one, to retain the appointee as long as he sees fit, and, under the pretext of a permanent appointment, displace him by another without charges or an opportunity to be heard.

By section six of the bill an appeal is permitted from the decision of the mayor upon the trial of any of these officers, to the Supreme Court of Buffalo. There is no such court in existence.

But waiving further criticism of details, my attention is directed to section twenty of the bill, which, to the promoters of this measure, is undoubtedly its most important feature. It provides that immediately upon the appointment and qualification of the chief, the terms of the present commissioners shall cease and determine, and that the terms of office of all the other officers, firemen and employes shall also cease and determine, ten days thereafter. Great care is exercised to provide that the chiefs and all the firemen and employes appointed under the new scheme shall be discharged only for cause, and after due hearing and an opportunity for defense; but to those now in the service, numbering about two hundred drilled and experienced men, no such privileges are accorded.

The purpose of the bill is too apparent to be mistaken. A tried, economical and efficient administration of an important department in a large city is to be destroyed, upon partisan grounds or to satisfy personal animosities, in order that the places and patronage attached thereto may be used for party advancement.

I believe in an open and sturdy partisanship, which secures the legitimate advantages of party supremacy; but parties were made for the people, and I am unwilling,. knowingly, to give my assent to measures purely partisan, which will sacrifice or endanger their interests.

GROVER CLEVELAND.

VETO, ASSEMBLY BILL No. 621, FOR AN ADDITIONAL PUBLIC BATH IN NEW YORK CITY.

STATE OF NEW YORK.

EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,

To the Assembly:

ALBANY, April 12, 1883.

Assembly bill No. 621, entitled "An act to provide for the construction and maintenance of an additional public bath in the city of New York," is herewith returned without approval.

I am informed by the mayor of the city of New York that this bill has been considered by the heads of the departments of the city government, and by them declared to be objectionable, for the reason that the legislation proposed deprives the city authorities of all voice concerning the necessity, location or expense of the bath.

If it does not now exist, authority should be conferred upon the local authorities of New York to enable the construction of public baths at the city's expense, whenever and wherever in their judgment the public good of the city requires.

GROVER CLEVELAND.

VETO, ASSEMBLY BILL No. 196, TO AUTHORIZE THE COMPTROLLER TO COMPROMISE CLAIMS AGAINST SURETIES OF FIRST NATIONAL BANK

OF BUFFALO.

STATE OF NEW YORK.

EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,

To the Assembly :

ALBANY, April 16, 1883.

Assembly bill No. 196, entitled "An act to authorize the Comptroller to compromise and settle claims against the sureties of the First National Bank of Buffalo," is herewith returned without approval.

The title of this bill defines it to be an act to authorize the Comptroller to settle certain claims. But the Comptroller is not mentioned in the bill itself, and the authority to settle and compromise the claims mentioned is conferred upon the State Treasurer, with the approval of the AttorneyGeneral.

While this latter and complete inconsistency between the title of the bill and its enactments renders its disapproval necessary, I deem it not improper to add that in my opinion its purpose was objectionable.

The persons who seek to be relieved under this bill signed a bond to the State for the safe keeping and repayment on demand of certain moneys deposited in behalf of the State in the First National Bank of Buffalo.

The bank has failed and is unable to refund the State's deposits. The securities in the bond have thus become liable to pay the money, and I can see no reason why they should be relieved.

I am willing to do what I can to check the growing impression that contracts with the State will not be insisted

upon or may be evaded. The money deposited with the bank was public money belonging to the people, and I regard it the duty of all having the care of State affairs to see to it that no part is lost by an improper indulgence to those who have agreed that it should be safely kept.

A copy of a statement of objection to an item contained in Assembly bill No. 165, entitled "An act making appropriation for the support of government," is herewith respectfully transmitted, the statement having been appended to the bill at the time of its approval, pursuant to the provisions of the ninth section of article four of the Constitution. GROVER CLEVELAND.

STATE OF NEW YORK,

EXECUTIVe chamber,

ALBANY, April 16, 1883.

The item of appropriation for the State survey contained in Assembly bill No. 165, entitled "An act making appropriation for the support of government," which reads as follows:

“And for establishing reference points by which to locate

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LIBRARIES

bulkhead lines and grants of lands under water, one thousand three hundred dollars," is objected to and not approved. ' I am not aware of any necessity for the work here proposed, but if it is necessary, manifestly the duty is one which properly belongs to the State Engineer and Surveyor.

My convictions against inaugurating a work of this character, and in this way, are strengthened by the experience of the State in the matters of the State survey and the Adirondack survey.

The State survey was established by an item in the appropriation bill of 1876, which appropriated $20,000 "for making an accurate trigonometric and topographical survey of the State for the determination of State and county lines," and to locate at least one point in each county for the guidance of local surveyors. If the originators of this survey had in contemplation such an expensive and elaborate scheme as has been developed from the authority thus given, it is evident from the original law here referred to that such was not the intention of the Legislature. This seems to be confirmed by the fact that the succeeding Legislature, of which the same Senate was a part, made no provision for continuing the survey, and the following year an appropriation for that purpose was only made upon considerations which appear in the following memorandum filed by Governor Robinson, with his approval of the measure:

"The State survey, as originally proposed, contemplated a work of immense magnitude, of unlimited expense, and of little, if any, practical value to the people who were to pay for it. So long as it presented this appearance, I embraced every proper opportunity of placing upon record my earnest disapproval of it. I am now informed that the visionary and objectionable views originally entertained have been wholly abandoned, and that instead of surveying the whole State, it is proposed simply to fix at small expense a few