Year: 1876

had been running over the letters for some
time but the first time when he handed them to
me he had shown reluctance, and as 1 have
stated remarked "You are not afraid of my
keeping them" and he answered, "Oh no.
and handed them to me without any assurance
at all or without anything said about it, and
had no idea OF doing anything else than hand
ing them back until he announced his purpose
and determination that no matter who should
question his tes stlmony or impeach or impugn
his yeracity he would publish the letters


u said, These letters relate to matters that
nave no more connection or relationship with
the examination now going ON before the Ju-
dietary Committee than the man in the moon
and 1t would be grossly unfair that you should
treat my private correspondence in that way"
then said to him, "Will you ring the bell for
servant and tell him to send Mr.. Fisher up
from the lower room?"


He did so, and very soon Mr.. Fisher came up
and we had little conversation, in which L
repeated before Fisher what Mulligan had
said-his declaration, or rather his menace.


said. This is very grossly unfair, Mr..
Fisher" l then said l would be glad if Mr..
Fisher would take charge of the letters, that
they were rightfully in his possession or right
fully in mine, but not in any third persons
hands. Mullgan repeated again in Fishers
presence this declaration that he would feel
himself at liberty to publish these letters at
any time he saw fit if any body should provoke
him unto wrath by any comment on his tssIi-
mony and owing to the somewhat enlarged
facilities In the American press for making
crtlclsms upon everybody, L found that my
private correspondence hung by the thread of
his taking offence at any of the thousand and
one paragraphs that might be set afloat in the
papers, and 1 said to him, "Under these cir
cumstances L will not give those letters up"
and in order that he might not be mistaken as
to the ground of my action. | called Mr.. At
kns from the lower room, for wanted to tell
him the grounds on which 1 stood.


T said 81 will not returu these 1attnrs he
cause you threaten to make use of them
which is illegitimate, which is unfair, which is
entirely unjust and L have no idea that auy
man shall take my private correspondence and
hold it as menace over my head, to be used at
his beck or option for his own purposes or under
somebody's direction"


We went down stairs and he repeated and
reaffirmed his statement with very great en-
phasls, and said, very good; L will retain
the letters"


When went home L sent for two friehds,
one member of the House of Representatives
and the other lawyer in this city, and 1 Ia'
every one of these letters before them-tu.,,
letters which would disgrace me for life,"
ane "send my children sorrowing to the grave"
and deprive me of political honors," and all
that. l sat down and read every one of them
just in the order in which they were marked
and numbered by Mulligan himself l then
said to these gentlemen, "After consultation 1
am going to submit those to two of the wisest
duu UtsG COudSei tudb Can unU IN Gn6 City OF
Washington tomorrow (that is to-day and
will be guided entirely by them in the action
shall take before the Judiciary Committee.
1t they say any of those letters L should be in
duty bound to deliver, if they intimate to me
that there is anything in the letters which
bears even remotely or otherwise upon the
subject OF these interviews those letters shall
be delivered, but shall wait to be guided by
their opinion as to what ought to do in the
premises


AS to the bulk of those letters you might lust
as well send to my house for any package from
my files of correspondence for the last five
years and put it here as evidence in the inves-
tigation. Many of them relate to business
transactions which are passed and settled up,
and which do not want revived, not that there
is anything in them which is any degree en-
barrassing. | have read over freely to those
two friends and as say will read them over
freely to those two counsel. There is nothing
in those letters that 1 shall have occasion to
blush over The result is that stponed my
action until I could have this conference in re-
gard to it.


There was another reason which made it
peculiarly exasperating to me; that is that in
the month of September, 1872, Fisher and I, ,
after very long, and in the main, very pleas
ant business relation extending back to a pc
riod when l was very young man, had a final
settlement in which we exchanged receipts in
full. think the precise date was September
q, 1872. 1t was then said that all the letters
on either side and all papers and scraps of pa
pers should be given up, and L supposed they
were given up. These letters had been written
carelessly as business letters often are. l got a
great many letters from him and gave up all
that had. Mulligan claims that Mr. Fisher
gave those letters to him; that he has right to
them, and that he had the right to dispose of
that correspondence, which is all of it private.
correspondence, he said, "Why. public man
has no private correspondence, and can have no
private correspondence" He saws, 'sThe LET.
ter of public man is public" That was the
ground he took in the conversation, and es-
pecially if letter was not marked private.
Some OF these letters are, however, marked
private. Some are marked personal, and
some 'confdentaP'. 1 insisted that it was
tie grossest possible outrage, 1 said, ''You
take these letters before the committee without
the committee designing me any wrong, they
goopt to the world and then when it is seen
that they have no possible relevancy all that
there is objectionable in the publication has
been achieved and accomplished, and it will be
too late for me to interpose objection then. In
other words the very test of their admissibility
involves that myself protest against the use
of entirely private letters which have no reve-
lancy whatever to the case in hand.''


took that ground. and on that ground I
stand now. Justify myself for not returning
the letters 1t was he that was in unlawful
possession of those letters. He had no right to





ly that there are but two men that possess a
rightful interest in private correspondence
the writer and the person written to-and on
that right stand now. 1 shall produce the let
ter with great freedom on which Mr.. Mulligan
has based his testimony that L acknowledged
having received the $64,O0O and shall show
you it has no relation to that subject


By Mr. Frye-Do not some of those letters
relate to matters transpiring long before you
became member of Congress-


Ayes; long before l became a member of
Congress the first time.


Chairman-As l understand you, and as
especially understood from Mulligan, you had
possession of those letters on t wo occasions?


Blaine-Yes.


Chairman-On the first occasion YOU promis :.
ed to return them?


Blaine-It did not assume so formal shape
as promise. thought he exhibited little
hesitancy in handing the letters to me, and
said to him, You don't think would keep
them, do yon? 1t was rather an interroga-
tonal remark. Do not know whether Mr..
Fisher or Atkins were in the room when I first
got them, but both of them came in while
was reading and looking over the letters. [
handed them back to Mulligan.


Chairman-Why did you have the second in
terview in Mulligan's room in the absence of
those two gentlemen?


Blaine-It was Mr.. Mulligan who left the
room, not l. wanted to satisfy myself with
respect to a specific letter. Fifteen letters make
rather voluminous correspondence to remem-
Der all about [ went and told him l should
like to see specific letter, and he handed me
the package.


Chairman-When you got the letters the sec
ond time was it your intention to return tEem
to Mulligan?


Blaine-Yes.


Chairman-You changed your intention upon
his declaration thatif his veracity were assailed
he would publish the letters.


Blaine Yes.


POLITICAL.