Rothrock.] O.fV [Nov. 10, 



We can go no further into details here, than to say in the 

 words of the memorial presented to the State Senate on January 

 3d, 1854, that among other things, consolidation "dispenses 

 with a multitude of treasurers, solicitors, clerks, superintendents, 

 or their equivalents, besides a host of subordinates. It dis- 

 penses with 168 tax collectors, and will cause a saving in 

 this one item alone of $100,000 per year." 



Of course any bill which promised to make such sweeping re- 

 ductions in the number of office-holders would be opposed by 

 that disinterested fraternity ; and at once the specious argument 

 was advanced before its passage by the Lower House, that the 

 consolidation would endanger the city trusts. It is creditable 

 to the men of all parties in the city, and to their representatives 

 at the State capital, that the argument was estimated at its true 

 worth, and the bill passed by an almost unanimous vote. 



The select committee of the Senators of the City and County 

 of Philadelphia, of which Mr. Price was chairman, in its report 

 to the Senate compressed the whole truth into the single state- 

 ment that, " while nearly all the cities of our continent have been 

 allowed freedom of expansion, and have bounded forward in 

 population and wealth, the City of Philadelphia had fallen, in 

 1850, from the first to the second in wealth, and the fourth in 

 population." There was no resisting such an argument. 



It was a great day for Philadelphia when the Consolidation 

 bill passed. One can hardly imagine how dark a day it would 

 have been had the bill been rejected, or even essentially modi- 

 fied. 



Mr. Price's friend and companion, the venerable and revered 

 Frederic Fraley, had much to do with giving shape to the ideas 

 of the sub-committee and committee appointed to prepare the 

 bill for presentation to the Legislature. His large business ca- 

 pacity and intimate knowledge of the details of city govern- 

 ment were freely offered in the public interest. He may w r ell 

 rejoice now in the beneficent results of his labor. It was a 



