The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1839-05-22

the cOmnttfeo huu ushoo oiscVsettcs VI uHo-
cious |. frauds" IL the printing! accompanying
the announcement with as many epithets APP
Piled to US as could conveniently be selected
from the BilIingsgatc vocabulary This was
the first we knew Of the fact, as stated, Of our
having been tried and condemned by COM
mii,ee Of Congressl The accuser was Mr..
Blair-the witnesses two Of MIR. Blair's jour
neymen printers. as we afterwards discovered.
Alter stating that these charges Of" cheat
ing the public had been denied. the Globe Of
last Saturday night says, In relation to these
charges again
The aes ,oas established beyond al doubt by the
committee appointed TO inquire into this NATTER and
we we're told BY member OF the committee that
the majority had prepared report 10 Congress, sug-
ges ing The propreiy VI having the amount thus i'm
properly distracted from the Treasury refunded. -
on the last day Of the session, when The chairman
came Ia with Il, could not be presented. Il Is we
understand. to the Clerks Office. We have applied
10 the deputy Clerk In The Absence 0f the principal,
for copy aud have been denied, We shall apply
10 the Clerk himself for copy, and doubtless II The
Editors Of the lnleligencer will intimate willing
that t shall be furnished for publication Il will
be yielded-THEy AND Us being The only persons
interested IN the facts established before the COM
miltee." t
"THEy AND us"-the Editcrs Of the Intel
ligencer, and the Globe, the only persons in
terested in The charges pretended to have
been established by that Committee! Amazing
falsehood! The Printer himself has no in
leresi in these facts! He has no interest in
his own name-no interest in his own repu-
ta,ion--no interest in his own honor! "Ihey
and u.s. the ONLY persons interested! How
is it, that Mr.. Blair, Of all his Loco-loco
brethren, is so Exclusively interested As
vel! might the Editor of the Jealousville Ga
ze,te say the same. Our judgment tells us,
that Congress and is Printer are the only
persons interested in these facts, and to Com
gress, who elected us, and TO whom we are
only accountable. we shall leave them.
As to the Report Of the Committee, the
Chairman gave us information quite different
from that which the Globe has published.
He told US, that no such fact was establish
ed" as that characterised as cheat" or
" fraud.' by the Globe. lie had suggested
no such thing as the propriety Of having any
amount refunded, which it is pretended had
been :. improperly distracted from the Trea-
sury." But the Committee had found that
irregularities had existed in the printing for
both branches OF Congress, and that there
had been what the Globe calls :" fraud and
/" cheating" practised to tremendous ex-
tent in one document printed for the Senate,
BY Blair & Rises. Judging from the testi-
mony OF three witnesses, which we examin-
ed, one document printed for the Senate, diff
fered from the standard required, more than
al the House documents that had been refer
red to by the witnesses before the Committee
and this difference was against the Govern
ment He had suggested a modification of
the existing law to remedy these Irregular
ties.
We had heard little Of Mr.. Blairs Com
mittee until near the close Of The last session,
when we received a permission from the
Chairman to examine the testimony, Of which
we availed ourself. After doing so, we
hastily addressed the Chairman a letter, re-
guessing permission to call and examine wit
nesses. This was deemed disrespectul"
to the Committee, and as The request was not
granted, and as it contained our opinion Of
their proceedings, we now publish it, The
ground Of objection taken by The honorable
Committee against hearing this request wss,
tina, the letter was sarcastic The public
may Judge Here is the mighty sarcasm
WAsHlNGros, Feb 7, 1889.
To Hon. J. J. MCKAY,
Chairman of the Select Committee
on the Memorial OF F. P. Blair. Fl
Sin: Your letter Of the 4th inst, BY which was
informed that Select Committee was charged
with the duly OF inquiring into The manner In which
the public printing is executed" and that may be
present during the further examination OF witnesses,
and also that can inspect the testimony that has
been taken" was re ceised on the 9Th inst.
In reply, have the honor TO inform you that |
have read The testimony which has been taken by
the Committee. The most Of il appears 10 have
been taken early in July, 1883, (apWards Of screen
months siace,) and strikes me as having been the
result OF an ef parts trial of myself as Printer to the
House OF Representatives. Two Of the Witnesses,
believed TO be journeymen printers employed al the
time in the "Giob." office.) appeared before you
and expounded toyou a law of Congress, Ga body OF
which you ave member,) and upon the construc-
tion which they were permitted 10 give to the law,
proceeded TO spread upon your Journal elaborate de-
tails, the dri and apparent and paramount object Of
which seems to have been to convict me Of viola
tions Of law, and undue receptions Of public money.
The differences to Be deduced from their testimony
depend upon the valu. set upon their imaginings,
their calculations being founded, not upon the law
as it is w-uep, hut upon the supposed intention Of
the Jaw makers which the Witnesses were permitted
TO interpret the honorable Committee The erctn-
oh IL hnd