Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1858-05-22


, shall if after proper examination of th
subject, he shall be able to exonerate himse
, fully and completely. know, too, that tina
would be the ease with my honorable col
league in tho other House, who is the imme
date Representative Of these constituents c
ours.
} There are other papers here equally point
cd. One particular claimant represents, tina
, when he offered to enter his claim he wa
, asked to sign paper, which he supposed t
be formal application for leave to enter hi
claim, but which turned out to be omit
J claim to part of the lands included within
the limits of his claim, obtained from him a
he alleges by the hypocrisy Of the clerk 0
the agent of the War Department. the Sen
ator elect here on the floor.
Well sir, if other members Of the Senat
feel on this subject as do, they would a
some proper time (whether this be the prop
or time or not) order an investigation of thu
facts and if found to be true, feel quite
sure they would MT willingly sit with The
Senator elect as peer. 1t may be that 9th
err members of the Senate regard this subject
differently from myself have supposed thai
when an agent of the General Government
proceeds to the discharge of his duty as sucl
agent, under the pay of the General Govern
ment, he has no right to extra fees from citi
zens of the United States for his services
It's true that short time since, when call
cd the attention of the Senate to a case
somewhat kindred, where deputy surveyors
had received pay from the General Govern
ment, as fixed by law, and had charged and
received from citizens of the United States
IN distant State, extra compensation that
charge was justified by their immediate rep
resentative on this floor. 1t may be that
other members of this body may not look on
this subject in the light do but if he view
ed 1t as L do, am quite sure the Senator
from Michigan could not regret that the in
vestigatiOn should be demanded by the i'm
mediate representatives of the people in in
terest. 1HeSe people are my constituents; they
are poor men and know full well how easy
! it would be for an agent Of this Government
to e1tort from ttem money. They are settlers
on the public lands. They frequently have
spent years of hard toll in improving these
lands. The fear Of its loss would prompt them,
if required by an agent of this Government,
to pay Illegal fees rather than encounter The
risk. | repeat, that if, after an investigation
shall be had. the Senate see proper to order
one, it shall be shown that the agent was JUS
tiiable in doing what he did, or that these
allegations are untrue, and the Senator elect
shall emerge from this investigation with a
spotless Character, I will rejoice with all his
| friends in the result.
Mr.. BENJAMIN. Mr.. President I GER
tainly did not intend to say a word on this
subject but the Senator from Iowa has re-
! peated again, from q paper which he holds
| hpfnrn OH 90 hi,
gentleman, with whom l have no personal
acquaintance. He has paraded it before
the country as if there was really something
in it to affect his personal character. Now.
sir, the statement is, as he says, signed by
some fifty or one hundred people, do not
know how many-a large number of persons,
that MIR. RICE, as agent Of the War Depart
ment, charged them $3.50 an acre for the
land, and gave them receipt for ST. 25 only.
At first sight this would seem to be an ex-
traordnary proceeding but if you look upon
your table, at communication from the
War Department we bad the other day, you
will ind that Mr.. RICE wrote to the War
Department that he had done so, and gave
the reasons why. The papers We're on our
table, and [ read them the other day, as a
matter of curiosity. He states that it was
for the purpose of paying certain extra char
ges-I do not exactly remember what--in
the interest of the settlers themselves, which
they cheerfully laid over He did not keep
the money. He charged it, and accounted
for it to the War Department the extra
twenty-five cents being for the purpose Of
settling up their different claims, in some way
that | do not now remember and which it
is not necessary to specify. 1t was not a Sc
cret proceeding. It was not a claim of sum
of money, and giving a receipt for smaller
sum, and then retaining the surplus or the
difference; but it was taking a receipt for
this sum, which he Immediately accounted
for at the War Department, giving the rea-
son for this course of proceeding, which was
entirely satisfactory to the Department
In relation to this qnitcam matter, there
is also information in that War Department
report which, think, disposes of that very
satisfactory; but this is not the time for an
investigation into these facts. merely wish
to state today, because these proceedings 90
before the country that this charge against
Mr.. RICE of receiving $3.50 an acre, and Civ
/ ing receipt for $l.25 an acre, is charge
of fact which so far from being denied by
him, US ne supposed, with regard to the III
tercs'S Of the settlers, and Immediately re-
ported to the War Department, and that
! there is no suggestion, even On the part OF the
very parties making this affidavit, that he re-
tanned the difference, but they simply ask
that that difference may be returned to them
! by the Government. 1t is no charge what
ever affecting him personally. The Senator
/ from Iowa, | must say, mistook the suggcs-
| ton Of the Senator from Michigan. Nobody
suggested that if these charges were put be-
fore him On oath there was any improperly
in his bringing them TO the notice o. the
Senate but, think, all will agree with me
that it WAS unusual, discourteous and | will
even say cruel, to bring them forward on
such an occasion as this.
Mr.. TOOMBS. I merely wish to say that
I very promptly declined making any argu-
ment on the extraordinary course of the
Senator from Iowa. | considered that the
gentleman who had been elected l,y Mime
sofa needs no yndication from this charge
IF it had been sworn to by all the constitu-
ents Of the Senator from Iowa, and backed
by that Senator himself, | should not hest
tate an instant about it; and nobody that
knows this gentleman woulc, nor would the
country. If he had these charges, he should
have presented them before this, or he should
HaVe WaIteu anu p'cSIhteu tneUl aItef tnlS
If his course now grew out OF his want oil
Judgment CT want of knowledge of what was
the appropriate time for a Senator and a
gentleman to act in such matter. ns c,,uree
it is his misfortune, l decline to argue tbi,
question Until the Senate shall have acted
Those who are willing that this gentleman
shall be their peer, that he shall stand on this
floor ready to meet the Senator from Iowa OF
these charges or any other, in any manner
whatever. have right to Insist on his being
sworn; and, therefore, I ask that the sense 0
the senate be taken on that question.
Mr.. BAYARD. Mr.. President, no &C
quaintance with the allegations now made il
the statement submitted by the honorable
Senator from Iowa can influence ine at all
L consider that matter entirely irrelevant t.