New-York tribune., 1868-05-30
rs 1T ROMAN OR PUNIC FAITHf


The supporters of the President in the
House have made vigorous stand against all
investigation into the question to whom Mr..
Wooey paid the 100000 raised and placed in
his hands to buy the votes of Senators against
Conviction. Their ten hours contest on Thurs
day, and its continuation yesterday. to prevent
Mr.. Wooley from being compelled to testify
what he did with the money, would indicate
that they regard this position as the very
ThermopylB of the Democratic Campaign
Upon no legislative question which has como
before the House since the fall of the Demo-
cratic party from power, have they rallied their
forces with such unanimity. and with so
deep sense, apparently, of the magnitude
of the interests at stake as now, when buyer
of legislative votes is to be screened, and cor
ruption and bribery are to be placed in the
rank of privileged communications" Mr..
WOOley has cOnfessedly been engaged through
out the Impeachment trial in raising money
with the view of buying the votes OF Senators
for the President. He has been in intimate
confidential communication with the Presidents
private secretaries and counsel probably with MIR.
johnson himself With small portion Of the
means at his command he has given expensive
entertainments, whichywere attended by the
caquers and retainers of Andrew johnson and
the leading opponents OF impeachment Ills
scheme of bribery and corruption has been
carefully presided over by Mr.. Thurlow Weed,
who is reputed to be a valued confidential adj
wiser of Andrew Johnson, as well as of every
body else who is engaged in mischief, and
who would hardly do or advise anything which
he did not know would accord with the views
and wishes of the client The scheme was
subtly and skillfully aimed to entrap the Sen
ators from the newer and feebler Western
States and Territories. 1t acted on the cunning
presumption that these feebler and more i'm
perfectly organized constituencies would be more
likely than the larger and more populous
States to have sent to the Senate men who
could be reached" by "pecuniary induce
"ments." At the opening stage of the pro-
gramme four votes were talked Of. Even then
these consprators knew that only four were
needed, and hence that Crimes Fessenden, and
Trumbull were already assured. The circum-
stances Justify the suspicion that these Sena-
tors had informed the President, and through
the Presidents private secretaries it had reached
Gen. Adams, Smythe, and Weed in the
latter part of April Soon another
vote is won. When Wooey, Webster,
Shook, and Weed meet at the AstOr
House but three votes are needed, and the
skillful archers aimed at the Senators from the
weaker States-Nebraska, Kansas, Nevada, and
West Virginia. Their aim seems to have been
based on the general calculation of an old and
shrewd corruptionist, that the new States, whose
population only authorizes them to choose one
I.,t tl,n alu
to elect weak or cOrruptible Senators. Mr.
Weed is unable to prove that any of the SEN
ators who voted against conviction were
among the three they proposed to buy, but
this. is immaterial, since he informs us
that when Wooley went on To Washington and
telegraphed back to Weed "hc will do IT,"
Mr.. Weed did not know who "he" referred to-
He is, therefore, unable TO say that he" was
not one of those who voted for acquittal. Mr.
Weed is highly entertaining and instructive
except upon the point who "he" was BY a
singular coincidence, Mr.. Wooley declines also
to state who =" her was that received the
$4,000 To translate this pronoun "he' into
a noun proper is the object of examining and
imprsOning Mr.. WOoley. To prevent this Is the
present platform of the Democratic and Johnson
parties.
"Grave considerations Of public policy re-
quire, in the view of the President and his
friends, that Mr.. Wooley shall conceal this in
teresting fact in our national history. VIII
not somebody be ingenious enough TO invent
recipient for this money! Why does Sher-
idan Shook so inconvenently deny that he re-
ceived itl He might just as well have received
it as not. And Mr.. Wooley's client in Cincn-
Ia ,rI
that he received it and why will not the per-
sonal creditors of Mr.. Wooley come FORTH So
trivial a matter rs the mere receipt of 100000
ought not to be as imperviOus to "wash" as
the blood stains on the hands of Lady Macbeth.
Why keep such worthy people and high dignita
ries crying in vain "Out damned spot!o for want
few smooth words of explanation as to what
became of the s2O,OOO7 Why should ten Demo
cratic party in Congress spend ten mortal hours
of one day and several of the next in prevent
ing the honest Mr.. Wooley from making that
simple and lucid statement of the whereabouts
of the $2O0OO7 Would it not Immediately re-
lieve all innocent Senators of unjust suspicious,
and make their sense of justice once more
Roman, which now rests under q strong suspi-
ciOn of being PuncY
|
Mr.. Sumner voted against incumbering the
records of Congress with the opinions of Sen
atOrs in justification of their votes on Impeach-