Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-05-26
Letter from Washington.
IFRoM OUR REGULAR CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON, D. c., May "a, 1871
THE GRAND ISOTTsITION

WASHINGTON, ID. u, May "A, 1871.
THE GRAND INoUIsITION.
had seated myself yesterday to prepare my
regular hebdomadal budget, when was inter-
rupted by the stewards appearance with "a gen.
tleman wants to see you, sir" Going down
stairs found the courteous sergeant-at-arms of
the senate, Col French, who "rose to explain as
l entered, that the Common jailors," as the
senate investigating committee is termed by the
reportorial wags in and out of confinement, de-
sired my presence.
was amused and also annoyed by the re-
script, for it was a subpoena with which l was
served, as l had been seduously cultivating
profound state of ignorance about every
thing connected with the Tribune's, or
"any other mans" publication of the
treaty of Washington" However, l wended
my way to the senate wing of the capitol. and,
after short delay, was ushered in. Mr.. Car.
penter was there in all the fulness of his "lord-
ly" proportions, and even they arc quite dis
portionate to bis consequence and state. My
venerable friend and the friend of my other
friend, B. F. B., Garrett Davis, was there seated
on the left of the stately chairman. He remind
ed me, as he peered impressively at my FIVE feet
five inches and 6ve-eighths OF figure, as if he
would make me believe him the Kentucky giant
as well as the senator of the other quaint little
Bourbon of a statesman-Ear Russell-who is
equally bitter in support of the dignity he can
not enforce by his presence, as Garrett himself
would be. Next to him sat "my lud" Trum-
bull, looking over his "specs," with quizzical
air of authority which l interpreted to
mean -" Well, this is great farce,
but we must go through with it, Con-
found it, here's another of those inscriptions
fellows who have no respect for diguataries.
I'll see if can scare him." And he looked-but
as we used to say in camp" didn't scare a
cents worth" At the end of the table was
Murphy, official reporter. On a sofa to the
right of the table sat the illustrious Roscoe
Senator Coukling. Thunderl How mad he
looked AS glanced at his restrained looking
features, it struck me very forcibly that the heat
of his head was so great that cold water falling
on the scalp would have sissed" and evapo-
rated.
l was sworn in due form, and am not sure
that did not swear Internally at the form.
As tor the examination, it ELECTED the astound-
ing fact that first heard of the Tribune's pub
LEGATION on reading it in the Tribune itself Sin
gularly enough was SO busy at the time writ
ing some special articles that didn't even 90 to
Newspaper row as usual on that or the next
day. was asked a number of irrelevant ques-
tons, such as what hearsay testimony had,
&c., to all of which my replies were delightfully."-
innocent of what the inquisitors wanted to
knoxy Mr. HnpEltn.r mot of
me, and that was reason to believe that had
written some not very complimentary dis
patches (about HIM sent from here since
this row began. / was disappointed, per-
haps as much as the committee. They
evidently expected to find me either an impor-
tant or a recalcitrant witness, and l anticipated
that questions bordering on impertinence, such
as other witnesses have stated were put to them,
would have been asked of me. had intended,
if so, to express indignation. Now submit it
was not at all fair, after making tired man
wait on them, that he should not have been al
lowed to get off his own little speech, prepared
beforehand, too.
THE FOLLY OF THE THING.
But jesting aside, this investigation is farce,
detrimental to the character of the senate and
anything but edifying to the country, and it
ought to be stopped. Just now the COM
mittee are trying to discover something, which
viii warrant them in trying to keep the CORE
spondents in confinement through the summer.
Unless they can make out a case, the senate will
vote them out as soon as adjournment is fixed.
To US, it appears more and more certain that
the object of the movers of the investigation
was to make points against senator's with whom
they were at variance. All the talk about in
yading the privileges of the senate, &c., is the
merest bosh. As is shown, no senate copy was
used, and will doubtless be shown, if not now at
some other time, that if copy sent 10 any sena-
tor was the one obtained that senator had and has
no knowledge Of it. All the needed reprobation
Oh the presumed process by which the treaty
was obtained, might more easily and more fully
have been obtained by the passage of a resolu-
ton by the senate declaring il 10 have been a
breach ofprivilege, an act reprehensible in itself
but as no public interests had been injured nv
publication, the senate declined to proceed fur
ther than rebuke. As il now stands, however
the investigation threatens the personal and
public rights Of citizens in many directions.
The attempt to compel the production of the
copy from the Western Union telegraph office,
is proceeding, the doing of which by Butler,
justly excited storm of indignation.
THE TREATY
Is probably ratified by this writing, or will be
| before adjournment. In spite OF the retcence