The New Orleans Democrat., 1876-04-30

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| proved by the whole board.
| O. Do you remember who We're present wIeI
that indorsernent was madeY A.. lthlnk Messrs s.
! Dubuclet. Clinton. Baldwin. and think me to'
o. You don't know that Mr.. Lowell was pres
| ent? A. / don't know now. sir. | expect M
must have been present: the minutes will show
We close with the testimony OF the
ostensible ring master, the official heac
of the Funding Board, Gov. w. Z. kel
logg, who was summoned by the com
mittee to tell what he knew about the
"true inwardness y OF these extraordi
nary transactions. but. as will be seen
he was let off lightly, or the committee
found they could get but little out o
him. The smooth, and velvety. and in
nocent Kellogg, whose reputation fol
veracity is co-extensive with the CONT.
nent, was wary and not to be pumped
civilian Pitt" who knows so much
when he addresses foreign bondholders
with the object of gaining their conf
dence, when under interrogation by q
committee of the Legislature OF Louis
lana pretended to be unable to furnish
them with the information they were In
search OF. He who does know the mi
nutest circumstance connected with the
funding business pretended to be ignor-
ant Of the funding of certain class Of
warrants which must have been very
much discussed about the State House.
w. F. Kellogg sworn and examined
O. II IL to your knowledge that the Board here
ratified the funding In New ork A. No. un-
derstand they did not.
O. In regard to the funding OF the SANFORD
warrants here, s13so 900. you were not presen, ;
A. was not present. rs the minutes show, ana |
was not aware of IL until some time alter. whef
il accidentally came to my knowledge.
o. In regard to tho funding Of warrants Issued
i'm 1874 for services in 1873. which sceiiis- a. i
voted against. | have repeatedly opposed ~ IN
the Board. rs is well known. up TO the last time
believe it was on my motion II was delsa,ed !,
the time after Mr.. Phelps came in the case
came up and We beat 1t.
There is plain discrepancy in the
statements Of these witnesses.
Antoine says there was funding done
in New York and ratified by the board in
New Orleans. Mr.. Phelps says the same
thing. and that he contemplated a
criminal prosecution OF some OF the
members Of the board" for their action
in New York. Deslonde says the board
in New Orleans, "the whole Board, ap-
proved what was done in New York.
Lowell says there was II funding and de-
strnction of bonds and warrants in New
York, the fraudulent "Pinckney Smith
vouchers and "Levee warrants being
among them. Kellogg denies the ratiii-
cation by the board in New Orleans of
the work Of their committee.
The committee, at page Ga OF the ap
pendix to their report, make another
remarkable statement Of fact, which is
Of a piece with all the other facts they
have ascertained and disclosed
BY comparing the warrants funded with the
stub-book in the Auditor's otiice. it appears that
some warrants have been raised. some Tor $50
have been raised to $500 each. and then funded
and destroyed.
The testimony above cited. we think,
abundantly sustains the statements Of
the committee that papers in the form
Of warrants, utterly worthless as evil
dences of debt due by the State, have
been funded by the board in positive
violation Of the law, and that warrants
issued since January "a, 1874, have also
been funded contrary to both the letter
and spirit Of the law and with the State s
contract with the public creditor. There
is more testimony behind, but what we
have given on this occasion is enough to
establish the truth OF the charges which
have been made against the Board of
Liquidation and the fraud which lies at
the foundation Of the whole scheme.
Another chapter will follow in a few
days.