Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1858-01-01
DEMOCRATIC THIEVING.

Sidney Webster 10 be propided for.
The Stamford newspaper, ofthis city, which
is understood to contain. from time TO time
productions from the pen Of the Namcsakc Of
the author Of the Sublime and Beautiful. con-
tanned an article week before last Of very in
teresting character. The gst of it is con-
tanned in the following extract
eve presume many Of our readers will re-
member, that, a short time before the close OF
the late Pierce Administration. long negotia-
tons were had relative 20 the purchase Of a
site for a Post Office in the city of Nov York.
An effort was made to sell to the Govern
mont the old Brick Church, as it was called.
The price asked for it was tho enormous sum
of $4,000. We believe Pierce decided to
pay that sum, and would have paid It, but for
a failure Of title We are told by the most
intelligent and reliable gentlemen in the city
of New York, during the tendency of tho ne
gotiations, that of that sum $500, 900 was to
60 TO the owners of the property. and the re-
naming $4,000 TO the sharpers and Gal
phins who hung in shoals around the Pierce
Administration, and iattencd upon the album
dant plumber they obtained.
owe are informed also by the same high au-
thority that negotiations were also had for
the purchase of the site of Buttons theatre
And, in that negotiation, il was demanded
that sum above the value of the property
was to be agreed upon and paid by the gov
ornment, which was to go to the Pierce Gal
phins. And we are also informed, that it
was demanded that in theeycnt Of purchase.
by the government Of either the Brick Church
property or Buttons ibcatre, the nice and
handsome sum Of S25,q' to be reserved
for SIDNEY Wrnsrr9 The. B.iuote Sec
retary Of Franklin Tea, then Occupying tie
place Of President of me United States
1--WE do not say that Mr.. Sidney Webster
knew anything about this handsome provis-
ion to be made for him nor that he would
have countenanced it, if he had known it (;
nor that the President would have counten-
anced it. They were perhaps too pure to do
a thing of that kind. All we say, or affirm.
in reference to the matter is, that we are in
formed by most respectable gentlemen, that
such provision was demanded by somebody
for Mr.. Webster, in the event of the pur-
chase by the Government of either the Brick
Church or Buttons theatre
" We are authorized to make these statements !:
and i they shall be denied zee arc promised the
proof to sustain them.
Il has been understood in New Hampshire
for more than year that transactions analo-
gous to the above were of not unlrequont oc-
cuTence during the Presidency of Gen. Pierce,
but they never assumed so distinct form as in
the above article 1t has often been said in
private circles that very large amount of
the S3,000000 Mexican indemnity went to the
cormorauts by whom Gen. Pierce was suuoun-
dcd, some of whom occupied conspicuous po-
stious in the government. There can. we
think, be no doubt that under the late Adj
ministration very large sums were obtained,
by first securing from Congress grants of sums
altogether more than were needed for the spe-
cifc purpose set forth, and then dividing the
surplus amongst partisan chiefs.
Concord Statesman.