Litchfield enquirer., 1840-08-13
From 1e National Intelligencer. GOV. LINCOLN'S LETTER.
WORCESTER, Mass. July D

have seen with the utmost surprise in the Intelligencer of the 22d inst. which reached me this morning, several certifi- cates from "Whig Members of Congress" on the subject of a publication in the Globe of the 10th of July, 164O, under the caption of Messrs. LINCOLN and OGLE," and it has now become proper for me, personally, to notice both the certificates and the matters to which they refer. I shall certainly have no controversy with either of the gentlemen who have seen fit to give these certificates. To those of Messrs. STANLEY, ALLEN and NAYLoR have nothing to object. Indeed to that of the latter, in whom am happy to recognize a personal as we'll as political friend, I woald myself most willingly have subscribed; and the substantive facts sta ted by all, SO far as respects kha procurement of ise furniture tn the Presidents House, no more question than themselves. 1 have never said, or authorized to be said or re- ported, a single word which those certifi- cates gainsay, and feel entirely conscious of having afforded no cause, on my part, for any interposition between MT. OGLE and myself.
 In the one certificate, however, of Mir. JOHN c. CLARK and others, there are eXpres- sions to which I feel bound to offer word of reply. I find it in the following para graph "The undersigned do not undertake to say whether MT. Lincoln used the lan- guage imputed to him by the Globe or not, but as he has permitted its publication to remain ten days without public contradic- tion, we presume he now adopts the lan- guage ascribed to him, if he did not origi- Hally utter it." If these gentlemen heard the remarks which did, in fact, make on the occasion referred to in the Globe, they must have known that I did not "originally utter the language" ascribed to me by that paper in the extract they have taken, nor any thing like it. Or, if they heard my re- ply to MT. Ogle a fortnight afterwards, when, upon my return to my seat from my temporary absence, he alluded to the same misrepresentation of my remarks, they must have heard my unequivocal denial of the fidelity of the Globes report, and a full and frank confession of what l did say on that occasion.
 From another part of the same certificate, in connection with the extract from the Globe, it might be inferred that l had spo- ken of the purchase of furniture as being under the direction of the Committee on Public Buildings, of which was chairman. Nothing could be farther from my mean ing, or the statement made by me. Even the remark, as given in the extract from the Globe, greatly erroneous as 1t most surely IS, WOulu Uufuly WuIIuAL thO AiACACACS drawn from it by the signerS of the certifi- catc.-
 What did say, was, in substance, that since had been at the head of the commit tee, for a period of nearly three years, NO APPROPRIATION, to my knowledge, had been made at the request of the President; that the committee had always acted on the re- quisitions and estimates of the Commission CT of Public Buildings, and that on one oc- casion, when the President had been refer red to, as to the need of a proposed appro- priation, he had declined expressing any opinion or wish upon the subject. Of the purchases which had been made, explicit ly disclaimed all knowledge l had nei- ther seen the bills, at that time, nor did speak of, or in any manner refer to them.- My remarks were exclusively applied to the appropriations, and to the appropriations only. It is well known that there is Com- mittee on Expenditures, distinct and inde- pendent of the Committee on Public Build ings, and by the former, and not tue latter, all such disbursements as arc noW~spoken of are properly subjects of inquiry ".a , 'lli- uiieitiy tcoiure that, to the character of the purchases of furniture by MT. Van Buren, between the 4th of March and the 9th of December, 1887, to which the certificate re- fers, uttered not a word of remark, for knew nothing, and before the delivery of MT. OGLE's speech, had heard nothing of the articles of the bills, which arc the sub- jects of his comment. When the appropri- ation was granted under which these pur- .chases were made, I was not chairman of the committee. This was in the second ses- sion of the 24th Congress, and my appoint ment was in the Congress after. repeat that since that period, whatever has been asked for, either for the public grounds or the public buildings, in improve ments, repairs, or furniture, has come through the usual and formal estimates fur nished by the Commissioner, with no re- quest made to the committee, directly or indirectly, to my knowledge, from the Pre- sident. This observation is, at least due to the independent action ofmy associates.
 The appropriation under which sit ap- pears from the same vouchers, that more shan shan $ls,0O0 were expended in furniture for the Presidents House between the 4th of March and the 9th of December, 1e37," was doubtless made in general terms, with no direction as to the specific articles, or the cost at which they were to be procured and besides having no agency myself in di- recting the expenditures, was, in fact, du- ring the whole intervening period between those dates at my residence in Massachu- setts 1t was for appropriations made since that time, and not for the maHner of their ap- pI;cGtiOsa, that said the committee were re- sponsible. Whatever there has been of prodigality or extravaganza in the erpeadi- lures, has never been, and will not be, justi- fled by me. The item in the bill which gave rise to the discussion, embraced only the daily pay of the labOrers, some ordinary Snnnlics for the cultivation of the grounds.