The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-07-30

me ilEl aN 10 llI' INV "a ! 'N ''''
and inasmuch as the statement was made
in order 10 relieve himself from the charge
contained in the Presidents proclamation
il has 4 strong tendency to connect lihl "i
ramplicitv in the decd. \ number oil lct-
,rr> are produced IL show that Clav was
IN Canada Ut the time, and also lhat nc
vas the originator of the various raid' on
the northern border Of the United States.
The first allusion in point Of time maze 10
the presence OF Clay III the South among
all the papers in possession OF the H"EcrN-
mcrt vet examined is Il letter datca III
Richmond, March :, lNG5. and written hy
II. l.. Clay 10 G.. G. Clay, il. The state
ntcnt of Clay that he has never known any
Of the persons accused and convicted OF
participating in the assassination OF ircSl-
dent Lincoln is shown to be false by the
evidence before the committee. Clay
while in Canada acted under the following
commission:
RICHMOND, Va, April q, lSGi.
Hon. e.. Z. Clny, Jr., de-, de-:
Sir,-Contiding special trust in your
zeal, discretion, and patriotism, | hereby
direct YOU to proceed at once to Canada,
there TO carry ont such instructions as You
have received from me verbally in such
manner a> shall seem most likely To con-
ducc 10 the iurthcrancc OF the interests OF
the Confederate States of America which
have been entrusted to you.
Very respectfully and truly yours,
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
The committee say it is we'll established
l.. l,,.r. nal l,,r,n,tS larIrpl from
rebel sources that Clay, under this COM
mission, was instrumental in organizing
and executing, with more or less success,
the raids upon the cities and towns along
the border, the plans for the introduction
Of pc>tilcncc, the organization Of conSpi-
racics 10 lihcrate the prisoners confined in
Camp Douglas, Chicago, to destroy our
ommcrc on the rivers, lakes, and ocean,
and finally TO thwart and overthrow the
Government by melting a new rebellion in
the North. Ii is also aSccrtaincd that
Jacob Thompson, Beverly Tucker, George
y. Sanders, W. {. Cleary, Bennett H..
Young, and X. J. Stewart, were all en-
rloycd in Canada as secret agents for the
Confederate authorities.
In proof of this the committee produce
A large number of letters, orders, and dis
patches which passed between these mel
and the officers of the Confederate Govern
mcut al Richmond, showing that they We're
acting directly under It's authority, and
that they received orders 10 make the raids
and other offensive demonstrations on the
northern border of the United States.
Testimony taken al the trial Of thc as
S~l>>inS, together with that taken by the
committee, i~r>tiiics them in the inference
that the murder Of President Lincoln was
procured hv the Use Of money furnished
liz the RichmQud Government. The re-
marks said 10 have been made by Davis on
the receipt of the intelligence OF the death
Of President Lincoln is in harmony with
the conversation al his agents, Thomp>on,
Tucker, and others, as given 10y Richard
Montgomery, Il witness who was before
the committee, and also Il witness III the
trial I'll the ConSlirator$.
Thompson told Montgomery in lSGi that
he could have the tyrant Lincoln put out
Of the way at any time. He said he had
Ills friends all over the northern States, and
it REQUIRED but lis nod to have them do
ANYTHING he wanted done. Clay is said to
have talked in Il similar vein about the as
sa>>ination Of Lincoln. The committee
>av there is substantial harmony between
the evidence furnished by The official docu-
mcnts found in the hands Of the rebel au-
thoriticS and the testimony OF the various
witnesses brought before the committee
as 10 the participation of Davis, Thompson,
CLAY, Clcarv, and others in the scheme for
the assassination OF the President.
With reference TO the testimony in pos
session of the Bureau Of Military Justice,
taken by Judge Holt, and on which PrcSi-
dent Johnson based his proclamation, the
committee make the following statement /:
"Whcn the committee entered upon this
investigation in April last, the evidence III
the War Department, If accepted as true,
was conclusive rs 10 the guilt OF Jefferson
Davis. The Judge General had
taken the ailidavits OF several persons who
protested to have been in the service Of
the rebel Government, and who had been
present al an interview between Surratt
aud Davis and Benjamin.
"ThoSc aiidavits were taken 10y the
Judge Acknowledgement Ill good faith, and
in the full belief that the persons making
them were stating that only which was
true. The statements made by these Wit
ncsscS harmonic in every important par
ticular with facts derived from documents
and other Trustworthy sources. The COM
mi,tee, however, thought it wise to scc
and examine some Of the persons whose
ailidavits had bccn taken by Judge Holt.
Several of the witnesses, when brought
before the committee, rctractcd entirely
the statements which they had made in
their atlidavits, and declared that their
testimony, as given originally, was false in
every particular. They failed, however,
to state to the committee any inducement
or consideration which seemed to the CON-
mittcc a reasonable explanation for tho
course thew have pursued. The committee
are therefore not at this time able to say, as
the result o their investigation, whether the
original statements OF these witnesses are
true or false. But the rctractlon made
hv some Of them dcpriyes them OF all
claim to credit, and their statements so
far impcach or throw doubt upon the EVIL
dcncc given by other witnesses, whose
affidavits were taken by Judge Holt, that
the committee in the investigation which
they have made, and in this report, have
d~isrccardcd entirely the testimony OF all
those persons whose standing has been so
.impcachcd. On the other hand, the COM
mittee have relied very largely upon docu-
ments found in the rebel archives, ana
have introduced only the testimony OF
those persons whose reputation for truth
and y~cracity has not been impcached by
any of the Investigations that have been
made. Nor has it bccn the purpose OF the
committee to draw unnatural or forced H.
icrcnccs from the trustworthy testimony
Mlich ilrv Luyn examined lint rather 10