issue and payment OF
the warrant when it came to bis know
ledge.
In conclusion. will add that nothing but
n sense of dutT as public agent. using the
money OF others, led me to disallow what
was, believe, in other respects highly
meritorious claim. E. D. CHRISTIAN.
Nav a. 1870