New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-11-28

A few days since we promised to give a
reply in full to an article which appeared
10 the Crescent, of November twenty-fourth,
entitled Who Did H?' The following
affidavit is by one of the printers referred
to as having "gone to Bayou Sara" with
the material of the office: .
John Mcbride makes oath as follows:
That he and VIM. Gerry, on the thir-
teenth October, were engaged in this CITY
by Mr. Mclean to go to Alexandria to
work in the Office of the Rapides Tribune.
That we all landed at Alexandria on the fit
teenth October, with new type and material,
which were taken to Office and partially
distributed that day; that the office was
closed at dark and we repaired to our
boarding place, aud all three occupying
the same room we retired at eight o'clock
that evening, not one of US leaving the
room until daylight the next morning.
when we were awakened by the lsudlady,
Mrs. p. Schwerin, who informed US of the
destruction Of the Office, which she had
learned at market.
Upon arriving at the Office we found the
lock forced and the door open, and saw the
cases aud type scattered in the street, the
forms pied on the imposing ston9, portions
of thepress missing, which rendered it use
less, and none Of the new type or material
to be found
Mr.. Gerry, one of the printers, then left
the Office to make further investigation, and
met with printer named Vallery, who was
previously employed ia the office and who
informed him of the locality of the missing
material, which was in Red river Mr..
Gerry then employed a man to wade in
and search for it, who soon found the
missing portions of the press and some of
the type, not lin bags but lying loose.
Some fifty pounds of type were eventu-
ally obtained from the river and street, by
means Of which we were able to issue a
halt-sheet, by distributing one page before
setting up the other. From Mr.. Vallery e
apparent knowledge of matters Mr.. Mclean
had bin arrested, but he was subsequently
acquitted.
On the fifteenth November Mr.. Mclean
brought to Alexandria a new supply of
type and material; that night the office was
again entered and stripped of every thing
that could be conveniently carried away.
had the entire charge of closing and open
ing the Uiice. The office was clos ed by a
double door, and seemed to have been
opened by forcing down the bolt from the
top by reaching through an open grating
over the door, besides removing fastening
which l had placed there myself, and then
forcing the lock by pressing against the
door, the brass ketch being bent by the
pressure. This night, as previously, we
all shared the same room at Mrs. Schwerin's,
and the destruction OF the office was not
known until We repaired to the Office in the
morning
l further declare the statement of the
"two well-known citizens" in the Crescent
of November "a, under the editorial head
ing of "Who Did 1t ~ so far as relates to
the action OF Mr.. Mclean and the printers
who worked in the Tribune office, to be uu-
true in every particular, and the entire ar
ticle false version of the affair. will
state, moreover, that during Mr.. McLean's
absence | was spoken to to advise Mr.. Nc
Lean against assuming the office OF Mayor
of Alexandria, as it wolid be unsafe for
him to do so. The above statement will
be corroborated by Mr.. Gerry, now in
Houma, Louisiana, and Julius Frecklin, a
resident Of Alexandria, both printers in the
office.
The above is sworn to before A. Shelley,
Justice oflhe Peace.
In reference to he Offices that were to be
held by the 1.-TWO we'll known citizens" ''in-
duced to go to Alexandria by Mr.. Nc
Lean" we are informed that one was to be
Clerk oil the Town Council and Controller;
and the other the Town Constable. Mr..
Mclean protfered these positions to the
parties above referred to, because be could
not fill the offices from the citizens OF Alex
andria, the parties holding those offices
would not act under Republican adminis-
tration, and Others feared to accept the po-
sition, but Mr.. Mclean had neither The
power nor inclination to proffer the offices
OF sheriff or Treasurer TO either OF tho, e
parties.
Respecting the $1,000 of State warrants,
said to have been in Mr.. MoLeaH's trunk,
MIR. Mclean is very sorry to say that he
never yet possessed SO much as $1,000 of
that kind of paper.
We can imagine but one motive actuat-
ing parties who gave the Crescent this state
ment, aud that is, being Democrats, they
sought to relieve the Democratic party OF
the oGium of the transaction, and by fast
ening the responsibility upon the sufferer
himself, prevent him receiving any redress
for the losses so sustained.