The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-11-14
Edmond Dispatth.
yspyrspAY.. NOVEMBER IA, 1866.
Sanford Conoyer.

will not confne itself TO the iocai i "
tion-uo, even to the public of A \" - e.
Tho tria, Of SANFORD CoSovfR VIII y. "
historical Importance. and rive, ,,,a wv nuh,;c
ton Of the contemporary in'e''
oil over the world. ,o wa believe.
This man. whose real name We oe,'e ss,
raa A. DrSHAN, bu. who, nnder
.a,cd name of SANFORD CoNoSEh'
N1' $50 Of the principal witnesses IN inc
md trial of the alleged conspirators
,be assassination Of the late PRESIDENT
T'.co,x was. as we have heretofore an
,nn.cd arrested in New York, and re-
moved to the District Of Columbia for triai
under the charge of perjury, and the grand
;prv of the criminal court OF the DISTRICT
ON Saturday found an indictment against
him. 1t will be remembered that IN the
late examination -bcfore one OF the Con-
oressional obstruction committees several
of the witnesses solemnly deposed that
their entire testimony al that trial had
been fabricated and was without the SEM
blance of truth, that SANFORD CoNovER
had instigsted them to the crime, had ac-
tually written out and taught them by
heart the lesson they were to recite, and
had compensated them for their work OF
infamy by money entrusted to him for the
purpose of preparing testimony against
the accused by high officials of the
Government. Some of our readers may
remember the mastery report OF The
Hon. A. J. ROGERS, of New Jersey,
(whose recent defeat in consequence oil a
division in his party is subject OF just re-
rret0 ON this subject. The majority OF the
committee were so fearful Of the cxamina-
ton of the record that they withheld from
Mr.. ROGERS all access to ii until about
twenty-four hours before the adjournment
of Congress. He improved the modlcum
of time which was allowed him to dissect
the testimony and prepare hurried but
scathiag report-pleadng the restricted
time alone as his apology for failing to eH-
pose the SHAFrEsBuRY whose TITUS OATES
had been disclosed in the person OF this
man CoSovER, alias DUNHAM. Since the
adjournment Of Congress sundry letters
have been published in the northern pa
pcrs purporting and alleged to be genuine
copies of original correspondence between
CoNovER and Mr.. JOSEPH Holt, the Judge
Advocate General, which, to say the least,
suggest very serious suspicion that Mr..
Holt was all the time cognizant OF CoNo-
yER's own infamy and infamous designs,
while he was supplying him from Govern
ment funds with the means and with in
structions to facilitate his satanic work.
This man CoNovER, if we mistake not,
was here during the war--a orhi|om resident
of the well-known Libby. He is the man,
we believe, who wrote upon bis return to
the North a long letter, Of some three or
four columns, narrating how successfully
he had fooled JEB STUART, and gained access
to the Secretary of War. His protested
mission was to obtain authority from the
Confederate Government 10 raise regl-
ment in the northern cities and bring them
through the lines to enter the Confederate
service under bis leadership as colonel in
the Confederate army. Failing to attain
his object in securing the promise of COM
mission and authority to recruit on behalf
of the Confederacy, he endeavorcd during
@ raid upon Ashland to reach the forces OF
the enemy. Upon his arrest and the search
of his person there were found sundry very
suspicious papers, and he was held for
a while as a suspected spy. Had the Con-
federate authorities been possessed OF one
half the spirit of vengeance and Virulence
which he and his creatures sought to as
cribe to them in their false swearing, his
own base life had been terminated upon
Confederate gallows.
The effort to implicate Mr.. DAVIS and
high officials Of the Confederate Govern
ment in the assassination plot, and to im-
pute to them deliberate and calculated
cruelty to Federal prisoners, was an inJu-
rious device to blacken the reputation OF
the South. AT the bar of public justice
the attitude of the defendant is not with
ont its advantages, and it rarely happens
that before an honest and enlightened tri-
bunal the innocent have affixed TO them the
brand of proven guilt. 1t is far otherwise,
however, at the bar Of public opinion.
Great CNsAR's wife was not singular in the
imposition of the necessity that she should
be above suspicion. The public are not as
careful and conscientious as sworn jury
men in the hearing and examination of
testimony, and "folly loves the martyr
dom of fame" 1t matters not, therefore,
how irresponsible or unworthy of credit
the source whence SANDER cmanates, it is
no easy matter TO overtake and foil IT.
Thousands lend ready ear to the imputa-
ton who have neither the opportunity
10 receive nor the inclination to &C
cept the contradiction. Doubtless many
charitable Pharisees in Europe and Ame-
RIGA followed the late Lord PALMERsTON to
his grave as an octogenarian debauchee
simply because lawyer without character
conspired with woman without shame to
extort from him hush-money by imputing
10 him in his extreme old age not
very creditable appreciation of her venal
charms. 1t was not, therefore, without
good reason to expect success that the
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