I reside at No. 68 Murray street; I am not engaged in any particular business now; I was First Clerk under Dr. White, late City Inspector, and continued as a clerk in that department until February last; I was clerk with Dr. White when the first contract was made by him for removing offal, &c., from the city; there were proposals sent in for that contract; the lowest proposal came from a man who signed his name Steven Cole; I never saw him in the office, and did not know who he was; the contract was given to him, as. I understood, and immediately afterward assigned to William B. Reynolds; Reynolds went on after that, performing the contract, and made regular returns to the department; I made the entries in the books from Mr. Reynolds' returns, and he was paid in pursuance of them. An ordinance was afterward made, as I understood, authorizing Dr. White to make a new contract with Reynolds, which he did.

Sworn before me, this 1st) day of July, 1853.

B. H. ROMANS.

F. R. TILLOU, Recorder.

(No. 11.)

RESIDENTS AND OWNERS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE DUMPING-GROUND.

CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW YORK, SS:-Douw D. Williamson being duly sworn, deposes and says, as follows:I reside at No. 82 Macdougal street; I am President of the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company; the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company owned the land between Thirty-first

and Thirty-sixth streets, Second avenue and the East river; two years ago, when the scow for the reception of offal, &c., was placed at the pier between Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth streets, East river; which, proving a very great nuisance to persons doing business in the neighborhood and preventing them from doing business there; I, as President of the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, com. plained to the City Inspector, Dr. White, with the view to have the scow removed; he entirely and positively refused to do so. I then complained to the Mayor, A. C. Kingsland, Esq., who also refused to remove it, and placed a police force to protect it from being disturbed by the inhabitants of the neighborhood. I then sent a remonstrance to the Board of Health, which was also disregarded, and the scow has remained there ever since, until recently; she was burnt up, as I learn. The occupation of the said pier, by the said scow, was a great pecuniary injury to the Farmers' Trust Company, as the company could not collect wharfage, which they would have collected, had the scow not been there. The offal, in its process of being removed in the carts through the streets to the scow was very offensive, so much so, that I could not go near it, which would not have been the case had the offal been fresh from the slaughterhouses. I have also seen animals in a state of decomposi tion put on board the scow, which was extremely offensive, they having been left where they died a longer time than they should have been, and which would not have been the case had they been promptly removed.

Sworn, before me, this 24th day of June, 1853.

}

D. D. WILLIAMSON.

F. R. TILLOU, Recorder.

(No. 12.)

CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW YORK, ss:-Joseph F. Gilman being duly sworn, deposes and says, as follows:-I reside in Thirty-fifth street, between First and Second avenues, East river; I am a builder, of the firm of Gilman & Whitney; the pier for the reception of dead animals, blood, offal, &c., is situated at the foot of Thirty-fourth street; the place is a very great nuisance, and is almost unendurable; so much so, that unless it is taken away, I cannot remain there; these animals and offal are placed on board the boat, and are not taken away immediately, but are suffered to remain on board a long time, which causes a great smell; the boat I saw there last night; and the smell from it was very offensive at my house, and when I left home this morning at half-past 11 o'clock, and the boat was still there; when I saw her last night, she had a large number of dead animals on board; and one great reason that produces this nuisance is, that the animals and offals are allowed to remain too long.

CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW YORK, Ss:-John Burns being duly sworn, deposes and says, as follows:-I reside, No. 211 Thirty-third street, East river; I am engaged in the business of receiving wharfage, and improving the property of the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, who own property from Thirty-first to Thirty-sixth street, Second avenue to the East river; the pier which is now occu

pied for the reception of offal, dead animals, &c.; is situ ated on part of the above property at the foot of Thirtyfourth street; it has been used for the above purpose, next August will be two years; my residence is about 300 or 400 feet from this pier, and I have a perfect view of it from my window; constantly I see daily dead animals brought to this pier, and they are almost always, horses especially, in a state of putrefaction before they are deposited there; they were received on board a scow until about two weeks ago, when she was burnt; the animals would be allowed to remain on the scow two or three days before the steamboat or schooner would come to receive them; they would become very offensive; so much so that it would be almost impossible to approach near them when the wind would blow toward the shore, especially when the weather would be a little warm; I have frequently seen these animals covered with worms; the offal brought there by the butchers' wagons was still more offensive than the animals, as it was most generally in a putrid state, alive with maggots before taken from the slaughter-houses; the offal was deposited in boxes standing on the pier, and when they were full would be removed to the scow awaiting the arrival of the steamer; the steamer would sometimes remain for two or three days, until she would have a large load; the way this business is conducted is of great disadvantage to the neighborhood, and very prejudicial to the health of the inhabitants and workmen about the docks. Captains of vessels and others having business at the wharves in the neighborhood, have daily complained to me about it; I know many houses in the vicinity which cannot be tenanted, in consequence of the smell arising from these deposits; there are now from fifteen to twenty-five houses in that

neighborhood unoccupied, and I believe from that cause; the stench being so great that the women will not live there; whilst the scow was there, before being burnt, the steamer did not come every day, but after getting a load, would be gone sometimes two and sometimes three days before she would return; and during those absences, I have heard the captain say, he had been away delivering grease and other things, to Jersey and other places. The blood brought there was usually dumped in the river.

JOHN BURNS.

Sworn, before me, this 29th day of June, 1853.

F. R. TILLOU, Recorder.

(No. 14.)

CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW YORK, ss:-Merwin N. Whitney being duly sworn, deposes and says, as follows: I reside No. 203 Thirty-fifth street; I am a builder, of the firm of Gilman & Whitney; we own four houses in Thirty-fifth street, Nos. 147, 149, 201 and 203, they are all untenanted except Nos. 201 and 203, which are occupied by my partner and myself; the buildings are all new and have been finished since April; I know the place which is occupied for the reception of offal and dead animals, at the foot of Thirty-fourth street, East river; it is about a half a block from my residence; it is a great nuisance to the neighborhood, so much so, that we are compelled to close our windows and sprinkle camphor to keep the stench out. Tenants cannot be procured for the two houses above spoken of in consequence, and I shall be com