and more unpopular with each new disaster, must soon pass out of existence. Mr. Garrison arrived, March 23d, 1853, on the steamer Sierra Nevada, with a salary of $60,000 per annum, and $25,000 additional, as the agent of sundry Insurance Companies. The effect of his administrative ability upon the fortunes of the Nicaragua Transit Company was immediate. From being on the verge of dissolution, it sprang, as if by magic, into life and prosperity. The new agent promptly reorganized the service in every department; recommended the building of several fast ocean steamships, which in due time made their appearance around Cape Horn, he, in some instances, having a proprietary interest in the steamers and placing them on the line as an individual enterprise. Imbuing the Company in New York with his own indomitable energy, he induced Vanderbilt to establish a line of serviceable steamers on the inland waters of Nicaragua. An excellent road was constructed from San Juan del Sur to Virgin Bay, and the navigation of the San Juan River was improved. At the same time he made a strong bid for carrying the mails-letters being taken free to induce patronage to that route-and finally, an equal portion of the treasure shipment was secured. The traveling public admitted that "a power in the land" had appeared, and the Nicaragua route was transformed, from a condition of apathy and decay, into vigorous prosperity, mainly by the energy and will of one man. The steamship competition of that day has never been paralleled in the history of ocean navigation. Its influence extended far and wide, and the rivalry, strained to the utmost tension of conflicting moneyed interests, gave a tone to every department of business on the Pacific coast. About six months after his arrival, and perhaps before he had come to fully understand his adopted State, Mr. Garrison was elected Mayor of San Francisco. He might fairly have claimed exemption from additional burthens, considering the herculean task he had undertaken in the sphere of his legitimate business. The distinction was wholly unsought by one whose tastes and occupations. through life had been outside of the political arena. His immediate predecessors, Messrs. Harris and Brenham, had filled the Mayoralty with marked ability and success, and it may be supposed that he entered upon his duties with some misgivings as to his qualifications for a field thus new and untried. It was soon evident, however, that the same sound judgment and executive talent that could grasp and prosperously control steamship lines and banking institutions, could with equal facility administer the affairs of a community. His inaugural address, delivered in October, 1853, to the two branches of the Common Council, was a model of plain, unpretending common sense, abounding in practical suggestions, going straight to the point, and quite devoid of flourish or attempt at oratorical display. He acknowledged the weight of the responsibility, and pledged himself to devote his best energies to the interests of the city. A month later, he submitted a message, which may challenge any paper of the kind, in sound business ideas and financial propositions. It contained the germs of what became, years afterwards, the rallying cries of reform in the administration of the city government. The first outspoken denunciation in any official document, of the disgraceful public gambling then prevalent in the many saloons in San Francisco, and the first rebuke of Sunday theatricals, with a recommendation for ordinances for their suppression, are found in this message. And it was not merely a verbal protest against the evils described. Mr. Garrison never ceased to wage war against them until the desired reforms were completely effected. The crime of a public gambling hell has never blackened the fame of San Francisco since Mayor Garrison's term. For this act alone he is entitled to the gratitude of all who respect morality, decency and good order. The first proposal of an Industrial School for juvenile delinquents, who should thus be separated from contact with the hardened criminals in the cells of the city prison; the earliest suggestions of a tariff of hack fares for the protection of strangers from extortion; the taxation of non-resident capital, millions of which were enjoying all the protection and benefits of Government without contributing in the least to its maintenance; the building of substantial, wellventilated school houses in place of the shanties then used in various districts-these, among other proposals equally sensible and at that time novel, were embodied in the message. There was also a plain and comprehensive statement of the city indebtedness, with welldigested plans for its liquidation, and placing the public finances upon a healthy basis-all showing that an earnest and thorough-going business man was at the helm. This message is here inserted, nearly in full. Although a lengthy document, yet it possesses great historic value, and no San Franciscan should neglect a careful perusal of its sound, practical suggestions, and the interesting view which it presents of the condition of the various departments of the city government, sixteen years ago. MESSAGE OF MAYOR GARRISON, delivered to the Common Council of the City of San Francisco, Nov. 15, 1853. To the Honorable the Common Council of the City of San Francisco. GENTLEMEN: In fulfilment of a duty enjoined on me by the charter of the city, and a promise made at the time of my induction into office, I beg leave respectfully to communicate to you the following statement of the indebtedness of the city, and its financial condition, on the 22d of the past month, together with the estimated receipts and disbursements for the remainder of the fiscal year. I have also appended my views, founded upon a thorough examination of all the ramifications of the government, in regard to the evils and abuses which have so long existed in the conduct of our municipal affairs, with the hope and conviction that the Common Council will coöperate with me in making the corrections which are necessary to the well-guarding of the public treasury from abuses, the just and economical administration of its finances, and high-toned credit of the city. As will be seen from the following table, the entire indebtedness of the city, on the 22d day of October, 1853, was as follows: Funded Debt.... City Warrants unpaid July 1, 1853. City Warrants issued from July 1 to Oct. 5, 1853. Less received by R. Matthewson from treasurer, to Oct. Less received by S. R. Harris from treasurer, to Oct. 22, 1853. $215,647 47 Warrants issued on account Jenny Lind Building, July 1, 1852.. Mortgage held by M. Dore. Less amount canceled by treasurer.. Supposed amount of 3 per cent. scrip outstanding, principal and accrued interest. Sundry bills in hands of Comptroller, unpaid.. Total Floating Debt, Oct. 22, 1853.. Total indebtedness, Funded and Floating.. $1,500,000 00 $456,623 09 .$58,890 34 .95,597 40 $154,487 74 $302,135 35 $31,804 94 27,792 19 $59,597 13 5,593 33 $54,003 80 $120,000 00 14,052 75 $134,852 75 490,191 80 $1,990,191 80 By an ordinance of the Common Council, passed on the 5th of September, 1853, the Mayor, Comptroller, and Treasurer were authorized to issue bonds of the city sufficient to obtain an amount equal to its floating indebtness, with an additional sum of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, ($350,000) for school, hospital, and fire purposes. In accordance with the provisions of such ordinance, proposals were advertised for, to be received and opened by the officers empowered on the 25th of the past month, they reserving to themselves. the right of rejection; and although it is a matter of regret that bids were received for only a portion of the amount, and at figures which would not justify their acceptance, no difficulty is apprehended in disposing of the whole amount authorized and required, at an early day, at prices within the bounds of reason, and approximate to their intrinsic value. Upon the accomplishment of the sale, the present floating debt will be extinguished. The funded debt will then amount to the sum of about $2,350,000-the early reduction of which amount will be produced by the provisions of the ordinance requiring the annual raising by taxation, in addition to the amount levied for other purposes, of a sum sufficient to pay the interest, and one-twelfth of the principal, of the new issue, together with the sum of fifty thousand dollars annually raised for the liquidation of the ten per cents., and the obtainment of interest upon the said amounts yearly invested. The extinction of her floating debt will enable the city hereafter, if due regard is had to economy, to meet all her liabilities in cash, thus ridding her of the scrip system of payment, and resulting in a saving of at least twenty-five per cent. in her ordinary expenditures. The city treasury alone has been the sufferer from the past mode of discharging her obligations. The scrip system, founded as it was in corruption, has exercised an influence not only detrimental to the treasury, but pernicious in its effects upon the public officers and the people. It has led to speculations, extravagancies, and malfeasance in the public departments, and exposed the treasury to ruinous abuses, resulting in a debasement of the city credit to a bankrupt state. A credit system, such as this has been, if persevered in, will sink us so deep in embarrassment, as to call forth the just indignation of our people, and remain a stigma upon our Legislature for ever. I congratulate the Council upon the prospect of a speedy removal of this incubus from the body corporate, and the elevation of our credit beyond the reach of speculation and the fluctuation of the street. The expenses of the city from July 1 to October 22, as per Comptroller's statement, amounted to the following: Warrants issued, $240,975 62 Bills not audited, A portion of which has not been paid by the Treasurer. The Mayor then submits a lengthy detailed statement of the condition of the city's finances, giving the receipts and expenditures from the commencement of the fiscal year, July 1, 1853, to October 23d, 1853, and also an estimate of the resources and expenses for the remainder of the fiscal year, embracing a formidable array of figures which would, perhaps, fail to interest the general reader. |