Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-03-20
SPIES ANDINroRmEns,

Our Northern brethren are begin
ming to understand what it means to
have their country overrun with spies.
and they do not like it,
We do not wish to be understood as
laughing at their ca Iamity, nor as mock
ing now that fear cometh upon them,
but we must be permitted in all
charity, as well as in all candor, to say
that we do not look with unmingled
sorrow upon the grief Of our Northern
| friends, for the reason that when the
South swarmed with spies, the North
at every fresh evidence of their
villainy, cried out, "Wen done good
and faithful servants; and for the
further reason that there is nothing
that impresses its lessons upon the
minds of men so vividly as does per-
sonal experience. We believe, there
| fore, that nothing will so quickly and
| SO certainly restore the Federal Gov
ernment to its former relations and
practices as the bitter taste left in the
mouths of Northern men by the doses
of the spy system they are now being
daily forced to swallow by "the best
government the world ever saw
No man now feels safe at the North.
| The story goes that the confidential
clerk of prominent Boston merchant
| for years, was all the while a Govern
ment spy awaiting only the opportu-
nifty to inform on him. While such
state of affairs prevails it is no wonder
that the people cry aloud for relief.
Qnite change has come over the
speech of those people, however, for
whom the spies were operating South
they were called detectives, officers of
the secret service, Treasury agents;
now they are "base spies and inform
ers.' Well, well, circumstances do
e1to- noeas vary materially!
We know the way of the transgressor
is hard, but we sincerely trust that our
Northern brethren will at last reach
| that haven where the wicked cease to
| trouble and the weary are at rest But
if they do not cease to mourn until
| they have drained all the bitter cups
they have held to the lips of their
Southern brethren, they have yet much
to learn, though we must admit that
their education has Of late beenpushed
forward pretty rapidly.
The following, which we take from
the New York Ereni''g Post, is sam
pie Of the way they do business up
North. Jayne" referred to is what
would have been called at the South
"a Treasury Agent" but now at the
North a spy and informer.
Jayne in the course of the statement
made by him yesterday before the
| Committee of Ways and Means OF
Congress, acknowledged that the pa
pers containing the evidence, So
called, used by the Custom House
officers against Phelps, Dodge & Co.,
were stolen from the books Of the firm
by the clerk who acted as 1nformer.
| The assertion is SO astounding that we
republish herewith the essential parts
of Jayne's testimony:
"Mr. Beck-Had you any idea how
they (the clerk and his lawyers) OBJ
tanned the papers?
| "Mr. Jayne-I never asked.
ssMr. Beck-Did you not see that
these papers had been torn out OF the
books?
| "Mr. Jayne-I saw they had been
torn off. | cannot tell what the law
vers knew. [ am not admitted to the
private consultation between lawyers
and clients. Counsel did not tell
where they got the papers.
"Mr. Beck-And Will you tell this
Committee you had no reason to be-
lieve the papers were stolen?
"Mr. Jayne-1f I should tell you
what I believe, it would not be evi-
dence.
"Mr. Beck-Then you believe IT,
papers were surreptitiously obtained:
ssMr. Jayne made no reply, and Mr..
Beck again propounded his question.
.sMr. Niblack, of the Committee
(smiling)-Do Mr.. Jayne, answer tol
my sake.
sMr. Jayne-I have no doubt the
papers were taken from tho books,
and, I believe, surreptitiously.'
Is it true, then, that the Govern
ment of the United States is receiver
of stolen goods, and that the laws OF
Congress recognize thieving as leglt
innate business and reward it?
It pains us very much to make the
acknowledgement but truth compels
US to say in reply to our cotemporary'
question that we believe it is true!
"And thus the whirligig Of time
brings in his revenges.'