The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-08-01

ton, and in week or two'the manufacturers
received an order bearing date 2Sth Novem-
Der, for the 5000 pistols. being again the
same that a few weeks before had been pro-
nounced 'unserviceable.' in answer TO their
own personal application to manufacture
them.
"The most extraordinary operation, by all
odds, was that consummated by one Simon
Stevens in his sale of 5000 Halls carbines
to Mai i-Gen John c. Fremont, when the lat
ter was in Command ofthe department ofthe
West. Stevens sold these carbines to FIRE.
mont. by telegraph, on the 9TH of August,
1861, at so each. At that time these car
bines were in the United States Arsenal at
New York, and were the property ofthe gov
ernment, rejected from the service and order
ed to be sold. On the 7th of August, two
days after Stevens sold them to Frement, they
were bought from government at $3.50 each;
and thoIsh the condition On which Gen Ere
mont bought them was that they should be
forwarded instantly by express the last lot
was not shipped till the lapse of forty days.
The character of the purchase in this case is
thus summed up by the report: Thus the
proposal actually was, to sell to the govern
mental $50 each, 5000 of its own arms; the
intention being, if the offer was accepted, to
obtain these arms by purchase from the gov
ernment at three dollars and fifty cents each.
The intention was carried out (lacking four
carbines only the day after Gen Fremont ac-
cepted the offer 1t is evident, also, that the
very funds with which this purchase was ef-
fected were borrowed on the faith of the pre-
vious agreement to sell i; so that if the pur-
chase made by Gen Fremont is to be regard
ed as valid purchase by the United States,
the government only sold one dav, for 81, ;
400. arms which it had agreed the day before
to repurchase for Sl09,9l2, making loss to
the United States on the transaction of nine
tv-txo thousand four hundred and twenty-siS
dollars (S92,42G) but virtually furnished the
money to pay itself the 1.4S6 which it re-
cei,ed."
Gen Butler and his quartelmaster, Paul X
George, do not make very good show il
these disclosures. J. F. Whipp!e, New
York cap manufacturer, testifes that he wa
invited by Gen Butler to go to Lowell, t,
make contract for some caps for his sol
y diers. He went and showed Butler AM
: George his samples
: "Gen Butler took this sample in his hant
: and Came w to me and asked me the price
5 | told him SD per dozen, five per cent off 70
cash in hand. Then Gen Butler said. No,
o the question IS this, ard We might as We
+ talk it right out. Can you let US have 81
t thousand at your price, giving my quarter
J. master ten per cent to divide around?'
think these are the exact words. | put thel
u down at the time when they were fresh in m
memory, and gave them 10 quar:ermaste
s. Ninton of this city, who gave them to Ge
Meigs, quartermaster general. then tol
IS Gen Butler that he had mistaken his MAJ
II and turned around and gathered UP my san
Is pies, and put them in my box, and told hi
IL at the same time that had been able to kee
'e the mill going without resorting to anythin
n of that kind, and when it could not be dor
!! without it, it would be stopped. Upon tn
as his adjutant, Strong, stepped up TO Gen Blu
y Ter and says, 4 have known this gentlems
10 ever since was boy he used to be II
CT Sabbath-school teacher, and If he is the san
iS man now that he used to be, you have ce
as tainly mistaken your man. And furthermor
ID let me say to you, if there's any corruptic
us here, am counted out He then took b
~ cap, put it on his head, and left the ROOM"
'e- There has also been congressional col
mittee at work on the expenditures on pu
Us lie buildings at Washington. Mr. Sargent
'e- California, the chairman of the committt
er presented report near the close of the ST
NJ sion. The committee find that in the trei
III ury extension, the most lavish and UNIV;
'f rantable expenditure of the public none
IN has been made,the contracts have been gro.
Ter ly violated, and the plans in many instane
to wholly ignored. According to his own ties
Ia mony, Mr. Clark, the superintendent of t
lie bureau of construction, has had little arc
on tec;ural experience. The report recommen
ed his dismissal, and that henceforth the bure
S. be under the control of the department
lor the interior. At the present rate of exper
Sc it is shown that the treasury extension ale
his will cost FIVE millions of dollars. Thus, al
re time when all the resources of the coun
the are needed for the national defense, the pl
TO derers of the treasury are more numert
ted and ravenous than ever before. If Congr
the had occupied some Of the many days speu
I'M rampaging around generally in inventing
so enacting some new punishment for the p
lie robbers it would have done great
veil tional benefit.
,ffi- ---------e~---
ba- JONI Bulls LATEST OPINIoN.-Our Z
ted lish cousins now propose to let US alon
sh- while lorger because they think We are i
ant fair way to use ourselves up quicker Il
hey they could do it for us. This is the most
red gravating thing they have yet said of us.