Year: 1866

which are calculated to stop efecually the greatest
loop-holes in our Municipal Government, through
which our official rogueS have been accustomed here
toforc to drive at random


SECTION The said several shall be applied OILY 70


the objects purposes for which the hereby appo
prated and neither said corporation nor any p9a.a


nent officer or agent thereof shall incur liability OF maAe
contract contracts or permit or vote io or
directly indirectly any expenditure or expenditures or
expenditures and Of the liabilities under such contracts shall
exceed the appropriated for said purpose or Tor any Os


SIC. TO- The Mayor Aldermen and Commonaty OF tne
for expenditures authorized or Liability incurred by any ooa
department. or officer OF said corporation Tor any oec
purpose which expressly authorized by this act nor for
any contract made or expenditure aaihoized or naoy
incurred by board department or oer OF said corpora
object purpose named this Act beyond the
amount appropriated to such specific OBJECT or purpose ana
judgment actions upon contract shall DO entered Dy de
fault or otherwise IN any Court against saa ~ M
cept proof in open Court that the amount solg. 70
recovered in said Judgment still remains unexpended IN ne
City Treasury to the credit OF the appropraon 70 a' & p
fed object purpose upon which the claim sued LOT
founded and in shall appear by the defendants proof
that liabilities have been incurred by work done Tor sara
corporation or any department board member officer or
sgcn thereof under any contract express or inpnea;
unon shall exceed tie sum appropriated by this Act for the
purpose and about which said claim and liabilities arose no
ton"


When we state that these sections will stop the
nefarious system of obtaining judgments against the
City, and that in 1864 these judgments amounted to
81 POO, 900, and in 1865 to S5OOOOO, it will be seen
how vast and how sweeping reform is here intro
duced.


At one time, it seemed as if these sections were
doomed to destruction. They in the Levy as it
passed the Senate aud the Chairman of the Assembly
Committee randreth) assured the representatives OF
the Citizens Association that the Committee intended,
in this respect to report the Levy back to the Assem-
bly, as it had come from the Senate. But, To- and
behold the majority Of the Assembly Committee
reported the Levy, big with many steal and shorn
of all the sections calculated to produce Municipal
reform; and it was only after herculean efforts,
through Conference Committee-a majority OF whom
were the right men in the right place-that these
sections were rentroduced and the Levy passed in its
present form.


We shall take another occasion to criticse the con.
duct of Mr. Brandreth in relation to the New-York
Tax.Ievy A great deal of good has been done the
City of York. in spite of all his efforts to pre-
vent it.


Before leaving this subject we must acknowledge,
in behafofour taxpayers and honest citizens generally
irrespective of party, our great Indebtedness to the
Hon. Edmund l.. Pitts, member OF Assembly and
member of the Committee on Cities, for the manly,
noble and honorable course he pursued on every oc'
casion to protect us against the schemes OF our
municipal robbers. If there was one man in the
Assembly who has endeared himself to our citizens,
one man whose name is considered a synonym of
honor and integrity, that man is Mr. Pitts. when
Others faered he atered not; when Others sat list
less or dumb, he was outspoken for the right; and
perhaps it is to Mr.. Pitts more than to any mem
ber of the Assembly that we owe the retention OF
the precautionary and preventive sections of the Tax
Levy 1t was more than fortunate for our people that
the Citizens Association found in him gentleman so
Jealous, capable and honest in the cause OF REFORM


We know the people of this City will hail with de-
light his reelection to the Assembly or his elevation to
the Senae for it is By such men in the Senate and in
the Assembly, and not by those members chosen at
her own polls that City has been saved from pecu
laion and barefaced robbery to the extent OF more
than One Million Of Dollars.