THE BEDFORD 6JZBTTB.
Bedlerdt lurch 1 i. 185f.
B. F. Mejcis & 0. TV. Beiil'ord, Editors.
STATE CON VEXTtON,
The coming Democrat ic State Convention
will have it in i ! s power to contribute greatly to
the success of the Democratic part v of Penn
sylvania at the next genera! election. The first
and most important duty of the Convention is
to plant itself fairly and squarely upon tin
plat form of the party—that plulfum on which
Jefferson and Jackson stood, ami on which V,\
BUREN and POLK, and PIERCE and BUCHANAN,
were triumphantly borne into the Chief Magis
tracy of the Union. Ail side-is>ues, all inno
vation?, should be studiously avoided. Let the
Convention stand by the "eld landmarks," and
all will be well.
Next in degree of importance, is the charac
ter of (he nominees. Men who ask office, must
(politically speaking) have "clean hands."—
They must not only be rro j n of good persona!
character, honest, and capable of discharging
the duties of the oflice to which they aspire, but
they must be men of settled principles, men
whose past lives have given evidence that they
will pursue a fixed ai d certain line of policy
in their official conduct. Every professional
office-seeker should be scouted by the Conven
tion. Every political huckster should be sen!
home with "a fiea in his ear." We ask, the
people ask, for the nomination of the best met
and the most consistent Democrats in the par
ty-
Another and a very iinportant'olject should
be the aim of the Convention, to wit, the thor
ough unity and harmony of the'party. ' Kan
sas" should be let alone. That question is a:
dead a a pickled heiring, and it would be
worse than nonsense to revive it. On tiie Tar
iff"there need be no division, for there are few
men in any party who do not acknowledge the
present necessity of a change in the Revenue
Laws, in short, there is no reason why the
Convention should not be entirely harmonious,
nor why it should not give us a first-rate ticket
and a good, old-fashioned Democratic platform.
We have no doubt that the wishes of the peo
ple concerning these matters, will be properly
respected by their delegates, and that the De
mocracy of Pennsylvania will be enabled to
present an invincible front at the polls in Oc
tober next.
CANDIDATES FOR STATE OFFICES-f
We observe with great pleasure that HON. It. L
WRIGHT, of Philadelphia, is spoken of by some of
the leading Democratic journals of this State as a
suitable person to be nominated by the coming State
Convention for Auditor General. MR. WRIGHT is
an able and upright man, and his nomination would
be hailed with pleasure from one end of the Stale to
the other.
For Surveyor General, we commend to the favor
able consideration of the Convention, the claims u(
Bedford county in the person of ISAAC KENSISGER.
Mr. K. was formerly County Purveyor of this coun
ty, and in the discharge of the duties of that otlice
made himself numerous friends who would gladly
hear of his nomination. As a Democrat, he has ev.
er been consistent, turning neither to the right, noi
to the left, but always following where Demociatic
principles pointed the way.
BLACK REPUBLICAN TAXES.
The Know-Nothing Black-Republican party
of Bedford county, when they were in power,
as we proved in a previous article, and proved
it from the/ecord, too, plunged the people over
head and eats in debt, and now try to make
capital of the praiseworthy efforts of the Dem
ocratic Commissioners to pay off that debt.—
These unmitigated demagogues, when they had
the board ol Commissioners in J Bf>4< and '55,
refused to assess the full amount ol the State
tax, and tlius repudiated in two years SIOO9,
29 of the honest debt of the county,
which the Democrats have since been forced
to pay- In those same two years the State Tax
of the county, was $7082,00 fur each vear,
making for both years slll6-1>.!2. Of this sum
the Know Nothing-Black Republican Commis
sioners paid the State but $9057.41, leaving a
debt upon the shoulders of their Demociatic
successors of SJr7O6-7 i . This, added to
their repudiation in the assessments of 185-1
and'ss, left the enormous sum ot 8.7#
oo to be paid by the Deinscraiic Commission
ers. This liability iias been discharged, but to
gether with the misconduct of the late Know
.Nothing Black Republican Treasurer, has been
the cause of bringing a heavy funded debt (i. e.
for borrowed money) upon the county. The
people now feel the consequences of this piece of
Know-Not lung-Black-Republican mismanage
ment. The people are now called upon to pay
this Know-Nothing-Black-Republican debt.—
Shall not the repudiators be remembered?
GENERAL li'Jti A J AN.
The newspapers, irrespective id partv, stiff
teem with praises of this vigilant and upright
public officer. Even Opposition members of
Congress are compelled to approve of the
General's official conduct. Mi:. HOWARD, a
Black Republican member frjiri Michigan, and
one of the leaders of his paity in the Douse, a
few days prior to the adjournment of Congress,
paid him a marked comjdimenl, siiongly com
mending his cot)r#e since his induction into
office. Thus honesty of purpose, "wing golden
opinions from all sorts of people."
ELECTION OF STATE ruEASuncit uv THE
PEOPLE. —Mr. Scheli has introduced in the
State Senate a bill to make the office of State
Treasurer elective by the people—the first elec
tion for said officer to take place at the general
election, on the second Tuesday u! October next,
and the Treasurer then elected to assume the
duties of Ins office on the first Monday in May
ensuing. The existing laws in leguid to duties
penalties, &c. are to remain.
THE SPUING ELECTION'S.
The local elections which are lo be held in
the different boroughs and townships of this
county, on Friday, the IS inst., should be
attended by every citizen who is interested in
the proper management of the public affairs of
his district. As a general thing there i 3 too
much indifference manifested concerning
these elections, the result of which i- very of
ten the choice of incompetent men, ** hose offi
cial acts give rise to needless quarrels, and en
tail upon the people expensive taw-suits and
many other perplexing troubles. Especially
is it ibe the duty of Democrats to attend these
elections. The interests of the party are Ire
quently involved in the success, or defeat, of
certain candidates. The enemy may be quietly
trying to steal a march by electing their candi
dates for Judge of Election, Constable, Assessor,
Sec. All this calls for the active vigilance of
true Democrats. But what should particular
ly urge us to take pait in our local elections, is
the fact thai,.as Democrats, we are pledged,
one to another, to preserve the freedom ol our
institutions, to guard the purity ol the ballot-box,
and to see that the exercise of that sacred
privilege, the elective franchise, in small things
as well as great, brings forth the "greatest good
to the greatest number." In view of these
things, the Democrats of the various election
districts throughout the countv, should at once
make rominations for the offices to he filled at
the coining elections. Let good men b>* nomina
ted and it w i! 1 not be the fault of the Democra
cy if bad officers are chosen. We repeat let
•jooil men be nominated, and let every Demo
crat stick to the ticket.
Some of the hangers-on of the Mack-RepuLli
can-Know-Nothing paity in this county, have
lived for years on offices given litem by
Democratic votes at Spring elections, io our
certain knowledge, a specimen, or two, cf
these office begging gentry, will be found on
Friday next at their oh! speculations. Doubt
less, they have made it suit lately, to do sotne
six-penny favors to needy Democrats, expecting
thereby to purchase their votes. Let these
black Republican tricksters be watched, l'hey
are the bitter enemies of every Democratic
principle, the revilers of Democratic Presidents
and the wholesale slanderers of the Democrat
ic party- Shall such men receive the vote of
a Democrat ? Shall such unscrupulous dema
gogues presume, unrebuked, to buy with paltry
favors, I lie vote of men they daily denounce as
"swindlers" and "slave-drivers /" We hope
not.
Our friends in Napier and Bedford townships,
who are always active and energetic, have al
ready formed their tickets. Old Napier has
nominated as follows : Judge of Election,
FREDERICK MILLER ; Inspector, CORNELIUS
WHETSTONE ; Constable, MARTIN MOVVRV :
Supervisors, If. L. NICODKM I;S, JOHN VV. BOW EN;
School Directors, ROBERT M. 'I'AVLOR, PETER
IMLER Assessor, AMARIAII WILSON ; Auditor,
Win. CRISMAN ; Town Clerk, HENRY EGCLF.
A better ticket than this could not be desired.
The meeting by which it was nominated is
represented to have been largely attended and
full of harmony and good feeling. ROBT. Nl.
TAYLOR, ESQ., acted as chairman, anil G. W.
Gump, as Secretary. An address was made
by liie litter, urging the necessity of union and
a good turn-out to Use polls.
The Democrats of Bedford township, have
put in nomination the following excellent ticket:
Constable, F. H. BEEGLE ; Supervisors, Jacob
D. FETTER, MICHAEL NAWGEL: School Direc
tors, DANIEL FETTER, JOHN BROWN ; Judge of
Election, SAMIEL WALTER ; Inspector, A. J.
WI-EGAKVER ; Assessor, J. W. TOMLINSON ;
'Auditor, DANIEL WALTER ; Town Clerk,
DANIEL DIBERT. The Demociatic invincible®
of Bedford townsfiip, will be heaid from on
Friday next.
THE WOODBEURY MOVEMENT.
We publish in this issue the proceedings of
the second meeting helj by the citizens of
Middle Wood berry township, on the subject ol
their proposed annexation to Blair count v.—
Whilst we do tlt is most cheerfully, we at the
>ame time w i>fi it to be distinctly understood
that vve are opposed to the project of the Min
dfe Wood berry folks, an.l this not because we
wish them any harm, or inconvenience of any
sort, but became we are directly and deeply
interested, as is every citizen of the county
outside of Middle Woodberry, in the defeat of
that project.
Our friends in .Middle Woodberry, it is pre
sumed, know their own interests best, and we
shall not attempt tu dictate to them on thai sub
ject ; but it is likewise presumable that the
remaining portion of the county, know theirs,
and that they will also have their say in the
matter in question. 7he citizens of .Middle
Woodberry, so far as vve are concerned, shall
have a fail hearing but they must not object if
those opposed to tin ir movement ask the same
privilege. We say to botli sides, "go in, lem
ons," tut remember that one, or the other, of
you, will be sure to get "squeezed."
ADJOURNMENT OF CONGRESS.
i lie last session of the thirty fifth Congress,
expired on Friday la-t, the 4th inst. We have
neither time noi patience to review its acts,
and can merely mention as some of the good
which came out ol this legislative Nazareth,
the admission of Minnesota and Oregon, and
the settlement of the vexed question of "Kan
sas." A number of the requisite appropriations
for the P. O. Department failed to pass, and
tii ere may be a necessity for acailed session of the
next Congiess during the coming summer. An
extra session of the Senate, commenced at noon
on the ttli in.t., a! the instance of the Presi
dent.
Death or the Postmaster General.—As
we were about lo go to press, we received the
mournful news of the death of Hon. A. V.
Brown, Postmaster General. He died on the
morning of the Bth, of pneumonia.
Removed-
The Post Office, last week, was moved
from its former location, to i'ne Shoe Store of
A. Ferguson & Co., in "Anderson's Row."
On Monday last, J. &. J. M. Shoemaker mo
ved their goods into the room formerly occu
pied by Geo. VV. fiupp, Esq., as a store, in
"Anderson's Row," directly opposite the Ga
zttte Offic-, where JOB will be {.leased to see
his friends and customers.
Received-
Reed & Minnich have rt ceiveil a lot of
New Goods, which they are selling at a very
low figure.
John Alsip, Esq., is in receipt of a large
supply of giocenes which can't be exceli-d in
quality or cheapness.
VV in. Hartley, Esq , has returned from the
East with a large stoci; of goods in his line.—
Read his advertisement in another column.
COMMUNICATIONS.
for the Bedford Gazette.
| SCOTT LEGION OF CENTRAL FENN'A.
i Agreeably to adjournment, the surviving
soldiers ol tiie Mexican War, resid-nt in Blair,
and the adjoining counties, met at the Logan
j House, Hollidaysburg, Penn'a, Saturday, the
sth day i! March, D. If. Hotius, 2d
1 Volunteers, in the chair. In the absence of
ti.e secretary, Wm. G. Murray, 1 Kb infantry,
was appointed secretary.
The committee appointed at the former mee
ting, to prepare a constitution and bye-laws for
the government of the Legion, submitted
'through John McKeage, of the voitigt-uis, a
I constitution and bye-laws which was read, and
jon motion was laid on the table until the next
i meeting.
On motion —it was resolved",
I That when .w do adjourn it sisal Ibe to meet
j on Saturday the 2d day of april next, in tiie
armory of the HolliJaysburg Fenciblt-s, at 8 P.
M., and that all the surviving soidieis of the
Mexican War, whether Volunteers, Regulars,
or Marines, that served in said War and recei
ved an houoiable discharge from the same, are
hereby cordially invited to attend, and partici
pate in the permanent organization of the
Legion.
On motion adjourned.
W.G. .Murray, 11th luf'y, , I). }f. ilofius,
See'y Pro-tern. ( 2d Penn'a. Vol
) unteers,
Chairman.
l or t!.e Be.tiord Gazette.
11l pursuance of a previous call, the citizens
of Middle Wood berry Township, assembled in
the School house, on Saturday the 2(i!it ins?., at
•J M. Notwithstanding the inclemency ol the
weather, the meeting was large and respecta
ble. 1 lie object ol the meeting was to consid-
-r certain remonstrances, winch were being
circulated in different sections of Bedford Oh,
! hostile to the movement of the citizens of IVlid
| die Wood berry Township, in their efforts to
; be disengaged front Bod ford County and annex
jed to Blair ; also a certain scurrilous, arid
| fallacious article which an beared in the "3ed
■ ford Inquirer"of Felt 18th, calculated todefame
i atrd insult the citizens of .Middle IVoodberrv,
j and to injure their cause before the Legislature.
On motion, C, ft. Bar ndo liar was chosen
President, (J. J], llolsinger, and J >hn Z ink id-.o
j Vice Presidents, and Franklin Kolsinger, and
j J. 11. Longenecker, Secretaries.
Un motion, a committee of five were
| appointed by the chair, to draft resolutions,
J expressive of the sense of the meeting. .}. {l.
Durborrow, J, S. Longnecker, P. S. Crolt, J. H.
Wilkinson, and jacob Lrenniman coro-tiiuleij
the committee.
Alter a snort absence the committee retur
ned, and made the frilowiug report, ihrowh
their chairman, uhie.ii was ably stinoorled by
j speeches i;r.!';i J. I:, Wilkinson and others,
after which t.re resolutions were unanimously
adopted :
Whereas, :"i.e project of annexation to Blair Co.,
has been flagrantly misrepresented by rerfion
j st ranees to the Legislature, and also be a public
| print in tile service of those opposed to the
I annexation, therefore it becomes necessary lor
us, knowing as we do, these statements to
! be fallacious, and designed for ihe purpose of in
; juring our cause before the Legislature, to place
! the actual state of circumstances right 011 the
' record, and therefore,
Resolved, i hat the statements in the "Bed
j ford Inquirer' - of teb Ihih, ila riot contain a
j single proposition based upon facts and could
I only have been propagated by a person utterly
; ignorant ol the facts, or as wilful tab. ications.
J Resolved, i nat we are a unit on the subject,
i and that our interests in every sense, are mnni
! festiy calculated to bring about tins result,
| there not being a single interest to bind us to
| Bedford, v, iiiie on toe ether hand, every tiring
! to Biair.
Resolved, That the report universally- circula.
tec! in this County, stating in effect that we
wish ultimately to estaiilis,. a new County out
of Bedford, Huntingdon and Clair Counties is
mere moonshine, huinbuggery, gotten up by
those opposed to the project, to damage our
prospects with those persons who are deeply
interested with us in Clair County, and was
never dreamed of in this section until its
appearance in a certain public journal.
Resolved, 1 hat the efibil now being made
is sanctioned by the honest inen ol all parties,
who labor with the honest conviction that what
they ask should justly he to them,
and who never expect any political aggrandize
ment, or do they make it a political ""scheme.
Resolved, i hat we make everv hone.-t effort
to secure success in the noble prospect we have
undertaken, that each and every one of us
consider that the responsibility rests with
equal force upon ail, therefore each is heieby
constituted a committee to further the project as
in him lies, and to counteract the vituperatiou
and malignancy fulminated against us.
Resolved , j hat we are under obligations to
those papers which published the proceedings
of our former meeting, and hereby tender our
sincere thanks, hoping that they will still fur
ther extend their good oilices, and give place to
the proceedings of this day's meeting.
Resolved, 1 hat the statement m the re
monstrances, as to the distance being only 15
miles fioin Uedford to the Ulair County 'line,
is a gross misrepresentation, the nearest point
being 19 miles, and not in the direction of
Middle Woodberry Township.
On motion, the meeting adjourned, sine die.
SIGNED UV THE OFFICERS.
§? 10 V O 12 T
oJ't f iC .Majority of the Select Committee appoin
ted to investigate the alleged frauds in the .\
vy Department.
The Black Republicans in Congress, as the
i public are aware, have had an investigating
i committee appointed to inquire into certain mat
j lersconnected with the awarding of Naval con
' tracts. The result ol the Committee's labors,
! is, first, a correct, honest and straightforward
statement by a majority oflhe Committee, sus
taining the Secretary of the Navv and the
j President. This majority is composed of two
j Democrats and one American. Secondly, the
i minority, composed of two Black Republicans,
j have gotten up an electioneering document in
the shape of a Report, which is tiil-d with per
versions of facts and which is published at the
expense of the Government, to be scattered
broadcast over the land, for the purpose of ma
! king political capital. In order that the pub
| lie may be fully enlightened on this subject we
■ make tooni for the following Report of the
j majority :
Mr. Bocock, of Virginia, from (he Select
Committee to examine into the alleged Naval
contracts and frauds, presented a report from
the majority, and Mr Sherman, ol Ohio, presen
: ted a minority report from the same Commit
| | tee.
j Messrs. Bocock, Groesbeck and Ready join in
I a Report—
First, on the management of the Brooklyn
j Navy Yard :
They take the position that appointment
have long been made on political grounds ; that
on the incoming of the present administration
the patronage.thereof was concentrated to two
or three districts. All these districts at tht
' time were represented by Demociats. The
delegation ftotn the city of New York and that
; neighborhood petitioned the Secretary of the
i Navy to divide the patronage among them e
: quallv. Thereupon there was a zreat deal ol
| confusion and controversy among the different
! members of the delegation, and between the
I delegation itself and the Secretary of the Navv :
j that great abuses had previously exiited at the
! yard, such as idleness, insubordination, levying
| of contributions by the hiaster-workmen on tire
I men, and the appointment and retention o; in
i competent workmen.
The Committee admit all these abuses, but
- say they have not sprung from anything done
j or any steps taken, by the present Secretary ol
! Hie Navy, unless this policy ol attempting to
; distribute the patronage equally be the cause oi
a part ol the abuses. No complaints have been
' made to him on the subject, and no request to
j redress them in most of the cases : out s > far as
; these abuses have been made known to him, tie
has promptly taken moans to corrtct them.
In addition to this, !:e instituted m-asur -s for
' a reform in this particular navy yard. About
; a year and a half ago he is.-uvd an order that
before a man was appointed to the place of mas
ter workman, he should he subjected to an ex
amination as to his qualifications and character,
that under his direction slrenu ms efforts
were made to prevent a practice which obtain
ed in the yard, of men answering to their
names at roll-call and afterwards absenting
j themselves ; that in addition to this, on the 1 Mb
: day of December last, l.e issued an order giving
power to the commander of the yaid to dis
j charge worthless and incompetent men tri-a
. sures of reform, ail of which wt ie very iu.por
t iant.
j ThefOxnmhtee repeat —Heh i I er.-.V-avored
, to redress particular cases of abuse which came
!to his kuowicifge. The Committee however
• believe that the yard can never he managed in
; a proper n.anuer, and a profitable way tithe
| government, until some regulation shall he a
dopted preventing appointments in the yard
: from being made on political .grounds.
The Committee instituted particular exami
j netion into the manner in which tire Navy
! Agent atul Naval Storekeeper discharged their
! respective duties. No charge of malfeasance
against tlieni was proven ; hut it was proven
! that they had not devoted as much time and
attention to their offices as the impoitant duties
1 thereof required.
The second point of exa ; ination is the an
thracite coal agency. It was proven that Dr.
I Hunter, tiie agent, has given no s rt of atten
tion to tiie duties ot the office, but lias entire
ly neglected it. lie has a partner in the piof
' :is and duties of the otlice, located at Phiiadel
! pliia. But the partner has bestowed very lit
j tie more time upon it than has tiie agent hiin
; self, lie has left the management ct the busi
ness in the bands of a large firm of coal deal
! eis in Philadelphia under the title oj Ty
' Lr, Stone fx Co. It appears liiat whenev
, er In- gets a requisition for coal he hands it o
ver to them, and they superintend the whole bu
siness of procuring tiie coal, shipping it, he.
j fhe Committee condemn the course of Dr.
Hunter an 1 his partner, Mr. Smith, but say
I that iie has always been a gentleman ot staa
j ding and charailer; that he lived in the
j neighborhood of tiie coal region, and ha l been
! engaged in the iron business, which tended to
' make him acquainted with the different kinds
!of coal ; that he was recommended to this
office by leading members of the Pennsylvania
! Legislature anil other influential citizens ol
Reading and Philadelphia ; that since lie has
been in office there has been nothing to call the
attention ol the Department to his neglect of
duty. No complaint has been made by any
body to the Secretary of the Navy on the sub
ject. The coal is ol the very best quality,
and has been furnished regularly for the use ot
the Government by the firm of Tyler, Stone Is.
Co., and, it appears, at TO cents per ton k-s
than the Government had obtained it for up to
the spring of 18JS.
In 1807 the government bought coal at $T
20 per ton, and under this new agent purchased
aii the time at §3 85. It is true that a large
number of gentleman had sworn they could
have furnished coal at a lower price, but the
Committee are of the opinion that they could
riot have furnished an article suitable for the
Government use.
As to the selection of Dr. Hunter, and his
recommendation to the office by some of the aji
plicanls for the agency themselves, the Com- ■
mittee say that the Secretary of the Navy had
never been informed of the arrangement. The
previous coal agent, Mr. Tyson, resided at Rea- !
ding, and had a partner residing at Philadelphia j
as the present agent also residing at Reading, !
has one at the same city. Some intimation i
was made to the President on this subject ; but
it was ind-tinite ; and il the President under
stood anything about it, it was merely as to a
division of duties, as heretofore.
In the firm of Tyler, Stone &. Co., is Mr.
| Bench a nephew of j\fr. Touchy ' h"L m?i
king lli* arrangement v\ith Hiat firm, Dr. Ilnn
ter swears that In* did so without the leant inti
; mat ion, or an y request, direct or indirect from
: the Secretary of the ,\avy, that he desired him
| to do so ; and so far as he knows or believes,
r tite Secretary had neither knowledge or wish
I upon the subject.
I'he rate ol'compensation of the coal agent
was fix< d during .Mr. Fillmore's administiation
at the present price, and the present large a
mount of compensation was in consequence of
the extraordinaiy demand for coal, in connec
tion with the Paraguay expedition.
The t iiii d branch of the examination relates
to the live oak contracts. Two dealers had
live oak on hand—Svift the most. At the
time proposals were issued the Government had
taken steps for the construction of seven sloops
of war, and the expedition to Paraguay had
been'authcrized—much less time was allowed
j for the delivery of the limber than heretofore
| because it was wanted for use very soon.'—
| Some of it, which was immediately needed was
i bought up, and used by the Government before
j the time for awarding the contracts. The S-c
--! retary of the .Navy, in hi specifications, inserted
|an unusual clause, by which he reserved to
| himself the right to award the contract on the
j bids ol any party, unless the price was a fair
I and reasonable one ; so that if lie wished to get
I 'he limber of these two men lor the use of trie
government, he would show to them and to the
world that he did not intend to give'them for it
any thing more than a fur puce. When the
bids came in under these proposals these two
men who had tiie timber l Swift and J.is. Big
lei,)were not lite ljwest bidders. Other- bid
below tin in, and the contracts were awarded to
them. Immediately after the contiacts wete
awarded the contractors came to Washington
and told the Secretary of the Navy that it was
impossible lot them to comply with the con
tract. 1 hey knew when they made the bids,
that they could not get the timber in time, but
relied upon getting the time extended fir the
delivery. Failing to comply with their con
tracts, the latter were declaied void. (Jndei
the law tiie Secretary had the right to contract
with Swilt 01 any oiner person, even if lie had
to give a higher rate than these men proposed
toiurni-.h trie timber for, arid ciiaige the differ
ence to the defaulting cout.actors. But Swift
came forward and furnished the timber at each
and all of the yards at the lowest,price bid by
any other party. The Committee believe thai
tiie price was lair, aud i hat there was nothing
in the traiisarti in that in any way impeached
the integrity ol the officers of the Navy De
partment.
In ISST while Mr. Buchanan was in En
gland, George PJitt, whose v. tie has some fami
ly connection with Swilt. entered into a con
tract or arrangement with Swift, that he (Pint)
would endeavor to get contracts lor him to sup
ply timber on the condition of receiving 10 per
cent of tiie gross amounts of ail the contiacts.
Pint introduced Swift to the Secretary of tiie
Navy and other influential persons, and put him j
0 i good relations with ail his friends. Soon j
af. i the Cincinnati Convention, Plitt introdu
j ced Swilt to Mr. Buchanan, but merely said
lhat he was an *-oi.l Line Whig," and that he
| had given hun (tiie President) a cordial support.
Swilt, it appears, contributed freely to the j
! Presidential election. In introducing Swift to
j .Mr. i'oiicey, Piitt made a similar letnark. Phis
! was ail that was ever told to the Secretary or ;
; to the President, until some time after the con
trails J r live oak —in S-pte.nber weie awar
ded to Swift.
home tline in October or November, while
j Piitt vvas.it tiie While llu;:y, he showed the
| I'irsi Jeht tiie agreement with Swift, saying that
| Swift had rein*. dto carry it out, and asked ]
| him :i t!i- re > >ui t he any ejection to prosecu
i tin.' S.i tit fi <■ uou-fuiitilment ul'the agreement j
; el IS.H : and toe President replied he could :
j see noo!jt-ction to it ; and tiiat Pint couid do as!
lie pleased.
It appeals that Sw.lt claims that his contract !
with Piut o>ll v extended to tiie end of tiie fast !
ad iiti n Ist rat ion.
'l he next and hist branch of inquiry was in re-
I la*, ion to tiie awarding of contracts lor tiie sev. >
t-n s!oo; s-of- var ordered at the >ust session o; ■
Congress. Tberw were seven contracts in all
and in awarding five i f them, it appeals that no j
political or any other improper influence was'
resorted to by Ihe different bidders; that the |
proposals We: s advertised according to the fa-v, i
that the leading establishments in New York i
Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and ILmloni !
; presented imis Iji eacii and ail of the engines ; i
| and that the contracts were in every instance ;
awarded to estabiisiimenls of high reputation fori
undoubted mechanical efficiency. These bids !
t tier- i t iei red to a board of engineers, consisting i
I v i *" '
01 tne Lngitieer-iu-chtef, and three Chief Engl-!
neers, and the contracts were given out accor- i
ding to tile report ol the Board—in some cases !
unanimous, and m others on tiie :ecoinnu nda- j
tion of the majority. Mr. Mai tin was a member ;
of this Board, ami is the inventor of a boiler!
which was i„.eluded in the piansofall the hid- i
ders except two, whose plans were decided uti j
by the Board o! which he was a member ; and
tne plans which did not include his boiler were
rejected by every member of the Board. All
ol tiie plans, for real competition, includ-d
Martin's boilers. The Committee find, under
the state of the case, that no preference could
have been given to any plan by Martin on thai
score, but suggest thai n wou.d have been bel
ter it tie had not been put on that Boaid.
One of tiie contracts was awarded to Mer
rick & Sons, i'heir bid was next to the lowest
of sev en. One was only four thousand dollars
lower, and some buis about fi.ity thousand dol
lars higher. It iuilfw appears that the jiian ol
the bid which was lower was condemned bv
every member ol the Board, and the plan oi
Merrick h, Sons was approved by every mem
ber of it. Meriick <Sc Sons are not politicians
and nevei undertake to influence their work
men. Two of the three incline to the Opposi
tion. Id connection with this, a letter from
Colonel Patterson to the President (recommen
ding tiie linn, not for this particular contract
for they bid tor many) was exhibited, but it
iuiiy appears from the testimony generaliy and
the statement of the Secretary ol the Navy, that
lite President took no part whatever m it
made no recommendation of this or any other
contract during his administration ; but merely
in the course of business, as was shown by the
testimony, referred this lett- r by the common
and usual endorsement to the Navy Depart
ment, to winch the subject pioperly belonged ;
the practice being to reter business to the proper
Department.
When persons are implicated in the investiga
tion by committees, witnesses are summoned at
their request. As to the charge against J. Clan
cy Jones—in the 'annexed.minority statement
he, being out of the countiy, could have no
: knowledge nr nolificalion of !ln>
liif-cliaror.-, TJi<'r*loic. , fat av !,. „ '/
j ri"d, the evidence being altogether e*
j Ute committee think it vvotihi he w ror.' <'''
l> pronounce or form anv opinion i • ' >i "
ject. " i H/i "
'J he committee come to the one ltt>i.„, (!
J the action of the Secretary of the Nav-'
i been'judicious and useful—ii, a i i. t i. * , l:Sl *
actuated only by a d-.sire to get the ""
clurwry at the | O WHt piacli._ai.le ( ",'j
would not venture or desue to clian-'.. 0
the contracts which he has made.
The Tom milieu rep rt r. soiutens to ,1
[ following effect.
1. That testimony taken in the hvesting.
' proves the exwt-nce of glaring a Sus-~ j",'
Brooklyn Navy require the inte •.
tion of legislative reform: that it i< due .
] lice to declare that these abuses | nVH i'
| slowly and gradually growing u;
course of years, and tliat no particular \'l
; minis' ration should have the entire blame.
of.
2. That th" coal agency Ur som- time r I>t
• has b®en in the hands of persons wholly ia.
j cieut and grossly incompetent, arid that' ,> f ,',,,
j is needed in the regulation? whirl) e X :,.
■ the subject : and that there u no pru.f which
i traces jny knowledge ol such im-fii i- ncv ar.d
i incompetency to the responsible autho.iii' ,
, in Washington.
| 3. While theCummittee will never sat ciion
jor approve, on the part ol any offi :er of the
! (Government, any favors to contractors, vet it
file Secretary ol the Navy di-J contemplateanv
favor to Swift, lie did not design 1 . !■,.,• ~v \
j to the detriment ol the Government, hat tii-t
!in all he did in this matter he !;e.,; ~(.A . ; iVs m
j vie W the good of the pub!).. an I 'th- ii,u r. .%•
: of the service.
j f). That in the letting ol contracts f. r the
I const Mict ion ot steam machinery ! r the ~s e
:of the Navy, during tile present Asiir.sr:is!ia-
; tion, nothing has been shown which calls f, r
. the interposition of the Congress ol the tdo
ted States, hut it is manifest tße n.:. r ,t
hea l of the Navy Department has displayed
a very laudable /,eaf jo secure ihe grea'.e>t
amount of speed and efficiency attainabl • tj
j.i Vessels.
'.L/ 3 * The Republican party is u queer institu
tion. bone (,! i - leaders advocate rVee irade
; some of Horn are rampant f or a Protective i' ; , r
iti. Some ol them want Cuba : some of them
| don t. A!o iof Ihe fit- publican members of
: C ongress voted against Oiegon—a portion voted
jin favor thereof ! ilence it is evident they
• have no s>-lti< J policy on any subject—not
• e veil tile '".Nigger question, for members ad vj
cate aggressive measures .gainst Slavery, while
S their most p.iiiic champions disclaim any iu
lentiou to interfere w itn-the institutions of tbe
South. It this be n.! i iious - divided against
; itse.'t," vv ticie shall we find orie.— Ktie Obsf.r
. err.
BL Cl] AN" AX ilii ~
VN ill meet at the Court House on Satur
day evening li lt t> nominate a ticket for the
coming huroeg.i election. lire v Democratic
voter in the i .rough, v.hetner a member of
the ( tub, or not, is invited to attend.
' O. E. SHANNON, Pres't.
Trees! Trees!
A-. r. 't 'HE subcriber has ..n hau l a quariii
' ')• ol f'uit trees, which she tti'besto
I °' on reasonable terms, in ! ts
to suit j uichasers such as, early and late ap-
pie> ami p. agio's a!sa I.t of .choice g.ape
vines, cheap for cash, or connfry produce,
i Mi-r. 11,b"9. MARY IV. BROWN.
9'olal^es.
A very small quantity of Prince Albert an.]
Buckeye potato s, new vaiirlies, and s.ii ! to be
j Very hue, can be l.a iat Hartley's. Tty them.
IS S S 9 9
PZ<Z p ] ,1 J
Jk* L \Ji & s.-j s 2.-' \jf L Jib*
. H.' RDWA ar. iRO M, PA! MT S, GILS,
i VA UN ISH, KA KM I MPLE.M2N FS, ,Nc.
M iLLL'JM IIJUT LEY
! DA\ ING just irtnrned liuni ti.e 11:,:, i< now
receiving the I ngest stock of ge i; ra! lurdwau,
Cutlery, Bntihtt, Oils, Paints, Irou, ,
ever ottered to the people of.Bedford County. Ibe
Store is enlarged ti.o goods art- x.eu—the laVsC
p.tterus an.! best quaht}— parchaseU lor at
reliable bou-es.
NO AUCTION TIIASiI.
-dr.! \N ii ratiLcri ,:s Kepttseutcd.
j . en.-, <ieti rii:iupj to sell cheap, anil believing that
I the credit system of tied font county is ruinous to
; a " classes excepting t.i vy .ir,, justices, s.. : .lis and
I con.-tables, 1 i:ai e adopte.l the toiknricg T'^RtVtti
l upon which 1 will suctetd or :ai!.viz; CASH, or
| appiove.. I! .1 !e or pioduce, except.r.g t,> tiiose ot.lv,
i who will pio.nptly -ettie, either b> „„tt. or ea*A on
| '.tie Ist of July a.id 1-t January, ot each year. To
; all -uch 1 otfer great inducements, and witl try to
please them, a..d give them tiie worth ol their mon
ey. The custom ol tho,e who hny with but a faint
l probability of paying is not wanted.
I Hereby return my sincere thanks to mv torr.ier
customers, and c-uiiiesily desire iheir patronage.
Determined to seil as cheap (fieighi. considered) and
keep as good ware, us any other establishment tti
the State. Jne public ate invited to a careful pe
nisul ot my catalogue, in which is enumerated un
der their proper heads the article- always on hand.
builders and ait in want ot any thing m my line
wi'l lind it to their advantage to examine my stock.
March 11,1359.
EXEii'TOIi'S SALE OF
Meal listafe ß
I HE subscriber, Executor ot Urn last Will and
lestament ot John Claar, late of the Borough of
Bedford, dec d, will sell at public sale, on
V kurmLty, the Ilk rJay of Jtui!, next,
at tiie late residence of sa id deceased, the house and
lot of ground occupied by him, in said Borough, be
ing lot No. 191 in tiie plan ol the town, adjoining
the School House lot on the F.a-t, 1-aae Mange!, Jr.,
on the West, the Kaystown branch on the North,
and est Pitt Street oil the South; containing ( 9 ft.
lront on l'itt Street and running back to sa:<! Rays
town branch. Having thereon erected, a one story
log and weather boarded dwelling house, black
smith shop, log stable and other out-buildings.
ALSO,
at the same time and place, the out-lots of said de
ceased, numbered 49 and r>o in the maneu of Bed
lord, situate about 14 miles from Seaf'ard oil tlv
west side ot the road leading to Ihe •■Herman Cor
ner, ' adjoining each other, and lands of Hugh Moore,
Jacob Mai tin's hetrs, John Sproat, (tate VVm. Slai-
Ken.) John Rr-.dei am and others, and containing a
bont iu acres and 57 perches.
i erms.—One third in hand and the balance in
two equal annual payments without interest, to be
secured by judgment notes, or notes and mortgage,
at the option ot tne subscriber. i > ,j--ession given
as soon us the terms are complied with.
JUSLPiI CL \ AR,
March 11, 1559, Executor.