The Greensborough patriot [April 27, 1860]

              BT SHERWOOD & LONG.
******Wmm Mm* ******** ^(culture, JKanufacturcs, Commerce, mhMiscellaneous Eeabrng.
TERMS-$2.00 IN ADVANCE
VOL. XXII.
aREENSBOROUGH, 1ST. C, APEIL 27, i860.
Tii» CrccnsfcuroragJi Patriot.
.;.,! IfOOB. JAMES A. LO.NO.
;]li:KWOOI) & LONG,
BOtrOBS AM) PROPRIETORS.
I;lRilS: *i.OO A YEAR, I.\ ADVANCE.
nTIS ttF ADVERTISING I\ THE PATRIOT.
. -. Uai per s'|ii:ir<- for the firs! week, and iwenty-
. • r <•vi-i-y week thereafter. TWELVK LINES OB
I ■• i >i|iiare Deductions made in favor of
J ; s.. ifte* as follows:
3 MONTHS. 6 MONTHS. ] YEAB
$3 50 $5 60 $8 00
700 1000 1400
10 00 15 00 20 00
. •: re,..
D ■ ■ ■ ' "■ ■
THE PUBLIC PRINTING.
■ v Public Money is Used to Carry Elec-
. ,,, ■ Support Party Newspapers.
THE EXECUTIVE ORGAN.
- ,.V BEFORE THE I'KlNTINd COMMITTEE.
.' :..•.•■ received a copy of tlio testimony
. !•• the Priuting Committee in the
. ('. Representatives, of which Hon.
laskin is Chairman, concerning the
j .. which the public money paid out
itive and Congressional printing
rhe testimony is very
h of it, relating merely to matters
. ;• o\ very little general interest.—
. . from the evidence, givon sundry
work ? A—It is not done by contract; it is
done tinder the law which gives it to the
printer elected by either Hou6c.
Q—Do you recollect the aggregate amount
paid for printing Post-office blanks during
the Thirty-fifth Congress? A—I think it
averaged about 840,000 per year.
Q—Do yon know the profit on that to the
person who was paia by the Government for
doing the work ? A—One-half, Sir.
f Q—You say the work was done by Mr.
Crowell? A—He took a sub-contract.
Q—Where does he live ? A—In New Jer-sey.
0—Was the work done there ? A—It was
| done in New York; I would state that Cro-j
well had been the contractor for the work
| for I think twelve years, and, under the law
j of 1852, the contract he then held ran out,
and the work reverted under that law to the
printer of Congress.
Question by Mr. Fouke—Which printer?—
A—Tho printer of either House as the Su-perintendent
of the Printing might give it;
ho did give it to the printer most generally
[connected with the organ of the President;
! Judge Nicholson then edited the Union, and
I ho got it; I was the business man of Nichol-son
at that time, I made a sub-contract with
j Crowell, under which be did the work for
Nicholson.
Question by the Chairman.—Had not Rice
NO. 1084.
als for the papers ? A—I could not answer
positively. The idea was that tho paper
was the medium for the promulgation of
sound doctrines, wherever they emanated
from.
C—I ask whether you can state, from your
own knowledge, that any one of the Heads
of the Executive Departments wrote editori-als
that were published in tho Union? A—
My impression was, I may say, Judge Black
wroto for it. I thing ho wrote several arti-cles,
but I do not know positively that any
other member of the Cabinet did. That is
my impression. I could not swear positive-ly,
never having taken any manuscript from
them. Mr Appleton contributed as editor
after ho went into the State Department.
Q—Were his articles on general politics ?
A—On general politics.
Q—Was it so under President Pierce ?
A—I presume so. It is generally considered
with usin the craft that the Cabinet furnish
if they please.
al printing is the printing of tho post-office blanks during
,' voluminous, the Thirty-fifth Congress ? A—It was given
' which show how systematically the
him lor a period of about four months, but it
made no alteration in their arrangement; 1
managed it; ho never lifted a finger.
0—How much bonus did Rice receive for
s used lor party purposes,— [parting with h.s interest in that contract to
you? A—He received forty-three cents on
the dollar from me.
Q—Had any other parties an interest in
the profits of post-office blank contract ? A—
About four or five months after Rice.received
tho contract the order was revoked, and it
reverted to Harris, as Sonato Printer, whom
I had already purchased out, as I had Mr.
Steadman, and it fell into my hands ; but
the profits of that printing was left at the
' disposal of the President, and, under his di-rection,
Mr. Rice's percentage was reduced,
and Mr. Soverns, of the Philadelphia Argus,
had for a session a portion.
_Q—What portion? A—I think I paid
him between five and six thousand dollars.
0—Had any other person an interest in
j the printing? A—No, Sir; none was given
by direction to anybody else ; 1 might have
in"- i llsccl 80mo myself as a voluntary gift,—a par-tisan
gift.
0—You have stated that you mado an ar-rangement
with Harris, the Senate Printer,
during tho Thirty-fifth Congress, to take this
contract off his hands. Did you also have an
arrangement with Harris in relation to tho
I general Senate work ? A—I bought him out
j entirely.
Q—Be kind enough to state what bonus
. you paid him fur transferring his rights as
i Senate printer to you ? A—I gave 820,000
. for tho Senate printing ; it is proper I should
, explain that I took Harris as editor of the
Union ; 1 was then the owner of tho organ ;
! I took Mr. Harris as the editor, with the un-derstanding
that I should pay him so many
thousand dollars per annum for editing tho
paper; I found him rather slack in it, and
was compelled to procure other editorial as-sistance,
and on his election as printer, desir-i
ous of* getting rid of him as well, as printer,
: I stipulated to pay him 820,000 more than I
had previously given iiini, which I think was
some seven or eight thousand dollars for a
period of nine or ten months.
President himself, and tho members
: hinet, have directed appropriations
lie funds to the support of party
.'..; I to electing members of Con-
. d lubtfnl districts.
..-::••; 'NT OF rouNEl.lt s WENDELL.
■. -• Wendell—Q.—What is your pro-
Mi or business ? A.—A Printer.
-.„".. jyou the Printer de facto of the
• • -.-. -■'-': A—1 was.
-!.'.. was elected Printer of that House?
-'..-.. a B. Stodman.
-YOB :.:•■ tl Printer of tho House until
. .•.■- rperseded? A—That is tho custom.
,i until another Printer is elected.
j—He was elected Printer of tho Thirty-
•n Congress ? B— Yes Sir.
ii—Did he ever perform the duties of that
i*J A -No Sir.
ii—When did yon commence performing
duties of Printer to the- House ? A—Im- Ill
•Jiat'-ly on hi • election.
j—Will yon be kind enough to state in as
.•/-•• manner as possible tho terms upon
•i you became Printer de facto, as be- '
•-j y.i.i and Air. Steadman, tho Printer
; of the Thirty-fifth Congress? A—1
listed with him to do the work forsixty-i
:•!• "i. the dollar.
. -Sixty-four cents on the dollar? A—
■ Sir
;—That i». where he received one dollar
• •":.':. printing you got sixty-four cents
. : it for doing the work ? A—Yes. Sir.
.• ■• t' • Mr. Fouke.—Hro got thirty-six
••••si '4 tiif dollar and you the balance ?
-Y-».v.r Afterwards that arrangement
t ' aside, and I gave him a stipulated
J: ' took the chances. Ho was very
■• " r money, and I bought him out
• .■
• '•'.- Chairman.—Your first agree-
1b him was to do the work for sixty-ts
on the dollar paid him by the
-i—Yes, Sir.
SALE OF TIIE UNION.
Q—Will you state to tho Committee the
circumstances attending your transfer of tho
Union newspaper to tho person who at pres-ent
is at tho head of the Government organ ?
A—In March last, I was desirous of selling
or transferring tho Union, on account of tho
magnitude of the business I had on hand, and
I proposed to turn it over to the Administra-tion,
and addressed a letter to the President,
which was the commencement of negotia-tions,
or rather the letter was addressed to
Judge Nicholson, but intonded for tho Pres-ident.
Tho result of the negotiation was,
that Mr Bowman should be put in tho pa-per
and I should retire from it, paying $20,-
000 per year to its support. A portion of
the 820,000 was to bo paid to tho Pennsyl-vania
in Philadelphia, as I understood, but
in my written stipulations I stipulated to
pay Bowman tho 820,000. The considera-tion
that I was to receive in return was, in
case of Bowman's election, which was pre-sumed
here to be an almost sure thing, I was
to perform his work at prices which would
enable mo to participate in the profits.
Q—Do you recollect those prices?—A—
The prices were not fixed. The understand-ing
was that Bowman should not risk a dol-larin
any way; that I should -Secure him
against all loss, and afford him a liberal sal-1
ary. On his election as printer, I endeavor- !
ed to carry it out, but he refused to carry
out the arrangement. A portion of the ar-rangement
was in writing and a portion of
it was a verbal understanding.
Q—Who prepared the arrangement? A—
Judgo Black, I think, as the friend of Mr
Buchanan.
Q—Have you that agreement ? A—It is
in the possesion of tho Committee of the Sen-ate.
B—Was it at the request of the President
that you transferred the Union ? A—I can-not
say it was.
Mr Hindmand—I shall object to that line
of investigation, not that I have any objec-tion
to tho exposure of any fact connec-ted
with the public printing, but because I
much : I merely made a memorandum of
the amount of money that went into Penn-splvania
during that time; I have the
amounts that were paid towards sustaining
the Philadelphia Pennsylvanian and Evening
Argus.
Q—You do not know the amount of mon-ey
that went into J Glancy Jones' district ?
A—1 do not remember.
Q—Can you approximate to it ? A—If
my memory serves me, there was 8500 sent
there on one occasion ; instead of speaking
of tho 811,19s 57 having been spent in the
Fall election of 1858 in Pennsylvania, I should
have said that that amount was contributed
to the support of the Pennsylvania newspa-per;
tho amount spent in Pennsylvania in
the Fall election of 1558 was about 84,000
only.
Q—Do you know of money having been
spent in any other districts than those you
have mention? A—There was money sent
into Philadelphia, but I cannot tell into
whoso district
Question by Mr Fouke—The 84,000 you
speak of as having been spent in Pennsyl-vania
in the Fall election of 1858; is it a dis-tinct
sum from the $11,000 that was paid for
the support oftho Pennsylvanian ? A—Yes,
sir; entirely distinct.
MORE ABOUT THE PRESIDENTS ORGAN.
Cornelius Wendell, recalled : Q—State all
the facts in connexion with the transfer of
the paper to Bowman f
The Chairman—Yes, sir.
Witness—When I transferred tho organ
to Bowman it was called the Union then,
and ho named it the Constitution. It was
stipulated that I should pay from the pro-ceeds
of the printing of tho Post-Office blanks
820.000 per annum until tho ensuing session
of Congress, when it was supposed he would
be elected Senate printer. My stipulation
was to continue with Bowman so long as the
executive work, or work claimed under the
head of tho Executive Departments which
was then given me should be left in my
hands.
Q—From 1850, who exercised the control
over the giving Out of the Post-office blank-printing?
A—The President and Postmas-ter
General, through tho Postmaster General.
In December succeeding Mr Buchanan's com-ing
into power, he gave it to Mr Rice for a
time.
Q—Did you sob-contract it from Mr Jcice ?
A—Yea, sir; that was the understanding
that 1 should continue to do the work as here-tofore,
and have the control of it. Rice receiv-ing,
I think, forty-three cents in the dollar.
Q—Was there any understanding when
this work was given to Rice that newspa-per
was to be supported out of it? A—It
was understood that it was for tho
of tho Pennsylvanian; such was
standing.
Ma no, should take the paper and become its
editor. He was a competent man supposed ;
but in the course of twe or three weeks Bow-man
s name was mentioned and I assented
to it. We met at the Attorney General's of-fice,
and Judge Black drew the papers be-tween
us, which Consisted in my conveying
the Union to him. J 6
Q—To Bowman? A-Yes. Sir, to Bow-man
; with a stipulation to pay tho money
also. There was a letter addressed in dupli-to
Judge Black an 1 Judge Nicholson, se-lecting
them as tho umpires in caso any dif-ficulty
should arise between us. The difficul
ty having arisen, I have tried to have it set-tled
by the umpires, but Bowman invariably
declines He found he could make a better
thing of it I suppose, by engaging Mr Rives :
and when he was elected Senate Printer he
repudiated all our agreements, for which I
have commenced a law-soip; it being, as 1 am
advised by my counsel, the only remedy I
have in the premises.
Q—How much of a losing concern is this
Government organ per annum, in your judg-ment
? A-If my memory serves me, it cost
me when it was under my management, $19,-
000 over and above its receipts*
Question by Mr Palmer—Did it cost you
that amount per annum? A—Yes Sir- I
think it cost me about that last year' Bow-man
told me that ho thought it would cost
him about 812,000 with his management; ho
being a close manager, ho cut down where
1 was disposed to be liberal; 1 paid pretty
wed for the services of thoso employed about
the paper; I did not quarrel with the editors
about the amount they should receive, but
paid them a liberal salary; the editors wore
generally designated by the President.
Q—The editors ofthe Union were designa-ted
by tho President whilst you had the
management of the paper? A—Yes Sir •
whilst I was the owner of it.
•MVasanyono ot thoso editors in the
employ of tho Government? A—Not when
they were appointed editors; Mr Appleton
was afterwards appointee Assistant Secreta-ry
of state, and Mr Harris elected Senate
Printer.
MESSAGE OP THE PRESIDENT.
To the House of Representatives: After a
delay which has afforded mo ample time tor
reflection, and after much careful delibera-tion,
I find myself constrained by an imper-ious
sensoof duty as a co-ordinate branch of
toe rederw Government, to protest against
the first two,clauses of the first resolution
adopted by the House of Representatives on
the oth inst., and published in tho Congrcs-
Ulobe on the succeeding day.
quaintance
Q—You have spoken<f your liberality, be
kind enough to state whether, out of the, pro-fits
of the public printing, you contributed,
in I Sox, certain amounts.-.) secure the elec-tion
of members of Congr.-ss'in different dis-tricts
in Pennsylvania. Ifso, in what dis-tricts
. A—I spent a good deal of money in
These
clauses aro in the following words :
Resolved, That a committee of five mem-bers
be appointed by the Speaker for the
purpose : First, of investigating whether the
President of the United States, or any other
ogicer of the Government, has, by money
patronago, or other improper meang, sought
to influence tho action of Congress, or any
committee thereof, for orag.unstthe passa<4
ot any law appertaining to the rights of any
State or Territory; and, second, also to in-vestigate
whether any officer or officers of
the Government have, by combination or
otherwise, prevented or defeated, or attempt-ed
to prevent or defeat, tho execution of any
law or laws now upon the statute book, and
whether tho President has failod or refused
to compel the execution of any law thereof.
1 confine myself exclusively to thoso two
branches of the resolution, because tho por-tions
of it which follow relate to alleged
abuses in the post-offices, navy yards, public
buildings, and other public works of tho Uni-ted
States. In such cases, inquiries are high-ly
proper in themselves, and belong equally
to tho Senate and House, as incident to their
legislative duties, and being nocessary to cn-ablo
them to discover and provide appropri-ate
legislative remedies for any abuses which
may bo ascertained. Although the terms of
the latter portion of the resolution are ex-tremely
vague and general, yet my solo pur-pose
in adverting to them at the present, is
to mark the broad line of distinction between
the accusatory and the remedial brances of
this resolution. Tho House of Representa-tives
possess no power under the Constitu-tion
over the first or accusatory portion of
tho resolution, except as an impeaching bo-dy,
whilst over the last, in common with the
Senate, their authority as a legislative body
is fully and cheerfully admitted.
It is solely in reference to the first or im-id
a
M
n>
d
jr
n-of
i-n
I-i-politics,
but with all due deference to the
Committee, I must decline to answer in what
districts.
jg_ peaching power that 1 propose to make a few
-•- observations.
Q—Did Ton make any contributions t.o-wards
the election to Congress of J. Glancy | respects, ho
Jones, in 1858 ? A—A similar question was as they are
propounded me by
Except in this single case, the Constitution
has invested the House of Representatives
with no power, no jurisdiction, no supremacy
whatever over the President. In all other
is quite as independent of them
of him. As a co-ordinate branch
Question by Mr Hindman—How did you
low that? A—From the conversations 1
held with them; I insisted upon h
Q—Tho understanding between
A—Theunderstanding between th
and the Postmaster General.
always been an enthusiast?!
kno onLs Il ssttiillll™wa†s , aftn?,d, ypro,banbly ,J 'ibPoan,ldV cmoannt'r-ibauntde i %TRhyempeaonpnlcer h,0avteh0thllo0Uug8h°t°»pRroepperersetnotaitnivveess.t
av.ng n:oreinthecom.ngcamp.;gnifIhadit, I him with the most honorable, resnonsible
power in this investigation. IfI understand er unprofitable pecuniary organs, and Mr divers oiher States, and that I had given to this exalted position, will take care. s.Cas
the object in committing this matter to
■
-lnd subsequently; bo kind enough to
.'. what time you bought him out
f for a stipulated sum? A—He was
December, and in May following,
! gave him a stipulated sum.
I .. much was that? Thirty-four
".' liars.
•That was the whole bonus you paid
' • " ing out to you the right of Prin-
'House? A—No. Sir; subseqently
it a year, rather than have a row
i. at • about tho matter, I paid him
It was a black-mail operation with
threatened to resign and make a
rally.
~- re luy other parties interested with
it •• • rofits of the printing on his elec-
A—Yes. Sir; Mr. A. 1>. Banks, .Mr.
• - n McLeah, Judge Walker, and
" ■ r three others, who held minor in-
:l ■ von know what their several inter-
• •': A—i understood that -Mr. Hanks'
t vasonc-half, Mr. McLean's one-third
•'•'•■ Walker, I think, informed me
••■_•'; a quarter interest.
• ■ i Mr Steadman, at the time of his
any facilities here in Washington
tcr would
. _atever.
' *eyou the Printer of tho Thirty-
' «gress? A —I was elected Printer
1 nrty-fonr'Ji Congress.
- y< I state from recollection, the
• >. mcy j;ii I .! wing ;.lic Thirty-
'■ 'r «s for printing done for the
:; I■•. sentatives? A —I think it
.*. $230,000 : 1 am not positive; it
" msidorablo sum over 8200.00".
•:i y •'. state from recollection the
A—Well, I could not come very
'from the Fact 1 was doing the Senate
•' ve work, binding and all together,
• :' '• > distinct account of the profit; I
.'."•'' "■' ■ rofit ran mar forty-Jive rents.
• -s.ffWy-five vents on the dollar? A—
THE EXECUTIVE OROAN.
Q—Was there any condition affixed to
: your doing tho work of the Thirty-fifth Con-gress,
by which you were to own and con-duct
the Government organ, the Constitu-tion
? A—No. Sir.
Q—That was a voluntary enterprise ? A—
Yes, Sir; the editor of the organ is generally
supposed to command the patronage ot tho
President; there is a good deal of this work
at the disposal of the President—say an ag-gregate
of 8100,000 per year, more or less.
Q—At the disposal of the President? A—
Yes. Sir; that patronage the organ has com-manded
lor years, it being impossible to keep
a paper up hero without Government sup-
1 port.
<,;—Is this 8100,000 worth of patronage
you speak ot at the disposal of the President
i personally? A—Tho law provides that it
i shall be under the control of the Heads of
1 the Departments, but if the President signi-
»': s to liis Cabinet that lie would bo pleased
tions in the cost of "tho printing. Besides,
all these f'uft having been stated before tho
Senate committee, it is merely duplicating.
The Chairman to the witness—Have you
testified to these facts before the Senate com-mittee.
Witness—Fully.
Tho Chairman—I was not aware of that.
lmitting this matter to us, i Rico was very clamorous to have a share f->r'districts represented at tint time on the floor i lina" thm ai.J
,:,,Jf possible,_fuggest>reduc- j the Pennsylvanian, and we finally settled on by personal and political ft i3?IUSTSE iJUZSMS b^SSS^iT^S
r ten Districts, ! but shall pass to his successors unimpaired
umber, in ; by the adoption of a dangerous precedent.
but tho profits on that were not so great,
My object in pursuing this course of inquiry . and tho expenses of tho Union being' very
is to show that the profits accruing from the
public printing havo been appropriated in
part towards the sustainment of the organ
of the President published in this city, which
I think every member on the floor of tho
House knows to be a nuisance. To show tho
forty-three cents on the dollar : I then made that I did contribute in eigl tor
a contract with Mr Crowell, who did the I cannot call to mind the'"
work for mo for forty-five cents or fifty cents , Pennsylvania, during the last campaign in I He will defend -hem to tho h
on the dollar; he did it a portion of the time sums varying from S250, in the different Dis- j against any unconstitutional attempt c^me
lor fony-five cents, and a portion of the time tricts winch it was tho't a little material aid I from what quarter it may. tci abr «igo tK
for fatty cents; I had also the executive bind- j would carry for us; I did :..nong others con-' constitutional rights of the Executive^ and
tag, which Rice thought ought to satisfy mo, | tribute to the Perks County District, repre- render hi
sented then by J Glancy Jo ies, and to divers
and sundry others; I think in my other tes-fact
that this paper and other Administration
papers are supported out of the profits of tho
public printing, is, I think, pertinent to this
investigation.
USE OF PUBLIC MONEY IN ELECTIONS.
John Larcombe examined : Q—You sta-ted
in your former examination that you
were tho moneyed and book clerk of Wen-dell
? A—Yes, Sir.
Q—I want to ask you whether you know
of any part of the profits derived from the
public printing being appropriated towards
carrying any of tho Congressional elections
in the Fall of 1858 ; and if so, in what dis-tricts?
A—I mado a littlo memorandum
about that Sir; but I do not think that 1 can
timony I mentioned tho Dames of the gentle-! to the exercise of executive dutie« Thev
have also conferred upon him, in a largo
measure, legislative discretion. No bill can
become a law without his approval as repre-senting
the people of the United States, an-men
who represented tho«> Districts then,
but who, unfortunately, ID not represent
them now.
Q—Did you contribute in Landy'sdistrict?
d not protested against an inquiry nto what 1 had the Sonato and IIouso of Representatives in
>o Ex- done with funds of my own, and with speci-! stitute an inquiry, to ascertain any facts
ed to . fied amounts in specified places I have no ob- : which ought to influence his judgment in an
work which the public Print
. i t'i do ?—A—None wha
"»'i voq tate the aggregate amount
..V"' J'r'ntingof the House during the
••"'i Congress? A—It was a trifle
*- •• : 1 think about 8212,000; if
'" ry nerves mo; 1 have all theso fig-
' -i cent.
an yon t.ll what was tho net profit
*•*'*■ done tor tho Thirty-fifth Con-
->—I think it ran in the neighbor-
: rty cents ; some of the work is not
".•"•'- other, because it is not the same
*aeprice depends upon the stylo.—
** »e may do $100,000 worth of a
■ ..'r,•''"".*''' work and make forty cents
'dollar, and we may do another
.
see A B or C get it, as a matter of course | tell you which districts it wont to, except
one or two.
Q—State the amounts and the one or two
districts to which you have referred. A—I
have made a memorandum, of olev thousand
one hundred and ninety-eight dollars and fif-ty-
seven cents, spent chiefly during tho Fall
elections of 1858.
Q—For political purpurposes? A—Yes,
Sir.
Q—State the amounts, and the one or two
districts to which you have referred? A—
Without being able to state tho particular
amounts, shall I only be able to tell you
that some of the money, I think, went into
Mr Landy's district.
Q—About how much ? A—I do noimean
to say that Mr. Landy ever saw any of this
money, or heard of it, or that any gentle-man,
who was a candidate, had anything to
do with it.
Q—Was Mr Landy a candidato, at that
time, in the district which was called Landy's
district? A—1 am not sure; but I know
the district was called Landy's district at
that time.
Q—To whose election was this money ap-propriated
? A—That I could not tell.
Q—Was it appropriated for the election
of the Democratic candidato or the people's
candidato? A—Always for tho Democratic
cause.
Q—How much was spent in that district?
A—I think there were two drafts inside of a
thousand dollars : one perhaps for $500, the
other for $300.
: 'o
' they will obey his wishes; it has been a mat-j
tor of custom for the President to disposo of
it; Mr. Buchanan has done it, and his pre-
; decessor, Mr. Pierce did it; I nover had any
' intercourse with the Cabinet in the matter;
' my intercourse has been direst with Mr. Bti-
| chanan; and was so with Mr. Pierce.
{)—You say the aggregate amount paid
I for the executive printing per year is 8100,-
000? A—Prom 885,000 to8110,000; I think
' it will average 8100,000.
(t»—Do the profits on that printing average
50 cents on the dollar? A—A portion of it
averages much more; but the average on
I he wnole of it is about 35 cents on the dollar.
(v>—Was there ever any understanding
with j'ou while you had that printing that
a portion ofthe profits should be used towards
pustaingina theV>rgan ? A—Yes, Sir; It was
I given for the purpose of sustaining the or-
; gan.
(^—Was there any understanding between
: you and the President as to what portion of
: the profits should go towards sustaining the
] Government organ ? A—No, Sir, I cannot
I say there was a direct understanding; I un-i
derstood it, and I suppose he did.
Q—There was no distinct sum fixed upon
out of the profits? A—No, Sir; the under-standing
was that tho paper should go on.
Q—And that the patronage should support
it? A—Yes, sir ; I never had anything to
say about editing it.
Q—Do you know who edits the present
organ ? A—Mr Brown, 1 am told.
Q—Any one else ? A—No, Sir.
Q—You never had anything to do with
:: : .. . '.'"• """ "*- ""V u« ""»™ , the present organ, TTlhioo Ccoonnssttiittuuttiioonn?? AA——
naKe sixty or seventy cents on the | No gj,. tll0 name 0f t[ic paper was changed
... . | l"'"*'s :'ro <ixed by law, and tho | when it went out my hands.
"':lI•■ ,s varying. o—Who was your editor? A—Mr Apple-
POST- IFFICE BLANKS.
~ »»does the Poet-ofiiee blank print-
--•Ir Crowell did it up to the time
.'••;"■:. of Mr. Bowman; now Mr.
.;.' • Buffalo, does it for Mr. Bowman.
"• haa the contract for doing this
0—editorr Appl
ton, Mr Wm A Harris. Mr Simeon Johnson,
and Mr R W Hughes. They were changed
often
(^—-During that time were thero any occa-sions
on which the heads of tho Executive
Departments or any of them, wrote editori-m
Q—What other district was money spent
? A—I think in Mr Jones' district.
Q—Into which of the Jone's district—J
Glancy Jones or Owen Jones? A—There
was none went into the district of Owen
Jones that I know of.
Q—In regard to the district represented
by J Glancy Jones in tho last Congress, was
any money sent into that district to secure
his re-election ? A—I think some money
went into his district
Q—How much ? A—I cannot stato hew
large, I insisted that I should have all the
profits of the Post-office blank printing; 1
could not keep it however.
Qnestion by tho Chairman-Yon stated that
$20,000 were to bo allowed out of the profits
of the Executive printing towards Boppor-lA—I contributed in his district among oth-ting
the organ under Gen. Bowman? A— ers . the specific ground upon which 1 refus-
When I parted with it in March last, I found ed to answer this question ucforo was, that I j lative capacity I
that, paying Rice and Soverns, I could
sustain tho Union from the profits of'th
ecutive work, and I therefore proposec
give it; toany party that might be designated jeetion to say that I contributed more or less
by the President. | in the different districts, as my chock book
it—Who did you makethis proposition to ? . shows, in sums varying fro.r 8250 to $2,350.
I know that the.c was one Iistrict very hard
to carry, but wc did save it.
ii—Whose district was that? A—Wo
saved the Florence District from tho wreck.
1 beg tho Committeo will excuse me from go-ing
into detaihi. this monej -was contributed
for strictly parly purposes.
Question by Mr Hindman.—Did you uso
any money to aid in Becuriag the election of
m subservient to any human power
except themselves.
The people have not confined the Presiden
se
ess it shall pass after his veto by a Jty
of two-thirds of both Houses. In this legis-might,
in common with
A—To the president, and to pay"810,000 per I
annum was my first proposition ; pending
that proposition Mr Baker, tho Collector of
Philadelphia, came down to procure aid for ;
tho Pennsylvanian, and finally I had to ac-cede
to giving 820,000 per annum, $10,000
per annum of which Mr. Baker obtained for
the Pennsylvanian; I havo been informed
judgment in ap
proving or vetoing any bill. This participa-tion
in the performance of legislative duties
between co-ordinate branches ofthe Govern-ment,
ought to inspire tho conduct of all of
them in their relations towards each other
with mutual forbearance and respect. At
least, each has a right to demand justice from
tho other. Tho cause of complaint is that
the Constitutional rights and immunities of
tho Executive have been violated in the per-son
of the President,
that 810,000 of the 820,000 was for tho Penn-sylvanian,
but my obligation is with Mr any member of Congress from any Southern I dent before the Senate, on charges 'preferred
Bowman for $: 0 that obligation existed. State ? A—Never; I bolicro you do not in- ! and prosecuted against him by tho House of
still exists; and there has been MO action had
in relation to it, owing to Mr Bowman's ro-fnsal
to carry out bis part of tho engagement,
which was that I should do the Senate prin-ting
in case he was elected Printer to tiio
Senate; I paid Mr Bowman 85,000 in advance
when ho took tho Union, and tho balance
was secured to him by orders on the Post
office work, which he could not draw having
no orders on it.
Q—You paid him $5,000 when he took the
paper!? A—When ho took tho Union, I
gave him that amount as a capital to start
with.
Q—Did you pay him more on account of;
the $20,000? A—1 gave him orders on tho '
dulge in the expensive luxnry; I havo offer-ed
to do it, but my offers ave been indig-nantly
refused.
Question by the Chairm.n—If you had
not been in the receipts oi the public prin-ting
would you have contributed money as
you say you have done in the various Con-gressional
District? A—I would not havo
been able to contribute so much; it was the
profit I made out of tho public printing that
enabled me to contribute theso amounts ot
money; the fact that I was in a public posi-tion
known to be remunerative induced fre-quent
calls upon me, to which 1 responded.
Question by Mr Somes—I wish to know
whether or not there was an implied or ex-
Post Office Department in pursuance of an ' pressed understanding between you and any
account he rendered me of what was due
him, which orders I subsequently counter-manded,
on account of his not carrying out
his engagament.
Q—What did those orders amount to ?—
A—If my memory serves me, I gave him or-ders
to the amount of $8,000 or $10,000.
Q—Has he not received payment -it the
Post Office Department of those orders? A—
I believe not; yet I do not know.
Q—Was it understood when you transfer-red
The Union to Mr Bowman,'that $20,000
should bo delivered out of tho Post Office
printing by you for its support? A—Yes,
Sir, that was the understanding.
Q—Between whom ? A—The paper was
drawn up by Judge Black. It was between
Mr. Bowman and myself, wo being put for-ward
as the active men.
Q—Was tho President consulted in rela-tion
to it at any time '. A—I first addressed
a note to tho President—to Judge Nicholson,
who was my friend In the case, forthePres-dent,
and he took it up to him. In that note
I stated that it was rather onerous to me to
be obliged to support the Union, and what I
desired to do. I suggested that Mr McDon-ald,
formerly a member of Congress from
executive officer of the Covernment that you
should make these contributions out of the
printing for political purposes? A—No, Sir;
none, except ai» to tho contributions I made
towards the support of certain newspapers
which the President saw fit to assign mo to
support.
Question by the Chairman—Did any of
theso Congressional candidates make de-mands
upon you ? A—Not demands; they
make humble requests.
ii—Did J Gl" ncy Jones request you to as-sist
towards his election ? A—Well yes,
Sir; in tho course of a conversation he asked
mo to contribute something to it, and I re-member
telling him there was no necessity
of spending money in his District, as it was
safe any how. We found, however, that it
was rather unsafe when the votes came in.
An Unenviable Appointment.—The Wilming
ton Journal or tho Washington Constitution
improves upon an idea of some Northern
paper, and dubs one of the committees ap-pointed
to investigate sundry alleged official
corruptions "a smelling committee." If that
is the proposed occupation of the committee
its members aro certainly to bo pitied.
--JSO of
Representatives, would be an imposing spec-tacle
for the world. In tho result not only
his removal from the Presidential office would
be involved, but what is of infinitely greater
importance to himself, his character, both in
the eyes of tho present and of future trenora-tions,
might possibly ho tarnished. Tho dis-grace
cast upon him would in homo dogroo
bo reflected upon the character of tho Ameri-can
people who elected him. Hence tho pre-cautions
adopted by tho Constitution to se-curo
a fair trial. On such a trial, it declares
that tho Chief Justice shall preside. This
was, doubtless, because the framcrs of the
Constitution believed it to be possible that
the Vice Frosidcnt might be biased bv the
fact that in case of a removal of the Presi-dent
from office, the same shall devolve on
the Vice President.
. Tho preliminary proceedings in the House
in the caso of charges which may involve im-peachment,
have been well and wisely set-tled,
by long practice, upon principles of
equal justice, both to the accused and to the
people. The precedent established in the
case of Judgo Peck, of Missouri, in 1831, af-ter
careful review of all former precedents,
will, I venture to predict, stand tho test of
time. In that test Luke Edward Lawless,
tho accuser, presented a petition to the House
in which he set forth, minutely and specifi-cally,
his causes of complaint. He prayed
that tho conduct and proceedings in behalf
of the said Judge Peck may be Inquired into
by your honorable body, and such decision
mado thereon as to jour wisdom and justice
shall seem proper. This petition was refer-red
to tho Judiciary Committee, and such
has ever oecn deemed the appropriate com-mittee
to make similar investigations. It is
a standing committee supposed to be appoint-ed
without reference to any special case, and
at all times is presemed to be composed of
the most eminent lawyers in tho House from
different portions of the Union, whoso ac-ith
judicial proceedings, ,
whoso habits of investigation qualify tffm
peculiarly for the task ? No tribunal, frlm
their position and character could, in th©
turo of things, be more impartial. In
case of Judge Peck, the witnesses wert
lected by tho committee itself, with the v
to ascertain the truth of the charge.
Tbey were cross examined by him. i
everthing was conducted in such a man
as to afford him no rcasonablo cause of c<
plaint.
In view of this precedent, and what ia
far greater importance, in view of the C
stitution and principles of eternal juatico
what manner has tho President of the I
ted States been treated by the House of IV
resentatives ? Mr. John Covode, a repres -
tative from Pennsylvania, is tbo accuser i f
tho President. Instead of following the w£ «
precedents of former times, and especiaj,
that in tho caso of Judge Peck, and reforri.5-
the accusation to tho Committee on the Ju(f
ciary, the House havo made my accuser or\,
of my judges.
To make the accuser tho judge is a violt
tion of tho principles of universal justice, ai..
is condemned by tho practice of all civiliz! |
nations. Every freeman must revolt at sut-'ti
a spectacle 1 am to appear before Mr. C -
vode, either personally or by a substitute, i
cross-examine the witnesses which ho m«i<"
produce before himself, to sustain his ow i
accusations against mo; and perhaps eve
this poor boon may be denied to the Pre*
dent. And what is tho nature of tho late
tigation which his resolution proposes to i
stitute? It is as vague and general, as tl
English languago affords words in which t
make it. Tho Committoo is to inquire, nt
into any specific charge or charges, bi
whether the President has, by "money, pa
ronage, or other improper means, sought Go
influence," not tho action ot any individu 5
member or members of Congress, but the a;
tion (of the entire body) of Congress itseh,
or any committoo thereof. Tho Presidei t
might have had some glimmering of tho m
turo of tho offence to be investigated, ha I
his accuser pointod to tho act or acts of Con .
greas which he sought to pass or to defon
by tho employment of "money, petronagt
or other improper moans." But the accusi
tion is bound by no such limits It extends t
the whole circulo of legislation ; to tho intei
ferenco "for or against the passago of an
law appertaining to tho rights o
any State or Territory." And wha"'
law doep not appertain to tho rights of sum-
Stato or territory? And what law or law*.
has the President failed to execute? Thosv
might easily havo been pointed out had any
such existed. Had Mr. Lawloss asked an in-quiry
to be made by the House whethor Judgo
Peck, in goncral terms, had violated his ju-<
dical duties, without tho specification of any
particular act, I do not believe there would
have been a single vote in that body in favor
of tho inquiry. Since tho time of the Star
Chamber and general warrants, thero has
been no such proceedings in England.
Tho House of Representatives, the high!
impeaching powor of tho country, without!
consenting to hear a word of explanation, a
have endorsed this accusation against the 2
President and made it their own act. They
even refused to permit a member to inquire
of tho President s accuser what were tho spe-cific
charges against him. Thus, in this pre-liminary
accusation of "high crimes and mis-demeanors"
against a co-ordinato branch of
the Government, under tho impeaching pow-er,
the House refused to hear a single sug-gestion
even in regard to tho correct modo |
of proceeding, but without a moment's delay '
passed tho accusatory resolutions under tho i
pressure of tho previous question. |
In tho institution of a prosecution for any -
offence against tho most bumble citizon-and
I claim lor myself no greater rights than ho
enjoye—tho Constitution of tho Unitod States
and of tho several States, require that ho
shall be informed, in the very beginning of
tho nature and cause of tho prosecution
against him, in order to prepare for his de-fence.
There are other principles which I I
might communicate, not losssacrod. present- I
ing an impenetrable shield to protect every j
citizen falsely charged with a criminal of- {
fenco. Theso have been violated in the pro- a
secution instituted by the House of Itcpro- I
sontatives, againBt tho Executive branch of 1
the government. Shall the President alone «
be deprived of the protection of these great •
principles which prevail in every land where*
a ray of liberty penetrates the gloom of des-l
potisrn? Shall tho Executive alone bo do- •
prived of rights which all his follow citizens
enjoy.
Tho whole proceeding against him justi-fied
the tears ot those wise and great men
who, before tho Constitution was adopted by '
the States apprehended that tho tendency of i
the government was to the aggrandir.emont of I
the legislature, at the expense of the execu- r
live and judicial department. t
I again declare, emphatically, that 1 make ?
this protest lor no reason personal to myeelf.
and I do it with perfect respect for the itoi w
of Representatives, in which I ha 1 tho honor
of serving as a member for five successive
terms. 1 havo lived long on this goodly
land, and havo enjoyed all the offices and
honorsnavbich my country could bestow. I
Amid all the political storms through which •
I have passed the present is tho first attempt**
which has ever been made, to my knowledge}
to assail my personal or official integrity B
and as the time is approaching when I shall
voluntarily retire from the service of my'
country, 1 ieel proudly conscious that there
is no public act of my life which will not beai
the strictest scrutiny. I defy ull investiga
tion. Nothing bat the basest perjury can
sully my good name. I do not fear even
this, because 1 cherish an humble confidence
that the gracious Being who has hitherto de
fended and protected me against tho shaft*
of falsehood and malice will not desert ml
now, when I havo become old and gray-heaS
ded. 1 can declare before God and my counS
try that no human being, with an excoptioJ
scarecly worthy of notice, has at any periof
of my life darod to approach me with a coi
rupt or dishonorble proposition, and untt
the recent developments it had never enterc I
into my imagination that any person, evci
in the storm of exasperated political oxcit'
mont, would charge me, in the most remot
degree, with having made such a proposition
to any human being. I may now however
e.xclai m. in the language of complaint employ
ed by my first and greatest predecessor, that
"I have been abused," in such exaggerated
and indecent terms as could scarcely bo aii