New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-06-09


Commttee in the following meOner
O. md Won have any intefviews Win tue Unted
S,,tae() .ttict. Attorney a. did.
% Why wac Il. that he de not search IA" title 20
,b,se pre inieee A.. He told me that ne he'd.
O. slA be- pass the title - your knowiedge a.
II, told-re tbst he had while he did NOT give ne any
eyideree Of that fac. ] want 10 eNplen the Van
Vanken.tyn r1CrtS9ge / investga'ed this title Tor
George rTisg pa.ssd toe tide. My mrression -,
that I was tome TINE in NsTch or April. de repre-
sented 10 that he hsi bought the fle end anted
re 10 usss IL; aaer had passed il Id an 40.
suact aud htd map made Of the whole properly
mr. Irving to- he ives about TO sell that property
TO Il GCYenme.t. He wished me 10 pr; my ao-
street seaTches, and my map II tue names vi u.
McKeon did put IL EN- there myself, and gaze them
Lto klr. flcKeUn hands asked hiU whether ne hsd
nesu notified that the Government had puichGcei hat
p'ece Of property lie tod me that gentleman i1OD
Washington had bs.n with him on the snhec:-a gen
tlemaD connected with The depar sments lie d:d no,
state who it wes left the papers with hiu salled
OF biH several tmes in relation TO it He lef 1t with
,ome gentleman out of Ms Office TO make the search.
! followed THE thing up for some time, some weeks,
ard 81 Tart MI Irving came TO me ana toiu nc '"'t
il cAley ed very much thlf must nave oesl III
May, or nay be inJune. then nade ne" aOtt-ac,
and full searches which the G0gcInment have &C.,
accomplished this in few days, Gecause hsd ffeTi.
oos botes and bs knew what TO do, having got
all II papers ready. Mr. Irving eod that he wanted
me TO 20 10 Washington and show these papers 10 re
Attorney c. eseral. went 10 Mr. kckeons Office en-
asked bIn What had become of the msp, sbstfsc..
pspers &C. I thiak re tod me- that Hr. Joachlmsser
y
going with them. ! tod lin that was gong &c
Washington that very bGe-nes' On the
evening of the 4th of July started. i went to the
Secretary If Va aid ne referred theEto the AtJf-
nsy. General. went there, and told the Attorney.
General what p3pete had got. we We ted fof mr.
JOachnssen 20 cone IN with hs paper. = 0t coming
! telegTapbed TO know whst had become OF them
Dir. McKeOn telegrafbed bao. that ar. joEenlmssen
had gone to Newport Providence some Were else,
instead of CONT 70 Washington, and would not re-
for two three days stated these TACT: 10 Mr.
n IL. SIot n
] OF necessary to have Mr. Mc5&eons certificate II
the abstract vac all straight add there was oert-
cate of lawyer who was considered c0nEetent
for that bGsiness, and they sad they woulc taks
the papers and see whether the title was good. Nj
Gett took ny papers, and went over the whole u 81
ter. Next morning he told me that 1t was perfectly
satisfactory. The pspes went before the Attotney-
General no. in day two, gave his eerthcs.e toSt
tie title was good. The 9Th day Of July was pros-
ably the closed when those papers were de-
vered all ire money had been paid to Van Biankenstyn
(he trustee for Wissan and wfe, and ell the money
had been paid on these mortgages, except Eoo,ooo:
Mr. Irving bought this property under an agreement
that be should give back mortgage Tor $50 ooo 10
Vap Blapkeustyn the balance was TO be pad IN cash.
" Al that balance rad been p1td 10 M Van BlanksR
Stgn but this so 500. according 10 my anderStqnd
" mr. a m0rtg0ge HaS Eratten for that amount. rms
q nq0rteaee TO Mr. Van BidnkeRstyn pas a nemordn-
" dam Of hop much due him. 1 lcaS responsibh
10 him that he should hare that MONEY under any cir
" cumstances. 1 raS 10 return from Washington and
"p0y linn. IL acos neither has mar my intention that
" that n0rlg0gs sh0uid go upon record Mr.. Vo5S
" (att0rney for WiSsm0n) iD,p' 0per}y, IN my judy
" mcnt, sent 10 be recOrded The moment got 6act
" pai9 Ac mortgage err
The mortgage was finally paid by Mr.. Richard
Sohel giving bis check for the amouat after ne had
received the $3.50 coo. The undersigned Is of opinion
that NJ. Whsman, and his wife, and trustee, MI
Van Blsnkers'yn acting through their Attorney hal
this mortgage recorded against the prop erty notwith
standing their " intention 10 the contrary because
they were afraid of the "speculators with whom
they dealing ard it is evident that had these
epecua.Ors chosen to have allowed the mJrtg8ge TO
have remained unpsl after they received the $ll5OOO
they could have done il, and the Government would
have then been compelled to have paid that mort,
gage as well IS the one for SS0,UOo Kichard Semen
teses that the $l5 600 ne received he put into his
business, and considered his property from the time OF
its receipt, and that subsequent to ia payment, and
within tie next sixty days, he advanced Si00V0 or
sl2 eco TO George Irving VINO never advanced dol
lar of bis own money toward the purchase of this |
prop bod oy, unorsss nS'rg Nth Rini
ard Sche in regard to the commissions alleged to be
paid en- the advances made by him, or what was TO be
done with the money received from the Government,
until after it's receipt by Sche on the 9h day Of nly,
1877.
Another fact appearing in evidence 10 slation TO
the close Of t1is sale TO the Government is that the
two mortgages Of Loweree and W,lletts against the
which wsre satisfied on the Sd OF July,
1851 and the satisfaction pieces entitled TO record
were not So recorded until the 9th day OF November
{. Wen ore having left the satis'
fiction pieces well the simultaneous deeds from
Cornelius Van Blarkeostyn trustee for Ms. Wissman
10 George lrVllg C-C fiOn " VIC wv
ernme Mt at the War Department.
One Of the important facts necesearyto be inquired
into end reported upon by the COMMITTEE Delns tue
question Of the fair value Of he Wiklnss Point prop
erty purchased by the Government, the undersigned
has endeavoed 10 obtain the beet ederce that could
lie procured " relation thereto, and, IN the exsnna
ton OF the different witnesses upon thst subject,
steadily kept in view the true and fair value OF that
property duriug he months OF March and Aptli, 1891
1.-THE months ia which the proposition OF George Irving
TO sell for $500 Coo submitted and accepted by the
Secretary of War, with the purpose OF ascertsihlng
lis honest value at that time. The following orieI
sypopsis Of the evidence bearing upon the value OF
tie property will enable the House TO arrive at !
proper judgment in relation to IL
Cha,les A. Willetts Of Flushing, who owned and |
lived upon this property all bis NE up 10 1897 When
he sold Il for s35 500 valled the whole farm Gay l32
acres in April 1857, OF the sum tor winch he SOLD II
il 1852.
Gilbert Hicks, residing in Flushing, and knowing
this property all bic life, valued IT at 500 sn acre, a.
the faTthest extent.
William ii. wilkins, an owDer of two large farms
in the vicinity on one Of which he resided, valued this
property at $500 per scIe.
Augustus G.. Slimap, residing il Flushing, an
owner of real estate and magistrate there for years.
valued il at $500 acre. Hs said that would be a
large price for II; its full value.
Henry Day Of New. York City purchased 20 35-l0O
acres from Wissm of this Wilkinss Point property
equal TO any part Of the place for 5000 an acre, eX
ceptiDg five Of it which he purchased for 500
an acre in November, 1856
Mr. Day testified that Major Barnard sent Mr. Van
Nostrand to him. that he offered the whole OF 1t for
$ii SEQ and that they made sort OF an offer TO him
at $4,000, but that he said he was unwilling to
take il.
Col. John l.. Smith, engineer in charge of the work
al Wilkinss Point had charge OF the building of Fort
Schuyler; valued the land az wilkins Point at sou
per ecre.
who had known this property all his life, valued it at
$500 an acre.