The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1866-04-12
Report Of the Swamp Land Investi
eating Committee.


TO the Senate and House Of Representa-
tiues of the Elepenth General assembly OF
the.Stdte Of Io,Oa:
The undersigned, members of the Legis-
lat!ve Committee appointed under the fol-
lowing Joint Resolution of the llth Cen
eral Assembly, viz:
"Resol,ed, In accordance of the recon-
mendation of the Governor of the State,
that Committee of five on the part of the
House, with such as the Senate may join,
be appointed to Investigate the alleged d-
version of the Swamp land Indemnify
Funds, and that said Committee have
lpowcr To send for persons and papers"
beg leave TO submit the following report,
together with the evidence taken before
them, and which they attach To, and make
a part thereof:
In view ofthe length Of time intervening
between the appointment of the Commit
Tee and the making of this report, as well
as of the voiuninousness of the testimony,
some of which may appear cumulative
and irrelevant, it is perhaps but proper
and just to the Committee that they should
make this explanation. At the outset, the
Committee being i'm possession Of but little
definite information in regard to the rea-
transaction, the particular interests and
persons involved or implicated, AMI the
leading material outline of facts, vera nee
essarily obliged to grope their way some
what in the dark, and indefinitely. Differ
ent part es We're claiming To be nlater-
ally interested in the Investigation, and So
iiciting, at the hands oG ths Committed, the
admission of their Attorneys during its
course, suggesting that by SO doing the
Committee could the bcttcr::be put i'm pos
session of important f,cts, that would
greatly conduce to mare complete and
thorough Investigation than would other
wise he obtained. Under these crcum-
stances, the Committee after consultation,
admitted Thomas +. Wilhrow, ESD, as
the Attorney ofthe First National Bank of
Dcs Moines, that had cushed some of the
Swamp Land Warrants i'm controversy,
upon theendorsements of Governor Stone's S
name, written by Mir. Orwig, and after
wards repudiated by the Governor; d. O.
Finch, Esq, AS The Attorney of the State
! National Bank, where some of these war
rants had also been cashed upon mfr. Or
wigs endorsement ofthe Governors name:
L. g. ID. Mckay, Esq, as the Attorney of
the American Erigrant Company; Gen.
y. B. Baker, us Attorney for II. q. Orwig;
and j. A. Harvey, "a Attorney for w. Fl.
Holmes; all of whom were permitted to
cross examine the different witnesses, cali
ed by the Committee, and to suggest tho in
PRODUCTION of other witnesses. who were also
introduced and examined. ....
Add to this, that, owing to the fact of the
testimony having TO be printed, the Clerk
ofthe Committee was generallyso engaged
during the evenings, in transcribing, read
ing proof, &C., as 10 render it inipractiable
for the Committee to hold evening sessions.
and You have II character of circumstances
under which Il voluminous and wide rang
ed record OF testimony, and delay in ma
king report We're unavoidable.
The committee find from the evidence
before them that during the month of De
cember, lsG4, and the year 1865, there was
awarded to the State of Iowa, under an act
OF Congress of March 2'.a 1850, Swamp
Land Indemnity Warrants for thirty-two
| couiilieS, amounting 10 the Siiil lOtal Ol
Sl5I, ,254.l9
All of these warrants, with the exception
of those for the counties Of Montgomery.
| Page, Adair, Adams. Audubon, and Mo-
mona, endorsed. for the agents of the Amer
! lean Emigrant Company, and about which
| there is no trouble, were forwarded by the
Treasury Department at Washington to
the Governor of Iowa, and enclosed in en-
velOpes and directed to him through the
mail at different times during the first
part of the year 1865.
In this shape they were taken from the
the post-oilce III Des Moines, by Major
Geo. j. North, Military Secretary of the
Governor, who was charged with receiving
and opening all the mail matter directed to
the Executive in the Governors absence,
and by him all delivered oyer to Il. G. Or
wig, Private Secretary ofthe Governor, IA
matters belonging To the civil instead of
the military department, except those for
the counties of Butler, Alamakee and Clay
ton, which We're delivered by Major North,
directly over to the State Treasurer.
or these warrants so resolved and deliv-
cred over to II. q. Orwig, all have been
accounted for and their proceeds paid over
10 the proper counties, their representa-
tives or assignees, except those for tho fol-
lowing named counties, viz:
~ nh