Ottumwa weekly courier., 1876-05-10

to Washington to see IL could not
obtain that amount from the Govern
mcnt of the United States. After a
careful review Of the situation by the |
President Mr. Lincoln and the Sec-
rotary of War, Mr.. Stanton, the Pres
idcnt advanced me the sum Of $780,
600. They both agreed that Indiana
was threatened with rebellion and
that the condition of the State came
directly within the letter and spirit
of the act of Congress approved July
81, 1861. Mr.. Stanton declared to the
President with great emphasis that if
Indiana lost her position as a loyal
State the final success Of the Govern
mcnt in suppressing the rebellion
would be endangered and that the
Governor must be sustained at what
ever cost or hazard.
Here the Governor quoted at length
from his message Of 1866 which we
omit. In this message he called upon
the Legislature to appoint commit
tee to investigate his war expcndi-
tures.-ED.
A joint committee of the two hous-
es embracing some of the ablest DEM
Ocratic members, was appointed, as
requested in my MESA ge, who patient
ly Investigated all my accounts, in
cluding the expenditure of $l33, ,3O2.-
81, which had obtained from the
President, and unanimously reported
them correct, taking no exception,
even to the amount Of one cent The
nuexpended portion of tho $25O,OOO
which had received from the Presi-
dent and which 1 had described in
my message as the military fund, but
which was enormously stated in the
message rs 9l15, 600 instead of $ll6,-
600, l did not pay into the State treas
ury, as suggested in the message, but
refunded directly to the General
Government, as before shown; and
the $l33, 3O2.9l which 1 had expended
for the State were settled with the
Government by giving credit to the
Government for that amount on the
Indebtedness of the Government to
the State, rs before shown. After the
full examination of my accounts the
Legislature made appropriation to
pay my borrowed money and the
debts had contracted; also the sum
Of about $500, ,O00--the exact amount,
however, l am not able to state from
memory-which had procured
Messrs. Winslow, Lanier & Co., of
New York, to advance in the pay
ment of the interest upon the bonds
of the State during the years 1868 and
1864, the payment Of which interest
had been withheld by the Auditor
and Treasurer of the State. During
these two years all payments for civil
and military expenses of the State,
including the benevolent institutions
and the penitentiaries and excepting
only the salaries of public officers,
were paid upon my own check thro'
a financial bureau established in my
Office, the State Auditor and State
Treasurer declining all cooperation.
Ny course was approved by the
people of Indiana by re-electing me
Governor in October, 1864, by ma
jority of more than 10000 and by the
election of a Republican Legislature
and Republican State officers. The
intermediate history between the
events have described in the spring
of 1868 and the meeting of the Legis-
lature in January, 1866, will refer to
but briefly, although it is -extraordi-
nary in its character and unlike that
of any other State.
The State was honey -coMbod with
secret societies formerly known as
the knights of the Golden Circle, but
at that time as the Sons of Liberty
They claimed in 1864 to have 10000
members in the State, were lawless
defiant, plotting treason against the
United States and the overthrow OF
the State government. In some coun-
ties their operations We're so fOrmida.
BILE as TO require the militia to be
kept on a war footing, and, TIN ough-
out 1863 and until the final explosion
and exposure of the organization in
August 1864 kept the whole State in
an UprOar and alarm. So bold was
their demonstrations through the
summer of 1868 that General John
Morgan, of Kentucky was induced to
invade the State with his forces, in
the belief that there would be gen.
eral uprising in his support. In 1864
; so numerous were these reasonable
organizations and so confident were
, they of their strength that they ma.
tured plan for general uprising in
, the city of indianapolis OH the 10th OF
August, to be under cover of mass
meeting of the Democratic party, to
be attended by the members of these
organizations from all parts of the
State. The plan, as shown by subsc.
: quent confessions of some of the lead.
ing conspirators, was on that day tt
release about 1000 rebel prisoners
confined in Camp Morton, seize the
, arsenal and arm these prisoners over.
: turn the State government, and take
, possession of the State. This plan
could not be kept secret. 1t was de-
veloped some three weeks before the
time fixed, and was abandoned by
the leading conspirators, and orders
: issued countermanding the march OF
their forces upon indianapolis. Sub
sequcntly the discovery and seizure
OF 4 large amount of arms and ammu-
milton collected at indianapolis for
reasonable purposes, and the seizure
of the records and rituals of the or.
der Of the Sons of Liberty, giving
the names of the principal conspira-
tors, and the arrest Of some eight
OF the ringlcaders had the effect to
break up and destroy the power OF
the organizations; and I regret to
have to state that in the list of the
principal members of this organiza.
tiOn We're found the names of three OF
the State officers, into whose hands
the Legislature of 1863 had attempt.
cd to place the whole military
power of the State. Upon the trial
of these ring-leaders before military
tribunal appointed by the Presiden,
under an act of Congress-, some OF
them turned States evidence and dis.
closed the full character and extent OF
the conspiracy. Four of them were
convicted and sentenced to death, one
Of whom made his escape; another
was pardoned outright by President
johnson, and two others, Bowles and
Milligan, had their punishment com.
mnted by President johnson to i'm
prisOnment for life, but were after
wards released by the decision of the
Supreme Court Of the United States
TO the effect that the military commits
sion had no jurisdiction to try them
for the offense. There is large vol
ume Of unpublished history showing
in detail the operations of these or.
!. CARNATIONS, who were their aiders
and abettors, and the connection they
had with the politics of the day.
1t may be proper to state here thai
, the Democratic Legislature of 1863
: before its sudden adjournment, had
appointed an auditing committee OF
: its own members to audit and super.
I. wise all of my accounts and expendi.
r lures for military purposes, which sal
: almost continuously until January, 1866
and that this committee did audit and
3 approve every one of my expendi
: lures, including that of the $l33, ,3O2.
q 81 of the fund obtained from tn,
r President. The same legislature also
: appointed a committee to investigate
! all my expenditures and account.
| from the beginning of the war up Ii