The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-10-02
MR.. BUCHANAN FOR FREMONT!

The public are familiar with the fact, that in
1852 Col. j. c. Fremont was arrested in the
city of London for debts which he had CON
tracted in his official capacity, as Governor of
California. The English Court of Exchequer
appointed a commission, consisting of three
lawyers, of Philadelphia, to take dispositions
in the United States. They were Messrs. H.
ID. Gilpin, Hugh Campbell, and Peter Mccall.
The frst witness examined by them was the
Hon. James Buchanan, who was Secretary of
State at the time Colonel Fremont was Gov.
ernor of California. Hence the propriety of
his examination. Colonel Fremont was, in
fact, operating under the orders of Mr.. Blu
and chiefly responsible for the character of the
Administration. We published evidence, a
week or two ago, furnished by letter from
Mr.. Buchanan, introducing Lieut.. Gillespie to
Colonel Fremont, that Lieut.. G.. was charged
scith secret orders from Mr.. B.. as Secretary o.
State, to Col. F., and, as was alleged by seve-
raj Senators, directing and secretly authorizing
the movements which he subsequently made
in California, without public authority. He is
therefore a most important witness. Now,
hear what he says of the services of Colonel
Fremont. In answer to the Commissioners.
who went to his house at Wheatland, he says:
"Col. Fremont, the defendant, was in Cali.
fornia at the commencement of hostilities be.
tween the United States and the Republic Of
Mexico; he there raised and commanded
battalion of California volunteers, consisting
Of houf fou
very valuable; he bore conspicuous part in
the conquest Of California, and, in my opinion,
is better entitled to be called the Conqueror of
California than any other man."
Now, see what Mr.. Buchanan thinks of the
vile and Infamous charges which his own par
tisans have raked up against Colonel Fremont
since he became candidate for the Presi
dency. He Says
do knoc that such supplies acre ,,ecessa-
ry for the forces under the command of the de-
PENDANT, and that no appropriation had been
made by Congress to pay for these supplies.
Congress could not have anticipated that Col.
Fremont would raise California battalion by
his own personal exertions, and without pre-
vious instructions"
And again he says
I" 1 neither know nor believe that the de-
PENDANT himself individually, or for his own
private use or benefit, ever received any con.
sideration for said bills, or any of them, and do
not believe there was any consideration what
ever for the drawing or accepting of the same
bills, or any or either of them, other than to
procure supplies for the forces under his COM
mand in California"
Again he says:
should hare accepted and paid these bills,
from my general knoacLedge ofthe Transactions
tn California, had Congress appropriated anu
money, and placed 1t at my disposal, .chich
could be applied to their payment, hlouqh IL
scosld haze been more correct to hare drascn
these bills on the Secretary Of War;"
These extracts from the testimony are sufi.
cient. Many of the answers are unimportant,
and none of them state facts of which Colonel
Fremont's friends would be ashamed. We
omit them, therefore, as unnecessary. 1t must
be borne in mind that at the time this deposi.
ton was made, under oath, Mr.. Buchanan had
retired from public life, and had no motive to
pervert facts. We presume that his friends
will not controvert his statements.
Here, then, we see Mr.. Buchanan agreeing
with Mr.. Marcy, the Secretary of War under
Mr.. Polk, that Colonel Fremont conquered
California The leading Democrats of the
Senate, such as Rusk of Texas, Allen of Ohio,
and Dix of New York, entertained the same
opinion. How impotent must be the calum.
MES of Mr.. Buchanan's supporters, in the pinch
of the PRESIDENTIAL contest, against such a
weight of testimony
SUPERsTITIoN.-The proneness of mankind
to superstition is illustrated in the consequence
given by the Fillmoreites to the ghost Of a
Wing party, which assembled in Baltimore q
week or two ago. They seem really to ina.