Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-08-13
MIR. seward Before the Harper Investiga-

MIR. Seward Before the Harper InvestIEn-
tiOn Committee.
We have received from The Hon. B. Z.
Wade a copy of the official report of the tos-
timony taken before the Senate Investigating
Comfaiilse on the HarpeFs Ferry Invasion,
Of which COMMITTEES senator Mason wss
Chairman Vt volume Of 256 pages and
contains much interesting matter We OBJ.
serve that the last testimony given is that of
hon. W. II. Seward, who had been charged
with direct completely with John Browns in.
vssion, partly on the basis of the Forbes
letter. As we believe the press has not no
ticed the fact that Mr.. Seward was called be-
fore the Committee, we think it worth while
to give the substance of his testimony. Re
ierring to Forbes letter, he said that the
writer had called upon him in the spring of
1858, with long story of great personal
distress, involving himself and family. It |
was very incoherent, and he thought his Wis |
itoPwas - nan OF nnsound or very much I
disturbed aina But be allowed him to 90
on with his eEpetienees ia Kansas, 10 see if |
be had any claim 70 charity. But when he
reached bis account Of his difficulties with
John 6rowR, and bis letter TO persons in
New England (the "humanitarians' who
had not assisted him rs he claimed, Mr.. Sew
ard proceeds as tollows-which is the material
part Of his evidence, so far as public interest
is concerned: ast
"At that stage of the conversation 1 inter
posed, and arrested his statement telling him
what was true) that from the beginning of
the difficulties about Kansas until then, il
seemed 70 me that everybody who had any,
thing to do with the Territory. came 10
me for instruction and advice how to pro-
coed, and that from the beginning L
had determined that / would have no
and confer with nobody.
give no advice on the subject OF what was
done or to be done in Kansas, because it was
inconsistent with the relations that | main
tained here, where / was to act as Senator
upon what was done in Kansas and advise
what ought to be done by Congress, that I
had listened to him so far in violation of that
rule, simply because he seemed to be in deem
distress, and | was touched with the story b q
told me about his family, and was waiting
to see whether he would state any grounds
on which could give him some money, that
he had failed to do 50, and that there the |
must end, that he must leave
me and see me no more. He went away.
"Question-I understand then, from vopr
statement that he made no reference to anv
purpose Of Brown to make an attack uDon
any of the Slave States except as Won have
given it in Kansas2
"Answer-Gone- whatever, On the con-
.rary, until read in Europe of John Browns
demonstration at Harper's Ferry, had no
more idea Of an invasion by John Brown at
hat place than | had of one by you or myself
The thing was one Of those occurrences
which, as suppose, happen often to all per-
ons in our situation they do in
nine. All kinds Of cratic and strange per-
ons call on me with all manner of strange
communications and applications. This was
me OF them, and it passed out of my memo
y without leaving attached to it the leass
dea Of any Importance. Forbes told ne
iothing Of any cotton speculation by any
or anybody else. l state this
answer to a statement contained in his
ublished lepr." !,
]