Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1866-11-14
Thr .lIfr Onffs.


lands. The details Of their schemes
and plots to murder and slay each
other, and their citizens, is heart-sick-
ening aud disgrace to human beings.
Little did we suppose that we should
SO soon have iortaste Of the same
barbarities in our own late happy
country. But to fully realize this
fact, we present our readers with an
article taken from the Philadelphia
Age:
Some hundred years ago, lived and
did his work of murderous mischief,
Titus Oates. He had one fact on
which 10 rest his superstruction OF
perjury, and that fact was murder.
There was a government, too, who
listened to him, and q "bureau of mil
iiary Justice" which received and re
corded bis false testimony And in
time, the tide turned, aud the perjury
was revealed, and the witness was ar
rested, tied to carts tail and whip
ped almost to death from one end OF
London to the other-and history
says murder by false testimony is the
most aggravated species Of murder.
and this wretch was guilty Of many
such murders"
Such is the record of lG79-and
what is our record of 1866 Z Sir Ed
manbury Godfrey was the assassin's S
victim then-Abiaham Lincoln is the
victim now, and Sandiord Conover is
Titus Oates-with Stanton, and Holt,
and Preston King, whose selfreproach
led him to suicide, for his patrons.
Let us, however, be more precise and
more practical, and in order TO make
ourselves intelligible, we will trace
the hideous narrative backwards.
Sandiord Conover. alias Charles
Dunham, was last week-here in No
vember, lS66-arrested and taken in
close custody to Washington on q
charge Of perjury-the perjury being
that he swore falsely before the mill
tary commission which condemned
Mrs Surratt. There be swore, among
other things, that he saw John Sur.
ratt and Booth in Canada just before
Mr.. Lincoln's murder, and that he saw
papers from Mr. Davis and Mr. Ben
jamin authorizing the deed Of blood.
On his testimony the government
represented by those twins Of bloody
infamy Holt and Bingham, relied, and
the Court over which David Hunter
presided acted.
Sanford coRorr," says Bingham
testified that be had been for some
time clerk in the War Department
at Richmond, that in Canada he knew
Thompson and other rebel agents
that he knew John Surratt aud John
Wilkes Booth-that he saw Boo th
and Surratt there-that about the 9th
or 9TH of ApEl Suratt delivered to
Jacob Thompson dispatch brought
by him from Benjamin at Richmond
enclosing one in cipher from Davis
He (Conover) said that before this
Thompson had proposed to him to en-.
gage in n plote TO assassinate Presi-
dent Lincoln, and said that the rebel
authorities had consented 10 the plot
to assassinate Lincoln, johnson, Stan.
ton, Seward, Judge Chase, and Gen
Grant"
Thus spoke Bingham, and Holt in
reporting the case TO the War Depart
ment adopted with emphasis the same
theory, and Stanton communicated il
with approval to the President, and
Mrs. Surratt was hanged, and on the
very testimony of sanford Conoyer
and others like him, "evidence in the
Bureau Of Military Justice" the un.
fortunate proclamation of the % Of
May. 1865, was issued, and the presi
dent was unwittingly made party tC
the conspiracy todeiame the innocent
And Sanford Conover-the confess
ed peuurcd iniormer-was kept for 4
long time close in the embraces of the
Bureau Of Military Justice. During
Z the summer, and autumn, and winter
I of 1865. he was in confidential CORES.
ponce with Holt-nursed by him a.
I iendcrly rs Oates was By Shaftosbury
"You may depend, he writes 10
dear Mr. Holt, in July, chat | can
and will, If desirable TO you and the
government, accomplish all ! premise
and more" In December, 1865, he
writes that he has got woman wit
ness, Of whom he saws "At any rate
you have only TO put into her mouth
what you want her 70 swear. and she
will spit it out in style"-and "Gen.
cral Holt writes back
DrAR sir Rnslosed fud d-alt fsr $50. uhisl
I suppose wil ~ nctsitd IRON The uurnhsf of Wit
ucss.s yea scsa TO have IN hand. Make all n.
haste yoa csz, But % AvrR WOHE ruororsutr.
, And be did it VERY tborourhiv-ht
brough up witnesses right and len.
aud Holt and Stanton cherished them
and they were sent before the Com.
mittee Of Congress, aud their testi.
mony made the basis OF a report, and
the people were made TO believe. and
did believe that Sandford Conover was
the embodiment OF loyal truthfulncss.
aud that southern statesmen wcrc
parties 90 plot OF eowarily assassi-
nation. And now in October. 1855
an oath IS made aud q warrant issued
and a detective dispatched, and sand.
ford Couover Is carried of. hand.
cutfed we presume, to Washington. to
answer = charge Of wilinl aud deliher.
ate perjury, "General Holt no doub,
being the prosecutor.
Wiil they be confronted , II so.wc
confess TO some curiosity to Witness
the interview with the spectre OF Mrs.
Surrait hanging over the peviuer and
the sub0rners. and the dead body Of