The Jersey City news., 1891-09-19

of Street and Water Commissioners OF
Street Commissioner shall be necessarl
in any case under this act in reference tt
any of the powers of said Board which
are under this act transferred to said
| Board of Street and Water Commission
ers." SO that it is plain, Mr.. President, thai
! whatever powers this Board possessed
previous to the passage of this act have
been expressly continued, right here, Mr..
President, permit me to say relative tC
1 the concurrent power of this Board
that TO the Hon. Denis Mclaughlin is due
the retention of the concurrent power by
the Board of Finance, who thereby has
| saved the taxpayers of this city much. sc
! much that The wisest cannot imagine,
and no one but the Almighty could tell.
| / do hope that while Mr.. Mclaughlin
! takes any part as leader in the politics
of this city, and may it be for many years
| to come, that he will always oppose by
every means within his power the taking
away from this Board by legislative en-
actment the concurrent power it now
possesses This Board has never ques-
toned the right of the Street and Water
Board to expend eyerv>cept Of the one
| half of the liquor license money without
let or hindrance after it was set aside for
that purpose by this Board, and used for
the purposes named in the act. 1t is
rather a dangerous thing to eXpend mon
eys without their being first appropriated
| Chapter 3, Laws of 1915. Section /. says:-
''Be it enacted by the Senate and Cen
eral Assembly of the State OF New Jersey,
That il any Board of Chosen Freehold :
ers or any Township Committee or any
Board of Aldermen or Common Council
men, or any Board of Education or any
Board of Commissioners OF any county,
township, city, town, or borough in this
State, or any committee or mem-
Der of any such Board or Com
mission shall disburse. order or vote for
the disbursements of public moneys,
in excess of the appropriation respective
ly to any such Board or Committee or
shall incur obligations in excess of the
appropriations and limit of expenditure
provided by law for the purposes res
pectively, to any such Board or Commit
tee, the members thereof, and each mem-
ber thereof thus discussing, ordering or
voting for the disbursement and
expenditure of public moneys
or the incurring Of obligations in excess
of the amount appropriated and limit of
expenditure as now or hereafter appro-
priated and limited by law. shall be
deemed guilty of malfeasance in office,
and on oeing thereof convicted shall be
punished by fine not exceeding one thou
sand dollars or imprisonment at hard
labor for any term not exceeding three
years, or both, at the discretion of the
Court" 1t is really astonishing TO con-
template the action of the Treasurer and
COtnpCrOlleI. Ii UuGy Cdu no dS Uucy
please the Board of Finance had best ab-
dIcate at once. Chapter 226 of the laws of
1891, which was never taken in con-
sideration by the corporation counsel
when interpreting the charter of 1889
and Chapter 1874 of the laws of 1891, leaves
his opinion worthless SO far as apDortion-
ing the liquor license money. | will re-
cite it. Chapter 226 says:-"It shall be
lawful in any city of this State for the
Board having charge and control of the
finances thereof to appropriate and set
apart annually, with the consent of the
Mayor, for the period of six years from
the date hereof out of the license fees re-
ceived in such city for licenses to sell
spiribuous or malt liquors, one half there
of for the repaving reopening aud I'M
proving of paved streets i'll such city, and
said moneys 80 appropriated shall be dis
bursed exclusively by the board or de-
partment of such city charged with the
duty of paving and repairing streets, aud
by no other board or authority. nor for
any other purpose whatever.
-'Section q And be it enacted that all
acts and parts Of acts inconsistent with
this act be ana the same are hereby re-
pealed and that this act shall take effect
Immediately"
The Treasurer by his act nullifes the
will of the Legislature, which said it shall
take effect at once. The Treasurer says
that it is not to take effect until next
year and that it WAS only in
tended to apply for five years.
while the Legislature says six
years. 1 wonder what the Governor of
the State will say, he who signed it, and
as an able lawyer know what its mean
ing il and what is intended by it. Now,
it may be that the Treasurer has appor-
toned the money for the schools, also.
perhaps. with the sinking fund thrown
in, Strange things happen often. In-
ic no Of
Under chapter 1874 of the laws of this
year it is made the duty of the Board of
Finance under Section of the Act to ap-
propriate and set apart within four
months from the approval of tine act
0,000 for the purpose of providing a fund
for the Street and Water Board TO enable
them to repair ahd reset curb stones and
sidewalks. Many may say that if gone
into the sinking fund that it is in a good
place. That is not the question. The
Legislature said it should be set apart fer
a specific purpose. aud it must. No per-
son or authority can tamper with the
finances OF the city, but this Board. We
have not acted as yet owing to the state
mentS of the city funds made by the
Treasurer to this Board, propose, Mr..
President, that this matter shall receive
attention this evening. If the Treasurer
is reported correctly in the EUenjng Jour
nal of August 10, he has shown want of
knowledge OIL the uuLl6S OIL his OIllCe. Tie
is reported as having said or indicated
that he believed the Board of Finance
had aske1 for too much. He gave them
all the Information they were entitled to.
H did not propose to allow the Finan-
ciers to meddle with something with
which they have nothing to do, and were
matters out of the jurisdiction of the
Board of Finance. we shall see ii the
Treasurer is right in his conclusions.
Section 1873 of the charter of 1871 says:
'.The Boacd of Finance shall from time
to time fix the terms upon which the
funds in the city treasury may be depos-
tied in bank, including among such terms
the rate of interest to be allowed by the
bank to the city upon deposits, and the
rate of interest to be paid TO the bank on
loans, and said terms shall be the same
for all the banks now existing in the city.
and the moneys in the city treasury shall
be deposited and kept in equal proper
tions as nearly as practicable in all of the
city banks that may be willing to comply
with such terms, and the money which
said city may need to borrow from the
city banks shall be borrowed in equal
proportions. as nearly as practicable,
from each of them. Provides that when
any of said banks decline to make it's fair
proportion of the loans required by said
city, the deposits with said bank shall be
diminished according. and for the pur-
pose of carrying out the provisions of the
section, the City Treasurer shall make his
| deposits and direct his drafts under the
| general supervision and control of the
| Board of Finance" That is the law, Mr.
| President. and there is no way of escap-
| ing it. IJ is for the verv purpose of per-
! forming his duties in strict accordance