New-York tribune., 1886-02-24
LOCAL MISCELLANY.
GOOD LEGAL WORK FOR THE CITY.
TEE CORPORATION couNsELs REPORT FOR 1885,
GROWING BUSINESS OF HIS OFFICE.

suE CORPORATION couNsELs REPORT FOR 1886
GROWING BUSINESS OF HIS OFFICE
The first annual report that has ever been made
by any Corporation Counsel OF New-fOrk was yes
terday sent by Corporation Counsel Lac0mDe
10 the Mayor. 1t includes detailed statement o1
the work, expenditures and condition of the Law
tive figures to show the relation OF these state;
ments to the work Of former years Ibe totai
number of suits tried In the year was elghtys
eight. There fortyseven resulting IN favor or
the city, twcnty-six against the city. SIX partly
favorable and partly nnfavGTabe ana niue remain NAN
undecided More than 40o 20 fhe
the various heads of departments, whiie 10Y con-
tracts IN when the city was Interested were exam
ined drafted and approved. In addition. 69 appeals
were argued or submitted at General erm or III the
Court of Appeals and there were 1s5 days attend
ance before referees and Commissioners ana Zoo
Chambers motions disposed Of In lSSOtwenty-iour
accident cases were tried before juries III which
$163. 522 80 was claimed as damages and S26,32S
was recovered. Last year the number of such cases
tried was SO; the amount claimed aggregated
$792. AL. and the amount recovered was only
S15,551 26 or about 2 per cent of the amounts
claimed. Mr. LacOmbe says in the report:
The steady increase in the amount OF business trans
acted is fact probably wholly unapprecateo by those
e TSO nU for the last few years The legacy Of
unfinished work left at the downfall OF the 3d kng
oresuized by William C. whitney and the ensuing five
ye ira mainly devoted 10 dsposng OF the mass OF
trans ,etIops OF the decade prior TO 1872. 1t
was generally supposed mat when tnat @ork womS
become reduced to something more nearly approaching
TO the moderate dimensions Of earlier years. - me
event has not Justified those expectations The ring
litigation. except for half dozen cases Is practcd
centre OF commercial and manufacturing industry has
Undue purely normal increase OF lts esa business
so great call for quite as large III lact LOT even
larger working force than that employed III 1870
Thus. Mr. LacOmbe shows that the total number
of actions special proceedings and assessment pro-
ceedinps pendme in which the city was party, at
the beginning OF 1875 was 3.447; at the beginning
of 1880 1T was 2S25, and at the beginning OF 1888
IL was 3 4S5. Mr.. LacOmbe takes pains TO correct
the misstatement made bv the Council of Political
Reform before the Board of Estmate and Appor-
tioument in December. In that statement 1t was
sald that tine expense of the New-lork Law De-
partment last year was S247,304, or g cents per
capita, while that of Brooklyn was S23,332 or
cents per capita The report shows that both these
fignres were wrong-that as matter OF fact tne ex
pense of Brooklyn was $42 53 so, or z cents per
capita, and that of New-fork Sl95,O9o 80, OF
IL 1-3 cents per capita. Mir. LacomOe shows fui-
ther that there can he no fair comparison between
the two cities in this resDect because the amount
of business done Ivy the New-York Law Depart
ment over that done IN Brooklyn is out OF all COM
parison with she numerical difference in the popu-
1atiOn of the two cities
DID POLICEMAN WILSON THREATEN HIMi
Emanuel Belts, of No. 70 James-st, was the
principal witness yesterday against Daniel Olver,
age sixteen, who was held before Recorder Smyth
on charge of attem1 1ted robbery. Botts sald on
February he was in James-st, when Ohver ana
other boys threw, snOwhas at MIN and finally
tried TO steal his watch. The prisoner proved that
TO show that the complaining witness had mistaken
b,n for the real cuprit. Policeman William j.
Wilson of the witnesses to the good repu-
tatlon of the defendant. Assistant Distrlct-A-
tomey Purdy on croSs-eXaminati0n asked Wnether
the Witness had ever threatened the complainant.
He denied it, and Mr.. Purdy then recalled Belts,
who sand tnat when he was about TO appear before
the Grand Jury he met Policeman Wilson. who
said that he wOuld get him Oh the Island Ii he
testified strOn ly against the boy. Recorder Smyth
advised the jury to acqut the defendant. but said
There ts however, some evidence that the police
officer bHeu guilty of an act which II is proven
against him should prevent MS ever caring his uni
form again. VIII direct that the stenogrdpheTs mln-
utes containing part of the testimony be sent TO the
Police Commissioner for their further action, II they