Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-02-18


vessels"
This testimony Was given on tie 2sth day Of
December, and Up % that time the committee
bad 10 evidence or intimntion chat Mr.. Need
had been an agent for the Government or acting
such. The Department liberal in bestow
ing confidence and grants OF power; but that con
fdence seems 20 have been abused by the trans
fer of authority one u the other. Nr, Weed
absence from home prevents an examination NJ
present into the nature and extent of his agency.
sfhe COMMITTEES Rave NOT been ssie % show for
whom the steamer was loaded. Il has been IN
tmated she was loaded By private parties. to be
run however. at the risk and xpense of the Gov
eminent. And when she could not obtain
clearance her cargo Was in whole or part sold 10
the Government. If this be 50, it W II account
for Mr. Cummings purchase of straw hats linen
pantaloons. London porter, Scotch ale. Dutch
herring, butter, cheese and ALL" Collector
Barney swears that on the 27th Of April Mr.
Stetson. in whose name the title had been taken,
called on him demanding clearance to Annap-
oils. When asked how she was loaded and 60
whom the cargo belonged, he replied she was
loaded with -four and provisions, and belonged to
several of his friends Mr.. Barney refused to
clear her Stetson then said the.proyisiOns were
for the army. Barney replied that as the proper.
" was not Government property, but property of
individuals, he could not clear her except by
Just 20 say here that Mr. Develin evidently
induced to purchase the vessel at the suggestion
of those who we're acting for the Government.
and that Mr. Stetson, in everything he did, was
frank, candid and made no cOncealment. When
Mr.. Stetson again called on the collector he
brought note from Mr.. Weed, stating that the
cargo consisted of supplies for troops. and re
questing clearance" Mr.. Barney declined,
but saw Mr. Weed and explained why clear
ance could not be granted. MIR. Weed said lit
was all right. and would he arranged in some
other way" he concluded not To give clear
ance unless requested TO do so by Gen " DOL. tie
saw the General and requested him to be careful
before he gave orders for clearance. pass.
however, was obtained from the General. which
he regretted for on Monday morning he sent
order to- the Collector revOkng il. but the fugi
tive hid escaped, with the condemnation Of the
Collector and Gen Wool upon her. Her voyage
was an unfortunate one; after two months SER
vice she was destroyed by FIRE.
The question recurs, who the friends
ferred to by Mr. Stetson as the owners of the
cargo? IL is necessary to 20 back and see who
had any interest or connection with the tIansac-
ton. Mr.. Freeman, who had a one tenth interest
in the profits swears after first daclining 10 do
50, that he received, as part security Tor the pur
chase money of the Cataline, four notes, of ST.
500 each as follows: one note by Thurlow Weed,
indorsed John +. Develin; one note by G.. g.
Davidson, Endorsed by .. b. MattesOn; and one
note by o. b. Matteson, indorscd Thurlow Weed.
These parties must all have been in New \ Ork
city at the time The only person besides the
Captain and crew was James Larkin, who went
on the boat, he says, as Purser, although he
finally concluded his duty was 10 act as check
upon the Captain This man was appointed by
Mr. Develin upon the recommendation of Mr.
Davidson. No one seemed TO take any interest
i'm loading the vessel but Mr. Develn. Colonel
Tompkins knew nothing of her cargo. The
Union Defense Committee knew nothing of her
cargo and when DR. Cummings asked if he
knew ANYTHING OF her cargo, he said, Not
particle" He relied entirely upon and trusted
To the clerk. Mr.. Humphreys, appointed upon the
recommendation of Mr. Weed. 1t must be left
to surrounding facts tn show who were referred
to by Mr.. Stetson, and whether the boat was
loaded for private speculation: and. when no
clearance could be obtained. Mr.. Cummings
through his clerk, purchased the cargo Tor Gov
eminent, that pass cOnld be procured
General WOOls heSitency IN giving pass toethe
Catalina probably induced n representation to
General Scott that the condition of his (WOOps)
health required repOse from arduous duties
Mr. Cummings was certainly a remarkable
agent The Secretary wants an energetic intel
ligent, and experienced man, of cOurse-One
more so than the Union Defense Committee, or
the army officers in New York-one on whom
he can RELY; yet the agent apparently takes no
interest but to draw and pay the money. When
he called on, especially TO aid IN purchases,
he trusts it. all to Mr. Humphreys, his clerk.
When vessels are 10 be chartered, he doesn't
deem il worth while 10 examine them. He good
naturally SAYS he took il for granted that what
the owners said was true He was certainly a
confidence man. The Secretary says notw.ih
standing the pressure on his private business, he
is sure he will aid him Yet Mr.. e. pays this
generous and unbounded confidence 10y knowing
nothing, absolutely nothing, of the purchasing of
articles or loading of vessels Two million dol
lars, by the Secretary OF the Treasury, were pla-
ced in the hands of q committee OF high t0nesl.
honorable men. to be paid out the order or
requisition of Mr.. Cummings, without his produ-
cling to them any vouchers. Strange rs il may
appear. while this money there 20 respond to
this requisiton. he draws $780, 900. and deposits
it in his name, with his private accounts, in one
OF the city banks Stranger still, four months
after his agency had ceased. he leaves no yOuch-
ers with the War Department. The War De
partment, in its generous confidence, seeks no
settlement with Mr.. Cummings, nor an luspec
ton of his vouchers Such were the prominent
transactions occurring at time when a man ;
generous instincts should freely have offered
everything 10 his country. This was the cloud.
no larger than mans hand, which increased and
spread until the whole sky has been wrapped in
gloom, and men 90 about the streets wondering
where this thing would end. The mania for
stealing seems to have run through all the reIa
tons of Government. Almost from the General
To the drummer bOy, from those nearest the
throne of power to the merest tide waiter, nearly
every man who deals with the Government seems
to feel or desire that il would not long survive,
and each had a common right to plumber while IL
lived Even in the matter of the purchase of
two sailing vessels, two men OF New Ork TO
the crime of larceny added the sin of perjury
that they might rob from the Treasury
g. 900 In the case OF the Stars and Stripes, the
President of the New Haven Propeller Company
after { king from the Government Sl9 600 more
than she cost, took of that amount nearly = oOo.
To line his own pockets. and IN excuse 10 his com
panv pretended that he had 20 bribe an ex mem
Der of Congress to gain an audience to the head
of the bureau; and from that insinuatiOn an hon
orable high toned ex member of Congress in
Connecticut had been subjected to calumny.
That President before the committee, testified
that after taking SO ,OO0 in profits from has eoun
try he Was 81 anxious TO serve her in this, the
hour of her extremity, that he appropriated near
IL 8 600 Of his colleagues money 20 his private
use 50 he could devise some machine 10 take all
the Southern cities and one get hurt. Colon
els entrusted with the power OF raising regiments.
cOlluding with contractors. bartering away and
dividing contracts for horses and other supplies.
20 enrich personal favori,es: purchasing articles
and compelling false invoices To be given While
IL j. no Justification. the example has been set III