Year: 1873

The Employ ment or Lobby Counsel
by tho City Comptroller-A Left
Handed Compliment.


The Comptrollers special counsel, Mr.. Dex-


ter A. Hawkins, publishes long communion


ton, in which he seeks to show that the ser


vices rendered by him at Albany last winter
were worth the large remuneration paid to


him by Comptroller Green-namely, one hun
dred dollars day fee and from nine to twelve
dollars day extra for ''expenses" Perhaps


they were; but that is not the point


Comptroller Green had no right to appoint


Mr.. Hawkins as counsel at Albany"


and no right to pay him nearly eight


thousand dollars, for some seventy days


alleged Services" out of the city treasury


In SO doing, between May l and May 81,


the Comptroller violated an express provision


Of the charter, for Mr.. Hawkins was not "as-


signed" as counsel to the Comptroller's De-


partment by the Corporation Counsel. Nor


does the attempt to draw Mayor Havemeyer


in and to fix share Of responsibility upon


him help Mr. Green, for the Mayor had no


more authority than ths Comptroller to en-
ploy and pay counsel Mr.. Hawkins believes
that but for his efforts the Legislature would
have involved the city in millions of dollars
needless loss and expenseArather back
handed compliment for Senate and Assem-
bly, three-fcurths reform republicans, either in
regard to their wisdom or their honesty.


We have nothing to say in regard to the
valne of Mr.. Hawkins services. In CONVEX
sation with q reporter of the HnRAID he re-
Gently placed his own estimate upon them at
the modest sum of eighty thousand dollars for
about seventy four days work. If 80, Comp
trolIer Green employed him at a moderate
remuneration when he paid him one hundred
dollars day and his board bill of from nine
to twelve dollars day in addition We charge
that although the old charter, under the
favorite policy Of the Tammany Ring, may
have given the head of department show
of legal right to take money out Of the public
treasury to pay for lobby services at Albany
up to May /, 1873 Mr.. Green followed the
example, of the corrupt Tweed and Connolly
regime in availing himself Of the power. But
even under the old law Mr.. Green had no bet
ter right than any other head of city depart
ment to pay for counsel at Albany with the
public money. In retaining Mr.. Hawkins at
the peoples expense after May the Comp
trollsr wilfully violated provision of the
present charter which prohibits the employ
ment of counsel by any department of the city
government without q formal assignment from
the legal adviser of the Corporation. An
apologist for this lobby bill contends
that the services Of Mr.. Hawkins were in fact i
o contract which could not be affected by
the law repeating the old Tammany charter:
The absurdity Of such proposition is evident,
and proves how utterly indefensible is the /
illegal and improper conduct Of the Comp
troller. The most scanda1ous feature Of the
transaction is the fact that the enormous fee 4
and the expenses were paid to the counsel for
many days during which the Legislature was
not in session at all. In this feature, it is
true, the employment of Mr.. Hawkins seems,
to have taken the form Of contract and
of most audacious one at that. A financial
officer notorious for pairing down the paltry
wages of laborers and scrub-women when
their daily labors have not been regularly per-
formed cannot be excused for contracting"
to pay one hundred dollars day for services
never rendered and nine to twelve dollars q
day for expenses never incurred. We shall
see from Mayor Havemeyer's action in the
matter whether he really approved and sanc-
toned this lawless and outrageous squander-
ing of the public money at time when the
city's finances were, as they are yet, in ON
embarrassed and critical condition.


The advancement Of W0men.o