Excerpt from Message of John P. Van Ness, Mayor of the City of Washington: Respecting the Removal of the Collector of the Third and Fourth WardsWith the rules just laid down before us, which are of the highest authority of our most profound jurists, (and they are the maxims and principles of reason and common sense as well, as of law) let us look into our laws. Without re curring to those early numerous instances of changes of systems, of laws, and of offices, at the commencement, the middle, and end of the year, which crowd our statute book, I will begin with the law of Oct. 30th, 1810, entitled an act for the appointment of ward Collectors, and for other purposes The Mayor is here authorized to appoint col lectors.to continue in othee untilt/ze 2d Monday in June next, and annually thereafter, to continue in afice for 'one year In this act there is no express provision for the contingency of a vacancy from any cause whatever, yet will it be contended that a vacancy caused by death couldnot have been filled by the Mayor, who had then the Sole appointing power? Was it the intention of, and the prae tice under, that act that the whole collecting machinery should, in case of a vacancy, stand still until the end of the current year, or that the legislature should be assembled to provide for every individual case? Certainly not. By this act the Collectors are to return monthly accounts, and to make monthly payments to the Register and the bank, a provision never repealed or annulled. The Collector, pre vious to his entering on the duties of his ofiice, was to enter into bond diligently, faithfully, and honestly, to execute, perform, and fulfil all the duties required 01 him by this act, or which may beimposed on him by any future act or acts of the said City Council. This provision is still in force.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.