Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-02-13

his bill was tavOrably reported, once 1t
was adversely reported; but In 1913 the
Senate actually passed the bill for paying
the claim. and late on the night OF Aug.
/ ~, lS4o, the last night Of the session, the
House took it up and concuTred In IL
without debate or division.
In November OF that year Gen. Taylor
| was elected President, and the tOllOWlHg
spring Gov. Crawford was selected by him
as Secretary of War. Now, the act OF
Congress just spoken Of had required tue
Secretary of the Treasury to examine into
the claim of George Galphin, and "to pay
the amount which may be found due TO
Milledge Galphin," the executor aud re-
preventative OF the GalDhin heirs and
claimants. What amOuDtS Principal
alone, or principal and interestI The
! principal was reckOned at $43,o1S W;
whereas the interest from june
! l175, amounted to $lS3,352 81. Gov.
Schley had informed the Presi-
dent, as the foundation of the
claim, "that there is justly due
10 the heirs OF George Galphin the sum OF
/ tS,l9l los. and 3D., sterling money OF
| Great Britain;" and a resolution OF the
| Georgia House had expressly declared
that it was this exact sum and no interest
| that was due. Secretary Walker, there
fore, the outgoing Secretary of the Treas
ury under President Polk, paid the prnel-
/ pal, but refused to pay the interest,
| though c0nsenting TO leave this matter
! open for his successor. The report OF the
/ House committee ofinvestigatiOn, already
| spoken of, which was agreed TO by large
majority of all the members, says That
| Gov. Crawford personally urged secretary
| Walker to let his clients have the
! interest also, "and some OF his friends in
sisted on it with so much earnestness as
/ induced Mr.. Walker to conclude that
| Gov. Crawford would be member OF the
| present Cabinet"
Two months after the inauguration of
President Taylor, Secretary Crawford.
''about the middle Of May, lS49, disclosed
to the President the condition Of the claim
and his relation to it; that he had been
! prosecuting it before Congress and else
/ where since 1893 that 1t had been allowed
/ by Congress, was pending before the Treas
ury Department, and he had an interest in
it," But the report proceeds with some
important details:
He did not state the character or amount
OF the claim, the extent OF his interest In
| it, or the name of the claimant, nor did he
enter into any details of the claim. The
President replied that, in mis- opinion, none
| of the pre-eXisting individual rights OF
GOV. Crawford had been curtailed by his
acceptance OF office.
AS fact, he had obtained the principal
in February, aud had divided 1t with the
heirs; and now. while Secretary, he en-
plOyed Judge Bryan, on the promise of
fee Of $4,000, contingent on securing the
! interest, to urge the Secretary of the
| Treasury to pay interest. He supervised
and aided Bryan in preparing the argu-
| ments, and the following spring his eff
forts were crowned with success, the in
| terest being allowed by the Treasury De-
parIment. Secretary Crawford's second
statement of accounts for his client read
as follows:
Interest on Sls5ls 81 for 70 years
months and II days. ...............$ l91 ,352 SO
Less fee of Joseph Bryan. ....... 5000 90
Total. ............................ $lSs,852 50
Less one-half under contract with
| George W. era WtOfd ........... 4,lIb A
GEORGE w. CRAWFORD. Agent, etc.
Washington CITY, Agrcb 2, 1850.
Then at last the facts became public
and there was perhaps as much talk
over them as over the Pan-Electric busi-
ness to-day. Secretary Crawford accord
| ingly demanded an investigation by Con-
gress, as we have seen, and the committee
| went to work at once. On April II it
asked instructions as to the scope Of its
inquiry, and after a long debate resolu-
ton was passed as follows:
'sThat the select committee appointed
by this House in relation TO the Galphin
claim be instructed to make full inVesti-
CATION and report to the House the origin
! and nature of said claim, the circum-
stances attending its prosecution before
| the departments OF the government and
the passage of the bill authorizing the
payment OF said claim, and
ali matters in anywise pertinent to the
inquiry, and that they nave power to send
for persons and papers,"
On May II the committee made Its re-
port, from which some extracts have al
| ready been made. 1t recommended the
House to adopt three resolutions, sub
stantially as follows: l. That the Galphin
claim was not a just demand against the
United States. 2. That nevertheless an
act of Congress had made it the duty of
the Secretary OF the Treasury to pay the
the act did not authorize
the payment of interest, and the
interest was wTongfully paid. Six men,
bers agreed TO the statement of facts
made IN this report, the other three dis
senting only in part. The second OF the
resolutions was agreed TO by all the men,
beers of the committee. A majority also
agreed to the other two. Those of the ma
jority proposed different set of resolu-
lions, five in number, OF which the fourth
is specially noticeable:
"a. That Congress should pass law pro-
hibting any member Of the Cabinettrom
deciding on any claim or demand against
the government IN Whlch any Obner mem.
Der OF the same Cabinet shall be interested
while tneV may be thus associated to-
gether in the administration OF the gov
eminent"
1.-The resolution was offered, although
the Secretary OF the Treasury and the At
torney General had both testified that
they had no knowledge of the pecuniary
relations OF their fellow Cabinet officer
to the claim for interest; and the main
report said that "the committee has not
been able to discover any evidence that
Gov. Ora wford ever awaited himselfOf his
official position, or OF the social relations
il established between himself and the
others members of the Cabinet, 10
influence the favorable determination
OF his claim" But il was known
that his name did not appear in the
papers OF the case. and il came out that
he once asked the Attorney General TO
examine It, "as some OF his Georgia
friends were conce ned IN H." and that
three or four times he had asked the Sec
rotary of the Treasury TO ''haye 1t decided
without delay"
The House, feeling that the matter was
grave one, appointed for its cOnsidera-
ton the fourth Tuesday in June. But on
May 20 Mr.. Toombs, rising to a privileged
question, and undertaking to defend Mr..
Crawford, was sharply answered by Mr..
Brooks.
.sSupDressiO ycTi SuGgeStiO fdlSi. | stall