Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-02-28
TO THE PUBLIC.

In the financial report Of the late Mayor the
following statement appears: Received from
sale Of property of Christopher Murphy. trus-
tee. in excess Of taxes due the city. sIi ,2S2 Is
against which there Is cash in the Treasury
this day S9,Sl4 pa
on this subject the report should read:
"Reeelyed from transfer Of property Of Chris
topher Murphy, trustee, Sl3,6j0; balace which
should be shown to be IN the Treasury Sl2. 500.
with interest now due, S2,425 50, making
amount total Sl5.025."
The property from which this fund was re-
1 ceived into the Treasury of the CORPORATION of
TINS city Is located on Liberty street. on the
corner OF DraytOn. and Is known as LOG and
los. The unfortunate complications surround
ing my analrs with the authorities of this
city, brought about bv combination of cir
{ cumstances could neither anticipate or guard
against. makes 1t clearly my duty, however
Improbable and disagrCeable to state how
acquired the property. In the year 1910
purchased from Mr.. g. W. Wylly, Of this city.
lot Of land, through which transaction he
ascertaned had Ssme money, and suggested
to me the buying Of a piece of property
elgibly located. ! inquired the price and
location. Regarding both as satisfactory and
without giving { he matter much consideration.
placed the papers i'm the care of one of the
abest legal gentlemen of this city, with in
/ structOn, If the record of the property was
all right, to make title, and without cOndi-
tions as to what the cost would be, leaving
that 70 be determined according to his views
of what his professional services would be
worth. On the corner of the lot purchased
there was a house in bad repair, and upon
which placed over $4,000 worth Of improve
ments, and ON the vacant half lot had a brick
building erected at a cost, when completed. Of
nearly $1,000, making total expenditure. in
Guiding purchase money, Of nearly 500,
600. Owing to circumstances of
% providential nature, business complications
had swept away nearly all the means pos
sessed except a few interests in four different
directions, amounting to about $4,000. the
protection % 0pDpn0pO
this property and all of which / have lost be-
cause OF my Inability to control the proceeds
OF sale, so confidently expected. There was
coupled with the desire to save the interests re-
ferred to another and more pressing necessity
for the sale, through which could control the
means to provide change Of climate for
member of my family, the only hope left of
regaining health, which from day to day be-
came more alarming, finally resulting IN death.
| was myself at the time seriously
i'll. being for many months IN con-
dtiOn leaving no hope IN the physicians,
who attended me, that ! would recover Tn
der thus state OF things, and while barely able
to move about, / called on a Well-knoWn auc-
tlOneer and real estate dealer and placed the
property i'm his care for sale. Soon after re-
port that my title was defective became circu-
lated. other Influences, however, Of a re-
markable character have brought this un-
looked for misfortune on me. II Is unneccs-
sary and would be out OF place ON my part to
say more on this point other than that there
were unusual circumstances that impressed
me with the absolute certainty Of the sound
ness Ofmy title. The report grew out of lu
cation about 4 house next to the property
| purchased, and which was once owned by
the parties who sold to the persons from
whom ] bought. The gentleman in whose
care | placed the property for
sale inquired if owed any
taxes. Replying in the Affirmative, he
suggested to make sale through the city. As
| was not familiar with how II could be done,
/ so expressed myself lie SAID he would
manage the matter for me. He being at the
pf { / regarded
Of sufficient weight to Justify me in laying
the subject before my counsel, who made my
title, and be governed by what he would adj
wise. He SAID deed could De made through
the city, and suggested that would see the
Mayor and each member of Council and have
ii understood that the proceeds OF sale would
be turned over to me. 70 this each member
of Council and the Mayor agreed. the latter
saying, "Ccrtainly; all the city wanted was
what was due to it, MI. MOntm0llln was
the Chairman OF the Committee on Public
Sales and City Lots at this time. 1t was he
who drew up the application and submitted
IT to me before IL would be offered m Council.
That body having agreed to the sale it was
directedto be conducted under proper au-
thority. short time before the day upon
which the sale would have taken place 4 sad
bereavement occurred IN my family. That
fact having come to the knowledge of the
members of Council, whose duty 1T
was to regulate the sale, Capt. y. G. Purse,
Chairman of Finance, Mr.. l.. II. dc MONT
mOlllu. Chairman OF Pubic sales and City
Lots, and Capt. IL. +. Wlllink, of the latter
committee, they communicated with me.
dcemng il advisable to consult my wishes as
to whether the sale would go on. Twas at the
time completely broken down in health, and
lamCnting q misfortune so great that l have
not been able to imagine any a1liCtiOn to equal
it except the loss of ones soul. Barely able
to move about, and unfit TO give business the
slightest consideration, / succeeded I'm having
an interview with the gentlemen TO whom /
have alluded. After expressing FOR me sym
Dathy. thew suggested IL might be better TO
Ia |
of health. i'm mind and body, to give Il matter
i'm which had so much interest proper atten-
ton. From this il would certainly appear
that the city authorities did not contemplate
the sale of my property, and no
one who might have any part in
the regulating of public affairs
should assume such a position in the face Of
the record written and printed. The sale
was to have been carried out on the principle
Of purely business transaction, such as had
been done in other cases, and none of which
affairs with the corporation Of this city. | am
now convinced, however, that unless public
matters are conducted as they should be by
persons selected to fill positions OF profit,
honor and trust, 10 would be well for inter
ested persons to look carefully after their
rights. Having cOncurred in the proposition
to postpone the sale, which 1T Is hardly reason
able to suppose would have done if any fear
existed i'm my mind that my title was even
clouded, when | believed ] was dealing with
persons in authority who would carry out to
the letter the agreement made with me, to
turn over the amount realized from the prop
crty, eight months elapsed before was again
in condition to indicate a desire that
the sale would so on, having done
SO orally i'm April, 1881, according to the
spirit and intention Of the only application
ever made by me, and which ! reproduce in
duplicate of the original now on file in the
once Of the Clerk of Council. The persons
who had the management Of the sale when
the property was first advertised, were not
candidates for reelection to the Council OF
"A change O
committees II well in health / could not an
tieipate cause for what took place after
under legal advice:
u Tie Tayor and AIaagoea Of the city oLSl-
GENTLEMEN-The undersigned respectfully
requests that c eastern and western halves
Of lot IS Brown ward be sold under the usual
CHRIs. MURPHY.
GEORGIA. CHATHAM COCNTY.-ln person
appeared Chris Murphy, who, being duly
sworn. says that the foregoing is a true and
correct copy Of the original and only petition
signed by him bearing upon the sale of the lot
sworn to and subscribed before me this, 9TH
December, 1883. Nj. F. MOLINA,
j. p. G. G.. Ga.
PETITION OF CHRISTOPHER MURPHY.
The Committee on Public Sales and CITY
Lots to whom was referred the application of
Christopher Murphy that the eastern aud
western halves of lot IS Brown ward be sold
under the usual conditions, report that they
unu no Objection To the granting Of the petit
toner's request, and, therefore, they recon-
mend the same be granted and that the City
Marshal be authorized to sell the property as
prayed for. f.. H. DE MONTMOLLIN,
Chairman Committee on Public Sales and
City Lots.
Proceedings al meeting 9th Oct, 1850.
wrote Mr.. Montmollin, under date OF llth
Sept, 1888. The following reply Will explain
itself:
SAVANNAH, oct. 10, 1888.
Nr. Chris. Narply
DEAR SIR-Replying to your letter rela-
tive to sale OF lot northwest corner
OF Drayton and Liberty streets, l can
only say that my understanding OF the matter
when the sale was first advertised. and during
the time that / was in the Board OF Aldermen,
was that the city would sell the property. pay
itself such taxes and ground rent as would
then be due, aud pay the balance over to the
owner, who | supposed to be yourself. as trus-
tee, the city having agreed to sell the property
as that OF Chris. Murphy, trustee.
l.. II. DE MONTHOLLIN.
From this point on the reader who may take
the trouble to consider this tedious eXplana-
ton of case, surely without a precedent in
the history of this or any other city, Will have
to draw on the Imagination in order to con-
template how such a state of things as the
record will disclose could have occurred in a
community where exist loud pretensions to
respectahility and fair dealing. The difficulty
condensed form the real facts Will be appa-
rent TO the minds of my fellow citizens, when
the disagreeableness of referring, in a public !
manner through the medium of public Jour
nal, to the parties who perpetrated worse
than questionable outrage on my rights. re-
sulting in ncalculable ruin to my every in
terest, and bringing upon my children of ten
t,.r d. s.Ill