Why did the mayor ask the officials to gather and meet in his house

The Mayor of a Russian town gathers his officials and tells them he has received a letter from a friend saying that a government inspector is traveling from province to province, and he is doing so incognito. The Judge, the Inspector of Schools, the Doctor, the Warden of Charities, and the Postmaster are all distressed that their various shortcuts, bribes, and derelictions of duty might be sussed out, so they decide to put their affairs in order as quickly as possible.