Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1831-03-14

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D motives We have now nothing 10 do But an.
jaol Is ineoniroveT'ible thai ihes, docum. 40.
ars unworthy oil credit. |, is therefor. onvor
my "i lhe Senate to publish them, aud hone
TUE orler Tor their publication, made in an
unguafdeh moment, may be rescinded
Mr. HOLMES said-Mr President. HAVING
nee" selected by the Committee as a sub.com
hh'ee VIA The Senator tom Tennessee lAIr
oRuNpr) To go 10 the Department ex,,nina m.
hooks, aud ascertain what was the truth i've
took wit us The witness under ,.am,nati,n
anu proceeded 10 the General Post Office We
TOOK also NE abstract oil allowances nov before
'he orhaie. ihis abstract WAS obta med NV "A
call made on the l4lh of April last made by
Senator from Ohio, tMr. BURNETT recurring
among other thIngs, information OF extra al
lowbnces made 10 contractors. aud for what
additional services. that the Senate might com
pare the value Of the service with the comnen.
saion The answer to this call did n ct come 10
the Senate nn il the ION Feb, uary ofthis Sea
sloo' near nine months. II was referred Ia Tn.
COMMITTEE ON the Pot Office. &c and by
'hrm returned 10 the Senate on the Odd, and
ordered TO be printed and was then referred
10 The Committee Of Inquiry II was volumi
nous aud exceedingly coafused-but some
| members OF the Committee discovered ut once
that II musl be erroneous, 10 say the least. The
fact is, that Mr.. Mclean left the Department
about the lo,h March, 1529--that Mr. A
| Bradley, the senior ASSISTANT, was then the Ac-
ing fns Master General, as iOcmn lentuS
| from that time, until 7lh April, less than four
weeks. Still, within that time additional aI,
ln"ances appesred by this i" abstract 10 have
| been made of about 81, 900. Unon exntnin
ing this " abstract" it appeared, moreover, that
there had beea thirty -six erasures. and A
Brddley'S name inserted The allowance to
| iarall appeared the most extraordinary
| his was care of erdSure Ii seems that
Bradley had. on the l7lh October, 1929 in "a
letter to the President, among other things.
charged MIR. Barry with prodigdiag. and had
Instsnced this allowance Il Harrsll. Harrall',
contract was for carrying the mail from
Georgetown 10 Charleston. South Carolina fn,
5000 dollars, and the extra allowance was
.992 doharss aho /, 80 per cent. aud the ca use
alleged was two hours eIpedition--the law al
lowing only pr0-rd'd addition, which would
have been about per cent If the two hours ex-
| petition had been required. But here was
another error IN the abstract, the expedi ION
! CURED being only one aud half hours
This extravagance, which Bradley in his let
ter to the President, had charged upon Barry,
and hdd before The Committee verified IL by his
oafh Barry had, in an odfc'M communication,
charged back upon Bradet The reputation
| Of these two gentlemen seemed, therefore to
| be 50 deeply involved, that ii became the duty
oi the Committee 10 ascertain how the FAC,
was, and the subcommittee was accordingly
| appointed.
10 pursuance of this appoint ment we pro-
! ceeded 10 tue Department Mr.. Bury was not
there we inquired Of Mr.. Gardner, the Assis-
tauI. ahd Others, for the persons who made ou,
the " abstracts aud Mr.. lay Tor aud Mr.. Dun
das we're introduced, and, after u preliminary
examination, were sworn AMI testified We
REQUIRED to the crasnIe aud asked what
wBs erased TO make the blanks which
!
They answered, Mr.. BsrTy's aud Mr. NJ Lean.
but chiefly Mr.. Ba rvs, Why we're Messrs'
| MLesn aud Barry y name first inserted Be-
cause they supposed il was ,ighi-bu, MIR.
| Br0WH, by order oil the / ostmaser q General as
he said, had determined otherwise, and dnec-
ted is rule 10 take The ledger 3: look al the
account OF Tho contractor which was adjusted
Tor each quarter. aud il the credit OF the allow
ance al the end OF the quarter is carried INTO
| bradley's time charge The allowance To HIM
II appeared that the account with Harrall was
| adjusted aud balanced to the end oil tie quar-
ter, to vii the first Oi April and, as Bradley
was then acting Postmaster General, this allow
ance VAS consequently charged to him. ia
CURED II this quarters account was adjusted
and balanced at the time II bears date The
answer was no--nnd not, probably, until June
| Whether. il the allowance had been made be-
tween the frs, OF April (the end OF the qIarter)
would have been carried 10 Harrail's credit 10
lhdt quarter1 The answer was tha, il~ O aid.
! Don't you, then, we asked, see the tallacy Of
! your rule IN proving who was the Postmaster
| General "ho made the allowance luuT
( quarter closed on the first OF April, aud Brad
/ ley's functions ceased on the 7tb, and your ad-
| Justuent Of the quarter WAS made Oh the 6rst
| oil June. II tbs allowance had been made an,
line between the III April and lst Of June aud
y nu had mr. I'D Ia hp la A,.n
don't you see that you tx on B. adley an allow
ance made by Barry Bring your original en-
try, where, conceTDing this allowance, you flst
pui pen 10 paper no matter what ID the name
of the book or the document. They brought
4" the cash book - there tue allowance was
! stated, and the iIme tor which ii was made
| but not when the decision vas made. But
! perceived, IN small note IN red ink, see let
ter oil 18Th April" demanded the letter aud
II was brougbi-snd, behold, il WAS a letter OF
| Phmeds Bradley to Harrsll, siX days after A
braHam's functions had ceased. stating that tue
Postmaster General Barry had examined ms
! claim lor extra conpe nsatiun. and had directed
hrm t. pass the sun OF , 992 90, per Aun. to
his credit, az extra allowance. Here The Ih,ng
was settled. The charge oil Bradley 10 the
| President oi Barry extra allowance, was true
the attempt in B,rry's official report 10 shout
+. der II of Bradley WAS entirely defeated.
Ihe Assistant Postmaster General Gardner,
and Chiet Clerk, Blown, were forced 10 admit
The error, and that the rule which had fixed
about $4,000 allowances upon Bradley, took
these allowances from MLeaO, but chiefly
| frnm Barry, where they in TACT belonged, and
charged them upon adley, where they dad
not belong. l. vas strange. indeed, that this
abstract should have breo, at irs made oul
correctly and that NJ Leans anu Barry's names
should have been improperly erased aud Brad
| ley's improperly inserted Now, II Is not to
be presumed tnat charges SO grave as those pre-
.ented by Bradley to the President Of the u.
! 5 Ia his keit.r OF the l7lh of Oct we're never
com munIcated to the Postmaster General MIR.
Bradley had been Assistant Postmaster Ge-
neral luIl thnty years, aud, in all that time,