Preble County Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1857-1859, 1857-03-05
Report of the Committee On Cor
HfiOn,--EXtraOrdinary Effort
of Black Republicans to Screen
the Parties Implicated.

FupfiOn, --ExtraOrdinary Effort
of Black Republicans to Screen
the Parties Implicated.
The House of Representatives, says
the Washington Union, was thrown in
to extraordinary excitement on Thurs
day by the announcement of Mr.. Davis,
of Maryland, that the special committee
on Congressional corruption was ready
to make their report. At the very
threshold of the proceeding, and even
before the report was read, Mr.. Bennett,
of New York, objected to its reception,
and entered upon a labored and excited
course of argument against the proceed
ings and action of the committee. 1t
was surprising that he should undertake
to induce the House to refuse the recep-
t on of a report before the House had
heard it read; yet such was his anxiety
to screen his political friends whose con-
duct is implicated, that lie labored zeal
ously, but very indiscrcctly, to prevent
even the reading of the report. He was
sustained in his strangely impolitic OPP
position to the reception of the report
by Mr.. Grow, who arraigned the special
committee with acrimonious imputations,
and manifested a degree of ardor and
s~cnsitiveness which indicated extreme
solicitude for the fate of his Black Re
publican friends implicated. Those two
gentlemen spoke as if they were fully
apprized of the character of the report,
and as if they had prepared themselves
with elaboration, if not with concert, to
shield their friends against the trial to
which the committee proposed to sub
ject them. Looking upon Messrs. Ben
nett and Grow as the leaders i'll this pro-
ceeding, the impression made upon our
mind was, that the Republicans in the
House had determined to screen the i'm
plicated parties at all hazards and at CIV
cry step of the proceedings. 1t will be
seen hereafter whether these gentlemen
were not the representatives and expo
nents of their party in the House.
When the investigation was i%nstitu-
ted, we %applauded the members of all
parties for their promptncss in dctermi-
ming to relieve the House from. the foul
suspicious cast upon the entire body.
but it never occurred to US that so ex-
traordinary an attempt would ever be
made to suppress the result of the in
vestigation so ordered. We did not
doubt hat the investigation would re-
move all suspicious from the democrats
of the House, and we are gratificd that
our anticipations in that respect have
been fully realised. 1t was to be hoped
and we did earnestly hope, that the re-
suit would prove that the whole charge
of corruption was a base and baseiess
calumny on the House, and each mem
Der of it. The Speaker discharged his
duty nobly in the selection of the com
mittee, and the whole country accorded
to the gentleman selected the highest
qualifications for she duties. They have
labored assiduously, night and day, il
execution of their commission, and wher
they came forward to announce the re
suit of their labors they were met by tho
extraordinary opposition and censurc t.
which We have referred. Without wait
ing to hear their report or the proof
but upon the mere knowledge that thu
conduct of four republicans was impli
Gated, two of their prominent politica
friends undertake to make an issue witt
the committee, and to cast discredit upol
their conclusions. In this matter tn
party zeal of those gentlemen ran ia
ahead of their discretion. They hav
involved the republican party in an is
sue which will scatter its forces int
fragments. No party organization cal
stand before the country upon tn
grounds on which Mess Bennett ant
Grow undertake to screen he partlc
charged by the report of the committee
1t will be seen, by reference to tn
proceedings, that the reports were final
ly received and ordered to be printed
Four members are charged with conduc
which induced the committee to recon
mend their immediate expulsion-vi:
Messrs. Gilbert, Matteson, and Edwards
of New York, and Mr.. WEIGH, of Con
necticut-all being members of the Re
publican party. The resolutions pre-
posed by the committee will be found
the proceedings, and they show the cor
duct of each member charged or whic
the recommendation of expulsion
based. The subject is postponed unit
Wednesday next, at which time it wi
be seen whether the Republican part
will add another plank to their platforl
by identifying itself with the cause
the members involved in the grave cha
ges specified in the report and the RESI-
l~utions.
Bg=Some of the Republican paper
arc ~endeavoring to make political cap
tai by showing that several of the Soutl
II r -- Iarr