Year: 1860

Sa illnesses.


In the recent message from the Presi-
dent of the United States to the House Of
Representatives is contained tie following
sentence:


Il feel proudly conscious that there is
no public act of my life which will not
bear the strictest scrutiny. | defy all in
vestigation. Nothing but the basest per-
jury can sullS my good name. do not
fear even this; because l cherish an hum
bic confidence that the gracious being who
has hitherto defended and protected me
against the shafts of falsehood and malice
will not desert me now."


In the very hour that the President was
employed in writhing the above earnest
expression Of conscious rectitude, Of en-
tire confidence in his invulnerability against
ali assaults, and of faithful reliance in Di-
vine protection against the shafts of the
peliurer. a miserable wretch was assailng
his reputation, and committing the infa-
nous crime Of perjury at the Capitol be-
fore the committee of the Senate appoint
ed to investigate the alleged abuses in the
public printing.


! A man named Pettlbone, bookbinder,
whose previous character compared very
favorably with that of any of the Black
Republican witnesses or accusers, whether
in or out Of Congress. and in whose word
honest men would have been willing 10
place more reliance than in that OF any OF
the rest of the Black Republican gang Of
defamers. appeared before the Senate Com
mittee, Of which Hon. Preston King is
Chairman, and there testified on oath tha;
he once wrote letter to the President in
reference to the law regulating the Execu.
tive binding; that the President referred
that letter to the Attorney General indor-
sed in a particular manner, which he (the
witness) minutely specified; that he sub
sequently called on Judge Black aud call
ed his attention to this Endorsement; tha
the Judge expressed his astonishment a
its nature, and said he would take it to the
President and have the Endorsement chan
ged; and that, when he (Pettibohe) mex
saw the paper, "the first Endorsement wa!
very nicely erased and another substituted
in its place by the President, and signa(
j. b.


The charge made by this man was
nothing less than that the President hat
committed the crime Of forgery that, i'm
itating the example of a certain notorious
investigator,--a black republican ally
he had mutiated a public record. Th'
witness not only observed that the origin
al Endorsement had been altered, but tha


it had been carefully erased. and anothe
substituted in its place by the President
and signed J. B." Like most false wit
nesses, he was very minute, and appeared
anxious to take every precaution SO tha
the record should be correct


Now, what are the facts?


1t was proved on the sworn testimoD.
of the Attorney General and one of hi
= clerks, that the document referred to b.
this Pettibone had been regularly filed i
the Office of the Attorney General as
Government record. aud that tho Who'll
story of the Endorsement, erasare and sub
: stitution was base and maliciou
G fabrication from beginning to end. Th
= document was produced before the com


mittee; was shown to Pettibone, who &C
knowledged that it was the one to whic


he referred il was proved that ther


never was any other document of a sim
) lar import in existence; that its endorse


ment was entirely different from the dc
scription given by the witness, and thu
J there was not the slightest trace of an
= erasure, not even the minutest trace of


pen. When driven to the wall this PETIT
bone limited that erasures could be mad