Sixbey and Seth Scriven of the village of Mayville in the county of Chautauqua, and a copy thereof having been served upon the said county treasurer with notice to show cause why he should not be removed from such office, and the said Hutson having filed his answer to the charges preferred therein; I do hereby appoint WINFIELD S. THRASHER of the village of Dayton in the county of Cattaraugus the commissioner to take the testimony and the examination of witnesses as to the truth of said charges and to report the same to me, and also the material facts which he deems to be established by the evidence. It is hereby further ordered that the said examination before such commissioner proceed with all convenient speed. GIVEN under my hand and the Privy Seal of the State at the Capitol in the city of Albany this second day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine. [L S] By the Governor: THEODORE ROOSEVELT WILLIAM J. YOUNGS Secretary to the Governor. DESIGNATION OF JUSTICE ADAMS AS PRESIDING JUSTICE OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION, FOURTH DEPARTMENT STATE OF NEW YORK Executive Chamber In accordance with section two of article six of the Constitution and the statute in such case made and provided, the Honorable WILLIAM H. ADAMS of the village of Canandaigua a justice of the Supreme Court of the Seventh Judicial District is hereby designated as Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in and for the Fourth Department for the term ending December 31, 1901, to succeed the Honorable George A. Hardin whose designation as such presiding justice will expire by limitation on the thirty-first day of December, 1899. [L S] GIVEN under my hand and the Privy Seal of the State at the Capitol in the city of Albany this seventh day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine. By the Governor: THEODORE ROOSEVELT WILLIAM J. YOUNGS Secretary to the Governor MATTER OF THOMAS HUTSON, TREASURER OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY ORDER OF REMOVAL FROM OFFICE, AND OPINION STATE OF NEW YORK Executive Chamber In the matter of the charges preferred against Thomas Hutson, county treasurer of the county of Chautauqua Order of Removal Charges of misconduct and malfeasance in office having been heretofore preferred by Herman Sixbey and Seth Scriven against Thomas Hutson the county treasurer of the county of Chautauqua and a copy of the said charges having been served on the said Hutson and an opportunity having been given him to be heard in his defense, and he having filed an answer denying any misconduct or neglect of duty, and an order having been made by me appointing Winfield S. Thrasher of the village of Dayton, county of Cattaraugus, commissioner to take the testimony and the examination of witnesses as to the truth of said charges and to report the same to me and also the material facts which he deems to be established by the evidence, and the said commissioner having taken the testimony relating to such charges and in refutation thereof, and his report bearing date October 13 1899, and the evidence taken by him, having been duly filed, and it appearing to me after an examination of the same that certain of the said charges are true,— that in violation of law and of his duty as treasurer he neglected to report to the board of supervisors of Chautauqua county the amount of interest received by him on county funds; that he ac cepted a present of $100 from the Fredonia National Bank, one of the banks in which the funds of the county were deposited by him; that the aggregate amount of said. interest and present, to wit, $1,695.92 was kept and retained by him as his own property until after the commencement of this proceeding, when said amount was paid by him into the treasury of the county; it is therefore ORDERED that the said Thomas Hutson be and he hereby is removed from the said office of county treasurer of the county of Chautauqua. GIVEN under my hand and the Privy Seal of the State at the Capitol in the city of Albany [LS] this seventeenth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine. By the Governor: THEODORE ROOSEVELT WILLIAM J. YOUNGS Secretary to the Governor OPINION STATE OF NEW YORK Executive Chamber Albany, October 17, 1899. In the matter of the charges preferred against Thomas Hutson, county treasurer of the county of Chautauqua Opinion Herman Sixbey and Seth Scriven of the village of Mayville, Chautauqua county, N. Y., have preferred charges against Thomas Hutson, county treasurer of the county of Chautauqua, alleging that he has been guilty of misconduct and malfeasance in office. The charges contain numerous specifications and are amplified with considerable detail. A copy of the charges was served on Mr. Hutson, and his answer thereto in writing was filed, in which he denied that he has been guilty of any misconduct, and that whatever he did in relation to the matters referred to in the said charges, and in the answer, was done in good faith, and according to what he supposed was the' established precedent of his office. Winfield S. Thrasher, Esq., of Dayton, was appointed a commissioner to take the testimony and examine the witnesses as to the truth of the charges, and report the material facts which he deemed to be established by the evidence. Mr. Thrasher's report, dated October 13, 1899, and the evidence taken by him, have been duly filed. On the sixteenth instant a hearing on the charges was had before me, at which Willis H. Tennant, Esq., of Mayville, and H. C. Kingsbury, Esq., of Westfield, appeared as counsel for the petitioners, and Arthur C. Wade, Esq., of Jamestown, appeared as counsel for Mr. Hutson. From the evidence and report of the commissioner, it appears that the treasurer retained for his own use fees allowed to county treasurers under the Liquor Tax Law, and also the fees allowed under the Transfer Tax Law. The county treasurer's right to these fees was not seriously questioned on the hearing, by the counsel for the petitioners, and this branch of the charges may I think properly be dismissed from further consideration. It is also claimed that the fees of certain school collectors on return school taxes were in some cases wrongfully withheld from them. The amount of such fees actually |