Glasgow weekly times. (Glasgow, Mo.) 1848-1861, 1859-01-20
From the Lexington Express.
BIRCH vs.. HENDRICKS.


+ EF We were deficient in courtesy in not az
knowledging the reception OF the letters and doc
uments referred to n the following article; press
OF business and desire to look into them at leir-
ure, is our apology. The "Expressn having Civ
en- its views, in acknowledging their receipt, we
re-publlsh what it Says, simply re;2ar.,ing that
we would there were more pens OF equal ability,
engaged in king ihe corruptions of the pres
| ent admlis.raticn.--Ep. TMEs.
Some weeks ago, Judge James II. Birch
sent US for perusal, his letters 10 the .'2resi-
dent of the United States, exposing the Of
fetal inalcersations Of the Commissioner Of
| the General Land Office, and the Secretary
of-ths Interior, as SHOWN in Senate Com
mittee, Report, 70. ESQ, together with the
Report titss!f, atc latter forn:nS ls5 pages
aaa the former spme a3 pages ,aslI Of Ehich
we have csrsfaliy rsad. The letters Of
Judge Birch were originally published in
the ST. Joseph Hest .''.g tIs..' p. &C.,. , .-
Judge Birch is correct when he denom-
mates the conduct Of the Government Off
cials as malversations, and ihis, too, Of the
worst order. The Judge is no man 10 be
biuffed off, either by the Secretary, with
gatb.ed reports 10 The Senate, or by official
acts. lie Sits The whole matter 10 the bot
tom, and shows wherein and what in their
official manifestations consist. Not content
with repor: that be knows 10 have been
based on ex parts testimony, Judge Birch
appeals directlyto the President, and from
his decision, procured through collusiop, &c
The Congress direct; ard perhaps from that
power 10 that Of the people themselves. -.
Tire controversy, II, is known, is in re-
gard &c large amount Of land claimed by
Birch TO have been entered b. the Birch
soEs and others or the one hand, and co.,
ony o. Pennsylvaaians on the other, the
Commissioner acting FOR the latter. The
Commissioner opens the case BY charging
that the lands, in The Plattsburg Land Dis
trict, embracing some 10000 acres, were
applied for by Mclaughlin, Felix s. Co.,
at the Plattsburg Land Office, on the 26,h
day of November, 1856, but the testimony
against this claim is SO strong and cOnclu.
sive that Mr. Hendricks himself was forced
10 yield the point. lie then fixes upOnthe
9th of February, 1887, as the day that the
formal and legal application for the land was
made, and This ,hroush the Commissioner
himself at Washington. The application
and the fees were forwarded TO Mr.. Birch
at Plaltsburg. The letter of the Commiss-
ioner did not arrive till the evening of the
7th Of March, 1867, and he was notified
by Mr.. Birch, the Register, that the lands
had been taken on the "a day Of March pre-
vious, "by mere speculators." On this
State OF case, the commissioner ordered that
the lands, or part of them, should revert
TO the Pennsylvania claimants. His decis-
ion was maintained by the Secretary of the
Interior, and by the President, under the
pretence this time that the office had been
| opened and closed several times, contrary
TO law holding that applicants must re.
main in Plailsburg from day to day till all
business was finished mp. Unfortunately
for the Secretary, he had previously held
up the custom of opening and closing the
Land Office, that applications might be
worked up'' before new ones were made,
and, of course this tack is met by Judge
Birch with his own decision. Driven from
the goth of November, 1856, as the day Of
application, 10 the 7lh of March, 1857, at
which time the Register acknowledged the
receipt Of The application ofthe Pennsylva-
mans, the Secretary betakes himself to the
| merest subterluge TO gain his point, Insist
ing that the lands were taken by specula-
tors, but forgetting that the Pennsy lvania
/ pprchase was Of the same character, demon
mates the transaction as swindle as 10 the
Birches, hut all right on the part Of the
Pennsylvania speculatsrs. Our opinion,
from the documents, is that no application
was made for the land on the part Of the lat
Ter parties I'LL the 7lh Of March, 1857 and
that then the lands were taken up, whether
by spectators or not we cannot determine;
that Mclaughlin s. Felix made no applica-
| lion on the 26th November; That the apple
| cation OF the 7ih Of March must be treated
like all other applications; and taking The