Year: 1871

Up OF Municipal Corruption.


Judge Barnard yesterday gave judgmen.
in the injunction case against the city, and the
conclusion at which he has arrived and the
opinion in which he explains and justihes that
conclusion, will meet the hearty approval and
endorsement of the people. The injunction is
made permanent, after certain notifications,
which will remove from its scope the salaries
of those actually employed in the service of
the city, the works on the parks, docks and
streets, and the operations of the Departments
Of Charities and Correction Croton Water
Police, Gas and Education. These will 60 on
rs usual. The money for the payment of the
employees has already been raised and
should be row in the treasury. If 1t has been
wronsfully applied to other purposes the FL
nance Department Of the government will
alone be to blame, and upon Comptroller Con-
molly must fall the odium of keeping the labor
ers on the public works out Of their hard
earned pay. But so far as other expenditu res
are concerned the injunction applies. No
more exorbitant and fraudulent bills can be
paid by the Comptroller; no more bonds
can be raised by the Board of Appor-
tionment, until there shall be such an
alteration in that Board as will restore
to it the public confidence. The pleasant
and profitable days of City Hall bills, of
armory repairs, of bogus pay rolls, are brought
to sudden close, and the strong arm of the
law is stretched forth to protect the treasury
| from the further assaults of INSCRIPTIONS ma
rauders. 1t may be, as Judge Barnard says,
| that the consequence of making the injunction
| permanent will be to partially disorganize the
city and county governments but this cannot
| be helped. Claims of an outrageous charac-
ter, bearing upon their face the appearance of
highway robbery, have been audited in the
Comptroller's Office and paid by that officer.
The bonds needed to realize the money have
been raised by the Board Of Apportionment,
which is virtually in the hands Of the Comp
troller. Under these circumstances it is the
duty of the bench Of equity to step IN, and if
no legal remedy shall be found to exist, to in
vent remedy for such evils and to protect the
citizens from plunder. Judge Barnard does
effectually step in, and he Will not allow
''auother dollar to be paid from the treasury
or another bond to be issued" until the man
agement of the financial affairs of the city
shall be in cleaner and more trustworthy
hands.


The admirable and courageous decision of
Judge Barnard will serve double purpose.
1t will put an effectual stop 10 the old system
of municipal plunder, and it will defeat the
plans Of those who hoped to take advantage
of the existing excitement to throw the whole
city government again into confusion for their
own corrupt and selfish ends. In requiring
the modification of the injunction, and in the
plain language Of his opinion, Judge Barnard
makes it appear that the records Of the Mayor
and of the heads of the Departments of Docks
and Parks are unlmpeached and blameless.
| In regard to the latter, ''no suspicion or alle-
cation of fraud has been charged against
| tbem," says the Judge, ''as far as can find
from any paper or any statement made" And
of Mayor Hall he declares that the Court en-
dorses the opinion of the counsel for the plain
tiff, who had felt bound to acquit the Mayor Of
the charges made against him in the CON-
plant, The fact that the Departments Of
Docks and Parks have right to issue bonds
whenever necessary to carry on the duties
entrusted to them by law is distinctly stated
by the Court. 1t is gratifying to know that
these important departments will not be en-
barrassed by the confusion into which the city
has been plunged, but that the great public
works already on their way, as well as those
which are contemplated in the future, will be
suffered TO proceed uninterruptedly to COM
pletion The loss, of few millions Of
dollars would not be half so great
an injury to the city as would the stoppage Of
! the system of Improvement and establishment
which is at present adding so much to the
beauty and wealth Of the metropolis.


The political effect Of the decision will be to
bring the municipal muddle to head and to
hasten the destruction of the Tammany Ring.
Comptroller Connolly cannot longer stand up
under the weight Of public odium now heaped
upon him. He refused to resign his Office into
the hands of the Mayor when requested SO
to do, on the plea that legal proceedings
were then pending ''before just and fearless
tribunal" and to retire would be to betray
weakness of position or fear Of rigid investi-
CATION. Those proceedings are now over, and
the decision of the Court, In plain English,
brands the Comptroller with criminal neglect
of bis duty to the city. There can be no
longer any doubt that fraudulent accounts
have been audited and paid through his Office ;
that pay rolls, with long lists Of names which
never had any existence or bearing the sigma
lures of persons who never did days
work for or rendered single service 10
the city, have been passed through the
hands of his subordinates and received his
own appreciation month after month. In bis
recent letter to the Mayor Mr.. Connolly
thought fs to to say, 'My official acts have
been supervised and approved by your supe-
rior vigilance. So far as my administration is