The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-07-20
THE BOGUS ARCHIVES.
4 LAME INVENTION OF TEE ENEMY.
Pickett's TrumPed-Up Charges Against
JeH. Davis and Judah BENJAMIN.
WASHINGTON. July l9,

WARRINGTON, July is.
A person signing himself ~. 7. Picket,
Confederate States diplomatic agent near the
Government of Mexico" publishes long let
ter in explanation Of bis connection with the
transaction whereby the United States paid
seventy.fve thousand dollars.
Pickett claims to have acted merely as an
attorney. he says: "The documents consist
of the entire archives of the Department Of
State of the Confederate States; nothing more
nor less, without the abstraction OF single
piece. The secret service vouchers by which
many persons, of little note, however, on this
side Of the line, might have been compromis-
ed, did not leave Richmond with those more
public papers. but were faithfully and honora-
bly, destroyed by Mr.. Benjamin on the
day o. the evacuation. Had any such
papers come into my possession, should
have been burned at the stake sooner than
deliver them even to the common goyern-
ment. Thus do not perceive that anybody
is hurt, and there Ia but one paper, the peru
sal of which gave no one pain, VIZ, the Hon.
Jacob Thompson's report of the operations ON
unknown to me until the officer with whom I
lately went to Canada found 1t. as he would
testify. II called upon. It was too late then to
recede; nor could have been induced 70 fal-
sify history by destroying it;' and here follows
o curious episode: '.Knowing that the docu-
ments exhibited the fact that Mr.. Thompson
had very large amount OF Confederate SlsteB
gold N his possession at The time Of the COZ.
lapse, which gold has gone where the wood
bIne twineth," Went on long Journey, last
summer, to see him, and, out VI abundant
Kindness, told him of the fact that such papers
we're still extant. He would not be convinced.
saying that Mr.. Benjamin had told him that
everything Of the klud had been destroyed,
and I dare say he was 30 informed and
believed this being . manifeatly the
cue of that wiley Hebrew, In order
to share in the plumber aforesaid. Now, mas
much as the Confederate Government was In ;
debted to the writer In the amount OF at least
fifty thousand dollars Of that gold on Liquids
ted accounts, he (the writer) felt virtually In
dlgnant that Messrs. Thompson and Benjamin
should have gobbled It all. BY Mr.. Tnomp.
sons permission afterwards Addressed MIN
on the subjecf, In the hope that he would
documents, but he treated my letter with Of
fensIye silence. Now the publication Of bis
report will, doubtless, cause him, with Jeher-
son Davis and J. P. Benjamin, to feel uncom-
Portable for q little while; but, as l expect to
90 10 neither of them when die, my symps-
Inv is not OF heartrending character, es-
pecIalIy as they have all three treated me
badly enough in my time. Thus / am, albeit
uuintentionaly, the instrument Of the execu!
ton of a sort of poetic justice upon them.n.
The letter does no credit TO the author, tna
Federal Government or the mysterious par
ties who owned the documents, and there arc
parties here who question the truthiulnesa OF
aome of the details. - ~ .