Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-06-18
So per annum.
3 per annum.
POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT.
VIEWS OF THE MINORITY.
CONTINUED

department On this point, we are not aware
of any just cause for complaint. The Postmas-
ter General did refuse to suffer the books and
documents of his department to 90 out of the
hands of those by whom they are ordinarily
kept except they were in charge of the COM
mittee or some member of it; but he always
showed the greatest readiness to provide the
committee or any one OF its members, so far as
our knowledge extends, with any and every
part Of the archives of his Office whenever call
ed for He offered them room in his Office,
which the committee accepted; and whenever
any member of the committee was present, he
always permitted the books and documents to
be taken into that room, and there examined at
pleasure, with or without the presence of any
of the officers Of the department, by the Messrs.
Bradleys or by any other person whom the
committee thought proper to employ.
In the whole course of the investigations the
inquiry whether any gift, or gratuity, or favor,
had been received by any officer of the depart
ment from any contractor, (Which might war;
rant the conclusion, that it might have had any
effect upon>the public conduct of the officer,)
was never lost sight of; and the result in our
minds was, that nothing appeared which would
Justify suspicion unfayorable to the depart
ment or any of its officers.
1t was suggested to the committee, that the
Postmaster General had been furnished with
money by contractors to whom extra allow
ances had been made The committee subpe-
tors who were supposed TO have any knowledge
of the transaction referred TO; and from all the
testimony it appeared that Col. Z. M. Johnson
had been bound as surety OF endorSer for Mai
Barry; that when payment was demanded, it
was not convenient for either of them to raise
the money; that Col. Johnson, without the gen
cy or knowledge of Maj. Barry, procured the
sum of fifteen hundred dollars on a temporary
loan from friend of his, who was a contrac-
tor; that this friend in making up the sum re-
qured, was aided, to the amount of $500 by
another contractor; that Maj. Barry, some time
afterwards, paid the money TO Col Johnson,
who repaid it to the person from whom he had
received it. The contractor swears that it was
never subject of conversation between him
and the Postmaster General; nor did he, in
consideration of it, ever receive any favor or
indulgence whatever. AS the whole of this
transaction appears to have been without the
agency or knowledge Of the Postmaster Gene
raj, it cannot furnish ground for suspicion of
any thing wrong on his part
The committee deemed it their duty to inves-
tgate every case, when it was known that a
member of the DEPARTMENTAL had any deal
ings with contractor, especially if the least in
timation was given OF a suspicion of any thing
improper A letter was received by the COM
mttee, from citizen of Pennsylvania, charg-
ing upon hearsay evidence, that of an extra al
iowance of 10000 dollars on the contract of
Reside d Slaymaker, in which Mr.. Tomlin-
son was also interested; Messrs. Reside, Stay
maker, and Tomlinson, received each 5000 dol
lars, and that the other 1000 had been retained
by MIR. Brown, the Chief Clerk of the Depart
ment. We, therefore, took testimony of all the
witnesses TO whom We had been referred in
said letter; and the charge was not sustained
by evidence, but was fully disproved. loan
Of money was made by Messrs. Slaymaker and
Reeside to Mr.. Brown which had been in part
repaid, and part remains still unpaid; but it ap
pears, on the clearest testimony to be a loan of
money on interest, and does not furnish ground
for suspicion of any thing improper 1t also
appeared that Mr.. Brown had, sometime before
this loan, made a loan on interest to Mr.. Porter,
a contractor, of several thousand dollars; and
afterwards made an additional loan to MIR. Por.
ter If it should seem extraordinary that he
should borrow money on interest, while he had
money loaned out at interest, the explanation
is found in the circumstance that he had acted
as the agent of the late Doctor Jackson and
had received his money TO the amount of seve-
raj thousand dollars before his death; that he
has continued to act as the agent for his widow
and his orphan children, and has been in the
habit Of receiving their money to the present
time, which he keeps at interest, as distinct
fund for their benefit; and that it was of this
fund that he made the loan to MIR Porter; but
that the money which he borrowed was to pur-
chase property for his own Individual benefit.
These are all transactions of private charac-
ter, having no relation to official conducts but
as they were brought to view in the course of
the examination of witnesses, we have thought
it proper to state them, for the purpose of show
ing that every thing which might, by POSSIBLE
~, have conneXion with official relations, has
been carefully scrutinized. There is nothing
substantiated in the transactions in relation to
Mr. Brown, which can justify suspicion Of inn
proprety
James Reside is contractor for carrying
the mail on many different routes, and to We
M nSf NJ 81
bear his name, he is associated with others who
are very largely interested with him. The com
mittee have inquired into all his existing con
tracts. On all the routes in which he is inte-
rested, the mail is carried in stages or i'm steam
boats; and their extent is 1882 miles i'm lenglh
which is more than all the post roads in the
United States amounted TO in 1871. On these
routes the mail is transported annually, 1913
$40 miles. For this service, the present com
pensation is $119S10 PER year, equal to six
cents and eight-tenths of cent per mile On
90 miles of these roads, the mail is transported
dau. fu,;,a Joxr.