Year: 1873

After three months of plotting, counterplot-
ting and chicanery over the New York
charter, the lobby have taken the matter in
hand, and have at last fairly exposed their
game In the Senate Their object is to defeat
the passage Of any new charter, in order that
the present offce-holders on the democratic
side, the remnant of the Tammany Ring,
Police Commissioners, Fire Commissioners,
Commissioners of Charities and Correction
and others, together with the old Connolly
heads of bureaus in the Finance Department,
may retain their positions. The surest method
by which they could accomplish their object
was by obtaining enough votes to retain
Comptroller Green in offce-a PROPOSE
ton which the Senate had repeatedly
defeated by q decisive majority. This they
succeeded in doing yesterday, and from the
character of the lobby agents employed in the
work it can be readily understood by what
means the result was secured. As it is univer-
sally conceded that Comptroller Green is not
capable of discharging the duties of the head
of the Finance Department to the advantage
of the city, however valuable may have been
the services he rendered in the early hours OF
the reform movement through his relations
with Comptroller Connolly and as it is noto-
rious that the Assembly is largely opposed to
his retention, this new scheme of the lobby is
depended upon for so embarrassing and COM
plicating the issues as to render the final
defeat of the charter highly probable.


Tha 20 ha Of
aided in this plot, and it is said that the dem
ocrats in the Assembly are to be convinced
by the customary legislative arguments" of
the policy of following the example of the
democratic Senators. rumor prevails that
the Custom House Ring is assisting in the
work for their own ends The prior action of
the Senate in placing the appointing power
in the hands of Mayor Havemeyer and retain
ing four of the present republican heads of
bureaus for the balance of their full terms
was not acceptable to the Custom House poll
ticians. The officers retained are not Of the
stripe of republicanism that finds favor in the
Murphy wing of the party, and the Mayors
bitter denunciations of the men who ''gam-
BILE all night to cheat each other and
plot all the day to cheat the people" give them
but little hope of receiving favors at his hands
in the distribution of the remaining offices.
Hence they prefer the present muddled and
disorganized government to one which would
be likely to strengthen the Mayor on the one
hand and the opposition faction, in their own
ranks, on the other hand. IT. therefore, the
disgraceful tampering with the interests Of
the city of New York which has been witnessed
at the State capital for the past two or three
months should end with leaving the remnant
of the Tweed democracy undisturbed in their
comfortable positions the responsibility will
rest with the republican majority in the Legis-
lature and with the Custom House Ring.


The dishonesty of the reform professions
of the republican managers, made prior to the
last November election is now exposed in oil
its nakedness. Their duty to the people de-
manded at their hands fair, honest charter
for this city. They could have secured this if
they had chosen to place the appointing power
where it properly belongs, in the hands of the
Mayor, and to sweep away all the old
ofice-holders in a body, or at least all
who were Objectionable either as Tammany
Ring democrats or as incompetent public
servants. This was the honest course to have
pursued They might have even succeeded
in giving us good government and have
satisfied the people had they chosen to make
partisan question Of the spoils and to take all
the offices for republicans by the creation of
commissions or otherwise The citizens were
Indifferent as to who might fill the public dc
partments, provided the Offices were placed in
the hands Of honest capable and enterprising
men. Instead of either adopting straight
forward, honorable course or carrying out
boldly q decisive partisan policy, the
republicans have been squabbling among
themselves, and the Custom House
Ring has been grasping at dctatorial
powers until the lobby has stepped in and
taken the game into their own hands. 1t is
openly stated at Albany that large amount
of money has been raised by the present demo-
cratic office-holders whose places were in dan
ger, and that this fund, aided by the rule or
ruin policy Of the Custom House Ring, is to
defeat the passage of any charter this session
and to leave the city government in its
present deplorable condition. with all
the departments jangling and inefficient and
all public progress and improvement blocked
This is the true meaning OF the vote to retain
Comptroller Green in Office. 1t remains to be
seen whether Speaker Cornell and Vice Presi-
dent Robinson will defeat the lobby conspiracy
by appointing a Committee Of Conference that
will agree upon an honest charter, and place
the responsibility upon those who may be pur-
chased to defeat the conference report


Germany, Russia and Austria-The


Entente Cordialc.


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