The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-04-27
ICOL. DAVIS TN ALBANY.
Newark's Missing Under
Sheriff Found Yes
terday.
HIS SHORTAGE NOT OYER $1,000.
Sheriff Hine Will Not Prosecute
Him, but Will Do Anything
to Help Him out Of His
Trouble.

lf0uDles
Prosecute hima Noi On the other
hand viii do anything can to help MIN
straighten himself out, il he VIII only
come back
That was what Sheriff Hine. of Essex
county, said to SUNDAY MORNING NEWS
reporter, last evening He was talking
about Colonel Ebenezer ", Davis. WHO
! has been Under Sheriff for twenty two
Years, aud who disapp earsd from view On
Tuesday
! Detectives found Colonel Davis ii
Albany yesterday morning. and be told
them that he would send to Sheriff Hfne
an account Of bis shortage.
4 lew years ago, after saying he WAS
gong y Europe 70 stay Davis LEFT
Newark on account OF being Involved ii
trouble In the Sheriff's Office He went
70 Providence, r. T. and the Chief az
/ foliee OF that CITY. who is Grand Army
mans telegraphed thai he was there. a
/ , Newark taWyer went to Providence, and
Drought Davis home; his accounts iii the
Sherlif's Office were satisfactorily setrlelI.
4 and he resumed his duties in the ONCE
The escapade was kept q secret BIZ the few
people at the Court house VINO knew
| about it,
Davis had been drinking very hard at
that time one OF his friends said today.
and he was extremely nervous when iis|
wenr away II his brains had not been
affected by liquor he would not have
gone, Tor the shortage in his accounts
| was not large SUM. He has been drink
i ing TOO much for over q year and be-
appearance now
County Auditor Pearson made lis
eoVerY yesterday which promises 10 BE
the entering wedge TO further discoveries.
In going over The Under SherIff's ac-
counts for the December term Of c0urt IN
1859 the Auditor found that Davis re- e
turns OF money reeetved during that
period is from 81 500 70 81. GOO short az fl3e.
amount actually drawn 81 him Tor Jurors
and constables' pay
saw Sheriff Brown yesterday aud
asked him about a rumor thar there had
been shortage in Colonel Davis ac-
counts when he was Sheriff. BE said
No, u is not true that there was any
shortage discovered while / was Sheriff
/ wish 70 heaven I knew where he = "A
now and would 60 after him and get
him to come back. for am sure If a.
were here all could be satigfactorilv al
| justed- do not and viii not believe.
that Colonel Davis ever deliberately stole
a cent. | believe his whole shortage was
due TO his habit Of spending money TOO
freely and the fact that he went beyond
1 his means
Sheriff Hine is having an expert exarst-
4 nation of the books IN his once made. Ia
order TO ascertain just how matters stand.
be has employed for this purpose Messrs
William Trenholm and Charles %. Phelps.
aeennntanfs. Of No a BroaawaY. New
1 York They began their work Yesterday
morning and Will make thorough exam
nation of all the books in the Office. As
there are many accounts to be gone
| through and vouchers to be compared. it
viii take several days to complete rhe
| examination.
! called the Sheriff's attention to
statement that money paid into the Office
| for fines and costs is missing, and he
said
Il don't know Of any such shortage.
Ihe only shortage, SO far, is in the cash
account. and that is not very large. The
Chancery accounts are ali right There
was time when Colonel Davis could
have taken $4,000 out OF the Orange
Bank, OF Chancery money. but that is all
right
The Sheriff said it was not true. as
stated IN morning paper, that On Satur-
DAY last ne discovered that there had been
more subpoenas issued upon which fees
We're coaectable by the Sheriff than were
called for BY the business of the court
County Clerk Smith was reported to
have lent Colonel Davis $50 Just before
ne Went away. When questioned about
this he said
Il have nothing to say. only that Col
onel DAVIS could have had five times that
amount from me If he had wanted Is. II
any Of his friends had known he was in
| trouble they would have helped him
| Colonel Davis has within the past six
months borrowed money aggregating q
considerable amount from certain county
i officials No man from whom he sought
a loan even thought of taking a due bill,
/ for the reason that for long years every
cent borrowed had been promptly re-
| turned.
The colonel is over fifty years old aud
/ is soldierlY in his bearing and manners.
He was born in the southern part of
I Wales, and with his parents came to this
country when be was about six years OF
age. He was educated in Sussex county.
and when the war broke out enlisted IN
the Fifteenth New Jersey Volunteers He
I participated in the battles Of Antietam,
! Fredericksburg, Petersburg, Chancellors-
4 vile, Mine Run, Gettysburg and the vari-
Gus skirmishes during the Wilderness
campaign He was present when Lee
surrendered. He was mustered out Of
service with the rank of major. After
the war he took up his residence in this
I city, and embarked in the grocery bust
ness, which he left when appointed TO a
| position in the Sheritf's Office by Sheriff
iced, his father-in-law, twenty-five years
ago.