New-York tribune., 1874-05-18
THE PACIFIC MAIL MYSTERY.

THE SAN FRANCISCO AGENT HAS HIS sAf-hAS MADE
NO INVESTMENTS IN PHIIADEIPIIIA-DID Mt
KNOW THAT 100000 WAS CHARGED TO HIM
HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH CoRRUPTIoN-MADE
SOME PAYMENTS TO GENTLEMEN OF TALENT
TO he Editor OF The Trt6une.
SIR: i have just seen extracts from the
NewYork papers OF April IA and l5 giving the substance
Of 'an Argument" by Mr. Trenor W. Park, before the
PostOfce Committee OF the House OF Representatives
in support Of the application OF the Pacific Mail steam
ship Company for a continuance OF its subsidy notwlt-
standing ts failure to comply with Its contract with the
Government; also further statement" OF an Inter
view with Mr. Russell Sage These gentlemen seem to
labor under the strange deus0n that the ncOmpetency
and nattenon to its legitimate business which has eit
the Pacific Mail Company in default upon its Govern
men contract in the vital matter OF building the neces
sary steamers be atoned for that the attention
OF Congress ard the public be diverted there!rom
by frequent and plentiful abuse OF all the Companys
former officers and agents, while at tile same
time their daily and consuming thirst for news
paper nOtoriey is partially assuaged To this craving
am. for the first and last time, reluctantly compelled
TO minister by necessity of noticing the gross and
outrageous bes with which they have ayaled OF my
absence assa To any especially III Califor-
MIA, who know Mr. TrenOr W. Park and myself or per-
haps either OF us, reply would DO necessary to the
charges he has launched from behind his shelter as
director counsel OF the Company, before Congress
same statements adopted and enlarged by the
lgurehead president OF a respectable corporation.
Firstly: Messrs. Park and Sage are reported TO have
said, and have not denied saying that "t has already
been discovered that 100000 out OF an alleged famous
corruption fund OF 100000 placed at the disposal of an
agentsof the Company" afterward spoken OF as "the
cuprt" and identified by name Irwin, or by num-
Der one Irvin" transferred by the agent TO his
sister, and invested real estate in Philadelphia" :" that
a. no taki m n
100000" which described by saying that
"the Company have already attached the land"
Each and every part OF these statements and tho
whole OF them, are absolutely false and without
shadow OF foundation, and many Of these falsehoods
relate to matters within the knowledge OF the utterers
To be explicit have not and had 100000 worth
OF real OF real and personal property In Philadelphia
or in the world, in my own anybody ese's name.
has no property in Philadelphia elsewhere in the
name OF any sister any person other than myself aud
TO the best OF my knowledge and belief neither OF my
sisters any property there or elsewhere in her own
or anybody ese's name. 10th TO bring my affairs
before the public, will say that my entire property
In Philadelphia consists OF house and lot IN my
own name, costing and valued at about 5000 currency
above the purchase mortgage As conclusive test be-
my accuracy and theirs accept the precise issue
they have themselves selected, and challenge Messrs
Park and Sage 70 exactly where these lots are III
easy for them to have known from the records or
the Philadelphia courts the utter falsehood OF their
statements before publishing them, that their action
woud have been sufficiently and outrageously wicked
If aimed at myself alone. The infamy Of their conduct
in thus going out OF their way to utter foul slander
against innocent and unprotected women remit to the
OF every rghtthnkng 1t is also false that
any property OF mine in Philadelphia or elsewhere had
attached by the Company and this falsehood also
obviously within their own knowledge.
Secondly: now come to the statements made by Nr
Russell Sage sngy, OF his own knowledge and as al
legged quotations from Mr. Stockwe II Mr. stockwell
said things (which doubD he had TO forgot
many things, including his own sworn statements.
Whether he did not is immatera, because they as
well Mr.. Sage's own statements false, aud it Is
Mr. Sage and not Mr. stockwel, who has used them to
assassinate my character Mr.. Sage says Mr.. Stock
well told his in office that ho had been in
duced to make this application by Irwin, the Com
pauy's agent at San Francisco" &c. and that
having become alarmed, he employed Irwin
to 90 to Washington" &c, In fact, Mr..
Stockwell made his application for the subsidy
Immediately after his accession to Office not only before
L ever him, but actually before he and had held
any communication whatever Instead Of inducing him
to make the application, opposed it, being warmly in
favor OF his predecessors plan Of building their
ships in England and doubtful OF the success OF any ap
plication Congress- so far from wishing to be EN-
poyed to to Washington as is iHsinuated refused
to go there and rendered my resignation at my first IN
afterward, aud was only induced to go By
the repeated appeals and pressure OF friends whom
could not refuse sec0ndng Mr.. StockwelPs requests
learn for the first time from Mr. Sage's statement that
"S6OO0OO blindy charged to the San Francisco
agency" Certainly that agency told OF IT, and
neither the quarterly nor annual statements OF the Com
pany showed IT, their statements before Con-
gress and the Legislature. Mr. Sage says.
and this time OF his knowledge, that " when
tha SAC I'm rat ask
for bill OF items, but Irwin suddenly left for
Europe and has not since appeared here" The facts
are, first the Sage administration (meaning suppose,
the direction of which Mr. Russell Sage is the figure
head while the administration performed By snother,
has never asked for bill of items for anything
else second, left NewYork the l1th OF October,
1873, not after the Usage administration came into
power" but when IL was unborn and unexpected.
Thrdly: Not suddenly" for the state OF myself
and family were engaged about two months before
hand and our intended departure had long been known
not only my friends and acquaintance generally,
but also to the officers Of the Pacfc Mail Company in
New York and San Francisco.
"And has not since appeared here" This ia perhaps
the meanest OF that yiest OF weapons, innuendo
do not live in New-York, have business there, any
more than in Bagdad, and nobody has invited me to
appear" IN either place. appeared" IN and about
SewYork for about four weeks last Fall, with knowl
edge OF the Companys officers, without hearing any
thing from them.
To meet sQuarely the general insinuation which un
derlies all these detals say that everything have
which in any way represents money that ever belonged
20 the Pacific Mail Company own by virtue OF written
contracts of which the Company has or ought to have
copies) for services rendered This being the only
sion on which propose trouble the public avail OF
It to deny once for ALL the idle aud unsustaned but oft
repeated gossip u connection with this socaled IA
nous corruption fund" know nothing OF any 4" cor
rupton fund" All the money paid me by the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company ! connection with the subsidy was
applied by precisely In the manner and for the pur-
poses intended by the Company, namely. in compensa-
ton for services which resulted In the donation to that
AZ md win rAndnr hx