Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-02-21


which was, that they hsd bid upon
quantity of arms for the purpose {
* keeping them from the French, e1
pecting to be recompensed by tn
German government, but that gov
ernment declined to have anythin
TO do with the arms, and they passel
into the hands Of Schuyler, Hartley
Graham, and afterwards into tn
hands Of the French. There wer
% new calls for bids to be opened on tn
~ 10th Of October. On the 21st of OC
tober at four O'Clock in the afternoon
the sale of a large amount of srms wa
completed and, according 10 a dis
patch of the French consul, all thOs'
arms had already been partly paid fo
by the French government, on thu
22nd instant, just one day after fhl
sales from the department we're com
a pleted. Certainly the business wa
done promptly, (lsughterl, ana thC
question was naturally suggested
whether and when SquiresI discov
cred, as the French agent, that the
sales were not postponed in order tC
give him an opportunity to make ar
rangements with other parties. He
did not charge that this was the fact,
but he would ask every fai,-minded
man whether suspicion did not lie
dreadfully near. Then came the sales
10 Richardson. When the war de.
partment was not offering to large
arms dealers, did it address one of its
letters to Thomas Richardson, Coun-
sellor at Law, Ili0n, New York
Laughter The senator from New
York had laid great stress on what he
assumed to be a fact, that Richardson
, need not have appeared pers)nally at
the department in negotiating his
purchase, and that it could have
|, been done by merely sending
In his bid, accompanied by tWen-
ty per cent. of purchase money.
The senator showed however that
business could not be done in that
way, because some effort wis neces-
sary in order to satisfy the conscience
Of the war department about the pro-
priety of making cartridges, and it
showed also that that effort was made,
not by Richardson in person, but by
another gentleman (Remington), the
same Remington who on the 18th Of
the preceding October had teen dis.
covered to be the agent of the French
government. As further evidence
that there did exist Just grounds for
suspicion, and therefore for ilIvestiga-
ton, SchUYz read two extracts from
the testimony given by Remington
in France on the trial of Place, Rem
| ingtOn being witness under oath
said: "I did not regard myself as
obliged to make advances, and this
| still less inasmuch as had myself to
pay to the government Of the United
States an advance Of twenty per
cent" Again, before the investi-
eating committee OF the French as
sembly, he said: "But the French
government and were charged to
| treat with the government of the
United States" This last statement
also showed what brought Remington
back to this country in December Of
that year. He came to transact busi-
ness connected with the purchase,
which was Ostensibly made by Rich
ardson, the lawyer, and it was after
his return here on that errand that
the interviews and negotiations de- |
scribed IN his (Reming On's) letter |
took place. The senator from Indiana |
Morton had objected to his [Sehurz' |
statement, the other day, That the |
government was not only bound not |
to sell to men whom they knew |
to be agents of either of the bel. |
ligereEts, but also to satisfy them |
selves, by all means of information in /
their possession thattpe1sons applying
for arms were not the agents Of one or
other belligerent, but he Schur91 was
willing to accept Senator MCrtOn's
statement Of the rule, which was that
il the government had reason to be.
lieve that the person buying arms was
an agent of the French government
they had no right to make the sale,
and that all the government was
called on to know was that the pur.
chaser was not the agent of Crne or
other of the belligerents, and he in.
sisted that the government had failed
to do its duty, judged even by that
rule. The senator from New York
[COnklingl had said that ''cash" was
the purchaser. That might be well,
provided this Mr.. Cash was not the
representative or known agrmt of
the French government. No mat
New York [COnkling]. cash " Is
nothing but " cash." But then where
is our reasonable diligence; where is
our good faith? No matter, says the
senator, this great American republic [
OF ours understands her good faith
and interprets her neutral duties on [
strictly cash principles. Laughter.
Proudly the standard Of our national s
morality and honor was borne alOft /
by the senator from New York, with | |
dollar mark in cash as q coat. oi-arms !
for this great republic of the United [
States. Laughter. Seriously Bpeak- I
Ing, are we honest men? Is this our I
rule Of neutral duty? Is this rule to {
be observed, not only by US but tow I
ard US? Let me warn senator's to '
pause before they commit themselves I
to any position so absurd, so mean, so {
utterly dishonorable. Let me tell s
them, it is not safe for nations to play {
little tricky games, and eDdeaFOr to r
cover themselves up with little Quib- {
bling technicalities. Mr.. Schulz dis '
2ussed this at great length, and as 8
additional evidence that there was Il
ground for suspicion and invesiiga- h
ton, read a passage from the testi 1
mOny given by Jules LecesnE, who B
was president of the armament COM e
nittee at Tours, in France, while /,
.hese sales were going on. The ques- b
ion was upon certain overcharges on h
/ lot of rifles, and this witness said: f
There was no expense beyond the y
allowed Remington, since
Re had treated dire tly with the fed n
,ral government Of the United States, I
which delivered these arms without il
,harge on board our vessels Z,
Alter this and other statement he n
Schurz1 thought the Senators should 4
ease to talk about the want Of patriot a
sm Of those who called attention of 4
he senate and country to this matter. +
{ was quite evident that the foreign ,,
were as well informed as n
hey were or even better. Laughter. g
These statements made under oath In :,
oreign courts left no course open Is
or the United States except to h
and show statements q,
% be false If they were 30, or IL they Il
we're true to punish The guilty. The "
ecOnd question was-were the laws y,
Df our own country violated He n
lrgued that il was at least q proceed 4;
ng of doubtful legality to sell bleech- a,
oading rifles at all. The statute au- .,
horized the sale of old cannon, arms n
nd other ordnance stores which were n,
damaged or otherwise unsuitable for q
United States military service, or for m
militia in the United States, and un- Il
Ter this statute the chief of ordnance a
lad assumed the right to sell large ~
lumber of breech loading rifles Of the T,
,attern of 1856, and that at a time ..
when the militia throughout the a
armed with the old muz- n,
lie leaders,. r
Senator Morton said the breech load hl