The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-03-07
Our Washington Correspondence.
WASHINGTON, March 2, 1S7
CHOKING OFF WITNESSES.

CHOKING OFF WITNESSES.
In order to close the mouths of the New
York merchants from again complaining of
the robbery which they are subjected to by the
Custom House officials, and also to punish
them for testifying against "the mess" in the
recent investigation, the President has issued
instructions to have such of them as gave gra-
tuities to Custom House officers prosecuted.
Senator Bayard brought this matter to the at
tention of the Senate, and desired to know
! from the President whether it had been deter
mined to cover up the corruption which per-
vades every nook and corner of the New York
Custom House-this being the most efectual
manner of doing it. Senator Buckingham,
true to his master, defended his action in thus
trying to aid his rascally officials in their
'1ittle game' of extortion and fraud in the
New York Custom House. The matter went
over. When i. comes up the administration
will come in for another raking, this time from
Bayard and Casserly who were on the commit
tee which investigated the New York Custom
House.
PACKED COMMITTEE.
Morton, the Presidents right bower, declared
few days ago that there was nothing in the
fuss about the sale of arms to France. If
there is nothing in it to injure the President
or ''the mess" why was it so necessary for the
clique to meet in council and select five of the
most servile creatures of the administration for
the investigating committee7 A transparent
piece of seeming fairness was enacted by
placing Senator Sumner on the committee after
he had openly declared that he would not
serve. Mr.. Trumbull suggested that Mr.:
Schurz be placed on the committee, but that
would not suit The names of those whom the
clique selected to investigate the charges
against the administration will suffice to show
whether Morton thinks as he said, "that there
is nothing in it." They are Hamlin, Harlan,
Carpenter, Sherman, Sawyer and Logan, radi-
calls, and Stevenson, democrat. Mt ced. The
clique seeing a storm brewing over this "put
up job" laid the resolution aside for the pres
ent.
THINGS ARE LIVELY IN THE SENATE.
Even motion to adjourn from Friday till
Monday is construed by Grants friends as
! covert assault oD the administration. Trum-
bull and Edmunds had tilt yesterday over
such motion, and the quiet sarcasm of the
, former almost drove the drawling Maineite into
! conniption fit. These hong political debates
, delay the necessary legislation, and are most
damaging to Gen. Grant This is what so en-
RACES his friends, as they desire to adjourn
: early. At this rate of doing business, Con-
gress will be in session till August. !
!, ~ 10 - CONSIDERABLY MIXED.
: The other day, in the Senate, Zach Chandler
most violently denounced the Democrats for
} using his frank in circulating the speeches of
Schurz and others not in harmony with the ad-
ministration. It is now found out that several
thousand speeches of different Senators were
; sent to lady to be folded and put into envel-
opes. She innocently mixed them, and the
result is that the fiery Chandler endorses Blair's
) anti-Ku-Klux speech and Carl Schurz's attack
ON the administration by his frank, which
} stands out boldly on the envelopes. Blairsends
off cart-loads of Morton's speech to his Demo-
cratic friends, while Schurz is spreading broad
cast Conkling's attack on himself The effect
of these documents on the recipients can well
T be imagined. Only think of Massachusetts
t Yankee receiving Frank Blair's red-hot speech
, on the Ku Klux, under Zach Chandler's frank
THE COTTON TAX REFUNDING BILL.
The bill to refund the cotton tax, which is
now before the Ways and Means Committee,
f will be reported upon and passed. This tax
was collected from 1865 to 1868 inclusive, and
is universally conceded to have been unequal
and unjust, the law not having operated as in
/ tended-Congress supposing that the burden
, would fall on the consumers, but it has been
demonstrated most plainly that it fell e1clu-
: sively on the producers. In 1865, when the
tax was repealed, this was very evident, as
there was not the least perceptible change in
the market at home or abroad. Members of
J Congress who voted for the imposition of this
tax also voted for its repeal, and the general
feeling in Congress now is that full justice
should be done, by refunding the money which
was collected under law of more than doubt
full validity-the United States Supreme Court
being equally divided as to its consttutionality
and which worked great injury to the cotton
growing interest. The refunding of this tax
will enable many planters to pay off their in
debtedness to Northern merchants, incurred in
raising cotton during the four years succeeding
the war, when it was losing business-made so
in great measure by the oppressive tax, which
amounted to ten per cent. of its actual market
value. The Governor of Mississippi, j. S. AL
corn, now U. S. Senator, speaking "of the
money which the people of certain Southern
! poverty" urged the refunding of the tax as
matter of policy as we'll as justice, and said !:
"The reparation may be taken wisely from the
attitude OF surrender to right to that of q
concession to fraterpal feeling and will pro-
mote the national harmony by refunding to the
strurgling cotton industry of the South ererY