The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-01-10
A GRAND F1Asco.
The Convention OF Maniac, and Dis
coyery Of the Original Green
hack UniOn

clerk of the Elliot county circuit court.
He had, during the past little ''unpleas-
antness," been 3 worthy and meritorious
defender of the lost cause" Kings
spotless military record was of course ap-
preciated by his neighbOrs, and it was
easy for him to obtain unbounded infiu
snce over his admiring Kentucky friends.
for 1t was known that Gen. Robert E.
Lee and Stonewall Jackson had recon-
mended his promotion for gallant ser
vice rendered in battle, and that he still
held In his possession the precious me-
mentos of their lofty notice in their own
darling handwriting.
In the fall of 1859, Col King visited
Louisville for the purpose of attending
TO some private business, and as was his
usual custom, he quartered himself at
one of the best hotels in the city It so
happened, at the time of Kings arrival
in Louisville, that the United States dis
trict court was in session. Gen. Bristow
was then United States attorney for the
district of Kentucky, and it was when
N~-@O NAoSAAS 0AoAACo 81 oNANON&tC w - oAo-
playing his wonderful oratorical powers
in counterfeiting case, that Hauston
King CHANGED to enter the court room
and seat himself directly in front of the
towering Kentuckisn, who, with uplift-
cd hands, was at the very moment deliv-
ering his peroration, and as the speak
er's magic words rolled forth in tones of
matchless strength, startling the guilty
consciences of the criminals at the bar,
and bringing them to realizing sense of
the enormity of their crimes, and beseech-
ing them to repent and put their trust in
heaven, where justice is dispensed with
mercy, and where, when they should be
brought before the bar of higher tri-
bunal, there would be found in their re-
pentance some grounds on which God
might say, pardon"
King listened for q time with eyes
transfixed and bathed in fearful aston
ishment, and as each word of the elo-
quent pleader, shafted deeper and deep
er into his heart, dark shadow passed
before his glazing eyes. He was for
moment blind, and unconscious. obi
won had, for the moment, swallowed
him up. The cessation Of the generals
touching argument was the signal for
Kings return to consciousness; but he
was q changed man. do not possess
the power to describe his feelings, never
having felt the force of conversion my
self Should the reader, however, en-
quire of some one of the many who
have felt the sledge-hammer blows of
those stalwart reyivalists, Moody and
Sankey, the information may be OBJ
| tanned.
King at once sought an interview with
Gen Bristow, for the purpose of max
ing confession, as he said he could not
sleep until the terrible secrets locked
in his breast were disclosed. Once
alone with the General, King avowed
himself to be q counterfeiter in COM
parison with which the men on trial
that day would be dwarfed into Lilliputi-
ans with characters as chase as snow.
81 am," continued he, lone of the lead
ing offenders in the most astounding and
dangerous frauds that has ever been con.
cocted in this country, and you are the
man selected by an ever guiding provi-
dence to ward off the stupendous crash
and Illustrate the evil designs of the ne
fariOus plotters in their comparative in
fancy and save the public treasury from
ruin and utter annihilation."
The following affidavit was prepared
and sworn to.
"Hauston King, being duly sworn, de-
poses and says that he is Q resident of
Elliott county, KY; by occupation clerk
of the circuit court of said county states
that he was colonel of artillery in Con-
federate army; states that in the month
of December, 1865, he went from New
| Orleans to New York by steamer, and
while on this trip he fell In with Harlow
j. Phelps, commission merchant of New
| Orleans; Phelps represented that he was
going to New York to be present at the
organization of a repudiating party look
ing to the Republication of the national
debt. On arriving in New York Phelps
and myself met about two hundred men
from all sections of the Union, and a
party was secretly organized and CON-
menced work. Officers were elected; H.
1 y. DAICCbf vi bE. 1@OuIS1 W dS CklOoSu pIcS-
| ident; no vice president was elected A
H. Sinclair, of New York, was chosen
secretary The initiation fee was $50,
and this was capital stock. The total
amount of capital to be raised was $780,
| 600, and this amount was raised in four
days. This money was to be used in OBJ
tanning the genuine plates in possession
of the government for making legal-ten-
der notes Of the series of the I'd of Au-
gust, 1852. These plates were obtained,
and $6O,OO0,00O were represented to
me as issued from those plates.
received some five hundred dollars
from this issue myself About twenty
millions of this amount was put upon
the country. With this fund they pro-
Ecured the genuine plates for making le-
gal tenders, bonds of all descriptions,
and national bank notes. OF these
amounts we issued An amount equal to
the outstanding debt Of. the country.
Only small portion of these last named
denominations have yet been put in cir.
culation. Only about four millions in
been issued " h s n.tss ate nova aaTe p ss.
ton of them, in Montreal, Canada, and
a portion in New York City. There was
a reorganization Of the party ON the list
and and days of November, 1859, in New
! York City, at which ] was present
Frank p, Blair, of Missouri, was cho-
sen president, with power to elect
the secretary. The original stock -hold-
ers numbered four hundred; at present
think the number greatly exceeds this;
states that he is the agent for the 9th
congressional district of Kentucky /;
that he has perfected organizations in ev-
cry county in said district; states that
he gives this information voluntarily
and solely for the benefit Of thu cavern
ment"
(Signed) HOUSTON KNG.
Subscribed aud swot6 TO on the 10th
ldaY of December, 1889, before Judge
Blackburn, commissioner United States
circuit court.
THE YEARS COINAGE.