Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1862-12-06

influence. 1t was only from such a com
binatlon that he could frame policy cal :
cuated to preserve the peace and to con.
solidato the strength of the MON. Isola-
ted recommendations proceeding from one
department, without weighing well their cf
feet upon the general policy, ought to be
adopted with extreme caution.
But it seems from the reioinder that
Secretary Floyd, at Richmond, had claim
cd the honor OF defeating General Scott $
plans and solicitations respecting the forts ;
1T being there says the General, uni
versally admitted that but Tor that victory
over me there could have been no rcboli
ion This is, the plain English, that the
seoes,ionists Of tho Cotton States, who have
since brought into the field hundreds of
thousands Of undoubtedly brave soldiers,
would have abandoned in terror their un-
lawful and rebellous designs, had General
Scott distributed among their numerous
forts four hundred and eighty men in DC.
tober, or one thousand men ia December
Ihi- requires no comment.
| have never been able 70 obtain g. eopy
of the speech of Mr.. Floyd, at Richmond
TO which presume Gen. Scott refers but
l. learned both at the time and since, from
gentlemen Of high respectability th at in this
same speech de denounced me most bitter
ly for my determination to stand by and
sustain the Union with all the power |
possessed under the Constitution and the
laws,
And here permit me to remark that it
- dun n al 1 Q
to deny that there is any portion of my
answer which justices the allegation that
1.-The ox-Prcsidcut sncer5 at my weak
derjcc' Ithe words weak device being
marked es quotation) for saving the
forts" This mistake must attribute to
his "accidontal visitor
And 10 this conneNion I emphatically
declare that the General, neither before
nor after the publications of his "yiows"
in the National lrtcili.encer OF the l6sh
January, 1861, without my consent, as
signed any reason to me for making this
publication, or ever even alluded to the
subject. In this | cannot be mistaken,
from the deep impression which the occar-
renee made upon my msmory, for the rea.
sons already mentioned ia lIy answer.
should have nothing more to add had
General Scott in his rojoindcr, confined
himself to the topics embraced in his orig
ina! letter. He has extended them, aud
now r0r The first time, and in q sarcastic
and no kindly spirit, refers to tue alleged
stealing of public arms by Secretary Floyd
aud their transportation to the South in
anticipation OF the rebellion. The most
conclusive answer to this allegation is that
Notwithstanding the boas,ing of ilr. Floyd
at Richmond, evidently with the view of
concilaung hi, new allies, cited by the Gen
eral as his authority. 10 pablic arms we're
ever stolen,
This fact is established by tho report of
the Committee on Military Affairs of the
House Of Representatives,, now before me,
made by Ar. Stanton, Of Ohio, their,
Chairman, on tho 18th Of February sole
and be found in the second volume of til
Reports OF Committees of the House for
the session of lsGJ-'6l, This report and
the testimony before the Committee ostab-
lish (:
l. That the Southern States received
in 1860 less instead Of moro than the quo
ia Of arms to which they were entitled by
law ! and that three of them North Car
olina, Mississippi and KcntucEy-roceived
p, no arms whatever, and this simply be-
cause they did not ask for them. VOL
may Mr.. Stanton have said in the House
"that there are good deal of rumors and
specuations and misapprehensions as to
the true state Of facts in regard to this
matter"
2. Secretary Floyd, under suspicious
circumstances, on the 22d of December,
1850, aud but a few days before he left
the Department., had, without the knoWl-
edge OF the President, ordered one hundred
and thirteen (lI3) oolumbiads and eleven
(Il) thirty two Founders 10 be transported
from Pltsburg 10 Ship Island and Calves.
ton, in Mississippi and .exas.
This fact was BROUGHT 10 the knowledge
Of the President By a communication from
pittsburg; and Secretary Holt immediate
ly thereafter countermanded the order Of
his predecessor, and the counon were uov-
er sent. The promptitude with which we
acted clicted vote Of thanks, dated on
the 4th Of January, 1861, from the Select
and Damon Councils Of that city, ito the
President, the Attorney General, and the
acting Secretary Of War. (Mr ilolt)
After This statement how shall We ac-
court for the explicit declaration of Gen,
Scott that, accidentally hearing early in
March that under the pos;humous order
(that Of Mr., Floyd of the 22d December)
the shipment Of these guns had com
mcnccd, [ communicated the fact to SEQ
rotary Holt, (octisg for Secretary Gamer
on Just in time to defeat the robbery p
And this is the same Secretary Holt
who had countermanded "the po,tLumous
order" in the previous December, And,
strange to say, these guns, but for the al
legged intcrpositon of General Scott, were
about to be sent SO late as March from the
Loyal States into those over which JeiIer
son Davis had then for some time presided!
Had General Scott reflected, for mo-
ment, he could not have fallen into this
blundor. It isquite manifest he was with