Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-08-23
GEN. GRANT AND THE COTTON
-ElEE E SPECULATION.


r5aE rs SPECULATION.
Witnesses in general and volunteer
witnesses in particular should have good
memories. The revelations recently
made in regard to the probable origin of
General Grants extraordinary, and until
now, uDaccountable order expelling the
Jews as a elias" from his department,
have moved certain Mr.. w. p. Mellen,
who was employed as a Treasury Agent
during the war, to come forward and de-
clare his belief that General Grant never
issued any such permit to the Ma ok
Brothers as the father of Gen. Grant al.
leges that he did, basing upon that allies
cation a suit against the aforesaid Mack
Brothers for refusing to pay over to him,
the father of General Grant aforesaid,
his just and proper compensation for obs
tanning the said permit Il is no con-
Germ of ours, says the New York World,
to vindicate the veracity of Gen. Grants
father against the opinion and belief of
W. 2. Mellen But since Mr. Mellen has
thought fit to obtrude his opinion and be-
lief upon the attention Of the public, it
is proper to say that Mr.. Mellen very se-
riously damages the value of his testi-
mony not only by the extravagant apph-
cation which he seeks to make Of it, but
also by the way in which he misrepre-
SCENTS and exaggoratcs his own position
during the war. Mr., Mellen says of HIM
self
"All trade in territory recovered to our
possession by the Western armies was con-
Quoted under my general supervision, sub
iect to the regulations of the Secretary of
the Treasury, from the beginning to the
end of the war This made it necessary
that should be constantly comforting with
General Grant, and other commanders Of
the Western armies, in regard to their
views and wishes concerning trade in the
rear and also with the assistant agents Of
the Treasury Department who issued the
permit ! am satisfied that no permit to
trade could have been given by General
Grant which would not have come to my
knowledge, and feel certain that he never
gave one to anybody at any time or for any
purpose"
Now, as a matter of fact, Mr.. Mellen
neverpossossed this "generalsupervisiOn
of which he speaks until after the act of
Congress regulating trade with the reoc-
cupied States, which was approved on the
18th day of March, 1863. Before the
passage Of that act and the publication
by President Lincoln of his trade procla.
nation Of March 81, 1868, the regulation
of trade with the Rebel States was as
sumed and exercised exclusively by the
military authorities" This is the lanN
guage used by Secretary Chase himself in
his annual report for the year 1863 The
Secretary expressly says that the act of
March 70, 1868, "devolved upon the Sec-
rotary of the Treasury the duty of regu-
lating trade, and it was in the discharge
of the duty thus deyOlved upon him that
Secretary Chase, late in the spring Of
1868, conferred upon Mr. Mellen the
Office which he now generously describes
as having given him general supervis.
ion" Of trade in the territory recovered
by our Western armies from the Begin
ming to the end ofthe ,0dr As the trans
action between the Mack Brothers and
Gen. Grants father took place in Decem-
Der, 1862, nearly six months before Mr.
MelIen enjoyed the authority of ''gen
eral supervision" it will be seen at once
that this gentleman is somewhat rash IL
asserting that "nO permit to trade
could have been issued by Gen. Gran
without the knowledge Of him, Mr.
Mellen aforesaid Once more, we re-
peat, we desire to get at the truth and a
the truth only, in this matter And i
must be admitted to be extremely odd
that no distinct, contemporaneOus and
authentic evidence has yet been produced
to show that the curious coincidence il
point Of time between the signing Of {
contract by the Mack Brothers and Gen
Grants father, on the 9th Of December
| 1862, and the issuing, by Gen. Grant, o
an order forbidding personal apphca.
ton" by Jews for permits to trade" OF
the 10th Of December, 1862, was coin
| cidpnce ouly