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515

126

47

688

No. 45.

IN SENATE,:

February 21, 1873.

PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS

RELATIVE TO THE OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF QUARANTINE, AND THE EXPENDITURE OF MONEYS APPROPRIATED FOR QUARANTINE PURPOSES IN THE PORT OF NEW YORK DURING THE PAST THREE YEARS.

Mr. D. P. WOOD offered the following preamble and resolutions, which were duly passed:

Whereas, Since the creation of the office of Commissioner of Quarantine in the year of 1863, nearly two millions of dollars have been appropriated and expended for quarantine purposes in the port of New York, more than one-half of which, it is alleged, has been expended during the past three years; and

Whereas, The property which has been acquired for the State by such expenditure consists mainly of the two artificial islands and the buildings erected or being erected thereon in the lower bay of New York, one of which is known as the Swinburne Island Hospital, and is designed for hospital purposes, and the other as Hoffman Island, and is designed as a place for the detention of those who have been exposed to disease; and.

Whereas, It is alleged that the said first mentioned island was constructed and furnished ready for use in the early part of 1869 at an expense of $425,000, while the foundation for the other was completed and ready for buildings in 1870, the contract price of such foundation being the sum of $252,291.68, and the amount thereof [Senate No. 45.]

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being provided for in the appropriations made previous to that year; and

Whereas, Notwithstanding nearly one million of dollars have been appropriated for quarantine purposes since the year 1869, the buildings on said Hoffman Island are not yet completed or furnished; and

Whereas, The board of commissioners, under whose supervision said islands were constructed, have never rendered a detailed account of their expenditures, whereby the propriety and necessity of said expenditures can be ascertained; and

Whereas, At the last session of the Legislature a report was submitted to the Assembly by the committee of commerce and navigation, from which it appears that said board has been guilty of extravagant and improper expenditures of the moneys appropriated for the purposes aforesaid; and

Whereas, The appropriations for the support of quarantine during the whole of the first half of the present century were less than is now required for its support for a single year; therefore,

Resolved, That the board of commissioners constituted by chapter 751 of the Laws of 1866, be and they are hereby directed to transmit to the Senate, within ten days after service of a copy of the foregoing preamble and this resolution on their secretary or president, an account, verified by their treasurer, showing the amount of moneys expended by them since the date of their organization; the amount of each separate expenditure and the special object thereof, what work has been performed and what materials have been furnished under contract, and the amount of each contract; the amount expended in enlarging the rip-rap around each of said islands, and the number of yards added to each not embraced in the original contract for the erection thereof, and the amount paid for salaries of employes of said board and the nature of the services rendered by each, and that said board also report whether any liabilities have been incurred by them which remain unpaid, and, if so, for what purposes and to what amount.

Resolved, That, with a view to the reduction of the expenses of the administration of quarantine, the finance committee be and they are hereby directed to inquire into the expediency of abolishing the office of commissioner of quarantine and such other retrenchment as they may deem proper, and that they report by bill or otherwise to this Senate.