d refused to allow, avenged himself
by causing the publication of a series of the public accounts,
transcribed from the books of the Comptroller. These accounts showed the
millions that had been fraudulently paid away for work which had never
been done, and furnished the first definite evidence of fraud on the part
of the members of the Ring that had been given to the public. The press,
with the exception of a few unimportant sheets owned or controlled by the
Ring, denounced the frauds, and demanded an investigation of the public
accounts. Mayor Hall, William M. Tweed, Richard B. Connolly, and all the
greater and lesser magnates of the Ring were implicated in the terrible
story told by the published accounts. The respectable citizens, without
regard to party, at once joined in the demand, and expressed their
determination to put an end to the power of the Ring. The whole
land--nay the whole civilized world--rang with a universal cry of
indignation. The temper of the citizens was such as admitted of no
trifling.

The publication of the Comptroller's accounts, which revealed the
stupendous system of fraud they had practised so successfully, burst upon
the Ring like a clap of thunder from a clear sky. It not only surprised
them, but it demoralized them. They were fairly stunned. At first they
affected to treat the whole matter as a partisan outburst which would
soon "blow over." Some of the more timid took counsel of their fears and
fled from the city, some even quitting the country. The more hardened
endeavored "to brave it out," and defiantly declared that the citizens
could not molest them. All the while the wrath of the people grew
hotter, and the demand for the publication of the Comptroller's accounts
became more urgent. Comptroller Connolly, conscious of his guilt, met
this demand with vague promises of compliance. Mayor Hall set himself to
work to prove that the whole affair was a mistake, that no money had been
stolen, that the City Government had been unjustly assailed, and by his
ill-advised efforts drew upon himself a larger share of the public
indignation and suspicion than had previously been accorded to him. The
great object of the Ring was to gain time. They meant that the
Comptroller's accounts should not be published, and to accomplish this
they began the attempt to get possession of the Comptroller's office, the
records of which contained the evidence of their crimes. With this
important