The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1853-02-02

winch were not necessary to be put in the report
that think may be proftably adverted to- Th
committee say, and the gentleman who has jus
taken his seat, who was member of the commit
tee, repeats, that there evidence of any cor
or description tending to show in the slightest de
! gree that Mr.. Corwin had any knowledge that
fraud was about to be perpetrated upon the Gov
| eminent. | think a close examination of the ties
hmony will satisfy every unpreiudiced person, no
| only that Mr. Corwin had no knowledge of tn
contemplated fraud of Gardiner if his claim Il
really sheer fraud, but that all the testimony il
the case before the Board while he was connectee
with the claim, and when it was finally allowed
showed an honest, fair case. will say further tina
the evidence before the Board of Commissioner
IN favor OF the claim far stronger than is tn,
testimony before the committee that it ia fraudu
| lent The testimony was entirely satisfactory, il
| the absence-which was the case--of any suspicion
| OF its not being genuine.
In the first place, Mr.. Corwin never knew DR.
Gardiner until after the treaty was made and tn,
Board OF Commissioners had been established ane
organized: He was then employed in the case
not BY Gardiner, but by General Waddy Thomp
| son, man Of high character in the country-f
! man who had served with him in Congress for
number of years, whose integrity and honor hae
never been questioned, and who had been ou
| Minister in Mexico Thompson had known Gar
| diner In Mexico from 1912 to the latter part O
1913, or early in 1874. He had made his acquaint
ance when be fret went to. Mexico, Gardiner hav
ing been the chairman of the committee of tn.
American citizens residing in the city of Mexico
a public dinner. Gardiner was in the city o
Mexico practicing his profession at that time, ane
engaged to come extent in mining operations. Ii
the fall OF l843, or early in 1874, he left for The
Thompson saw no more of Gardiner until late ir
lS4S or early in lS49, in this city, when his frs
Inquiry to know, of DIR. Gardiner whether he
had made fortune in mining, when Gardiner
/ told him of his operations and his losses. MIR
Gardiner had letters from the Hon. jefferson Da.
i Wis. Solomon y. Downs, Colonel Ga tes, Dr. Hitch
1 cock, and other distinguished American officers
who had been in the army in Mexico, representing
him to be man of honesty and integrity.
1t was natural that Dr. Gardner should apply
| to General Thompson, from their acquaintance
and his high professional character. After proper
consultation, and hearing from Gardiner the ma
/ legged it, General Thompson engaged to prosecute
| the claim before the Board for fifteen per cent
upon the amount that should be finally awarded
| MIR. Thompson employed Mr.. Corwin, and agreed
| to give him five per cent. upon, the amount that
| should be finally awarded out of his fifteen per
| cent. This was the precise manner of Mr.. Cor
wins first connection with the claim, as General
Thompson swears. Thompson, when he was re-
tanned, as he states, reserved to himself the right
OF employing additional counsel if be desired, ia
! be paid out of his own fee. Mr. Corwin was not
| employed by Gardiner, or to be paid by him
There was surely nothing at that time to excite
suspicion in the mind of Mr.. Corwin. There is
scarcely man in the United States who could
procure better testimonials, if he desired to use
| them in the furtherance of his rights, than Dr.
Gardiner had obtained when Mr.. Corwin first be-
came acquainted with him.
! In May, l849, MIR, Corwin was employed Dur
| ing the summer and fall of l849, DR.. Gardiner
went to Mexico to procure the necessary legal
| proofs to sustain his claim. On the Both of No
vember, lS49, the memorial of Gardiner was filed,
and the proofs that had been then procured In
February, 1850, Robert e.. 2Corwin, ESQ., bought
one fourth of the claim from Gardiner and in The
arrangement the Secretary of the Treasury be.
| came the owner of one half of that fourth
On the 18th of March, 1850, the claim was passed
upon by the Board as valid claim. In July, 1850,
Mr.. Corwin sold out his interest in the Gardiner
claim and all other claims Thirty six in nurnber)
in which he was interested, then pending before
the Board of Commissioners, to George Law and
at that time resigned his seat in the Senate, and
| afterwards became member of the Ca oinet This
whole transaction took place while Mr.. Corwin
was Senator, and no part of it since he has been
Secretary of the Treasury make no question of
the right of this House to inquire into the conduct
of Senator of the United States, although think
it has not that right. IT Mr.. Corwin is culpable
In this matter, do not desire that he should be
shielded from exposure because of any plea to the
jurisdiction. desire the fullest investigation. ~
i will now endeavor to show the character of the
proofs that were before the Mexican Claims Com
mission. For this purpose will quote the whole
OF General Thompson's testimony:
Waddy Thompson appeared as witness, and
was sworn.
Witness resides in Greenyile, South Carolina.
He was counsel in the case of George A. Gar
diner. = 25-5a
claim of George A. Gardiner, and any interest
or connexion which Thomas Corwin had in the
same z.FsgaIi ID ,5ssssfa q. a
A,.s,cer--I do not know that have any infor-
nation in reference to that claim, other than that
which is furnished by the papers submitted /
first became acquainted with DIR. Gardiner in the
city of Mexico, on the 25th of April, 1912, few
days after my arrival there as Minister from the
United States. M oh ir.
man, or the first named of committee, appointed
at a meeting of the American citizens in Mexico,
to invite me to a public dinner The letter of
invitation presented to the committee of the
Senate engaged in an investigation of the Gar.
diner claim. Thought had the original with
me, but in the haste in which left heme-a few
hours after the arrival of the messenger-I ne
elected to bring the original with me. L met Dr.
Gardiner occasionally, as i did other American
citizens, while in Mexico; had no special intimacy
with him, nor any knowledge of his pecuniary
circumstances, further than general impression
derived from him and other Americans in Mexico,
that be; was engaged in a profitable business
that OF a dentist and physician. Shortly before
DR.. Gardiner left the city of Mexico, which was in
the fall Of 1843, as understood and believed (for
| never saw him there afterwards, until left,
which was about the middle of March, 1874, y he
called upon me to request that would give him
letter to some naval officer. who he had understood
was at Acapulco, asking for him passage in his
ship to Mazatlan, or some place on the Pacific
coast, as there were very few commercial vessels
in that quarter, and it was difficult to obtain pas
sage. complied with his request. / asked him
why he was leaving Mexico, as had understood
ne was making money He said that he was; but
that he thought he could do better, and that he
was going to look for some mines of which he had
received information II never saw or heard. of Dr.
Gardiner again until i met him on the avenue
IN this city, late in December, 1913, or in January
lS49 did notiat first recognise him; when did
said to him, hope you have made a fortune byi
those mines You were in pursuit Of. He then told
me that he had claim before the Mexican Board
about to be established for losses by his expulsion
from his mines. He called a few DAYS afterwards
and submitted his papers to me. Some of those
papers were submitted in the form in which they
then were to the Board; ohere, not conforming to
the rules prescribed by the Board, were not pre-
sented. They were the same in substance and
| generally the dispositions of the same witnesses
afterwards presented, DR.. Gardiner having gone
to Mexico to have them put in the required form
Among the papers first presented was the book of
account of daily expenditures and receipts. NV
connection with the case was strictly and exclu
svely professional, and confined to written instruc
tons given to- Dr. Gardiner, as to the form and
character of the testimony which he should ret
The original of these instructions is in
of the committee of the Senate, copy of which
herewith fled and marked Exhibit No. 10 7 de-
sire shall be taken as part of my testimony and to
written arguments presented to the Board never
conversed nor had any communication with either