The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1850-05-11

New York, where he is invited to deliver q great
talk at the Tabernacle, on temperance. He seems
to have no aspirations for the Presidency.
The various committees, investigating matters
printing, DC, are busy, and will parade figures and
facts before Congress, sufficient TO puzzle any and
everybody but the Attorney General. He will be
able to cypher il up, legally and logically. He is
to the National InfeLigencer No Tombs lawyer
was ever pulled, even in the Police Gazette, poor
ReveIdy Johnson has been in the Republic and
irtel'geneer. 1t damages him terribly; and he
and safer than ruination The great difficulty with
this cabinet is, that half of them get thirsty, and
are dry about half of the time, perhaps twothirds
This is a cold-water secret worth keeping, for il
will account for and excuse many things other
wise an enigma, a riddle, or romance. This ac-
counts for the letting out secrets of state, to be
telegraphed, while they are in that state of I'M
quenchable thirst.
The committee on the doorkeeper are down on
him. He must surrender. There are candidates
in the field; but Rathbone, of Ohio, seems to have
the best look now, but the sun may not rise on
him tomorrow. 1t is said that the President
swears terribly about Clay and the committees that
he has been worked up to believe that il Is all done
to dish him, and to dish up Clay for the next Presi-
dent. His is short, stubbed kind of swearing,
without ease, or elegance, or grace. SIMON.
WASHINGTON, MAY s, 1850.
The Gdiphin C2aim-Ihe Committees Report
Latcs Of Congress relative to Porers of Attorney
Meredith and Johnson-Ihe E,cing Committee
Restrictions on the Chicdsa,c Claim
The committee on the Gaphin claim will be
ready to report in week or ten days. There will
probably be two reports, though of this am not
certain.
The report of Mr.. Burt, chairman of the commit
tee, will be pretty elaborate and will be confined
almost entirely to branch of the inquiry, to wit
whether the claim, and the interest it, were al
lowed and paid in conformity with law and prece-
dent.
The course of the government, in the matter of
allowing claims and the interest on them, has not
been strictly uniform, as the report will show ;
but for the most part it has been the usage OF the
government not to allow interest on claims, unless
by order of Congress specially given. This doc
trine was laid down by MIR. Badger in the Senate,
last week, the doctrine uniformly recognised and
practised by the government.
Mr.. Burt's report will cite the action of the go
vernment on this subject, and leave the House to
draw its own inference, as i learn, as to whether
the Galphin claim, and the interest thereon, were
allowed and paid according to law and precedent,
or not.
understand the report will not affirm that the
claim was or was not just and valid against the
United States, but give the facts, and let the House
decide.
The report will not touch the question of deli
cacy, or that of morality both of which have been
raised by the newspapers against Mr.. Crawfords
conduct The House did not call upon the COM
mltee 10 90 INTO these Questl0nS.
If the members of the committee undertake TO
screen or whitewash the conduct, beyond what
the testimony will warrant they will lind II hard
business to face their constituents and meet their
opponents on the subject. He who defends and
justifies the allowance of the Galphin claim and
the interest thereon, TO Mr.. Crawford, member
of the cabinet, by Messrs. johnson and Meredith.
two other members of the cabinet, vii have an
uphill business of it on the stump, If his opponent
should happen to be any sort OF a man.
There is law of Congress which requires that
an agent of a claim allowed, shall present power
of attorney to the treasury, executed after the pas
sage of the law allowing the claim, before he can
When was Mr. Crawford's power of attorney to
draw the money for the principal of the claim exc
cuted Did il, as required, specify the act by
And what is the date Of his power Of attorney, to
draw the interest on the claim What is the date
Of the power OF attorney transferred by Mr.. Craw-
ford to his friend Bryan, by whom the interest,
amounting to el9S.Ooe, was drawni
These things should be known. They deserve
to DO examined.
II is asserted that Messrs. Meredith and Johnson
both swore before the committee that they knew
nothing OF the interest which Mr. Crawford had in
the Galphn claim, or that he had any interest at
all in il. And yet they examined the papers on
the subject, before they made up their minds that
the interest on the claim ought to be allowed and
paid and in those papers there was positive, un-
mistakable evidence of the fact that Mr.. Crawford
had an interest in the claim. How are these
things 10 be recohciled! But let us wait for the
report of the committee and the testimony.
The Ewing committee is under way, though no.
thing of note has yet transpired relative to s pro-
ceedings. In the case Of the Chicasaw claim oil
&l0S, 900, il will be well for the committee TO in
qure how the money was drawn from the Treasu-
~ TO be paid to the claimants The law is positive
that where fund raised by Congress for any given
purpose, remains two years unappropriated, II re-
verts back the surplus fund in the Treasury, and
cannot from thence be transferred drawn for any
purpose except by special act of Congress.
When was this Chicasaw fund created by Con-
gressl Was il not more than three years agol II
So was il, two years after its appropriation, added
TO the surplus fund in the treasury If so, by what
unlawful process has il been since drawn out, and
clos, coo Of it paid TO Dr. William Gwin and others
Let the committee look TO il.