Morning journal and courier., 1880-10-29
News by Telegraph FROM ALL QUARTERS. TRACING THB FORGERY. The Original Mercy Letter
 in Court. Evidence of it's Manufacture. Pronounced Spurious By Ex- perts in Handwriting. It's Origin Probably Solved. An Exact Imitation of Philips
 Writing.
POLITICAL.

The s.Chinese'' Forgery-TriaI of the Ac-
 eused Editor-The Original Mercy Lett
 ter i'm Court-TestimOny Showing That
 the Letter Was Not Written by Garfield
 Discrepancies in the Handwriting
 But strikingly Like Philips Writing. I NEW YORK, Oct. 28.-An immense crowd
 was in court this morning to hear the pro
 ceedings in the trial of Kenward Philp, who was charged with malicious libel on General Garfield Colonel Rockwell was the first 1 witness called. The witness testified that he 1 was former classmate and since 1856 an in innate personal friend of General Garfield,
 and was perfectly familiar with his hand
 writing and identified several specimens shown him. Mir. Bell, for the prosecution, demanded the production of the original l Mercy letter, but Mir. Howe, of prisoners | counsel, answered that it was in possession l of MT. Hart.
 l Mir. Hart, who was in court, was then | called and sworn. Witness said the original | Mercy letter was in the possession of friend i of his, but declined to give the name of the
 friend. Insisting on thus declining after be- ! ing directed by the court to answer, witness was committed for contempt of court MT. Howe made motion to purge MT. Hart from contempt, saying that the witness was willing to produce the letter, but that he wanted guaranty that the letter should be returned to him. The counsel said he did not mean to say that the court would take the letter, but that it might pass into subordinate
 hands and be lost Continuing, Mir. Howe said, that if the letter was to remain in the possession of Judge Davis MT. Hart was
 willing to produce it. Judge Davis said that
 the letter would remain in his custody. On
 motion Mr. Hart was allowed three hours to
 go with MT. Howe and procure the letter, and
 if this was done, the judge said he would
 purge the witness of his contempt. Mir.
 Hart made statement saying that he was
 willing to produce the letter, which had passed
 into other hands, but that he wanted a guar
 anty that it would be returned to him or else
 remain in the custody of Judge Davis, which
 was promised. Mir. Hart and Mir. Howe then
 left the court room together to get the letter
 in question.
 After little more sparring between coun
 sel a recess was taken until 2:3O.
 At alf-past o'clock the court room was densely crowded. MT. Bell called for MT. |
 Hart, but he was not present and his counsel | stated the three hours grace given him was | not up until 2:45. Precisely at that time Mir. | Hart entered the court room and was called | to the stand. He was asked by Mir. Bell if he
 had in his possession the letter he was direct
 ed to produce by Judge Davis. He replied | that he had handed it to the Justice. Mr.
 Bell called for the envelope. Witness said he had not brought it as he not directed to do so. This MT. Bell claimed to be according to the letter but not the spirit of the
 IT. k1,a4S S4 portant to his client that it should not be lost, that when MT. Hart went for the letter he was accompanied by two detectives in the in terest of the prosecution, that he was in- formed that he was to be arrested in 8 suit brought in the State court by Marcus Cicero Stanley and George Wilks, that they were willingto produce the envelope and would do
 Colonel Hart stated that when he went to procure the letter, on account of family af- fiction he went to his house and from there to Brooklyn, where he received telephone communication that he was to be arrested in a suit brought in the State courts, which was instigated by Marcus Cicero Stanley and George Wilks. Becoming very excited he said, 'tIt is dastard1y'' Concluding he said he kept the letter partially to protect him self Judge Davis told him that while he was witness of the court he would not be interfered with and directed him to produce the envelope within five hours, which he promised to do. He declined, however, to inform MT. Bell as to where the envelope was
 Colonel A. T. Rockwell was recalled to the stand, and after being sworn was examined by District Attorney Bell. He testified that he had examined the letters he had received from General Garfield with the fac-simile and did not believe the Mercy letter was written by him. The letter produced by MT. Hart was shown the witness and after exam L aLaI LL-L ' IL = | l emanated from General Garfield. Witness was then cross-examined by Charles w. I Brooke. He stated that he was resident of Washington; was connected with the army, being assistant quartermaster general, having special charge of national cemeteries that he had known MT. Garfield for years having been classmate of his at college that he was indebted to General Garfield in a great for his present appointment and also for his position in the army, he not being graduate of West Point He had received many letters from General Garfield, and when the fac-simile was published in Wash ington he had come to the conclusion that it was a forgery before he saw the original letter. He had come to New York at the request of Harvey E. Knox, to whom he submitted some twelve letters from General Garfield, and that one picked out as a comparison was not as far as he knew cho- sen because it corresponded in size and ap- pearance with the letter of General Garfield to Marshall Jewell denying the authenticity of the Mercy letter. Witness -averred that MT. Bliss had made the selection, and it was chosen probably because it corresponded more nearly in date to the Mercy letter. He had another letter in his pocket, he continued, from General Garfield, but refused to show it 1 because it contained private matters and was precious to him from personal associations with it. Witness acknowledged that he had formed an opinion before 1aft ror.c3i to it's authenticity. but did not re- member having expressed an opinion After reading the fac-simile he communicated with General Garfield within forty-eight hours, and prior to his coming to New York conferred with Mir. Knox. He did not call himself an expert in writing but had com pared the copies and exhibits with the letters he had received from General Garfield, and it ] was his belief that the Mercy letter was 8 forgery. {
 Albert Daggett, ex-sheriff of Brooklyn, was ] then called He testified that he had known socially and in business, and was familiar with his writing. On being shown exhibits he declared the writing of the exhibits was ;he same as the writing in the Mercy letter. He was delegate to the Chicago convention and voted for Garfield on the last ballot, al- though his original choice was Sherman He was instructed by his organization for Grant put did not obey. He was with Philp when | he was arrested and notified him of it half an | ] hour before it took place. Philp denied to him that he had any knowledge of the letter and asserted it by the memory of his mother and of his child, and witness told him he be- ieved him. He did not know where the man. 1script of the article entitled Flying and Sticking to It. had been obtained He was in favor of Garfield andhad wagered large sums on his election
 James McDermott, of Brooklyn, was called md testified that he was intimate with Philip,
 new his writing and after comparing the ( Mercy letter with the exhibits he believed $ hey were in the same handwriting, which he thought was Philips. On examination | 1e admitted having left ward organization n Brooklyn because he had offered man l place in the custom house to influence his 7ote, and also that he had been indicted twice