Sugar planter. [volume] (West Baton Rouge [i.e. Port Allen, West Baton Rouge Parish, La.]) 1856-1925, 1860-10-06

elected?
A. Yes. sir.
Q. What do you know about money being
raised off the employees of the Castom
House on that occasion9
4. There was a certain tax levied upon
persons connected with the Custom House.
q. What amount on each persona
a. A certain per c%entage. On a person
receiving Sl095 a year, | think the tax for
the Presidential election was from $50 to
1888.
Q. Do you mean for the Presidential cleo
ton alone, or for both Presidential and Con-
gressional eleetions9
A. | mean the Presidential election alone.
@. What about the other elections?
A. The amount was no: SO great for the
State elections"
q. How much was that
A.. do not recolIect. It strikes me that
it was from SIS to 81, something like that.
Q. The two, then, would amount to in the
neighborhood Of $40?
A.. Yes sir. in that neighborhood.
Q. Upon what saIaried officers was that?
A. Those of Sl1OO, or rather SlO95 a year.
Q. Were the others assessed in proportion
to their salaries?
A. Yes, sir.
X 10 "HoHl was lldJ money pdlu :
A. 1t was generally deposited. That por-
ton which ! collected in my department |
gave to the deputy collector. Mr.. Harbesoa
i believe he was the treasurer. so far as
the Custom House was concerned-and he
paid it over to the Executive Committee, |
believe.
Q. A political Committee?
A. Yes. sir.
z. Did all the employees pay1
A. | never knew one to refuse.
Q. What was the impression-that it was
rather obligatory upon them to pay
A. That seemed to be the impression;
they all felt it their duty to pay that more
promptly than some of their debts that was
the impression: but | 90 not know about
whether they would have been removed if
they had not paid but it was considered OBJ
ligatory, l believe.
q. do you know of any person receiving
pay during that Presidential contest who did
not render services III the Custom House
A. That is a pretty nice question to ans
swer. There were parties absent during that
canvass for some months; but | could not, on
my oath. say whether they received their
salaries or not they were absent some
months.
Q. Who were those absent canvassing dur
ing that election
A. MIR. Gideon G. Westcott was in the
State Central Committee room for some
months; from four to six months, probably,
more or less.
q. Name all that you recollect.
A. Mr.. Whitaker was one | forgot his
first name John Shell aud Daniel Fry; |
think there were others | believe those are
all | can think of now.
q. Can you state how long they were
awaya
A. could not some more, and some less
some were on duty occasionally: Mr.. West
colt was absent all the time the others were
on duty occasionally; perhaps at the office
half the time.
=. Did you not see "a letter Authorizing
MIR. Westcott TO be absent. or ia some way
referring to'that matter?
a. Mr.. Westcott read me a letter irom Mr..
Buchanan, according to my recollection, say
Ing that he bad obtained leave OF absence tot
him for a certain time, from the Secretary OF
the Treasury.
q. When was that
A. In 1856.
In addition to the above, it is shown by the
before that COMMITTEES. that large
n lNebers OF forged and fraudulent organiZa-
ton papers Were sent ont in PENNSYLVANIA to
be illegally used in the election in favor Of
MT. Buchanan. William Harms testified that
he had one hundred and fifty Irishmen at
work on the Union Canal at Reading. and
that ne received upwards OF two hundred
naturalization papers from ore Reuben F.
Brown. Some Of these papers were certified
by a clerk or parliamentary in Philadelphia,
1Uho had been dead for sic Yedys, and received
lnSfrnctIOpS from krouu T., ell 4b,,, ~, re ~.
to correspond with the date of the certificate.
Others Of them were forged outright. Brown
nas afterwards appointed to o6ice nnder Mr..
buchanan! To the same general effect is
the following from the testimony of Isaac
West, then Inspector in Philadelphia:
y. Have you any personal knowledge
about the issuing of fraudulent naturalization
papers4
A. | have no personal knowl dse of that.
=. DO you know of any persons who were
engaged In distributing them?
A. l know parties, Of course. uho haze been
CONNECTED there and sent to the penitentiury for
distributing them; at least, that came out be-
fore the Court.
q. DO you know OF any parties not vet in
the penltentlary who Were engaged in dis
trlbuting thema
A. would not know except from hearsay:
have no personal knowledge Of their dis
tributing them.
z. Did not a certain individual tell youthat
he had distributed a large number Of them.
md was going to distribute more. or some
thing of that kind ?
A. Yes, sir.
9. Do you know whether they were dis
tribnted in the city Of Philadelphia or else
wherea
a: By that individual, in the county-that
is; Chester county.
=. What was he? An American or Ger
man?
A. He was himself an American, and neld
a position on the railroad.
Q. On the Columbia railroad
a. Yes, sir; unds,. w.. Baker, The present
collector Of The port Of Philadelphia, who was
n aoJonN - n - -,