USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > History of Cincinnati, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 103
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Between 1853 and 1867 the entrance buildings were erected at the principal gateway to the grounds, on the southern boundary, at Spring Grove avenue. They are from designs of Mr. James K. Wilson, in the Norman- Gothic style, one hundred and fifty feet long, and cost something over fifty thousand dollars. They include, besides apartments for the use of the directors and the superintendent, a large waiting-room for visitors. The commodious receiving vault, situated in the centre of
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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.
the grounds, was considerably enlarged in the year 1859.
Among the notable monuments in the cemetery are the Dexter and Burnet mausoleums; the sepulchral chapel, containing the statue of George Selves, jr., exe- cuted by Daumas, in Paris; the Lytle monument, over the remains of General William H. Lytle, who fell at Chickamauga ; the Shillito, Potter, Neff, Pendleton, Law- ler, Gano, Resor, and many other memorials, some of them of great cost and beauty. The Gano shaft is of gray sandstone, and was originally erected in 1827, in the old Catharine Street burying-ground, in Cincinnati, by Mr. Daniel Gano, to. the memory of his father, the brave pioneer and soldier, Major General John S. Gano. The Walker monument is a copy of the celebrated tomb of Scipio Africanus, in Rome. Another beautiful monu- ment was erected to the memory of a teacher, Professor E. S. Brooks, by his pupils. Colonel Oliver Spencer, of the Continental army in the Revolution, who died here in 1811; Colonel Robert Elliott, who was barbarously murdered by the Indians near Colerain in 1794; the Rev. Dr. Joshua L. Wilson, for thirty-eight years pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, in Cincinnati; the Rev. J. T. Brooke, D.D., whose prayer lent interest to the consecration ceremonies of the cemetery in 1845; and many other local celebrities, repose here under fitting memorials in marble and granite. During or soon after the war, the city council voted a grant of ten thousand dollars as the nucleus of a fund for a soldiers' monu- ment in the cemetery, which has not yet been built upon this foundation. In 1864, however, a soldiers' monu- ment was erected by voluntary subscription at the junc- tion of Lake Shore and Central avenues, in the park-a bronze statue of a Union soldier on guard, upon a ped- estal of granite. It was cast by William Miller, of Munich, from a design by Rudolph Rogers. Close by this are the three lots in which are soldiers' graves-one of them given by the board of directors to the State, the other two purchased by the State, but now the property of the General Government. The graves occupy three consecutive knolls upon the lots. The pioneer lot is also an attractive place, but is yet without monument or any considerable number of interments.
During the year ending September 30, 1880, Super- intendent Strauch estimated in his annual report that the grounds were visited by more than a quarter of a million of people, exclusive of those with funerals. The system of laying out, adornment, and management of burial-places adopted by the board twenty-five years before bade fair to be applied, he said, by all the leading American and European cemeteries. A new mortuary chapel, with receiving tombs at the entrance, was rapidly approaching completion, and has since been finished. About thirty thousand dollars were expended on it in 1879-80. The introduction of many new varieties of trees and shrubs adapted to this latitude, together with the preservation of the trees native to the site, promised to make of the cemetery at no distant day an extensive and instructive arboretum.
The total number of interments to the date mentioned, inclusive, according to the report of Secretary Spear, was
34,498; number of single graves occupied, 5,862; sol- diers' graves, 996; lot-holders, 7,133. The receipts of the financial year had been $74,903.80; expenditures, $75,119.12. The resources of the cemetery association, including cash, United States securities, and bills receiva- ble, aggregated $148,573.68.
The following-named gentlemen have filled the offices in the gift of the association :
President-Robert Buchanan (until his death), Henry Probasco.
Secretary- S. C. Parkhurst, James Pullan, H. Daniels, John Lea, E. J. Handy, D. G. A. Davenport, Cyrus Davenport, S. B. Spear.
Treasurer-G. Taylor, D. H. Horne, John Shillito, William H. Harrison.
Superintendent-Howard Daniels, Dennis Delaney, Henry Earnshaw, Adolph Strauch.
Directors-J. C. Culbertson, N, Wright, D. C. Loring, R. G. Mitchell, C. Stetson, Griffin Taylor, William Neff, A. H. Ernst, R. Buchanan, S. C. Parkhurst, James Pul- len, D. H. Horne, William Resor, George K. Shoenber- ger, William Orange, K. Yardley, John P. Foote, W. B. Smith, Archibald Irwin, Peter Neff, Larz Ander- son, T. H. Weasner, M. Werk, Henry Probasco, Robert Hosea, John Shillito, William H. Harrison, Andrew Erkenbrecher, Charles Thomas, Rufus King, George W. McAlpin, Augustus S. Winslow.
CHAPTER XLI. THE CITY GOVERNMENT.
MR. JAMES PARTON, in an essay contributed to the Atlantic Monthly in 1867, said:
Cincinnati is governed by and for her own citizens, who take the same care of the public money as of their own private store. We looked into the council chamber of Cincinnati one morning, and we can testify that the entire furniture of the appartment, though it is substantial and sufficient, cost about as much as some single articles in the councilman's room of New York City hall-say the clock, the chandelier, or the chairman's throne.
The whole of this commendation has not been de- served at all times in the history of Cincinnati. Yet . many great and good men have been connected with the administration of her municipal affairs; and there are many clean pages in her public records. The govern- ment of the Queen City will compare favorably with that of any other large municipality in the land.
THE CIVIL LIST.
This place was not incorporated as a village until Jan- uary 1, 1802, when it had but about eight hundred in- habitants. Before that it was governed under the town- ship organization. By the tenth section of the charter, officers were appointed until the next general election was held on the first Monday of April, in the same year. They were: Major David Ziegler, president; David E. Wade, William Ramsey, Charles Avery, John Rieley,
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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.
William Stanley, Samuel Dick, and William Ruffin, trus- · tees; Jacob Burnet, recorder; Joseph Prince, assessor ; Abraham Carey, collector; James Smith, town marshal. Thenceforward these officers were elected by the people. The succession under this charter and the amendment of 1815 was as follows:
PRESIDENTS.
David Ziegler, 1802-3; Joseph Prince, 1804; James Findlay, 1805-6, 1810-11; Martin Baum, 1807, 1812; Daniel Symmes, 1808-9; William Stanley, 1813; Samuel IV. Davies, 1814.
The names of the following additional officers are also preserved :
RECORDERS.
Jacob Burnet, 1802, 1812; Charles Kilgour, 1803; Aaron Goforth, 1805-9; James Andrews, 1810-11; Sam- uel W. Davies, 1813; Griffin Yeatman, 1814; Oliver M. Spencer, 1815-16; Martin Baum, 1817-18; John W. Armstrong, 1818.
CLERKS OF COUNCIL.
John Reily, 1802; Matthew Nimrur, 1804; Griffin Yeatman, 1805-6; John Mahard, 1807; William McFar- land and Daniel Drake, 1813; William Corry, 1814; William Ruffin, 1815; George P. Torrence, 1816; Jesse Embree, 1817-18.
MARSHALS.
James Smith, 1802; Andrew Brannan, 1813; James Chambers, 1814-18.
TREASURERS.
Jacob Williams, 1813; Davis Embree, 1814; David Kilgour, 1815-16; Jacob Wheeler, 1817-18.
MAYORS.
January 10, 1815, a new act of incorporation was granted by the legislature, under which a mayor instead of president was elected by the trustees from among their number. But one mayor was chosen in this way until the city government was formed: William M. Corry, 1815-19.
By act of the general assembly of February 5, 1819, Cincinnati was incorporated as a city. The legislative power was vested in a president, recorder, and nine trus- tees. The usual powers granted to city corporations at that time were conceded in this case, including the power "to fix the assize of bread," "to prevent every descrip- tion of animals from running at large," and "to levy taxes on hogs and dogs, and on all property subject to taxation for county purposes." Taxes on real property, however, could not exceed one per cent. on its valuation, unless a larger levy was authorized by vote of the peo- ple. A city court, consisting of a mayor and three alder- men, was appointed by the city council from the citizens at large, with sessions once in two months, and original jurisdiction over all crimes and misdemeanors committed in the city, when the punishment did not amount to con- finement in the penitentiary. It had appellate jurisdic- tion from the decision of the mayor (who was ex officio justice of the peace), in all cases, and concurrent juris- diction with the court of common pleas in all cases where the defendant resided within the city, and where
the title to real estate was not in issue. The mayor de- termined, in the first instance, all cases arising under the corporate laws and ordinances. Under this rule of ap- pointment but one mayor was appointed, but he by suc- cessive reappointments for twelve years: Isaac G. Burnet, 1819-27.
After that, the mayor by a new charter, taking effect March 1, 1827, was elected by popular suffrage; under which the following-named gentlemen served: Isaac G. Burnet, 1827-31; Elisha Hotchkiss, 1831-33; Samuel W. Davis, 1833-43; Henry E. Spencer, 1843-51.
The following-named were in service under the pro- visions of the constitution of 1852: Mark P. Taylor, 1851-3; David T. Snelbaker, 1853-5; James J. Faran, 1855-7; N. W. Thomas, 1857-9; Richard M. Bishop, 1859-61 ; George Hatch, 1861-3; Len. A. Harris, 1863-7; Charles F. Wilstach, 1867-9; John F. Torrence, 1869-71; S. S. Davis, 1871-3; G. W. C. Johnson, 1873-7; Robert M. Moore, 1877-9; Charles Jacob, jr., 1879-81.
PRESIDENTS OF COUNCIL.
These were identical with president or mayor until the city organization: Jesse Hunt, 1819; William Oliver, 1821; Samuel Perry, 1822-3; Calvin Fletcher, 1824-5; Lewis Howell, 1826-8; Daniel Stone, 1829-30; E. S. Haines, 1831 and 1834-5; N. G. Pendleton, 1832-3; George W. Neff, 1836-8; Edward Woodruff, 1839-41; Samuel Freer, 1842; William Stephenson, 1843; Sep- timius Hazen, 1844; D. E. Strong, 1845; J. G. Rust, 1846; N. W. Thomas, 1847; William P. Statton, 1848; Daniel F. Meader, 1849; J. B. Warren, 1850 and 1856-9; William B. Cassily, 1851; A. Griffin, 1852; James Coop- er, 1853 ; Charles F. Wilstach, 1854-5 ; John F. Torrence, 1860-1; Christian Von Seggern, 1862; Theodore Marsh, 1863; Thomas H. Weasner, 1864-6; Samuel L. Hay- den, 1867-8; Josiah L. Keck, 1869.
The city legislature was now divided into two cham- bers, each with its own presiding officer.
PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF COUNCILMEN.
A. T. Goshorn, 1870-2; I. J. Miller, 1873-4; James WV. Fitzgerald, 1875-6; Benjamin Eggleston, 1877-9; Lewis L. Sadler, 1880-1.
PRESIDENTS OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN.
George T. Davis, 1870; S. F. Covington, 1871; Jo- siah L. Keck, 1872; W. T. Bishop, 1873-4; Julius Reis, 1875, 1878-9; W. W. Sutton, 1876; Charles Winkler, 1877; Gabriel Dirr, 1880-I.
CLERKS OF COUNCIL.
John Tuttle and R. L. Coleman, 1819; William Dis- ney, 1820; William Ruffin, 1821; Thomas Tucker, 1822-3; Daniel Rue, 1824; John Gibson, 1825-8; John T. Jones, 1829-31 ; Charles Satterly, 1832-49; William G. Williams, 1850-3; Stephen B. Hulse, 1854-7; Sam- uel L. Corwin, 1858-61; George M. Casey, 1862-3; H. G. Armstrong, 1864-6; Julius F. Blackburn, 1867- 72; R. C. Rohner, 1874-9; Edwin Henderson, 1880-81.
RECORDERS.
William Oliver, 1819-20; James Perry, 1821; Thomas Henderson, 1822-3; Charles Tatem, 1824; Oliver Lov- .
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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.
ell, 1825-7, 1830-3, 1839-40; Samuel R. Miller, 1828-9; Ebenezer Hinman, 1834-8; Jonah Martin, 1841; Wil- liam Stephenson, 1842; D. E. A. Strong, 1843; L. E. Brewster, 1844; Joseph G. Rust, 1845; N. W. Thomas, 1846; Daniel F. Meader, 1847; Caleb Brudsall, 1848; Benjamin Dennis, 1849; Thomas Bodley, 1850; Charles F. Wilstach, 1851. The office was then abolished.
TREASURERS.
Jacob Wheeler, 1819; Richard L. Coleman, 1820-30; Stephen McFarland, 1831-2; James Conly, 1833-4; Samuel Scott, 1835-41 ; William Disney, 1843-50; James Johnston, 1851-9; E. B. Townsend, 1860-1; J. M. No- ble, 1862-3; Adolph Carnes, 1864-6; Ezekiel De Camp, 1867-8; Robert Moore, 1869-74; August Ligowski, 1875-6; Henry Knorr, 1877-80.
AUDITORS.
Cyrus Davenport, 1853-5; S. S. McGibbons, 1856-8 ; Emanuel Wassenich, 1859-61; George Stackhouse, 1862-3; Charles S. Betts, 1864-5; Harry H. Tatem, 1866-8; Charles H. Titus, 1869-71; William B. Folger, 1871-2; S. W. Hoffman, 1873-9.
COMPTROLLER.
E. C. Eshelby, 1880-I. MARSHALS.
William Ruffin, 1819-20; Samuel R. Miller, 1821; John C. Avery, 1822-4; William C. Anderson, 1825-6; Zebulon Byington, 1827-8; William Doty, 1828-32 ; Jesse Justice, 1833-4; James Laffin, 1835-46; Ebenezer Hulse, 1847-8; Charles L. Ruffin, 1849-54; William Craven, 1855-7; Benjamin Robinson, 1858; John S. Gano, 1859. The office was then merged in that of chief (afterwards superintendent) of police.
CHIEFS OF POLICE.
Jacob Kiefer, 1853; David T. Hoke, 1854-5; James L. Ruffin, 1857-9, 1864-6, 1869-70; Lewis Wilson, 1860- I; John W. Dudley, 1862-3; Robert McGrew, 1867-8; David M. Bleaks, 1870-1; (superintendents of police), Jeremiah Kiersted, 1872 and 1874; Eugene Daylor, 1873-4; Thomas E. Snellbaker, 1874-5; Ira Wood, 1875-7; George W. Zeigler, 1877-8; Charles Wappen- stein, 1878-80; Enoch T. Carson, 1880-I.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.
Nathaniel G. Pendleton, 1819; Bellamy Storer, 1825; W. M. Dickson, 1853; Thomas A. Logan, 1854-5; H. Brown, 1856-9; E. M. Johnson, 1860-1; F. C. Jones, 1861-3; Walter F. Straub, 1863-7; C. H. Blackburn, 1867-8; Isaac J. Neall, 1868-9; Moses F. Wilson, 1869- 70; Thomas C. Campbell, 1871-5; Charles E. Callahan, 1875-7; John P. Murphy, 1877-81.
CITY SOLICITORS.
E. A. Ferguson, 1852-3; Patrick McGroarty, 1854-5; Samuel Hart, 1856-8; Rutherford B. Hayes, 1859-60; Thomas C. Ware, 1861-3; Thomas J. Gallagher, 1864-5; Edward F. Noyes, 1866; Henry A. Morrill, 1867-8; J. Bryant Walker, 1869-70; Fred W. Moore, 1871-2; John W. Warrington, 1873-4; Robert O. Strong, 1875; Hiram D. Peck, 1876; Clement S. Bates, 1877-8; Philip H. Kumler, 1879-80.
POLICE JUDGES.
William L. Spooner, 1853-5; Andrew J. Pruden, 1856- 9; D. P. Lowe, 1860-1; James Laffin, 1861-3; John B. Warren, 1863-7; Walter F. Straub, 1867-73; Nathan Marchant, 1873-5; George Lindeman, 1875-7; Moses F. Wilson, 1877-81.
COMMERCIAL COURT.
1849-52 .- Thomas M. Key, judge; Edward P. Cranch, clerk.
CRIMINAL COURT. 1851-2 .- Jacob Flynn, judge; Daniel Gano, clerk. OLD SUPERIOR COURT.
Judges-David K. Este, 1838-45; Charles D. Coffin, 1845-6; William Johnston, 1847-50; Charles P. James, 1850-1; George Hoadly, 1851-3.
NEW SUPERIOR COURT.
Judges-Oliver M. Spencer, 1854-61; William Y. Gholson, 1854-9 ;- Bellamy Storer, 1854-71; George Hoadly, 1860-5; Charles D. Coffin, 1862-3; Stanley Matthews, 1864; Charles Fox, 1865-8; Alphonso Taft, 1866-71; M. B. Hagans, 1869-73; J. L. Miner, J. Bry- ant Walker, 1872; Alfred Gaple, 1873-8; T. A. O'Con- nor, 1873-7; M. H. Tilden, 1874-8; Manning F. Force, 1878; Judson Harmon, 1879; J. B. Foraker, 1879.
Clerks-James M. McMaster, 1854; Thomas H. Spooner, 1855-7; Richard H. Stone, 1858-61; Charles E. Cist, 1862-5; Benjamin T. Horton, 1866; T. B. Dis- ney, 1867-70; Henry H. Tinker, 1871-3; William M. Trevor, 1874-7; Louis G. Barnard, 1878; Samuel W. Ramp, 1879.
CITY SURVEYORS.
Joseph Gest, 1834-41 ; Erasmus Gest, 1844-6; Wil- liam G. Halpin, 1851; Thomas J. Peter, 1857; Joseph Earnshaw, 1858-9.
CIVIL ENGINEERS.
A. W. Gilbert, 1851-5 ; S. W. Irwin, 1856-7; Thomas J. Peter, 1858-9, 1862-3 ; A. W. Gilbert, 1859-61, 1864-6; Jacob Writh, 1868; R. C. Phillips, 1869-70 ; A. Hicken- looper, 1871-2; A. E. Tripp, 1872-4; W. G. Halpin, 1875; A. L. Anderson, 1876-8; C. N. Dannenhower, 1879; H. J. Stanley, 1880-1.
CHIEF ENGINEERS FIRE DEPARTMENT.
Miles Greenwood, 1853-6; F. Clements, 1857; E. G. Megrue, 1858-77; Joseph Bunker (fire-marshal), 1878-81.
PROMOTIONS.
Said Mayor Moore, in his annual message of April, 1879 :
Connected with our city government in some capacity, at various times, have been two presidents of the United States, General W. H. Harrison and R. B. Hayes; one chief justice of the United States, S. P. Chase; five United States Senators, Jacob Burnet, S. P. Chase, George E. Pugh, Stanley Matthews, George E. Pendleton; one secre- tary of treasury, S. P. Chase; secretary of war and attorney general, Alphonso Taft; five governors of Ohio, Noyes, Young, Chase, Hayes, Bishop; a governor to AArizona, John A. Gurley; the following repre- sentatives to Congress: W. II. Harrison, John W. Gazlay, N. G. Pen- dleton, Alexander Long, W. S. Groesbeek, R. B. Hayes, Ozro J. Dodds, Milton Sayler, T. C. Day.
ORGANIZATION.
The city is divided into twenty-five wards. Its succes- sive subdivisions into wards, from the original form of the
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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.
early day, may be learned from an observation of the census table, affixed to our chapter of annals of the Ninth Decade. These are further subdivided into fifty-five voting districts, with as many polling-places. This sub- division was made by Mayor Johnson, with a small force of assistants, in 1877, at a cost of less than two hundred dollars.
It would be a bootless and most elaborate task to fol- low the city government through all its statutory changes since the charter of 1827 was granted ; especially through the manifold "reorganizations" of recent years. At present the great municipality is governed and adjudged by a mayor, board of councilmen, board of aldermen, superior court, police court, solicitor, prosecuting attor- ney, city clerk, treasurer, comptroller, superintendents of police, of markets, of street cleaning, and of sanitary po- lice, fire marshal, health officer, chief engineer, a wharf master and wharf register, a weigher, a sealer of weights and measures, and a milk and sundry other inspectors. There are also boards of education, union board of high schools, of public works, of fire commissioners, of exam- iners of insecure buildings, of revision, and a special board of equalization, a sinking fund commission, boards of managers of the public library, trustees of the Cincin- nati Southern railway, and of directors of the university of Cincinnati, of trustees of the city hospital, of the house of refuge and of the work-house, directors of the infirmary and overseers of the out-door poor department. The board of public works includes the water-works de- partment and the engineer's department, with its bureaus of sewers and highways, the latter with its several divis- ions of streets, sidewalks, and bridges, each with its full equipment of officers.
Some of these boards deserve a brief special notice.
SINKING FUND COMMISSION.
This board was created by act of the legislature in May, 1877, and has plenary powers over all moneys, or other property, which, under the law, is to be used ex- clusively for the liquidation of the public debt. They provide for the undue indebtedness of the city, certifying to the city council the amounts necessary to provide for the payment of the bonded indebtedness of the city and the interest upon it. The council must place these in the tax ordinance, in preference to any other items, if nec- essary. They also receive the earnings of the Southern railroad and all rents due the city.
The original appointees, chosen from among the old- est, wealthiest, and most reputable citizens of Cincinnati, were Messrs. Joseph Longworth, president; James H. Laws, Lewis Seasongood, W. F. Thorne, and Aaron F. Perry.
The members of the board are appointed by the judges of the superior court, to serve five years, and re- ceive no compensation, but furnish bonds of one hun- dred thousand dollars each, for the faithful performance of their duties.
Their duties, in view of the large debt now upon the city, are justly considered of the highest importance. Within two years after its creation, a sinking fund of one
million six hundred thousand dollars was raised, and two hundred thousand dollars of the maturing bonds also purchased. In 1880 general bonds were redeemed to the amount of two hundred and twelve thousand dollars, interest charges paid to amount of one million, six hun- dred and forty-six thousand four hundred and sixty-eight dollars and twenty-five cents; and one hundred and four- teen thousand seven hundred and eighty-three dollars and nineteen cents bought by the commission as an in- vestment. Last year the board, of which Mr. Julius Dexter had become a member, in place of Mr. Lewis Seasongood, engaged very rapidly in the prosecution of the late city auditor, Mr. S. W. Hoffman, for alleged malefeasance in office. It has regular monthly meetings on the second business day of each month, and annual meetings on the third Monday of April.
BOARD OF REVISION.
This body-a small one in point of numbers, but im- portant, was created by act of assembly in 1869. It consisted of the mayor, the president of the city council, and the city solicitor, and was not fully organized until April, 1873, under the administration of Mayor Johns- ton. The president of the board of aldermen was added to the original number. The revision board has in charge, as its name partly implies, the legal supervision and revision of mistakes, errors, or misdemeanors, in any department of the city government. In its first few months of full organization, it received and considered a large number of administrative and legal questions ; but, having no secretary with power to inspect the books of city officers and report results, its efficiency was much impaired. The council declined to appropriate enough for clerical work, and the meetings of the board, for nearly ten years, were few and of little importance.
The board did not exhibit much activity until March 8, 1878, when the requisite authority having been se- cured, it convened and appointed S. W. Ramp-after- wards J. M. W. Neff, and finally, upon the declination of both these gentlemen, Mr. George B. Johnston, its se- cretary. He soon set about the minute inspection of the books and accounts in the several city offices-first in the city auditor's, and then in the office of the fire de- partments. His reports have been made to the board, and have been the basis of various important steps taken by it. It has met of late years on the first Monday of every month, and by its industry and the value of its work, has done much to atone for the quiescence of the first few years of its existence. The board now consists of the mayor, the presidents, respectively, of the boards of councilmen and aldermen, and the city solicitor.
THE PLATTING COMMISSION.
An act of the State legislature, dated March 13, 1871, authorizes the appointment of platting commissioners, prescribing the manner of their appointment, regulating their organization, and defining their powers and duties. Under this statute the common council of Cincinnati, August 31, 1871, elected a platting commission for the city, as follows: A. P. C. Bonte, Kenner Garrard, J. H. Rhodes, A. Moor, and A. S. Winslow. It afterwards, by
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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.
resolution, designated the territory to be platted, and by an ordinance provided necessary for the purposes of the commission. Its members at once set about obtaining actual surveys, the exact information necessary to full and correct platting, by determining the boundaries of property and the location of existing roads and streets. So effective and energetic was its subsequent work that at the close of 1875 little more than four years after the creation of the commission, Mayor Johnston was able to make, in his annual message, the following reference to its work :
The city is now mainly platted. This is a work of great value to the people, and will be appreciated not only by this, but by all coming generations. It will settle amicably, hereafter, a very large number of expensive litigations in regard to the area of landed property, and quiet many titles that would otherwise be disputed. -
The labors of the commission have now ceased.
THE TAX-PAYERS' LEAGUE
is not a branch of the city government, but rather an in- fluence upon it from without. Ex-governor Jacob D. Cox is president of the league. Mr. Julius Dexter, of the sinking fund commission, is secretary. Its last regu. lar meeting was held December 1, 1880, in College hall, when reports of the condition of the city's finances were made and discussed.
TAXES.
The following comparative statement of taxation in the city for a number of years in the middle section of its history, is not without interest and value. It was made for his Cincinnati Miscellany by the late Mr. Charles J. Cist :
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