The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1839-04-10
TIE oprAArfoNor TIE srR. rRrAsrRY

-WlLfUL CONNtNANCE Oh NEtsiECI
OF THE ADM!SisTRArloN-THE poor
EMiGRANrS PLUNDERED BY GOVERN.
MEST OFFICERS.
Ia our paper Of the 24ih October last. We
published letter, dated the 5sh Of that month.
written at Ionia, Michigan, containing charges
Of most serious character against certain
officers OF the Federal Government Al thai
place; and such as demanded the prompt al
tention Of the Executive. That letter stated
that, General Brown, the former Register Of
the Land Office at that place had been re-
moved, under the alleged pretext that. he
trusted Zoo much TO clerks and that Allen
Hutchins, the former Receiver, ran away
deiaulter $4,000. The letter then stated
county, was then Register, and a Mr.. Rich
mond, of Kent county, was Receiver Of the
Land Office at Ionia, neither Of whom had
resided there an hour, but both trusted wholly
to clerks tho performance Of their duties;
also, tina, the clerk Of the Register was Bank
Commissioner, which compelled him TO be
absent a considerable portion Of his time the
consequence Of which was, that nearly the
whole Of the duties Of the three officers were
performed by the clerk Of the Receiver. The
letter then remarked:
The story is not all told yet. In Detroit, they
take New York Safety Fund notes In payment for
| land and indeed those notes do command and have
commanded, premium Of from to 3 per cent in
exchange for gold and silver. Yet these same notes
are not received here IN payment for land--and
whyf Because they cannot be converted on the
identical spot where received into gold and silver
And yet, every dollar received at the Land Office
here finds its way TO Detroit, where the notes afore
mentioned are worth more than gold and silver.
Nor is this all Notwilhs anding nothing but gold
and silver Is received by the Clerk Of the Receiver,
| at the Land Office, aforesaid yet the said Clerk
stands ready to sell the gold and silver in the vault
and receive Tor land TO any person or persons, for
New York Safely Fund notes for premium Of IL
per cent. Now, would ask, what Is the effect Of
these proceedings 1t Is this, the Government get
paper In the end--the clerk gets IL per cent. upon
The gold and silver, and that comes out Of the poor
mln's purse These are facts, and can be fully sub
StanIiated."
On the 18th day Of February last, we pub
lished a letter signed by W. a. Tryon, clerk
to the Receiver at Ioaia, which was handed
to Us by the Hon. Lacius Lyon, Senator from
Michigan. In that letter Mr.. Tiyoa said that
the facts stated in the above extract, from the
letter published the oath Of October, rere
,choiiy untrue. so far as regarded him; and
furthermore, that the facts ,Oers exaggerated,
so far as related to the Receiver and Register.
! The declarations made by Mr.. T'yon, as to
the statements respecting him and the Re-
ceiver and Register, made in the letter being
false, has brought out the writer, under his
own signature, re-affirming all that he said
before, and even more, together with proof
under the oaths Of other persons.
Weask the attention Of the American peo-
pie to the facts set forth in these statements
and declarations. The laws which require
the Receivers and Registers Of the land Of.
fees to reside at the places Of their location,
are wholly disregarded and conference.-the
poor emierants plundered Of tenth Of their
property under frivolous or speoious pretexts;
they are charged discount Of ten or twelve
per cent on paper, because is not convcrti-
BILE into specie on The spot which the persons
presenting the drafts Of the Treasury drawn
on the Receiver, would prefer by two or three
per cent. premium over specie, in their pay
ment; while, at the same time, the notes of a
bank of which the Receiver is Cashier, are re-
ceived in payment at par for lands, though
not convertible into specie, either on the spot
nor at the counter of the bank which issued
them!
Why is it, that these abuses are permitted
to continue Nearly six months ago, It was,
that we openly exposed them; yet they have
not been corrected. Is this the plan of the
Sub-treasury which it is insisted in high quar-
lers is in full operationl Are these officers
Of the Government among the "main pillars Of
the administration" as was stated to be the
case with Receiver Ha,ris7 Or have they
'po,rerfa and influential friends like Receiver
Spencer and, therefore, as was recommend
ed with him, 'better let them be -
We put it, however, to the American PEG.
pie, whether the administration is not Justly
obnoxious to the highest censure for permit
ting such papable violation Of the laws, and
impositions TO be practised upon poor emf
grants and settlers, after they had been adver-
tised of the facts ~
The following is the letter and the af1idavits
accompanying
GRAND RIVER, IONA, IoNn County, Mich,
March 81, 1889.
Sin IL have read in the Madisonian of the l4th
ultimo the communication of William Aug Tryon,,
Clerk in the Receivers Office al this place, dated
January 23d, 1889, in reply 10 my letter Of the 9Th
October last which was published 10 your paper Of
the 10Th, same month He apologies, in The fore
part of his communication, for not replying sooner
to the charges contained in my letter BY asserting,
that your valuable paper, containing il, was "cau-
liously kept from public scrutiny" by my friend