Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1853-03-23
Trial of DIR. Gardiner before the Ur
ted States Criminal Court.
WAsIsGyoS, Ms

WA:IsGToN, March l2.
George A Gardiner, indicted for false swear.
ing, in order to obtain an award from the late
Mexican Board of Commissioners, was put upou
his trial in the United States Criminal Ceurtyes-
tcrday. The District Attorney, Fendall, and Hem
ry May, of Baltimore, appeared on the part of the
State, and Joseph H. Bradley, james M. Earlish,
of this city, and r. F. Ferry of South Carolina,
appeared for the defence. There are three cases
docketed, and the Court decided that that of Geo.
A. Gardiner should be taken up first.
This jury being empannelled, Mr.. May opened
the case. He first alluded to its great Importance
and said it was the boldest, largest and most sue
cesslul case of fraud ever attempted against our
Government. That the dignity and respectable
ty of the United States Government were at stake
in the issue. He then stated what the prosecu-
ton expected to prove. DR.. Gardiner in his ns-
mortal to the Board of Commissioners, stated that
early in the year 1874, he was largely engaged
in mining operations, in the State of San Luis Pc-
tosi, in Mexico; that he had in his employ 500 la
borers, and had upwards of 100000 in men,
buildings, steam engines, horses and mules; that
in 1916, he was compelled to abandon tho estab-
lishment, his property having been destroyed by
Mexican soldiers, that the said mines were worth
half million of dollars and would have yielded
him $4,000 per annum.
The accused also filed, with this memorial, de-
positions purporting to be of persons residing in
Mexico, in support of his statement. The United
States, on the other hand, expect to prove that
every statement made by Gardiner, as well as all
the testimony and papers presented by him, were
false from beginning to. end-nothing but pure &c.
ton. The prosecution expect to show thatthe
alleged locality of the mines could not be found
by the Commissioners sent to Mexico for thatpur-
pose, although they offered reward Of $500;
that the persons whose names were given as eyi--
dence of GARDENERS title could not be foundin
Mexico; that every one of the depositions were
drawn up and fixed in the city of Washington,
That the title was manufactured here; that Dr..
Gardner was poor dentist, and never could have
worked such mine as he describes; that he was
practicing his profession in small way on the
Pacific Coast, thousands of miles distlnt and that
the title, seals and signatures were all forged
March l2
Mr. Brady made his opening speech for the de-
fsnse to-day, by giving history OF the case, in
all its particulars, down to the present time.
Franklin g. Meyer, the first witness for the,
prosecution, was then called and testified: I was
Justice of the Peace for this District, on the
soth November, ls4e, upon which day some per
son, purporting to be George Gardiner. appeared
before me and made oath to the mrnsprial of said
Gardiner, but l could not now identity that per-
SON.
Dr.. James T. Mackie testified:
know the handwriting of Dr.. Gardner, having
while in the State Department correspondedwith
him and recognize the signature to this memoir
al as that of the said George Gardiner.
Edward Johnson and DT.rayis testi6ed:
That they were clerksto ths Beard of sfsxic-,