Litchfield enquirer., 1880-11-25


New York, above Canal-st., to which letters
are sent for delivery by carriers.
A closer examination of the envelope shows
also that on its face there is an erasure ex-
tending lengthwise of the envelope, a little
above the part where "H. L. Morey" is now
written. foi space longer than that address.
At the beginning of this erasnre, at the left
are the marks OF an initial letter appearing to
have been an ''E, and at the other end the
outlines Of the letters Esq" can be seen and
read when the envelope is held in proper
light. Below this is a shorter line of erasure on
part of which the name of s'Morey" is writ
ten, and the ink has spread, as in common in
writing over an erasure and below and to the
right OF this, are two separate erasures as
though separate letters or numbers had been
erased, on one of which the "M' of Mass y
is written, and the ink is also spread In the
lower ieft-hand corner is an erasure on which
appears the second OF compound number,
being so close to the right of the circle as to
show that il was the second of two numbers.
There Is mark after the figure g" supposed
tosndlcate an attempt to insert figure, and
it is shown by examination not to be q stamp
ed mark. Across the center of the stamp ap-
pear the figures and letter 1880 NJ" but an
or preceding the M is not to be SEEN
La the stamp said to be of the station, the let
ter indicating the station and the figures indi
eating the month and day and time of day
have apparently been erased Some slight
traces OF a part OF them appear, but not sut1-
Gently plain to make out the station or date.
La making these latter erasures portion of
the lap of the envelope has been rubbed or
torn out. The abrasion of the surface of the
paper in the case of all the erasures spoken of,
as seen under glass, or with the naked eye,
and their locality, show satisfactorily that the
erasqres were pqrposely made with some in
tent. 1t is manifest that IT the envelope had
been mailed at Washington on the 23d of jan
uary, 1880. and that date had appeared in the
Post Office stamp, there could have been no
occasion for an alteration or erasure of that
date. And it is difficult to see for what hon.
est purpose any one could have desired to de-
stroy the date and hour of the stamp indica-
ting the time Of the receiving of the letter at
the New York Post Office, or the letter, date,
and hour of the station stamp. These eras-
ures appear now precisely as when the enve-
lope was first handed to and examined by the
court and the photograph and the first pub
lshed' Autograph of the face of the envelope
show that the month and date were both then
absent from the Washington Post Office stamp
The back of the envelope was not photo
graphed or Autographed, and both the abbre-
Walton "Jan." and the figures ''23" were af-
terWard inserted by some one IN a Autograph
OF the face OF the envelope, subsequently
made and used. These facts will be the sub
ject of further comment. 1t is an established
maxim of the law that all things are to be
presumed against the despoler of evidence.
With these suspicious circumstances apparent
on the envelope, let us proceed to notice what
they tend to establish in the light of other evi-
deace. By the several witnesses from the
Washington Post Office the identity of the
stamp on the face of the envelope is shown.
1t is also proved, without controversy or con.
tradictisn, that the impression is that of a.
steel stamp which combines with itself a
stamp for canceling the postal stamp, so con-
structed that both operations are completed by
a single blow and that this stamp was first
used between the 18th and 10Th of February.
1880, and never before !; that up to that period
a rubber stamp was used, which also had
combined eanceling stamp of rubber; that the
rubber canceling stamp produced straight and
not circular lines that the rubber Post Office
stamp produced spread and blurred impress
sion, and not distinct one, like the steel
stamp. These facts are established by three
= illnesses, and they are not shaken by the
fact that the Postmaster, who was one of the
witnesses, says that he had published a card
saying that the steel stamp did not come into
use till April, because he explains that error
by saying that he directed one of his subordi-
mates to procure for him the date, and the
latter by mistake took the date at which the
bill for the steel stamp was presented and
paid for the time atswhich its use commenced.
and that subsequent personal examination
showed that the correct date of its use was in
February. This testimony shows that the en-
velope and whatever it then contained must
have been mailed after the 18th of February,
1880, and not on the 23d or any other day of
January. 1t aids US to see why in that stamp
tie month was wholly and the day partly
erased For, manifestly, it would not have
been safe to present the letter dated Wash
ingtop. Jan. %, 1880, ia an envelope mailed
a month or so later. -"
With the fact established that the steel
stamp could not have been impressed till after
the 18th of February, we now turn to the
stamps on the back of the letter. Ii is proved
by the Superintendent of the Receiving De-
partment of the New York Post Office that the
envelope bears the receiving stamp of that de-
partment; that that stamp is never put upon
letters passing through the New York Post
Office for Lynn, Mass -nr any other place in
the Eastern States; that it belongs to letters
received for delivery in the City of New York.
and that it indicates that this envelope was re-
ceived for delivery in the City of New York
at 1880 OF some morning or evening, on day
of some month of which day the figure '2'
was the second figure of a compound date.
He proved also that in the stamp the words
New York Reed were permanent; that
the abbreviation of the month was inserted
monthly; the date of the day daily, and of
the hour every half hour throughout the bust.
ness hours of the office; that all letters re-
ceived for delivery in streets or places above
Il IN fvrk,s ok,
the number or place of delivery is situated
that on reaching the station each letter receiv-
ed stamp likesin size and appearance to that
on this envelope, which stamp contained with
in the circle a capital letter indicating month
and day of the month and time of receipt at
the station, and that the letters were then
given to carriers for delivery at their ad-
dress. &iis, q elasaiff7<sa a& a5f@ 7efa't=-
The points of erasure in the station stamp
were shown also to be where the letter and
figures should appear, 1t was proved also
that the types put into the receiving stamp
showing the day of the month were solid, SO
that in that stamp where two numbers were
necessary to give the day they were both on a
single piece of steel, and could not be sepa-
r. 4y inserted, and that the figure .s2'' in the
ree.dving stamp was from its position, of me-
cessity the second figure of compound date.
and this appears to any ones observation. 1t
is shown by the officer in charge Of the mails
on the railroad cars that letters mailed in
Washington 1880 p. m. are brought to New
York on his postal car: that on the route all
letters for Lynn and other places 10 the East
ern States are separated, put up in separate
packages, and placed in separate pouches.
which do not 60 to the New York Post Office.
but are sent directly to the Postal Service cars
at the Forty second street depot except on
Sunday mornings when the pouches are TAX
en- to the New York Post Once. In the ex-
ceptional case it is shown that the pouches re-
main at the New York Post Office on Sunday
till the afternoon eastward milk train, and are
never opened, but are sent forward as they are
received; and that when connections Of the
mail trains are missed the pouches are brought
to the New York Post Office and opened, and
the separate packages OF letters which. they
contain are sent forward by the next mail
train, without being broken or disturbed at
the New York office. In addition to these
facts. tits shown by the Postinaster IF Tvnn