Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-08-24

Put Him 10, and why He " BIOWed'
on Them-An Interesting Chapter "a
the ROek OF Perjury. &
"A correspondent of the Chicago Tribune
writing from Dixon, Illinois, on the l9,l
inst, furnishes a sketch of Conoser-D Dun.
ham which adds new. chapter Of infarny
70 the uses which the Radicals attempted
to put this man and his periuries. TIL,
writer is evidently fully posted, and i,
doubtless q co-eOuspiratOr with Holt, Bat
Ter, Ashley and the rest to destroy Andres
johnson. We extract as follows:
eoNcyER's Personnel AND FIRST PUBLIC
APPEARAECE.
Conover is by no means a bad looking
man. Tall, square, erect, road-shouldered,
with clear and Eide-open black eve he
wins your good will at first sight He
can hardly be called handsome, but his
personal presence makes a favorable i'm
preston on everybody. His address and
manner are easy, graceful and insinuating.
Judge Holt spoke of him to me once a.
one Of the most plausible men he ever met.
Charles A. Durham is this fellows real
name-Sanford C0nover being but one of
the numerous aliases he bore during the
years 1864 and 1865. Hewas a Rebel from
the FIRST, and served for time in the Con-
federate army. The story he tells himself
is full of romance and mysteries-liar as
he is, the whole of it may be fictitious.
He came to light early in the year 1865, as
q Canada correspondent of the New
York Tribune. He is lawyer by pro-
fession, and wrote readable letter., of
a somewhat sensational character. He
was on intimate terms with many
members of the Rebel gang in Cana
da, and made himself valuable az cores
pendent by revealing some Oftheir secrets.
He was known to the Tribune folks as San
ford OoDover; the Canada Rebels knew
him only as James w. Wallace He did
has work secretly, and the Tribune, with his
consent, gave the name of their cores
pondent as Conover. While with the Re-
bells and under the name of Wallace he
denounced the rascal ConOVer as loudly as
the best Of them, and then covered his in
cognitio by reporting for the paper much
Of what the rascal Wallace had said and
was doing. Some of his letters were
deemed of such importance that the nj
btcne, instead ofpublishing them, sent them
to the War Department; / presume they
are yet in the confidential files of that Office.
/ believe the Assistant Secretary of War
directed some Investigations in Canada on
the strength Of what Conover said I'm
mediately after the murder of Mr.. Lincoln
this correspondent protested TO the Tribune
that he knew something about the conspira.
cy plot Thereupon the editor, Mr.. S. II.
Gay, sent him on to Washington with
note to Judge Holt. His public career then
began. ar @
He refused to testify in open court on the
ground that thereby he might get into
trouble in Canada. His evidence was ac-
cordingly heard in secret session. Benn
Pittman, the official reporter of the Com
mission, for reasons or considerations never
yet fully explained, made an abstract of it
public. This reached Canada while Como
yer was there. He came back to Washing
ton, and, under oath, told a marvellous
story Of threats to kill him, attempts to es-
cape, reoantations forced from him at the
pistols mnzzle, affidavits sworn 70 with
daggers AZ bis throat, etc. His manner
carried conviction, and the tale was sup
ported with documents and newspaper
slips He was believed then, and the Blu.
reau Of Military Justice employed him to
ferret ont various mates connected with
the conspiracy plot-particularly the con-
nection Herewith of the Rebel officials and
the so-cslled Canada rebels. HIS services IN
this behaG finally brought him before the Ju-
dietary Committee Of the House The stories
he had told TO Judge Holt were more or
less corroborated by two men known as
Snevel and Campbell. These two men
we're aiso before the committee, and lol
they said their names were Roberts and
House that their af6davits on file in the
NsF Office were false; that the whole sto-
~ they had given was deliberate lie; that
they had sworn 10 a tale invented by Como
yer, and that he had paid them two or
three hundred dollars. each for such false
swearing Conover stuck to his original
testimony-it was two precious rascals
against one There w9s q great commo-
ton; finally Conover was arrested,
sent to Jail, and indicted for perjury
5 Up TO this date Conoyer had worked
with the government, or, more strictly
speaking, with the Radicals. Many per
sons knew he had been Rebel, but his
conversion seemed genuine.
( IKE HERALp's EXPOSURE IN 1866.
In the fall of 1886, Washington cor
respondent of the New York Herald dis
closed an elaborate plot to connect the
President with the assassination, and to
remove him by impeachment and charg-
ing Holt as the chief conspirator in this
crime. This gave Holt great uneasiness,l
which the correspondent states as follows;
Accordingly, last fall the Herald was
made the medium Of giving to the public
D series Of four or FIVE letters, in which an
attempt was made to show that the Judge
was engaged with Conover in plot to
manliiacture evidence against JED. Davis.
Notes Of conversations between Holt and
Conover, and copies of letters from Holt
60 Conover, were furnished. Conover was
made 20 do or suggest minor parts Of the
plot: Holt was represented as the moving
bower and the grand conspirat0r. The
whole thing was adroitly managed. The
communications reached the Herald in
such way that il could do nothing
less. its editor thought, than pablish
them. They somewhat worried the Judge
Advocate General. So far as they con-
cerned him, they were false, the CONVERSE
lions never took place, and the letters were
forgeries from FIRST 10 last. He knew the
series originated with Conover; as he told
sae there weTe statements Thar nobody bit Como
tef. or one Of has closest associates, could haCe
made. lie believed the Herald correspond
ent TO be Conover himself; he wrote % the
editor. but that person did not feel AT lib
erty 20 give the name Isl possible that
The people can believe this thing Of me -
asked Judge Holt. OF course they couldn't.
About this time the Herald folks, who had
been duped worse than the 1iiAuc folks
were before them, satisfied Judge Holt that
Conoyer was at the bottom of The eommu-
nications that had appeared in their paper /;
nv recollection now is that they were
found to be in Conover's own handwriting,
THE HoLr-AsHLEY- BUTLER P1or.
Conoyer details in his letter an elaborate
plot Of Ashley, Butler & Coz against the
President, whereby il was proposed 70 con-
meet Mr.. johnson with the murder OF Mir,
Lincoln. Liar and perinrer as he Is, doubt
hess there are plenty of persons who will
and u agreeable 70 believe this tale. For
myself place no credence in a word that
Conoyer Gays. Ashley is, in my judgement,
lacking IN both sense and discretion, and