Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1865-06-08


8 to lead to- the nomination of some favofil
! which We predict will fail, unless charge
: backed BY, substantial proof arc yet in resery
. TO be adduced at a propitious time; + ofwhic
I. however, we entertain no fears, and are pr,
!. pared to await the issuc with confidence,
, the coming result 'nl !. .}'H ~. "'5g ..I
Tho Assassinatfon n Trial The Sup
: pressed Testimony---COmplicit.
, of len. Davis i'm the PRESIDENT
) Mufder.ic9 laslq 70 91aiof 9iti2 bni$
:, giiTEisr. 9as5G III =; ,taq ~ dt&t j
The following evidence which was given i
the secret session Of the Military Conlmissio
for tue trial of President Lincoln s assassin
ct Washington, Is, Of startling interest, an
throws much additional light on the natur
end origin Of the iiendish plota % a'u oR
i Sanford Conovtr testified as follows-I an
a native of New York have resided III, Can
ada since October last was conscripted int,
the Confederate army, and detailed to seryc,
in the War Department of the Confederacy
Richmond, under james A. Seddon, Secreta
Try Of War. While in Canada was intimatel,
acquainted with 9. N. Sanders, Jacob Thomnp,
son, DR.. Blackburn. Tucker, VIM. G. Cleary
Captain Castleman, Mr.. Cameron, Porterfield
Captain Magruder, and others I also knew
Clement c. Clay and General Carroll, of Ten
nessee. knew Mr. Surratt, also, and j. w
Booth, and visited these gentlemen in Cana
da. Saw Surratt there on several occasions
last April, in Mr. Jacob Thompson's room
also in company with George N. Sanders and
other rebels in Canada. Surratt il about five
feet nine or ten inches high, 4 fair complex.
ioned man with light h:s.,I , / saw him about
the 9th or 7th Of april, with Thompson, San.
ders and Booth. At that time he delivered to
Thompson in his room, in my presence, dis
patches from Richmond, to Thompson, from
Benjamin and from Jefferson Davis the lat.
ter cipher dispatch or letter Benjamin was
Secretary of State of the Confederacy. n Pre-
vious to this, Thompson conversed with me
upon the subject Of the plot to assassinate
President LINCOLN and his Cabinet, Of which
gave notice, before the assassination, in the
New York Tribune, the paper for which cor
responded l had been invited by Mr.. Thomp-
son to participate in that enterprise. When
Surratt delivered those dispatches from Da-
Wis, Thompson laid his hand upon the papers
and said, referring to the assassination and
to the assent of the rebel authorities, This
makes the thing all right" The dispatches
spoke of the persons to be assassinated--Mr.
Lincoln, MIR. johnson, the Secretary of War,
the Secretary OF State, Judge Chase and Gen
eral Grant Mr. Thompson said on that oc-
casion, or on the day before that interview,
that the assassination proposed would leave
the Government Of the United States entirely
without head that there was no provision
in the Constitution of the United States by
which they could elect another President. MI.
Welles was also named, but Mr.. Thompson
said it was not worth while to kill him; he
was Of no consequence. Ny first interview
with Thompson on the subject of assassination
was in the early part of February in Thomp
sons room in St. Lawrence Hall, Montreal.
He then spoke of a raid on Ogdensburg, New
York. It was Abandoned but that was be-
cause the United States Government received
information Of it He said he would have to
drop it for time, but added, well catch
them asleep yet" and to me lie said, There
is better opportunity to mmortalize Yourself
and save your country" meaning the Confed-
eracy told them | was ready TO do any
thing to save the country, and asked them |
what was to be done. He said, i"iSome of our
boys are going to play grand joke on Abe |
and Andy" which he said was to kill them
his words were, remove them from Office"
and he said that the killing of a tyrant was
not murder; that he had commissions for
this work from the rebel authorities, and con. |
Ferred one on Booth, or would, confer one
that everybody engaged in this enterprise
would be commissioned, ard if they escaped
Q Canada, they could not be successfully
claimed under the ,Extradition Treaty. Il
know that Thompson and the others held
'hese commissions in blank. They commits.
,loned Bennett Young, the St. Albans raider.
1t was blank commission filled up and confer
ed by Mr.. Clay. Asst came from Richmond /
! was only signed I" James A. Seddon, Secre
AIRY Of Wcr," Mr. Thompson called me 10 l
examine ., these blanks, SO that l might testify /
2 the genuineness Of Seddon's signature in /
ne case Of Bennett Young, before Judge !,
smith. The signature was genuine. In a /
ub'equent conversation, after the first refer
ed to in February, Thompson told me that
5ooth had been commissioned, and every man
rho would engage in it would be. i had n |,
conversation with William C. Cleary on the
lay before, or the day of the assassination, at Il
It. Lawrence Hall. We were speaking ofthe
ejoicing in the States over the surrender of \
zee and the capture of Richmond. Cleary
aid that they would have the laugh on the {
ther side of the mouth in day or two. / Z
1lnk it was the day before the assassination. r
le knew was in the secret of the conspira- II
y II was to that he referred. The assas. :
nation was spoken of among us as common q
as the weather ers.,,,.,;,ii, ,-,, y, =. - !
Before that, Sanders asked me if i knew s
Doth very well, and expressed some appre. =
ension that Booth would make fizzlc Of N: Ii
nat he was desperate and reckless, and he /
as afraid that the whole thing would he q l.
'llurei communicated to- the Tribune the i,
'tended raid on St Albans, and the proposed k
of the President, but they re- /
!!sed TO publish the letter. h I did this in g
arch last, as to the Presidents assassina. g
on also, in February; ! think; certainly =
,tore the 4th of March Surratt delivered a
le dispatches in Thompson's room four or d
7e days before the assassination. The whole O
'nversation showed that Surratt was one of w
Q conspirators 70, take, the Presidents life. K
hat was the substance of the conversation. d
was also understood that there was plenty n
money, when there was anything Id be s
me The conversation, indicated that Sur G;
It had, very few days before lefa Rich r.
ond that he was "sjust from Richmond n
While was in Canada, i was a corresnon- z