, 1870-05-26

dutea on cottun paseiuE over. AZ long "a he
Was allowed to rsm.fn there he collected those
| moneys, and was very Giardly ipdeed- he e1-
pressed . desire thnt peace should very soon
occur, Of course !; but he was very glad to get
the moneys, and be issued, think, one OF two
decrees TeIy favorable, allowing cotton to pass.
know that On one occasion he issued decree
whereby cotton was allowed to pass; al any
hour Of the day or night Whereas, they Only
passed it during the official hours OF business:
At.the time 1speak Of .IuaIez was IN s5n.
This interview, which VIE had with view to
get him To make some concessions to tue COL
federacy, he EXPRESSED the greatest desiro TO
do so, and think lie issued decree alter
ward, iDst1ucting his Secretary, q state ana
Secretary Of War, who were Wlth mns aioHlns
carried out until ho left His decree5 covered
general merchandise, and I do not think they
ever examined package or made question
as to what was passed Ihere TeIe
many cotton depots established along tina hlo
Qrande containing cotton ior dine,ens Peisoaas. ~
Tho Confederate Government bad army ON
cars acting as agents to buy cotton besides,
there were a number of persons from hew
York. Providence; and other places. Those
buying cotton at Brownsville had no dlHculty
in getting it removed ac1oss the river 70
getting clearance from the Custom House
10 ship to Now York or anF other cities'
Vessels were constantly going from Mat-
amoras to New York and Providence, Il. I,
with cotton for firms who had agents IN
Brownsville buying up cotton a. FAST as ~
carnc from the interior. Some Of these North
ern frms who we're mentioned as buying cot
ton we're Taft & Co., the Spragues and Smith,
Dunning l. Co., Of New York did not know
many Of these agents personally. One or two
persons travelled with me towards Monterey
Ut one time. One Of them was from New
Vrrtr -trU
largely, and loaded several vessels.
The examination Of Mr. Latham was coutln-
ued at some length, in regard to the way
smuggling WAS carried on during and since the
late war.
Many other Witnesses were also examined
eI-member Of Congress- and Collector Of CuB-
tomB at Brownsville, under President johnson,
and J. ". Bell, of Galveston, who WAS np-
pointed Treasury Agent, in 1867, to look into
The smuggling frauds. .....- 49,
All tho evidence taken BY Che committee
goes to show that smuggling continues to be
carried on to IN alarming extent, and that un-
der the present laws it cannot be stopped.
The report Of the Retrechment Committee
reviews briefly the evidence adduced BY their
Investigation, and attributes the great s1ccess
which has attended al the smuggling opera
tons TO The sanction in 1861 Of Juarez when
Texas WIS in possession OF the Confederatea.
The report further says: "During the war
Tho towns Of Zena Ilbre furnished Tree ports
Of entry for the Confederates, through which
they exported their cotton and received ia
return large supplies Of arms and other NUM-
tons of wur. The Mexican Government,
protesting friendship for the United States,
sympotnlzed With the rebels and aided thom
By every means in its power. Il modified its
customs regulations so rs to facilitate the OK
rortatiou OF cotton and return of war materiel,
and while the Confederate ports were block
AIDED by cur cruisers, permitted merchandise
and munitlonH Of war imported into Zona
Iiore to he transferred to the Confederacy at
one-fourth the 1nte Of duty required on the
TO other places IN Mexico Under the guile
OF friendship and neutrality the Mexican Gov
eInmeut did no more hstm during the late
war thnn it could have done il openly hostile,
for in That case wecouid hare easily blockaded
the mouth Of the Rio Grands and have com
p1ete1y cut off that great source Of Confed-
crate supples-
abrogate the decree establishing Zona Ibre,
| its limits to include tie States Nuera Leon and
| Cnahui1a-
With . knowledge Of the course purued
! by MEXICO during the late var, and
| Of the feeling toward the United States
which now animates the majority Of
her Congress, it is useless to expect
anything from her friendship or her justice.
| We must depend wholly on ourselves. and
| must project our revenue by the best means
| IN our power.
In conclusion, the report recommends the
passage of bill to repeal all existing laws au'
tLorizing the transportation and c1poTtatiop
| Of goods, wares, and merchandise IN bond to
Mexico overland or BY inland waters, and fol
| other purposes,