The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1880-06-26
AOKLEN INDICATED.

| we are III receipt OF copy OF the
tardy report of the Judiciary Com
| mittee of the national House of Rep
| resentatives with relation to the
charge made against Mr.. Acklen,
| member of Congress from this Dis
trict, by his colleague Hon. j. Floyd
King Of the Fifth Louisiana District,
and We are not sorry to note the
| complete vindication of our member
from the serious imputation which
the affair had cast upon his character.
The gist of the accusation, as most
of our readers will remember, was
that, on the 18th of January last Mr..
Acklen attempted to procure, "un-
| der pretended authority from Mr.
King, or otherwise, the printing of Il
document as Il report from the Com
mittee on Foreign Affairs, when in
fact that committee had not agreed
to any such report, Or authorized the
same to be NADER
We can not spare space for the re-
production of the report of the Judi
ciary Copmittee III its entirety, and
indeed it is not necessary that we
should do so, since a few brief ex-
tracts from the document will serve
every essential purpose. The COM
mittee says:
In order that there might be no pre-
text on the part of any one for any COM
plant or even suspicion Of partially or
Intentional injustice, whatever it's con-
clusion might be, your committee per-
mitted the Investigation to take the
widest possible range. Every witness
within reach of the process of the House,
who was supposed to be able to throw
the least light whatever upon the sub
.;ect, was summoned, and the utmost
latitude allowed i'll the examination of
each OF them, and it is the opinion of
your committee that the summary of
facts, as stated by Mr.. Acklen, is not
| only consistent with reason, but cor
roborated by the evidence herewith sub
| mitteu.
| It is in evidence, moreover, that sew
eral members of the Committee OH For
| eign Affairs were ON the floor at the
| time, and the idea that any sane man
| would rise III their presence AMI boldly
| attempt to palm Off OF ask to have
| prili ed as their report u paper to which
| they had never agreed when any or all
of them might have instantly confronted
| him with q denial of its authenticity
| and exposed the falsehood in the face of
| the House and the country, seems to
| your committee too preposterous to be
| entertained for Il moment, aud it is
equally incredible, without the most
conylcing proof, that such an attempt
| could have been made even had every
| member Of the committee been absent at
| the time, for it must have been obvious
| to any rational mind that q paper thus
sulrepttlously published as the report
OF a committee could not possibly have
| been used or referred to as such without
/ leading to the exposure of the fraud and
the inevitable disgrace of its perpetra-
| tor.
| Nor have your committee been able to
discover in the evidence the slightest
trace Of any rational motive which
could have tempted Mr.. Acklen to pro-
ceeding SO unnecessary in itself, and so
hazardous to his own reputation either
Tor personal integrity or common sense.
Your committee would therefore re-
1 spectfully recommend that the matter
be laid OH the table and no further ac-
| ton taken therein.
The suggestion of the committee
was adopted by tho House, and thus
ends al unfortunate affair which We,
in common with many of MI. Acklen's
constituents, were at first blush dis
posed to construe to his disadvantage.