, 1867-09-06
conspIring Against the President.


few weeks since the telegraph brought thi
startling intelligence that Ashley and Brooks, o
the House of Representatives, had been detected
in an attempt to manufacture testimony to b
used for the impeachment of the President. Thi
charge was based on the statement of SANFORD
COnOver, man who figured rather discreditabl,
in the assassination trial. At the instigation o
Holt, Of the War Department, this man ConoYe
deliberately perured himself at the trial referred
10, aad for this offence he has been tried AMI
convicted and sentenced 10 ten years imprison,
HeAt. We make this statement to the end thai
the reader may understand what degree of ere
dease to give TO bis representations. This mat
aOw comes forward And charges that james n
Ashley, of Ohio, approached him through thir(
party, with the promise that if he would furnish
certain testimony, to be used for the impeach'
meat Of President johnson, he would procure hii
release. This testimony, Conover, in persona
letter to the President, says was to be:
First-That Booth had on several occasions
paid you president JohHson) familiar visits
ct the Kirkweod, This it was hoped, might
be able to induce some of the old female servants
to testify to. If this could not be done, then il
should be proved By some of my friends who
happened to be at the house at the time, who
knew Booth, &C., and saw the visit.
Seeondly-That you correspond with Booth
which should be shown by one or more persons
who had taken notes from Booth to you, and
your replies (conterts unknown) there TO Booth.
The witnesses should be persons who would
profess to have been intimate with Booth, and
to have been enlisted by him to take part in the
assa ssination.
Third-That the placing of Atzerodt with
weapons at the Kirkwood House was only q sham,
although AtzerOdt was not aware of it, to make
it appear that you were intended as victim, and
thus distract all suspicion from you cf eonni-
wing at Lincoln's murder. This also, as was
suggested, could be proved by persons who conld
testify that they had been induced to enier into
the conspiracy with Booth and had performed
part in organizing it, &C., which persons, it was
to be understood, were induced to testify under
an assurance from the government that they
shoyld not be prosecuted for any part they had
taken. The resolution under which Buffers
committee was appointed, it will beobserved,
provides for the protection of such persons who
are furnished with good excuse for not coming
forward before, by offering immunity to all who
were connected in the conspiracy, who will now
come forward aud disclose their knowledge on
the subject.
Fourth-That Booth just before the fourth of
March, stated to an intimate friend in New York,
whom he had endeayored to enlist in the cons
spiracy, that he was acting with the knowledge
of the Fice-President, and that it had been ar.
ranged to kill Mr.. Lincoln on the day of the in
auguration, which would account for Mr.. John
sons strange conduct on that occasion, which
had provoked so much comment in the press
that you expected the tragedy to be enacted then,
and had taken several potations TO compose and
nerve you for the event, and that you were not
so much intoxicated as excited and nervous. l
feel much delcacy in referring to such topics,
but cannot inform you of your enemies plans
and projects without being plain and l am
Obliged to write in too great haste to be choice
in my language,
The evidence thus desired by Ashley, and
which was to blast the reputation of President
johnson, Conover undertook to procure, and in
return the parties with whom he was couspiring
were to secure his (Conovers) release. 1t so hap
pened, however, that the impeachment broke
down, and Ashley and Butler, having no further
use for their tooH allowed him to pine away in
his cell. Thus neglected, Conover waved indig-
naut, and exposed the whole infamous plot. In
confirmation of this statement, Conoyer furnish
es a number of letters, written him by Ashley,
which go very far toward sustaining the charge.
Ashley and Butler have not as yet made any de-
fence, but it is presumed that either through
themselves or others, they will endeavor to
whitewash the whole affair