Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-03-01
WASHINGTON.
The Sales Of Arms to French Agents.
BeIknap before the House Committee.
senator sumner Also Invited

Senator Sumner Also Invited.
WASHINGTON, Feb. % The House
/ Committee on expenditures Of the War
I Department were, to-day, receiving the tes-
! timony of Secretary Belknap, showing that
sales Of arms to the French were stopped
/ by his orders in October, 1870, at which
/ time he first discovered that Remington was
/ an agent for the French government. Gen.
! Belknap repeated over and over again TO
/ Gen. Dyer that no sales should be made to
( any agent Of the French or Prussian gov
ernments. No arms were sold to any agent
Of the French government to his knowledge.
I He had already stated that the amount re-
allied from the sales of arms, etc, was &c.
| 74S,942. OF this sum S9,409, 236.S0 had
been deposited in the Treasury as per ceri-
fcate son file. One hundred and twenty
thousand dollars was reported in the hands
Of depositers on the 30th Of June, 1871.
The balance was expended for preparing
the stores for sale, fitting them up, etc.
In reply to-a question by the Chairman
as to the discrepancies between the accounts
of the War and the Treasury Departments,
Secretary Belknap said he was aware of
none. The close of the fiscal year Of the
War Department was the same as that of
the Treasury Department, namely, the 30th
of June. As 70 the Treasury books show
ing the amounts received for arms, Mr..
Belknap explained that In almost every
case payment was made by cash checks.
Margins varying from TO 20 per cent.
are required on large transactions to secure
the United States, and the checks are
cashed as quickly as possible and paid into
the hands Of Government agents.
This inteTogatOry was put: "Do you
know of your own knowledge that any
Government officers are interested in the
sale of arms directly or Indirectly"
A. 81 do not. A very strong statement
or intimation in connection with this mat
ter was made to me by the Marquis De
Chambrun, Jan. 20 last. asked him the
name of the persons, and then we went to-
gether into private room when l again
asked him the name of such persons or to
make a statement over his signature or any
statement by which l could convict Of fraud
any one of these officers or other persons
connected with the government. He didn't
do so. kept a memorandum Of the state
ment that he did make to me, but it contains
nothing from which l can obtain informa-
ton relative to any officer Of the govern
ment. begged him to give me specific in
formation, but he had none. Our CONVEX
sation went further, but got nothing bear
ing on the point"
The chairman said he had invited Sena-
tor Sumner to appear and to give any facts
he might have to offer, but he had not come
forward.
In order further to arrange for the ex-
animation, and to obtain official statements
which the Secretary indicated his readiness
to furnish, being DESTROYS that the inveSti-
cation should be thorough, the committee
adjourned until next Tuesday week.
The Texas Pacific.
The Senate committee on the Pacific
railroad to-day agreed to report favorably
on the bill introduced by Senator Scott yes
terday, relating to the Texas Pacific rail-
road. The only amendment not merely
verbal, is one chartering branch road
from Fulton, Ark, to the intersection OF
the main line between Marshall and Dallas,
Is. This branch is given the right of way
but no subsidy.
The New York CustOmhOuse.
The Senate New York CustomhOuse
Committee viii recOmmence its session
next Monday in this city. Gen. Horace
will be the first witness examined.
Japanese Reception.
The Japanese Embassy reached Wash
ineton this afternoon. They were met at |
the depot by NJ. Mori, the japanese Charge |
d'Affairs in this city, accompanied by Gov. |
Cook, Gen. Chapman and Gen. Myers,
L. S. a., who had been detailed by the De-
partment to take charge Of the Embassy |
during the time they remain here. The |
will occupy about fifty rooms of |
the Arlington Hotel and two entire build |
ings onthe opposite side of Vermont avenue. |
The japanese will be presented to the
President Monday next, and remain here
about a month.