Year: 1862

In the House of Representatives on the


18th. Mr.. Dawson, of Mass. from the


Committee of Investigation on Govern


mebt Contracts, IN resuming his remarks


commenced on Friday last, said: Sir. /


have not failed to notice, and believed the


committee of which | am member, have


not failed to notice, in common with the


whole country, that for some unaccount-


able reason the charges upon the national


treasury, at this time of war, have been


such as to reach nearly the bottom of the


chest. During the investigation startling


facts have come before the notice of this


committee, and 10 the notice of the whole


country, touching the mode and manner of


the expenditure of the public money


Some eff these items l propose to call pub


lie attention 10, and then to ask gentle


men the plain question, when they propose


to meet this question, if at all, and if so,


how, when, and where? The very first
contract entered into by the government,
and after the troops had left their homes


to come here, in April last, to defend the


Capital, by which they were to be fed, was
contract entered into for cattle. 1t was


not made with a man whose business it


was to supply cattle to the market, not


nth a man ,Oho knew the price of beef in
the market of the country, but was entered
into by the government with man well


known in this, and the other branch of
Congress, for the last ten years, as an old
stipendiary-one of the class Of men who,
in the times past made their money by
such operations as buying the certificates
of members or books at discount, and
then charging the full amount. This con-
tract was made so that the first twenty
two hundred head of cattle furnished was
charged at rate which enabled their orig
inal contractor TO sublet it, in twenty -four
hours after, to man in New York who
did know the price Of beef, so that he put
into has pocket, without stirring from has
chair, thirty -two thousand dollars, and the
men acho actually furnished the cattle in
question, put into their pockets tsoenty-six
dollars more, so that the contract
under which these twenty-five hundred
head of cattle were furnished TO the army |
was so made that the profit of fifty-eight
thousand dollars was realized over the fair
market price. 1t takes a longer time for
a thousand head eff cattle to reach this city |
from the States where they are purchased,
than it takes the army to consume them.
ask the House at this rate, to consider
how long the most ample provision of the
Treasury would be able to meet the ample
demands for the subsistence of the army.
Sir, poorly as the army Is shod today a
million of shoes have already been ,oorn
,ut, and million more are being manu-
and get upon every one Of these
shoes there has been waste of seventy!
fve cents. Three-quarters of a million of
dollars have been already worn out, and
another three-quarters ofa million Of dol
ars upon shoes now being manufactured.
In that department of the Government,
contracts have been so plenty that the
Government officials have gone about the
streets with their pockets filed with them,
and of which they made presents to the
ciergymen of their parishes, and with
which were healed old political sores and
cured political feuds. Even the telegraph
has announced that high public function.
aries have graced the love feasts which
we're got up to celebrate these political
thus brought about while
the hatchet of political animosity was bur-
led in the grave ofpoHtical confidence, and
The national credit erucifed amongst NAL
efactors. We have reported to us the first
fruits of these contracts. A regiment of
cavalry lately reached Louisville, one
thousand strong, and the board of army
officers there, appointed for the purpose,
haze condemned four hundred and eighty
fve out Of the thousand horses as utterly
The man who examined those
horses declared, upon his oath, that there !