The St. Johns herald., 1886-07-08

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 There seems to have been 10 method or system in anything that was done-there was lacking many of the wholesome restraints and re- responsibilities which the law con templates shall be placed upon public oficials-the most impor- tant and responsible functionaries of the county conducted the grave trusts oonfded to them as though the duties were matters to be sug- gested by personal preferences, and public funds were placed in their hands with discretionary powers of investment. There are no official reports of record, and nothing by which to ascertain the official standing and conduct of officers, or in what manner the county finances were expended or it's affairs admin istered. The present Board made the discovery that this state of af- fairs had been taken advantage of and forged and fraudulent obliga- tions of the county had been ut tered and placed upon the market. Upon investigation, such records as were ill existence to bring the guilty parties to justice, were promptly stolen and destroyed, thus adding absolute confirmation to the belief of alleged frauds, and rendering it more difficult to detect the raised and forged warrants. The Super visors exhausted every resource at hand to discover the perpetrators and unearth existing frauds, and they would have been universally censured had they failed to do so, Their actions were the honest, con- scientious discharge of the highest sense of duty, sustained and prompted by the best attainable ad vice, the District Attorney was ac- quainted with and approved of the steps taken, and one and all of those best fitted to counsel them, urged the employment of every re- source at their command to protect the interest and recover the proper ty of the county. That some of the measures adopted failed to ac- complish the ends sought, is not to be denied, that subsequent events, may have shown some of them to be wanting in wisdom, we will not argue, because these are the ordi- nary incidents of human judgment and the necessary companions of all human undertakings. Every expense incurred, and so far as pru- dence admitted, every proceeding had was given through the press to. the people, and any one so desiring may obtain the fullest information as to every item. There is nothing to hide, and nothing that is not susceptible of the most satisfactory explanation, and the fact that pub ication was made of every trans action, shows willingness to ac- count, which could only be actuated by purity of motives and honesty of intentions.
 The Critic knows these facts are true, and while we are willing to| give every charitable construction to its language, We cannot but feel that charges of wickedness and corruption against the present Board of Supervisors partakes most of malice-wilful and wanton. Re- pealing acts, and acts to amend acts, of every legislative body bear testimony eonclusively to the oft repeated errors in humanjudgment, but furnish no valid argument against the integrity of the legisla- tors who passed the obnoxious laws. Mistakes may have occurred, blum ders have been committed, and omissions be found, but the fullness of the record. the publicity given all proceedings, and the character of our Supervisors, both as busi- ness men and as citizens, precludes the idea that they would barter their self-respect for any such pal frv suno aS could bv any possibility