New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-04-28

psposes eA Of Juss 1887 der the authority o.
q. see,et. q W the 'sDe Ssins .A,s and nov sst1.s
military purposes. without tas authority Of a.. tbs tee
S lee ss B. IL his i ps the G
jefferson Davis and other Off 10 pror military coonid
without kews6s. any officer in the service Of rsnL
leaving the question the retention Of tbs. post toe discreet
on The p.it Of The Secretary Of War wa grave oc, us
that with snowedse q the great value Of For Snss
udsmen mskDs the sale the Secretary Of War app ined as
tent that provision and Of tbs sale
nesiseny o.rele.y and ipotieS3.y msas 70 IN
clude oil composition. and bring Os. on the oeven
SS for i Il. s2sHaoS .as al. 'ssn io R
after having seadJ formed combination for the
t SIs Oi Ii. o duty and ..n.s the ino~sdss
Government and that him. and Richard Scheu ePresensd
Gated in the sale with him. full knowledge Of their oc.
character the sale Of the Fort Smiling Reservation wa 'eo
The minority Of the Committee, Messrs. Burnett
and Faulkner cay they were aware OF the clamot anu
denunciation which followed the e1ecuuon ol "a,
contract Of the sse and Of the harsh mputatons t
ON the Secretary Of War; but that 1t required but little
dcerpme Mt to detect in this concentrated OF
opposition and press ravings the DISAPPOINTED
tor and the frantic eIsggerations OF the Pohtiva
partisan. The Committee were in session during tne
period of three months and examined hi.y'two WY
nesses at cost fneary $4,000 for witnesses attend
apce only. The minority say that the non hoveIt
Smith who introduced the resolution OF INQUIRY wnea
brought before the COMMITTEE az witness usc aou
in the most emphatic terms any knowledge OF fraud on
the part Of the purchaser anybody else tina. there
ia not one word syllable in the whole mass Oh tesu
mony which casts the slghtes upon the It
ness impsriay integrity OF the secretary OF var
that the witnesses have differed with him in the opn-
ion upop which he acted in abandoning Fort Smelling
as lite no longer useful for military purposes, but
that no ipuer do has been hazarded in any FORM or oy
any qualification rejecting upon the purity ana asn
tef of the personal and official Jlduct OF the
Secretary of War with the transaction under consid-
Grafton that thirty -four witnesses have been exam
ined touching the value OF tue P,operty, OF whom
eight only expressed the opinion that it was sold be-
low its true value that two testified that Inc price
obtained for il was what it was fairly worth ana tna,
twenty -four Expressed the opinion thai 1t sold beyond
its value. The minority add, they have no dIhicrlty
in wing that both the weight Of opinion and the facts
largely preponderate against the idea that Fort Smell
ling can ever become city, and they come to the
conclusion that the sale fairly effected and In a
proper manner; that considerations of military policy
no longer required that Fort Smelling should be re-
tar ed as post and that the property was sold a. its
full and fair value.
They conclude their report by Offering the olloH wing
resolution as substitute for those of the majority:
Rored That the sale Of the military reservation OF
Fort Smelling having made by the Secretary OF War under
the direction the Of the United States In strict con-
fr1nty law and the evidence reported By the select Com
failed exhibit fact Circumstance tending ia
the slightest the fairness Of the sale or iues
rty Of the Governme concerned
the same exhibit fact OF circumstance winch saoWd
make sold proper for the opinion and action OF tins
House il that the Committee be discharged from
further confederation If the subject aud the report OF the Com
mi.tee be laid on the table.