Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1854-08-08

| VI IuIcuu6u 70 90 30. subsequently Ouo VI
Senate Clerks came to him in the lobby fronting
the centre door. He meant General Patten, who
held out the BILL and pointing out the third SEQ
ton, asked him whether it was right. To which
he Mr.. Stevcns,) replied it was not right as it
passed from the Committee on Public Lands, and
according to his recollection, he further said,
sc You will find, if you look at the original draft,
the word and instead of 'or' is there" He
went to the desk of the House Engrossing Clerk,
| mir. Sperle,) where the matter was talked over.
| He there stated he had supposed he had made the
alteration in the original draft, and thought he
voted for the bill thus amended. Tho question
came up As to whether the alteration could be
made, and several Senators said it was a mere
verbal alteration, and they had frequently made
such.
(Cries Of g Give their Names" s' Give their
numes."l
He would not give thcm as those gentlemen are
not implicated. lie would do what is honorable,
hut would go no further. The matter was adj
journed to Col. Forney'S room, where he made
similar statement.
The above is decidedly rich Mr.. Stevens,
fearful that an exposure woald take place, throws
himself on the indulgence of the House, and in
a humiliating manner, "upon his honor" admits
that he was directly the cause Of the alteration,
pleading his excuse that Several Senators said it
was mere verbal alteration, and they had fire.
qucntly made SUCH" A sly &c., 900 had undoubt
eddy been slipped into his hands by the Wall
street spectators, who were aware that this was
the only time to make the strike and that if they
missed this, "thcy were GOncrs." Mr.. Stevens
/ Quietad his conscience, and no doubt concOcted
the above plan to get out of the scrapc. We
have no faith whatever in his assertions; we be-
| lieve he was bribed- His actions indicate it. 1t
! IL str at he two
particular words, and out of mere regard to
unite the ''waters of the Mississippi with the
Lakcs,'' erase them! This is very plausible
story, very. No, no, Mr.. Stevens, you will be
obliged to 30 elsewhere to make people believe
youringen:ous fabrication.
! Nlr.>Forncy said he did not know whether the
bill could be altered But Mr.. Pattcn said-We
frequently make such alterations. Whereupon
Colonel Fomcy remarked, ''then perhaps it would
be better the alteration should be made" lie
(Nr. Stevens) left, and he supposed the alteration
was made in consequence of what had taken
place. lie wished to withhold nothing, but to
state the facts. However much he may have
erred, he wished to state them frankly. If he
had sinned, it was an error of judgment, nothing
moro. He was perfectly certain that Col Forney,
in giving his sanction to the alteration, supposed
he was right and justified in so doing. He wished
here to say, this was the first and last interview
ho had with Col. Forney on the subject. So help
| him God, he did not then know of any design in
having the bill changed from its original form;
he said the only interest he had in the bill was to
connect the waters of the Mississippi with the
Lake and steamboat navi gatiOn, and thereby BEN
eft other States, and the substitution of the word
sand" for 'Or' could not affect the original pur-
pose.
The above paragraph was rich. This is very
RICH and racy. Col. Fornoy, who has been Clerk
of the IIous for many years, and who is posted
up in all sorts of rascality, claims that he ''did
not know whether the bill could be altercd."-
Now does this not show most perverted, callous
| heart? lie, the clerk, ''did not know whether
the bill could be altered,' and on this ground he
! pleads innocence! Subsequently he remarks,
''perhaps the alteration had better be made and
from this We are led to infer that the alteration
tcas made. Is it supposable case that he, the
clerk, was ignorant Of his dutv-of the fact whcth-
er it proper for him to alter the bill or not
If he was ignorant of his duty he is unfit for the
Office, and if he was not ignorant he is a knavc,
which is the more reasonable conclusion. The
matter evidently was all prepared beforehand, so
that when the charges were brought against him,
he could exclaim-''Shake not thy CORY locks at
me-thou canst not say did it's
| Mr.. Stevens becomes very conscientious. He
wishes to withhold nothing! If he had snned,
it was an error Of judgment, nothing more" He
secs disgrace staring. him in the face, and the only
way to exculpate himself is to pretend to be UNI
commonly frank. And he finds it necessary to
exoncrate his particular friend, Col. Forney,-
''that's in the bond" he says that Col. Forney
! cd tbo ola uo
particular pains to have it understood that he and
Col. Forney had but one interview, and calls on
God to witness that he did not have any design in
altering the bill. perfectly innocent man
would not take such pains to convince his fellow
men of his innocence. The honorable gentleman
has overdone the mattcr-he h,s performed more
! than was in the programme, and is finally caught
in his own trap. He says that ''thc substitution
of the word ''and'' for ':or' could not affect the
original purpose" Then why was sand" struck
out and ''or'' inserted? But we will pass on to
his next summerSce.
Mr.. Stevens said that if the thing could be
done | should be gratiied to have it done. The
alteration simply gives to companies which are
now organized, but were not organized when the
bill was passed, an opportunity to compete in
the Minnesota Legislature for "a portion of the
grant.
Mr.. Haven-This statement is too important
not to he embodied in testimony before the House.
The House then went into Committee on the
Senate's amendment to tine Indian bill
Here it is. Here is the admission that the bill
was altered designcdly and for the purpose of
giving the lands to the Wall Street Company
The whole body of ''the Niger in the wood ple''
is seen very distinctly, and we are much obliged
to Mr.. Stevens for bringing him out to public
view. Watch the language. ''The alteration
simply gives to companies which are moo organic
zed (meaning the Wall Street Company but were
not organized when the bill passed, an opportu-
nifty to compete in the Minnesota Legislature,
for portion of the grant,
Here is the ''niggcr''-a candid admission that
the alteration was made for the Wall Street
spectators, AMI if Mr.. Stevens will now only
admit the amount paid him to do the work of
that Company, We shall begin to think that he
is not entirely lost to honesty or frankness. But
until then he will please allow us the privilege of
believing Just as much of his story as we choose.
IoRRID MURpER.-A Mr. Estabrook OfReading,
VT, was brutally murdered in st. Joseph county,