Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-10-24
OD9io Statesnl:lt'jarr. ma.
THE pmTLADELpHiITA CANARD


" "Druid'' owns Up, but Believes the
Forgery to be True-The Dispatch
Did Not Come from Washington, buI
Was SentfrOm New York-The Pro
prietOrs of the Ledger Would Have
Made Heaps of Money IL the state
ments Had Been True ......... a.'.
To the Editor Of the New York Herald:
/ am anxious to afford to the public every
explanation in my power in relation to the
dispatch, of October 10, which was pub
lished In the I'hiLddel)hid Ledger. The state
ment which has been made by that paper
does not contain the whole truth. II
studiously conceals the fact that it did moi
receive the dispatch from Washington. but
from New York. 1t charges me with hav.
ing written the questions without, having
any reliable data before me. And. keeps
entirely out of sight the fact that on the
strength Of the dispatch as they received Il
(but not from me), q person in Philadel-
phia, in close BUSINESS relations to the pro-
prietors of that paper, engaged in gold OPP
erations by which, had the news proved
true, as believed it to be true, he would
have been largely, benefited. ...'
A simple statement of the facts will per-
haps set the matter in its clearest light. Or
the 9th and 9TH insts, learned that the
subject of the extent of tile powers and
duties of the President under the COnstitu.
tion,. in relation to the exclusion OF the
Southern members of Congress and in re-
lation to the legal. and constitutional status
of the present Congress, was occupying a
great deal,of the Presidents attention. Or
the Sth and 9th l sought more definite in
formation OIL this subject from the two gen
tlemen to whom have been in the habit Of
going when wished to verify any doubt
ful point or to get a tangled piece of news
unTaveled. They are men whose friend
ship have proved and tried, and which
value; and / have found in my intercourse
with them that they are not only truthful
and reliable, but that they have remark
able faculty of being able to get at the truth
of almost any alleged matter of Washing
ton news, of detecting errors and OF distin'
gushing mere rumors from actual matters
of fact. "tGn a.'Ur .+1H EssIIEi i
From one of these gentlemenlI l learned
that the President, in quite recent con.
versation with an Intimate friend; hat
dwelt at some length upon this subject
and had recurred to what he had said In his
speeches and messages upon it, and had re-
marked that he had said nothing hastily oil
unconsidered, and thatwhat he had said he
would stand by, and that whatever might
be his duty he would not shrink from per-
forming it; but that he would take no steL
in the matter without consulting the At
torney General, and II think it was added,
that he intended to do so. ~
From, the other learned that paper had
been seen in the Attorney Generals office
with the printed heading Executive
Mansion" containing a series ofqliestions
in relation to the actual status under the
Constitution, of the present Congress ant
the nature and extent of the powers an(
duties of the President under the Constitu
ton, both as regards the present Congress
and the right of the Southern States to rep.
resentation. '-''I
With these facts clearly impressed upon
my mind, and believing them to be truey
returned home, thought over the matter
and wrote out the questions. The data
which had before me was ample. The
words of the questions had not been fur.
nished to me. But had before me the
subjects to which heyrelated, aud the al.
legged fact that they had covered the whole
ground in relation to that subject. 1t i:
true the questions might have been writ
ten by some one else, might have been In
the Attorney Generals office by accident
might never have been seen either by the
President or the Attorney General. But
the natural inference was that the ques.
tions had been officially sent to the Attor.
ney General; and, with the idea impressed
upon my mind as fact wrote out the
Questions. l.'i ..''''.'.''...
saw nothing inconsistent in these qups-
tions, with the uniform utterances of the
President. 1t seemed to me perfectly nat
ural that the President should seek counsel
of his constitutional legal adviser on SO
grave subject, especially when the lead
ing Radicals were boldly proclaiming.thSil
intention to depose and imprison him. The
questions at issue between the President
and Congress are not questions of policy OF
eSpediency, but questions of constitutions
law. The Attorney General is the proper
person to investigate these questions, and
the "questions" which l wrote amount
simply to statement that the President
has consulted his constitutional legal ad
wiser in regard to the extent of his powers
and duties under the Constitution. They
do not in the least imply any revolutionary
Intention on the part of the President, tol
the only answers which dan be made to the
questions will show that, hard as the neces.
sity may appear to him, the PresideDtmus
continue to recognize thepresent Congress
and must leave the question Of the admis-
sion of the Southern members for them to
decide, ''........ .....9pc
sent the questions, not the Ledger, but
to a valued friend of mine in another city
Idid not write them for the Ledger, but
for one of my own friends. sentit to him
simply as matter of important news
which believed to be true. The lLedqei
virtually says, and has made the public be-
lieye, that attheylreceived the dispatch from
Washington, which is not the fact. go fr.1v
The Ledger says the verdict of the public
will be against me. i do not think it will
be now.a Truth has but one voice, and the
public can generally tell when. they hear it
Very respectfully yours,
HENRY M. FLINT.
WASHINGTON, Oct.17, 1866.
- - isalSh7a'E 1g
Sensation in "a IsoardIGg-TTOuse.
A f,yy ninbfc e;nno a clihhf ooo;don. oo