The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1866-10-19
THE posron cusrom HOUSE FRAUDS

THE bVSION WE OnA kAOS0A - - - " Ds
Moses Williams, An aged Bostonian, anc
one Of the oldest vine merchants ip the United
States, committed suicide, reason: he wa,
caught stealing from the Government, in com
plicity with the custom house officers of thai
city, and mulucted in damages to the amount
ofS2O0, 900. Hannibal Hamlin, radical ex
Vice President Of the United States, wss col
lector of the port Of Boston at the time Of the
stealing. Gsneral Couch, who W.. isssly APP
pointed Hamknis successor in office ~ Presi-
dent johnson, Terrified out this puritan saint, I
rascality, who, the Boston pApsra say has al-
WAYS borne the character of a deroM Chrfsfidn
s Wonder If Hannibal Hamlin, Who is an,
other devout Christian gentleman OF the same
kind, will 70 and hang himself also. General
Couch Is said to be making minute investi-
CATION into the affairs of the Boston Custom
House while Hamlin wss in Office, and that
the disclosures Of rascality already come to
light astound everybody who are made &C.
ouainted with the facts.''-Keoktk Constitu>
fion.
Such il the Consultations version Of . very
notorious fraud upon the Government in cons
nec,ion with the Boston Custom-House.
Now what are the real facts? More than
three years ago, Mr.. Goodrich, Collector un>
der President Lincoln's administration, dis
covered that Moses Williams 4 Co. had been
committing frauds upon and winding the
Government by false entries and under valua-
tons, during period Of several years, run
ming through the Presidential terms Of Pierce
and Buchanan.
The downright falsehoods Of the above
paragraph, from the Consultations, furnish
sample brick" of its editorials.
First. The amount Of frauds was over
million of dollars, but the amount collected
was only about Sl25, 200, the rest being bar
red BY the statute OF limitations
Second. Hannibal Hamlin was not Col.
lector at the time the frauds were perpetrated,
because, as we stated above, the whole thing
was consummated under Democratic admins.
trations, and the discovery was made more
than three years ago, while Hamlin vas Vice
President
Third. General Couch had nothing to do
with ferreting the matter out, and Johnson's
administration is entitled to no credit in the
premises, for it was ferreted out by Collector
Goodrich, under Mr.. Lincoln's administration,
and Judgment obtainedfor the amount not
barred by the statute of limitations, two years
or so ago. And now over all the facts and
circumstances connected with ii were set
forth sometime ago in a pamphlet published
by Collector Goodrich,
Fourth. Couch, the new Collector, has
just been indicted into Office and is just be-
ginning to learn the mere routine duties, and
is not engaged in any Investigations and has
made no disclosures whatever. Nor is ii
probable that the late Vice President Hamlin,
who was appointed to the position of Collec
tor BY Mr.. johnson himself, had been guilty
Of any astounding rascaiities in the brief
period which he held the Office. He is not
that kind Of man, and his prompt resignation
Of the position shows that be had nothing to
conceal, and that there was nothing in his
character upon which corruption could take
hold
A Committee of Congress appointed to in.
yestigate Custom House matters in New York
and Boston, are prosecuting their investga
tons during the recess, and it is possible that
some new revelations in regard to that old
matter may have some connection with Will
lams suicide.
Now in view of the facts, will it not be re-
garded as simply infamous, by honest and
intelligent men, that newspaper would be
guilty Of such shameless falsehood and such
scandalous and villAinous hbels upon limos
cent parties?