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$1,000,000

$1,000,000 image
Parent Issue
Day
9
Month
February
Year
1877
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Washixotoh, Feu. 1- Tuo Salcot Cjmmittoo n Privileges of the Hotiso had before it o-day two witnessea who gave totimony of a ligbly important diameter, affecting the ■ egrity of the Louislana BeturninR Board. ( The following ia the report of the most ortant of the testimony : John T. Piokett, sworn and (ximincd, said : [ atn an attorney-at-law, resident cf Waahington, D. O. Q. Have you in yonr possossion a letter from BIri Wella, "f the í.'Onisiana liotarning Board? A. 1 havo. Q. Will you produce it? A. (Handing the letter to Mr. Field.) It is wliat purportii to be hi handwriting. I am uot familiar with it. Field read the letter as follows : Nkw Orleank, Nov. 20, 1876. - (name cut out.) - Mï Dkab sib : ïon fully umierstaud tho situation. Cau you not advine mo relativo thcreto? YourB. verv trulv. J. Maiuvon Wellk. R. State tbO circurasiancea of your recöiv ing thi lettet) umi what ma done in relation tolt. Witnosa. Od TbureSay proó'eding th0 last Suud&y of Novemüer, tho 23d, a gentleman with wliom I had boon acquaintod for more tlian a quartor of tt century came to my oflice, having jiwt arrivod from Louiaiaua, where I had known liim intiinately a quarter of a centnry ago, atíd gao me the full history of tho ntate of affaire tbere arianL cUt cf thi late l're-idoiitial electioc He rail he had boen upondiug a weck or ten days in New Orleane. This gentleman delirered to me that letter. ITe stated that he had boen some day in Now Orleans. I knew that, for I had notified my Dotm cratio friendB down there of tbe fact of his having gone tbither, and tbat l.o was an exceedingly (Ungorou man to onr poople (moaning tho Democratie party), inasmnch an h bacl been resident of New Orleana in former years; itnd had held a bigh poRition there eocially and otherwise, and they might col have known that be was now a member of the Kepabücin party aud an emiaaary, as I believo, from the Government here touchiug how tbo vote of Louisis.ua ehoald be counted. and stating that from my personal friendship for him of long standing I hopcd that if there ahoulil bo diati'rbanoe thorp, as had occarred on previous ocjasions, nobitn ahoald bofall him. liy some meaoB be obtained information of my haviog written suoh a letter, and when he came back to Washington repaired to my office, and etated to me fully the conditiau of aff airs in Louiaiana. He aaid that ho belioved, and that othors believed, that. Lonisianawas Uemocratio by from 8 000tol2,UOO majjrity, but that manoy would decide how the electoral voto would bo thrown ; that his sjmpat'jies were with the South, and with what was right, and that he had in hie possos Bion, which he exhibited to me, a caled letter purporting to be from Mr. Wella to Senator West. My informant said : "I have not red tbia letter. It is sealed. I camiot open it, of oouree! nor wUld I haVd yon do it if yon wauld, but it informa Senator West that the Demócrata havo put up a million of mo ey.and that we (mesningthefiepublicani) wonld need a million down thero t ettle this thing to counteract that." He said he did not feel dit?posed (o delivor that letter ; that it was not hgatory on mm, and that, 11 ho followed the nubes of hia heart and dictates of his judgtuent, ho would eiuhnvor to hare theso gentlemen Buppliod with what tboy needcd, 30 as to ietennine the renult, and he aeked me whether I had any objectiou to oooperate with him. I asid, " Professioiiially I cannof, bat, in view of ;bo maguitnde of tho interestg at stake, 1 liave no heaitation to do all that ia in my littlo iower." The reault was that after one or two ong couvc rsatioua, extending over a portion of the nest day, and after gome praliminary roJnction of pointe to wrlticg, I repnired to Nc-w l'ork, and there had interviews witb aever&l gentlemen eminent ia the Democratie party, o whom I fuik related all thoae antecedent Tacts. I had but one letfcr, that which I have ilready produoed to the committse, and, in orler to conceal the name of thn party to whom t wes addreSdCd, I ent it out; but I have it nitu me prop?rly identiüed. I arranged with bim 'crtain preliminaries. Q. Did you seo the letter to Senator Weet ? A. I saw a sealed letter. I did ziot soe its jontentb, but thia gentleman voluntarily stated o me its contenta, the chief portion of which iras that the Demócrata had to pay $1,000.000. nd that the Jtapablicana want $1,000,000 to jouutel'act that. Q. The gentleman with whom you had this Bonversation ia, you aay, within this building aow? A. He waa hero thia morning. I carne up to Iho Capítol with him. By ïlr. Lawrence. Who is thia gentleman ? A. His iuü name ib Joaeph UarriB Maddox. Q. Did he give you any other paper thanthis etter purporting to be from Wells ? A. Notning in the shape of a letter or crodontials. Wo made aome notes aa to the baais on which he proposed I should endtavor to negotiate the aiïair. Q. What were you to negotiate ? A. I was to negotiuto, if poasible, mouey enough to pay Oav. Wells and hia fellow-members of the Keturuing Board todo what I oonsidered right and proper ; tbat is to say, to determine the State for Tilden. He inf ormed me that they would give it for Hayes unlssg they were paid to give it for Tilden, under which circumstancea I feit perfectly justified in doing all in my power, lost 1 might regret it ever hereafter, to attain that great end. The gentleman with whom I endeavored to mako the negotiation, I am happy to aay, informed me that had our positions been reversod, i f he had been in my place and I in his, he woald have done precisely what I did. Q. Tho thing which he proposed to you waa that you ahould make the neceusary negotia - tiona to get Wells and the Roturniug Board to give the State to Tilden ? Ia that it ? A. He mfonned mo that the State of Louisiana was cartainly Democratie by 5,000 tol0,000 vutcs, but that it would be couutod for Hayes by that lioturuing Board. He know ita complexión. Ho had been acquainted with Wella twenty-eight jears, hesaid, and with Anderson uoarly as long, To get thoni to do wliat waa right I conuented to see theso parties. at bis iiiftance. and to endeavor to see if the nogoliations could be made. Q. Whom did you seo in New York ? A. I endeavored first to ee Jlr. Hewitt. He waa out of town that day (Sunday), but a note was neut in the evening that he had returned, and I did see him. Previonsly I saw Mr. John Morriüsey, with whom I had some slight acquaintance.' I stated these facts to him. He said that whiie ho had no particular compiiuction in paying a man to do what ras right he did not i'uol that he waa in that neceasity. He Baid that he would buy these fellows as readily as hc would buy pigs, or wordu to that effect (ia which I coinciaed with bim), in the interest of forty millions of people, but be said that we all knew that Tilden waa elected, and tlmt he had juit recoived, or the public had just received, informatica from Oregon which made it unnecessary to rosort to any euoh means. That was abónt tli6 purport of my cónvorsation with Mr. Morriaaey. Q Did you reoeive any naonoy from him ? A. Not any. Q. Did yoa fno Mr. Hc.witt ? A. In the evening I saw Mr. Hewitt and wont over the whole story to him. to which he liHtoned very patieutly and kindly. Ho said that tln.i wan the third propositiou of the kind that had buen iur.de to him on tbe part of the Ileturning Board in Louiaiana, but that mine appcarcá the most plausible aml authentic, and that under no circumatanoea would tbey entertain any such propoaition ; that if we bought tliiin now wo would havo to buy them ever hcreafter ; that if tho cjuntry waa gettinginto a civil wr we might aa well let it come, and be done with it ; bntthat ho had no apprehonhk 11 of any Kuch rfcsult, and that the country knew that Gov. Tildou was elcctcd. That waa about tho purport of cur co'.iveration. Q. Was anything said betwoen you and Maddox ii to how much of the money he ehould have? A. There was nothiug" said as to how much he should have ; that wan his affair. Ho said that if I could succood in making tho uegotiation he shoiild see that I ahould be vtry handaomelv compensated ; that I should have a cerUiu percontsge. X said I would take the monoy, iur I would regard it as "spoiling the Egypiiaus," and would distribute it among the wi;iows and orpban? of the iiouth. Joseph H. Md lox, special agent of the revenne service, waa t xamined. Several pa;); rs woro Hliown tho wituosa, which bo rocognized as ircmiinu, inclucliijg the corrtspondenco on his part. The following memorandum waa read : "For 91,000,000 the vote of Liouisiana ca be secuied to Tilden and Ilendricks ; the manipulation must be done by mo, and. as far as poedible, to protect membora of the lloturning Board who may favor auch a rcsult, it may be uecessary to elect two or throo memberct of tiio board to reach what we want ; detnila to bo afreed upon ; money to bs paid in installmentí- say one-fourth when the fifth member is elected. one-fourth when one member reaigns aml aaother is elected in his place, and one-fourtu when another rtsigns with another clectei in bis place, the remaiuing one-fourth to be paid wheu certiiioates are givon.'1 Question by Field. Waa that the proposition that Oov. Wolla wanted you to carry out? A. I decline to answer. ■ Mr. Field ahowed a telogram aignul by J. T. l'ickett aud addreesed to John Hancock, ineaning Madrtox, as followa : 'Tilograplied aa deniruil. Dtmn niv interest ; think of the intcret of 40,000 000 of pouple." Q. Ii that ihe answer which came to you ? A. I decline to anitwer. .Vr. Marnli. Had you an interview with tiio Secreiary of War ? A. I dociino to answer. The witnesa haying beea asked whether he rould now aimwfr the queBtions propounded, ] eplied tbst lio woold not. Blr. Sparks. Do you know the consequences . f not atrewering ? A. Ido. Lot: era atd telograms were nhown witneas, ar Inch lio rniid ptaatd betwten I'ickett nnd bim(ilf, bnt be refusod to expl&in their meaning. Mr. Field, to wituetB. Wo have gotao farn ,he story that I uow ask i f you are not willing M teil us tbo wholo tratb ? Tno witness. I uu not, and I do not feoi reslly able to go into it if I wa willing. Mr. Miirsli auggeatod that tbe witnesa bave one hour to cotsider wbether he woold answor the otiestion. TUe wiuiosa aid it was useless to waate time. Ti-Hf linim.i1 of 3. II. Maddox. Washington, Feb. 1. - The core niittee on the powcrs, privileges and dutiee of the Honae in coimting the electoral vote to day reoalled Maddi x who bad readan expían itio.i of bis refual to respond to quostions yesterday. The tefu5l was becauBe of a dieiucliuation to com - mit a breach of faitbi He aekod for delay that Gov. Wells m'gh'. m ike a f Uil etatement, bot, as the Governor did not, the Witneas was now readv to tnsurer, and eaid tbat before Gov". Wells wrote the letter to him he had a converaation with tho Governor witb regard to the poli'icai oituation and the difflcultios with tho Roturning Board. Tbo Governor propoeed that the witneaa ahould go to Washington and cxplain the sitoation. He flanoluded he would a general iottcr to witneBR au oonfldontial, and he alnnwroto an.othef lettfr to a fríond in Washington. When the witnes arri?ed at WelU' office next morninR; orie letter was finiahed and ho waa writiog tbe othW: 'fhe witness brought awsy tbe letter to bim, nfl tlie óthèr was sealed and addreaaod to SenaUA' WeCt, btJt. hd ne+er boen delivered; Gov. Wells said Li 'lfo && irt. dangcr, aa he had a vc-ry difUcult job on haüd, an did not see how he oould get through with it Wells ttated he wonld like to eorvo his party in maiiiiig 6 return in favor of Hayes, but would not take the rifk unleus paid for it. The ruajrity was very heavy - too much for hiiu to handln, and he did not know whera to commence to throw out. Ho said ia all probaliility he irould have to tbrow out the vote oí New OrleünS önthegronnd (witnoBBtboaghthemeant) of necessity. Welk nsked hitn to go to Washington, see innnentlal meni and obtain protccüon for him, and alad to soe whother he could not gei the required moDey to aatiafy him. Wolls said he ousfht to have $1.0CÖ,0OO. Witness flhowed to tho President and Secretaty Cameron the two letters addrtsaed to him by Gcr. Welln. He told the Secretary that Gov. Wells wanted öcmeT, bnt tbe Secretary declined to bave anything" to dö rrith the matter. Tbe money Gov. Wells required aS to proteot him. The programme waa that the vaoanoy on the Heturning Board sbould be filled, and Gov. Wells ahouid resign in anger on that account. Witneai did not know there was any special arrangement betweèn bim and Gov. Wells about detaiis, bat witnesB waa required to ttubmit a plan which could be acoeptable. Witnees having been intorrogated relativo to a telegram sent Gov. Welis under the aaaumed name of C. il. Calvert, said it wa? understood between him and Gov. Wells that if the representativos at Washington failed ta bring the money, then witneaa was to hbo bis own judgmeot in tho negotiation, and to glve the returns ae they wero made in New Orleans, and that b6 should COEQCQ8UÍÍ0 Beöond uegotiatiocs. Tbe world "hold" in tbe telegram to Gov. Wells ti'gnified he waa to hold tbe retufns ín ench a situation 8B to make them availablo at wlll. The firat negoliation failed. Gov. Wells stated to witneea ho wantod fer hin?s?lf and Gen. Audetron at least 4200,000 apiece, and a smaller som for the darkies or negroos of the Beturning Board. When witness returned to Now Orlears he had a converêation with Gov. Wells about the failure of the negotiation. Witnoes reccived a dispatch from Col. I'ickott, Raying the negotiation had failed, when Gov. Welis suggeated that witness endeavor to make sonie airanKement witli Demócrata. Witneea made an tffort in that d'ie tlon, but didn't succecd The idea o( witneas was, from what;Gov. Welle said, that he would throw out votes'to the beat advantage, in order to produce a ctríain reault, which would dopend on circumatances.

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Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus