Hide Article Text (OCR)
iltyig 0tcmlarttor General and the townships, and in these respects the annual reports of the treasurer from which his accounts are settled by the board of supervisors, are entirely defective.,No statement of (he transactions between his office and the Auditor General or the townships Is contained in any of the repot is I have examined, and thus every legal pro* vision for a proper check is rendered nugato-Celebration of the 4th of July at Jonesvillc.The 4th is to be'celebrated at Jonesville, in an appiopriatc manner. The following ore the officers of the day.E. 1\ CHAM PUN. Pres’t of the day. J. K. KINMAN, 1st Vice Pies’. Col. W. T. HOWELL, Marshal.Col. II. H. SHERMAN. As t do.Rev. S. C. HICKOK. Orator.C. S. KENGSLEV. Reader.J. B. 13 RAH AM. assisted by JESSE BUTTON. Com. on Toasts The Moscow Artillery Company, Uniform will be in attendance.fullCCTThe letter below has recently been published in the Michigan State Journal, and we have been requested by some of oar sub •crtbes, to publish it. (f the statements art correct, there are certainly snne matters tha* require looking after. We were informed the other day by a gentlenam who had been spending a day or two in lookit g over the hooks, that lie could find no evidence that noy business had ever been transacted be tween the county and his town, and it was the opinion of himself and neighbors, that the county was fairly indebted 10 them to the amount of some hundreds of dollars — We need not say, that this being the case, some one must be blameablc, fur oar county business ought not to he transacted in such a loose way. We however aie of opin 100 that Mr. Howell might have allowed a matter like Mr. Powell's, to pass without remarks—especially as it has been legally decided already :A full expose of the affairs of the treasury ight be made, if in the annual report it was required to charge the treasury with all the taxes by law payable iuto it. aud with the a mount of unpaid taxes assessed upon nonresident lands returned to the treasury.In addition, the annual account current ththe Auditor General's office, which i- filed with the couoty clerk, and an account current, wi;h the several townships, showing specifically the amount received and disbursed, aud on what account should be exhibited.in illustration ul this principle, 1 may be pcrnuted to say, that the Auditor General’: account current now belorc trie, forthe year '43. 41, charges the treasurer with cash paid him $1,300.00Taxes, collected ij countytreasurer, 3.306.47Total. 4,096,47The treasurer’s report for '4 4 charges the treasury with the same items. S3,663,81Jonrsvm.lk. 12th March, 1849 Tj the limril uf Supervnon oj t!u County of HlUtiah:The undersigned, Piosectiting At*orney nf said county, would respectfully inform your body that the suit of the supervisors against Cha's Pow*|i, fur met Treasurer, and his bail was tried in the county court cm the 13lli day of Februaiy last, and resulted in a verdict in favor of the defendants.By a statement made to Mr P*wrll by the late Treasurer, Wolcott G. Branch, Eslt;] and Prosecuting Attorney Babb, the claim of the county was reduced to about S200, ■consisting nl certain unavailable assets claim cd by Mr. Powell, tube counted as cash; but which wrie receipted to him Ly Mr. Branch, designating the items.This it appears was done under the sanction of the boatd of Supervisors as to the amount cGiirred, as they had settled with Mr Thiwclt upon Ir.s last rrpmt ©f January 6 h, 4845. and certified ihe »c HiH to he correct 1 am well satisfied tha- the items icciepte 1 rn yir, Powell, by Mi. 15• 11• ’. were t» ,' it',»e ported on hand, and that legally, the cotin ty was entitled to a judgurent for $200, and interest mure Janumy, 1845; but the court and jury took r diffeieot view nf the subjecr and allowed the offset.The investigation of this case has develop vd many things which I freely coufcss appears anything but satisfactory.In the firs' pl ace, ! find ft on the treasurer's Veport fur the year 1841, that at the end nf that sear, tlrcte was cash o« ham!, im luding {s' ite tax) bonds to the irrfionnt of $7996,46 The report for the business of 184 2, made J anuary 2, 1843 reduces this sum to 5631.20Report fur 1813. made January 1,1844, tedums 'be amount to 4169,4 Report for 1«14. m 'lt;? January 6,1615. reduces u to the sum uf 2338 91Showing a diserepency in the twoaccounts of $332.C7This is the only one that I have examined with care, but from the manner the accounts have beeu kept. I am inclined to the belief that many such eriois exist from 1841 duwn to 1847.The annual reports of the treasurer show a statement of ihe receipts and dishur* ments according to the vouchers lie is able to produce to show its correctness ; while the only-true means of knowledge, that of his traouc lions wnb the Auditor General aud die town ships, arc entirely ovei looked, and 1 vputure the opinion tint unperson however conrpe I teal, can exhibit us true condition from the papers and books in the office, if he dispen- ( ses with those salutary and only reliable checks.It may not be impossible th it a differed iexhibition of the affairs of the t»»ry may t,be shown; but from atl the light 1 h able to gather upon the subject, there is at f p least the sum often thousand dollars not sat u isfactonly accounted fur, and which deficien- a cy appears to iun through the eight years preceding tlie first of Januaiy, 1813.In conclusion I would say that 1 h ive been I ^ induced to nuke this brief statement as obli • I gatory upon me; but as to the remedy to be f' applied, or the course of policy hctcafttr to ! be adopted, 1 deem it no part of rnv official Iduty to suggesiVery truly, lt;your olr’l servrtnf.W. T; HOWELL. Pros Ati’y.The follow in of the Louisw2. from the venerable edi’r is Comter. will He ss rnuiprobably t satisfy our readers that NeOrleans' is in n* danger of a comtrlete ovethrow, as any Ihtng we can furnish. It ul that no danger is to bo rlt;|ptehended frona disease, such freshets as tlone now ddugi rather than oilng ike city promoting beahcva9,e at Mrcartv's in 1«16. The dn-ori 1 v live miles. Allband.ned. The eelnrle. In Can 1to be the luwesnd Ft am patShowing a diminmkm of cash onhand, in four ytais, of $5597.5-2without anv extraordinary draft upon (lie treasury, the provisions for repim,i-l*ing bylaw, being equal to its disbursements.In counection wuh this fact, I find that a debt from the county to the townships has been constantly accumulating from excess of non-resident laud taxes returned by the town ships over and above their liabilities to the treasury and in October 1847, the county was indebted to louileeu townships in the gross J hum of $4996.65Two townships owed the county, 210 85.uib Treme.r the w »tei c w hole ofWeBUppo:beLeaving a balance against the couu-ty ot $4765,60The question then arises, wliat means has the couuty to dischaige its liabilities to the several townships? That the money has been realized and paid to the county through the Audi'or General's office, there can be no doubt. I have procured an accouDt current from that office with the county, from July 1,1841,10 Dec, 31, 1848, by which it appears that at the latter date, there wss due the county, the turn of $408,10, the accounts of the previous years having all been settle ed and balances paid.As the taxes raised and returned since the indebtedness occurred are applicable toother purposes, I am at a loss to know how this indebtedness to the townships is to be paid except by direct taxation on all the prc petty of the county.In the last two annual settlements with the towuship treasurers, I am informed that adif-feient (and as I believe the only coriect) system has obtained between the townships and the county, and that is by the excess of taxes returned by them, as after such returns, the county retains and controls the amount of such returned taxesThe only salutary checks upon the treas-tree's office, ere its scettiW* «-«*h the Audim.iy be the condition of the Siuve Cievasse, j because the bind in every part ol ihe throe i r Municipthues has been filled up to the 1 height »( several feet, particularly in the so buib Treme. This suburb, now so flourish- k mg, with and industrious population, was j g • hen a mere swamp, impassable to man or jIt is well to observe the flood of 1316 occurred in the first days of the month of May was at its height about the 20th, and the nv- f er having fallen, ilie water in re.ir of the cny ' disappeared in lire first days ul June, it was J c .sppichended then, as it is now, that the in- , c nod alien would leave the seeds of contagi- j f. ous diseases behind it, and the ensuing an - I f lomn would be sickly The suttirmr and , autumn ol 1816 constituted the most health y season that we ever w itnessed it. New Or- 1 leans, before or since. The water never for } * a moment stagnated. It came rapidly on, I v and went rapidly off—carrying wuh it all ihe ; h filih that had accumulated for years in fields. ; s yards, cellars privies.gutters—all these were j cleansed to a degree which we shall never w itness again. We wish the ciiy would spec ’ r dily undergo another cleansing, nut in the lt;same manner, but as thorough. iThis year, as was the case in 1316, we j .. presume multitudes ot alligators, snakes and coons w ill show themselves in ihe rear of the city, seeking'hedry laud in shelter them selves from the water. Boys and men may have fine sport in destroying these noxious animals.Valuable Cargo—The Steamer G. P Griffith, A- T. Kingman, master, arrived this morning, with the most valuable cargo, that ever came into this port. It consisted of some of the finest specimens of rjoungr ladies from Buffalo, Etic and Cleveland; all now in market!There is to be a “good time” on the Griffith this evening. where “offers” may be made, if not “accepted.” It is not the intention of »he Capt. to dispose of this cargo “at sight,” as the maiket is not over storked, and the demand and prices are iocreasiog.—[Toledo Blade, 13th inst.Napoleon said, “The future destmy of the ehiid u always the work of the Mother
Newspaper Details
Hillsdale Whig Standard
Hillsdale, Michigan, US
Tue, Jun 19, 1849
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Deanna C.
USA 18 Sep 2023
Other Publications Near Hillsdale, Michigan
Hillsdale Daily Standard
Hillsdale Daily News
Hillsdale Whig Standard
Hillsdale Standard
