The colored American., 1900-09-29

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gal actions growing out of it.
Ihe present Attorney General has
also organized bureau and placed 8
deputy IN charge, for the prosecution
OF all violations Of the Agricultural isw
In this bureau the Attorney Generals
Office alone has conducted about SOC
prosecutions a year. During the pres
ent term the amount of fines and penal
ties received by the State from these
cases has exceeded the cost of prosecu
tion by over $15 900.
The prosecutions of all violations OF
the Metropolitan Election Law was
placed with the Attorney. General aud
has necessitated the organization of a
bureau for that purpose. Before the
Special aud Extraordinary Grand Jury
held in this city after the last election.
over 200 cases We're presented and IsS
indlctments were found. The fact that
90 subp9nas amount of work required
of his single department.
The Ford Franchise Law not only
added to the labor of the New YORK
state Tax Commissioners, but placed
upon the Attorney General the entire
litigation connected there with, and for
this work there has been special bu.
reau established with a Deputy in
charge. About 200 wrjts of certierari
have already been taken out against
the State under this Law, which sre
DOW being defended by the Attorney.
General
There have been many actions to sc.
questrate the property Of corporations,
many mandamus proceedings against
beads of departments, proceedings to
declare vecant the Office of persons
prima facie elected thereto, and some
score or more additional miscellaneous
actions. Nearly all of these have been
peculiar to the present administration
and have occurred during the last year.
The present members of the Canal
Board found upon entering office q
suspension Of work along the entire
canal, contracts which had been enter.
ed into were declared rescinded, money
had run out and work was at a stand :
still. Charges were pending AGAINST |
the former state canal officials, con
tractors who had not received their pay
were clsmoring for their money, claim |
ing that every legal specification had |
been complied with. Those who had |
not been allowed to complete their con |
tracts were demanding damsges from |
the state. The circumstances Of the |
situation were peculiarly and almoet
legal In their character. and
thus the tangle was left to Attorney.
General Davies to unravel.
In addition to the power Qiven to the
Genial Board by Chapter 544, Laws of
1899, to settle uncompleted contracts,
Chapter 81 of the present year bestows
upon 1t all the powers Of Supreme
Court to investigate and consider claims
for work prefermed and for dam ages
where opportunity for completing con-
tracts have been denied. During the
year 1899, claims and contracts involv-
ing nearly So 100000 were disposed of
by the Canal Board, and under the
new powers given the Board it is ex
pected that the results will be equally |
and bsfore the close Of
the present year every contract will |
have been finally settled
Under the SO 600, 900 Canal Improve
ment Act, more than 1000 claims ag.
in amount some 81, 50O, 900 |
were filed against the state for temper |
ary and permanent appropriation of |
lands, ard damages resulting from the |
of the canal. About one
nalf of these claims have already been |
disposed of. The Attorney General
has caused an investigation Of each of
the claims, and as result, the claim
ants have recovered an average Of 13
per cent of the amount claimed to date,
the remainder Of the claims are in pro-
cess of investigation, and before the
end of the present year the work of
that branch will have been completed
and trial brief of each claim made
for use when the same is reached by
the Court of Claims.