Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1830-07-07

new evidence which vas not before the Auditor."-
The items Of commiseions here spoken of. arc small
sums charged to me by that name IN I he accounts of
Owen g. Gibbons, &c. on the price of goods which
they imported from Baltimore for the use of the Ma
w, and which, believing them to DO fair and proper
and the accounts being approved by the
commanding Officer, ] did not hesitate to pay. The
OF the charges was obvious on the
face of the accounts, as it vas evident that the mer-
chants must have some compensation for their service
IN importing the articles, and whether they got it in
the name Of Commission on the BalfIuore prices, or
involved 1t in new prices of their own, made no sort
of difference that 1 could sec. The thing was so
plain IN itself, that 1t neither required, nor admitted,
any ''ncw evidence" TO support it.
The vouchers numbered 10Y to ll3, are again pre-
sented in support of n claim which was rejected in
1919. 30 far as l cau discover the decision then
made WIS correct; at any rate I am not disposed to
disturb it." The decision then maize was plainly iu-
money which I claimed by order of the commanding
officer Of the yard; but al our Auditor wac lat any
rate not disposed TO disturb il, - It IS manifest that he
gave himself very little trouble to inquire whether it
was correct or not; and I am certainly not disposed
to let i, alone.
"a few claims alluded to by nnmbers ia to lie.
have been suspended IN account Of deficiencies 10
evidence, some of which may ultimately be passed to
! Mr.. Kings credit. Here we have at last "a faw
claims Gust fArse) that are not rejected, and "some
OF which (~prubably the smuliest) mag ''oaipsateW' be
allowed. THE first OF these, I see, is for q sum of
645i which ! paid Henry Singleton (by order of one
Va ~ commissioners OF tue RdVyJO OH ACCOUNT O1 the
building fthe ship house al the Navy Yard, accor-
ding to the contra ct which ! had made With him, I'M
der the instruction ofthe Board. The other two are
tor the small sums s. d5 and 10 so paid Cary Sell
den for bread, &c. for the f.avy, the accounts for
which, I observe, are receipted by Wm. Loyal his
agent here, but which, it seems, may be ultimately
allowed, notwithstanding that detect, and notwith-
standing the date of the last accounts is Oct. 90,
1873, and that of the receipt to it, Oct. s5, 1899: All
'age" and difference which have proved fatal to so
many OF my otler claims. The reason of this differ
cncc I c1nilot so clearly perceive. ought, however,
to be thankful, no do,tt, for the promise of these
small favors, and might be go If they had not been
made with such evident rcluctance-aud associated
moreover, WI h such abusive wurts.-Fur our Audi
tor Immediately adds With the most contemplate Of
Jectanon:-"But experience in Mr.. Kings accounts
admonisheS me to proceed with c~nufion. Not only
has 1t been found that Ss,359 % claimed by him
mad long since been passed 10 his credit: but
III two cases have l fond myself deceived
And he proceeds TO detail these two cases a. SOME
length, and IN his own original way. The 6rst OF
them IS the case Of the steamboat, to which the read.
er Vlli reraembrr l promised to call his attention again:
and our Reporters statement Of it is in these words;
He claimed $4,000 upon a voucher IN due firm fol
the lure OF a steamboat to bring dispatches TO Wash.
,nston in 1919. Not finding 1t mad been passed to
his credit, I submitted 1t TO you for your decision. Or
account of the extraordinary nature Of the char rye
the absence Of authority for hiring the boat, and the
lape OF time which was supposed TO have borne e
oblivion the reason why it was not before allowed
you very properly rejected the clnim. For this 20,
have been made the object of special animadversion
a more thorough investigation has since disclosed
the fact, that this cham, though suspended in 1919
vas passedto Err. Kings credit. IN 1890, and your abu
sed decision has only prevented his twice receiving
payment for the same thing Now the veyy tdea
that ! should have been caught attenp<IRg to imposs
udu.s strihr every Urps 1 nm sure, outer What has berr
seen ct hs chararter.) as most ainusingly absurd; bu,
| vil prove that tho story rs as }utsc as il is rtnienIou
-and that hOm hts own wor,rs. Thu reuI eiycn,a
l. efrnPNo n thn aCc atrrNiry fnorS, II l. .~--A
Of September, 1919, hleut. CLAYTON arrived here viii
dispatches from our squadron on the South Amer;
cap staten, bringing Tie news Of the death Of The
commanding officer, 1.-THE late gallant and lamentec
Con- PerryD at the very moment when the United
States frigate Constellation wns lying Ir The Roads
oil equipped, and only waiting Tor a vlnd TO SAIL on
her way TO JON the feet. In this state OF things, the
commanding officer afioat here, Com. Sinclair,) very
properly deemed 1T eXpedent to forward the despatch.
oslo Washington without a moments delay, that the
ship might not be Kept waiting for the answers tina,
might be receasary, at an enormous expense: aud be
directed rne accordingly 10 hire the steamboa,
at once for the service l did not hesitate, of coarse,
to obey his order, and especially as I say myself the
EFFICIENCY Of the case; and l therefore chartered The
Rlchmood for the sum Of 500 end sent he< off With
the messenger end hs dispatches, TO the city, With
al possible speed. The answers we're brought back
bT her In q very short time, and the Constellation
proceeded 9th them immediately to sra. Shortly
afterwards, I included this item in my last quarterly
reform forthat year, and sent up tho voucher tor 1t
along with my accounts. WITH tae approval OF Com.
Sinclair upon it, dated LIST 6cieber, 1919, land not as
1t appears 10 the printed document, las31possiby
by his ms,ake.) Tbs item. however, yes no, then
allowed; bot was marked supcpdeu for tho oaus Of thu
authority of the Secretary 81 the Nang, as 1t strl ap-
pears on the books of the Fourth Auditor In the ac-
count of thai quarter. Some Time afterwards, prob
ably m 1870, l went myself TO Washington, and find
ing the item still sospeadeu, as | vas informed at the
office, for want OF the SeGretaryis approval. l took The
account over to him at once, aud having obtained bis
approval upon it, carried it back to the auditor. All
thrs was perfectly fresh III my recollection when /
wsnt Up to Washington again, IN 1928, to settle my
accounts With the new Auditor who had now come
into the Office. And here, OF this time, as | have al
ready stated, l yas handed a list OF Snspended items,
which l was then and there told had not been passed 10
09 credit, aud for which ] vas requested tosend up 10Y
vouchers, lthe dupGrutes of course, as the originals
were always there, bot had not been found ion
this list / found not only the iteus making the 81, 1859
Is, (which l am accused of having attempted to
charge over again. bit, to my very great surprise,
tffa uerv ,fcrn of the hire Of tho ateeuho,, ,,hnct, -