The New York Herald Newspaper, February 15, 1853, Page 2

FINANCES OF THE CITY. eee ANNUAL REFORT or TH8 COMPTROLLER OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HIGHLY IM?GRTANT DOCUMENT. The Cost of Supporting the Dignity | Sinking Fund and expended by them for the year ending December 3, 283, have’ bere. ss follows:— +» $1,162 377 04 1,116,337 60 Received on payment of the debt.. Paid from the same fund, Received on account of the fund fer the payment of interest on the debt, Paid for interest on the citydebt... $139,345 82 | Statements Nos. 5 and 6 give the several items of | ts und expenditures on account of the sinking pstions having arisen as to the powers of the Commissioners of the Sinking Se d dut of a City. Fund, there is appended to this report extracts from | PPR CRE OOO ishing the fund, marked No, 7, | y 5 o from the Comptroller to | INTERESTING T0 TAX PAYERS. smmissioners marked No. 8. Including the re- serie’ ceipts snd payments on acconnt of the sinking fand | Fixa DEPARTMENT, for the payment of interest, and the sinking fund for the payment of the principal of the debt the entire | annual financial operations of the city goverument exceed ten millions of dollars, viz:— | Keeeived into the treasury (see statement ComrTroiixn’s Orvics, New York, > February Li, 1853. To rue Common Covncrn:— The 2st section of the act of 1849, to amend the ebarter of the of New York, provides that “every | | No 1)......-.+++. 5 oe $8,130, 2 j rs in writi TY | Received on account of sinking fand for head of dep; nt shall report, in writing, to the wayment of debt (vee statement No. 3)... 1,162,87 Common Coun at the commencement of each stated session, the state of his department, with snch sag- estious in relation to the improvement thereof, and £ the public business connected therewith, as he | Received on account o* sinking fund for payment of interest (see statement No. 4) Tota! sum received......66....sse0e0e may deem advisable.” | Expenditures (see statement the ordinance of the Common Council, adopted in | | No. 1) “ + $8,204,241 45 1849, organizing the departments, declared (section | Do. on a it of ing 202) that the Comptroller shall report to the Com- | fund br! parent here steaks mon Council, at its first meeting in January in each | PM cy perenne pipe ae ptAG, 087 for the general information of the citizens,afull | ““fund for payment of inter | and detailed statement, setting forth:— | est (see statement No. 5). 790,171 77 10,2 2 | “}, The receipts and expenditures of the corpora- tion during the preceding year, and the different sources of the city revenue, and the amount received from each. 2. The several appropriations made by the Com- mon Council, the objects for which they were made, and the amount of money expended under each ap- priation. 3. The moneys borrowed on the credit of the oor- mT poration, the authority for each loan, and the terms | years in which these @pon which it was obtained.” | in statement No. 9. In compliance with these requirements of the char- | perRizs—THEIR MODE OF RENTING AND REVRNCE. ter and the ordinance referred to, the following | The corporation of the city of New York has a ort is respectfully submitted:— | very important power and valuable right in regard to ‘he receipts and expenditures of the corporation | the establishment of ferries ‘from Manhattan island during the year ending the 31st of December, 1352, | to any of the opposite shores all around the same.” exclusive of the fund set apart for the payment of “ The grent was founded,” says Chancellor Kent, the debt, were as follows :— | in no e 30 to the charter, ‘on the twofold considera- Expenditures from January Ist, 1851, to | tion, as a source of revenue to the city and an ac- | | co $13,885,866 Besides the debt before given of ......-++ reimbursable from the sinking fund, there is a debt for money borrowed to construct buildings, and for docks and slips, payable from taxation, of Making a total of The sums rei eeeene $14,890,855, reable tion, and the taxes must be levied, are given cember Sist of the same year commodation to the public.’ After affording every Received frou all sources for the same time, 8, facility for the security and accommodation of the yea Tio 73 | Dantes: $e Fe paivilee secured pee fares r, . y a re’ ely, and ought to keep pace with the growth of the city, and the surrounding country having intercourse with it ‘through the medium of the ferries. the general heads of expenditure, and in a corres- | ope column the amount received into the city | ury. | Among the payments out of the treasury, and into | “Tye ferry leases, or those which I have examined it, the tallowing are the be prominent :— | do not case any provision for making reports to Opening and paving streets. ..$1,021, 341 82 8 the corporation in regard to the amount received an- Common schools. be 853,935 06 nually for ferriage, or any esis respecting the Police..... 614,906 10 operations of the ferry which would enable the cor- Almshouse 390,000 00 or the amount . | poration to fix a value to its property, | of rent to be exacted on a renewal of the lease. The sums received at the several ferries which are con- nected with this city, indicating the number of per- sons passing to and from the city, would be interest- Gleaning streets ‘and 557,903 54 264,006 43 241,832 70 metal | ing and valuable as a statistical fact merely; and as 51,795 71 the sure means of ascertaining the value of the city 204,986 29 | property these returns are indispensable. In allcases where the ferry landings have been re- served, or are owned by the city, the rents, when leased, or on @ renewal of a lease, en to be fixed by a sale of the ferry privilege at public auction. The provision in the lease to have the boats valued at the | close of the term would secure all the equitable | rights of the original lessee, and the competition | would protect the interests of the city. The revenue arising from ferries is pledged to the public creditors for the payment of interest, and it is incumbent on the trustees of the sinking fund to use every effort in their power to improve this source of revenue. Statement No. 10 is a list of the ferries, and shows From money borrowed, paya- ble by taxes and otherwise.. 537,707 50 ‘The items in statement No. 1 cover all the opera- | tions of the treasury proper, as distinguished from the receipts and ayments on account of the proper- | set apart Hat debt. pledged for the payment of the ‘he expenditures and receipts on account of the iy government, not including trust funds or the sinking fund, for the year ending December 31, | 1852, were as follows :— | Expenditures... --$3,116,703 88 | Receipts other than from taxation. 17,380 86 the annual rent and terms of lease. Balance payable from taxation...... ... $3,039,413 02 | REVENUE FROM CITY RAILROADS. ‘The detailed items, together with the appropria- | Leaving to the proper authorities all questions fions made by the Common Council for the various connected with the legality or expediency of rail- ebjects of expenditure, are given in statement No. 2, | Toads in the streets of the city, it is deemed not only annexed to this report. The appropriations in this | Proper, but a duty, to presenta few suggestions in table include the extra sums appropriated to make | regard to the propriety of requiring the city railroads to give the public in some way an equivalent for the > Teepe ag Peyoenb tiesongtuel os ee very valuable eee secured to them by the Ithough the additional appropriations to make | agreements under which they enjoy a monopoly, as | faras railroad travel is concerned, of the most im- portant portion of an avenue. For this privilege, the company might be required to keep the entire ave- nue paved between the curb stones, and clean the streets. This would be a moderate compensation to the public for furnishing, not onl: ed line for the road, buta thoroughfare My led with more passengers than they can accommodate. In all cases of extending the avenues in the approach to the Har- lem river, each railroad company, as a condition for its extension, ought to be required to pay the expense of grading and paving the avenue, in proportion to the number of feet occupied by its double track; and the public ought to have the benefit of all revenue beyond ten per cent, ina reduction of fare, or a di- rect annual revenue might be exacted, which would go to lessen taxation on the city. The railroads yy open great avenues tothe | pee for the service of the year are embo- in the Comptroller's report of the 13th Decem- ber, yet it was known that the ona were exhausted at a much earlier # yes l. the City In- | tor’s department an additional appropriation of | ,000 was made on the 13th of November; county | contingencies, on which many irregular claims are | poe al gave out on the same day; and the contin- | gent expenses of the Common Council were also | aided $4,000; cleaning streets was aided by $59,000 on the 10th of September, and $50,000 more on the | ‘13th of November. Lamps and gas had $50,000 on the 10th of September, and $19,700 on the 13th-of November. The police, too, required $75,000 on the 13th of November. Street expenses re- _—— $15,000 on November 13, and $100,000 December. Salaries came in for $13,000 on | | to he elected by chap. ! | portionment of the State Superintendan | Supervisors an estimate of thesum necessary to carry But there is another and fatal objection to this law. It casts a local burthen on the county of New York for the eu ofa ge eommon to the bi State, and ought not to be separately taxed in addition. Ou either of the points above referred to, I feel constrained to say that I consider it my daty to re- fuse payment, under both the resolutions ‘of the Board of Supervisors, until the questions are settled by a court of competent jurisdiction. Tt has been suggested that the business of the city has greatly increased, and the additional charge | necessary to bring up this bu ny properly be | assessed'on the city. This consideration ought not | to influence the ‘action of an executive officer. But, conceding the increase of business, we ought not to lose sight of the fact, that comparing | 45, the year before the coustitution was adopte, h 1853, we find that the force of the Superior Court has been increased from three to six, and the total amount of the salaries of the judges of this | court, which in 1845 was $7,500, is now $24,000. Tn addition to this, awity judge bas been authorised 5) of the laws of 1850, with a salary of $3,500, payable from the city treasury. COMMON SCHOOLS AND TAXATION. The direct tax for common schools on the property | of the city for the year 1853, as shown by the ap- of Com- | mon Schools, and the requisition made on the Super- | visors of the county by the city Board of Education, is seven hundred and ninety-four thousand seven hundred ond six dollars. From 1823 to 1829 inclusive, the sum apportioned | from the common school fund of the State to the city of New York in each year, was $10,823, requiring the same sum to be raised by tax. In 1830 and 1831 there was added to this tax one-eightieth of one per cent, which produced about $15,000 in addition for each year. From 1832 to 1840, there was collected by tax three-eightieths of one per cent, in addition to the ordinary school money, producing from seventy to seventy-three thousand dollars annually, reaching $90,000 in 1841, and falling to $60,000 1842 and 1843. In 1845 an assessment was made of one-twentieth of one per cent, producing $114,610 63. In the mean time, and commencing with 1841, the distrib&tion of school money by the State was in- creased by the addition of the United States deposit fund to about $35,000, requiring an equivalent sum to be levied on the city, and making the total tax for schools $124,000. In 1844 an act was passed eee $20), which provided for purchasing sites and build- ings, and farnishing schoolhoures, and for raising the necessary means by taxation for accomplishing these chjects. The 42d section of this act provides “All children between the ages of four and sixteen, residing in the city and county, shall be entitled to attend any of the common schools therein; and the parents, guardians, or other persons having the cus- tody or care of such children, shall not be liable to any tax, assessment, or imposition,” other than the | general tax; and the Board of Education, created by said act, was authorised to present to the Board of out the provisions of this act, and the Supervisors and the Common Council, by the 15th section, were required to provide the necessary means. Inder this act, the total assessments in 1845 were $150,000, and nearly the same in 1846 and 1847, In 1848, taxation for schools reached $340,000; in 1849, $376,665; and in 1850, $374,442. In 1851, the tax was raised to $416,519. The act to levy $800,000 by tax on the whole State was passed in 1551, and i: tax on this city since has been and will be as follows:— 1852. For State treasury... $186,361 “” For city schools... 467,573 1853. For State treasury.. $225,670 569,036 For city schools... 794,706 A great wrong has been done to the city of New York by what is called the free school system for the State. “Previous to the adoption of this unjust and oppressive system, as already shown, this city had a special school system, involving heavy taxation, and securing to every child in the city that could be in- duced to attend school, tuition, books, schoolhouses, full and all necessary school accommodations, free from any charge whatever. Our schools are still sus- tained under our special laws, at an annual expense to the tax-payers of nearly $600,000. It was unjust, then, to include this city in any general system of assessment for the support of the free achools in the State. But what is still more unjust is the fact that, in_assessin; 0,000 on the whole State for free schools, and in rier an apportionment of it to the several districts and counties, the law is so con- ‘structed as to levy on this city, by tax,. .$225,670 80 And to apportion toit out of the $800,000 95,698 87 | Difference. The letter et pe Schools, appended to this report, and marked No. | 11, illustrates the gross injustice which is done by | the law to this city, by ita rule of assessing and ap- ming. But this is not the whole of the wrong. ‘he fact that, under a special law, all our schoo! are made free at the expense of the tax-payers, shows that we ought to be entirely exempt from the action of the State law; and yet we are subjected to | ee peer! oosectng, Cie expense Ge tre and of sen mone’ , and of ge back $140,000 less than it Some the tax-payers to canny with ee rai = of the law. To il ustrate unfairness e pretended apportionment* pro- vided for in the law, I have taken the malta! | the amount paid to the treasury on account of the | @*00,000, and the sum drawn out of it on account of | Nov. 13. The watt ramon for docks and slips ‘was exhausted early in the season, and on the 4th of August $120,000 was added for these objects. cn Peep to this statement No. 2 is a list of the addi- city, render valuable equivalents to the public for the | privilege of laying their rails on the graded avenues. } one oe ey soeee a eoecing ers great aoe to | appropriations of 1852 made subsequent to the je trade and commerce e city, are placed on a (Lie rate ee of 1852. | different footing from_the ci eile ‘Take, for | "rom this | example, the Hudson River Railroad, at an expense | | of ten millions and a iali of dollars; its stockholders | have prepared a road which brings the commercial | and political capitals of the State within four hours | of each other, at a eost to each person of twelve first estimates, and showing the deficienc ‘The total of the deficiency is $887,100. gam the Comptroller makes sundry deductions, by which he reduces the aggregate deficiency to $742,- ys 91. aes ben ae incidents we oe he — to bis aid in reducin; e aggregate deficiency do c@ A v not relieve the pevecal Uepartneste from the respon- | Shillings, thus producing a wonderful saving in | sibility, either of carelessness in their estimates, or | time and money to the millions who annually | extravagance in their expenditures. If one depart- | traverse the valley of the Hudson. And yet this ment expends fifty thousand dollars less than its es- | company, instead of having the right of way given, timate, and another one hundred thousand dollars | and the avenue graded for it to Harlem river, paid | more, the latter is not entitled to have the difference | at least one hundred thousand dollars for the right of of $50,000 offset against its error of $100,000, and in this way apparently reduce its error to fifty thou- sand. grading. And where the avenues were not actually | opened, the company paid to the individuals fronting | on the avenue two handred dollars a lot for the juantity occupied by the company in the avenue. | n addition to this, the company was prohibited, in | the ordinance, from running any stated trains below | Thirty-second street, or taking pay from passengers, | The late Comptroller also reduces the amount of | the deficiency of 1852, by an item which he enters on his statement to the Common Council, (page 545 of the printed documents of the Board Aldermen, Dec. 1852,) in the following words:—*‘ Gain on mill tax of 1852—it having been reduced from halfa mill on , wnder a penalty of $25 in each case. These were the 100 to a quarter of a mill, by laws of 1852, chap. | conditions in a case where a company of capitalists | 209." But who gains this $97,942 09? | Were opening an importagt avenue to the city for one not the tax payers. On the 15th day of | hundred and forty miles, whére the right of way cost them at least $500,000, and the whole outlay not less than ten end a half millions of dollars. | In this view of the subject, it seems to me that every person not biassed by an adverse interest must come to the conclusion that these great thorough- fares, Ea as they are, if to be occupied for the special advantage of a few individuals, those indi- viduals ought to yield to the public a fair equivalent for this great privilege, and the value of which is to increase with the growth of the city. | Ifa reasonable portion of the expense of openin, and grading the avenues is exacted from the railroad companies which are to be benefitted, it will bea check on premature movements in opening and grading avenues, and the imposition of enormous expenditures. For this purpose, the case of the Second avenue, where $220,000 wil! probably be as- sessed on the city, to be paid by taxation, should be | an admonition to the city authorities on this point. If speculators in railroad-stock and contracts are to m the 6th of September last a statement was He ee avenues by a partial confiscation of the ad- Lovee emanating from the finance department, joing property, and a tax on the city, and then are which it is expreasly admitted that the detailed to have the use of those ded avenues and profita- ble thoroughfares, to be kept in repair at the public expense, they ought to pay @ large revenue to the city. And if the grades of the avenues are raised or cut down to accommodate the railroads, beyond what is required for the benefit of the p operty, the roads thus accommodated ought to be charged with the additional expense. EXTRA COMPENSATION TO THE JUDGES OF TILE SU PREME COURT. An account has been presented to me of John W. Edmonds, a Judge of the Supreme Court in this April, 1552, the Legislature passed an act reducing the tax for the support of the State government one- half. The Supervisors of this city, who made up the tax levy in August, instead of giving the tax payers the benefit of this ee according to the inten- tion of the Legislature, levied half a mill under the old jaw, instead of one-fourth of a mill under the And this, in the estimation of the Comptroller, is a gain of $87,942 09. It was doubt- leas arclief to the finance and other departments, but it was in no sense a gain to the inhabitants of the city. The charter of 1820, (section 20,) declares that “it shall be the duty of the Common Council to publish, two months before the annual election of charter officers in exch year, for the general infor- mation of the citizens of New York,a full and de- tailed statement of the receipts and expenditures of the corporation during the year ending on the first =, of the month in which said publication is made.” J statement, instead of embracing the information re- Re by the charter to be laid before the people for e yearending on the first day of the month in which said publication is made, includes only eight months, from January lst, 1852,to August Ist of the same year, the report being published in Septem- ber. The finance department, however, in thia re. rt, volunteers to communicate, “‘ for the general in- formatjon of the citizens of New York,” what is not required by the charter: that the tax levy would ke 96 70-100, without any allusion to the great increase of expenditures which had been apparent from the district, for 2750, being an extra compensasion al- large extra appropriations commencing on the 4th jowed him by a resolution of the Board of Saper- of August. - | visors of the 27th of December last. The resolution In the month of December following, a document | is annexed, and marked No. 12, I was not was laid before the Common Counc ‘0 prepared | asked to draw @ warrant on the treasury, for at the Finance Department, in which it is expressly | the reason that the Judge was absent and the becea- stated that the expe nditures of the city government, | cary youchers could not be given; but I was request- pod year will be increased seven hundred | ed to say that the amount would be paid on the re- - Sorty-tu 0 thousand dollars, for deficiency of taxa- | ceipt of the proper vouchers. This I declined to do. Pn fi ran and, also, that he total sum to be | Although the Legislature has passed an act de- a y ax, in as will be $5,171,602 24 | claring that the supervisors may make this allow- 301 oo tama over the tax levy of 1852 of $1 ance, and the supervisors have passed a resolution If the amount of the deficiency before given, which ee TE ive plone seepek on ae | is — me al Roe the year Bong had been pro- | charge of my duty, is the paramount authority, and | perly brow te “ed ar to which it belonged, the | mnst control my action in this case. Sec. 7, art 6, = levy : 1 eee ave been $4,122,668 96; and | of the constitation reads as follows:— | wre instea ing 96 70-100, would have been | ‘The Judges of the Court of Appeals and Justices 7 21-100 on each one hundred dollars of valua- | of the Supreme Court shall severally receive, at | n. | stated times, for their services, a compensation, to be | established by law, which shall not be decreased or diminished during their continuance in office.” | | The Judges the Supreme Court in the several | Judicial districts are State judges, and their compen- | Soe is oe -— by Pi and paid from the State | treasnry. ¢ diatrictof New York requires | ba and these revenues are, by an ordinance judicial force than other districta, it has oe renee | »pted in Is44, placed in the hands of certain trus- | ty to provide for their election, and their salaries | a and are pledged for the Powe i of the city | must be paid from the State treasury; and there is sama Pty the Ist of pre Cee Pe bd | Bo Fle in the constitation ee ueee any portion 3,886 456. re are in the 0 treasnary of tl 0 Gainer of te sinking Fund, applicatie to a expense on the Ty of the county of New of this debt, city stocks, and bonds, It ia said, however, that the section of the consti- Si Portaaces, amonnting to the sum of $3,896,266 | tution just referred to, extends oniy to an alteration tun co _ yaa No.3, shows the amount | of the salary, so far as the State treaxiry is concern- orn won de s seourities in the hands of the | eq. This would defeat the intention of the conven- redemption. tion, by increasing the Lana during the fexm, which TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE OPERATIONS op THE TREA- | they intended to prevent’ by acting on the aupervi- suRY. f New York, instead of sii ‘The sume received by the Commissioners of the | treasury directly.” ee THE SINKING FUND. The great bulk of the city property, estimated at from fifteen to twenty millions of dollars, and the revenues thereon, which, with the water rates, yield an annual income of nearly a million dollars, are not included in the statements before referred to. This way on the island, and five times that amount for | j, | partments, through the Comptroller.’ When the school moneys, by six of the largest counties, having | an aggregate population about equal to that of the a and county of New York. The result is as Ws: — Paid to Precip ing | Counties. Treasury. School l. Albany 93,279 $23,312 327,382 | 5 24,026 83,8098 22,286 28,323 | 13,661 ¢ 85,985 18,183, 29,040 | 8,582 21,247 | j $110,360 $176,375 | City of New York 615,546 225,670 130,701 05 The above six counties, with an eregate popula. | tion of only 648 more than the city of New York | . taxes to make up the $800,000, $115,330 less ibak New York, and draw from the school fund appor- tionment $45,594 more than New York, making a total difference by this comparison of $160,924. The free school act in this respect violates the principle of equal taxation, which lies at the foubdgsaa of every just system of collecting revenue from a proper- ty valuation. | The increase of taxation for schools, comparing 1845 with 1853, eight years, is $644,000. In regard to this increase, it is just to all parties to aay, that the Common Council and the finance department have no control in the premises. As a matter of form merely the Common Council appropriates, as it al- ready has done, the total sum for the year, and the Board of Education draws the amount from the Chamberlain, with whom the money is placed by the Comptroller, and there is no accountability to the finance department. The ten Governors of the Almghouse are organized under a special law, which relieves them from ac- countability to the finance department, although they draw tome $400,000 annually from the treasu- ae They report, however, to the Common Council. These facts are mentioned for the purpose of show- ing to the tax payers that about $1,200,000 of their contributions aré managed under special laws, to which the system of accountability prescribed in the charters of 1830 and 1849 do not apply. THE DUTIES OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT. In this“ winter of discontent” to the tax payers, with an annual assessment of more than five millions of dollars hanging like a dark cloud over the future destinies of the city, and when my predecessor in- forms them that the assesements for 1853 will be in- creased $1,700,000 over those of the preceding year, | and that $742,000 of this sum grows out of arrear- | ages of expenditures of 1852, it would be a derelic- tion of duty on my part, did I omit to examine into | the causes of this frightful increase of expenditure, | or to apply all the remedies for the protection of the treasury which the charter and the flaws of the land have provided for the government of the Finance De- | bcp be Theoretically, the city government has not he power to tax the inhabitants of the corporation ; taxation is @ prerogative of sovereignty, reserved to the State government, and which that goverament | deals out to the corporation in annual instalments. | The annual tax law is made out by the Comptrol- | ler, approved by the Mayor aad Common Council, and then is forwarded to the Legislature to be paas- ed into a law. The form is the same from year to | year, the only material change being in the amount to be levied on the patient inhabitants, and it is passed, almost asa matter of course, precisely as it comes from the hands of the corporation. Practi- cally, therefore, the legislative and executive depart- mente of the city government impose the taxes, and | are responsible for the expenditures and the increase of taxes, with the exceptions which have been shown | in another part of this report. In the tax law of | 1852, passed by the State Legislature, anthority was | given to the Supervisors—a body in this city which | consists of the Mayor, Recorder and the Aldermen of | the twenty wards—to levy the sum of $3,340,511 05 | on the taxable inhabitants of the city. This sum was arrived at and made up—or ought to have | P been—as required by the seventh section of the charter of 1449, from“ specific and detailed state. ments, in writing, of the several heads of the de- Comptroller, at the close of 1851, presented these | estimates for the year 1852, with a law for the sanc- tion of the State Legislature, embracing this sum, the Common Council had a right to expect that it was, inthe opinion of the Comptroller, sufficient for the expenses of the city ernment to the lst of Ie. | cember, 1852. The specific and detailed s‘atements made out by the several departments, as the basis of the action of the Common Council and the Lewisla- ture, in fixing the amount of the tax, and the ap ro- 6 * Webster's Dicti ome to each dens viding into just proportions or , whieh the Legislature has en. { ty for the schools, by assigning moa the net of di | towhich they refer. The amendments | Council or not, unless an appropriation | ben previously made concerning such expense.” for the service of the 1852, were | Theestimates and appropriations for the curren' | ecutive busin tinued, a8 was the departmenta throug the, pear, ss shown. by x | inade Ghve estates, with the exception of one de- a a e ith the ex: ‘one de- Teport of the Com to Conncil, partment, have been changedince the estimates were resented on the 13th of December last. The mere | made. Although we have had no agency in making ficiency for the support of the city government for one year only—that is, the difference between the amount arrived at by “specific and detailed state- ments from #!l the departments, throngh the Comp- troller, and the actual disbursements for the year—is equal, within $3.000, to the aggregate sum paid annually for the ordinary support of the State gov- erpments of the six Western States of Olio, Ken- tuck, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. It is $247,000 more than the cost of supporting the State overnments of Connecticut, Vermont, Mai New fampehire, and Rhode Island; and only $2: less than the aggregate sum expended by the six New England 8 inelnding Masgachus » which latter State expends half a million annually. ‘this comparison, it will be borne in mind, is made between the ordinary payments out of the treasuries of the several States referred to, and the mere item of excess of expenses in our city govern- ment, for one year over and above the estimates of the several departments, through the Comptroller. ‘The whole amount of expenditure of the city govern- ment is quite another matter, as shown by the state- ment of the Comptroller, before referred to. In this statement he estimates the amount of tax to be levied in 1853 at the large sum of $5,171,802 79, being an increase over the levy of 1852, of $1,791,- 391 74. It is not improbable, from this alarming in- crease of expenditures, that the rate of assessments of 1863 will be equal to $1 25 on each one hundred dollars of taxable neoperty The whole estimated annual expenditure of the c ty overnment, as before given, ($5,171,802 79,) is only $640,197 21 less than the aggregate annual expenditures, for the ordinary support of government, of the thirty-one States of this Union, including half a million for California. THE CHARTERS OF 1830 AND 1849. The amended charter of 1830, section 18, declares that “‘anncal and occasional Sppro riations shall be made, by proper ordinances of the Common Courtil, for ev neh and object of the city expenditure, nor shall any money be drawn from the city treasury except the same shall have been previously appro- priated to the pur] for which it was drawn. Section 19 prohibits the Common Council from borrowing money, except in anticipation of the revenue of the year, unless authorized by a special act of the Legislature. The 2ist section declares that ‘‘ the executive business of the Gemorae oD. of New York shall here- after be performed pe Siainee departments, which it shall be the duty of the Common Council to organize and appoint for that purpose.” The 22d section provides for the accountability ofall officers entrusted with the receipt or expenditure of the funds of the city. The amended charter of 1849 took from the Com- mon Council the power ef appointing the heads of the arene departments, and made provision for electing these officers every three years by the peo- ple. (§ 20.) This amendment to the city charter also provides that the “executive power of the corporation shall be vested in the Mayor, the heads of departments, and such other executive officers as shall be from time to time created by law; and neither theCommon Council, nor any committee or member thereof, shall perform any executive business whatever, except such as is or shall be specially imposed on them by the laws of the State, and except that the Board of Aldermen may approve or reject the nominations made to them ,as hereinafter provided.” Section 11 declares, that ‘‘there shall be an execu- tive department, which shall be denominated the Department of Finance, which shall have control of all the fiscal concerns of the co: tion, and shall prescribe the forms of Keeping and rendering all city accounts whatever; and all accounts rendered to, or kept in, the several de, ents of the eity govern- ment, shall be subject to the inspection and revision of this department. It shall settle and adjust all claims whatsoever, by the corporation or against them, and all accounts whatever in which the cor- ration is concerned, either as debtor or creditor. e chief officer of this department shall be called the ponteolee of the city of New York.” ‘The 7th section of the amended charter of 1849 is as follows:—'‘No money shall be drawn from the city treasury except the same shall have been previously appropriated to the purpose for which it was drawn; ana a Sppropresons shall be based upon specific and detailed statements in writing, of the several heads of departments, through the Comptroller.” ese are extracts from the amendments to the charters of 1830 and 1849, and are alike obligato: on the Common Council and the several departmen: were first recommended by a convention of the pools of the city, chosen for the express purpose of ing the city charter; they were then approved by the free suffrages of the electors; and finally recommended to the legislature by the almost unanimous consent of the cerporation. Twenty-three years have passed since the inhabi- e city were to hold a convention, in consequence “of an increase, in years, of piers of taxes and $231,500 of debt. Among the items complained of, are expenses for refreahments at the City Hall and Almshouse, and refreahmentsfor. courts and juries;and in reference to the last item of only $100, Stephen Allen, who reported the amendments to the Senate, says “‘it is entirely new in the annals of Sorpoceee accounts;” sdding that “the expense is trifling for this item, but it helps to show the progress of illegal acta, when once begun and suffered to continue with ieee And he also saye—“No regular approp! ons are ever made, as the committee are informed, for any object of ex- peneae whatever, particularly for the amounts isbursed in celebrations, parades and refreshments, or any inquiry entered into whether the fands arein existence, or in any way available.” “The commit- tee have reason to believe, however, if the bill under consideration, should pass into a law, that a check will be given to this crying evil (so much and 50 justly complained of by the people of New York,) by the proviso directing that appropriations shall be made for every object of expenditure.” Mr. Allen adds as follows:—"The 21st section of the bill is also new, and directs that the executive business of the corporation shall be performed by distinct depart- ments. ‘This appears to be nec , both on account of relieving the members of the Common Council from this addition to their duties, as weil as the placing of the business in the hands of responsi- ble persons. Much of the business is now done, as the committee are informed, by committees of the board. It is Roquently 17. their orders that expendi- tures are made and disbursements directed; and in this way, both the legislative and executive business of the board is performed by the same persons.” The convention which matured the amendments of 1830, after providing for specific creas for | every branch and object of the city expenditure, for making distinct departments for managing the | finances and all business of the city, and after hav- ing prohil executive duties, and from the old mode of replenish- ing the finances by borrowing on bonds, evidently supposed that the people had a reasonable guaranty for economy in expenditures, and a correction of the abuses which were complained of, and which led to the convention. This is evident from the exposi- tion made at the time by Stephen Allen (who had been a member of the convention), when he intro- duced the amendinents to the charter, in the Senate of this State. After twenty ei experience under the restric- tions provided by the amendments of 1830, during which period the city expenses increased from $507,107 24, in 1829, to $3,230,085, in 1848, another application was made to the Legislature for amend- ments to the charter, of a more stringent character. On the subject of appropriations, the following sen- tence was added to the provision in the charter of 1880, vi * And all appropriations shall be based upon specific and detailed statements, in writing, of pa heads of departinents through the Comp- roller. If each disbursing officer, confining himself to thore expenditures authorised by the charter and the laws, makes thorough examination in regard to all disbursements required in his department, and gives a detailed statement of these to the Comptroller; and ii the finance department uses the same care and vigilance in iegard to estimates not falling with- in the range of either of the disbursing departments, it is not perceived why an estimate approaching to accuracy, may not be made. Mathematical exact- ness in an estimate of prospective expenditures in a great city, is not attainable; but an effort should be made by all the departments to have the estimate cover the aren tae as near as practicable. The ealaries of all the departments, forming a large item, | can be made exact, if changes do not take place dur- ing the year; and if so, the difference between the estimate and expenditure is readily accounted for. ‘The contracts for gas afford the means of an approxi- mate estimate, and theoil contracts,and the quantity used for the preceding year, afford the means of a close approximation for the year estimated for. Where work is to be done by contract, careful esti- mates should be made, and if the work is actually contracted for, this should determine the estimate and control the amount of appropriation. “ The detailed statement” from the departments, in regard tojevery work of magnitude within the contem- lation of the department when the annual estimate is prepared, ought to be made with such precision as to enable the Common Council to determine, when a propriation is asked for, on what particular new “p | work the expenditure differs from the estimate. After the appropriation is made, if the Up rac or construction of a pier cannot be contracted for at a price falling within the cost for the particular work on which the original estimate was , the case ought to be rey to the Finance Department, and eA Mag! ae to the Common Council, as pro- ded for by the seventh section of the cl T of 1849, before the contract is made. In‘no other wa; can effect be given to the 19th section of the amend- ed charter of 1849, which reads as foliows, viz:— “No shall be incurred by any of tise depart- ments, or officers thereof, whether the o! of expen- ditare shall have been ordered by the By yn shall save ited the Common Council-from exercising | | ed as “useless expenditures,” and in regard to there estimates, it is our duty to use the utmost economy in the expenditures, in order that we ma, have the means of eeron on our department with the funds which have been Sppropriated. to the end of the year. The sum estimated by the departments, and appropriated by the Common Council, is the ba- tis of the amount embraced in the tax law. The | charter forbids borrowing on the credit of the corpo- | ration, aud only allows it in anticipation of the reve- nue of the year in which euch loan shall be made. ‘This restricts the power, both of the legislative and ; executive uepartments, to the amount provided in the tax law. And it is indispensable that each dis- bursing department limits its expenditure to the es- timate and appropriation already made. It is a vio- lation of the charter to borrow in anticipation of revenue which we way hope the Leyisiature of 1854 will authorize us to collect from the tax payers. We shall be deprived of the gain of $87,000 by a tax for State purposes to be used for the city, as was doue last year, and the treasury will have no temporary aid from the liberal loans which have been made under laws paseed in 1851 and previously. It is incumbent on each department to examine carefully the esti- mates made by their predecessors, and to use the utmost circumspection in their expenditures, and in the contracts which are to be made. alone can we to reach the close of the year without an empty treasury. There was an apparent balance in the treasury on the first of January, of | $156,877 39. It is ascertained, however, that from | the third of November to the’ close of’ December- there was borrowed on revenue bonds the sum of one million and sixty thousand dollars, of which $493,. 000 was obtained on the three last days of the year, | The sums thus borrowed in November and December | to the amount of over a million of dollars, are paya- | ble in the year 1853. In this way FUNERAL EXPENSES OF DANIEL WEBSTER. In regard to settling claims, the charter says (sec. | 11, 1849,) that the Finance Department “shail settle | and (lee all claims whatsoever by the corporation or against them, and all accounts whatever in which the corporation is concerned, either as debtor or cre- | ditor.” And section 9 of the same amended char- ter, declares that ‘‘neither the Common Council nor | any committee, or any member thereof, shall per- form any executive business whatever, except such as is, or ehall be, specially imposed upon them by the | aws of the State.” In the first of these extracts certain duties are | asstgned to the Finance Department, as clearly as it is possible by the English engage to confer the | power and impose the duty. In the second, the le- gislative branch, and all the committees and-mem- | bers thereof, are, with equal distinctness, forbidden to exercise the executive duties, which are so emphati- cally assigned to the Finance n opereneny In view of these provisions of the charter, which we are all bound to respect and obey, it is my duty to remonstrate against the course which was taken in settling the accounts for the funeral expenses of Daniel Webster. Most of the individuals beeing classy amounting in | the aggregate to $6,447 35, have been paid since the first of January, and fifteen of the bell ringers had not been paid as late as the 13th of January, and yet {the Finance Department has had no agency or | control in Goce f or adj ”’ these claims, which have been omitted by a committee of the Common Council, in direct violation of the charter, and paid | by the Commissioner of Repairs and Supplies, who had no control over the expenditures, nor any autho- rity whatever in the matter. The first step in the process of auditing these accounts, was the adoption | of the following resolation, which passed the Board of Aldermen on the 12th of November, and was ap- proved by the Mayor on the 17th:— a ved, That the expenses consequent upon | the obeequiesof Daniel Webster, be paid by the Com- missioner of Repairs;and Supplies, who is hereby au- | thorized, under the ions of the committee of ar- rangements of the two boardsof Aldermen, to make the necessary arrangements, and to report to the Common Council the amount necessary to be appro- priated therefor.” It appears from the papers which I have examin- ed, that the committee of arrangements, or some of | them, audited fifty-seven bills of individuals, and made an abstract of them, including in the abstract a bill for incidental expences of committee, $150; and these accounts thus audited werapala by Mr. ‘Adams. The committee, on the same sheet, issued the follow- ing instructions to Mr. Adams. The dateis not | ‘iven, but, according to Mr. Adams’ letter, it must | we been the 18th of November, and readsas fol- lows;— ore Commissioner of Repairs and Supplies is here- | by regueere ie compute the amount necessary to | pay the foregoing mentioned bills, and to send a | communication to the Common Council, asking for | an appropriation of $6,447 35 to pay the same.” | i ecciarimaty wasdrawn from the treasury on the 27th j re In compliance with this request, Mr. Adams made the following communication to the Common Coun- protesting against the whole pro- ceeding, vis:— with the annexed resolution of the | Common , I have to that an appropri- ation of $6,447 85 will be ‘to meet the expen- ses consequent thereon, as per bills rendered, as roved of by the committee of arrangements. In: ing this communication, I would state that I did not re- ceive the resolution until the 18th of November, two Cea the obeequies. I therefore had nothing todo with the arrangements thereon. The committee ap- | proved of the , and requested me toask for the ne- Gervet ap tions therefor. I would further state, that said appropriation will require to bea spe- cial one, as Ihave no funds to draw on for said pur- poses. Wititam Apaws, Commissioner, &c.” The ordinance of 1849, (p. 99, uta Poa duties of the ‘‘ Department of Re and Supplies,”” confines them to “ repairing the public , COn- structing and repairing the public buildings, wells and pumps; supplying the public rooms and offices of jthe corporation, the court-rooms, the public sta- tion-houses, and the public markets, and all other | things oy, therefor,” repairing streets, fire | engines, &c. ese accounta were withheld from | the Finance Department, which, as already shown, is | authorized *‘to settle and adjust all claims whatsoever | by the corporation or against them, and all claims | whatever in which the corporation is concerned as debtor or creditor,” and were handed over to the head,of a department whose duties, as prescribed in the ordinance regulating the departments, had no relation whatever to these claims, and who, as shown | his letter, was reluctant to have the custody of them, under the conviction that the business did not belong to his department. ‘These irregularities have a most deleterious and demoralizing influence on the departments. The Common Council, as required by the charter, makes rules for the government of each, and then one de- yee is pressed by a committee of the Common Jouncil to perform duties which are not assigned to it by the ordinance, but which are given express], to another department by the charter, and whic cannot legally be taken from it by the head of ee department, or by the Common Council elf. In this way all the safeguards of the treasury are broken down; the broad and distinct lines marked out by the charter, as before shown, between the legislative and executive departments, are obii rated, and even the lines marked out by the or nance of the Common Council itself, for dividing the duties of the several departments, are overruled and nullified by the same body which made them, or by a committee of that body. The articles ordered by the committee of arrangements in getting up the pageant, and which were paid for through the “ De- rtment of Repairs and Supplies,” will show the “ax payers, when the annual statement is published required by section twenty of the charter of 18° two months before the annual election, “for t! general information of the citizens of New York. that in all arrangements for the foneral of Daniel Webster, the injunction contained in the will of that | eminent man, to wit, “I wish to be buried without the least show or ostentation,”’ has had as little in- fluence on the committee of arrangements as the positive enactments of the city charter. THE KOSSUTM BANQUET AT TIE IRVING MOUSE. A resolution Las been passed by the Common Council during the present month, without the approval of the present Mayor, requiring the Comp- troller to draw his warrant on the treasury for the sum of $3,639 75,to pay the balance due for the banquet and entertainment of Louis Kossuth at the Irving House. Ihave refused to pay this account, on the ground that itis not a ewel charge against the city government. This claim, asI conceive, falls strictly within the class of cases referred to by | Stephen Allen when he presented to the State | Senate the result of the deliberations of the conven- tion called to make such amendments to the charter 48 would protect the people from what he designat- | which he made the following remarks :—“ In 1825, there was expended in celebrations of various kinds, for the entertainment of strangers of distinction who visited the city, and for refreshments at the City Hall and Almshouse, $19,479 79." The expendi- tures of the character referred to for the last year | have been as follows :— Reception of Kossuth, commencing Dec. dpeeeeeegeee 16,085 14 Funeral of Henry Clay. Funeral of Daniel Webster. » 6447 35 | Consumed in the City Hall by the Aldermen and those invited by them, as sworn to by the head of tho bureaus... ...... 45 éoeoents | $48,046 81 Add claim unpaid for the Kossuth banquet... 3,639 00 | — | wy +++ 851,686 81 | 1830 had been carried out with strictness, it appears to me that no estimate could have been given by any one of them for such ex- yr and rahe could 1 peg Bey syle | for their pa; yy the Com . e Com- mon Couhell 9 ited the Reads of , under the act of 1830, and the practice of doing ex- | 1851, to | them stables for their horses. ess by committees was not disc intended by the convention of 183 had an amended charter, but i he u ‘was not so changed as to evils” which the committee of the Senate muppo would be broken up by its provisions. In 1! other effort was made to.correct abuses, and the po er of selecting the heads of departments was taki from the Common Council and given to the electd of the whole c exercise of ex and the prohibition against ‘ive duties & committees was kebly designed, as shown by extracts from q er in another part of this report. The cha itures for last year will show tl mis art ch: of 1649 has been disregarded, and the city treas thrown wide open, notwithstanding the Sptie gu provided, fir't, hy the act (chapter 122) of 1830, second, by the act (chapter 187) of 1849. In the Case of Hodges va. The City of Bat (2 Denio’s Reports, p. 110,) the ground was takq and maintained, that the Common Council of city of Buffalo have no authority to furnish ent tainment for the citizens and guests of the city at public expense. And it washeld by the court, “ti ap action would not lie against the corporation, ay suit of one who had provided an entertainment Independence day, upon the employment of a mittee, authorized by the Common’ Council to tract for it.” As the principles of the Deelat of Independence would operate on the courts and guardians of the public treasure to go as far as di would allow, and as there is nothing in the cha 0 c ' of New York, as I have discovered, to cl the case, itis impressed on my mind that cisions before referred to are conclusive claims of Mr. Howard. And the doctrine conclusive against the allowance of the gic actually paid from the treasury, from December farch 8, 1852. The champions of non, tervention should have given the city treasury benefit of their doctrines. The just administray st of our municipal government is of importance in solving, and out a successful result, the great problem self government. No professions of devotion liberal principles should induce us to remove barriers from the doors of the city treasury, and use the means which have been wrested from hard earnings of labor and the savings of the frug in giving banquets, which, in cost, if not in splen would rival those given by royal governments foreign countries. The true method of having magnificent city and a contented and rich pop lation, is have a simple, honest, and fragal mi cipal government. Any reasonable tax for suc} government will be cheerfully paid. If expenses} create, and the tax-payers are satisfied that they actually caused for works for their use, and he: end comfort, they will bear the increase with ch tulness. But they will exact what is reasonable_t! if we charge them with gas and- oil we d them an equivalent in light; if we charge thei reat sum of money for cleansing the streeta, shall have the dirt removed as ecoaomically a would be done by an individual; if we pay Ss. thousand dollars of their money for removing animals and other nuisances, the atmosphere ou not to be polluted by the neglect of the contract] And the tax-payers have a right to know tbat necessary seivice could not be done for a less And the same rule should govern in all cases wi the public officers act as trustees and agents for | people. With the contemporaneous testimony of sud man as Stephen Allen, in regard to the intent of the convention which framed the charter of 1 and the decision of the highest court in the Stata to the right of a municipal corporation to exp the people's money for refreshments for themse| or guests, I respectfully submit to the Com Council that the expenditures in the “tea .roq have no justifiable basis to rest on. ‘The disbursements for the year coat on the of December last, through the Bureauof the City and Park, were as follows :— For refreshments consumed by the Common Council.. seseeess $0,673 For carriage hire for the Common Council... 426’ Total... There has alxo been paid in tho Street Depart- ment, for Committees on Streets, Roads, Lands and I'laces, Wharves, Piers and Slips, during the year 1852— For carria, ire For refreshment 15,69 ly at the expenditurg refreshments, amounting to $10,220 42 of the al sum, is not authorized by the charter, and is in flict with a decision of the Supreme Gourt, ina similar in principle. I cannot, therefore, dtawa rant on the treasury for the payment of any bil this character, unless required to do so, by a de of the courts, under our charter. regard to riage hire, so much as is necessary for the public’ vice, on being properly authenticated, as require the resolution of 1842, may be allowable. The pel Gas e hire, wl ee ene! me, do not conform in an: ly ments of the resolution 0 by the Con Council in 1842; and as for the accounts for ret ments of the City Hall, although made out’ by head of a bureau in the finance Department, the a novelty in the history of auditing accounts for} burrements of eee money. The last account before I entered on the duties of the office, for reft ments for the month of December, was stated Extporailn of New ork, to Jemos Taylor, De lew Yor! James or, . To refreshments furnished Common Counell, for m¢ of December, 1862, vis : Beef, pork, veget bread, butter, tea, coffee, milk, sugar, chick oysters, oes: cake, pe} Re mustard, salt, vinegar, elp ‘o this an affidavit was annexed, amount was just,and that the articles named purchased for and consumed by members of the C mon Council, and others, by their authoaity.”” THE EFFECT OF TAXATION, From the fact that ours is a system of taxatioy property, an opinion prevails with some that xes are a burden only on the wealthy. Thereis | greater falacy than this. It is the great midd class—those who are engaged in an endless variet} business pursuits, whose severe industry witha sq capital enables them to mig their families are actually burdened by taxation, and who p large share of the taxes. These are estimated thousands, whilst those of large estates are esti by hundreds. The exact number on the assessn] rolls of the several wards cannot be ascertained out counting the names, and there has not been tJ to do it. But the receiver of taxes has furnished number of lines on the several books on which | lots are entered. The aggregate of these 1844, fifty thousand; in 1848, sixty-one thous and in 1852, sixty-six thousand seven hundred. niany cases whole pages are occupied with the of a as tax-payer, and the deputy receiver mates that there should be a dedaction of one- from the number of lines, to get an estimate of number of persons on the tax roll. This would 23,333 as the number of persons on the tax roll the city. The number of persons taxed in 1850 $17,500 and upwards, is shown, bya statement 9] lished in 1851, to have been only 3,421; wi | leaves the number of taxables under $17,500, eighty-eight less than thirty thousand. There are thousands of the industrious classes have families, and must have dwellings, and som at To all these perd excessive taxation is felt as a real burden, eithe direct assessments or an increase of rent. But is a very numerous and aye class of persons, are not on the assessment roll at all, on whom h taxes fall with crushing weight. This class is n up of helpless families, crowdea;into small rooms a monthly tenure, and the reut, perhaps, exacte: advance, with no resource but the labor of the h of the family, at a dollar a day, and often thrown of employment at that. These persons have poor man’s protection of exemption from the rol the asseesors, but taxation reaches them notw standing their apparent exemption, through ti monthly rent. The landlord, whose mind is occuq with the collection of his income and its re-in ment, has access to the sources of official info tion, and can form a tolerable estimate of the rat | the next levy, many months before the heavy’ of the tax-gatherer is felt in his pocket. He se taxation afar off, and while the tenant is labor daily to earn his dollar to sustain his Sy es fan the hearts of those who have their little househol provide for are made sad by the notice whic! served on them, that, at the commencement of next month, an addition will be made to the mon’ rent. How is this to be made up? Retrenchny in the luxuries, or even the comforts of life, is im; sible, for they have neither. It must be made u a denial; to all the inmates, of the absolute necef ries of life, and the children, too young to comm anything for their labor, are sent out with their Y feet and tattered garments to search the depa which your ordmance requires to be placed on sidewalk for the ash carts, to get the meansof wi ing the room, whilst others apply for the craq which fall from the rich man’s table. And @ po! of the earnings of the father are laid aside to pay | additional rent. Thus taxation, as unrelentin death, brings desolation and distress into a fan which before was contented and reasonabl; with the bare necessaries of life. It isin this cot tion in life that heavy taxation most seriously presees its victims. Heavy taxation does not dep the rich of one single Inxury. ‘To those of mode means it is felt as a burden, whilst that class of sons who are not on the roll, but who are asse through the increase of rents, feel it most sevet and, perhaps, without being aware of the canse. ENCROACHMENTS ON THE SINKING FUND. In 1813, when De Witt Clinton was chief ma trate of this city, Josiah Ogden Hoffman, Recot and 8. R. Mercein, Comptroller, a sinking fund established for the payment of the city debt, wh had commenoed the year preceding. © The trust designated in the ondioanse to manage this fund| the ede: the public creditors were—the M: Recor Krag sete City Treasurer, and the ch man of the Finance Committee of two Bo ‘This fund continued in the custody of these off