Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-02-15

plOCSeuSu 70 dlscnSS politics. They were
afraid Of an attack on the administration
SO they had proceeded to defend it. One
| OF them fearing an attack on Grant had un-
dertaken to defend him. He (Sumner)
was not going to make political speech at
all. lie would simply speak of the public
service with view of relieving bis country
from suspicion. He would neither intro
duce the name Of Gen. Grant nor make
any allusion to him. He would leave
that for his anniversaries" daughter. }
He was about to consider a practical
question, which had become important, not
through any action of his, but by events
both at home abroad. He then restated
and commented on the facts and allegations
set forth IN the prean1bls; s,--a--
When he spoke an alleged discrepancy
between the sum paid by the French Gov
ernment and the amount received by. the
United States, Mr.. Morton inquired Wheth-
er he meant to state that our Government
sold arms to Remington, knowing him to
be an agent Of the French Government.
Mr.. Sumner said he had made no such
statement.
Mr.. Morton-What is there in this dis
crepancy, unless the Senator means to have
u understood that cur Government sold
the arms directly to the French Govern
ment through their known agent. If the
French Government purchased of ,Reming-
ton or other private parties, those parties
undoubtedly made their profit over and
above the price paid to otir Government,
and therefore the statement of the differ
ence between the amount paid by the
French Government and that received by
ours, has no Importance or significance un-
less the Senator means to have 1t under
stood that our Government sold the arms
directly to the French Government, and
then failed to account for 100000 of the
money received for them. Does the Sena-
tor mean TO make that impression?
Sumner-Have l not stated again and
again that make no allegation, but merely
state the facts which have given rise to sus-
picion,
Morton-I understand the Senator to say
that the circumstances he states amount
merely to a suspicion. Now l desire to
know whether ii1ere suspicion Is sufficient
to warrant an elaborate speech in advance
OF any proof as to the facts on which even
suspicion is to be created9
Mr.. Sumner-The Senator is trying to
drive me into making an allegation against
some person, but he shall not do it.
have merely stated the facts which even
the Senator himself must acknowledge fur
nish ground for inquiry. The name of the
United States must not be permitted to be
Fly Blown
abroad. We cannot be afralgned 10 the
bar of other nations without iDquiry,and an
astempt to relieve ourselves from suspicion,
L ask, only for inquiry.
Mr.. Summer then discussed at length the
question of the
Obligations of Neutrals.
Mr. Frellnghuyaen read from the preatn-
bic the paragraph which states that it ap-
pears from communications previously
mentioned that one Thomas Richardson
was the known attorney OF Remington s.
Son, and asked Mr.. Sumner where, in these
communications, that fact appeared.
Mr. Sumner said he understood it was a
well known fact that Richardson was their
agent, but did not know it appeared in the
communications referred to.
MIR. Frelinghuysen-Then the preamble
is erroneous as to fact, and | think the most
important fact stated in the preamble.
MIR. Sumner-I understood that in point
OF fact Richardson was, and is attorney for
Remington, and is now acting for him in
France.
Mr.. Summer, In conclusion, Argued that
it was the duty of our government to have
made careful inquiry as to who the per-
sons were to whom they sold the arms, so
as not to run the risk of violating our obi
CATION as a neutral power.
Mr.. Wilson, Chairman of the Committee
on Military, felt called upon by his sense of
duty to the War Department to make a
brief explanation. He vas now as he had
always been in favor of the fullest investi-
CATION and if any wrong has been commit
ted IN this matter he wished to have it ex-
posed and punished. He then said that at
the close of the war our Government had
arms, ammunition and other war material
on hand to the value of millions Of dollars
which Congress authorized the Secretary Of
War to dispose OF. The sales commenced
in 1865 and continued until 1871. The
arms, etc, sold by the Government from
the first of April, 1865, to the 30th of june,
1871, amounted to
SI5I,O26,I42,
every cent Of which had been faithfully ac-
counted for and paid into the treasury. As
to the alleged sale TO the French govern
ment, he was authorized to say the our
had never sold a dollars
worth to that government or any men
whom we knew to be its agent. As to
the suspicious expressed by the
French Assembly,
it should be remembered that these pur-
chases were made mostly by the Gambetta
and that the existing French
government was hostile to those men and
trying to cast imputations on them,
Mr.. Harlan made a similar statement,
and said that the Government had no
reason to suspect Remington & Son to BIZ
acting for the Frcrch government.
Mr.. COnkling confirmed this, saying that
MIR. Remington and his father before him,
and his brothers, had long been known as
very extensive manufacturers and purChas-
9rs of arms, and had dealt with them for
years, not with France alone, but with any
othcr and more distant nations, and if this !
investigation be ordered it would be shown |
hat they sold arms extensively at home !
and in foreign countries long before the !
war b,oke out, and while |
/ was raging and after its close.
Without voting on the resolution the |
Senate on motion Of Mr.. Frelinghuysen
adjourned.