The weekly standard. (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1865-1867, 1865-12-23


the generals ASSERTIONS. At the com.
mencement of the session of 1S60-1s6I
public ru1nor gays birth to this charge
1 II very Justly and properly attracted
i bhe' attention of9the' House of Repre-
lsentatives. and from its nature deman
lded aa ri Sorous Investigation Aceor.
dinghy, on the motion Of Mr.. Stanton.
i of Ohio, the Chairman Of the Commit
tee on Military Affairs, the House adop-
ttedareselution instructing the Conn
mittee .fo inquire and report to the
House to whom and at what price the
public arms, distributed since the first
of january, 1860, had been disposed
Of &c. 1&5c." The Investigation was
deemed of such paramount importanc ce
that the House, authorized the Com
mittee not only to send for persons and
papers, but also to report at any time
in preference qtor allgothers business.
From the nature of the charge it could
not be difficult for the committee to
establish either it's truth or its false
hood. Arms could not be removed
from one armory or arsenal to another
by Secretary Floyd, without the knowl-
edge and active participation of the
officers and attaches; of the Ordnance
Bureau. At its head was Colonel
Craig, an officer as loyal and faithful
as any one who belonged to the army.
It.was through ahisnagency alone that
the arms could have been removed,
and it is certain that had he known
or suspected treachery on the part Of
the Secretary, he would Instantly have
communicated this to the President,
in order that it might be defeated. pa
THE SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWESTERN STATES
RECEIVED LESS THAN THEIR QUOTA
The committee made their first re-
lportto. the House ON the 9th,of Janu-
airy, 1861. Congressional Globe p. 294.
House Journal, p. 1867 With this
they, presented two tables [Nos. 2 and
81, communicated to them by Mr.. Holt,
then the Secretary of War, frbfa the
Ordnance Bureau exhibiting Fthe
number and description Of arms dis
tEibuted since first of January, 1860,
to the States and Territories, and at
whatpric Whoeyershall examine ta-
bic No. 2, will discover that the Southern
and Southwestern States received much
less than their quota of arms to which
they were Justly entitled under the law
for arminrfg the militia. Indeed, it is
remarkable fact that neither. Arkansas,
Delaware Kentucky, Louisiana, North
Carolina, nor Texas received any por7
ton of these arms, though they we're
afmyo musketsa of the best quality.s
This arose simply from their own neg
lect, because the quota to which they
were entitled would have been deliv-
cred to each of them on a simple ap-
| pication to the Ordnance Bureau. The
whole number of muskets distributed
among all the States, North and South,
was just &, ,423.s Oftheses the Southern
and Southwestern States received only
2,091, or less than one-fourth. Again, the
whole number of long range rifles of
the army cahbre, distributed among
all the States in the year, 1860, was
l1,72S. Of these, six of the Southern
and Seuthwe western aStatesy kentucky
Louisiana, Mississiippii, North Carolina,
Tenaesss and Virginia received n the
/ aggregate 758, ana the remainder Of
these States did not receive any.
Thus it appears that the aggregate
of the rifles and muskets distributed
+ in 1860, was 10,151, of which the
lISouthern and Southwestern States re-
ceived 2,849, or between one-third and
one-fourth of the whole number.
Such being the state of the facts, well
might Mr.. Stanton have observed in
making this report, much to his credit
ior candor and fairness, that "there
are a good deal of rumors and specu-
ulations, and misappfehensiuns as to
the true state of facts in regard to this
matter" Congressional Globe, 1880
s61, 81 s294. The report Of the Conf
lmittee and the opinion expressed by
Its chairman, before 1.-THE House, it
might have been supposed would sal
lisfy General Scott that none of these
mnskets or rifes had been puIAqined
by Secretary Floyd But not so. The
ex- President has stated in his letter to
the National Thtelligsheer5 Of Nov. 7.
1852, that "the Sothern States received
lin 1860, less instead of more than the
quotaofsarFnss towhich they were entir
tied by law" This statement was foun-
- 1<<~>1 "a