The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-04-16
MORE CHARTER GOSSIP.
A Queer Complication in the
Affairs of the Board
of Finance.
MORE WORK FOR THE COURTS.
Can the Election Be Contested Even
if the Charter is Nullifedp

There was not the usual concourse Of
office seekers around the door of the
Mayors office.
| This was probably due to the fact that
the Mayor was not at his desk as usual.
But there came in the place of office
seekers remarkable letter from New
York resident, announcing his willingness
to sacrifice himself on the altar OF public
| duty and to remove to Jersey City if the
4 Mayor would guarantee him an appoint
ment.
My Dear Sir, !" was all Secretary Nc
Aghon said in response to this letter, 'sun-
der the law here a city official must have
resided in the city for three years before
his appointment
To all reporters Secretary McAghon
says mo appointments today"
1t is said now, with what modicum Of
truth no one ventures to declare, that
Mayor Cleveland will not make his ap-
pointments to offices created by the new
charter till the Legislature shall have adj
journed Those in the Mayors confidence
were not asked to deny or confirm the
story, but it was easily inferrable from
what they said. when the rumor was re-
peated to them, that an understanding of
that kind had been reached.
One gentleman whom l engaged in CON
versation last evening suggested a new
complication in connection with the
charter.
If the new bill should be declared un-
constitutional or Ineffective" he said,
Jersey City would be without without
department officials"
How so?" asked.
"Why, the Board of Canvassers failed to
canvass the votes cast at the recent cleo
tion of Fire and Police Commissioners and
members OF the Board of Works. was his
answer.
This is probably not exactly true. The
Board OF Canvassers counted the votes for
the candidates for these several offices,
but they failed to disclose the results,
that is, they failed to make announcements
of the names of those whom the figures
showed to have been elected.
The idea seemed to be that the declara-
ton OF the results by the Board of Cam
vassers is part of the election, and that
their failure in this regard throws an OBJ
structlon in the way of the successful
candidates claiming the offices for which
they ran in the event of the new
charter being set aside Here,
ii there be anything in this point, is room
for anothercontest. f the old city govern
ment is to stand, the hold-overs of the
present Boards may assert the right to re-
main in office till another election is held
The men who ran in the recent election
and received the most votes will claim the
places, in spite of the break In the can
vassers' record, and so another case will
be ripe for the courts.
THERE'S A HITCH EITHER Way
The point is made, too, that the Mayors
Board OF Finance, when selected will not
be in condition to discharge its municipal
functions pending the litigation between
it and the present Board of Finance This
is because of the doubt that exists as to
whether Charles w. Allen was properly
elected to the Presidency of the Board Of
Aldermen last Tuesday. This doubt is
one of those to be solved in the char
ter suits Allen is by the charter
| one of the five members of the Board Of
Finance. If he acts with that Board and
the courts should decide that there was
no law for his election at the time he ran,
then the dd Interim Board will have been
Illegally constituted. If he does not act
and the courts should afterward decide
that he was properly elected, then the ud
Interim Board will have been one men,
Der short. Till the status of Mr.. Allen is
judicially determined, it is claimed the
Chief Justice cannot safely direct the
Mayors Board of Finance to act pending
lu6 uUlSdUlOu.
WHAT THE SPEAKER THINKS.
Speaker Hudspeth is authority for the
statement that the act modifying the Vet
eran law so as to exclude Corporation
Counsel and Attorneys from its operation,
will not be pressed. In his view it is super
serviceable. The charter he holds, oper-
ates as an custer of all officials in Office
when it becomes operative. If the charter
is good, it will turn Messrs. Brinkerhof
and Seymour out, of itself. If the charter
| is not good, no one except the Board of
Finance that appointed them will be in
| terested to bounce them.
The Speaker is also authority for the
statement that the act must be submitted
to vote in every city in the State. 1t
declares that the bill ''mayn be sub
mitted to the people for acceptance. In
Mr.. Hudspeth's Judgment the verb may
in the act has all the force of the verb
''shall." This will be news to the Newark
members who insisted on amending the
bill, when it was up for passage, so as to
let that city out of it.
Ex-Assemblyman M. d. Tilden, refer
ring to the statement in last nights
JERSEY CITY's NEWS that he might be APP
pointed one of the Assessors instead of to
the Board of Works, calls attention to the
fact that he is a republican, and that
| while there must be a republican on each
of the other three Boards, the Mayor may,
and probably WILL appoint only demo-
Gratis to the Board of Assessors.