The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-03-15
WASHINGTON NEWS

THE PUBLIC PRNTING-TRIAL OF GENERAL CULLoM
The TELEGRAPH TO THE PAcIFIC-THE QUARREL
OF THE REPUBLGCANs-MIsCELLA
We take the following items of news from the
Washington correspondence of the New York
Herald:
The House Committee on Expenditures who are
examining into the public printing; &C., are nearly
ready to report. They have few more witnesses
to examine Sufficient discoveries have been made
to show that immense profits and no little frauds
have been practised upon the government in the
printing, binding and engraving for Congress. The
developments will lead the House to adopt some
other mode than the presens system of doing the
work. The Herald's plan Of printing bureau is
becoming more popular every day, and will event
ually be adopted.
Mr.. Heart, Superintendent of Public Printing,
was examined to-day before the committee and
expressed himself in favor of government printing
establishment, and against the present mode OF
doing that work, the basis of much corruption
to the politics and legislation of the country John
Lercombe, financial clerk of Mr.. Wendell was also
before the committee, and testified relative to the
| amount of money appropriated out of the public
printing by Wendell for electiOneerng purposes in
Pennsylvania in 1858, to return j. CLANCY Jones
and others to Congress.
The government has had the trials of Gen. Cul-
lom, Clerk of the House during the Thirty-fourth
Congress, and Major French, Engineer of the
Treasury extension, for alleged malfeasance in
office, postponed to the July term. The parties
were both present and anxious for trial, but the
government chooses to hold over them unsustained
charges rather than frankly to acknowledge its
inability to prove them. 1t is not improbable that
the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds
will inquire into the truth of rumoTs of extraya-
gance connected with the Treasury extension. The
method OF measuring stone delivered under gov
ernment contracts needs investigation. 1t seems
to be of character that largel increases the uuan
tity OF material paid for above that estimated as
necessary by the engineers. Such an inquiry may
throw some light upon the difficulties between
Bowman and French. Captain Meigs will be
competent and important witness before this
mittee.
The North American Telegraph Association have
been in session in this city for several days. They
have succeeded in eifecting arrangements to con-
struct line to California, provided Congress shall
authorize contract for the government business
for ten years. at the low price of $50 900 per year.
We may now look for some practical results to the
government and the public growing out of this
effort to construct line to the Pacific. The
thors of some articles which have appeared in diff
ferent papers to defeat the object are notified that
the bill affords surplus profits to divide among
that class of claimants and all applications for such
purposes have been, and will be, declined
In the House to day Mr.. Kellogg, of Illinois, vim
dicated his position, taken some time since in the
House, that there a cOllusion between some of
the Republicans and Senator Douglas, in 1857, to
induce the Republicans to take their hands off and
let Douglas slide into the Senate, in speech filed
with overwhelming testimony. Bv his ingenuity
he brought Mr.. COax to his feet, who acknowl-
edged that he had had interviews with Douglas.
one OF Wnlcn he declined 10 reveal, ana Senator
Wilson, of Massachusetts,, was nailed by the most
positive testimony The speech is of the richest
of the session.
Senators have been befogged about the printing
of Post Office blanks. The delay asked for by
suspending the operation of the recent act, will
enable Mr.. Bowman to pocket profits amounting
to about thirty thousand dollars, as he can print
meanwhile, blanks enough for the current year.
1t the law is inefficient it should be amended
The California mail contracts expire on the lst
OF July next. The department will await an ex
preston OF opinion by Congress before receiving
proposals for further contracts. 1t is estimated a
daily letter mail overland will cost less than has
been expended heretofore on the Isthmus routes.
The friends of Kansas express themselves quite
sanguine that Congress will admit her into the
Union under the Wyandotte constitution.
DEFALCATIoN OF BANK OFFICE IN KENTUCKY
We learn the following particulars ofa Bank defal-
cation in Kentucky from the Evansville Journal of
March 7th:
We learned yesterday that Mr.. c. Banks, cashier
of the Farmers Bank of Henderson, KY, had ac-
knowledged that he had appropriated some SIS, 900
or $4,000 of the funds of that institution to his
own private use Mr.. Banks has been i'll for some
time, and although never suspected by the officers
of the Bank yet his conduct weighed so heavily on
his mind that at last he sent for the President of
the Bank and confessed the whole matter 1t seems
that the unfortunate man has been apprOpriatng
the funds of the Bank to his own for several
years. and yet did it so adroitly to excite
any suspicion in the minds of the President Board
OF Directors. After confessng his guilt, Mr.. Banks
Bank to secure them from loss Whether his prop
erty would meet all the liabilities incurred by his
conduct, we did not ascertain.
The Senate has confirmed the appointment of W.
ID. Shipman as U. S. District Judge of Connecti-
cut, vice Judge Ingersoll, deceased,