Upon the resignation of Judge Allen, Asher P. Nichols, a lawyer and Democrat, of Buffalo, was appointed, and, in the fall of the same year, 1870, he was elected to fill the unexpired term. He had been previously a State Senator from the thirty-first district in 1868 and 1869. He ran for the office of Comptroller in 1871 and again in 1873, and was defeated both times by Nelson K. Hopkins. Mr. Nichols was a man of ability, who commanded the highest respect of those who knew him. He was distinguished somewhat for an old-time formal courtesy of manner. It is fair to Mr. Nichols to say that the deficiency in the treasury which Mr. Hopkins found upon his advent was not due to him, or to lack of recommendations on his part, but rather to the attempt of the Tweed _regime_ in the Legislature to make a tax rate that would continue them in power. "Among the faithless, faithful only he." [Illustration: A. P. Nichols (signature) _22d COMPTROLLER_] Mr. Hopkins was a lawyer and a Republican from Buffalo, and he entered upon the discharge of the duties of the office on January 1, 1872, and continued therein for four years. This was the beginning and the end of his career in State politics, but in those four years he left a record of splendid and faithful work. He found upon his entry into office that there had been for several years a growing deficiency in the general fund. In 1869 the excess of appropriations over receipts was $1,493,181.28; in 1870, $2,355,927.40; in 1871, $2,748,595.56; in 1872, $1,785,762.97; in 1873, $254,253.53; making for the five years an aggregate deficiency of $8,637,720.74. The money to the extent of this deficiency had been supplied to the treasury by using the moneys from the bounty debt sinking fund. Heroic treatment was necessary, so disregarding political effect Mr. Hopkins advocated and secured the adoption of the highest tax rate in the history of the State, to wit, nine and three-eighths mills on the dollar, and three and one-half mills of this amount went to make up the deficiency. In this way the bounty debt sinking fund was again made good. In 1873 the Comptroller was given power to examine into the affairs of the prisons, with the power of a court of record to subpoena witnesses, etc., and the same year he was authorized in person, or by agent, to visit the various State institutions and examine their books, papers and vouchers, both of which powers are still inherent in the Comptroller's office. The same year he was authorized to set aside cancellations of tax titles made by him whenever it appeared that fraud, misrepresentation or the suppression of a fact, or a mistake of fact, had induced the cancellation. This power, with slight modification, still remains. [Illustration: N K Hopkins (signature) _23d COMPTROLLER_]