The daily gazette., 1883-05-25
OUR LAWLESS COUNCIL.
1T DIsREGAR0S THE soLICI-
TORS OPINION.
BILL QUINNs GREATEST EFFORT,
Council Pays no Attention TO the Solicitors
Opinion on the Water Commission Act
ga Big Ovordraft In Bank.


The Street Committee reported favorably
on the application Of Henry II. McMullen
and others for the paving Of Harrison street
| from Delaware to Shallcross avenues. Mr..
Bailey opposed the adoption of the report on
| the ground that no estimate of the cost was
presented and he did not want to see 1t
paved with cobble stones. The committee
reported the cost about $500 and it was
adopted. The Law Committee reported
favorably upon various ordinances presented
| to them.
| ported in favor of awarding the contracts
ior grading Twenthy- fourth, Broome, Ninth
and Lobdell streets, for which bids were
opened at the last meeting of Council, to
Patrick Carberry at 35, AZ, 80 and 30 cents
respectively, per cubic yard.
They also reported favorably on the peti-
| ton OF John B. Taylor and Others far grad
| ing Gilpin avenue, and from Calvin T. Miles
| for the grading OF Sixteenth street. The
reports were adopted.
The deeds of George W. Bush, Charles W.
Rowland and wife, and John @. Stirling
dedcating the beds Of certain streets to the
use of the city were presented and accepted.
The City Treasurer reported an overdraft
of 81, 1879.
A communication was received from the
favor of David H. Coyle for $217 GA to pay
the salaries of the men employed in the
Water Department. He again returned the
pay roll without his approval, giving the
following as his reasons:
Enclosed you will please find draft or
order drawn in favor of David II. Coyle,
Chief Engineer of the Water Department,
for two hundred and seventeen dollars and
thirty-four cents ($217.34) to pay Water De-
partment pay roll passed by your body May
IL have returned the same without my
signature and in so doing would respectfully
call your attention to the following as con-
tanned in Section 80 of the new charter.
"The duties of the City Auditor shall be
such as prescribed by this act or as the
Council shall by ordinance, not inconsistent
with the provisions of this act from time to
time prescribe, and Council may enforce
the same by suitable penalties. Among his
other duties, the City Auditor shall examine
all bills against the city aud endorse them as
correct before they are presented TO Council
for payment. He shall also examine and
countersign all drafts or orders upon the
City Treasurer before they shall be paid,
and withhold his signature in case the draft
or order is made without sanction of law,
without any appropriation therefor by
Council regularly made, is drawn against a
wrong fund, or with any circumstances OF
| fraud actually or presumably attached
thereto, in all of which cases he shall report
| his actions and the ground therefor to
| Council at its ensuing meeting. Council
shall thereupon duly, carefully and pub
| licly consider the case and shall sustain OF
oVerrule his actions by II direct vote by yeas
and nays upon the question, whereupon it
shall be the duty of the City Auditor, in
case he shall be overruled, to countersign
the said draft or order, in which case he
shall be exOnorated from all imputation
of responsibility in the premises"
"In my opinion the said dra or order
was passed without sanction OF law. The
Water Department payroll, for the payment
| of which said draft or order wae drawn, was
never audited by me, but was passed by
your body contrary to The provisions Of
| Section 80, new charter, as cited above, and
after objections to tine passage of the same
had been made by the City Solicitor. AT
the passage Of the said payroll was unlaw
full db initio, so the passing of the draft ol
order to pay said payroll was done without
sanction of law.
"CouAcil had no right or powder under
| the law now existing 70 pass said draft ol
order. The act entitled an Act to Estab
lsh Board of Water Commissioners fol
the City of Wilmington and for other Pur
poses,' passed at Dover, Delaware, Apri
is, 1888, clearly takes control of the Water
Department OF said city entirely out of thu
hands of the City Council. am supposed
to look upon this act as upon all other act
passed by the Legislature as being lega
| until it Is proven unconstitutional.
"The president of said Board must sigI
all drafts or orders before they are counter
signed by the City Auditor. Section IS o
said act says 'aIl money to be disburse(
thereon on account OF said water work
shall be drawn upon warrants signed by tn
president of said Board and countersignet
by the City Auditor and City Treasurer.
The said draft or order has never received
the signature of the president of said Board
"There has been no such person as Davit
II. Coyle, Chief Engineer of the Water De
partment, in whose name said draft or orde
was drawn, since May IA, 1883. Section
| OF said act SAYS, among other things: 'Al
officers of the Water Department of said cit
shall be, from the time of the organization
of the Board of Commissioners, under an
subject to termination at the pleasure G
said Board
'Mr. Coyle's tenure of office as Chief En-
gineer of the Water Department terminates
May IA, 1888, by order of said Board, motto
of which was served on me in writing b
Joseph A. Bond, Secretary of said Board
of course am bound to respect such notice.
Mr.. Talley said that this was the first vet
of the City Auditor; that the city must hav
water; that City Council should pass tn
bill over the "veto' of the City Auditor
! and that the people would sustain that. tn
following was submitted by Mr.. Stevenson
Resolyed, That the action of the City Aud
term refusing to cOuntersign the check draw
8 by this Council in favor Of D. H. Goyle, Chi
Engineer, be and the same is hereby owe
, | ruled"
Much discussion ensued, during whic
Mr.. Quinn, after admitting that his absenC
/ from the Council chamber at last meetin
8 was by reason of his drunkenness, declare
that the City Solicitor had said to him thi
8 the charter was ''botched up Job" an
4 also that he would not give a snap of h
finger for the Solicitors opinion.
4 Mr.. Baugh moved that the Solicitor, wi
. was present, be requested to give his Opt
= ion upon the subject under discussion
3 but the Republican majority deliberate
voted his motion down and refused
receive any suggestions from their legal a
> wiser.
h Mr.. Stevenson's resolution was tn,
:; adopted by the following vote:
7, Yeas-Bsiley, Beecher, Eastburn, FIJI
). Garrett, Grubb, johnson, Miller, Moor
:. Quinn, Smith, Stevenson, Tallev. Turnt
President Conrad-15. Nays-Abele, ,Baug
Blake, Denney, McKenna, Newell, Shaw
Chief Engineer Coyle of the Water Z
k partment reported eighteen men el
b. ployed, with pay roll of 1914. The D
roll was without the approval of the Ci
Auditor.
4