Weekly Clarksville chronicle. [volume] (Clarksville, Tenn.) 185?-1857, 1857-10-09
LETTER FROM EX-PRESIDEssT TY.
LERON GEN. PILLOWS ADDRESS.

LERONGEN. PILLOWS ADDRESS.
We find the following IN thc Richmond
South, Of Monday, and it viii probably not
be the last letter that will be called cut by
the late publication of Gen. Pillow. The
South says that this letter, "written with
the good taste which distinguishes all the
authors productions, acquits the TYLER
Administration of very disparaging
charge. We never gave the least credit to
the story" o -. tae
New YoRK, September %, 1857.
Ny Dear Sir: Owing to my absence
from home, it is only this morning that I
have been informed Of your call upon me,
through your paper Of the 14th inst, to
furnish an explanation to the public Of the
extraordinary statement to be found in
Gen. Pillows late letter, which he bases
on the authority of Mr.. Trist that during
the negotiation of the Washington Treaty,
and to secure its consmmation, had used
nVe hunureu thousand ydolars out OF the
secret service fund in purchase of the poll
tical press OF the State of Maine, The
letter is not before me, but 1 quote the
substance of the statement I confess that
the utter absurdity of the statement had
consigned it to the same class with the
many similar Inscriptions and absurdities
which have from time been alleged against
me me and my Administration, and which |
haye regarded as wholly unworthy of no.
tice' L am only surprised that one so
enllghtened as uen' Plliow Is esteemed to
be, should have regarded SO ridiculous
statement as worthy OF repetition. Five
hundred thousand dollars from the secret
service tund IN purchase OF the press of
the state OF Mainel Ii Gen. Pillow had
taken the precaution to have looked into
the acts OF Congress, making appropria-
ton to the contingent fund for diplomatic
intercourse, commonly known as the secret
service fund, he would have seen that the
largest amount appropriated any one year
during the time of my official residence in
Washington, did not exceed $50, 900, and
that, inasmuoh as The negotiations referred
to occurred in 1872, there had at that time
been but single appropriation made to
the fund, and that OF the session of 1841
2, think 1T would have puzzled Cocker to
have obtained 100000 out of 100000.
will take occasionto add that the fund.
although called secret, is as public in most
of its outlaws as any other fund belonging
to the government. It is applicable to
the many items growing out of the neces-
sites of foreign missions and the consular
establishment Of the United States. which
no specific appropriation could we'll cover,
They are contingent. the very term imulv-
inc their uncertainty. The expenditures
for these contingencies enter into the gen
eral accounts of the government. and are
annually, published, and absorb LARGE
portion of the fund. 1t often happens
that not dollar is Withdrawn from the
fund for any confidential object of the
government. Such confidential objects
sometimes intervene in our intercourse
with foreign countries and sometimes have
their origin within our own limits-con-
tingoncies which it NAV be imprudent al
the time to disclose. but which are init.
mately connected with the preservation Of