The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1851-03-08
The Csse Of Comm oSlore Thomas An Catest,v

the hndings and senen of the naval court m tr-
Washington Navy Yard.
ne PRONUNCIATION OF tn II extraordinary sentence,
noel the apparent sanction of the Secretary of the
navy, wihoat afiording me time for appeal TO
the Chef Magistrate forces me to the necessity of
laying THIS brief review OF the ndings and sentence
OF me court bt fore you. It's true | have been
tleu py ceur OF peers, and lis equally ue that,
| " ina. court, Was pronounced mot gully" OF
any act constituting crime or fence against law
OF morals: and yet majority of that court, after
virtually nndlng me not guilty, have pronounced a
sentence against me, the like Of which cannot find
parallel In the annals of naval trials. The find
lpgs OF The court, wherever imputing guilt, in
opposition 70 the evidence before the court; and
| Inc sentence, too, is repugnant to the findings.
put this Is not the auspic,ous moment to expose
| the combinations by which the catastrophe was
brought about In due time you shall have the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing bu; the truth,
rom d source which none can question, and all
| will acquiesce in.
This strange and unaccounts Bile finding and SEN
tence Of the court-martial has struck every legal
mind as contradictory, and affirm is not support
ed ny evidence, by facts, or by law. The public
VIII seek In vain for any principle of justice upon
which those who voted in the affirm ative eau look
10 sustain their cruel sentence after their general
verdict OF not guilty of fraud against the United
States !; !" not guilty OF attempting fraud mot
guilty OF deceit :; :" not guilty Of falsehood; :" not
| guilty Of malice !" and notwithstanding these true
findings of not guilty-ths acquittal of everything
that constituted crime in every case-the court
pa ssed sentence which, for severity is unequ ,led
4
The court, having thus Invested the charges of
the NAHUM IN re, it is difficult find upon what
grounds it pronounced any sentence, but more es-
ecially fine, which, if there were sufficient
grounds for, properly belonged to a jury, and not
| TO q court mi rtial
Among the findings of guilty by the court, is that
OF oppression, IN not delivering leave of absence
TO Lieut. Stanly, who, it was proved, and by his
own testimony, 100, was six thousand miles from
Inc when the letter received! or. to Use Lieut..
Stanly's own language before the court, was dis
tant "seventy or eighty days sail '-guilty of suf-
fering sl27ls 4S, portion of the military contri-
| button fund, to remain in the hands OF II. w.
Greene, purser, when the court had before it the
act Of Congress, approved Sd of March, lsis cover
| ing Purser Greene's claim-guy of :" transferring
| SlO,043 O9 of the same fund from the charge and
custody Of one 4 ID. Reynolds, a purser in tae
navy OF the United States, to one Joseph Wilson,
purser in the said navy, with the intent that the
said sum should be more conveniently subject to
the orders OF him. the said Captain Jones, for his
| own private uses, adventures, and gains" The
evidence OF The two pursers ABOVE named, when
before the court as witnesses the part of the pro-
secuton, proves the hitherto unquestioned control
of commander Of a squadron to be as absolute
over the funds in the hands of one purser as ano-
Their, To Justify the courts finding on this point,
proof Of collision between the accused and Purser
Wilson was indispensable. No insinuaton of such
collision was uttered anywhere.
In point of fact If the security of the public funds
was at all affected by the transfer from Edward d.
Reynolds TO Purser Wilson, it was rendered more
secure by the transfer, inasmuch as Mr.. Reynolds
Il
ton, to disburse by my orders and as such special
agent, Purser Reynolds suretes might not be re-
sponslble for any disbursements made under my
sanction whereas, as soon as the transfer was
made 10 Purser Wilson, he and his sureties became
responsible for any improper use Ct the money. al
though it might be by order of the commodore.
The foregoing IS fail sample of the evidence
throughout on which have been sentenced.
am found guilty Of not taking the necessary steps
to pay over the unexpended balance Of military con-
tributons in my hands; when proved to the court
the order to take the necessary steps for doing
And, what ID strangeet ct all, ne OF Sc, $50 I'M
posed-for what! Not as penalty for violated
law not to reimburse the United States for any
money claimed OF me, because there was no such
claim before the court; not for failure to pay
over any profits arising from the exchange of coin
for gold DUST because no such claims or demands
ever have been made OF me by any officer of the
treasury or navy departments! To this hour the
accounting officers ofthe treasury have not claimed
OF me, nor, 60 far as know, reported any account
showing my Indebtedness OF one single cent TO the
United States. On the contrary, whenever fair
liquidation OF my accounts, long since submitted to
the navy department. shall be entered INTO, it will
appear that on The lst day of February, 1851, the
day the sentence OF the court was made up, there
was balance OF several hundred dollars Justly due
me And yet this court artia. with all the facts
before i. osantiated by the inconiroverti-
BILE evidence, have, by postscript to their proceed
ngs, added TO sentence OF five years suspension,
that ole fine equivalent 10 90, $50, 'from consde-
ration las the postscript says) Of the facts proven
before 1t, touching the profits made by him from
the improper and unauthorlzt use Of the public
ney." Improper and unauthorized use &c. How
Unauthorized! Why improper Was il improper
to relieve a distressed community of suffering i'm
migrant citizens, 10 whose wants and interests my
particular attention was called by the executive
officers OF the government, wher that act of chari-
~ could be done without risk, and, as is clearly
proved, without the loss OF one cent TO the 90.
vernmentl
In VAN may you seek for an index to any trans
crossed law. Nowhere in the finding Of the court
Is the law, alleged 10 be lated, cited, referred
to. NO, the Improper and unauthorized use Of
the public money! is the imagined offence. What
public money funds from The public treasury 7
funds appropriated by Congress for any other OBJ
war contribution fund, toward which the late Sc
creiary OF the Treasury, the Hon. X. ]. Walker,
holds the following language
These duties only be collected a. a military con
the army and navy who will no doubt chserfnliy and
faithfully collect and keep these moneys and account
Tor them not to the treasury but TO the Secretary Of
In reference to the same fund the Hon. J. Y.
Mason, Secretary Of the Navy, in his instructions
to commanders Of squ adrons, directing them TO
collect military contributions from the enemy,
says
They the orders for collecting military contribu-
tons) derive authority from tae Treasury Depart.
nent, which bs, control over the subject.
How, then, was the temporary employment of a
portion OF the military contribution fund, col
lected, used for the relief Of distressed commun.
the Pacific squadron, under whose comm and that
surplus fund was collected my authority was fu
free, and unrestraned, to apply IL to any object OF
public nature my judgment nigh, dictate. No
other authority was needed, no other authority ex-
nted over that portion OF the fund, anterior the
passage OF the law OF March 3, 1919, which Il will
be borne IN mind enacted four months after the
date Of my order of the fret Of November 1873 d-
feciinR the coin 10 be put in circulation for the pur
pose therein expressed Two members Of the
court martial needed no evidence on these points
Commodores - and -, during the war
with Mexico, both collected and expended. as did
the commanding generals in Mexico, military con-
tributions; and the accounting officers Of the gov
eminent have not gone behind the orders Of theee
commanders TO look for authority for such expendt
lures. Had no authoriyi for the exercise Of such
discretionary powersl II may be eeen by the or
ders under which that fund was collected its dis.
hal lfff 49,