New-York daily tribune., 1859-02-11
GREAT FRAUD In ILLINOIS.
MEETING OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE or THE
sENATE-aSToUSDING REyELATioNs-S23o,
OCO GONE-GOv. NsTrEsoN IMPLICATED.
- 1A< l,h..rna px... a Triha.c Efh &

MEETING OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE OF THE
sENATE-ASToUNDING REyELATloNS-S23o,-
OO0 GoNE-Gov. MsTTEsoN IMPLICATED.
Fron The Chicago Pres, aad Trbusc, FEB. 8.
In 1899 during the progress of work on the Illinois
ard Michigan Carsl, the Canal Commissioners nego-
tated loan Of 81 600 with the L Inited states
BaIk. For some reason the installments Tor May oi
ha, year were rot paid. The Commissioners, 70 meet
the emergency ssued S267 600 in checks on the
Branch Of the State Bank at Chicago. These, and
snbseQuept issue OF $30 600 in August of that year
were redeemed. In 1874 there was outstanding An
smount equal TO $3l6. Under the act OF lei holders
o canal or other ste Indebtedness were permitted 10
fiird IT, and receive therefor interestpayng bonds.
On the oh of January, 1851 GOV. Matteson, then IN
office presented TO his clerk 900 OF these checks OF
1889 and bonds were Issued thereupon in the name ot
Caleb johnson. A few days anterior TO the 2Itn OF
February os the same yesr, Matteson, then out OF
Office pre- seated to the came clerk packages OF these
same checks, containing In all Si9,6h, ami oonds
were issued for them also. Shortly before the io'n OF
s 500 in checks and for these bords were Issued as
b, fore TIE facts were made public by the discovery
of ese checks in the An iitors office by Gen. Fry an
Old Commissioner, who supposed them 10 be counter
felt.
the Senate Committee, to which the matter was re-
ferJed open new chapter in this history ~ nov
appears by the evidence OF W. III. Brown and Ezra
l.. Sherman, esqs, one the Cashe, ara .e o'uer .ne
Teller of the Chicago Branch Bank, that tue checks
are eenune-that there is no. counterfeit ID the lot
and that, when received by the Bank, they were
counted as cash and MOI cdHoetd that many of tne
by Inducements the back made by correspondents
in ST. Louis, Cincinnati, Alton and Michigan .iy,
directly to Cashier Brown, are recognized as hsvng
gone through the bank and having been once paid
Ii appears further that after payment they were
handed over TO the Treasurer or come oi'er OF the
Canal Board Now what became OF them, aud how
and by what and whose agency were they sosracteu
and once more put into circulation ,..,
Gov Mattesop, we learn says that ne pousns .n.n'
by himself and SCENTS of various parties names not
mentioned; and 1t is admitted by all ttat they must
have been by somebody surreptitiously ana
obtained This is likely from the evidence OF Micnae
Kehoe well known to all the old resbents ol TINS cty
as the porter for many years In ne Canai once On
Lake street. He swears, We learn, that when y. NC
Roberts OF Joliet took possession OF The Cana once Is
trustee he found in the safe and IN couple OF boxes
very large amount of redeemed evidences oi cana ih
debtedness-scrip Of various knds and oates cnecks
csncsl,d bonds. Sc. These, kcRoberts and kehoe
packed in a large packing trunk and IN pine shoe
box both of which were tasteIed up and sealed win
WAX and the Office seal. Ksloe himself took them 10
the depot of the Rock Island Railroad the direc-
tiep. a. Hon j. A. Ma,tevs, Springfield, on each,
and saw them put into the baggage car Mckooerts
HING a passepger on the train, and having them IN
charge We learn further in confirmation oi hehoes
testimony that arch made on FRIDAY ast In tne
basement rooms of the State House, and tnat the
trunk Of which he speaks was iouno tne seais an,
broken: but that the shoe-box has thus tar eluded
search Kehoe does no, know whet kinds OF indebted
meas were thus sent or whether there were any Oh
these "9o-day checks in the boxes or NOT.
The above with the testimony Of Enoch Moore, tue
Fund Commissioner clerk, IS summary oi tue iacOs
thus far de y.oped Mr. Moore has been in the office
since 1870 and has ssued every bond which the Stat"
has put in circulation since that time lle we under
stand swears that on account OF these checks ne mas
issued the following bonds; On