Norwalk Gazette, Wednesday, February 20, 1839 · page 1

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\ ’ IS PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY MORVllVlG,
_ -10 v_ 1: n it o

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I ‘ ed him toryieldgthe floor for a motion to ad-
journ]

 

 

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Jrwo DOLLARS ran ANt\’UM,]

voL. XXI.

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it ttowr sivti

fur nit siitrai

rti(;ss‘W’A,Ls£.. cores, vvi-mui-:sa)A_Y. FEBRUARY 20. 1339.

 

 

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iiiii. 102. ‘U

TL

'i"Hi«: ivoiuv.u.K GAZ_ET’l‘E,

rrfs STORE. on THE nocii
I-Vest side the Bridge.

TgnMs.—,—'[‘wo dollars per annum. payable in
advance_s2 25 at the end of the year. _
To subscribers who-live out of the Carrter’s
district and call at the. Qtfiite for their papers.
81 50 per year, tfpatd -tn. acloan_ce_:-—-otherwise
82 will be cltarged. Mail subscribers $2 per
gunum, payable in advance. _Noojhersatic-tt(l-
¢4_1_ to, and no suhs:riptton recervt d .or less than
six m0m[,5_ Tu cpnijiaiiiep ol sir; or more. rel-I
geiying their papers by mail, $1 -)0, payable a
fipgether, in qdvance. _ .
’ Executor’s and Admiuistraior‘s Notices, 3 in-
ger-fiinng. $1___£'()[i)[nissinn8l"8 l'lt)li(‘.(’.$;' 2:7).
Yearly advertisms. one square. $10 per fllitllifllc
payable quarterly in advaitce. All other adver
gisementsat the rate of $1per square for 3 inser-
1ion5_ and 25 cents for each sulist-qiieiti insertion.
(b' All casual advertisements sent to this Of-
fice, should be accompanied by the cash. o
others attended to.

JOB PRI§lTilNG_e
- HF ALL KINDS.
NEATLY EXECUTED AT 'ruis 0FFlt‘E..

 

 

FOR SALE.

HE subscriber ofiers for sale the ground

on.eacli about ‘.20 feet wide and front 60 to 80
feet deep, all builtofgood in.ttt-rin‘=

the harbor is abntit'-£20 feet.

abctter iiitetcst. . There is every convenience
for the fi-.-iglitiitg l‘-USIIICSS betvveeii Ntirw.-ilk and l
New York, for which purpose it has been llsttilj
f..,-/-30 y.-M... past, Atty person irishiug to pur--,
_chasc will of course ox-iinitie for liitust“-lf_, and it
‘further dcecriptit.-it is titer-.-fore d-.:eiit-2d unne-
cessary. Tlll€llllllSPlll-filll9-

N. 13. Two Sloops will also be sold with the
above ropcrty. one 67; the 0tll°.‘.¥.S7 tons. The
above. i’iro,:ert.y may be: had any Liam: 
the ‘25tli of Mrircli m3.‘<'- ' - . -

Norwslk,.l.1:ttt.=.rv 19. 1939. 997

[ LL debts due the sttltsrtihi-r, which arunot
\. settled previous to the 25".!) Marc‘. next,
will be put in suit.

M. HOYT.
Nnrwalk. Jan. I9. 1939. 97

"‘ INK. Britauta Tea Pots, Sugaraiitl Creatit.

;n. a little the best in marital. at L. Ci,Aixxt's.

Frozn the Ntztional Inlclligcncer.

SPEECH OF BILL “USE:

.937 THE SUBJECT OF THE LATE DEFALCATIONS.

I. (coN'ri.\'ur.n.)

Deccmbe 21, 1833.

[Then follows the "story of the Indian re-

servations,” the substance of which was pub-
_lished more than a year ago. The commit-
tee would not suffer Mi‘. \Vise to put any
questions, the answers to which might crim-
inztte Mr. Kend-.tll. Mr. I/Vise resumcs:]

_'I‘he committee could not be coaxed to per-
mit a fair and ftill investigation.

Sir, I could show you pile upon pile of
proof, but those instances will serve as speci-
mens of the manner in which you,the Speak-
er, the Prcsideiit of the United States, the
Heads of the Executive D_sp.trtments. your
committee, and your whole party, couibined
and conspired to stifle investigation, when
proposed in 1837. ‘

Sir, not only did you and the administra-
tion ptirsiie this course upon the committee
to examine the condition of the various Ex-
ecutive Departments, of which I was chair-
man, but, in like mariner, you pliyed the
same game on the committee and towards the
committee of which my friend and colleague
(Mr. Garland) was chairman. You repelled

‘ inquiry, refused interrogatories. prostrate;l and

postponed resolutions. encouraged contumacy
in witnesses, resisted investigation in every
form there too, with this difference only, that
there the usual throw of the dice was .‘cinque-
four’ instead of ‘size-tray,’ my colleague, the
chairman, usually voting with the minority
of three——Johnson, Peyton, \Vise.
Such was your reform administration I--
You denied, resisted, defeated all investiga-
tion, all inquiry. One of the committees
was appointed to sit on Reuben atid the other
on Levi. One was to investigate the pet bank
concern, the other was to examine the virtue
and honesty of the Treasury Dep:trtment.—~
Sir Reuben and Levi were then in C0--they
"rode and tied.’ B/ut how soon, sir, did truth
f-.—‘ mighty truth, prevail,’ notwithstanding
all your resistance and attempts to stifle her
mighty throes!
sir, this was in the session of 1836-37;
._these committees reported on the 3d of March;
before sixty days expired,_ the explosion of the
pet banks, the crush of credit, the destruction
of confidence and commerce, the ruin of eve-
ry thing, proclaimed, thundered the truth of
my charges, to establish which the Garland
committee was raised—thuntlered it, sir, in
the ears of every man——touche.d the nerves
of every man's pocket ; and it was literally

‘so tangible as to be felt by every man, wo-

man, and child in the coimtry.

The Secretary, Levi himself, admitted the
system to be corrupt and unsafe to the called
session, and poor Reuben has been turned to
the dogs. And now, sir, the truth of the
charges against the departments is about to‘
be verified as clearly by the explosion of the
sub-treasurers, Swartwout, Price, Gmtiot and
others, as thetruth of the charges in relation
to the pet banks was made manifest by their
explosion!

-[Herc some of Mr. Wise’s friends entreat-

».4__

s and in com-5
nigtg repair; the length of thoi ground frontitigl
Without, exagger-
ation it may be said that llltl situation of tlic;°_“ _
above property is not equalled by auv in thl5;IlUV'e it; b
_stut.e for facilities in doing Uusiflefiss 01' ‘Vlll P"Yj

No, sir, I_tlo not yield the floor. I may
never get it again until the 4th of March,
1839. I will go on, without turning.asirlc
from my purpose, to expose these outrag--s
upon the country. I feel better now; utuch
better, sir. I was sick last night: these docu-
ments made me sick. I was poring over
them late lastnight. The discussion of them
makes me perspire ; the perspiration comes
now freely, and I am relieved. Idistrust
you. sir, to be frank; I will go on, and you ,
must bear it. i

First came the explosion of the pet banks’
—7to2o came the explosions. one after another,
in quick succesion,/of the sub tretistirei's who
were, or are to be, substituted for banks. and
I will show you that they prove all that I
ever charged to be true.

I said that in December, 1836, when Gen.
Jackson gave his certificate that all was well,
honest, fair, this very leg-treasury, Swartwouh
at New York, was in default $336,718-—
VVcll, sir, now it appears that, in twelve
uioiiths after, he was in default to the tune of
$1,225,705 69!! Previous to my attempt

,at investigation, he had been stealing public

money at the rate of 856,000 per uunutn.—
Afte-r rite cat was bellerl, he stole in one year
8680.236 63, and in the next three mon:hs
$208,780 37. Yes, sir, after the I."l'€SI';lt‘.til.
had given hint a certificate of honesty. and
you, sir, and the House, and the comirtiztec,
had shielded him from all srrutiny, he stole in
one year the sum of $580,236 63, and in the

extending frotnthe Bridge, at the hind of,ncxt three rnonths at the rate of more tlleitt
Norwnlk Harlmrt Will‘ 0 -5t°f¢‘3 8W“l'“l.1’ ‘here’ 3 $803,003 per annum--his defalcation aver-

aging tliroughotit his official Cl1't't?l‘, the sum
of more than 8l_70,000 per annum, for seven
yoeirs—-—nn.l this, too, we are now told, with-
t the least suspicion! ‘A Jew may be-
ut I don’t l’

Sir, I said the other day that Idirl not re-
joice iti tlit‘-so public losses and calamities,
though [confess I did feel a thrill of triumph
at having gained a victory for the truth.-—
The pet bank systcrn and the sub-treasurers
have exploded, as I said they would, and ex-
posed their hidden enormities, concealed until
they could be coiiccaled no longer; but I do
not rejoice at it. I made me no booth to sit.
and watclt for the destruction of corrupt Nine-
v.ih. But, sir, there is one poor humtin he-
ing on earth-—alone now in the world—-
wrccked in reputsitiou—blasted--slighted by
men not halfas worthy as he is—whose soul
at scenes like. this does rejoice, must exult.—
Who, and where is he? Sir, if you will go
down I’eimsylv.-ttiia Avenue to the corner of
Four—and-a-halfstrcet, beneath Mrs. Peyton's
boarding-hottse, you will find a gray-headed
old in.-tn. stricken in years: his name-—-'I’0bi-
=18 IVatkinsl That mzin, for borrowing ino-
ney of public officers. funds in their hands.
not converting funds in his oivn hands to his
own use, was imprisoned on the 14th of Au-
gust, 1829. anzl tried on three several indict-
ments, on all of which he was convicted and
fined, on one in the stun of $750, on another
8300, and the third 8200.). He was seitteitv.-
ted to be imprisoned three. iitouths on each in-
dictment, in all nine months; out thotigh im-
prisonetl in August. 1829, he was not releas-
ed until Mirch, 1833. Kept in jail three
years and six months for a real or fictitious
(lt‘f:llC€lIl0n of 83 050.

Where now are the dcfaulters of this ad-
mini.-trationil Where is Siva rtwoitt, after
embezzling public. money for eight years in
succession, till he had taken and carried away
a million and a quarter’! Where is I)l'l('.is’f
Where. is Gratiot? How long since their
carriage wheels proudly hurled the Olympic
dust of the f..tshion:ible streets and avenues of
your metropolis of court and fiishion? No
l'1lt'll‘$l1:ilS at their hcels—-no district attornies
prosecuting agiiast the-m triple indictments;
they ran away, or walked away, unforbiddcn,
and none to hinder! VVhere is Boyd '2 that
land office defaiilter, who appealed to the
‘misfortunes of speculation’ to elect hitn to
the Senate of his state of Mississippi ’I—
These are all innocent and unfortunate and
escaping def-aulteirs? 'I-'hese’ai‘e full-handed
public plunderers, pet plunderers, and "go
‘unwltipped of justice.’ Sir, so was Tobias
Vlfatkins unfortunate. He. was born and
bred a gentleman ; dazzled by thetinsel glare
of this metropolis of ‘splendid misery and
shabby splendor,’ (as it was once with equal
force, truth, and beauty, described by thtt unc-
qualled ortttor of Virginia, John R'lnd:)lph 
of liberal mind and habits, too, he. lavished
some three thousand iinprovidently, thinking
in his heart that he should be able to replace
that sum, ‘and make all straight’ and he was
imprisoned for his imprudence for nearly
four years, and made to bear a ft-.lon’s br.-ind.
Ah, sir, but he was a geutlcman——hc belong-
ed to ‘all the decency,’ to the ‘silk stocking
gentry’——-‘ he was not one of your L-tco Foco
de£iulters—-he was not un_foi'tu7t._7,te to the
amount of rttillions——lie was no robber on a
large scale.--he was not one too full-hzinalt-tl to
be touched by the rude hands of the tipstaff
-—_-he was not a defaulter of the great de-
mocracy, and poor fellow he suffered for be-
inga gentleman! By the by. sir, that word
reminds me of the fact that it was during, or
not until the past summer, your p:-trty first
tllSCOVeTP(I that your President was a gentle-
man. -The discovery was made first. _I think.
by granny Ritchie. That venerable gentle-
man took tne to task for finding some gentle-
men in Petersburg. and, as a. set off. it see’m-
ed, boasted that President Van Buren. too,
was actitally a gentleman! Very strange _,l
that a man whom they made President, the
successor of the ‘illustrious’ in 1537, they
lid not find out to be a gentleman tintil the
summer of 1838. They most surely have
been trying to make him out a Whig. For
«nyself, I always knew he was, in the ordina-
ry sense, a gentleman; and it was tnortifying
to see that the Enquirer, by implication, at

least, had supposed until lately that the Presi-

dent of theUnite_d States could be other than 2
geri_tlein:tii——judgiiig, I mean, from its boast
of the St1ClCl.rn discovery; btit my colleagut
there, (hilr. Di-onig'oole,) will not, however.
recognize Mr. Ritcliio as a genuine Loco
Foco editor. [M_r. Dromgoole Said, no, no,
he is :1 Coiiservative} There is a cheering
consideration connected with this discovery,
though by the Administration press; it is the
brightest omen which has occurred for years
of Mr. Van Buren_’s downfall. Yes, sir,th:.t
cry of ‘gentleman’ upon him by his friends
will finish hiin-—-with the party which stip-
ports him, they might as well have cried
‘mad dog 1’ It is a certain prognostic that
he is going down. From the hottr that fa-
ther Ritchie made that fatal discovery the
man’s doom was sealed.

But. sir. the gintleman defuulter, VVat-
kins. ztsI was saying, nitt his fate; and now
that he has been purified by the fires of the
law, we may be p-rinitted to do him. justice.
and to make him the instrument of l't3Il‘Il)l1'
tion. Icall him up; [invoke his wrongs,
his SllfIi‘l‘ll1'~_IS, his injuries. his expiation, to
rise in juclgeiitent agaii:st his persecutors. to
condemn them Whei'e is he now? In a
station where he is, no dtubt, far happier than
in his day of pr. c trioiis and terror h:-tuntt-d
show, when he to led us a poor slave in one
of the stalls of yourdocunteut-factories, c Ill‘
ed Departments. He is now an humble
.-tpothecary; and here I wi.l say, for the be-
nt-fit of all who woull be honest, and who.
wish to be clean, that he keeps for sale the
very btsstof ‘palm soap,’ and of chloride of
lime, iinrl other clieinical compositions, to
tsike off the spots of Loco-Focoisin, and" to
cleanse from all corruption !' I recoininend
to cert-aiti sub 'I‘reastiry gentlemen to go and
buy; but wli-at if they be once washed as
white as snow, they will, like the hog, return
to their watllowingiit the mire. -

The Adttiiiiistmtion may pretend that they
wish investigation. It is full time. But
how is the matter presscd‘? Every now and
then the cliziirinun of ways and means (Mr.
Cambrelt-ng,) comes forward, and, in solemn
tone, asks you to drop the subject for what he
is pleased to term ‘business,’ as if it was not
the business of this House, and its chiefdu-
ty now-a-d.-iys, to look into abuses. Sir, ‘the
p-trty’ are in reality, at heart, as mtich oppos-
(‘CI to inquiry now as of old. It servestlieir
turn at ttiis time to pretend to be diligent and
zealous for inquiry.‘ They are no more its
friends nowxtltan they ever were.

Mr. Ctmbreleng here interposed. I hope
the gc‘llilr.’m:»J[1_ wiil not do me injustice. I
never voted against any of his investigations.
Never.

Mr. W. I siid your party.

Mr. C. My pa-rly; hal hal
another affair. .

Mr. IV. Yes, sir, Ibelieve the gentleman
is ‘another affiii-’ since the New York elec-
tion. And now that the iniqiiities of your
party are daily coming to light, now that
concealment is no longer possible, every man
of ‘the party’ is prompt to exclaim, ‘you
can’t say I did it l’—-the party itself must be
brisk to make the dlS('l:tImt‘l', lest the people.-
set all down as rogues together, those who

That is

I‘he case is one which impera-lively claims
zne attention of Congress, and furnishes the
.tron-gest motive for the est-.-tblislnnent of a
more severe and secure system for the safe
‘ceeping and disbuiseiirtt-tit of the public iiio-
neys than any that has licretofot'e existed.’
Ay, sir, and from this we learn the most
extr-.iordinar_v deduction, that this defalcation
of a sub trcasu rer, ofthe ‘gravest character,’
is an argument to recommend to our favor
the sub-treasury system I

‘ It seems proper, at all events, that by an
early enactment, similar to that ofother coun-
tries, the application of public money by an
officer of Government to private uses should
be made a felony, and visited by severe and
ignominious punishment.’

I will soon show you sir, that millions of
the public money have been applied by offi-
cers ofthe Government to private uses, with
the knowledge of the Administration
‘ The government, it must be admitted. has
been fi'orn its commencement, comparatively
fortunate in this respect. But the appoint-
ing power cannot ulw-.tys be well advised to
its selections, and the experience of every
country has shown that public.’ officers are
not at till times proof agtinst temptation.’

' Is the government fortunate inthis respect
now? Can any one tell us how much we
have lost? we. liave certainly been taught
of late thztfgoverntncnt officers are not al-
ways proof against temptation; and we may
verily pray that part of the Lord’s prayer
which prays-—‘ Lead us not into temptation.’

‘ If a more direct cooperation on the part
of Congress, in the supervision of the con-
duct of the officers intrusted with the custody
and appiiczition of the public money is deem-
ed desimblc, it will give me pleasure to as-
sist II) the establishmentof anyjudiciotts-and
constitutional plan by which that object may
be ticcoinplishead.’

Now, sir, what would the President con-
sider ajudicious and constitut.ione.l plan ‘.2 \Ve
recollect that his illustrious predecessor con-
sidered a committee to report to Congress as
worse than a Spanish iuquisition \Vhat is
Mr. Van Biiren’s plan? \Ve. will soon "see.

'1 submit to your consideration whether
a committee of Congress might not be pro-
fitably einpl_oy__e,.l in inspecting, at such iuter-
vals as might be deemed proper, the -affairs
anzl the accounts of officers ‘ intrus"tcd with
the custody ofthe public. money. The fre-
quent perfortttnrtce of this ditty might be
made obligatory on the committee in respect
to those officers who have l.trge sumsin their
posgpssion, and left discretionary with respect
to otltt-rs.’

Sir, all this would seem to be reversing the
rule and line of conduct pursued by General
Jackson. He would seem to be coming, at
list to my doctrine of inquiry and investiga-
tion. Pull, no, sir, hear him! '

‘ They uiight report to the executive such
dcfztlcations as were found to exist, with a
view to a prompt removal from office, unl- ss
the default w’as'szitisfttctoril'y accounted for,’
&c.

Ali ! sir, here the. rrtystcry is solved. Here
is the claw to all executive cont~essions—it is
but another step to executive uggrandizemeit.

are found out and those who are nof. The
people are beginning to compare I'Vatkins
with Swartwo_ut—huudreds ‘of cases of defol-
cation with one—thi:teen millions of experi-
,ses withthirty qr forty 1nillions—and to see
‘t.-nit the ./\(lITlltliS[l‘tttl()_n of Adams, however
lJ‘lLl,\V¢'.§.S, in cmriparisou with the in quities of
the dyttasty, about as Wiatkius to Swartivout
--$13,050 to 3l.225,000l—-thirteen millions
to forty millions—one case of defalcation se-
verely punished, to one hundred not only un-
rebuked, but countenanccd and connived at!

And this, sir, brings me to the message of
this session. So enormous, appalling have
your iitiquities grown, that at one time we
were called to an extra session to cure one
system ofexperiments, and again another sys-
teni’s blotches and blains are the special sub-
jects of EXPCIIIIVB coinmunications. The
President himself, in self-defence, and Mr Se-
creta ry, are. compelled to acknowledge them
in order to account for them. The message of
Mr. Van Bur-.-n directly contradicts the letter
and certificate of his ‘illustrious predecessor.’
He confesses that all the Departments are not,
and were not sound, and is all in a hurrah
for invi-stigftt_ior’i.""'Let us see:

‘ A change in the oflice of collector at one
ofour principal ports, has brought to light a
defalcation of the gravest character, the put‘-
ticulars of which will be laid before you in
a special report from the Secretary of the
Ti'i:~asui'y. By this’ report, and the accom-
pnnying documents, it will be seen, that the
weekly returns of the defattlting officer ap-
parently exhibited, throtigliotit, a faithful ad-
ministration of the affairs entrusted to his
lllilnslgtinlenl.’ ' '

Sir, qiiere de hoe? I will endeavor to
show you directly that this is an error-_-that
‘the weekly returns.’ if they had been pro-
perly examined and compared in the Sacre-
tary’s officc-, would have detected and exhibi-
ted the very reverse of ‘:1 faithful adniinistt'a-
tion’ long ago. But the President proceeds:

‘ It, however, now appears, tliitt be com-
rnenccd abstracting the public 'money shortly
after his appointment, fo_r the term of more
than seven years, embracing a portion ofthe
period during which the public moneys were
deposited i_n the Bank of the United ‘States,
the whole of that of the state bank deposits-
system," and concluding only _on his re:ii'e-
riient from office,’ &c.. i ' ' ’

Sir, this is a confession which tallies well
with the illustrious pre ’_ecessor’s certificate of
the ‘ability and integrity’ of the Departments
in December 1836.

‘ The way in which this def-alcation was so
long concealed. and the steos taken to indem-

nify the’United States, as far as practicable,
against loss, will also be presented to you.-—

The committee of Congress is to report to
;the executive, is it? A coninii tee of Con-
:gress is to travel all over the U. States as ex-
Iecutive servants, to supervise the off_ic.ers ofa
-‘I-?r,esi lent, who is sworn to see that the laws
are fiithfully executed ! And pray what
have we an Executive for? \Vhy have we
a president, and secretary, and auditors, and
coinptrollt-rs, with plenary powers to do this
yery service? Could they not have done
this’ whenever they pleased to do their duties,
for the last nine years‘? I-Vie are to corwerl
our committees into tttissiomtries-—this house
is to a new sort of‘American Board,’ with
this Cll’fI’e’1‘él‘lC,8, that, instead of being mission-
aries of Christ, we are the missionaries of
Mr. President Van Buren! Gen. Jackson
claimed it as the duty atid prerogative ofthe
Executive alone. to see that his subordinates
executed the laws faithfully; but his succes-
sor asks Congress to perform the Executive
duties for him. Does Mr. Van Buren mean
to say that it is for want of such cong ression-
al aid, heretofore, that there has been no such
supervision by the executive? That there
has been no such’ supervision, is true; but
that such aid was wanting, or necessary, is
not true. The president has a’.ways had the
full power of this supervision—-he might
have found some honest men of his own par-
ty fit for offices, and have appointed hont st
corntnissioners to supervise those who were
not fit.

This. sir, is an insuperable objection, that the
PJ‘ESl(lEl1t not only asks us to go out of our
usual course, but to become merged in the
Executive. What sir, is this House in fact,
in actual service, to become an Executive
slave? Is it the aim of the Presid.-nt still
more to prostrate the dignity of the legislative
branch of government? VVould any other
President have daretl to propose such a thing?
I would ask the venerable gentleman from
Missachtisetts, whether he would have dared
to ask Congrcs to direct its comiiiittees by law,
to report to him? That gentleman's worst
foe.-s—those who vilified him t_no'st——never
charged him with thus insul,tir_i<_r the dignity
of congress. Is this the sort ofcoinmittee you
-ire now asking from us? Iwould pr_efertha__t
defalcations should go on—tha_t the public.
money should all be sqiiiindered-—that the
public character and morals should go with
it overboard, to having the great lines of
lemarcagion brtweén the co-ordinate branch-
es ofihc government des_troyed—to amassing
all power in the execiitive. This would-bring
its at once, and at a le-i p, to the lowest degree

erieral cortuption were only gradually and;

slowly leading us-to the very footstool of al
despot. ‘

of degradation—whither defalcations and ~

But, sir, I come. to the important question
now: \Vith what view would the President
have these committees report tohir_n_’£ He
tells us, ‘with a view to a prompt reriioval
from office.’ This brings me to another
branch of this subject. I will roceed now
to sltow that case alter case has been report-
ed to the Executive, ofdi falcatioii and ofdc-
linquency in office, and violation of duty, in
subordinate officct's—repot'ted by commis-
stoners appointetl by the President himself--
cases not only of default, but fraurl, ofrepcat-
ed applications of public money to private
uses——no less than forty since 1835, in three
yerirs—-and yet the officcrs were retained in
office, atid reappointed to office after their
delinquencies and moral turpitudo were
known to the dep.irtment. ' I_ will go farther;
they have been cottntenanced and encourag-
edto become (lPI’d|]lIt‘l‘S, and to perjurctltem-
selves and d_efraud the 'I'reasur_v. I am ttot
declaimingf 1 will prove what 1 s:tv._
When l'sayfo'rtyc:iscs, 1 mean that number.
at least, which 1 can eutiuuieratc since l834.
1 can give the names: I have them before
me. 1 willfirsttakeupthe case of Joseph
Reckless, it collector at Pt-rth Ambov, New
Jersey. 1 advert to this case paniculttt-lv, to
do Gen. Jackson justice. I believe that lie
was imposed on in this case by a false ab-
stract of testimony made ottt at the Treastirv
Deptrtment. William Vain Hook. of New
York, prefcrrcd the charges against Recli-
less in a letter to Secretarv VVoodburv;
"— NE\v—Yoni(, January 3, l835.

(_..2j

tlicted by that wi‘ue.<..=. in the testimony taken at
Perth Attthoy [CXV.] That witness expressly
swears that he told Reckless ‘that it vvasiitcoro
reel :’ mitl ptirtictilttriy "lie gwtaars ° tfitil he nexer
lliliil'l‘nP‘tl Mr Reckless that it was the usage of
llit’()l_‘Ii('€ tocliarge the lll(‘itlPlli8l expert.-es; anti
t-overtliein by the receipts of the boutineu of the
revenue limit; it never was done until the mt-Q
king up ofthe accounts of the fourth quarter of
I833. which were uuide up in the titonth 0!
Juiiuar_v. 1834--ilmt in do:-at know ihattlfté limit-
men always received lllt-".’Sl’ll1t’ 2-ipécille-l in their
accounts. until the foiirth qimrterof I533: 8'14‘
that during the time Mr. Parker was collar-tof.
the l')t)2lllll6tI always received the sum specified IE
ll)!-i!‘ receipts.’ ‘
‘The Preside-tit, on this eltnrgc, rlenitled that
Mr. Brinley 1J('l-&[it>\A'l9tlg(‘5nlll>:tll_l.ll|:lllil(‘Infill‘-
ner of Recklt-s.u‘s ttcr-minis \’i‘(’l'f?ilna(l(‘ ltH'§V(_’(’31I)ly
to the U.~fl,'dP ofthe office lie-fore he cntiie to'il..“ ».
‘ As to the third t-lmrae, no testimony “:1.-Ila‘;
l(f'll by Mr. Van Hook and the aff'i'ln\'it of Jolin
A mold, on behalf oi‘ iiig ctller-tor. was 9;
pcrrlc t-onirargv in the Itlhlfllfllitills oi the Secreta-
ry, and the tsffiulttvii prepa rt d by counsel in New
York. and 15rlefi\'.‘lr(lS sworn to at I)!-‘rill A‘lltI_)0\'-I
Such is the evidence of Mr. Parlier. Mr:
Van Hunk tetitifir-ii-its li-llm\i=: . H
‘ flkslnnorry of I-Vnt. Van Honk.
‘Question by fvir. \i.’ist- to 'l'§lr. Van Hook -,
VVill you please state all yoti kttow respeciiuj
t-ertnin charges preli-rretl against Joseph W,
Rf-Cl(l€3S.(’t)l_l('('l()l‘ at Pt-rtlt Attilmy, and the ac-
tion ofthe-. 'i’ri-n.-ttr_v Di-pnrtnieni tliereoti?
‘Answer by M r. Van Hook: Sometime pre-
vious to the month of Jtiuuarv. 1535. l tie-came
ricqituiuied with :he fact that Joseph \V. Rock-i
less. the collector of Pt‘-rtli Attilttiy, New Jersey,
hail dc-frtiutled the Goverittiieiii. And on the

‘Sir—The following f-cts of fraud upon
the Government of the U. S. came to my
knowledge sometim:-since; but,heingdt-sirous
of satisfying myselfof the truth before 1 sub-
initted them to you, I delayed doingso till this
time. 1 now feel it nt_vdut_v tochargc I. IV.
Reckless, the collect -r ofFerth Amboy. New-
Jers'-_v, with the followin£1‘ frultls, committed
by him, in his official duties, upon the Gov-
ernment:

‘ lst charge: A wilful omission to credit
the Government, in his accounts, with the
sum of 8147, received by him as collector,
on the l8_th July. 1833, or thereabout, for
tonnage duty on the schooner P-acifiic, seized
by his predecessor in office for a violation
ofthe revenue law, and reriiainiirig under
s_eizu‘re when he came into office, and which
remains ttiiaécottntcd for at this time.’ This
sum was received from Messrs. F. Secor &
Son, ofthis city, under a compromise made
with them by said colle'tor. of the sum actu
ally due, and which aniounted to about 8417.

‘2d cliui'gc.---That the said collector has
cltatgod the Unit":-d States, in his quarterlv
accounts. a sum ofal.outone'hun.rlred dollars
per quarter, for wages ofthe boutmcn of his
revenue barge, more than he has ever paid
them. The mode in which this has been ef-
fected, was by obtaining from them receipts
in blank as to the sums pail, and, after paving
them. filling up the amount with stich sumis
as suited his views.

‘ This practice commenced. I believe, with
the third qll:ll'tt‘1' of 1833, and has bi en con-
tinued iit all his accounts since. as I believe;
‘by comparing his accounts for the first two
qu irters of 1833, with those Sllltsi-'qlt£’t'il\'
ten lered, and by comparing them with the
accouuts of the collector who preceded him,
1 think the fart will appear.

‘The first charge can be proved by F’. St’-
cor _&/Son, ofthis ci _v; and the second charge
can be also proved by the comparison of the
acounts and bytlte boatmen in Perth Amhov.
and also by F. VV.Brinle_v, of Perth Ambov.
who was his deputy for some time, and
was removed from omce because he would
not consent to be the insti‘ume.ntofhis frauds.
Any c.ommu_nicatio_ri you may think fit to
make to me will be‘answt-tfed promptly.

‘ Respectfully, I am your obedient servant,

' ' WILLIAM VAN HOOK.

‘ The Hon. LEVI \\"ooimUr.v.

[The documents relating to and proving
the frauds of Mr. Reckless are very volum-
inous, and would occupy at least two pages of
ottr paper. IVe are therefore compelled to
omit them.)

Such, sir. were the eltarges and the proofs in
this case. A prelentled altstrat-t of them was
made out in the Trensiiry department. \I'hat
«lo you suppose was the ili.-cisinn'of the Presi-
dent in this case? On the abstract be -endorsed
this judgetnetii: ' '

‘ First rhar_2‘e.-—Disprovrd.

‘ Second ¢}targe.—t\_lr. Btinley ackno-wleclges
on oath. that the manner of _Ret-:';less‘s Ef('(‘()lH:l.~‘
were it axle agreeable to the’ usage of the office
before he came intuit. ""

‘Thirdch(m:e.——Disproved. It wtisirregulnr
:oclmr,qe iticitletital expenses in bnatrnan's ec-
rguniiis; bttt no proof of cor'rtiptio'ii o'r'tl'ia't any
\\ as charged but what had in en disbursed.’

Sir. how could such a tlecisioii be made in
such a case? Mr. Purkeriantl Mr. Van l.I’0Oh
told the t-omiiiiitee how it was done:

«A |t.'—]pP|' mmketl 39 and 40 by the depart-
nieni (XXIV) 'appears"to have been made out
entitle-1’ ‘ Abstract of cliarg}-s" and tesiiittttrty in
the case of W. Reckless. collector of the dis-
trit-tof Perth Aniliiiy.’

‘The‘nbsirar;t of the charges and te-stimon_v
>=Ul)lnl_l_lC‘(l to the Presidetit is defective and erro-
neous; In the statement of thefir-zt r-harae. it
_t_n‘al.t-.s no reference whatever to any testimony
taken in its support on the pa.-‘I ofth ~ rsumplaiii-
not. The eviilencte of F. Brinley. Benja-
min Maurice, niitl James Parker, as to this
iiliarge. was (‘i)nlaiDPtl iii the tesiiiiturty taken at
Perth Anthuy, marked C. and XV; and with
the exhibit No. 1. attached tltert-it). Ctflttjilfilel}
ft-tlsified the pretence set up by J. \V. Reckies-
in his SIEJIPPIBPIII (V) for not or!-.tlit‘ng the lUl)ll(.'§_7.“
duty received for the schooner Pacific. Th:
abstract referring to no evidence in support oi
this charge, the President decided that it was dis-
proverl: whereas. if the iez-timony had been sin
toil it would have beenfound to be fully sustain-
pland proved.

‘As in the second cbiirge, the assertion of J.
W. Reckless, his letter of January 22. 1835
[V.] that Mr. Brinley suggested the mode of_
making out the accounts. is expressly contra-_

Zitl of the saute mttttili, I adilre.-serl to the Secreo
tar_v of the 'l‘reasury the letter No. 1. herewitlt
pFPS(‘l)'e‘(l. and which I beg may he re-ceiveil as
part of this nay ttnsv.er. ntttl \\'lil(‘ll cu-rttuin:- IIIO
charges in detail. On the 26th or 27th of tlti
same month of Juiitmrv. l ri:Ccive(l from the Sec-
crr-tary the letter KIIJIEIII 23'! Janiuiry, [No. 7.
t-overiii,z the aiisv.-er of ill}. Rt‘('l_llt-F5 [Nun 5}
I) the ('lif3!'(_'t'5. My answer to the Secretary
[No.9.] lltlllt-_'Fll..It‘ truth of the excuse «tiered it
Mr. R"L:lil('tls. and nlfi-ring to prove the truth 0:
the cltaiges. The St;-t-reiury. in No. 13. (lit(-CIS
me to take twirl.-rice of the irtith of :he tillflrgetl,
on notice to Mr. Rec-laless; and I accordingly
;)r3t"c(‘(l(t(l in take the deposition. first havitig'giv'-
en hitit nrtice of the time and place of taking it:
at which time Mr. Ru-ls|ese.attc-ntletl hy his
cot.-tneel. G. D. \Vall. E.~t]..lliin(llSlrlClZllIl1|‘D(‘y
of the United States. for the lll.~ltl(‘.l of New Jer-
sey. tippeuri-ti and r-ritss-extititizietl éll('ll u iineasea
as be |ll(“8F(‘(l. 'l’liis tesiiti.ony is (‘tilllfilfltll in
the paper marked Ni). ]5., and is the (lo-position
of F. \V. Bi'iitle_v. Htiii. Jtittit-s Parker. and
Bot-j. Jlatirice. and the certificate ofthe zuitvor
ml’ PP'l’lll Attilmy luwlticli l hr-:1 leave purtit:u-
lurly to call the ntteriiimiof the t-ttiitttiiitoe. ' '

‘ I‘.;'«». 32 is a letter from the St‘!-rt-fury to me,
stating lllul no etitlettce vtill he laid I)t‘li)N" the
Fri-:=itli=nt iA-lzilrtlt lttive tttu hail the tipptirtiiniiy
«fbr-lug prr-spill i‘-HI the t'al.itii_v if; and No. 24
is the ilt-position oi‘ Jolir Artmltl. l2ll\6l|(.1‘I7(1r(‘
on the 18th in!‘ S(’|)lf'lIll)("l', only five tiny»: ht-lure
thetfute. ofthe letter to tire t-ottitititnicnting ms
Pro.-‘itlettt‘s decision. Tliis tlnptisitiitit is re-fat’?
[red In in the tilisiract of the i-tts_e laitl ht-litre. the
Pro-sideni. ofthe tukii.gnl'ul.it-ltI had nokumilo
t-tl,t_ie.ariti Vi'lIlfll l r-ottltl. I verily bi-lit-'\'e,u[ that
time. have disproved. lit-til I hatlyfllly notice of it.

‘I must now call the pttrticular Hllctilion of
the (:ou:miiteo- to the nll~‘lrm'l liiiil I)‘-fti.'t: the Pre-
-iilent. [Nti.2-5.] This tilt.-tract (—_nlit‘ely titttilfl
;|ll mctttititi Ul’ any e‘.':(lt'ttce l)(‘2ill!l2 tirt the firsi
charge, and the I)l"‘§ltlt‘«lll' dt-citl--s it nt.-t proved :
\\lH‘Tt‘iiS. there “its not only lull and rnntpleta
o-vidertce of the njltlrflf’. but full piunf tlitii the
ext-itse of Mr. Re-t-ltle-t-it was false. Arttlagain.
.ti referring In that ali.~trm-t. it will be seen that

he Sfllltr i- made out from llit-'(1‘]7(1T[Cllt'[i(:3ilinn
ofyouug Rot-l.|t-st-. tlltzflstfll D. 'g,*iiit'lt I Ital! n-vet
seen or beer] riotifii-d o';"tlie tukiirg oi’. Hptl thisis
«lone iii (l9I~'[il!P of the Sec-e.ior_v't- pledge to trio
in his letter. [33] And thus all the t-vitlento
on the part of the ucctisetl lnitl hcliire IliePrei-io
dent. was czparic. while I was ii)l'('td to HIICQ
my icstittit-iiy at my own (‘Kilt-I189; to give no-
lice. and then have it .-*tipp_ri-i_s:-t-‘gl.-' ' "‘

But air. the worst ofii all is, that the Presl-
tleitt or St-cre-itiry. or both. were tott\‘inr-r-d of
his guilt uoiwithstaittling their decision: for vvo_
find them tirilerina the accused to pay Imc/c tho’-
irtttticys which he had admitted he had falstlv
cliargetl. ’ i i ' '

Sir. these tlocuinents comment upon them-
selves.’ I could pre.-t'nt you with uli()lllPl‘ C880
from the te.-timuiiynl M r. Pmlier—tlie case of
Ariinlil—-lint lproi-eetl in oiliers. ’

Sir. I v.ill turn from the customs in the land
tifi’;('t‘8. I vsill give yittt’ti {laértiut ea.-‘euf viola.
iinn of duty on the pariuftlite Ext-cutix-e in the
l'!>l1H‘i(:t"t‘:l ,V_Vui. Linn, a reciiver at Viintlitliti.
II inois. Oil‘ the '23«l «lay of June. 1°34. the
Set-ri:’t‘ar_\'of the 'l’,reni-'iir_v, then Mr. Tune-y
wrote to that officer the folio-wing lPllf’f;

‘ '['rcusur_i; D€}7a‘I‘fnIe7If, June 23.1833.

‘_S_ir—l regret to be under the iiecessity”oE
calling your attention in that provision ofthe i-g--
viilaiions for the tie. osiie nf the public ntnnev
which requires that each depnsite should eitia
brace the “hole airount in the pnssessioti of ’r¢.i
reivcrs. According to your returns, thege wasin
\nur hnmls .-:n the 31st of Mari-lt last; the sum
of ifiilfl 6-13 49: on the 3i)th*ofAp.'il, the sum of
312453 3‘ ; on the 31st if May. the sum of
313.505 10; _\et it tippearsiliai ihetriiii.-f rtoiho
batik of tit-pusiie was ileferreil iiittil the 31st of
May, end that the sum then (.iP:'.(tflill'(l an-num9d_
to no more than 55.000 Under i-he.»-e t-ircum.
sitiuces. ii ltcci_iriw.= lYI_\.' duty to direct that the
whole amount of public tnnne_vs in your luinils
at the time of the nceipt of this letter he forth.
with tlc-pt-sitntl, and to apprlze you that I-itirit and
punt-tual attention to the feglllzlll-in in relation to
hodeposite of the public mum-y is irttlispeiiaet.
nle. I atn, (xv. R. B. TANEY.

‘ Secretary of’ the Treasury.

‘VVILLIAM Lixs. “ ' -

‘ Rat.-eiver of Public Money, Vantlnliaf

By this letter a duty is ordered to be di-r-harg-g
-d. attention to u liich is regnrtletl its ‘irdispenfi
sable.’ \Vell.t=.ir you ti_io\ judgeofilieot*fit~t-r'I
obedience by the l'nllim'iri'g frtitit -.'\‘l .'. U/rtoilhurya’
‘ Tat-:Asue.Y D1-JPAli'l‘MB.\"1‘. Oct. 30. 1834.
‘Sir: I would rt-mark. in n-ply toynur letter
-tftne 3Uih ultimo. that you are not authorized
H) retain the public moueyiu your I]8‘llll._~'.’If':y
vneeianticipeieil tleimitnls arising under the cjr_%
t-ulstr of August last. contrary to the regulatiouis
which the department has prescribed for the pee
riodical deposite thereof. _

‘Observing from your Intern of 

s