The sun., 1882-01-29
MAYOR Lows Appointments.

| Mayor Lows Appointments.
Mayor Low of Brooklyn yesterday ap-
| pointed four members of his municipal Cabi-
net. There s not much patronage belonging
to the Offices thus filed but it Is exceedingly
| important to the welfare OF the city that they
should be held by thoroughly competent
men.
For Corporation Counsel, in place OF VIII
LIAM c. DE WITT, Mayor Low has chosen
Mr.. JOHN A. TAYLOR, n Republican lawyer,
residing in Brooklyn, but having his Office
In New York. No objection can be made to
Mr.. TAYLOR on the score of personal or pro-
fcssional character. All our information
concerning him indicates that he is an hon
orablc man and fair lawyer.
If, however, the Corporation Counsel OF q
city like Brooklyn ought to be selected from
among the leaders of tho local bar, Mr.
TAYLOR would hardly he recognized by his
brethren as coming up to the standard. Pro-
fcssionally he does not rank with the gentle
man he has succeeded He Is not the coin-
sci, or one OF the counsel, to whom litigants
would naturally go for advice upon ques-
tions such as he will now be called upon to
deal with.
In letter TO Mr.. De WITT the Mayor has
stated~rffs-s fs-sclsons for placing n new man at
the head of the law Department. 1t is the
only possible way" he says, to escape
handlcnpping tho future with the hatrcds
engcndcrcd in the revolutionary period"
meaning the political conflicts which pre-
ccdcd his own accession to power. We do
not think the change can be justified on this
ground. The one thing which Mayor Low had
to do, in respect to this Office, was to appoint
the man who was most competent as u law
ycr to manage the law business and conduct
tho litiga,ions Of the city of Brooklyn; and
this he does not seem To have done.
The second appointment made yesterday
is that OF Mr.. WILLIAM II. FLEEMAN to be
City Treasurer. This gentleman is sue
ccssful commission merchant, doing busi-
ness in this city, but living in the Twenty
fourth Ward Of Brooklyn, which he has
represented as an Independent Democrat In
the Kings County Board Of Supervisors. His
course as member of that body has been
crcditable, and, like his mercantile success,
indicates fitness for the ofllcc to which he
has been appointed.
JAMES TANNER, Republican, widely known
ns Corporal TANNER, is rcappolntcd Collector
of Taxes. Mr.. TANNER is II pronounced parti-
san, but we understand that he ha., been q
good officer. II he had never held the Office,
he might not be precisely the man who
would be selected for ID by Mayor; Low but
he is one whom II would naturally be both
ungratcful and politically dangerous to dis
place. The Mayor did wisely TO retain him.
The appointment Of Mr.. THEODORE F.
JACKSON rs Registrar OF Arrears most
nearly fulfils the expectations Of those who
rely upon Mayor Low to administer the gov
crnmcnt upon approved business principles
Mr.. JACKSON Is a lawyer who resides and
practises his profession in Brooklyn, who
has long devoted special attention TO the law
Of real estate, and who is thoroughly IA
miiar with the subjects to which his new
official duties will relate. This appointment
Is an excellent one
1t was not to be expected that Mr.. Low
would satisfy everybody by his first i'm
portant appointments. He has been per-
fectly fair, so far us mere party predictions
are concerned, In appointing two Rpubli-
cans and two Democrats; and We should be
disposed to commend his selections IA a
whole il he had not made what we regard as
n serious mistake In relation 70 the Office Of
Corporation Counsel.