The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1831-03-16

paole 10 every one. But, IN order to defeat the
investigation, it was referred, By party pote,
to the standing committee on Post Offices.
where it lay uneramined, eight or ten days,
and would have lain unnoticsd till this time,
but for speech made by Mr.. Clayton on mo.
ton OF Mr.. Grundy to restrict the authority of
the select investigating committee in the ex.
ANIMATION OF witnesses. In that speech, Mr..
Clayton charged the minority of the commit
tee OF which Mr.. Grundy was one, with at
tempting to evade and stfle the investigation,
and among other instances adverted TO .tosupport
the charge, he mentioned the commitment of
Mr.. Barry's report to the committee on Post
Offices, on motion of Mr.. Grundy, one of the
select committee. This speech produced such
an impression on the public mind, that, few
days afterwards, Mr.. Grundy moved that the
committee on Post Offices be discharged from
the further consideration of the report. and
that 1t be referred to the select committee.
This motion prevailed. The select committee,
Immediately called Abraham Bradley before
them, to be examined in relation to the report,
the result of which, will best appear from the
following memorial which he addressed to the
Senate few days afterwards:
The Memorial of Abraham Bradley, late AS
slstant Post Master General most respectfully
represents:
That after his removal from office, he, as
Is well known to the Senate, presented to the
PRESIDENT OF the United States letter, in which
among other things, he stated that Mr. Barry,
the present Post Master General, had made an
extra allowance to a Mr.. Harrall, mail con.
tractor, and to others, as this memorlalist con-
celved, 1cithOut 1oarrant of lao.
copy OF this letter having been called for,
was presented by this memorialist to the
present Select Committee of the Senate, on
the Post Office Department.
During the last session of Congress, a call
was made on that Department at the instance
OF one of the Senators from Ohio, for informa-
ton relative to the extra allowances which had
been made to mail contractors
The response of the Department to that call
was submitted to the view of this memorialist
as containing matters in which he was deeply
concerned. Upon examining it to ascertain if
his recollection of Harrall's case was correct,
he was UNNECESSARILY astonished to find that the
extra allowance was there charged TO haze been
made by HIM, acting as Post Master General.
1t was evident that the documents had been
originally different, that an erasure had been
made, and the name of this memorialist insert
ed. Induced by this to examine further, he
found that forty nine cases of extra allowance
were In that document charged to have been
made by him. Thirty-Sir of these were SINH
lar to the case of Harrall: the original dOcu-
ment had been mutiated, and the name of A.
Bradley, Jr., acting as Post Master General,
carefully inserted.
This memOrialist called the attention of the
Committee, to these circumstances as evidence
OF an attempt TO impeach his testimony, and to
load his official conduct with opprobrium, being
public documentary preoffrom the books of the
| Department, that he had squandered the pub
lie funds during the few days he had acted as
Post Master General, between the 10th of
/ March, when Mr.. McLane left the Office, and
the 9Th of April when Mr.. Barry came into it,
charged these things upon the latter gentle.
man. The committee kindly authorized sub.
committee to accompany this memorialist n
tho Department yesterday, the 28th uIt. to as.
certain whether his statements were corrsct
Your memorialist confidently appeals to those
gentlemen in support of the fact, that it salts.
tactorlly appeared to them, that in this case OF
Harralls, as well as in every other case hut
I one, IN which an erasure had been made, Mr..
Barry was originally and properly charged and
!
had been made by mistake and his name in.
serted by mistake. The gentlemen had NOT
time to pursue their inquiry, and no examina.
ton was made into those cases originally charg.
ed to your memorialist.
I In whatever manner these mutilations of the
original document may have occurred, and these
false amendments to il made bu 7niStake or not
the effect must be, if it goes to the world, Ia
lnInre, if not to destroy reputation upon which
your memorialist, after nearly forty years pub
lie service, must mainly rely for support. The
Senate mas, as he has been informed, directed
this report to be printed.
If this should be done, and it should with all
Its falsehOods and injurious tendency be spread
before the people under the sanction ofthe Sen.
ate of the United States, your memorialist sub.
mts that great injustice must necessarily fol.
low to him. He therefore prays that such or.
der may be taken by the Senate as will secure
his right, and especially preserve the reputa.
ton which documents published by the author.
ity of the Senate should always possess. And
your memorialist as in duty bound, &c.
| ABRAHAM BRADLEY.
March ], 1881.
Such was the sensation, produced by this ex.
posture, that motion to suspend the printing Of
the documents, was carried in the Senate apitb.
OUT asserting cote. In the debate TO which
it gave rise, Mr.. Clayton made the following 70.
marks:
| Mr.. Clayton, Chairman of the Select Com.
mittee, TO whom these documents had been
referred, arose and observed that they were
very voluminous, purporting to be answers TO
the resolution of the Senate of the 18th of Nav
last, which directed the Post Master General
to report copies of all existing contracts made
by him or his predecessor in office, on which
allowances have been made for additional SER
vices, designating in each case how much and
what additional service had been performed
and by whom it was required, and designating
also what sum has been allowed to each case,
for such additional service and by whom it was
allowed"
The answer to this call was kept back until
about the 10th of Feb. last During the debate
which occurred here on the resolution of the
gentleman from Tennessee, among other things
then said, | complained of this delay as an evil
dehcc Of design to battle inquiry into the con-
Germs of the department; and after that tho