The Weekly comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1853-1855, 1854-09-03
CORRE pOf!DENCE


cest piece Of scandal political, that |
have heard If for some time, has turned
NJ out Of the recent appointments
and d,aapprinflnen's ~ the Custom
hpnse and lost office.
Sou know OIL 'ol Porter, the
"Cad,Io Chef" (anl who IN his State
does not y the oil warhorse Of Do
,neracy. Well, not long ngo, rs he
was one warm dag Mt work ut his desk
IN his office, gentleman IA federal
oiIciaD steps in, and walking up I"
the old man, hands him = photographic
lesIatch directed to tol. !. {. For
ter, md running somewhat thus: hon
are appointed to the office Of Collector
Of Customs for The Port If New Or
leans, il place Of GenI Downs, tsc. &c,
and signed Jas Guthrie, United States
Treasurer. GoI T. took the message,
stared At it. flen scanned the gentle
man before him, who all this time was
bowling and eongra'u|ating thc Con,
and saying IT, him that Genl Downs
he'd been removed nj his instance ~
to mike way for Tie COL
H. was not known then that Genl
Downs was dend, aud Col Porter said
that il could not be, Downs had flono
nothing to found Il charge upon, against
BIN. and as he bad not henrd Of lis
death, he thought the Telegraph y
hoax. Or there was something wrong,
because there was a private message
to him, in the hands Of federal oil
Ger, opened and read by him, and
that officer was now assuring the Col
that he Ind been the instrument IN
bringing things about thus.
Col Porter did not see into ii all
until a day Or two after, when another
despatch assured bin Of Genl. Downs
death, aud fhen he saw the point.
The despatch had been taken by
this official opened and read by him,
and then handed over to tol Porter
q proceeding that has bad two or three
but which cannot he
explained away 50 rs to stay explained
The said official went to the ruanaoor
Of the Telegraph Office and got him
to Try an explanation Of affairs, as 10
how the message got into the hands
Of the person who first read aud then
handed it to Col. Porter. The tele-
graph man was innocent q any wrong
himself, until he consented to expain
in order to screen the really guilty
parties.
However tho whole thing is rich
play, in wlirl, low cunning and petty
intrigue figuered largely, but at last
got outdope themselves.
Well, what adds to the interest Of
the play, is that this part already
mentioned is only one scene in it,
for very few days after the first mes
sage was received by Col Z. appoint
ing him to the Collectorsl'ip, the same
wire struck dead (ofiicia'y) the per
son who handed the opened letter to
Porter, and 1t = question now with
'oup, if be was instrumental in getting
rim (sald ofielaD removed Z
The whole filing is rich mt for
!. ~ Of the True Delta, AMI the way
'e will crack it, will add jest to the
'peratlon. There is much truth in
he descrl ptlon given by n waggsl,
'oet some years ago, Of Matte Van
Buren,, who is represented to be n fo8.
md his political movements equally
Is tortuous and indefnable rs are the
he tracks Of that saaacious quadruped
says the poet wag Gle wires in
mi he wires out, and leaves the
'eople 10 doubt, Whether the fox
hat made the track, Was going ont or
'ornjng back, and so may it be
sid Of some Of the parties who arc
Interested, one way Or another, in the
'ecent charges in the appointments al
he Custom house and post office.
These movements and couutormove-
nents are food for fun to the multi
ude, who look on and scare not Il
oss up whether Mossup kicks Barry
n Barry kicks Mos8up,' and saving
few aspirants to the little clerkship
acancics that may be made or are t..
20 filed. ! believe there is not half
dozen good men and true' in New
'rIeans, who cares one figs end for the