The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-05-27
GtaeQatettigft1er.
IMPEACHMENT CORRUPTION.
REPORT OF THE MANAGERS.
Alleged Corruption of Senator'S
Operations in the Senatorial
Market.
Senators Plotting to Form a New
Party.
The West Virginia Senators in the
Plot

report as follows:
The Committee OF Managers, acting
under authority OF resolution OF the
House Representative, ofthe 10th oil
May, inst, that for the further and more
efficient prosecution of the impsach.
ment OF the President, the Managers be
directed and instructed to summon and
examine witnesses under oath, to send
for persons and papers, to employ q
stenUgrapher, and to appoint sub,
committees to take testimony, the ex-
penses thereof to be paid from the con.
tIngent fund of the House, have
attended to their duties so far as they
have been able, because of matters
hereinafter stated, and ask leave to
report in part as follows: In pursu-
ance of the resolution, having appoint
ed a subcommittee, of which Mr.
Butler was the first named, to take
Testimony, Charles w. Wooley, OF
Cincinnati, Ohio, appeared before the
Committee on Tuesday, the 18th day OF
After various objections on his
part, and an admitted attempt to
! avoid, Wooley was examined by
the subcommittee with some very
considerable delay, because OF his
refusal to answer some questions, his
evasion Mothers, and interpretations
OF claimed rights and privileges, which
until the time OF the session was ex-
hausted for the day. During that day
WooleY did not finally, refuse to an
swer any OF the questions of the Com
mittee put to him. BE was ordered TO
appear before the Committee again at
half-past ten o'clock on the morning OF
the next day, the 10Th, for further ex-
animation. He did not appear, how
ever; until after one O'Clock, and after
the House had adjourned to Saturday,
the 23d, and thence, without further
business, till Monday. After the adj
iournment he could not be brought
before the House for contempt in re-
fusinR to answer until now. After
the second appearance OF Wooley before
the Committee, majority OF the Man
ayers being present, Mr.. Boutwell, was
chosen chairman pro tenn. during the
absence OF Mr.. Bingham. The exam
ination there being about to be con-
tinued before the whole Committee an
oath was again administered by the
to be proceeded with. After being
asked whether upon reflection he de-
sired to change or alter anything in his
testimony given yesterday, Wooley
declared that he did not consider he
was under oath the day before, or that
he had given any testimony what
ever. He was then asked If what
he had stated to the Committee yester-
day was true, to which he declined to
answer, alleging, in substance, that the
oath administered by the Chairman of
the Sub Committee was not binding;
he was not, therefore, asked what dis
position he had made of the sum of
$40, 600 or S25, 900 or Whereabouts, which
had been referred to in his testimony
of the day before, and which the COM
mite had reason to believe had been
raised for the purpose of corruptly in
fluencing the trial of the President. TO
this he refused to answer to every ques-
ton which would tend to show where
the money was obtained, the purpose
for which it was obtained, by whom it
was furnished, and in what manner 1t
was used, and to whom 1t was paid.
He declined to answer, alleging only
that it was not deposited with him or
used for any purpose connected with
the Impeachment of the President, and
that he would answer no such question
whatever, in any way but by declaring
it had nothing to do with the impeach-
ment of the President, when in his
(the Witness's) own Judgment, IL was
not material to the investigation. 1t
was obvious to the Committee that If
this course was a proper one, there was
an end to all investigations; because
every witness would judge ofthe ma
teriaIIty OF his testimony, and conld
make the same answer. No case de-
pendent upon circumstances or detRch-
ed facts to be made ont by different
witnesses, could under such an admit
ted claim of rights be ever successfully
prosecuted. The Committee were there
fore obliged to stop examination at
that point upon most OF the matters
material to be inquired of the witness
es, but as the House was not present,
and the witness, by not appearing and
objecting until after the House adj
iourned, which the Committee believed
was a Continuance on his part that he
might not be held for contempt, and as
the portions of the investigation might
be much embarrassed II his examina-
ton went no further, the Committee,
unwilling to lose any time, proceeded
to examine the witness further as to
the penuineness of certain writings and
dispatches made by him in
his own name or under assumed names.
Here again your Committee were met
by the refusal OF the witness to answer
as to the Senuineness OF his own sigma.
ture, in some cases admitting IL only
where it was to kilograms in which the
impeachment or trial of the President
was distinctly mentioned, and to others
where it was alluded TO in cipher or ac-
companied by such expressions as
convinced the Committee these tele-
grams had reference to some corrupt
the President, he declined to answer;
the witness was threupon, after consul
tatfou. dismissed and ordered to ap-
pear before the Committee for examt-
nation on Thursday the 21st Inst. at
balf-past ten o'clock A. N. Thursday,
at the hour appointed, the witness DID
not appear, but about one O'Clock In
the day the Committee received a GER
tificate of his physician which is as
follows: ....-
"wAsH1SoroN, D. G. May 81, 1851
bereby certify that Col. @. w. Wo0ley
Is under my professional care, and I'M
able to leave his apartment, and con-
fined to his bed by reason OF trntatlve
fever, the result of gastric derange-
ment. [signed' In w R,,ss NJ Dn
This was accompanied by state
ment of the witness that he was Ill, to-
| gether with long argument upon ms
rights, privileges and constitutional
exemptions. The committee accepting
the truth of this claimed Illness, did
not send for the witness, but went on
with their investigation in another d.
rection. Your committee have since
| learned, however, that Wooley was
well enough on that day to take and
did take the evening train Tor night
ride to New York, and he has not APP
peared before your committee Gtnce,
but has sent telegraphio certificate OF
| some physician in New York that he
4 Is tbe1e siclS, It viii be thus seen that
Wooley, the witness, has thus far bali
| fad and hindered the Investigation or
| dared nv the House, by contumacy In
/ Teftlsin9 to answer questions, by eva
j sion and avoidance. The ground taken
/ nv the witness in refusing 10 answer
I Questions put to him, assumes -tnaS y. n
was the Judge of the materiaNfy OIL Ine
II \ ~ h nrP9tl0nI 8DQL