Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1876-03-11

u. -.
nays Il. The oil provides FOR the election
| OF delegates 10 constitutional convention.
ard III such constitution is ratified by the
his proclamation for the admission OF the
state without further action by Congress-
The bill Of Mr.. Wright reducing the PreSi-
but, on motion of Mr. sherman the Senate
went into executive session, and gu bseo uent-
ly adjourned until Monday.
The Discharge OF Marsh
WHAT Mr.. BASS SAYS ABOUT 1T.
/ HOUSE.-After our report closet
Mr.. Bass IN. Y member OF the Commit
tee on Expenditures Ia The War Department,
made personal explanation In reference 10
insinuations conveyed in two OF The speeches
ofbis colleague on the committee Mr. Black
burn, OF Kentucky that the republican
| part In the Belknap investigation until the
| proof was all in, signed, and sealed. He
showed that no notice whatever had been
given TO the republican members of the COM
| mittee until after the testimony OF n arsh mad
| been taken. he called attention - the fact
| that, although the meeting at which Marsh
testified was held on Tuesday (the regular
| day OF meeting) IL contained evidence that
had been before the committee on the pre-
vious day (Monday) He asked why the re-
publican members OF the committee had not
been advised of that Mondays meeting. He
spoke OF Doctor romlinson, whose mission
10 Washington bad been tn fix up the mat
ter, as having been the messenger between
| Marsh and the committee. IL was after such
secret proceedings as those that the House
had been dramatically told mot once only.
but several times that certain members OF
| the committee IA al not crossed the threshold
of the committee room until the proof was
all In, signed and sealed. IL they had not d,
there was, therefore, the greater reason why
they should have been notified OF this spec al
and important case. The records OF the COM
mittee showed that there had been only two
meetings OF the committee up 10 the time OF
| this investigation. Revertins 20 the dis
| charge of the witness Marsh. be Mr.. BaSS)
| dlssented, distinctly and unequivocally, TO
| the statement OF Mr.. Blackburn that the
| witness had been discharged with the know
| IeGse OF the entire committee. One OF the
| republican members OF the cJmmitUSe (meau,
| ing hlmself) had strenuously opposed the
| discharge OF the witness, and had stated
| some reasons why, but the witness had been
| discharged at 1880 O'Clock the same day. The
objections had been made in the presence of
| the committee alone, after II O'Clock of that
| day, when the resignation OF Secretary Bel
| KNAPP had been notified to the committee.
| The two subjects had been a matter of dis
| cussion. The reasons which he BASS hal
| stated against the discharge of Marsh were
| that Marsh was the sole witness In the case.
| and that his testimony was uncorroborated;
| that If the Secretary of War should be a
| witness before the committee, and should
| contradict Marsh's testimony IL would be
| necessary TO recall Marsh; and, further, that
| the safety of the committee regarding its
| own reputation) would not allow the dis
charge of the witness pending those proceed
| lngs. The discussion on these two questions
| jurisdiction after the resignation OF the Sec
| TtldTy ana tfle OF the Wltne>S) n al
| lasted several minutes. Then single ques-
| ton had been put to the witness by Mr..
| Blair, counsel for Mr.. Belknap-the witness
having been called in for that purpose
| and thereupoD, without any question
| having been asked of any member OF the
| committee, and on the sole request of the
witness, he was discharged by the chairman.
The witness had then stated that he desired
| 10 leave for New York on the O'Clock train /,
| as be expressed il, and the Chairman offered
| to 60 with him and get his fees, and said that
| ha Or frsal fTa N.aFl a..
| train left he would send them 10 him by
| mail. Marsh then inquired as TO the con-
tract between himself and Evans, and the
| Chairman stated that he would send IL 70
| him by mail In few days. The witness then
| left the room, and he Bass had not see him
| since. These were the facts in the case. Tnis
| man, Marsh, had ties Ifiei to the most grave
| and serious charges against a high officer of
| the Government, and those charges had been
sufficiently proved TO justify demand for
| Immediate Impeachment, but the charges
| were wholly and utterly uncorroboratei
| Evidence had been given by the witness as
| TO certain certificates of deposit that were
1 sent TO the Secretary of War; would IL not
| have been judicious al least 10 have detained
| the witness until the bank had been applied
| 10 for corroborative evidence? AS 10 Mr..
| knott's proposition that the detention OF the
/ witness would have been an assault. he
| (Bass) regarded that as a preposterous absur-
city. 1t had been charged by gentlemen on
| The other side that other people were respon-
sible for the escape OF the witness. and il hai
| been asked how they cOnld detain him. The
answer was that he could have been detained
as be had been brought, by q subpoena. VIVA
| evidence was there that the subpoena n al
lost It's virtue at 1880 O'Clock on Thursday?
WHAT OTHER MEMBERS DE THE COMMIT
| TEE SAY.
Mr.. Clymer 1.-THE chairman of the commit
| tee replied 10 Mr.. Bass, prefacing his re-
marks with the statement that he would not
| have said a word on the subject were il not
that the recollection OF his colleague mt.
| Bass differed essentially and thoroughly
| from the recollection of every other gentle
| man on the committee; so that his colleague
stood in the attitude that one witness did
against four. He proceeded TO read extracts
from the statements OF Danford, Blackburn
| ard himself, and from the records OF the
committee, in order TO refute Mr.. Bass
| statements; but be was interrupted by Mr..
Danford. who asserted that there was not the
| ford's) and Mr.. Bass statements.
Mr.. Clymer said he would leave the House
| and the country to judge OF that. IL the
statement OF the gentleman from New York
| was correct then IL was Impossible tor the
| statements made by the other four members
| of the committee TO be correct. He wished TO
sla,e once rof All lhat II any member OF ne
| room, had made the slightest suggestion that
he should be retained neither himself nor any
| made the slightest objection.
Mr.: Blackburn said he had no doubt that
the House was as sick of personal explans-
tions growing out of the transaction as the
| country and the republican party were sick
| OF the transaction itself He had no doubt
that the gentleman from New YORK meant
TO tell the truth, and he was only sorry that
at gentleman's statements were not cor
| roborated by either the committee or the
record. He repeated that the gentleman
| (Mr. Bass never did object TO the discharge
| Oh the witness, Marsh, after his cross-eX am
| ination, and that he saw the witness leave
the room without making single objection.
Mr.. Bass responded, saying denunciations
| bad been hurled in this House by the gentle
man from Kentucky at the head of the Sec
| rotary OF War, and the charge made that he
had sought to shield himself behind the dis
| honor OF his family, whereas every other
| member OF the committee knew that the
struggle had been made on his part to avoid
their dishonor and TO shoulder the burden
| himself
Mr.. Blackburn said he was glad to know
that that sentence had gone on record, and
that he (Blackburn) stood before the House
| and country as one who had done all that an
| honorable man could do TO shield from criti-
| cism and censure an innocent woman. The
| gentleman from New York was welcome 10
stand before the country-as he did now
| striving to shield from punishment q guilty
man. Applause from the galleries and
sbeers from the republican side OF the
| House The House then AT & 30 al iDurnad