Er
ME
~~
.t
--,
' , EAT) AS: FRAZIER, EDITORS.
. I •
C. F.
For Me 'll4epergie74 Republican,
ifORNIII(6. .
er ;DA AlTi'6'S;.ol'.ll
,
1 /forisise' rev light come:: dancing . .
.Blithely o'er the sable hills, ;..... •
Softly in feel Talley glaiticingi.:
-13aihin4in_the rippling 46. r: • ' _•_
Wrelithin*, halees_reutid the fountain,.
Waking ethoes on Vie mountain,
Sippingdtw-drops from bright flowers, ~
• Ni...stled ie fair swan bowers—, - , •
Laighing, peeping % 1 i . _
, . So tly creepieg, .1
through he deep arid tangled wild-wotel,..
• Like - the 'airy etep ofehildhoca . .
O'et_the fragrFit riiialx;is'ectwir4g,
Where the milk 2 inaia trips With glee, •
'Back her deity traits fleeing;
With ti e light winds sporting fret.— '
. Toying,wi li the bright amnia beaming ~
''Mid the sessweetly dreaming
'Neith tit sunlight of her
i r..esi
Brightiiti -blue - as Summe skies— ,
~. Latighing; Rl..ping, I - . 6
Soly creeping, d . '. . -
-through time garden, grove] and Wihl-wood,
Tike the fairy steps of childhood. • • • .
E
B BY A MIRROR.
lvwaS a tery - mild winter, and I had tray.:,
pled a good bal in transactv:business, mak- •
ing ready . Or extentive' , dperations in thee
coming spri g.. I. had .. a ( large amount .6f,
-money. with •me on the night of which I'spealcif
which I had list eollected., On . a - - six mcgths•i
note, of a m n who had boight much of iMi ,
the preceding{ sunimerin the city of Itj----.
'At the time) received the :money i l •notieed•
' a - fellow standing-near: who eyed me Very
.. - 4 F .
eloselY, as - though h? . vas tudying, my. ap
pearance with the •nitemion • of -recognizing
rile, if by any chanee we shfould meet again.
- Thinking fro ,cm his looks that , it Might be..ad=
visable fbr iim i ko have the time advantage, I.
'scrutinized.)s person and eountenance hasti
ly; but thoroughly, and he, ipereeivin g himself
so much a:nbject of interest, turned upon
his heel. and! walked away.; I . had read him
000; And „knew him by ~ h eart, He was a
slight built, Jark•compleXioned . man, - with a
loose; urkeas^ notion in his! gait, which indi
• cited imbeci ity and. Vacillation ; but one look
into his btu,: eye, which had tke cunning, in
trigue and s ealthiness,of ii, - Sparnard mixed.
With-a certa n• somethir g - which indicated de-
tprmination, complethlv altered - one's esti:na
tion of his c araeter, and set conjecture busy.
1 ,
,at work in the region•offiney concerning him.
But a to rw the
somewhat intimate accitiaint
ance.witil human nature,. soon. - .settled •my
. opiniOn witregard -. toltin, mid. I miide up -
.my
11-
.my mind, I keep my, eyed open *ben in his
vicinity''; and• depositing. m money. in - my ;
wallet, disn - ?-ssed the i subjeet,from My mind,
And proceeded to my' hotel: "•• "."
. I little itgined. that t was to pass so.
'eventful ani,ht as I - did, * biit as .it is, my in
variable. cus,om - to look•wdll to my means of
defence: whe liable 'wan attack, I closely ex- •
amined my tistols before retirititt t. -- -.--
placed. thernle with my lame, -,wnere,t. could
lay my hand on, them at..
, moment's' warn
in?.: then I
. examilied mi'-' apartment thor
oughly. I: was in .the' thqd story.facing, the.
east, and fu nished with,a (single bedstead=
tstandi toilet table, two chairs, and a carpet
1,
e,
upon the fl r. The foot Of the bed was to
wards the indows, and the - toilet table and
a large mir or between • them ; .the entrance
to the roonfrom We passage east. .
i _
. Satisfied here was no one in the room, and
no way for amy one to get in, save through
tli v e- doors -or windows, II securely fastened
them, laid my- Wallet wider; the pillow, and
deposited myself between the clean. white
sheets. ' •1 • ,
'Being somewhat fatigued,!l was soon in a
and slu her, dreaming—for sound sleep
ers du dr —of botne;And Wife, and child
ren..l,,., ~ .. • ' : -
Ido no know what !awakened - -me, 'but
thought it was the sound: - of something fall
ing. I awoke suddenly,lwith all my seises
as cOmpo ed as they arenow.—for when a
way fro home the - least, noise , arouses me, and a.ma don'tsleep any sounder with mon
ey now, I can tell you, especially when he is
among folks he knows . nothing about-.-
_As I 4 tined my eyes, T was startled to find
my room light light 83 ' day, but immediately
recollepte the fact of its facin g the east, and
looking forth I saw the large full moon beam
in.' in splendor in the starless sky.
, 1 - D Casting a glance around, I saw- that one of I
my pistol was in a reversed position from
what I h left it,lnd on prOhing it with 'a;
i i
ramrod, discovered tkat , the, charge had been
drawn, a ' .the cap was; also-removed, from
. thi nippy .. This startled ,me not a little.
If
- The other had not •heen touched '; but to have
one's w-eapOns tampered' with in this Way, I
thought 4rgued anything. but good to. their
" possessor' 'and with the loaded pistol in one
• hand andknife, in the other, I searched the
!
room:for my ncieturr,al,Visitor,
,at the same
time i•tar b iinct my imprudence in thus leaving
t •
my weappns exposed.
, But n"t a thing. could I find-which was not
-
as 1 left t. I tried the door. it was locked,
and the erin the lock: , •
- •Ah l t ought I, the rasdals have turned the
- key wit pliers from the Outside.
I dreJ the key - back to. examine it, and
eaw throligh ihe.kerhole 'a light; bUt - in an
-instant i was gone. I ,
- Some fellow lodger retiring for the night,
1 thong, as my key did net look sme
lt
picions, I did not *lab Ito expose my fears to
:..any; thi sty sucker, make, myself _ridiculous,
and lay myself liable to arinks all round tbe
. next morning. , , •
,
So, I said - nothing, trying .to assure myself
that tut pistols were, after all, just as I left
. thein,ul, I .muld not satisfy. my mind with
ally jectures; art 4 'determined to . slep
lightly lhe remainder lof -.the niEht. I now
recolle4ed the tellow.jwho saw me take the
- money and concluded at once that if I made
any imiss that -night t ,he would be-the fellow
I shciula make it. with, especially as
. I had .
seen
. hi a since, in the, har-room below.
4 '' I placed a lead pencil in the door to make.
• " a sure bing of it, took my, pistols into ' bed,
L
after 1 'tiding the one which- caused me s^
much nxiety, and tar down again though
wi:h t intention of Sleeping. • _
• 1 lisiened patiently, for a long tithe, ' ind
hearinnothing, was just on the point of drop
pingp i to a state of foraetfulite,ss, when aloes
ticking, heard very` - distinetly, called back
my windering thoughts. '
I °jetted my eyes, and the first thing they
!took ih was the looking-glass at the toot of
the• 'd. - • i -
. . .
.
... •Th sight I saw reflected there, strung thy
ll
penat once to tba severest tension, and so
vividl i , did-it imprint itself upon my--memo
ry di. t I believe tba, l ,Sea of time will 'never
*
' l)c Itb„0 to.wash out,"l ' ' •
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amp ROGNIT aoartatyu . 1311..AWERV''.ARID WRORI.O0 99
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Icould not see the door—my, back was
turned towards it—only by looking in the
glass, and there I saw reflected in ..the roll
light of the moon, not only the door but a
man entering it. ' -
•
powers of thought were quickened MR.,SPEAKERI: In tlie short time I shall My
trespass upon tr,.4 atienceof the House,l shall
tenfold. I-did not jump.nor start,,nor move -
not stop to not the panegyrics pronounced
a muscle, that I am aware of, though 4 11 y upon the Secrete yof War by his friends.—
first impulse was to leap opt of bed imtnedi- The course of th , gentlemen who have spok
ately and blow the fellow's brains out. He en in his defense eminds one of what is often
was the rogue I expected, the one who . saw , seen in criminal urts, when the advocate,
me when I took the money.- throwing aside h' brief, appeals to the jury
I did hatter - though by lying still, for
in behalf of his c lent because of his former
close behind him followed another, - and after
virtues and nob : character as a tn,an. It is
himstill another. They made the least
' the official coed tof the Secretary of War,
noise with which I ever heard human beings
and not his priv • e character or past life, that
move. ,The ticking I had heard Was the fire- is now passing der. scrutiny. When the
• most one's watch, and it was the only =di
, facts of delinque cy of conduct stand upon
ble voice in the room. - • •
Theymoment, and one of them
paused a the record, the c iminal at . the bar cannot
'plead against the e facts thatkhe •has before
spoke: . . •lived an irreproa hat& character or pastille.
"Close the door, Bill!" If the facts be• pt., yen in the record,-thep the.
This looked sirspicioussut the suspicion 'condemnation of he jury passes, and private
did not - vanish Ven the leader said very ro-W, character or past life cannot be plead in bar
but as distinctly as' a line cut in steel : - of judgment. A old himself, up to the time
' Dead men tell Inhales, but if his money of Andre's arreS by Paulding, Van Wert,
is convenient; we'll let him go to-tell his loss. and Williams; 'iuld have referred - to some
- Billi just rifle them pockets !" . ' ,of the most hril i int •aohievements upon the
, This was addressed to the must brattish .bloodiest battle Ids of the Revolution in
looking of the three, a regular animal, who proof of his val, and heroism, as one of the
had' one of those peculiar leopard-like fates. noblest patriots 'if his country:
which have a prodit.tious bold look,but Op*, What are the acts in this case,
and how do
after all, 'as though-there was .a coward be- .
they affect the cretary of War? is the on.
hind; a.fellow, who if a little worsted would ly q Lion Inv° ved.• It is the -node and
Wiline like a whipped cur. . He' ransacked manner f this s• le - that we complain - of; and
the peckets'and found nothing but's handker- lhree wi • the entleman from Connecticut
E
chief and a plug of tobacco; he stuck 'the r. Bisho th:i•it is a minor consideration
plug in his pocket.. - ;, . - what was tk tun innt received for the prop
s(' He's got his pocketbook under his pit- I erty. That is O t the important considera
loW," said the leader, "and we've got to burt i Lion. It is to be considered in determining
him, I'm afraid ;';but look in his boots first, whether the.tran action was conducted fairly
Dan • I don't like to injure bum if it can be or not ; and goe• only' to the integrity of the
helped."'. motive for it. ; N I henever an executive °WI
'DA looked the genuine bull dog—l rather cur of this Gove ment shall so conduct the
admired the looks—into- my-boots which affairs of his offie ,as by colluaion, or in any
-were, of course, anything but successful, other way, seere ly, to give one citizen an ad
" I'll stop 'him 'bothering," said Bill. "You vantage over an ther, in th`elr dealings with
and Dan only stand ready to nab his leg and the Government, it is a. maladministration of
arms, while•Lstick the pillow'in his face." 'his office. That is. this easl.. It is not neces.
Here's a pretty" position, thought I, fora sary that there s ould be an advantage sic
cruing to himsel ; poi is it necesiary,
'man -of my standig in the community ; go- der to justly des rye the condempation of the
ing to have my breath stopped and folks people, that he should personally receive
- think I died anatufal death. 'filthy lucre. It is not necess&y_ that he
Well ! the brute Bill, having' amicably should receive any personal advantage in or
settled' the time and manner of my final ekit,
der to make him amenable to an outraged
moved with the saine .noiseleas. tread villa
public spritime,nt ,If he SO , manages the at
, bud 'characterized all their.tnotions, round. to fairs of the Government mtrusted'to him, as
tke„side of the bed towards which I faced,
knowingly to give undue and unfair advent
-
I and. the others followed him as still asever. me to one citizen over another, he is then
• There I lay, inetionless, - but with my hatids s e'
Igraspingmy ready
pistols,
beneath the clotifeis, subjeCt to the co demotion of the people.—
What are the fa ts in'this case ? During,the I
' %tile I watched every movement throii P 4
nisi' hid f-closed Cs es, pendency of tke tirmy bill in the Senate, last 1
session, the frdlowing amendment was pro- 1
They meant tfiat their actions should_ be Mr. Weller : •
' simultaneous,so that I should not utter a' posed by it
give '
-cry, or a kiek before I, was,bgth gauged file "
sa Th le at of ti ce ie
i fi r, •i ain i ii i i
J o n ri , s ui o r of the a, act
. amrinr c el I f
selves in a row, with as nitich, precisiop as Bi,
are hereby ester dad t'{ - , n ) iil ' itary sites, or to
company of soldiers, on parade. They were
such parts thereof, which are or may become
all prepared, and I could see the leader just
useless, for nijlh ry purposes." -
'ready to give the word.
When this aniendnient was offered Mr.
Quicker than lightning I 'iron directly
back from off the bed, and stood With apis. Bright said :• I -
tol in each hand, ready to blare away., if finy " l'abeuld Elie to inquire it there is any
•
of them stirred. • - , provision for al public. sale?" ;
"Stood still I" I hissed between my set "Mr. Welteri Those sold under the net
teeth. " Did you think to batch atroldsdrov- of 1819 were . ld at auction; but it has
.er so'easy 'I Make the least movemertic anal been decided th t that act was retrospective,
I'll shoot you like dogs !" ' • and did not app yto any military' sites - es
' TW•nof the villains, Bill and Dan, seemed tablished after t e passage of-the law. Since
perfectly thunder-struck, and instantly to that time, of ceprse, • many military posts
drop all idea of having a fight, but I could have become wholly useless to the Govern
see,
that the other meant to punch me. ment ; and thislamendment is to sell them.'
His counten&nce_wore the expression of a, "Mr. Bright.' At Public, ourivate sale ?" '
tiger cheated out of his prey.` 'He coat one "M r . Weller f At public sale."
sullen glance, and, scarcely (seeming to strain - •" The amendn
entiwas agreed to."—Con
a muscle, leaped the bed directly for the spot, ressionalg Glob , vol. 34, page .1046..
-
Where 'I stood. .That is the w °le record of the proceedings
-
• I uttered a scream, and instinctively dre w
bin both House on that arnendthent attached
batik as he did so, and at the same time one
to one of the regular apprOpriation bills in
of my pistols,exploded and he dropped upon'
the floor mortally wounded. 0- almost the lastl hours of the session. It .was
the understanding of those who put the pro.
.Seeing rify unguarded manner at the in- vision intoAtiet:iill,lhat there was to be a
slant, both the other fellows, each drawing a
public sale. N, as not the Secretary of War
knife. sprang for the door at once, weliknow • bound to take ' otice of this interition of the
ing that in a short time the• room would be
'full, of the persons who might even now be law-making p werl -Th
says that the, law
e gentleman from
heard along the halls and passages, and think- Connecticut [ r: Bishop]
clothed the S rotary with power• to sell in
ing justly, the present was the only -chance
of escape. i
.any way he pl axed, either at 'public or pri
' - Nate sale'. Grant that it did. Would that
. Again I dodged back and Oed, bringing give-him the r ght to sell at secret sale ?
Dan down with a shot in bis right shoulder, This sale was either a public nor a private
which made him drop his knife, and left me
Ah only Bill to contend with. I stood back, one- It come under the designation of nei
w ther. A priv to sale is where: property is
seized a chair, and whirled it around my
on
head. As he collie _
up I gave him a clip sold offers of purchasers, accepting such
offer as the se ler thinks best, but with know'.
which broke two of the j fingers of.his left edge to purchasers that the property is foi
hand, and straightened him out on the floor, sale. But when no one inn whole commu•
for he got hit on the bead too. nity knows that a piece - of property is to be
- gracious I, youngster! wasn't there a pret sold, and it is sold, that is not a private but
ty - sight when the folks came ,runningi in as a secret sale;, and that was this sale. It is _
,soon as-they heard the noise; I'll het there for this that the Secreta - ry of War isarraign
west'. 'There was Dan flat on the floor, his ed. Instead of allowing all citizens who de:
shirt and coat were wet with blood; there sired to purchase the property, to compete
WAS the leader of them tossing and tumbling for it, it wasold without any knowledge 'in
in the agonies of death; and, there was I the eommuni y that there was to be a sale.
pounding Bill with the chair, tillifis,head was
What was - the law revived by - this amend
raw`and bloody. • - merit to the l iirmy bill at the last session 1—
When'the landlord mine in be asked me
The law of !starch, 1819, thus revived, is in
how the thing Came about, and I told hirn.
s•these words :
'He sent for a surgeon right atkay, but it
"That the Secretary of War be, and is
wasn't of any use only for Dan and Bill.
.7 hereby, authorized, under the direction of the
President °lithe United States, to cause to
be sold such military sites belonging to the
United State as may have, been found to be
come useless for military , purposes; and the
Secretary of{ War is hereby authorized, on
the paymen{ of the consideration agreed for
jnto the Treasury of the United States, to
make, execute, and deliver all needful instru
inents, conveying and transferring the same
in fee; and hejurisdictioni which had been'
specially ceded for military, purposes to• the
United States by a State over such site or'
sites, shall !thereafter ease."—Statutes at
Large, vol. 3, page 520. '
~ s .
Thvaleti which were madeunder that law
i
were4s Mr. Weller stated in answer to the
question of,{Mr. Bright, public sales. The
law revived by the amendment of the last
..session prolvided for the sale Of—what?—
Such military- sites as had become useless for
military purposes. Under the' construction I
of this law, given by she gentleman from
tonneetieu [Mr. --Bishop,] the Secretary
'oould sell any of your military reserwations
anywhere that he deemed useless. The gen
tleman tho l oght the Secretary somewhat Of a
second Jackson;because •of his indomitable,
will, that Would receive no counsel or advice
from-any quarter; and because he disposes of
the public property at his own caprice, even
against thei advice and written report of Gen
eral Jessup, indorsed by General Scott. I
take it tbat these' Geuelals have-, a alight
El
...
NATCRE s Er OBJECT IN 15EARD.S4-7.0 taboo
our-sinful sex—or to so mark us, on the part
of the person always seen, that we cannot
.-totrecognizedly mingle with the more sacred
sex-in their social privacy—is undoubtedly
the main purpose of Our hairy masticators.,
See for instance. how a man who happened
to - have no beard (and there is now . and then
such an err-rAin among the boyit) took aa.
1 vantage: of his smooth Lace to profane that
sanctuary of women, a , conventl The for
eign correspondent of the Boston Post says:
23-." A person representing herself-as a count
ess de Savatelle has lived fcir- the last ' forty
years ,in Versailles, .drawing the pension
of the deceased countess lady abbess, in re
tirement, and mixing only in the- aristocratic
circles of that city. She wore the dress of
an Abbess, and no one doubted that.she was
the vile Countess and Abbess Ale , Savatelle.
A few days ago this person died, and it was
found that the pretended countess was a man!
He had been educated and brought up in a
convent in intiu.acy with its inmates, without
suspicion!" , .
•
r ir A little girl Wasson night under the
starry, sky intently meditating upon the glo.
ries.of the heavens. At last, looking up to
the sky, she said : Fathqr, I lkave been
thinking if the wrong side df heaven so
beftutiful, -what will the right side be
4[E,IDO
mg
Speech of
on Ote sale of Fort
. of Reprearntaiive
MONTROSE, THURSDAY, JULY '44558.
1: on. G. A. Grow,
• riell ing, delivered is the House
, June lel, 18:08.
knowledge of the militaty wants of the coun
try, although they may tot be as competent,
perhaps, to judge of the uselessness of the
military reserves as tie gentleman from
Connecticut, who devote( much pf his time
to an effort to prove that this military reser
vation was no longer neeled by the Govern
ment. '
Under the law the . Secreta ry could not sell
any reservation except stick as had become
useless for military purposes; but by the .
doctrine laid down on the other side, he could;
and can now, sell any reservation anywhere
that he deems useless, no.matter what might'
be the 'opinion of the riling competent milita
ry judges as to their importance for national
protection or defense. Even if the Secreta
ry of War is made the judge of wh6ther any
reservation could be dispensed with, he is-re
sponsible fer the exercise of a sound judg
ment, and if he sells to the prejudice of the
public service, It is a plain and palpable vio
lation of the spirit ,of the law. But the same
censure:would not, of course, be visited on
an error of judgment as for a wrllfgl neglect
of duty.
Now, was the reserve itt Fort Snelling ne
cessary for the Government. 3 If so, the See
retary had no right to sell it. On the 15th
of April, 1957, a propcisition was submitted
to the Secretary of War, by Mr. Rice, of
Minnesota, for the purtihnse of Fort Snelling.
That was three months before the sale. The
Secretary of War sfibmitted - the proposition
to General Jessup.., In his repert to the Sec
retary of War, on iis proposition, page_ls3
.of the committee's report, he says:
"if this policy is to be adopted, and it is
certainly the true policy, not afoot of the site
of Fort Snelling can be spared without weak
ening the defense of the frontier."
Here - is, an officer who has served the coun
try almost the allotted period of man's life.
in high military positions, the officer who had
this department of our military service under
his inspection, reports officially to the Secre
tary of War that not one /oot of this reserve
'ion could be spared without' weakening the
dense of thefrontier. This was on the 15th
of April, 1857 ; and yet, immediately follow
ing this, the Secretary of War sends Major
Eastman to make a survey of this reserva
tion. For what purpose ? ,To 'make a sur
vey, as Major Estntan supposed-at the time,
to ascertain the quality of the land, its value,
&c., in order to fix the price at which it should
be sold. • But before any report on this sub
ject is made, and before the Secretary of
War hears from the surveyor, he dispatches
,another agent, named He;skell, who meets
Eastman in Minnesota. They meet togeth
er, and the last agent says he
,has authority
to sell the reservation in any way he pleases,
public or private. These two ' agents agree
to make the sale—and how ? They agree to
isell it under the instructiinis of the Secretary
the reservation could be spared without weak
ening the defense of the frontier—an opinion
i hich he was sustained•by Colonel Thom
ill7by General Churchill, and by other oflj.
cers—coneurred in by General Scott, the first
military. name of the age. .
ColOnel Thomas, senior ; officer of General
Scott's st.sfi; and acting as inspector general,
when he visited Fort Snelling says, in his tes
timony, page 135:
" Question 460. You say you-see.no "rea
son to change your views as expressed to the
Gencral-in-ehiif as to the propriety of retain
ing Fort Snelling as a place of military sup
ply. Do you mean by that that it would be
desirable for the Government to repossess
itself of Fort Snelling ?"
"Answer. I think so."
".Question 461. ` How much do yen thin
the Government could afford to pay for it t
repossess itself of the property 1"
"Answer. It is only valuable as a station
for troops to send out upon an emergency,
and as a supply tor posts at a distance. It is
important,'as you have there all the supplies
and the means of transportation!"
•
Question 462. - Would it be of more val
ue to the Government than the Government
received for it?"
" Answer. I think so.' ^
" Question 464. Do you think the Gov
ernment could, with propriety, and" asa mat
ter of economy, purchase back such portionsof the property 'as you have specified as be
ing necessary, for amount paid - for all, if
they could not buy it for less?" •
" Answer. Yea; I think so."
General Churchill, in his testimony, page
2.82, says:
" Question 1755. Were you, or any of
the officers connected with your department;
consulted as to tie propriety of selling that
reserve l'f
" Answer, I was not."
Question 176. Had you been consulted,
would you have advised a disposal of it 1" ,
" Answei. I would not:"
Major J. G. Martin, assistant quartermas
ter general in the Army, and who had been
stationed at Tort Snelling for two years, in
:
.his testimony, page 355, says ,
" Question 2358, (by Mr. Burnett,'resum
ing.) Would you give it as your opion that
Fort - Snelling ought'to have been retained as
a military depot 1"
" Answer. Yes, sir."- •
- Perhaps the gentleman from Connecticut.
[Mr. Bishop] would say that these men thus
connected with the Army did not know what
the Faro of the hountry were in a'military
point of view. The Secretary of War ascer
tained from no human being that this was a
useless reservation before he bad ordered it to
be sold ; `
but on the contrary, he sold it in di
reel opposition to the opinion of some: of the
most experienced officers in the Army. That
is otlr first complaint. It was his duty to as
certain from the commandant of the position,
or some other competent person, whether the,
reservation could be spared from the milita
ry defenses of the country. This he did not
do. This is the first act for which vki arraign.
him. Next,'for ordering a sale, ifrexpress
opposition to the opinionsof those who had
the subject-in charge, and would be supposed
to know most about it. And thirdly, we ar
raign him because after he had determined to
sell, instead of giving all citizens an opportu
nity to buy this prOperty whkill belonged to
the General. Government. and in the sale of
which every ono had -a right to be a compet
itor, he sold it at secret sale to one man, and
he Vie first to,whoto it was offered,. and at
the first interview ; and the community knew
nothing of the sale until after its completion,
and wor@ unable to obtain uny itiformatiOn as
to The sale previous to its taking Voce, the
.J
they applied to the. Secretary for it. The j
honorable member from Illinois.[Mr.Smith]
lad written. to the Secretary . of War two
onths before this sale, inquiring if this yes
rvation was to%o sold; and an ex-member
f Congress from Vermont (Mi. Dillingham) .
ad also written to make a similar inquiry.
ut the Secretary of War was so busy' that
hey, like eyery one else, save these favord
artjes, could get no answer till after the sale
as completed. That is the evidence.as tea
ified to by Mr. Smith and Mr. Dillingham.
Now, I ask my:- friend from Connecticut,
Mr. Bishop,] and his side of the House, if
there is not good reason for scrutiny by the
V.epresentatives of the people,into such acts
Of the executive officers of the Government?
kinder our form of governi s nent, it is the first
nd highest duty incumbent on the ltepre
entatives of the people to watch, with pal
m care, the conduct of the executhie officers
f the Governinent. It was one of the max
ms of the sage of Monticello, that " the price
if liberty, is eternal iligilanee;" and it is not
• or the representatives of popular liberty to
.efend or vindicate an executive officer in'thq,
city and flagrant violation of the laws of the
country; because, peichanee,- he may_
. have
maintained a noble character of the Secretary
of War, or his past history. His conduct
in this transaction, and that alone, is on trial;
and, irwrong', it is not to be screened by any
of the elements of character which his friends
may imagine he pasesses kindred to those of
Andrew *J acksoo.
Now, I need not take up the time of the
House, or -weary their patience by any fur
ther references to this testimony as to the im
portance of this post as a military reserva
tion. All the military men examined by the
committee sustain the one idea thati Fort
Snelling is important to the country, and
could not be abandoned as a military post at
present ithout detriment to the defense of
the 'frontier.. Yet the gentleman from Vir.
ginia [Mr. Faulknar].toid us that a military
commission t sent by the Secretary of War,
reports that this reserve is not needed—
When was that commission organized ? Af
ter the committee had made its investigaticin,
and reported. The Secretary of War, it
seems, unwilling to risk his case on the evi
dence taken by the committee, arhis own
instance orders a military Commission to vis
it Fort Snelling, timi report as to its ntility
as a military post. A superior officer com
mands his subalterns'to make a report in a
ease affecting his own reputation, and the
character of the service; and they go and
perform his bidding, and there I - leave, their
report. They Were sent after thin evidence
was taken, and the,teport made. If the Sec
retary of War deemed it necessary to. have
-the opinion of military men as to whether
this-reservation was important to the milita
tiy'l-ins newhit tit an infestlgiVing
mittee of Congress ti)ok testimony and made
its report to Congress? Was it to ascertain
the facts as to whether this reserve was use
less in order to govern his action in ordtring
the sale? or was it for his defense against the
testimony impeaching' his conduct"? . Why
have a commission to determine vihethet the
"reservation 'l% as useless after the Same was
sold ? I
.But, sir, how was the sale made? Major
Eastman, one of the men who sold it, says,
in his testimony before the committee, page
SO
" Question 1. Please to state all the facts
and circumstances within our knowledge
touching the recent, sale of the military res
ervation at Fort Snelling,
" Answer. In April last I received verbal
instructions from the' Secretary of War• to_
proceed to' Fort Snelling and make a survey
of the place." * 41. " lle stat
ed that after I had finished the" survey he
would send an agent out there to sell it. I
proceeded to the place, and went to work
immediately. After I had the survey nearly
completed, an agent arrived and reported to
me, and, at the same time, I received the ap
pointment as agent myself to act with him."
* * * "The instructions were
to sell it at public sale or private sale, as the
agents thought best for the public interest
either in small lots or as a whole.. After we
had consulted on the matter, we came to tfie
conclusion that it would be better for the
Government to sell it at private sale." * *
"We determined to sell it at 'private sale,
that being the best for the Government, and
before doing it we determined to, ; 'rriake an
estimate of what we thought to be a fair .
price or a good prize.' fixed the price at
*90,000. !After wo had gone that far, the
question arose as to whoin we should first of
fer it to, and we determined tit offer it' to
Mr: Steele, for these reasons : he had lived
there for about twenty years,. he had built
him a house, and, I believe, had 'possession
of all the private property there." *
."-We thought it no more than- justice that
we should give him the refusal of it. We
did so; but he thought the price we had fixed
was too high, and offered 'a_ fess sure.', We
told-him that we could not take less than
that amount, lie then accepted' it, and made
an agreement-with us, which waS to- give
*90,000, *30,000 of which was to be paid
on the 10th of July, I think, *30,000 on the,!
10th of July following, and $30,000 on the
10th 'of the July next succeeding." * *
" Question 37, (by Mr. Morrtsi) If you
had been the private owner of that property
and had desired to sell it, would !you have
mentioned it to but one individual, and have
sold it to him upon your !firstinterview with
hint?
" Answer. No, sir if it 'had! been my
own private property 1 should have managed
it entirely differently."
. .
What-are the reasons given . for selling at
private gale, or rather at secret sale 1 For
if there is any significance in I words between!
" secret" and " private," the 'former applies
!to this . dase. Now, what is the reason given
by these agents why they sold at secret sale,
instead of giving notice to the, community 1
They say there would have been 'a eombina
tion to prevent the land from sellitig for as
Much as they : could get.atta secret sale.
When asked Who told them there would
be a combination, Ileiskell says Major East
man told him, andllinjor4stman says Heis
kell told him • and when 011 find out 'from'
Both who toldthem, it is .126.. Graham who
mixed: with the people as: they say. - Dr.
Graham, by his own account, went to the
Secretary of War in this
,eityr i stated he was
going to Minnesota. to Tita4' some invest
ments, and asked if the Seere,tary had any,
thing, for himi to do ; and the.',§ecretary says
1 H - . FRAZIPM., PUBLI S HER,---VOL 4. N.9;26.
"nothing, unless it be the selling of Fort
Snelling. " But the Doctor preferred to,he
a purchaser, rather than a commissiceer for
the selling of the reserve. Before be leavis
the city to forms a company with Mather, to
buy Fort Snelling, and it is -this company,
thus formed, composed of Graham, Mather,
and Schell, and when they go to innesota
they take in Frank Steele, that makes the
purchase. How did Dr. Grahatn know that
this reservation was to be sold thus private
ly?,
There is positive evidence that , shows
that he did know it. But the. evidence 'shows
that they make this arrangement for its pur.
chase here in Washington; and Mather gets
appointed a commissioner to go to Fort Rip ,
ley, and draws the contract for the-agents to
sell to Steele, and then returns to Washing
ton to see that the - sato-IreOnfirnried. Dr.
Graham says he whs going to Minnesota to
make investments, and that is the. reason- he
'asked the Secretary of War the question he
did. The evidence shows that he had no
money to put into this company, or, at least,
that he did not put in any, but that Mather
and Schell advanced all the money, and that
Dr. Graham'sinterest in it was‘to be repaid
to them in salary, „ and for his services, al
though they paid nobody else any salary or
for any services. Well, what was donel—
As soon as it is determined by the agents to
sell at_ secret sale, or private sale, as they
call it, they offer the property to Frank
Steele before letting anyone else know that
it is for sale ; and the only reason: given for
this course is;-beeause he lived there, and had"
an interest ip -- tlie reserve, by reason of living
on it. He had no legal.rights there,of course,
for lie was on the reserve only by the suffel
ance of the Government. It is' true that
Steele had a house on the reserve, and 'Was
living there; but so had McKenzie. Me-
ICenzie's property was worth fifteen *or twen
ty,tithousand dollars, while Steele's was not
worth more than ten thousand dollars, at-the
highest estimate, and part of the witneises
put it at six or, eight thousand dollars. •
Mr. - Pl - elps, of Missouri. McKenzie was
livin'g in St. Louis. He lived there then,and
does now.
• Mr. (row. I speak from the • testimony.
I cannot take the word of any niember, how
ever good it may be. The evidence is that
McKenzie was living on the reserve, and had
a. store, a hotel, and other . propert.v.there,
Mr.
,Burnett. I apt slitislied tatiekhe gen
tleman from Pennsylvania does not intend
to do injustice; and I will say. to him that
the proof shows that McKenzie lived in St.
Louis, was not on the ground, and that Hen
ry M. Rice was his agent.
Mr. Grow. Do you say he had not an
interest there ?
Mr. Phelps.of Missouri. Justice to my
self requires that Lshould make a statement ;
iter,L,e ,emiutz, Igi Sou. I J. flilJ, aNitts Au.. J.... ..o. --
•
for many yezirs - * - Ile• was inter — ested 'in prop
erty on that reserve. i
Mr. Grow. Exactly. •
Mr. Phelps, of Missouri. But beforethiA
sale took place, Mr Steele had acquired the
whole interest of McKenzie,
Mr. Grow. lam not arguidg on iechni
calities. It is claimed that tins. ofrer was
made to Steele,-because he had a greater in.
terest in the reserve than any one else, and
it will not do for the gentleman,to raise the.
technicality that McKenzie was not there in
person. ' I believe that is true, and that th . e,
statement of the gentlernan from Missouri
[Mr. Phelps] and 'from Kentucky, [llr/Bur
nett,] as to the whereabouts of his person, is
correct. I donut care where he,,Was in Per
son. The point is, what was hiS interest in
'this reserve. The evidence is, that. Steele
agreed to pay McKenzie $15,1/00 for his in
terest there, which js almost twice is much
as Steele's interest alone.
Now, why was this one man selected, and
the sale made to him, when 119 other :citizen
knew that the property was for sale, or could
find-ouvanything about ii from the Secretary
of 'War, evenon formal applications until the
sale yas completed 1 It is for this condoct
that we arraign the Secretary of War. It is
for the mode and manner of the sale. So
far as this point is concerned, we care not
whether the GOvernment . got the full value
of the property or not. A wrong-- was done
to other citizens; who wished, or might have
been disposed, tie purchase the property.;,.by
s ( )
the course of the Secretary of ar,and.his .
agents, in selecting this one m ',._and perrnit
ting him to' buy it, without the k wedge of
any one else except his confederates. •-•• ...
-As to McKenzie's interest, a friend calls
my ditentiun' to a portion of the testimony,
which I will read., This is a part of an-agree
ment signed by Franklin Steele, Archibald .
Graham, and John C r . Mather, on page 456-of
the report of the teslinleny :
" The said Steele: Is also further authorised
to arrange with Kenneth McKenzie for his I
claim; add, if he requires one hundred and
sixty:acres of land, (and in no case is* it ~ to
:exceed that amount,) be is to be confined to
what is known as the - BultVr claim ; led sho'd
the said Steele deem it advisable, he is au
thorized, instead of deeding him .the land
aforesaid, to pity him, for the relinquishment
of his entire claim., a s sum not exceeding *l5;-
000." This was after the. sale. ' - •
The agents`,_ with their nego 'ations with
' Steele, stipulated with • pay McKen
zie-, and it was understood by. them that
Steele was to purchase MeKenzie's•interest.
here is, urther, testimony on the subject,
which I read from page 91 :
') "'Question,lo,- (by Mr. Faulkner.) , Did
. you afford any opportunity for.. competition
at private sale r _
" Answer: No, sir, - After,we had deter.
- mined' to - rfell it at private sale, we-iliought it
best,rfor the reasons I have given, to offer' it
to this gentleman: It he had ' refused, we
should probably then have gene to the. next
man who owned property on *the reserve,
who was a Mr. McKenzie.- He owned a ho
tel there, Sce." . :-.
..,
Thai is the testimony- of' Major - zastman,
one•of the commissioners. The gentleman
from Connecticut [Mr Bishop] wished -that - ,
gentleman would havola little common sense.
I call his attention'to'illis point,: and let us
see what he considers emninBn sense. Would
the gentleman sell property , of his. own by
giving notice to but Overion that he'Want
led to sell it, and sell it to i hitrriii the finkt.in
,' terreW and uPon the first offer?
.Thia.l' wit
I•ness says that.. Steele offeretf;',s7s,ooo; but
they wanted $15,000 mcre.l . l liid_he agreed to
give. it, °and. they sold it, to lit. Now *here
was the commonsense in tli transaction ?
The facts of - the ease.st4tl - gii s is ; The'S,dere
. .p, .
Mil
tary - of War has authority to sell only such
reservations as, are useless "for Jnilitary per
poses. That is all the authority ,which the
law elves him. Without taking the opinion •
of military -men as to whether the reserve
is needed or not, be Orders its
,sale 4. and he
orders its sale in such a manne r but one, ,
man - and his associates in the purchase, know
of it, and' he purchases the property., at the ,
first offer. The House can draw its own de
ductions from these facts. It is not my per
pose.to drayr the inferences legitimately de
dueible frorh the fleets disclosed in thil
testi
mony _ Each member can draw them for'
himself. The citizens of the country, Oran
--
Inks lawful business; have been wronged by •
the mode and manner of this side. It is of
that we complain, and for that that blame
rests upon the Secretary °Mar. Whether
he did it corruptlY ,or not, is of no cone-•
quence except as to the amount of 'reproba,
tion which the act deserves.. 110 violated
the law of Congress in selling public proper.:
ty needed for public use. He ,trampled
dciwn the rightsiof the citizens orthe cone
try„and that, too, under the - sanction of the,
President of the Unite States, by depriving
them of equal opportunities in • a . fair busi=
ness transaction.
The gentleman from Connecticut Complains
-1 1 /
that this side of the House bast 'before, du- '
,
ring _this session, arraigned the Preside n t and.
executive officers! Sir; when the time comes ' 'I. - 1
that the Representatives ,of ,the people hesi- -.
tate Ito arraign any executive officer of,the - ' )
Government for a.perversion of his powers - ; ; i
under the Constitution, We shall :be at the
verge of - the downfall of the Republic.---- •
When the Executive demands of the Repre
sentative of the people allegiance to him in-
stead of to the constituency , which elected I. I
him, and, brings party power and Adminis- • :
tration patronage to overcome his scruples
or to : convince hie judgment, it is time. that - .11
a warning voice was heard frem the tribunal
of tl.e people.' It lathe duty of the Repre- • ;, •
sentative who is true and loyal to those. who
sent him here, and to the convictions lef his
heart, to arraign any 'Executive , who de- • -
mends of the Representative, as has been
done by the present EXecutive, allegiance
hirri.elf, instead of the people whom be ought
to represent. . .. 12.,
There is but one other point. Mr._Speaker, ' -
to which 1 desire to refer, and that is as to .'
the value of the land ; though, hi •my view .
of this case, that is of but little Consequence, •
except so 'far as it goes to show - whether .f.his
transaction was an underhanded and fiatidit- •
lent one or net. ---If the property hold for -
1 /
much - less than its value, the sale being thus
secret, it would be still more open to the
. I
suspicion that there was improper colluSio
between the, Power which ordered the iiirres
and the men who purchased the pio perry.— • .
It is in that view alone, that. the ainrinnt re. .
.... . : ... .4
the
'hp rirnho t l. ee ii , if t
rz AM
fto fix the character o the & t it_ c n w ,
er ,it was fair and manly, or/whether there
was collusion fol.impropeppurpossm.
Now, as to the value/of the property, I
shall cite but few witnesses, and those from
} both military and 2 eiv it life, in order that ,we
roily have .the epiniterN of each. I read first
from thnestiinony
, ef Capt. James IL Simp- ,
son, (pagewho is a captain of the corps
of toyrCgraphical engineers, in the United' ' ,
Siates Army, and - bad been; in charge of die* .
GOvernment roads, in 'Minnesota, from 1851
"t 0 .1850, and was Stationed at St. Paul,,a few •
miles from the fort. I read a part of his tes
timony, as to the value of -this reservation ; •
"- Question ' 2597. - -llrul yoii any inter
view with either of .the commissioners who
were sent thdre for the purpose. of selling .
that reservation ?
,
"Answer. Not previous to the sale, fin 1
was not up at the fort; but subsequent : to
the sale I saw Major Eastman.and bad some
conversation about it. '
'" Quiltion 2598. 'What was it?:
Answer.
Answer. He admitted that the'sale, bad
taken place,
and he thought the Government
bad received a fair price for the land, I told
him "he could not talk in that way to; me, a .
person who had lived fire years in Minneso
ta, and who knew more about the - value of
land there than he did. I.
" Question 2002. What, in your opinion,
was the value of that tract of land by' the , -
acre, taking it asa whole, in June, 1857-1 -
"Answer. If it\had been, put up in small
parcels, I think some portions of, it would
have brought s2oo,per acre, and the lowest
price realized for any of it .would have been, •
I think, about twenty dollars an:acre." ..
To ,this same point'l read from the testi-,
mony of Mr. g. C. Smith, who has . resided
at'Minneapolis, a few Tildes up the river
trod( the fort, for the past three years, and
whose bus:ness is dealing in land ; page 238,
is the following testimony :.
'` sr Question 1341. 'Arc you acquainted with,
this reservation, the character of its soil, the •
number Of 'acres it contains, &c. I '
" Answer. Yes, sir; pretty definitely, I
think. Ido not think' the exact -number of
acres is known. I have heard it more gen
erally estimated-•dt eight thousand acres.—
Many think it will overrun ten thousand.
," Question 1342. Taking into -considera
tion the &erecter
. of the soil, its location,
and everythiug, what was the reservation,'
worth per acre for agricultural pUrposei at .
the time of the sale? ' ' •-•
" Answer. Considered - exclusively for .ag
ricultural pUrposes, I should think it would
average about twenty-five dollars per acre.' . '
Page 239': . '' s -' • •
"Question 1349. Do.you regard thp iiite
.of Fort 'Snelling as el Bible point for the
location of a city
. or town 1 ' , '
" Answer. I do.' :`....,.
" Question 1350,..-r"*ltit would you say
that tract of, land was worth, taking into con-.
sideration ita, advantages as a ;
'' town site at
'that time 7 . • ; - •
) 41
" Answer. I should not put it :+ under four
hundred thousand .dollarss 'I 'think titAras
worth not far from that' s .
• This witness seems to be an intelligent'
man and Well acquainted with the value of
property in the neighborhood.— ,
I now read from the testimony Of Him..
Robert Smith, a s inem'ber' of this House, Who
speaks from personal aertuaintance,of o,val-'.
'tie of the property. ' I read from page 140 of
the report: '
" Qecestion 510. Did you make an tmorrl
ipation in June for the purpose of yurehasing
the property in the whole or in part?
"Answer. -Since 1548 I had heel'.' from
one to four 'times a yeaT in that region.
had,, from the fact of nly - living in the :West,.
acid having rather a mania for land ; examined