Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-08-21
PERJURY As A WEAPON AGAINST
THE PRESIDENT.

PERJURY As A WEAPON AGAINST
THE PRESIDENT.
A few days since the New York Times,
the Philadelphia Press, and one or two
other papers, published documents re-
valing a plot to blacken the character of
Judge Advocate General Holt, and thus
secure his dismissal or suspension from
Office. Among the parties implicated in
this plot, were Roger A. Pryor and Benz.
Wood, Of New York. Both these gentle
men promptly denied the accusation, and
the latter threatened to prosecute for
perjury the parties making affidavit of
the pretended facts set forth 1t now APP
pears that the whole affair is "a huge
hoax" That is the mild title by which
the crime is designated 1t is stated that
the documents are on file in the law Office
of Stewart a Riddle, in Washington, and
were left there simply to remain on file,
Riddle states, by person whose name he
declines to give He further states that
he was unaware of the nature Of the
papers until they were given to the news
papers which published them. Here is
a specimen Of the resorts 70 which the
opponents Of the President are driven to
break the force Of the recent exposure of
the manner in which testimony was
gotten up to impeach him. Perjury
is an appliance to which the bad men
controlling affairs in Washington resort
when necessary to carry their points
with the utmost sang froid. The tools
who are ready to perjure themselves
seem to be readily found The Washing
ton correspondent Of the New York
Times states positively that each afida
Wit is duly subscribed before and attested
by a notary, with the notary's seal
attached in each case. Attached to this
is the certificate Of the Clerk of the SUI
preme Court for the county Of New York,
a regular blank filled up" and that the
seal Of the court is stamped on this Gers
tifcate, the impression passing clear
through the sheets Of the afidavits, thus
showing that they have been in the clerks
possession" The correspondent of the
Times states that he "has personally
inspected all these papers, and is con-
WINGED of their commences VIII the
government permit the authors and
abettors of this infamy to 90 UNI
whipt of justice2 Perjury of the most
atrocious character has been committed
by somebody, and the purpose Of this
perjury was to involve in damning plot
the highest officer known to our laws.
Justice, more speedy and stern than that
which overlook Conover for his perjuries
in the interest of the same parties, should
be dealt out, not only to the tools who
periured themselves, but to their abbot
tors, whoever they may be. The facility
with which perjury has been used at the
national capitol during the last two or
three years is fearful, and shows how
near upon the dangerous edge of thing"
we have drifted. The men who have
brought into play these appliances should
be ferreted out, and made examples of
to all future ages Judge Advocate
General Holt who has acquired a most
unenviable reputation in connection with
Conover's perjury, denies emphatically
having had anything to do with this last
batch Of periuries, and asserts that the
documents never formed any part of the
archives Of the Bureau of Military JUS
tice, over which he presides They were
gotten up in his interest, and who did it ?
If Judge Holt Is as innocent as he would
have the public believe, he should make
an effort to establish his innocence by
seeking out the guilty authors and bring
ing them to punishment But he will
probably content himself with the simple
denial he has put forth.