Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1846-05-01
IMOND, VA, FRIDAY MORNING, MAY l, 1916

and proved, as said, false. There was no a.,
tempt on The part OF the gentleman from Pennsyl
vanla 10 prove them 10 be true; and the gentle
man SAYS under these circumstances he went tc
the Stale Department in search Of further mate
rails Well, sir, it was very natural if he hat
the free ram of the Stale Department, that h,
should 60 there's that, following the bent Of his in
clination, he shouts gel all the means in his power
10 raduec MIR. Webster.
But now The queslion'comes before this fioust
and the naion-and il is an important question
in Judging of the witness and the accuser-by
what means. iorl or far-how has this preteEd
ed Information been extracted from The secre, ar
chives of The State Department Why, Sir, lht
House made solemn call by majority Of this
body upon The President 10 furnish This info!ma
ton from the State Department The Presiden
OF The United States, in solemn message ad
dressed to this House, refused 10 communicate th,
information. The President stated, that The law!
and The Constitution, and the oath he had taken
imposed upon him duty which forbade him IL
expose 10 any eye any thing contained in tina
Department. He said there was seal oil conf
dence upon il that he could not breaa; that lhi:
House could not require him 10 break, unless i
was in a case Q. ilnpeachmen and yet The mem
Der from Pennsylvania stands up here with q
boldness most admirable, and says he has beer
prowling there, that he knows what is there, anc
that he has gol there all Ibis information which
he has communicated 10 this House. Now
want 10 know how he got there. The PIesiden
says there is a seal Of obligation, Of confidence
upon this Department. Who broke that seal
He exempts the Secretary Of Stale and the Pre-
sideni, he says. | exempt them. | have no idea
that honorable men had any thing 10 do with Ina
transaction. Was it some underlns in that De
pariment, that has been pander upon this coca
sion II assisted BY anybody, il must have beer
by an underling, for say no honorable mar
would have any connection with the subject
Who furnished him with key or did he take
one from his own pocket? or did he pick the loci
10 ascertain Wha! was contained in the secre
archives OF the Department, Who was The
guilty MANI If The gentleman does not revea
him, the responsibility isupon him, MIR. H. J.
de broke into the state Department where he
had no right TO go-knowng that he had no RICH
10 90. Has there been anybody removed from
Office in The State Department Tor breach OF con
fdcnce? Has the gentleman, as member q
the administration raliv, communicated 10 lhe
Executive the foul agenl7 No, he takes the re-
spunsblily; he chooses 10 shield The conspi!ator
il there is any; il is upon him. And he admits
he has gone and broken in where the President
says he had no riehl 10 90, and where this House
has no right 10 90 Now the gentleman states
this morning, thatihe documents are in posses
sion Of one OF the clerks of this Department
Dare Tic gentleman rise in his place and state
who hat clerk is ? Was il he?
We'll, The gentleman described 10 us how he
Stumbled upon this Information 10 his entire
amszemenl" And for my life, could not bu
think il was like a man VITO has felonioEsly bro
ken into house for one thing anu s!umbles upon
another, and after laying lis hands upon all he
can gel, decamps and scls iIc 10 the house. II did
seem 10 me 50 stealihlike, sroping about vhcrl
he had no right TO be, doing injury, and lighting
upon information which he says surprised him
have something important Che coniinued) in
relation 10 the character OF The witness. We'll, i
is by these means he avows before the world he
has procured the means OF uteIine this accuse
ton against the distinguished Senator from Mas
sachuscus. Now, in Judging Of The character o
The witness and accuser, You mast always take
into consideration, 10 some extent. the position b,
has assumed upon the trial. He has brough
against lbe Senator from Massachusetts four q
five distinct, specific allegations. Among other!
he has charged him with the personal use OF III
money OF he people al the United States, and o
being defapl.cI while in Office and going OUT o
oihce defaulter.
Sir, the member from Pennsylvania is the las
man, so far as the public records show, that
should suppose would have ven.urei upon stir
ring an inquiry into official peculations-the las
man in this House. The records OF Congress
should suppose would have stared him in he tacs
and have pasied his tongue, when he begins tt
speak OF the personal use oilbe money otthe peo
p,e of The United States. Is il probable that 10
the purpose Of Withdrawing public attention from
one state Of things, this charge has been mad,
nf4ic hp ne he from
PENNSYLVANIA has held Office under his govern
meni. He held il for course OF years, until h
was turned ont Of office By President Jackson
In The first month OF his administration, he wa'
turned out for official populations and the use 0
the moneys Of
TSeveral points Of order were here raised
which, having been settled, mfr. Ashmun proceed
ed.1
Ihave Just stated, Sir, in order that the Hous.
and The country nigh, judge Of the weight OF th'
accusation and the testimony which is brougi, L
sustain it, that the accuser himself was formerl,
a publc officer that on the accession OF Genera
Jackson to office on The 1lh Of March, 1929, h,
was dismissed from that Office; that he was dis
missed for abuses in Office connected with public
moneys We all know that when General Jack
son came into office, one Of the pledges he gave
u. in his Inaugural Address was, that there wer,
abuses which were 10 be reformed, and ne con
,idered himself pledged 10 reform them. Thu
was one Of the first acts OF his Administration
10 remove from office the District Auo'nei OF th'
Eastern Dislric, OF Pennsylvania, on the grounc
which have stated. Well, | hold in my hant
the volume OF Executive documents for 1899 ant
lS40 which contains Inc history OF The transac
action 10 which | allude. The gentleman was re
moved from office in March, or the Isl OF April
f,c nffr uaud tehrn
ary, 1880; il had less than year longer to run
and yet General Jackson, with that honest iGdig
nation which, whatever may have been bis othe
faults, he had OF all sorts OF populations did no
permit him to enjoy the remainder OF The Term
He removed him, and appointed IN his stead Nlr
Dallas. And The official account was mol closed
the balance Of that account was mol paid into IN
Treasury until 1889; nearly len years alter h'
was removed from Office. Sir, in 1886, sui
was commenced against him; he had been re
ported as delauller to The department; he pre-
scented large and enormous charges 10 offset tn
balance against him, and they were disalloweG o.
tie accounting officers Of the Treasury. a sui
was commenced against him for some 81 ,OUl
dollars: he presented an acconnl-an accoun
which is presented in this document OF the mos
mons,rous items that official eyes ever saw, ant
in that suit, in the year 1897, with the assistance
Pennsylvania, he so lar reduced The claim OF TIT
Government, that judgment was rendered agains
him for 1886 dollars and 75 cents-almost 90.
dollars. That was about Isl Of May 1887. 4
lquidated balance was then found by The Court
OF the United States for that amount, and yet
was not untiIthe 18Th January, 1889, that the las
amount Of that Indebtedness was pad INTO IN
Treasury of the United States nearly two year
after that amount had been found BY the Jury, ant
Judgment entered by the Court The flrst pay
ment was made in March, 1885, OF ], 500 dollars
and on The 18th January, 1889, (mosi two year,
after, The balance wa, paid.
Now, say, if any gentlemen and all gentle
men will think the whole public ought to-
investigate these accounts they will find that he
retained in his hands an immense amount O
public money; that, when pressed to suit BY The
agents OF The United States, he brought 10 an ac
count composed Of the most monslrous items as
an offset; and that finally judgment OF nearly
four thousand dollars was found against him
and lha, judgment was not satisfied I'll two year:
afterwards. Well, how his account was made
up tradition tells us somewhai--,his documen
tells us somewhat. This is The certificate O
Judge Hopkinson. Under The direction of The
dsirit, attorney the grand jury returned 65l bills
Of indictment in a certain lea case-whieh was
all one transaction. 1t arose upon two or three