The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-04-09
City Clerk WoolIey's Minutes
Not Properly Engrossed.
ORDINANCES IN DANGER
Typewriter Copies Of Local Laws
Pasted in the Minute Book
They Could Easily Be Changed
Not Good Evidence in Court
Slipshod Work.

ollpsn0d WORK.
The City Clerk, who is also Clerk Of
the Board of Aldermen, keeps an ordirl-
ance book, book of resolutions and q
Journal of the proceedings of the Board
The law provides that he must engross
therein the official records of the city
law makers Under the present regime
of Edward w. Woolley, such is not the
case;- the records are typewritten
| During the incumbency of the late John
e. Scott, the records of the city were
| written in ink, and not typewriter or
printed. When Mr.. Woolley took charge
of the office he ordered typewritten cop-
! les OF ordinances and resolutions, and
these are pasted in the record books,
making them like scrap books. It COST
the city $7.75 for the type writing of the
precinct lines, s210 for the building laws
ordinance. and s1.05 for the liquor appli-
| cation list This money and much more
might have been saved had the clerks of
! the Office been allowed to engross the
records as they had been accustomed to
| do. 1t is claimed by some that if Mr..
| Woolley's ordinances were brought into
court they would be declared invalid,
because of their not being engrossed.
Among them. are the ordinances fixing
the new ward and precinct lines. The
ward line ordinance is printed on a paper
| that is pasted in the book. The precinct
lines resolution is typewritten on sheets
| of legal cap, which are also pasted in
| the book. Were these important laws
brought into court there might be end
less complications. Judge Knapp always
required City Clerk Scott to present the
original ordinance engrossed in the off,
| scial hook. when city law was in question
before him. He never would accept a
printed or typwritten copy as evidence.
Regarding the City Clerks duty in rhe
matter. section % of the charter (p. 1, ,109.
laws OF 1S7I says:-"He shall keep a rec
ord CT the proceedings and engross all
ordinances of such Board (Aldermen) in
| a book of ordinances to be provided for
that purpose.
Again in the same act (section 16. 1871.
p. 1,103) we read:-"Each of the Boards
| of the city government shall determines
! the rules of It's proceedings and keep a
journal of its proceedings
Thus the charter specifies how Mr..
Woolley shall keep those ordinances; he
must engross Them. The clerks of all tha
| other city Boards obey the law. but he
| does not. Imagine the records of the
county being typewrittenl What rum
pus the court and lawyers would maket
| In Parliament. in Congress. in Legisla~
lures and in all municipal bodies records
of proceedings and ordinances are en-
| crossed. Were this not done there would
| be an opportunity for interested parties
| to change the records. Printed or type
written documents will fade in time. but
the handwritten record lasts for decades
A1-1 s,,I- i,+o af<~a N[
the paper and never changes. Howevery
MIR. Woelley, in all his wise Judgments
may CLAIM that the word "engross'' doesl
/ not mean to hand-write. Here are some
authorities on the edt:-Websterr
says ITO copy or write In a large hands
| to write a fair copy of in distinct and
legible characters
Encyclopaedia Dictionary. "To write
fair or in great and fair letters; to write
in large or distinct letters; to copy OUT
| in large distinct and legible hand for
| preservation as records
Rapalje and Lawrence's Law Diction-
ary, 'Engrossing means copying a Decd
agreement or the like, with the formal
| testation and attestation clauses, so as
to be ready for execution"
AS to the journal, there Is ne question
| that its entries should be in ink. Cushing
says of the Clerk that his principal duty
shall be to take notes of all the proceed-
| ings and make true entries in his jour-
nal of all things done and past.
To paste in a book a typewriter or
| printed copy of an ordinance, resolution
| or record is loose way of doing busi-
ness. The theory of a record is that it is
| a written document 1t is a universal
practice in parliameats. congresses and
legislatures to nave records written. The
| word .'record1 means to be done in such
q manner that it cannot be changed or
altered. Mr.. Wooiley's method, if illegal.
! would be threwn-out of court. and should
be discontinued. Tl.re are five clerks in
| his office any one of whom could do the
| work properly. Under the present ar
rangement the city pays extra for the
unauthorized matter. Among the meas
| ures said to be liable to legal attack
| through Woolley's carelessness are these.
! Ward lines ordinance. approved March
| a. 1885, printed; obnoxious animals or
! dinance, adopted June %, 1895. typewrit-
| ten; ordinance amending liquor license
ordinance adopted June 25. typewritten;
| ordinance to amend hack drivers ordin-
ance. adopted June 25 typewritten; street
car fender ordinance, became effective
August %, typewriter. and not signed
| by the president of the Board; ordinance
| relating to Jersey City and Harsimus
ordinance to license and regulate ped
ing the ward precinct lines. typewritten.
From the Evening Journal October
| O. 1895.
|