Litchfield enquirer., 1880-06-24

1 The democratic and so-called independent 1 journals that are now busy in stirring
 up the exploded Credit Mobilier scandal
 against General Garfield will do well to read
 the following letter written by that stalwart
 democrat, Judge Jeremiah s. Black when the
 subject was fresh :--. as .fy .a...-, sgss7 1 LETTER OF JUDGE BLACK. ,...., ,,.,., 1 PHILADELPHLA, February 15, 1873.
 My Dear Sir: From the beginning of the investigation concerning Mir. Ames' use of the Credit Mobilier, believe that General Garfield
 was free from all guilty connection with that
 business. This opinion was founded not
 merely on my confidence on his integrity. but on some special knowledge of his case. may have told ysu all about it in conversation Tout desire now to repeat it by way of re- hinder. I l assert unhesitatingly that, whatever Gen.
 eral Garfield may have done or forborne to do,
 he acted in profound ignorance of the nature, l and character of the thing which MT. Ames ! was proposing to sell. He had not the slight est suspicion that he was to be taken into a ring organized for the purpose of defrauding l the public, nor did he know that the stock was In any manner connected with anything 1 which came, or could come, within the legis- lative jurisdiction of congress. The case against him lacks the ScGeaater which alone constitutes guilt
 In the winter of 1869 70 I told General Gar field of the fact that his name was on Ames' | list; that Ames charged him with being one Of his distributes explained to him the char acter, origin and objects of the Credit Mo
 biller; pointed out the connection it had with congressional legislation, and showed him how
 impossible it was for member of congress to
 hold stock in it without bringing his private
 interest in conflict with his public duty. That all this was to him perfectly new revelation | O Qc nrP I hn eoo zE any fact which is capable of being proved only
 by moral circumstances He told me then the
 whole story ot Trains offer to him and Ames' subsequent solicitation and his own action in
 premises, much as he details it to the commit, tee. do not undertake to reproduce the con-
 versation, but the effect ot it all was to con-
 vince me thoroughly that when he listened to Ames he was perfectly unconscious of any thing evil watched carefully every word that fell from him on this point, and did not regard his narrative of the transaction in o:her, respects with much interest, becausein my
 view everything else was insignificant 1 did not care whether he had made bargain teeh- nically binding or not his integrity depended upon the question whether he acted with his eyes open If he had known the true char acter of the proposition made to him he would not have endured it, much less embraced it. Now. couple this with Mir. Ames' adnIisslon that he gave no explanation whatever of the matter to General Garfield, then reflect that not particle of proof exists to show that he learned anything about it previous to his con- versation with me, and 1 think you will say that it is altogether unjust to put him the list of those who knowingly and willfully joined the fraudulent association in question. s.rt. J. s. BLACK.
 Hon. J. G, Blaine, Speaker of the House of
 Representatives