The Portland daily press., 1895-11-16
Washington Star.)

Year.
washington Star
| A few months ago all the record III
cases Of applications for amnesty unoer
| the proclamations issued during and al
ter the war were. by direction OF thS
Attorney General, transferred to the REQ
| ord and pension Office of the war depart
ment. This mass OF papers has been
properly recorded and indexed. Among
them are many of great historical inerest.
| chief of which is the petition for the par
don of JEFF Davis, the head and front OF
the lost cause. 1t bore the signatures VI
over IA, 900 persons and was contained IN
a beautiful sack of pure white SILK
Another celebrated case was that OF Dr.
Mudd, who was sent to the Dry Tortugas
for alleged completely in the conspiracy
against the life of President Lincoln
| 1t is roughly estimated that over 7,ooO
convicbs have been pardoned by the va
rious Presidents since the founding OF
the republic, and that in all about 10, 00O
persons have received the benefits OF pres
idential amnesty. The first president to
grant many pardons was Monroe. He has
432 to his credit. Prior to that time,
throughout the administrations of Wash
ington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison,
the total number of pardons was S54
After Monroe pardons were few up to the
time of Andrew jackson, who has a rec
ord of $50. Coming down to modern
] times Lincoln pardoned 355, Grant, 1412;
Hayes, 9O5; Arthur. 1884; Cleveland. first
administration, 40; Harrison, about $50,
and Cleveland, second administrator to
date, about 400.
Until comparatively recent date the
state department has had charge of the
business of pardons. All petitions for
executive clemency were filed there and
| were investigated by its officers, who pre-
pared brief in each case and submitted
| it to the President for his action. A
change occurred in 1851, however, when
Secretary Webster transferred the whole
business to the Department. of justice,
where it has manned ever since. Even
after this transfer, however. while the
cases were investigated at the depart
ment of Justice, in case the President
granted pardon it was necessary for the
Attorney General to write to the secretary
of state asking that he issue pardon in
| accordance with the Presidents action.
These warrants recited the reason for
the pardon or the communication of sem
lance, whichever it might be, and were
| first signed by the President and then
countersigned by the secretary of state.
They also bore the great seal of the
United States.
PRESIDENT CLEVELAND'S ORDER.
This practice was followed until June,
1898, when President Cleveland issued an
executive order directing that all war
rants of pardons heretofore prepared at
the department of state be prepared in the
department. of Justice, and that the
duties heretofore performed in such cases
by the Secretary of State be performed by
the Attorney General. This order is still
in force, SO that now warrants for par
dons are oountersigned by the Attorney
General instead of the Secretary OF
State and bear the seal of the department
of Justice instead of the seal of the United
States.
Under the present syestem all applica-
lions for pardons received at the depart
men of justice are at once forwarded to
the United States district attorney for the
district where the trial took place, with
request that he make a report thereon
and obtain, if possible, the opinion of the
Judge before VIII ON the convict was tIied.
Except in capital cases if the report
made by the district attorney and the
| trial Judge Is adverse to the granting OF
| the pardon, the papers are not sent to the
President for his consideration. but in all
cases where the district attorney and the
Judge do not agree as to the exrediency
of extending executive clemency the pa
pers are forwarded TO the President for
| his action.
RESTORATION TO CITIZENSHIP.
| Under another rule applications made
merely for restoration to citizenship will
not be considered by the the President
| prior to the expiration Of the sentence.
After the convict has been released 1oI
a considerable period. and his good con-
duct has been certified to by the people
among whom he lives, the President then
will consider the application.
When a case is decided the applicant
for executive clemency or his attorney If
notified Of the fact. If a pardon is grant
ed a warrant is at once forwarded to the
applicant, either through the United
States marshal or the warden Of the jail
whers the convict is confined. If the
pardon is denied the Endorsement made
nv the President upon the papers during
the application is forwarded to the ap
plicant or his attorney.
The majority of the offences against the
United States in which the PRECEDENT il
called upon to exercise executive elem
eney. arc violations Of the postal AND in