The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-03-09

st into the hands Of Bailey For already stated,
fall conditional acosptancss 70 The amount of seas 900
Al his request Afterwards gave him another acceptance
,or SiSS IVY. lns amount made but $1os 900 was
October which he had not yet negotiated that he made
up the amount Of $S70 900 put into the hands Of Bailey
THE SUPPOSED INSULTS on PROTEST
Much Is made of the faacious superstition that II the
accepapces gave these contractors had gone 10 protest.
retire from the Cabinet The Acceptance were legal and
were demanded By the interests Of the public service
The protect would have been annoying 70 me- and have
subjected the transportation service 70 embarrassment
but further than that the simple consequence would
have been an order stopping the payments from the
Quartemasters Department TO the contractors To sup
exaggerate the Acceptances did 60 TO protest in
September, and still remained In the Cabinet Thus the
imputed object OF the abstraction OF the trust bonds proved
to be fallacious; but still the abstraction went Yet
II is upon the fra and foolish foundation Of these totally
the whole fabric Of mputation Is built M. DrinEads
conversation with Mr.. Bailey expressing very gloomy
views Of the consequences Of protest to my official stand
ing, is prominently adduced by the committee doubt
not that Mr. Drinkards convictions the subject
sincere, imaginary as they were; but the fact that he
took so exaggerated view Of the proves that be
could hav had conversation with me on the subject,
and spoke%hoIly without my authority
The greater part Of the trust bonds taken in July
and September My acceptances were net deposited By
Mr. Russell with Bailey until the middle Of December
The bulk Of the bonds some half million, having then
II had had In truth any knowledge OF the abstraction,
to have allowed the accepances be deposited In their
place. there all the world, besides tn5
mittee who could entertain improbable suppostony
This report makes grave inquiry into "Sr Baieys
motives for taking the bonds and under this head
brings prominently forward Mr. Baeys declaration that
m TO protect the character Of Governor Floyd and
to him from dshonor and retirement the Cab
net, that would be necessarily incident to the protest
and discovery Of tho acceptances which ad been illegal
y issued" II Mr. Bailey's conversations thought
worthy of repetition 80 far as TO nsinuaton
that might have known something Of the transaction,
was in some indefnable manner connected with it,
why did the committee not think proper in common
HONESTY and TRUTH to state also that Mr. Bailey most
soemnly declared to every body all occasions that
never had any knowledge whatever Of his interviews
with Mr. Russell anywhere Of his transactions in con-
nection with the bonds in any shape, or at any
time, or to any extent, whatever Why did the
committee repeat Mr.. Baiey's declaration ia
justification or extenuation of his taking"
the bonds, when they knew the facts upon
which Mr. Bailey predicated his action assuming that he
is honest his statement Of his moves were wholly
untrue. The committee knew the accepances not
Illegally issued; they knew that nothing could be more
silly or prepostcrous than to talk of preventing the dis
coyeryo Of the acceptances They to the word
discovery" simply for the purpose Of insinuaug that
there conceamen of the transaction attempted
desired when they bad the fact before them and have
stated in this same report that Gin 1858 the Secretary OF
War commenced the issue of acceptances, and at the
same time wrote to the various banks and individuals,
urging their purchase OF discount In fact the issue OF
the acceptances had been generally known in commercial
circles for three years Thus the committee state fact
which gives the lie direct to the nsnuation previously
made by them in the report and which nsinuation
lays the whole foundation and was go intended for their
imputations against me-
Il must DO borne in mind that during all the time from
july TO December, whilst Mr. Bailey processes to have
been moved by such tender regard for my character,
doing for it's protection Besides this the committee
knew, could have known by asking that there
SELF the contrary that association was of the most
formal kind. did not even know, until Mr. Bailey dis
closed ns 70 me 10 december last that ne
parmeDt aid not know that such bonds in his
custody even in the office OF the department There
not solitary circumstance between us of sort
whish usually bind men together 10 bonds Of friendship,
business Connection official or private association,
no reason Why Mr. Bailey should mperil his character
and destroy hs prcspects in life forever for the purpose
OF shielding from danger which had no foundation.
very high and noble motive was certainly to risk his
fame and reputation and incur the risk or the penalties Of
q criminal act to acquaintance who had
earthly claim upon him from an imaginary danger, and
still strange that he should not have thought 1t
worth while to make the least inquiry about the subject
OF the he desired TO serve
But II could hardly have escaped the sagacious OBJ
scrvaton Of this committee-it certainly cannot
escape that Of the publichat the pursued by
Mr. Bailey exactly the very calculated to do
the greatest possible injury and damage. Why accumu
late this vast OF accepances which he considered
illegal without word Of caution ntimati u OF
the fact syllable OF inquiry upon the subject from
loviDg them TO be legal he declares, would he take
them exchange for state bonds belonging TO the Indian
Trust and then declare that the government fully
secured by these very acceptances against all loss
account Of the abs Iacted bondsS But, above ALL why
did Mr. Bailey aege, justification extenuation Of
his act that he moved TO it rom wish to
from disgrace when all men must know that the assign
m,nt OF this reason calculated to 90 me deeper in
jury than any act he could do the face Of the earth
was the only act he or any other man could do which
could tend in the least degree to any act Of my
life with him with his transactions This line Of
reflection from the unquestionabe facts proved Ia
obvious that II Is impossible 1t should escape the
perception OF the mesnest comprehension. Why then,
II the committee moved by honest desire TO
certain "the facts connected with the abstraction Of the
bonds, did they not discard these stupid and contemp
be hypothesis which rested upon such absurd data and
seek for other explanations sustained by facts, or COM
mon sense at leasE
The committee report the fact that Mr. Bailey advanced
to Mr. Russell four hundred and eighty thousand
dollars $4S7 COO from July when their negotiations be-
gan until October and that for this immense he
paper Of Russell Majors Wadde was left security
alone II Ia perfectly clear from these facts that the
gotiations between Mr.. Bailey and Mr. Russell began and
carried without any connection with reference
theee accepances but upon the individual credit of Rus
sell Majors waddel, until nearly half million Of bonds
were delivered. Suppose the exposure had taken place
at that point, what circumstance, even the most trivial
and Insignificant could have been seized upon to imp
cate in these transactions There is neither mali
gniy nor stupidity enough in all this world to pretend to
such a belief
II that there we're but three men who knew Of
the taking OF tho bonds until II publicly disclosed
Shey have declared that knew nothing Of the traDsac-
tion and that the last person they would have al
lowed to know Of it, thss proving the neg alive in regard
TO any knowledge on my part are these witnesses TO
bty for is from their testimony alone that the only
circumstances against me are drawn. But apart from
stances which establish my and dsconncction
with this business az completely probably more COM
picteiy, tnhn any positive teslmOnv could 90.
Mr.. Bailey letter TO me- dated the 10th OF December
revealing the fact OF the abstraction Of the bonds and
bis OF the sccepances bears upon Its face in
every line and LIABLE conclusive proof that he
vealng facts 10 me that he knew ignorant o. That
the whole obiectthat the sole object OF this
letter; written for any other object would have been
nonsense No man on earth would have written such
a letter as this unless 10 another ignorant OF tho
ssbect disclosed and every honest will decide.
Mr. Bailey in this letter asks for personal inter
with me before should make any disclosures With
this letter To he sent copy Of his proposed letter
Mr.. 1bompson-n which be determined to conceal the
transaction until the close Of the administration I'm
mediately after his interview with me, which took
place according TO his request he determined to disclose
the transaction at once II had known thing Of
abstraction, or had been implicated in the slightest de-
gree In II, or felt any interest whatever In ceang IT,
how essy and natural would II have been for
hr Bailey to persist in his plan Of concealmenD And
a. al that time, the committee assert, Mr Bailey
the exercise Of forehooght, prudent to avoid detection
made up his stock account for last year showing
face that the bonds we're safe In hs custody nothing
could have been more easy than 10 continue tho
ce.imcnt But Immediately after this interview, Mr.
Bailey charged his previously plans made
his disclosure. Mr. Bailey does not leave the reason for
this change Ia his plans In any doubts He said his