Transcriber's Note
Every effort has been made to replicate this text asfaithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and otherinconsistencies. Text that has been changed to correct an obvious erroris noted at the end of this ebook.
Portraits of comptrollers have been moved to a following page to permitplacement between paragraphs.
A Century in the
Comptroller's
Office
State of New York
BY
JAMES A. ROBERTS
COMPTROLLER
ALBANY
JAMES B. LYON, PRINTER
1897
STATE HALL
A CENTURY
IN THE
COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE.
On the 17th of February, 1897, occurred the one hundredth anniversary ofthe establishment of the office of Comptroller of the State of New York.
The present incumbent of the office trusts it will not be consideredunwarranted pride which has led him to collect and transcribe, in honorof its one hundredth birthday, such general facts relating more or lessdirectly to the office, or to the former incumbents thereof, as he hasgathered from unsystematic reading and in the performance of his duties.
An office which has without scandal managed the financial affairs ofthis great State, and has otherwise borne a conspicuous[Pg 4] part in itsgovernment for a century; an office from the thirty incumbents of whichhave been chosen a Vice-President and a President of the United States,two United States Senators, four Governors of the State, one ChiefJustice and one Chief Judge of its Court of Appeals—to say nothing ofothers who have achieved distinction in less conspicuous civilpositions—would seem entitled to something more than a passing noticeon its centennial anniversary.
The office, as created, and from time to time enlarged, is a uniquefeature in our State government. There are Auditors in nearly all of theStates of the Union; but the duties of Comptroller are far broader,comprehending largely the ordinary duties of a State Treasurer as wellas many others. There had been Auditors in the Colony of New York from1680 down to the time of its organization as an independent State, andthat office was continued in the State until it was merged in the officeof Comptroller. There have been Treasurers of New York[Pg 5] with varyingduties from 1706 down to the present time. From the time of theorganization of the State government the offices of Treasurer andAuditor had not been found to work harmoniously or satisfactorily. Billsmight be audited which the Treasurer did not wish to pay, and theTreasurer might wish to pay bills which the Auditor would not pass, soi