Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1824-06-22

part OF tne oeCfetaryss testimony before for
mer Select Committee of the House, which,
speaking of the correspondence generally,
the original letters and rough drafts had been
communicated under the resolution of the 18th
February, 1922. No such contradiction, how
ever. can be imagined, without Misunderstanding
the obvious import of the Score lary's words
He spoke of the communications generally :;
and 1t Is fact well known, that ii consisted al
most entirely Of originals and rough drafts.
But 1t IS irreconciable with common sense, TO
suppose that he meant to convey the idea.
that papers which bore on their face the title
OF " extracts" which he had himself COMMUNE
Gated and described as "extracts," were Ell
ther originals OF rough drafts
Neither the Secretary nor Mr.. Dickens has
any where said, in their testimony, as Mr.. Ed
wards supposes, that the latter delivered all
the originals and rough drafts to the Secretary,
and that the Secretary sent them all to the
House. The fact is otherwise. All the cor
respondence which the Bank referred to, was
not called for, as has been already shown; nor
was 1t ever asserted that all was sent Mr..
1 Dickens collected, as he has stated, all the
correspondence that he could find, filed and
unified, that was likely TO have any bearing on
the subject; from this he selected such as. in
his judgement, was required by the resolution
and such extracts as wcre made, were made
under the exercise of this Judgement After
the papers had been thus selected and arrapp-
led, he laid them before the Secretary, foee-.
Their with such statements in relation TO other
parts otthe resolution, as the Secretary might
require for his report. These papers were in
| the possession of the Secretary while he pre-
pared his report; but were referred to no fur
Their than was necessary for that object; and
the correspondence thus prepared by Mr.
Dckins, WAS transmitted, in the same S, ate, TO
the House. This circumstance will explain
the appearance of the marks on the passages
which Mr. Dickins has stated to have heen
marked by him for the purpose of calling the
Secrelary's attention to them; and which. If
| they had been observed by the Secretary,
would have been acted ON by Inn, either by
directing the marks to be removed, or extracts
excluding those passages to be prepared.
TO ren,ose all pretext for the insinuatien
winch MIR Edwards ha founded upon the CIR
cnmstance of Mr.. DiokiHs having been en-
ipioyed to select the papers, instead Of Mr.
lJones, the chief clerk, 10 whom il had been
usual to commit the selection of papers re-
I CURED by Congress, il is p oper to state. that
\ the resolution fthe House I'D in this Instance.
take the Usual course Of reference to Mr.
Jones; and chat il was at his request, and up
on his suggestion OF The propriety of teferri6p
it to Mr.. Dckins, because of his better know. /
ledge OF the subject, that the duty was trans
terred to INN. ~
There is one other omission in the cores
pondence which has been emphaticallY alluded
70 py MI. Edwards an, which shall, there
tore, be particularly noticed 1t IS a letter
from the Secretary TO the President Of The
Bank at Huntsville, OF the 9th of july, 1870:
and IS more THAI once referred to in other
parts of the correspondence whether Il had
been communicated or not, was never a $40 /
Ject OF investigation To the Sc retarv. un5t the /
notice taken OF 1t IN MIR. Edwards, address
rendered enquiry necessary. After a tho I
rough examination, however, it could not be |
found, either among the records or rough
drafts; but, on referring, as last resort, to a
file OF confidential correspondence which is /
kept by Mr. Jones, the rough draft of the let. |
ter was there discovered. COPY Of il is /
herewith transmitted. According to the views
with which the correspondence was selected, |
under the hrst resolution OF the House, this
letter was one which would have been then
communicated. 1t is believed, however. that
the sentiments and opinions disclosed in il, ave
far from furnishing subject of blame to the !
Secretary and, as lie had communicated
letter OF a similar import, written on the same
day to the Tonbeckbe Bank, it may be infer.
red, that it was not withheld by any improper
considerations OF delicacy, in respect to the
matters to which they both relate, from com
municating TINS letter a.so. It's believed that
the letter to the Tombeckbe bank, of The 9th
Of July, 1919, was also marked " confidential
and the opinion is strengthened bv the refer
ence made to itas " CONFIDENTIAL by the Pre-.
sldent of the Bank, in his letter of the 18th
August, 1872 The word confidential" wa,
probably omitted through inadvertence, in the |
copy that was retained in the Department
and TINS invent upon the ordinary record If
this opinion is correct, the communication of
this letter corroborates he fact that the onis.
sion to communicate the letter to the Hunts !
vile Bank, was, not owing to the matters it
contained, but to the circumstance of its being
on "a file not before the person by whom the /
correspondence was selected
The Secretary IS not aware, that any other
letters on the confidential file appertain to the
objects OF the present inquiry. He submits I
however, such OF them as are addressed to
Banks, to the examination of the committee.
He takes the occasion, also to tender to the |
committee, as he did to the committee ap.
pointed under the resolution of the 9th of Fe- !
bruary, 1928, the inspection of any of the re-
cords or correspondence in the Department., |
that may be deemed necessary to .elucidate |
any OF the matters connected with the inquiry. |
a Having disposed of all the minor topics of
accusation brought against the Secretary by |
Mr.. Edwards Address, it now remains to no
tee the grave charge which he has preferred |
OF having mismanaged the national funds. As
far as this charge is founded upon the partcl-
lar transactions which have formed the subject
of the foregoing observations, it is presumed
to be sufficiently refuted. The only remain
ing ground of charge then is, the measure of
employing the state banks as repositories of
the public moneys in the Western country.
The circumstances by which this measure
was rendered necessary, and the views with |
which it was adopted under the sanction Of the I