New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-08-07

by the rebel authorities at hlchHouu' o
Booth says Gonover, went by the nickname OF
Pet, and Conover adds, that he saw HMM CONVEX
saton with Thompson and Sanders, ana heafd MN
so called by Ceary.
Couover, ON the eth June, being sworn, was
| asked if the following testimony was gwen " |
him on October 18th, 1866. in the st. Abans case
He said " Yes" but that it contained the test,
mony of other Waliaces who testified.
| James Watson Wallace, on his oath, says:
! II am q native Of Virginia, one Of the Conted-
crate States, resided in Jefferson, in said State
| I LETT that State in October. I know James A.
seldom was secretary of war last year, etc. etc
"when was in, Virginia, lived in my own
turned out by the Northern soldiers.
| tSigued) 81. WATSON WALLACE"
The counsel for the United States objected to the
whole Of this evidence as illegal, irrelevant and
foreign to the issue, and consequently declined to
! cross examine.
The testimony of Merritt was not as already
stated accusatoTy of Mr.. Davis, but of those per-
/ sons who, according to Conover acted for MI
Davis, or with his assent, IN Canada. - =,
| Merritt SAYS he was introduced TO George N:
Sanders by Col. Steele; that he (Steele) SAID oil
( Lincoln that the -- old tyrant never VIII serve
another term if he is elected and that Sanders then
said he lLincoln) would keep himself mighty close
if he did serve another term.
About the middle of February a meeting OF
rebels was held in Montreal, to which l. says
Merritt, '.was invited by Captain Scott. should
think there were ten or fifteen persons present.
Among them were Sanders, Steele Scott George
Young Byron Eiil, Caldwell, Fork, Kirk, Bene-
diet and myself At that meeting a letter was read
by Sanders which he said he had received IRON
The President of our Coufederacy, meaning JET
ferson Davis the substance of which was that II
the people in Canada and the SOutherners in The
States were willing to submit to be governed by
such tyrant as Lincoln, he did not wish To recog,
nice themas friends 0rassociates, and he expressed
his appreciation of whatever measure they might
take to accomplish this object, The letter was
"a lV in 10 Sanders
which it was handed to those present aud read by
them one after another. Col Steele, Young anc
! Hill, and. think, Capt, Scott, read it. | did moi
1 hear any objection raised
q Merritt goes on to say that Sanders then named
G number Of persons vino were willing and ready
as he said, to engage in the undertaking TO remove
. the President Vice President, cabinet, and sOmt
{ Of the leading generals, ard that there was any
, amount OF money to accomplish the purpose
J meaning the assassinatOn-the names OF Booth
/ Harper Randall and Harrison, (Surratt,) and on
Plug or Port Tobacco, (AtserOdt.1 Sanders sad
! according to Merritt, that Booth was heart an
soul in this project, because Beall, hung in New
e York was his cousin. Sanders thought aisposint
't of the leading men weuld satisfy the people the.
had friends in the North, and incline them to gran
g the South better terms.
d Merritt says also, that on the 9Th Of April last
/ in Toronto he met Harper and Ford. Next morn
= ing Harper, Caldwell, Randall, Holt and maj
u called Texas, met him at the Queens Hotel, an,
said they were going to the States to kick up tn
damnedest row that had ever been heard of. A
! hour or two after meeting Harper again, MERIT
says Harper told him if he did rot hear Of tn
g death of Old Abe, and of the Vice President, an
of Gen. Dix, in less than ten days, he Merritt
S might put him down as a damned fool, This wa
the 9Th of April. Booth was mentioned as bein
i in Washington. On the 8th of April Merritt say
he found that Harper and Caldwell had started 70
Q the States.
d Merritt says he then went to Squire Davidson,
: Justice Of the peace, to have teem stepped; bu
Davidson thought the thing 900 ridiculous t
J notice.
d [The only justice of the peace of that name il
. Canada denies any such information beng give
e him by Merritt at ALL
II Merritt says that in February, 1864 Clay toll
him, in Toronto, that he knew all about the lette
4 Sanders had exhibited at the meeting in Montreal
and on Merritts asking what he thought about il
l. replied, he thought the end would justify tn
means. Merritt sWore to Aiken in cross examina
:, ton at the trial that he had never received on
a dollar from the government for furnishing an
:, information from Canada, nor had he receive
u anything " from the rebels for services rendere
J them"
e To all this Merritt swore. cross.examined hin
: under oath, and in that examination he contra
+ dcted all the foregoing, and admitted that he ha
. received in actual pay an aggregate OF SIX thou
sand dollars for his information, from the govern
l. ment of the United States, through the war de
partment. For his testimony and services the sun
D Of six thousand dollars in the aggregate. Ant
, that examination fully disprOving his test
Z, moDy in chief the committee 7c0utd not dt0lc o4
y reporter to translate from has notes.
The testimony of Conover being wholly invali
= dated by his contradictions, would amount t.
!, | nothing unsupported, with its evident perJurle
. unexplained. When Mr. Holt forwarded it witt
=. the rest he accompanied the whole with an eX
a, planatory argument, whose every sentence is re
Il dolent with the logic of prosecution and, to me
i it almost seemed as if it revealed something o
- personal motive in the conviction. There is Ger
n tainy nothing in it of the anxious c,n'iR spirit
4. nothing of the searcher after truth, nothing Blu
n the dUldity for blood of the military prosecutor
a The sending OF G1Iy argument to convince TIL
~ committee was in itself step of doubtful pro
= priety, as the committee were supposed by tn
g representatives of the nation to be able to draw
a their own conclusions from the testimony an
n hence were appointed to do so, and the House b.
E appointing them had given. the strongest eVdenC
- that they did not desire to adopt those of Mr.
% Holt already rendered. The sending of an argu
i ment might be explained as the natural effect o
t that habit of directing yerdtcts acquired in tn
e bureau of military justice; but the sending o
a such an argument feel compelled to attribute Il
a a desire to place his own views so before thu
committee as TO render investigation mere matte
of form; and believe this was done to hide thu
disgracetul fact that the assassination of Mr.. Lin
4 coin was seized upon as d pretext to hatcl
a charges against number of historical personages
n to blacken their private characters, and affort
excuse for their trial through the useless forms
!, a military commission, and through that ductl
J instrument of vengeance in the hands Of power
murder them. | do not say that Judg
Holt didihimself originate the charges organic
!, the plot of the perjurers, because do not bnoo
l. that he did. merely say that plot, based Oh
9 the assassination, was formed against Davis, Clay
!, and others, and that the plotters did, and evel
Il yet operate through the bureau of military jus
;, tice, and that the argument forwarded by Mr.
q Holt to the committee on the Judiciary looked tt
u me like shield extended over the potters; ex
- tended, it may be, from no personal luminosity t.
! Messrs. Davis, Clay, and the others extended,
may be- with desire to save certain officers of tn
!. government from the charge Of having been be
IL trayed into the mistakes of vague apprehension