F 153 .L515 Copy $ ^^*5J?*,ffefeB**v- fci^Mw^^^^^^iS^^i t ' ' • J ■ ■ W ^ /wu^'^^* ^iMgW#^ I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. \ I ^^/^ :Lk!>/S t ^qS^^So^^'^^w I UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, f P^3^P2£S£5 ,'^^^^i iqtRpm: ■"'-^-^>':iu>fcu ,c/w^wK5y'3u^'^r^ ^wwvy,^ iWi'A-i&i-iy*^^ '^»w'vwv :. -ii ,'M '^ " -'''i"^^- ovv^^^f,:^:,:^ .vi^i^M^H^ ^^OjW' p A BRIEF ACCOUIT ,OF THE EFFORTS OF SENATOR COOPER, OF PENNSYLVANIA, AND CHARLES GIBBONS, AND THEIR ASSOCIATES, TO PREVENT THE CONFIRMATION OF WILLIAM D. LEWIS, COLLECTOR OF THE CUSTOMS FOR THE DISTRICT OF PHILADELPHIA, AS ALSO OF TH£IR ATTEMPTS, SINCE HIS CONFIRMATION, TO PROCVRE HIS REMOVAL FROM OFFICE. v^ ■li'/i' In this "Brief Account," &c., it is not proposed to follow the sinuosities of the pamphlet of eighty-one pages, published by Mr. Gibbons, purporting to be an answer to the argument of David Paul Brown, Esquire ; that argument* having, in fact, been fur- nished after Mr. Gibbons had surreptitiously foisted into the pro- ceedings of the Commission (then closed) an argument of his own, to which Mr. Brown's was in part a reply. A detailed exposure of all the misrepresentations and false deductions of the pamphlet referred to would transcend all reason- able limits. Many of them, indeed, are so palpable as not to require any formal refutation. The purpose of the writer of this "Account" is to relate a plain story in a plain way, and leave the public to decide who tells the truth. The testimony taken before Commissioner Dunlevy, and its accompanying documents, cover four hundred pages of foolscap manuscript, all of which are subject to the inspection of any per- sons who may desire to examine them. The example of Mr. Gibbons, in giving garbled extracts from that testimony and the papers annexed to it, no honorable man could follow, and most of all while the whole subject is before the President of the United States and not yet acted upon. See Appendix. PREFATORY REMARKS. Pursued as I have been, ever since I have held office, by weak, maHgnant, and unprincipled enemies, it has at length become necessary that I should turn upon them. It is true their number is insignificant, but their zeal has been untiring. A fragmental faction of a great party, envious and disappointed spuits, the posi- tion of their leader is all that has ever given the slight- est im^Dortance to their movements. The shameless course of that individual towards me I have endeavored very succintly to exhibit in the annexed statement. The step has not been taken without grave deliberation, nor has a word been used without a full estimate of its im- port and applicability. Until now I have been restrained by political con- siderations, arising from my official position under a Whig Administration and the relative position of the person referred to, from making the present exposure. But the base alwaj^s find in forbearance fresh motives for insult, and hence my hope that, as every previous effort to do me injury had redounded to my advantage, the maligiiants would grow weary of ill-doing, has not been realized. So far fi'om this their leader brought recently to the notice of the President, in a new shape, and in the names of convenient underlings, some of the same false and infamous charges which he had preferred against me In the Senate, and which he knew had been ab^eady exploded, and obtained the appointment of a Com- missioner to investigate them. That Commissioner, (A. Howard Dunlevy, Esq., an eminent citizen of Ohio,) arrived here on the 19th of December, and accompUshed his mission on the 28th of January, after twenty-four laborious sessions and the examination of seventeen witnesses. This last attempt to destroy me has proved as inef- fectual as the rest. It has convinced me, however, that further forbearance on my joart might prejudice my case in the opinion of my fellow citizens, and that I owe it to myself and the cause of public morals to promulgate the facts I am now about giving to the world. It is also due to our political institutions that the odious doc- trine should be disclaimed and branded with ojDprobrium which practically avows that the fact of holding office is sufficient to justify the invasion of individual cha- racter, and the breaking down of all the safeguards of private reputation. At least these wrongs shall never be suffered in my person, whatever position he may occupy who attempts their perpetration ; nor can any considerations of policy defer longer this public defence of my honor. In order to make perfectly intelligible the following pages, it is proper I should say that, after the coun- sel who appeared for the nominal complainants had closed his case in the recent investigation, it not being deemed requisite to call a single witness on my behalf, I submitted, as part of the record and proceedings, the statement and documents which follow. The narrative is given in the form in which it was presented to the Commissioner with the exception of the passages in brackets, which I was induced, by my able and amiable counsel, David Paul Brown, Esq., to omit, but which I now remstate as forming j)art of the original context. It has seemed to me necessary that I should consign to his just place of infamy the person indicated in those passages, who, acting from the impulses of malice, sharpened by failure to obtain office from either the State or National Administration, has been a willing instrument in striving to accomplish my destruction, and, who, in spite of the efforts of the Whig party to cast him off, still clings to it with the malignant tenacity and fatal pur^Dose of the sliirt of Nessus ! WM. D LEWIS. Philadelphia, March, 1851. STATEMENT OF WM. D. LEWIS. Mr. CojMMissioner, Mr. Gibbons acting as Counsel, with what pro- priety I shall show hereafter, has in the course of these proceedings caused to be entered on the record various statements calculated and intended to prejudice me in the opinion of the public authorities. He has, at dif- ferent stages of the examination of witnesses before you, spread upon that record alleged opinions, and made de- clarations of his own, which he did not entertain or had no right to entertain, and which were destitute of truth, averring his ability, if allowed to proceed in his own way, and contrary to all the rules of evidence, to prove facts asserted by him to my disparagement which he well knew could not be proved because they never had any existence. Those statements having gone upon the record, I now ask the privilege, to which I presume that fact to entitle me, of also having entered thereon, in my name, the whole history of this case from the date of my ap- plication for the post I hold to the present day, in order that the poison, which Mr. Gibbons has endeavored so industriously to diffuse, may carry Avith it on the same pages its appropriate antidote in the simple guise of truth. I submit, therefore, with due deference, for this pur- pose, the following Narrative and accompanying Docu- ments. I would here state that this narrative is submitted not so much because I consider it necessary, which it is not, as because I deem it in'oper in vmdication of my own character against wanton and unmerited aspersion, A man's reputation is not only his oavti, it belongs also to his family and friends, and he is recreant to his per- sonal and his social duties if he should fail to maintain it at'all hazards. In addition to this the present course is rendered especially proj^er in my case in vindication of that authority under which I hold an honorable office. NARRATIVE. Soon after the election of General Taylor to the Pre- sidency I received assurances, from some eminent mer- cantile friends, that, if I should apply for the Collector- ship of this District, they would give me their earnest support. On the 3d of March, 1849, a letter was addressed to the President in my behalf, of which a copy is annexed marked A., and on the 28th of March, 1849, was ad- dressed to him another letter, a copy of wliich is like- wise annexed marked B. The latter it will be seen related to my connection with the Gu'ard Bank, which had been mentioned to the President in a manner calculated to prejudice him against me. Copies of the letters addressed to me, also dated March 28th, 1849, by the Honorable Jolm K. Kane, and Henry Horn on the same subject, and forwarded to the President at the same time, are likewise hereto annexed marked C. & D. After a careful examination, by him, of these papers and of the whole subject, the innate love of justice which characterized the great and good man then at the head of our Government, and of whom the nation has since been bereaved, revolted at the de- ception concerning me which had been practised upon him, and the reaction natural to an honorable mind, when disabused, occurred in my favor. There were several other aj)plicants of the highest respectability for the place, but the honor of the ap- pointment, under the circumstances I have related, was conferred upon me. This took place on the 9th of May, 1849. On the following day two letters were written to me, by Senator Cooper of this State, dated at Pottsville, and subsequently other letters, either to me or to some mutual friend for my information, all showing much anxiety respecting numerous aj^pointments which he urged me to make, and most particularly in refer- ence to George Read, whom he wished to be Weigher. Several of these letters, viz., two of the lOtli of May, one of the 30th of May, and one of the 6th of June, 1849, addressed to me, one of the 24th of May, 1849, to Francis N. Buck, Esq., and an attested copy of one of the 23d of June, 1849, to George J. Weaver, Esq., are hereto annexed marked E. F. G. H. I. J., as also a copy of my letter to Mr. Cooper, dated 30th of May, 1849, announcing to him j\ir. Read's and Mr. Schrei- ner's appointment, marked K. Ere long it became obvious that if all Mr. Cooper's demands for places for his friends were not comphed with, I should have to encounter his hostility when my name should come before the Senate. Eleven per- sons had been specifically and earnestly pressed upon me by him for positions of the highest emoluments. Of 9 nine places in the Customs here of $1,500 each, he asked " two or three ;" of six places of $1,200, he asked "one or two;" the rest might he of from $800 to $1,100 annual salary. Neither did it escape my ohser- vation that four of the persons on the list of his special recommendations had, as members of the Legislature, voted for him when he was elected United States Senator. It being impossible to yield all that Mr. Cooper re- quired, and the more so as he was then in open or quasi hostility to both the State and National Adminis- trations, although both w^ere in the hands of the party to which he professed to belong, it remained for me, anxious as I was to harmonize all mterests, to select for the few appointments which it was in my power to give him, those persons in whom he seemed to feel the greatest interest. That George Read was the man nearest his heart, has, I think, been amply proved in the course of this investigation, and of the others re- commended by him, Henry J. Schreiner and George T. Thorn were believed by me, from his own assurances, to be the next in his affections. They were accordingly nominated by me for places, and those nominations were confirmed by the head of the Treasury Department. Mr. Cooj^er did not announce at once his intention to oppose my confirmation, but the eye of even so un- practised a political mariner as myself soon discovered indications of the tempest against which I should have to contend. Printed memorials to the Senate prepared here were circulated and sent, in many cases, to unsuccess- ful applicants to me for office in various counties of the interior, to be signed by persons to whom I was utterly unknown, "most resjDectfuUy but earnestly remonstrating 10 against my confirmation," without a single reason being assigned for my rejection, or the existence of any im- aginable motive in the signers for so remonstrating, ex- cept the failure to obtain places, above alluded to, or the desire to oblige those, who, to promote their own views, had solicited their signatures. One of these papers is annexed marked L. A so called Whig Journal, known as Senator Cooper's organ in this City, and a few affiliated presses else- where, united in this effort to manufacture a spurious public opinion against me. In that paper frequent at- tacks were made upon me, as they were also from time to time upon General Taylor's administration, while at intervals intimations were made that I might j)urchase peace. Rumors floated in the atmosphere that I would be rejected by the Senate, that Mr. Cooper would exert himself to defeat me, and of course that his opposition would be fatal. Some of our mutual friends brought these rumors to his notice. At first he denied their truth, and asserted his intention to support me ; — he then expressed indifference as to the result ; — next he prevaricated ; — on some occasions he avowed to others his determination to oppose me. In the meantime a little interlude was enacted here in which Mr. Gibbons, the confidential friend of Mr. Cooper and counsel of the present complainants, took part. It related to one of my inferior appointments, advocated by Mr. Gibbons, which it became proper for me to annul. This matter the annexed papers marked M, N, 0, P, Q, Pt, will sufficiently explain. P. and R. are copies of my letters to Mr. Gibbons. The others are in his handwriting. 11 As time rolled on the j^lot thickened. — At length Congress met. It was deemed prudent that I should strengthen myself for the conflict which seemed im- pending. A memorial in my favor having been pre- pared, it was extensively signed by our prominent merchants and others, and transmitted to the Senate. A copy of that paper is annexed marked S. Some of my friends who had conversed with Mr. Cooper felt confident that my nomination would receive his support; others doubted; some thought he would go against me. He was the Whig Senator from my own State, and I was anxious to receive his vote and influence, j)rovided I could secure them without a sacri- fice of princiiDle or disregard of the just claims of others. These concessions I would not make. Still I deemed it proper to repair to Washington and ascertain how I stood with him. This I did in January of last year. I called upon the President, told him my position, and requested that my nomination might be sent in to the Senate, as I was anxious to know the grounds upon which Mr. Cooper meant to oppose me, being now satisfied that such was his intention. The President said it should be done on the next Cabinet day, and it was done accordingly on the 7th of January, 1850. I then called on Mr. Cooper and told him the state of uncertainty in which I had been kept as to his course, requesting that he would tell me frankly what he meant to do in regard to my nomination. The interview was long and the subject canvassed dispassionately. The result may be given in a few words. — He said that his friends were dissatisfied :,.that he thought I should have made all the appointments he had asked : that he had concluded to resist my confirmation, but should only do 12 so on political grounds, as lie knew my cliaracter was above his reach, and he should not attempt to assail it : that if his friends could still be gratified he would sup- port me ; and that he wished me to think the matter over and to see him again. I told him I could not at that time extend the number of appointments of his friends, but suggested that it would be very unwise in him to oppose me, as I felt satisfied he could not accomj)hsh my rejection by the Senate, and that it would be doing his friends injustice, and diminish his own influence and standing, to attempt it and fail. I said that I was not unknown to most of the older Senators, among whom I named the Hon. Henry Clay, Wm. Rufus King, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, (then living,) John Bell, Willie P. Mangum and others, and that I had been long honored with the friendship and confidence of some of them. He expressed the greatest admiration for my frank- ness and boldness, but ridiculed my simjolicity in quite a pleasant vein of humor ; said he was not such a fool as not to know that having a seat for six years m that body there was not a Senator whose wishes he might not thwart or promote on many occasions, and inti- mated that he could barter his vote on different ques- tions for a sufficient number of votes to defeat me. I told him he was mistaken : that the Senate of the United States was composed of men of too high senti- ments of honor to do injustice to individuals by such corrupt bargains. Moreover, I added, "You forget that you will want votes for your measures too, some- times, and that while you can give but one to them they have fifty-nine to bestow or withhold." Should the foregoing statement of the conversation 13 of a Senator of the United States appear incredible, the doubt will vanish when it is known that the same Senator having addressed to a member of Congress a letter to be used with the President in promoting my appointment, had on the same day furnished the same member with a letter equally strong in favor of another applicant for the same place, to be used, in like manner, in Ms behalf, should Ms chance of success appear better than mine ! ! We parted on the above described terms, and have had no subsequent interview. The following day I received an intimation from him, through a third party, that if I would support his organ the "Daily News," his objections to me might be overcome. I refused to treat on that basis. From that moment all the efforts of Mr. Cooper were directed to bring about my rejection by the Senate. I will neither attemjDt to enumerate nor characterize those efforts, but will content myself with naming some of them. After my interview with him, the details of which I have given, and my rejection of the proposal for conciliation that I should support the "Daily News," Mr. Cooper stated to a distinguished Democratic Senator that I had, in that interview, offered as the price of his support the places of all the Democrats holding office under me, giving to him the choice of their successors ! He said to Whig Senators that I had promised, if con- confirmed, to retain all the Democrats, and to Demo- cratic Senators that I was pledged, when confirmed, to turn them all out ! Large sums of money were wagered on my defeat by his adherents in this City. Assurances were given by him that my rejection was certain, and that but a 14 very small number of Honorable Senators, at times ten, then seven, and again but four, would be found to vote in my favor ! Every thing in his power was done to prejudice my case in the opinion of the members of the Committee of Commerce, who, nevertheless, after its being in their hands nearly eight months, it is understood, agreed to report unanimously in favor of my confirmation. Then" decision having become known to Mr. Cooper, he, as I am informed, brought to their notice new charges against me, and asked a reconsideration of the question. I have reason to beheve that his request was granted : their former judgment reaffirmed by the same vote : and the Report thus submitted to the Senate. During this period I was occasionally apprized by confidential friends at Washington of rumors oozing from the Senate Chamber that the most opprobrious imputations had been cast upon my character, all of which were traceable to the same source, and I was even notified by a valued friend in the Senate of the absolute necessity of my disabusing that body respect- ing some of those imputations. In this state of things I felt myself called upon to resort to the unusual, if not unprecedented, course of transmitting to individual Senators a printed copy of the testimonial in my favor addressed to the Senate in December, 1849, already mentioned as Exhibit S., with a circular prefixed signed by myself, a copy of which circular I append hereto marked T. This was done in the month of August, 1850. In answer to the statement of my friends that my con- firmation had been advocated by the chief business men in this city of both parties, a large majority of whom are 15 Whigs, it was said, that this had been the case it was true, but that since I had held office public opinion had changed. In the same month of August last, therefore, another me- morial, a copy of which is annexed marked U., was for- warded to the Honorable H. Hamlin, chairman of the Com- mittee of Commerce, and by him laid before the Senate, comprising most of the names on the first memorial, and many more than that document contained. On the 5th of September following, a letter was ad- dressed by a number of the gentlemen who had signed the above paper to the President of the Senate, in my favor, copy of which I annex marked V. The details of proceedings in Secret Session can of course only be imperfectly known to the public. It is no secret, however, that after three executive sessions had been exhausted, through Mr. Cooper's opposition, in con- sidering the unanimous report of the Committee in my favor, when it came up for the fourth time he prevailed upon the Senate to postpone the subject for a week, to give him time to prove, as he pledged himself to do, one of the very charges now under investigation, and some others not included in the present indictment. The delay was granted, and for the first time, I believe, since the estab- lishment of this Government, a Senator of the United States, having failed in every other attempt to defeat a nominee of the President, who would not be controlled by him, in- stitutes proceedings in a distant city, and has witnesses called to testify concerning every act known to them of that nominee's life by which he supposes his case may be prejudiced. Mr. Gibbons, the present counsel, conducted that prose- cution, as the annexed letters, marked W. X. Y. Z., will show, and whatever injurious suspicion may be attempted 16 to be cast upon me now because of the non-attendance on that occasion of any persons under my official control, I beg leave to say here that Mr. Gibbons gave me no notice of his intention to summon them. Had he done so they should either have appeared or been removed from office. The testimony of fifteen witnesses was taken before the Mayor, all summoned by Mr. Gibbons, and it is worthy of remark tliat the examination of George Read, one of his witnesses, was dispensed with, although he was in attend- ance. Neither was it deemed necessary that a single wit- ness should be called on my behalf, so signal was Mr. Cooper's failure then to blacken my character. The annexed letter addressed to me on the evening on which that abortive commission was closed, by my friend the Honorable Joseph R. Ingersoll, who acted as my volun- teer counsel on that occasion, marked A. a., gives a synop- sis of the proceedings. The garbage then collected was laid by Mr. Cooper be- fore the Senate, and of course disgusted every Senator but one. That one, it is understood, finding my confirmation certain should the vote be taken, asked for a week's further delay, which was refused ! The ill health of the Senator, however, as he alleged, confined him to his chamber for a longer period of time than that which he had asked, and in courtesy to him the subject was not acted upon during his absence. At length he resumed his seat, armed, it is said, with the deposition of Thomas McGrath that Francis E. Brady had told him that fictitious signatures had been af- fixed, in the Weighers Office, to printed circulars recom- mending me as a genuine Whig to the support of Whig Senators. The fatal hour at last arrived, and on the 18th of September 1850, after a final and fruitless struggle to prevent it, my nomination was confirmed, forty-three 17 Senators being present, by the triumphant vote of thirty - six to seven, eighteen Democratic Senators having given me their support, and not a single member of liis own party voting with the Whig Senator from Pennsylvania ! I was in Washington when this occurred, and received information of the result immediately after from the lips of that great and venerable statesman and patriot, Henry Clay, whose fame is expanded over both hemispheres, and with whom thirty-six years previously I had traversed the ocean when he went on the mission of Peace. On my return home I was received with unexpected and distinguished honor. At a meeting of the merchants and business men, held on the 20th of September, twenty-one gentlemen were appointed a Committee to tender me on their behalf a public dinner, in token of their satisfaction at the result, which w41l be shown by exhibits. B. b., C. c. ; notices of congratulation appeared in many of the public prints, and it was generally believed by my friends that the hostility of which I had so long been the object would cease. Not so. Mr. Brady's removal, which had become a moral necessity, was the signal for a revival of the obsolete issues. Even previously to that event, Ihd within ten days after my confirmation, an effort was made by persons who were not parties to the matter I shall refer to, and had no interest in it, to aimoy me in another mode in reference to a transaction of business four and a half years old, which had formed one of the charges that had been already inves- tigated before the Mayor. Subsequently, on the occasion of the great Union meeting held in this City, in November last, my name having been placed by the Committee of Arrangements on the list of Vice Presidents, strong ob- jections were urged to it by Mr. Gibbons and other friends 9 18 of Mr. Cooper, and aii attempt to intimidate having failed, an attempt equally fruitless was made, by the same influence on the night of the meeting, to prevent me from serving. The outrage was promptly rebuked by the almost unani- mous voice of that vast assembly. [I could not but feel a conscious pride in contrasting my position at that moment with the position of one of the prime movers, then present, in this puny effort to insult me, when I reflected that on the same spot, some few years before, at a meeting of his constituents almost equally numerous, he was the object of an unanimous vote of reprobation for his betrayal of their interests in the post of trust to which he had been assigned by their suffrages, in the Legislature of this Commonwealth. He still wanders among them, with an earthward look and a mark upon his brow as indelible as that of Cain, an outcast from their confidence and regard.] Notwithstanding these repeated discomfitures Mr. Coop- er, nothing daunted, submits now to the President of the United States, in the names of others, the formal charges against me which have been here investigated, and Mr. Gibbons, equally pertinacious, comes to superintend their prosecution. The testimony taken shows their futility. [It is the same Charles Gibbons to whom I have already alluded as the traitor to his constituents : it is he the cowardly calumniator, as feeble in intellect as he is un- manly in conduct, one of the chief contrivers of these unfounded and disgraceful charges and of the numerous exploded schemes to accomplish my dishonor, who is now present in the " fictitious" character of counsel : — -the se- ducer of some of my unfortunate subordinates who have put faith in him to their undoing : the writer of Brady's letter to me and of his certificate of competency ; the 19 author of Brady's Card and of his atrocious letter address- ed to Mr. Norris only through the medium of a newspaper, as also the instigator and author of several other documents meant to do me gross wrong : — all of which is fully in proof: the writer of a so termed " confidential" letter in liis own name to the President concerning me, dated the 13th of November last, forwarding the duplicate of an affi- davit of a person holding office under me, the original of which I had called for and which, though intended for the Treasury Department, had not then been placed in my pos- session : a letter false and libellous throughout, and known by Mr. Gibbons to be so, a copy of which he has equally shrunk from allowing me to possess and from permitting to accompany the present record : — and, moreover, the par- ticipant with Senator Cooper, the master spirit and his principal coadjutor, in a correspondence relating to this con- spiracy which has been made testimony by his own wit- nesses, but which correspondence he -dares not produce. It is the same Charles Gibbons who was at one time the disappointed aspirant for the office of Attorney General of the State; at another for that of U. S. District Attorney; then an unsuccessful candidate for the post of Reporter of the Decisions of the Supreme Court of this Common- wealth ; and again a suitor for that of Solicitor to the Guar- dians of the Poor ; the meanest of mendicants for place, and the most knavish of political tricksters ; the enemy of the State Executive, because he failed to obtain an appoint- ment from him ; and for the same reason the reviler of the deceased patriot Taylor, whose strongest friends it is one of his chief delights to calumniate ; now the brawling Abolitionist and sturdy advocate of a law violative of the Constitution and dangerous to the integrity of the Union ; and, again, when he thinks his interest lies in that course, 3 20 the noisy declaimer in favor of its repeal, and the hypo- critical eulogist of that Union, the bands of which he had done all that so weak a man could do to loosen. The mouth-piece and fit exponent of a petty and selfish faction, he sets at nought all the restraints of truth and all the dictates of honor, and finds in defamation his highest enjoyment. He carries with him the slime and venom but not the wisdom of the serpent. Menda- cious without ingenuity to give a plausible coloring to liis falsehoods: a slanderer without courage to vindicate his calumnies : with just enough of moral susceptibility to feel a sense of his degradation, and just enough of political perception to know that he has placed, by^ his treachery and insolence, between himself and all distinc- tions dependent upon the good opinion of his fellow-citi- zens, an impassable barrier : — such is Charles Gibbons !] Is this the end ? [Or is there to be no termination to the schemes of these unprincipled men to carry into effect their nefarious purposes against me ?] Thus far I have stood upon the defensive, conscious of my rectitude, and never doubting that the right must prevail : remem- bering, too, those apposite lines of the greatest of Poets : " If 1 am Traduced * * * * * * * * Let me say 'Tis but the fate of place. * * * * * * * * We must not stint Our necessary actions in the fear To cope malicious censurers ; which, ever, As ravenous fishes, do a vessel follow That is new trimmed ; but benefit no further Than vainly longing." WM. D. LFVVIS, Collector of the Customs. PMIada., Jan. 24, 1851. I. EXHIBITS. (A.) Philadelphia, March 3d, 1S49. To His Excellency, Zachary Taylor, President of the United States. Sir, — The undersigned beg leave most respectfully to recommend as a suitable person for Collector of the Port of Philadelphia, William D. Lewis, Esq., a gentleman who was brought up among them to the mercantile profession, and who to a thorough business educa- tion unites the important requisite of long and varied experience, at home and abroad, in commercial pursuits. From their personal knowledge of this gentleman, and the social position he has for many years occupied among them, the under- simed feel entire confidence in recommending; him as combining all the qualities necessary for the faithful and intelligent discharge of the duties of the above important station. Of Mr. Lewis' political sentiments the undersigned deem it proper to say, that they are those of the great conservative party to whose success the people owe their present triumph, and to the carrying out of whose principles, under your Administration, they look without distrust for the re-establishment of the National pros- perity. In comprising in as few words as possible their reasons for respectfully but earnestly urging upon your Excellency's notice the qualifications of Mr. Lewis for Collector of this Port, and in expressing their strong hope that his application may meet with favor at your hands, the undersigned believe that the subject will be brought before you in the most acceptable manner. They have only to add their belief that his appointment would give general satisfaction. Your Excellency's most obedient servants, (Signed,) N. Chapman, Henry White, Richd. Willing, A. J. Lewis, T. C. Rockhill, W. Piatt, Jno. Grigg, Fred. Lennig, Robert Ralston, F. N. Buck, A. G. Ralston, David S. Brown, Benjamin Etting, Daniel Haddock, Jr. T. Biddle, Caleb Cope. 22 (B.) Philadelphia, March 28, 1849. To General Zachary Taylor, President of the United States. Sir,— Our fellow citizen, William D. Lewis, Esq., being an applicant for an honorable and responsible appointment under your adminis- tration, informs us that efforts have been made to prejudice your mind against him, in consequence of his former connexion, as Cashier, with the Girard Bank of this City. Having at different, and some of us for long, periods, while Mr. Lewis was Cashier, occupied the position of Directors of that Insti- tution, he thinks the expression of our favorable opinion, both of his capacity and moral worth, may be of consequence to him in disabusing your mind of the calumnies alluded to. We take great pleasure in testifying to the high qualities of Mr. Lewis' character, and in recording our confidence in his integrity after a long and intimate knowledge of him. To have passed through the ordeal of a ten years' cashiership of the second institution in magnitude in the United States, at the most trying period of our financial history, unscathed in reputation, and maintaining uninterruptedly the confidence of its Directors, is no small honor. This honor Mr. Lewis may justly claim. And, although the misfortunes of the Bank, and the difficulties of the times, induced, on two occasions, (the last one after the Bank had closed its doors,) the most searching investigation into its affairs by Committees of the Stockholders appointed by themselves, no shadow of reproach in either of their elaborate reports is cast upon Mr. Lewis' character. Nor has he since that period forfeited in any degree our favorable opinion or regard. It is a matter of comparatively small moment who may be the object of Executive favor, in regard to the public patronage, but the good fame of our fellow citizens holding the prominent position among us of Mr. Lewis is common property, and as such we feel it our duty to cherish and defend it. This must be our apology, Sir, for occupying so much of your time on the present occasion. We remain, most respectfully, Your obedient servants, (Signed,) John P. Wetherill, Charles S. Boker, Geo, T. Chambers, Jno. Grigg, Charles Humphreys, T. C. Rockhill, Charles F. Lex, Wm. McKee, John R. Vogdes, Chas. W. Churchman, Henry Welsh, David S. Brown, R. D. Wood, J. W. Gibbs, Charles Eugan, Stephen Baldwin, 23 C. Macalester, George Rundle, Jacob Lex, T. M. Bryan, Alex. W. Mitchell, B. S. Burling, Henry J. Boiler, Jas. S. Newbold, William H. Hart, J. McLanahan, Wm. Carman, Pearson Serrill, E. D. Woife. George Handy, Wm. E. Bowen, John S. Riddle. (C.) Dear Sir, — I was invited this morning to unite with several respectable friends of yours in a note to the President of the United States, on the subject of some imputations upon your conduct as Cashier of the Girard Bank. I declined doing so, not feeling myself at liberty to take any part in recommending candidates for office. But having been a Director of that Bank during two years, when its affairs had become embarrassed and were the subject of inves- tigation among the Stockholders, I feel it my duty to say, that I continued to repose the fullest confidence in your integrity and skill, and that this opinion was shared by all my colleagues. Very respectfully, yours, (Signed,) J. K. KANE. Philada., March 28, 1849. Wm. D. Lewis, Esq. (D.) Wm. D. Lewis, Esq. Dear Sir, — In reply to your request of last evening, I beg leave to state, that in 1842, shortly after the suspension of the Girard Bank, of Avhich you were the Cashier, I was appointed at a meeting of the Stock- holders Chairman of a Committee to investigate the affairs of that Institution. Public rumor having assigned to you a prominent part in producing the disasters of the Bank, the attention of the Com- mittee was particularly directed to an examination of that point, and it is but justice to say, that after a long and laborious investiga- tion of the books and papers of the Institution, which were freely submitted to our inspection, we found nothing establishing your indebtedness, either directly or indirectly, to the Bank, nor any- thing in the slightest degree implicating your integrity as an officer. Very truly yours, &c., (Signed,) HENRY HORN. Philada., March 28, 1849. 24 (E.) PoTTsviLLE, May 10th, 1849. Sir, — Not less than one hundred persons have addressed me from dif- ferent sections of the State requesting recommendations to you for sundry stations in your gift as Collector of the Port of Philadel- phia. There are some te,n of this number who in addition to abundant qualifications have rendered important services to the Whig party in the last and previous campaigns. If I can have the naming of that number, I will endeavor to present such persons as will be at once deserving and competent. Two or three of the places should afford salaries of $1500 a year ; one or two of $1200 ; the remainder of from $800 to $1100, or thereabouts. If you can consent to this, inform me as early as your convenience will permit. If you should do so, I will begin by naming George Read for the situation oi Weigher, for whose appointment I am anxious. If my proposal should not be complied with, there will be no harm done. Very respectfully and truly yours, (Signed,) JAMES COOPER. Wm. D. Lewis, Esq., Collector, &c. F. PoTTsviLLE, May 10th, 1849 To W. D. Lewis, Esq., Collector, &c. Sir— Mr. George Read, of the county of Philadelphia, is an appli- cant for the office of Weigher in the Custom House, and it would afford me great pleasure to learn of his appointment. Mr. Read is an active Whig who has rendered important services to the party, not only in the last, but in previous campaigns; and is well quali- fied to discharge the duties of the post which he is seeking. He is a gentleman for whose appointment 1 am anxious, provided it can be made in pursuance of the proposition contained in my other let- ter to you of this date. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, (Signed) JAMES COOPER. (G.) PoTTsviLLE, May 24, 1849. My Dear Sir — The following are the names of the gentlemen presented to Mr. Lewis for places : George Read, Philadelphia County. Alonzo Robb, do do N. Thorne, do do 25 Jesse Moore, Lombard Street, City. Henry J. Schreiner,* George W. Johnston, Blair County. Kobt. W. McSherry, Adams do H. C. Stroman, York do John xMcKee, Washing'n. do Ogle's man, Somerset do * Have heard Mr. S. has gone to Greene. I do not recommend these gentlemen as friends of mine. 1 re- commend them as Whigs who have deserved better of the party than they will receive, even if they should be appointed. There is but one man named who is a personal friend ; but I am pledged either to members of Congress or to the citizens of counties to have the above gentlemen appointed if possible. Independent of my re- commendation, all of them are strongly recommended — enough to justify their appointment. 1 have set down one as Ogle's man. He named two, and I do not know which he prefers. Both are good men, and every man that I have named, with one exception, I know myself, and will be answerable for his capacity, integrity, &;c. I do not think Mr. Lewis should hesitate to appoint these men. 1 know it would be to his ad- vantage to do so. It would make him friends of several members of Congress, who will be able to do him much good or much evil. Yours very truly, (Signed) JAMES COOPER. Francis N. Buck, Esq. H. May 30, 1849. W. D. Lewis, Esq. Collector, &;c., Dear Sir — George F. Thorne, Esq., of the city of Philadelphia, is an ap- plicant for a situation in the Custom House, and I am deeply anx- ious for his appointment. I served with him in the House of Re- presentatives during the last session of the Legislature, and found him high-minded, intelligent and upright — above all reach of temp- tation or suspicion of it. From his worth I became attached to him, and will look upon his appointment as a personal favor of a kind that will merit and receive my warmest gratitude. Even if it should require the passing by of some other that 1 have named for a situa- tion, I would be gratified by Mr. Thome's appointment, and endea- vor to repay the favor I should esteem it. Yours respectfully and truly, (Signed) JAMES COOPER. 26 PoTTSviLLE, June 6th, 1849. Dear Sir — Henry J. Schreiner, Esq., to whom you were good enough to give an appointment in the Custom House, received on the same day an appointment from the Secretary of the Navy, which he will doubtless accept. I had made application for this last named place previously to my naming him to you ; but supposed my application would share the fate of others which 1 had made in that quarter. I was, however, mistaken ; and Mr. Schreiner, though grateful for your kindness, will accept the office at Washington. Under these circumstances, I venture to name Robt. W. McSherry for the place Mr. Schreiner was to have had. This is the gentle- man of whom I spoke as the only one that I had named on my own account.* He is capable, honest, a good Whig, universally esteem- ed at home, and his appointment in place of Mr. Schreiner, will be a favor to me. It is not adding to the list of those named. 1 trust, therefore, that you will appoint Mr. McSherry. I will be answer- able for the satisfactory discharge of his duties. Very respectfully and truly your obedient servant, (Signed) JAMES COOPER. To Wm. D. Lewis, Esq. * Note. — The person named to me by Mr. Cooper, as the one in whom he felt a particular interest, was Mr. Schreiner, and not Mr. McSherry. W. D. L. (J.) PoTTsviLLE, June 23d, 1849. My Dear Sir— Your favor of the 18th inst. has been received, and I thank you for the information relative to the old General. I have been much annoyed by letters and messages in relation to the appointment of our friend Read. Some of my best friends were much dissatisfied with the part I took; but Mr. Read and his friends stood by me, and I was glad to have an opportunity to shew them that I never forget those who have done me a kindness. I am glad he has the place ; notwithstanding all that has been objected against him, I doubt not that he is better than many of his assailants. He is the only friend of mine appointed. One other was appointed, but did not accept. I would be very glad if you would come up and see us. A few days' recreation this hot weather would do you good. Give my re- spects to South and Read, and believe me, Your sincere friend, (Signed) JAMES COOPER. Geo. J Weaver, Esq. 27 Philad'a. Sept. 11, 1850. I, George J. Weaver, (cordage manufacturer) of the county of Philadelphia, do solemnly, sincerely and truly swear, that the fore- going is a true copy of a letter received by me from James Cooper, dated Pottsville, June 23, 184-9. (Signed) GEORGE J. WEAVER. Sworn and subscribed lo before me, September 11, 1850. (Signed) JOEL COOK, Alderman. (K.) Philad'a. May 30, 1849. Hon. James Cooper, Pottsville. Dear Sir — I hand you herewith a notification of the appointment of Hen- ry J. Schreiner, Esq., of Franklin county, which you will (iblige me by giving its proper direction. This is the gentleman in whom 1 understood you to feel a particular personal interest. And 1 beg leave to state further, that in consequence of the ur- gency with which you have advocated the appointment of George Read, Esq. to the highly responsible post of Weigher, I have in like manner, this day appointed him against the strongest and most gen- eral opposition 1 have ever witnessed here on any like occasion. — I mention this fact not meaning to imply that I merit any particu- lar praise for resisting the remonstrances of many powerful and highly valued friends in this instance, but merely that you may know that 1 am fully aware of the consequences likely to ensue from my determination to oblige you in making this appointment. Very respectfully and truly yours, (Signed) WM. D. LEWIS. (L.) To the Senate of the United States. The undersigned, citizens of , in the State ot Pennsyl- vania, most earnestly, but respectfully remonstrate against the con- firmation of \Vu. D. Lewis, Esq. as Collector of Customs at the Port of Philadelphia. (M.) My Dear Sir — Mr. James O'Rourke, who will hand you this note, will be an applicant for the post of Principal Js'iglit Inspector^ either on the Delaware or Schuylkill. This is at the disposal of the Collector of the Port ; and if active political services be any recommendation, 28 Mr. O'Eourke has fairly and fully earned the humble station which he asks. I have referred him to you with this note, because Iknow that through you he may be able to secure the appointment. Very respectfully yours, (Signed) CH: GIBBONS. Mr. Hex\ey White. May 10, 1849. (N.) My Dear Sir — James O^Rourke " is the boy " for principal Night Inspector on the Schuylkill. I place his name on paper that you may not forget it. The man who now holds it threatened Jimmy -with divers pun- ishments for working with us in the late campaigns ; whereupon, Jimmy took a solemn oath that he would have " that same office in the year 1849." He deserves the office, I know, and needs it, too, for he has twelve children already, and is still in the business ! I mentioned to you the name of Ross Patterson, an old school- mate and a worthy man, for an appointment as Inspector. He comes from an old Delaware family of great respectability, and 1 feel much interested for his welfare. He is a Whig-Native, living in Moya- mensing — will make a good officer — and you will oblige"me by mentioning his name to Mr. Lewis, whom I have not been able to see. Very truly yours, (Signed) CH: GIBBONS. Ch. S. BokeR, Esq. May 15th, 1849. (0.) 79 Walnut St. July 7, 1849. Dear Sir — Mr. James O'Rourke has received a notice from the Deputy Surveyor to the effect that he has been discharged'from the position in the Custom House to which you appointed him a short time ago. The charge against him, as he has heard from an unofficial source, is that he fell asleep at his post on board a vessel on the night of the 5th inst. For this he has been summarily dismissed without notice of the complaint, and without an opportunity of saying a word in his own defence. Mr. O'Rourke is a very poor man, and has a wife and eight chil- dren, all dependent upon him for their bread. This is the only con- sideration that induces me to trouble you with this letter, and to ask as a matter of justice to him and to bis family, that he may be restor- ed to the humble office from which he has been removed without reasonable cause. He admits that he fell asleep, but I am sure you will not punish him so severely for such an offence, when you are informed of the fact that on Sunday last he had a severe attack of 29 the Cholera, which of course confined him for several days to his house. Before he had entirely recovered he returned to his duties, but was so much exhausted by the disease that he was unable to perform them. 1 understand that his medical attendant will confirm this statement. Upon this ground, 1 ask in behalf of his family, and not as a matter of favor to myself, that the edict of dismissal may be reconsidered. Very respectfully yours, (Signed) CH: GIBBONS. Mr. Wm. D. Lewis, Collector of Port. No. 360 Sprtjce St. July 11, 184-9. Dear Sir — If the statement contained in your letter of the 7th inst. deriv- ed from James O'Rourke, as to tiie circumstances which led to his dismissal were true, it would doubtless be my duty ''as a matter of justice to him and his family to restore him to the humble situation from which," you allege, that "he has been removed without rea- sonable cause." But, unluckily, the facts do not correspond with your informa- tion. He had scarcely been inducted into oflice before I was in- formed that he was addicted to habits of intemperance ; and official reports of the fact were soon after made to me. Still, as he had been strongly recommended by yourself and some other friends, whose devotion to Whig principles in their strictest sense, are above suspicion, I was anxious, as well to oblige you and them by his re- tention, as to save him from the disgrace and misfortune of being dismissed. To this end, 1 requested the captain of the night watch to remonstrate with him on the impropriety of his conduct, and warn him that unless it was changed, 1 should be obliged to displace him. This, I am assured, was done on several occasions, but without effect, and I at length felt that I had an official duty to perform which was paramount to every consideration of obliging the politi- cal or personal friends, either of JNIr. O'Rourke or myself. If you desire to examine the testimony which establishes the fact of Mr. O'Kourke's having been drunk and incompetent to perform his duty on the night of the 5th instant, while in charge of a for- eign vessel, you can have the opportunity of doing so by calling on me at the Custom House whenever it may suit your convenience. Yours respectfully, (Signed) WM. D. LEWIS. Mr. Charles Gibbons, 79 WalnutSt. 30 (Q.) 79 Walnut St. July 13, 1849. Dear Sir — On my return to the city this morning, I found your letter of the 11th instant, relative to the case of O'Rourke. 1 believe the statements contained in my letter of the 7th instant to be true, not- withstanding your information to the contrary ; and I still think that O'Rourke was discharged without reasonable cause. When the charge ofdrunkenness was preferred against him, I re- gret that your great anxiety "to save him from the disgrace and misfor- fimeof being dismissed," did not happen to suggest that there might be two sides to the story, and that it would be fair to afford him the opportunity of facing his accusers and repelling the charge. As the decree, from the tenor of your letter, appears to be irrevocable, I can feel no interest in examining the exparte testimony upon which you acted. I beg to repeat, that my interference in this matter has proceeded from no oiher feeling than that of sympathy for a poor and honest man, who is " more sinned against than sinning." Very respectfully your?, &c., (Signed) CH: GIBBONS. Mr. Wm. D. Lewis, Collector, &c. (R.) 360 Spruce St. July 14, 1849. Dear Sir — 1 have received your amusing epistle of yesterday, to which I should not deem it necessary to reply, except to inform you that I merely offered you access to the official statements of your friend Mr. O'Rourke's drunkenness, which caused his dismissal, as an act of courtesy, and not as an admission (vvrhich you seem to have supposed) that I considered myself in any degree amenable to you, for my conduct as a public officer. Very respectfully yours, (Signed) WM. D. LEWIS. Mr. Chas. Gibbons, 79 Walnut St. (S.) To the Senate of the United States : The undersigned, merchants and others of the City and Coun- ty of Philadelphia, respectfully represent, that they have learnt with surprise and regret that efforts are being made to defeat the confirmation, by your honorable body, of William D. Lewis, Esq. the present Collector of the Customs for this District. The undersigned are not informed of the ground of such a pro- 31 cedure, but deem it a simple act of justice to Mr. Lewi?, who has been well known to most of them for many years, and who has now held the officcj under President Taylor's appointment since May last, to express their satisfaction at the manner in which he has discharged its duties, their confidence that he will so continue to discharge them, and their hope that the Senate will confirm his nomination. The chief interest felt by the undersigned, most of whom are en- gaged in active business, and many of them having large transac- tions with the Custom House, as to who should be Collector of the Port, is, that he should be "honest and capable." They believe Mr. Lewis to be both; and that, therefore, the interests of the Go- vernment as well as their own, will be safe in his hands. If the opposition to him arises, as some suppose, from feelings of disappointment among those who have not received office from him, it must be obvious to your honorable body that with so few places to distribute among so many applicants, which, as we are informed have been in the ratio of one to thirty, no person could have avoid- ed the same result, however wise his distribution^might have been. Not doubting that Mr. Lewis has exercised due discretion in this matter, and believing in the general competency and courtesy of his subordinates, the undersigned cannot think that the judgment of so august a tribunal as the Senate of the United Slates, will be swayed, in so grave a matter, by influences such as have been above referred to. It is under these circumstances that the undersigned have ventur- ed, most respectfully, to express their sentiments in favor of Mr. Lewis' confirmation by your honorable body. Philad'a. December, 1849. (Signed) John Welsh Stepn. Baldwin Lewis & Co. Stuart & Brother P. Brady i< Co. Charles Vezin Robins, Hill, & Co. Wm.McKee & Co. Bicking, Chur & Co. Wilmer, Cannell & Co. M. B. Mahony Destouet, Brothers Mecke, Plate 8s Co. Corbit & Co. Walter & Berghauser Hanline & Ostheimer J. B. Okie Robt. Ewing Henry Farnum & Co. Wm. H. Bernard John H. Chambers & Co. Jas. J. Boswell & Co. Saml. &Wm. Welsh Carson & Newbold John A. Lewis & Co. James Wray Gillilan & Co. Wm. F. Jones & Bro. Richardson, Watson & Co. Jno. B. Myers Wood, Abbott & Co. Rockhill & Co. Burnett, Withers & Co. Barcroft, Beaver & Co. Caleb Cope & Co. F. Thorspecken & Co. Eckel, liaiguel & Co. Conrad & Roberts Townsend Sharpless & Sons Sharp, Haines & Co. Nicholas Lennig & Co. Geo. McHenry £dw. Harris Milea Burling & Dixon John Mason & Co. Potter, McKeever & Co A. C. Barclay Tho. Allibone & Co. Grant & Stone E. Lincoln 8i Co. H. & A. Cope & Co. Deland & Grant Jos. R. Evans & Co. S. Morris Wain & Co. John Devereux Jauretche & Carstairs George Dufour JMcKean, Borie & Co. David H. White Wm. R. Thompson & Co. Jno.M. Kennedy & Co. Daniel L. Miller, jr. Pr. Ls. Laguerenne David S. Brown & Co. Reeves, Buck & Co. Fithian, Jones & Co. Smith & Way Dunton, Henry & Lawson Fobes & Gibbons Hewson, Abbott & Co. Roset & Troutman Is. Lloyd & Son Wm. Cummings W. Piatt & Son Anderson, White & Lip- pincott Dallett, Brothers Butcher & Brothers Souter, Jones & Co. Tho. Wattson & Sons Franklin, Piatt & Co. Martin & Smith J, W. Throckmorton Lindley Smyth Taylor, Gillespie & Co. A. & G. Ralston & Co. John Garrison N. B. Thompson Isaac R. Davis E. M. Davis & Co. Dickson & Co. Thomas M. Smith Lovi^ber & Wilmer Fales, Lothrop & Co. J. McLanahan & Co. R. Patterson & Co. Robert Taylor & Co. Fras. Tete Joseph B. Myers David Lapsley Musgrave, Wurts &Co. Benj. Coates & Co. Sibley, Molton & Wood- ruff Robert F. Potter Wise, Pusey & Wise Reed & Bros. Peter Wright & Sons James B. Ferree Bailey & Co. M. Schultz &Co. Glasgow Holmes & Co. Dulles, Earl & Cope Sam. Pleasants Arnold, Springer & Co. David & Jones Tingley & Burton John B. Stryker McFadden & Gass Jas. R. Smith Cooper, Henderson & Co. Ellisons & Peters Daniel Remick Gaus, Leberman & Co. Minford & Camm 32 Figueira, St(Ever,& Lang- John Tiers & Co. stroth L. J. Levy & Co. White, Stevens & Co. H. Sloan W. Taylor & Co. E. C. Knight Earps, Haven & Tucker John F. Ohl & Son James Devereux John R. Rue G W. Bremeyer Houston & Robinson [hall Richd. S. Smith Rutter, Patteson & New- Simeon Toby McCutcheon & Collins J. B. A. & S. Allen Rowley & Ashburner J. Palmer & Co. D. W. Eldridge Levi Eldridge E. J. Etting&Bro. Isaac Jeanes Samuel Clarke Jos. T. Sarchet Arthur G. Coffin Boyle & Stroud Fearons & Smith Ecky & Watkin Nathan Trotter & Co. Woodward & Brinckle Thomas & Martin Wm. Jones & Sons Jos. S. Lovering & Co. Worrells, Coates & Co C. Macalester J. R. Wucherer Wm. Craig Wm. G. Alexander N. Hopkins Wm. M. Baird & Co. Wm. S. Simpson F. W. Rawle Wm. W. Keen & Co. Richd. Ashhurst & Sons D. Kirkpatrick & Sons Joseph C. Grubb Westcott & Co. Bowlby & Brenner Hildeburn & Bros Page & Brother J. Godley Francis N. Robeno L. R. Warrington Haddock, Haseltine & Reed Field & Langstroth Lambert, Johnes & Co. Joseph Howell & Co. Jno. Stewart Nath L, Paleske Dunlop & Grossman Wood, Corey & Wood Addicks, Van Dusen & Smith Geo. Rundle Grigg, Elliott & Co- Frederick Brown J, W. Gibbs Charles Humphreys Richd. Willing John Rice Saml. A. Lewis &Bro. Benjn. M. Bunker Wm. S. Smith & Co. J. M. Odenheimer Wm. S. Hansen & Son James L. Claghorn Samuel T. Altemus Sam. C. Morton A. R. Chambers John Lloyd John B. Austin Wm. H. Brown & Co. Thomas P. Cope Isaac Elliott Chas C. Watson & Son Howell & Brothers Euston & Weer L. Harwood Andrew C. Cattell Jacob M. Thomas J. B. Trevor A. E. Borie Geo. W. Watson Saml. Bispham Morris, Tasker & Morris John S. Bispham B. J. Tucker & Outer- bridge E. & C. Yarnall & Co. H. Duhring Is. Hazlehurst Thomas Biddle Klemm & Bro. Curtis & Hand Robert Adams & Co. Robert Creighton Jacob Lex & Son John Farnum & Co. R. &W.C. Biddle & Co. John McCanles Edmd. Garretson Pritchett & Baugh William C. Keemhle J. R. IngersoU Toppan, Carpenter & Co. Buck & Potter 33 John R. Worrell & Son P. McCall Rosengarten & Denis George W. Martin Hacker, Lea & Co. Alve E. Laing Jas. Barratt Russell & Blair John P. Wetherill Allen & Needles Thos. W. Morgan Wm. Newell Van Brunt & Fitzgerald J. H. Michener & Co. (T.) Philadelphia, August, 1850. Sir, — The difficulty of learning the daily invented calumnies concerning me, which are secretly circulated among Honorable Senators, and the still greater difficulty of being able, in all cases, when such calumnies reach my ears, to prove a negative, seem to impose upon me the duty of placing in the hands of each member of the Senate, such a testimonial of my general character as may at least be deemed strong presumptive proof of the falsehood of those derogatory statements. It is for this reason that I venture, not without reluctance, to solicit your perusal of the annexed document, the original of which was presented to the Senate by the Honorable Daniel Sturgeon in January last, and is doubtless now in possession of the Committee on Commerce. As regards the signers of that paper, I hazard nothing in assert- ing that their names may be placed, without fear of disparagement, alongside of any equal number of names of the highest respect- ability to be found in any community. And I hope to be excused for adding that, were it not out of rule to do so, reference could be made to several of your distinguished colleagues whose friendship it has been my privilege to enjoy for more than a third of a century, and who, it is not doubted, if appealed to, would willingly attest their faith in the truth of the opinions expressed by my neighbours and fellow citizens. I have the honor to remain, very respectfully. Your obedient servant, Hon. (Signed,) WM. D. LEWIS. U. S. Senate, Washington. (U.) To the Senate of the United States. The undersigned, merchants and others of the City and County of Philadelphia, without distinction of party, respectfully represent to your honorable body : — That the prevalence of rumors soon after the meeting of the present Congress, that efforts would be made to cause the rejection of Wm. D. Lewis, Esq., the Collector of this Port, appointed by the late President Taylor, induced many of the undersigned to 3 34 address the Senate in December last and urge the propriety of his confirmation. The great length of time that has elapsed smce then, the recent revival of those rumors, and the belief expressed in his defeat by the persons who circulate them, render it proper, in the opinion of the undersigned, that our Mercantile community, to whom Mr. Lewis has been so long and so well known, should, after eight months further experience of the mode in which he conducts the business of his office, which he has now held for fifteen months, renew their testimony to the promptness courtesy and efficiency with which its duties are performed by him, and again express their entire confidence in his integrity, and their earnest hope, that his nomination will be confirmed by your honorable body. The undersigned feel certain that such a result would give almost universal satisfaction here, besides securing to the Government the services of an active, faithful, and intelligent officer, in an important public department. Philadelphia, August, 1850. (Signed), John Welsh, Saml. & Wm. Welsh, E. Lincoln & Co. Wm. McKee & Co. George Dufour, Jauretche & Carstairs, Pr. Ls. Laguerenne, Victor N. Sartori, Bevan & Humphreys, Paul Pohl, Scull & Thompson, Bicking, Chur &, Co. White, Stevens & Co Stephen Baldwin & Co. Carson »fe Newbold, Earps, Haven & Tucker, Jos. R. Evans &l Co Wm. R. Thompson & Co. Jno. A. Lewis & Co Dulles, Earl &, Cope, Minford & Camm, Thomas Fleming, J. Percival & Son, H. & A. Cope & Co. Deland & Grant, George B. Reese, P. Brady & Co. Myers, Claghorn & Co. McCutcheon & Collins, Geo. Hammersley, Samuel Asbury, J. L. Laffitte, Glasgow, Holmes & Co. E. J. Etting & Brothers, Potter, McKeever & Co. Wm. Jones & Sons, Grant & Stone, Thomas & Martin, Dickson & Co Richardson Watson & Co. Rich'd Ashhurst & Sons. Sam : Pleasants, Robins, Hill & Co. Caleb Cope & Co. Lea, Bunker & Co. Wray & Gillilan, J. R. Ingersoll, Lewis &, Co. James S. Smith, Stuart & Brother, Saun. Lewis, FigueraStoever & Langs- Hyman Gratz, troth, Rich'd S. Smith, Charles Vezin, Son «fe Co. Lawrence Lewis, J. R. Wucherer, William Craig, Arthur G. Coffin, Rob. Ewing, L. Wain, A. & G. Ralston & Co. Furness, Brinley & Co. Worrells, Coates & Co. Sharp, Haines & Co. Gihon &, Co. perG. W. Altemus, Hanline & Ostheimer, James Brown, White, Warner & Co. Wm. F. Long, And. C. Craig, Rutter, Patteson & New- Corbit & Co. hall, Daniel L. Miller, Jr. Henry Farnum & Co. Jos. Bispham, J. Godley, Nicolas Lennig & Co. David S. Brown & Co. Joseph S. Lovering& Co. Thomas Allibone & Co. John Rice, Butcher & Brothers, Burling & Dixon, Wetherill & Brothers, Nathan Trotter & Co. Wm. S. Smith & Co. William B. Reed, Rank, Brooke & Repplier, Spang & Wallace, Geo. Rundle, James Devereux, John F. Ohl & Son, John Devereux, Isaac Jeanes, J. B. A. & S. Allen, Reeves, Buck & Co. Conrad & Roberts, Eckel, Raiguel & Co. Wood, Abbott & Co. Walter & Berghauser, E. C. Knight, McCutcheon & Collins, G. W. Bremeyer, Houston & Robinson, T. Sharpless & Sons, Robert Taylor & Co. Edw. H. Rowley, 35 Stone, Slade & Farnum, James J. Boswell, Davies, Stevenson & Co. Geo. McHenry, Chas. C. Watson & Son, Wm. H. Brown & Co. Musgrave, Wurts & Bonnell, Martin & Smith, Page & Brother, Burnett, Withers & Co. Barcroi't, Beaver & Co. Reed & Bros, Wise, Pusey & Wise, Rockhill & Co. Roset & Troutman, Fithian, Jones & Co. Forbes & Gibbons, Fred. Thorspecken & Co. Joseph Howell & Co. Howell & Brothers, Richd. Wilhng, Frederick Brown, M.J. Croll &Co. Tingley & Burton, McFadden & Gass, Arnold, Springer & Co. Pritchett & Baugh, Alexr. E. Outerbridge, Woodward & Brinckle, Washington Brown, L. J. Levy & Co. H. R. Davis, Coleman Fisher, Nevins & Whelen, Chas. Camblos, Wm. A. Budd, Louis P. DuBois, Robert Johnston & Co. C. D'lnvilliers, E. S. Whelen & Co. Andrew R. Chambers, John H. Chambers, Ellisons & Peters, McKean,Borie & Co. B. P. Hutchinson, Charles S. Boker, W. L. Schaffer, Wm. Kirkham, T. Wickersham & Son, R. McMuUui, Tho's Biddle & Co. Alex. Benson & Co. Isaac R. Davis, Lindley Smyth, Hewson, Abbott & Co. Jacob M. Thomas, Toppan, Carpenter, Casi- lear & Co. Geo. Lippincott & Co. W. Piatt & Son, per W. Piatt, Jr. M. B. Mahony & Co. Steever & Whitaker, H. Catherwood & Son, E. M. Davis & Co. L. P. Grosholz, Gans, Leberman & Co. Coatcs & Brown, Jonathan Sowers, Thompson, Carr & Co. Peter Wright & Sons, Curtis & Hand, Robert Lesley, Sam'l Bispham, Robert Steen & Co. Field & Langstroth, George Esherick & Co. Joseph C. Grubb, Hildeburn &?Brothers, £. & C. Yarnall & Co. Edw'd Bowlby, Lowber & Wilmer, Wilmer, Cannell & Co. Ecky & Watkin, Fearons & Smith, J. H. Michener & Co. Boyle & Stroud, W. Taylor & Co. Wm. M. Baird & Co. Bailey & Co. Sam'l C. Morton, Wm. J. Leiner, A. H. McCalla, Eras. Tete, A. C. Barclay, Thos. Wattson & Sons. Robert Burton, Workman & Co. Gideon G. Westcott, Is : Hazlehurst, P. McCall, Klemm & Brother, Jacob Lex, Wm. S. Hansel! & Sons, R.itW.C. Biddle & Co. J. M. Odenheimer, J. W. Throckmorton, Dunton, Henry & Lawson, Jas. R. Smith & Co. Benj'n Coates & Co. Abbott, Johnes & Co. Wood, Corey & Wood, Sibley, Molton & Wood- ruff', Haddock, Haseltine & Reed, Addicks, Van Dusen & Smith, C. Macalester, 1. P. Pleasants, J. W. Gibbs, J. B. Okie, Wm. H. Bernard, Wm. F. Jones & Bro. Jacob Snider, Jun'r. Cha'sH. Welling, Reiss, Bros. & Co. John Farnum & Co. Russell & Blair, Chas. Ryan, James S. Newbold, Edw. Harris Miles, Smith, Way & Co. Cooper, Henderson & Co. William W. Keen & Co. John B. Bernadou, Henry Horn, George W. Toland, Buck & Potter, Myers & Kirkpatrick, J. B. Trevor, Brady & Bilbrough, Wm. G. Alexadder, Heron & Martin, H. N. Fitzgerald, C. P. Relf, John Brock, Sons & Co. A. D. Cash, Robert Adams & Co. Morris, Tasker & Morris A. C. Cattell, Allen & Needles, Thos. W. Morgan, J. Palmer & Co. Levi Eldridge & Co. E. W. Clark & Co. John Mason & Co. Dallett Brothers, D. Kirkpatrick & Sons, Lippincott, Grambo & Co. Wm. Harris, Lewis & Sterling, Jno. Stewart, Charles Humphreys, David Scull & Son, Wm. Newell, Isaac Lloyd & Son, Wm. Cummings & Co. Rosengarten & Denis, Julian & Mason, John Lloyd, John Tiers & Co. Taylor, Gillespie & Co. George W. Aspinwall, H. Duhring, D. W. KIdridge, Geo. J. Weaver & Co. 36 (V.) Philadelphia, Sept. 5, 1850. Hon. W. R. King, JPresident of the United States Senate, Sir:— The undersijrned, some of whom are among those who originally- recommended Mr. William D. Lewis to the late President as eminently- qualified in every respect for Collector of this Port, and all of whom are glad at all times, and on all occasions, to class themselves among his friends, deem it due to Mr. Lewis, to themselves, and to this com- munity, at the present time, to address you this letter, and they yen- are to hope you will find an apology for the liberty they are taking in the necessity which calls it forth. Mr. Lewis has now been performing the duties to which he was called for a period of about fifteen months, and we venture to assert, without fear of contradiction, to the entire satisfaction of the whole commercial community as well as to the Government, and has thus proved himself honest and capable, furnishing, himself, by his official conduct, the evidence which we are sure best commends itself to a body like the United States Senate, and which, it seems to us, ought to silence all opposition, and secure to him a unanimous confirmation. Why that has not been secured before would be to us a matter of sur- prise, if we felt ourselves at liberty to question the wisdom of that dignified body whose duty and whose practice, we know, is to consider patriotically, and free from all personal considerations, every ques- tion coming before them. Our object, however, is not now so much to urge upon you the entire propriety of confirming Mr. Lewis as Collector, as it is to vin- dicate the fair fame of an honourable and estimable fellow-citizen, and to repel the implied assaults upon the reputation of those of us who originally recommended his appointment, as well as of those who have since joined in numerous petitfons to the Senate for his confirmation. It is true that the objections to Mr. Lewis do not reach us specifically, and we have, therefore, nothing special to deny, but we do not feel it less incumbent on us, at this time, to vindicate his and our reputation, because founded on slanderous rumour, and we now beg leave earnestly to express the conviction that Mr. Lewis will disprove, whenever called upon, every specific charge that may be brought to impeach his integrity as a man, or his qualifications for the office he holds. We submit this to you, sir, with entire respect as the presiding officer of the Senate, with a request that, if your judgment so approves, you will lay it before that body, And are. With sentiments of high respect, Your obedient servants, &c. (Signed) Isaac R. Davis, Samuel Grant, Henry White, Saml. Allen, 37 John Welsh, Frcdk. Lennig, G. D. Rosengarten, P. Brady, Franklin Piatt, Robt. Ewing, N. B. Thompson, E. C. Knight, John Mason, David S. Brown, Robert F. Walsh, John Yarrow, R. D. Wood, Jno. B. Myers, N. Chapman, M. D., Henry W. Ducachet, Wm. Harris, Isaac Hays, Wm. E. Horner, M. D., A. J. Lewis, Charles Vezin, J. Stevens, Thos. Allibone, Thos. Wynn Butcher, Thos. Watlson, Thos. B. Wattson, Washington Butcher, W. Piatt, J. Palmer, H. Sloan, Joseph B. Myers, B. S. Burling, F. E. Dixon, D. B. Taylor, Wm. Struthers, T. Deland, Saml. Grant, Jr., Wm. Gillespie, Stephen Baldwin, 6; Co., Benj. Etting, E. J. Etting, Jno. D. Taylor, Daniel Smith, Jr., Wm. R. Thompson, Wm. Newell, Pr. Ls. Laguerenne, T. C. Rockhill, Rich'd. Willing, Bern'd. Henry. (W.) Philadelphia. 79 Walnut St. Sept. 5, 1850. Dear Sir : — It is proposed to take the depositions of witnesses before his Honor, Joel Jones, Mayor of this City, to be read in the Senate of the United States, upon the further consideration of your nomination, and adverse to your appointment as Collector of the Port of Philadelphia. Please signify your assent in writing by the bearer to this proposi- tion, and I will call on you immediately, and fix a time of meeting which may suit your convenience for the purpose indicated. In case of your silence or dissent, depositions ex parte will be taken, and sent to the Senate without delay. Very respectfully. Your obedient servant, (Signed) CH: GIBBONS. William D. Lewis, Esq. 38 (X.) Philadelphia, Sept. 5, 1850. Sir:— I have received your notification of this date, that it is proposed to take the depositions of witnesses before his Honor, Joel Jones, Mayor of this city, to be read in the Senate of the United States, upon the further consideration of my nomination and adverse to my ap- pointment as Collector of the Port of Philadelphia, wiih a request that I would signify my assent in writing, which I do hereby. I shall be ready to see you as soon as may suit your convenience, in order that the time may be fixed on. I take it for granted that the names of the witnesses you propose to examine, as well as the nature of the charges you will attempt to prove, will be furnished me, and that said witnesses are to be subject to cross-examination ; and also that the right of offering rebutting testimony is reserved to me. Very respectfully. Your obedient servant, (Signed) WM. D. LEWIS. Charles Gibbons, Esq. (Y.) Philadelphia, Sept. 5, 1850. Dear Sir : — I have received 3'our letter in reply to my notification of this date. It is proposed to take the depositions of Mr. J. C. Harris, Mr. Wil- liam C. Bridges, Mr. John S. Riddle, Mr. Charles H. Fisher, and Mr. E. D. Whitney, at 11 o'clock to-morrow morning, in the Mayor's private office, the time and place verbally agreed upon by you and myself this morning. Some other witnesses will probably be exa- mined, but I have not yet been furnished with their names. They will all be subject to cross-examination. When the witnesses under this arrangement shall have been exa- mined, should you desire to take rebutting testimony before the Mayor, you wifl have a full opportunity of doing so, upon any reason- able notice to General Smith, Mr. Sprogell, or myself. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, (Signed) CH: GIBBONS. Mr. William D. Lewis. (Z.) Philadelphia, Sept. 5, 1850. My Dear Sir : — I hand you the statements of several persons who will attend before 39 the Mayor to-morrow at the appointed hour, for the purpose of beinn- sworn and further examined, should Mr. Lewis desire it. I understand that Col. Page will be presented for examination to- morrow morning, in relation to the appointment of " Revenue Agents." Witnesses have also been subpcened to prove that Mr. Lewis was pre- sent when certain fictitious names were written to petitions addressed to senators praying for his confirmation. Very truly, yours, (Signed) CH: GIBBONS. Joseph R. Ingersoll, Esa. (Aa.) Saturday Evening, Sep, 7, 1850. Dear Sir : — After devoting two mornings to the examination of witnesses, the anonymous opposition has exhibited nothing that ought to affect your character or endanger your confirmation. The transaction, on the contrary, presents many favourable points. 1. You promptly met an investigation that did not appear to be authorized, rather than delay enquiry or exclude any light. You facilitated and hastened the proceedings by every means in your power ; and you waived all objections whatever, in general and ia detail ; — although " the commission" was in vain called for by the Mayor, and the source from which the proceedings arose was de- manded by ourselves. 2. An attempt was made to injure you by a history of two trans- actions of business. If everything had been made out to tlie entire satisfaction of your enemies in point of fact, it would have amounted to this — that two co-partnerships have asserted, (the one for sixteen years, and the other for four years,) that you were their debtor, — which you have for the same length of time positively denied, and yet neither of them has attempted, by suit or otherwise, to make good the demand, although both have believed that you were abundantly able to pay. One of these alleged creditors also possessed a peculiar kind of redress besides the ordinary remedies, as a member with yourself of a board of brokers, before which a summary enquiry might have been obtained, and, if shown to be a debtor, you must have been expelled if you did not pay. You have held a settled account and receipt in full, from one of these alleged creditors, for sixteen years. Nine years after the date of the receipt; and, seven years ago, one of the partners presented to the district judge, sitting in bankruptcy, a schedule of effects, under oath, in which no claim upon you is to be found. 3. Several printed recommendations were produced, and proof was given to the effect that the signatures, or names subscribed, were those of imaginary persons, or that, where there are real persons of the name, such known persons did not write them. Wheliier these 40 papers were prepared by real or pretended friends, or designing ene- mies, or as a mere hoax, is quite immaterial. There is not the least reason to suppose that you had anything to do with them. It was not asserted by anybody that you ever knew of their existence ; and all agree that they bore upon their face such obvious marks of want of genuineness, that the commonest observer could not be for a moment misled by them. 4. Witnesses were examined to prove that the number of officers appointed by you was more than necessarily great. If so, and you have not already dismissed the superfluous incumbents, of whatever political character, I presume you will take care that your appoint- ments shall be regulated by the exigencies of business. I sincerely wish that the case before the Senate may be brought to a close, yet I am very sure you have no reason to shrink from further investigation. Time enough has elapsed for full enquiry, and it is no fault of yours if it has not been made. Very truly, yours, J. R. INGERSOLL. William D. Lewis, Esq. (Bb.) Philadelphia, Sept. 26, 1850. To William D. Lewis, Esa. Deah Sir : — At a meeting of merchants and business men generally, held at the Board of Trade Room, on the 20th inst., for the purpose of adopt- ing some suitable mode of expressing appreciation of your worth, and gratification at your confirmation as Collector of this Port, it was de- termined to tender to you a public dinner, and the undersigned were appointed a committee to apprise you of that determination. In fulfilling the agreeable duty thus assigned to them, the under- signed avail themselves of the occasion to assure you, that, in common with a large majority of their fellow-citizens, they have observed, with the sincerest satisfaction, your prompt, faithful, intelligent, and ener- getic discharge of the public trust confided to you, while, as your friends and neighbours, as Philadelphians and townsmen, they con- gratulate you cordially on the vindication of your character and con- duct by that august body, the Senate of the United States. Asking you to name for the proposed dinner the earliest day which may suit your convenience, the undersigned beg you to accept the assurance of their cordial regard, and are very truly, Your friends, (Signed) Henry Horn, John B. Myers, John Rice, P. Brady Fredk. Lennig, Thos Allibone, Henry White, Jno. Grigg, Isaac R. Davis, John Yarrow, 41 John Devcrcux, George H. Martin, Robert Burton, G. G. VVestcott, B. S. Burling, Rob : Ewing, Gideon Scull, N.B.Thompson, Thomas Wattson, John Mason. A. J. Lewis, (Cc.) Philadelphia, Sept. 30, 1850. Gentlemen : — I acknowledge, very gratefully, the receipt of your communication of the 26th inst., in which you, as the representatives and on behalf of our merchants and business men generally, tender me a public dinner, in token of the satisfaction they feel at my confirmation by the Senate of the United States as Collector of the Customs for this District, an appointment with which I was honoured by the late Presi- dent, the great and good Zachary Taylor. In these two facts, gentlemen, I find sources of pride sufficient to satisfy my highest ambition. Indeed, every citizen, as well as myself, owes a debt of gratitude to the Senate for its patient investigation of the charges so pertinaciously urged against me, and for its impartial judgment in discarding them, by so overwhelming a vote, as unsus- tained and unworthy of credence ; thus proving that the reputation of the humblest among us, when unjustly assailed, is safe in the hands of that tribunal. But I must not forget how much I am indebted for the gratifying result to the unfaltering support of yourselves and those whom you repi'esent, my friends and neighbours, whose honour in the late strug- gle was so generously identified with my own. In declining, therefore, as I do most respectfully, the public mani- festation of kindness now proposed, I beg you to accept, for the proffer, the sincere thanks of one who, having lived long among you, appreciates it at a very high value, and in whose eyes the honours and emoluments of office sink into insignificance when compared with the vindication of his good name. Trusting that the manner in which I shall continue to discharge the important public duties devolving on me may be such as to merit a continuance of your confidence and that of the government, I remain, your friend and fellow-citizen, (Signed) Wm. D. Lewis. To Messrs John B. Myers, P. Brady, Henry Horn, George H. Mar- tin, and others, Committee. 42 As connected with Mr. Cooper's agency in obtaining the appoint- ment of George Read, and for the purpose of showing the deep inter- est he felt in him, the following letters are hereto appended. The originals are all in the hand-writing of Mr. Cooper, and form part of the general exhibits attached to the testimony taken before Mr. Dun- levy. It should be borne in mind that the letter to Mr. Read was written nearly nine months after he had been appointed. Harrisbukg, Dec. 7, 1848. His Excellency W. F. Johnston, Dear Sir ; — Sometime in the month of October last, I addressed to your Excel- lency a letter, ^respectfully and earnestly urging the appointment of Geo. Read, of the Northern Liberties, as Bark Inspector for the City and County of Philadelphia. Mr, Read is very influential with the working classes in his district, and generally throughout the County of Philadelphia. He labored most zealously and ardently to secure your election, sparing neither time or money to effect that object, so desirable to us all. He laboured ^yith equal zeal and effect at the Presidential elec- tion ; and the testimony borne by all of our intelligent and active friends, in the City and County, is to the effect, that a great share of credit is due to George Read for the large vote in his district. He is likewise influential with our native fellow-citizens, and a num- ber of them have written to me, in his behalf, requesting me to urge his appointment upon your Excellency. Mr. William B. Reed and many other Whigs, have spoken to me in favour of Mr. George Read, asking my good offices with you in his behalf, I stated, in my former letter, that his influence and associations are with a class of people who have been neglected by the undiscerning of those Whigs, who have heretofore had in their power to bestow re- wards. The cultivation of this class I am sure you will not neglect. Mr, Read is honest, and entirely competent for the discharge of the duties of the station for which I have ventured thus earnestly to recom- mend him. Very respectfully, now and ever, truly yours, (Signed) JAMES COOPER. *Tlie letter here alluded to I have never seen. W. D. L. 43 Harrisbueg, Dec. 7, 1848. His Excellency W. F. Johnston, Dear Sir : — George Read and Harman Yerkes are applicants for the office of Bark Inspector, and both have rendered important services to the party, and such as the undersigned think entitle them to some sub- stantial mark of the favour of the party. Assiduous labour in the last campaigns is not their only recommendation. They have laboured for years, and efFcclively, amongst a class of people whom they have been better able to reach than many others who make more pretensions to the character of influential men. Hitherto the class of Whig labourers to whom one and the other of these gentle- men belong have been, we think, too much overlooked in the dis- tribution of the few favours which it has been in the power of the party to bestow. These gentlemen are each the representative of a class ; and we do believe are more meritorious, in a political point of view, than the great mass of applicants who present themselves to your Excel- lency. It is because we believe they are so, and that their appoint- ments would add to the strength of the party, that we venture to urge them earnestly upon you. Permit us, therefore, to say, that we have no other interest in the appointment of either of these men than what is dictated by the wish to serve the party, and strengthen your hands for the future. You may be assured that their appointments will have this effect, and that it is in this view we distin- guish them from the ordinary list of applicants, and urge them upon you. As we have stated in the outset of this note, both these gentlemen were applicants for the office of Bark Inspector, but the friends of the party, anxious that both should be provided for, have prevailed upon them to ask for different situations from your Excellency. We, there- fore, now suggest to you the appointment of George' Read, of the Northern Liberties, for the appointment of Bark Inspector, and that of Harman Yerkes, of the City of Philadelphia, for the office of Beef Inspector. Very respectfully. Your obedient servants and friends, (Signed) Geo. W. South. James Cooper, John P. Wetuerill. (Private.) Washington, Feb. 26, 1850. Dear Sir : — Your favour of the 23d was duly received. I have said to others what I said to you, in Washington, that your appointment was not 44 the result of any influence exerted by me, but I have never said I did not write a letter recommending you. On the contrary, I have always said that you came to Pottsville, solicited and obtained a letter from me to Mr. Lewis. Previously to this, Mr. South, and other friends of yours, had spoken to me in your favour, recommending you, in high terms, for your fidelity and integrity. This I have always said ; always adding, too, that you had been recommended and pressed for the office of Bark inspector, by such men as Wm. B. Reed, J. Price Wetherill, and others equally respectable, during the autumn previous. I have stated, also, that I had never heard a word to your disparage- ment previously to your appointment as Weigher. And this is true. It was only after this that I ever saw or heard of any charge against you. After your appointment, as I several times informed you, I re- ceived letters almost daily, containing charges against you, — gene- rally relating to your testimony before Judge Sharswood's committee. Many of these letters were anonymous, and others signed by persons I did not know. Some of them contained gross falsehoods, both in relation to yourself and Mr. South. On no occasion have I ever said a word against you, but, on the contrary, have always expressed my conviction that you were a greatly better man than many of those who were examined before the above-named committee, at the same time with yourself. Instead of assailing, I have always defended you. Yours, very respectfully, (Signed) JAMES COOPER George Read, Esq. APPENDIX. SKETCH OE THE AEGUMENT DAVID PAUL BROWN. I have but a few words to say, and even those few, will be directed entirely to what may be called the summing up of this case. I respectfully suggest, that the evidence, so far from sustaining the charges of the complainants, distinctly negatives them all, notwith- standing the very men who have contributed to these charges, have offered themselves, or been called upon, to support them. The blow that was intended for the respondent, has recoiled upon his assailants. They have virtually been convicted together with others, of a most anomalous conspiracy, to elevate or improve their own condition, by plotting the ruin of the very man from whom they derived their offices, and their bread. They not only unite themselves with the avowed and covert enemies of the collector, but basely attempt seducing his friends and dependents, from their allegiance. What other interpretation could be given to the connexion between Brady and Zane with each other, and with Cooper, Gibbons, Thorne, and M'Grath? What other construction can be placed upon Zane's and Brady's conversation with Kelley, with Newell, (a dismissed in- spector,) and with various other persons, whose names have been elicited in the progress of this investigation, all hostile to the Collector of the Port? Why was it that Brady induced persons to call meet- ings in his behalf, signed names to the call without authority, con- nived at the appointment of committees, many of whom now appear here as complainants, yet have not a word to say in support of their complaint? Why was it Zane and Brady forwarded documents to Washington clandestinely, through Mr. Gibbons and others, designed to stab the collector in the dark ? Why was it that Brady, (innocent, 46 injured man,) through the agency of Nathan Sergeant, and the aid of Wnelpper, Stokes, and others, attempted to procure from the Honor- able and unsuspecting Secretary of the Treasury, the appointment of a gentleman, as commissioner, to preside over this investigation, whose mind they had previously endeavoured to imbue with the pre- judices of their own ? These men have no pretensions to be saints, but that they have been martyrs — martyrs, however, be it remembered, not for their virtues, but for their vices. The charges which we are called upon to answer, after several attempted modifications on the part of the complainants, are as fol- lows : — 1st. It is charged that the Collector of the Port of Philadelphia, is guilty of a want of fidelity to the government, and to the character of the present national administration, by retaining, in the office of weigh-master, a person whom he has ahvays known to be incompetent for the proper performance of the duties of said office, and who stands charged with perjury on the Legislative Records of Pennsylvania, a fact well known to the Collector at the time he appointed him to said office. 2dly. It is charged, that the Collector and Surveyor of the Port of Philadelphia were instrumental in procuring fictitious signatures to certain printed letters, addressed to members of the Senate of the United States, urging the confirmation of said Collector, whose name was then before the Senate, and that the said signatures were obtained through the weigh-master, acting in the matter with theii knowledge and consent ; and that said letters were forwarded as genuine letters to certain senators by the said Collector and Surveyor of the Port of Philadelphia. 3d[y. It is charged, that the Collector and Surveyor of the Port of Philadelphia, while holding their present respective positions, have been guilty of other corrupt and immoral acts, unbecoming their stations as officers of the Federal Government, and calculated to reflect dishonour upon the national administration. The last charge is abandoned, or not attempted to be sustained, so that the first and second only remain. The first charge is a want of fidelity in the Collector, " by retaining the weigh-master, whom he has ahvays known to be incompetent to the perlbrmance of his duties, and who stands charged with perjury on the Legislative Records of Pennsylvania, a fact well-known to the Collector at the time of his appointment as weigh-master." To answer these charges, in the proper order, it is sufficient to say, that no man is to be deprived of his franchise or right, by charges preferred by legislative committees, in time of high parly excitement or great popular prejudice and clamour. If he were, some of the best men of the community, would be lost to the community. It is true, that Mr. Lewis knew of the charges against Read, as asserted by the complainants some six or seven years ago, but he never believed ihem, and he was still less inclined to believe them after the repealed and urgent recommendations of Mr. Cooper and his friends, and the still 47 higher applications of some of the most respectable and influenlial citizens of this community, with most of which the Treasury Depart- ment has been furnished. As to Mr. Read's incompetency to fulfil the duties of his office, he has given abundant proofs to the contrary, since he has held the office ; and, upon the evidence, has suffered nothing in comparison with any of his predecessors; and he has exhibited testimonials of his entire competency and ability, from sources the most satisfactory and responsible: — Merchants, whose dealings led them into perfect fami- liarity with the office of weigher, and who, therefore, were competent to decide upon the fidelity and efficiency of the incumbent. The 2d charge, or that which relates to fictitious signatures, the evidence does not sustain, but, so far as it is important, expressly negatives. As to Alburger and his men, it is not pretended that we are answerable for their acts unless traced to our knouledge. Where- as, it is perfectly apparent, according to the testimony of Trout and others, that, so far from having been authurized by Read to affix such names, they were careful to avoid letting him know that it had ever been done, and went so far as to guard against his apjiroach when engaged in this reprehensible business. It further appears, that, upon one or two occasions, when doubtful signatures were appended to cir- culars. Read himself condemned them and tore them up. How it was that Brady was seized with such holy horror in discovering that these same memorials were signed by the same hand, while he states that he, himself, had been engaged in a similar operation, it is not very easy to imagine, consistently with his having told the truth. Nor is another portion of his statement, (entirely unsupported and directly contrad'ioted,) that he would not swear to what was false, but would put himself beyond the possibility of being called upon to tell the truth, entitied to much more regard for either probability or consis- tency. In addition to this, however, most, if not all, of these state- ments are directly denied and disjiroved. Again. — Why is it that Brady tells South that he signed but five or six names, and those upon authority. Then tells M'Grath, that he had signed more. — Offers to swear he had not so told M'Grath. Then refuses to swear, as " he would not like to make his friend Tom M'Grath appear to Ui perjured." Is this course of conduct reconcila- ble with any other view \han that of his having by treachery involved himself in falsehood, from which extrication was impossible. Fisler, Murray, Robinson, Kelley, .vith full opportunity, never saw any such names signed in the presence of Read. Robinson says, he saw Zane and Brady sign some in Read's absence ; and P'isler utterly denies having signed any such names himself, or having been directed to sign by Read, or ever hearing Read direct any one else to sign them, or knowing that such names were signed by a^iyhody. If Zane signed them, he has denied it under his affidavit. If Brady signed them, he never confessed it, except to M'Grath, who used the confession to frustrate Mr. Lewis's appointment : — And then again, after Lewis's confirmation, when Brady was in immediate apprehen- 48 sion of expulsion, and when the confession was intended to deter Mr* Lewis from bringing him to condign punishment. If he signed them> it was without the knowledge of Read or Lewis, and he only refused to confess because he knew, from South and others, that Mr. Lewis had determined to " probe the matter," and discharge all who were concerned in it. Brady's own evidence was sufficient against him- self, but not sufficient against others. Brady, therefore, was dis- missed, and the others retained. Brady was self-convicted. — M'Grath swore Brady told him this, Brady offered to swear he " had not ,•" was told to the teeth by M'Grath that he had ; then refused to swear to his denials. Now, what could be plainer (whether true or false,) than that he had made these statements, which were intended to be used against his benefactor, through the agency of M'Grath, (whose son had been refused a clerkship in the Custom House,) and the hos- tility of Mr. Cooper, who claimed to make te7i appointments in the Custom House, and was very properly defeated in his object. Since the above hasty and general views of the scrambling testi- mony for the complainants, I have been furnished by Mr. Gibbons (after some difficulty in obtaining it,) with what he calls his state- ment, in reply to Mr. Lewis's nan-ative. It requires but little notice, and that little it shall receive. After what appears in evidence, I have almost lost sight of Mr. Gibbons, as the counsel in this cause, as he has presented himself rather in the character of a party ; and as he now, after the last stage of the commission, o^ers himself in the shape of a witness, in support of charges which clearly originated partly with himself. In the precious document to which I refer, he commences, by re- marking, that, in the narrative of Mr. Lewis, there is no denial of the charges preferred. In the first place, I say this is not so. The nar- rative exhibits clearly the character of the confederacy, and of the confederates, originating these charges ; the motives by which they were impelled, and the ohjects which they had in view ; implying a denial so clearly to every ingenuous mind, as to obviate the necessity for my doing more than simply referring to thxpended at all in the public service, is his unsupported oath, which no jury of honest men in this county would believe. During the'examina- tion of Fisler Mr. Lewis was present with his counsel, Mr. Jos. R. Ingersoll. He heard the whole of Fisler's testimony, and so far as it went to induce the impression that Read was in any respect a suitable and competent officer, Mr. Lewis, of his own knowledge, kneic that it was utterly false, and was intended to deceive the Senate. I understand that Mr. Lewis justifies the appointment of Mr. Read on the ground that he was strongly recommended by the late Sec- retary of the Treasury. If this were true, I submit that it is no jus- tification. The Secretary of the Treasury cannot be presumed to have known the character of the man, whereas, Mr. Lewis had known him for some lo or 20 years. In 184-2 they were both ex- amined before a committee of our Legislature, in relation to some serious charges of corruption and bribery in which both were im- plicated, and by means of which certain legislation was procured for the Bank of the United States, the Girard Bank, of which Mr. Lewis was Cashier, and some others. Read perjured himself, was detected and exposed. Mr. Lewis was guilty only of a very defec- tive memory. The Committee, in their report, say, among other things, that " George Read was one of the paid agents of the Bank, " although he does not seem to have been trusted with money by the " others, in which, undoubtedly, they showed their discernment and " discretion. ****** " Read is an extremely illiterate man, being unable to read or "write axcept his own name. He was therefore obliged to conduct " his correspondence through the medium of an amanuensis. * " * * He explained his letters by the bold and unblush- "ing assertion that they were all mere fabrications, intended for the " purpose of extorting money from the Bank. This witness is self- " convicted of fraud and perjury." 58 Mr. George Soulh was also a prominent actor in the matters re- ferred to in the report. His testimony was also taken, and we may- infer from the language of the Committee, that in their opinion, he was as great a rogue as any of the persons implicated. These facts were all well known to Mr. Lewis when he appoint- ed Read to office. He has been suificiently adroit to satisfy his friends here that he made the appointment with great reluctance to gratify Mr. Meredith. But if the truth is ever known, it will be found that Read had demanded the office, and Lewis gave it to pre- vent unpleasant disclosures. Mr. Meredith never recommended Read, and did not suggest his appointment. On the contrary, Mr. Lewis feared that the Secretary of the Treasury would not confirm such a nomination ; and he took the precaution to send Mr. South and one or two others, to Washington, to confer with the Secreta- ry on the subject. The result of that conference was that Mr. Me- redith, not for a moment suspecting that this was the George Read whose character was so infamous, said to South and his colleagues, that of course he would confirm whatever nominations or appoint- ments the Collector saw proper to make. This result was commu- nicated to Mr. Lewis by telegraph, and Read was instantly appoint- ed. I have reason to believe that Mr. Meredith will confirm this statement of the case. It is not pretended that Lewis ever commu- nicated to him his knowledge of Read^s character^ as it was his du- ty to do, or his knowledge of the fact that he could neither read nor write. What must be thought of the fidelity of a public officer who, with a full knowledge of the character of George Read, appoints him to a responsible post where he may defraud the government at plea- sure \ And in what estimation can you hold him, when he retains as the Chief Clerk, who prepares all the returns of the Weigher's office to the Department, a man who committed deliberate perjury in his presence, with his full knowledge and apparent approbation % In regard to the fictitious signatures referred to, there is much more to be said than I feel willing to trouble you with now. Mr. Brady's statement of this transaction has probably met your eye. I have known him for many years. He was an active Whig when Mr. Lewis was opposed to us, and is a man of good character in whose word 1 have confidence. Since the appearance of his card, great efforts have been made by Mr. Lewis and Mr. Norris, not to ascertain the truth of his charges, (for that they well knew,) but to contradict them. Mr. Joel Zane, one of the deputy weighers, was called on by Mr. Norris, the Surveyor of the Port, some days after the card of Mr. Brady was published, with a contradictory state- ment in ^/ie /m;icZ wrifmg 0/ FwZer. Mr. Norris requested him to sign it, which Zane refused to do, asserting it to be false. He was afterwards sent for by the Collector himself, ivho presented the same statement to him, and demanded to know why he could not sign it. Mr. Zane stated his objections, as I understand, and confirmed Mr. Brady's allegations. There the matter rested until the date of Mr. 59 Lewis' note to Zane/a copy of which appears at the end of ihe en- closed affidavit. Zane prepared a draft of the affidavit which he proposed to make, and submitted it to Mr. Lewis yesterday, who suggested to him that he should so modify it as to represent that, when Read presented the Directory to Brady, and told liim to copy the names from it, he spoke* and acted " in a jocose manner.'''' I mention this fact only to show that Mr. Lewis endeavors to protect Read as muck as possible in this dishonorable proceeding. It is pro- per that 1 should say, in this connection, that, I did not know that Zane had been applied to by Mr. Lewis for this affidavit, until yes- terday, when he called at my office and exhibited to me the draft which he had prepared, with the modifications suggested by Mr. Lewis. He executed the affidavit in duplicate, and placed in my hands the enclosed, with permission to forward it to you. That Read acted under the instructions of Mr. Lewis in procur- ing the fictitious names to the letters, I have not the slightest doubt. The intercourse between them since Read's appointment has been intimate and confidential 5 and although the charges in relation to this transaction were made several months ago, and some of ike iden- tical letters with the fictitious names attached were produced before the Mayor during the examination referred to, and were handled and examined by Jlr. Lewis in my presence, he permitted the matter to pass in silence until it was fully exposed by the publication of Bra- dy's card, and the attention of the Department had been directed to it. It is some consolation to know, that Lewis, Read, Norris and Fis- ler, all received their political and moral training in the Loco-foco school. The best offices at the disposal of Lewis are filled with our political opponents. No party can strengthen itself with such ma- terials as these, and no Whig Administration is safe with such men in office. I trust that my motives in making this communication will be properly appreciated. I have honor to be. With great respect, your ob't. serv't. CH: GIBBONS. His Excellency, Millard Fillmore, President of the United States. * I understand that Mr. Murray has also made an affidavit in re- lation to this matter, which is so drawn as not to implicate Read. The form of the affidavit was prepared by Mr. Lewis, and it docs not present a full statement of the facts. 60 HON. JAMES COOPER TO THE PRESIDENT. Washington, Dec. 26, 1850. To His Excellency, Millard Fillmore, President of the U. States. Sir,— At the interview with which you honored me some days ago, on the subject of the investigation ordered at Philadelphia, I under- stood that the instructions of the Commissioner would be so modi- fied and enlarged as to allow him to enquire, at least, into such of the charges as had been distinctly preferred against the Collector and other officers in the Custom House. But from the enclosed letter, addressed by Mr. Dunlevy to Mr. Gibbons, who is acting as counsel for the Committee who submitted the charges, I find I was mistaken, and that, "no matters which were before the Senate and fully investigated, pending the question of Mr. Lewis' confirma- tion," will be inquired into. All the charges preferred, (and a number of others) were either directly or incidentally before the Senate ; but it cannot be said with truth that any of them were fully investigated. Process to examine witnesses, although asked for, was denied. An attempt was indeed made to prove some of the facts ; but it was ineffectual, some of the witnesses absenting themselves, while others were not to be found. The charges which were "fully investigated" were altogether different from those sub- mitted. If, therefore, everything " before the Senate," and which it might have more fully investigated, be taken to have been so done, the investigation may as well cease at once ; nothing will result from it but disappointment and mischief, and, instead of allaying it will increase the excitement which prevails. It seems to me, however, that there could not be a fitter subject of inquiry than that involved in the charge, that the Collector im- posed on the Senate, by forged representations of his integrity and fitness, that he keeps in office those of his subordinates who, with his consent if not by his direction, were the instruments of such imposition, and that these agents, who occupy important and re- sponsible offices, are deficient, some of them at least, in the most ordinary requisites of common business men — the principal of them being neither able to read or write. In this matter I have taken no part, beyond representing to your Excellency, and the Secretary of the Treasury, the wishes of the respectable gentlemen who have moved in the matter, and who are my constituents, nor shall I trouble myself further in regard to it, except to state, that it seems to me, the appointing and keeping in office such men as Read and Fisler, who are alleged to be not only incompetent but corrupt, and against whom charges of the gravest character have been pressed by respectable citizens, who have as- sumed the responsibility of proving them if an opportunity be afforded, is on the part of the Collector, a serious offence against 61 the Administration and the public, not only justifying, but requiring investigation. Such charges, permit me to say, require scrutiny; and the community will not be satisfied, I am sure, with being told that they were once before the Senate without influencing that body. To your Excellency, for whom I have always entertained some- thing more than mere respect, I can speak with freedom, and with- out offence. I say, therefore, that the charges ought to be examined fully and freely, and without reference to the fact, whether they were investigated by the Senate or not. Fraud taints and vitiates the most solemn judicial acts ; and, in this case, it may be fairly presumed that the act of confirmation, behind which the Secretary of the Treasury refuses to go, was superinduced by fraud — by the forged circulars, purporting to have been sent by the neighbors of the Collector to the Senate, praying for his confirmation. In the act of confirmation there is nothing so sacred, either in theory or practice, as to require a stricter application of the rule just referred to than in analagous cases in other departments of the Government. It is charged virtually that his confirmation was brought about by fraud practiced by his officers, with his own consent, and that these officers are still retained by him. But I submit further, that the Senate is but a branch of the appointing power, and that its act of confirmation is no more inviolable, and precludes revision and investigation as little as the act of the President in nominating, [f the President, through im- position or mistake, appoint an unworthy man to office, he will remove him on proof of his unworthiness. The Senate being as liable to imposition and mistake in confirming as the President in appointing, what reason is there that its acts should not be corrected as well as his 1 In my judgment there is none. I cannot believe that it was ever^ designed, by making the Senate a part of the appointing power and giving to it the right of confirmation, to take from the President any of his powers over the officers whom he has appointed, or in any way to restrict him in his inquiries into their conduct during a particular period of their official term. Yet, if I understand the views of the Secretary aright, he would limit inquiry into their conduct to the period subsequent to their con- firmation. Every thing previous to confirmation, in this case at least, he seems to regard, to use a legal phrase, as a kind of res adjudicata, and no longer open to investigation. But to sum up all in a sentence, the act of confirmation is but a part of the act of appointment — not a judicial act — not a judgment precluding inquiry as to all that preceded it. There is another view relative to a part of the investigation, which I desire to present. It is proposed to prove, thatjMr. Lewis was fully aware of the character of Read, at the time he appointed him. This seems to be regarded as irrelevant or impertinent. I do not think so. In order to ascertain his motive for the retention of the Weighmaster in office, is it not important to show, that he and the collector have been known to each other for years and 62 participants in other fraudulent transactions'! This would not perhaps be evidence against Mr. Lewis, if he were on trial in a Court of Justice. But it is on moral evidence, on association and general conduct, that the community forms its judgment, and it is on these, that fitness for office is judged of by the appointing power. And now in conclusion, 1 beg of your Excellency to see that a full and fair investigation of these charges be made. Do not per- mit technicalities which have no foundation in justice to screen the guilty, nor honest men to be placed in a false position, b};- being denied an opportunity to prove the charges which they have pre- ferred, undoubtedly in good faith, and with an anxious desire to serve the administration, and relieve it from the odium reflected upon it by the conduct of its officers. These men are amongst the most respectable, as well as influential citizens of the community in which they reside, and in what they have done were actuated by the purest motives. They were influenced by no selfish consid- erations. No malignant spirit or unfriendly feelings animated them. They did not even volunteer. They were appointed by a large meeting of influential citizens, of whom in this matter they are the mere representatives and organs. They are not office seek- ers for themselves or their friends ; neither are they over zealous partisans, animated by a too ardent zeal. They are Whigs, active Whigs it is true, good, honest, upright, intelligent men, with whom their fellow citizens deeply sympathise, and by whom the latter will stand, nine tenths of them at least, result this investigation as it may. As the whole matter will be in your hands after the investi- gation has ended, however full and searching it may be, no injustice can be done to the accused officers. If they be innocent, they will not object to a full and fair inquiry. On the contrary they should court it. If guilty, they ought to be declared so, and removed from the trusts they have abused. Had I pursued the suggestions of my own mind, I would have submitted these views and requests immediately to Mr. Corwin, whose province it is to act on them, without troubling you on the subject. But by the desire of the gentlemen interested, I have taken the liberty of addressing myself to you ; and I am the less disinclined to do so, knowing that through you, Mr. Corwin will be put in possesion of their views and wishes, as I have herein pre- sented them. I send you herewith copies and extracts of letters on the same subject : No. 1, being a copy of a letter from Mr. Gibbons ; No. 2, from Mr. Dunlevy 5 No. 3, from a gentleman not connected with the matter, and who would be probably disobliged by giving his name. The following extract from a letter of the Committee is, in my judgment, so appropriate, that I cannot forbear to bring it to your notice. " We beg you that you will see the President, in whose wisdom and justice we have unbounded confidence, and make a last effort 63 to have this investigation made effectual, by allowing us a reason able degree of latitude in the inquiry. We suggest to you, to see the President in preference to Mr. Corwin, not because we have less confidence in his integrity and uprightness than in those of the President ; but because the latter is our representative, for whom we labored, for whom we voted, and on whom we feel that we have a claim, independently of that which upright motive and a desire to promote the welfare and honor of his adminstration gives us. We feel, high as his position is, that there must be some sym- pathy between him and us — the sympathy growing from the ardent wishes which we formerly entertained for liis elevation, and which we still feel for his success. Go to him. Tell him our situation is a m.ost unpleasant, nay painful one. Out of regard for the admin- stration, and the Whig party suffering from the conduct of the men in office here, we communicated to the President and Secre- tary information which we thought they ought to possess. With the same view, although involving unpleasant consequences, we undertook to furnish proof of the fact, which we had made known ; and now, unless the instructions of the Commissioner, are changed we will be exhibited in the light of false accusers, because the in- quiry is restricted within limits too narrow to allow of making manifest the truth. It is for this reason, to relieve us from a most unpleasant situation which we occupy, we conceive through no fault of our own, that we trouble you to make a last effort to have justice done in the matter. Let us be permitted to prove allj and then let the President and Mr. Corwin judge what is proper to be done. If anything improper be proved, Twhich we will try to avoid,) let it be rejected afterwards. The President and his Cabi- net are not a Petit Jury to be influenced by irrelevant or improper testimony. They will give such effect to it as it ought to have, and no more. Being permitted to attempt to prove what we have charged, we shall, with the fullest confidence and the utmost cheerfulness, submit it to Mr. Corwin to say what is right to be done," Sic, &,c. With the most sincere respect, I am your ob't serv't and friend, Signed,) JAMES COOPER. Too unwell to leave the house, I have been compelled to submit to you in writing what would have been much better explained in a private interview. (Signed,) J. C. 64 (No. 1.) MR. GIBBONS TO MR. COOPER. Philadelphia, Dec. 25, 1850. My Dear Sir : — How comes it that you were mistaken in regard to the modification of the instructions ? Your despatch on Monday, and your letter on Tuesday, both stated, that the instructions would be enlarged to a cer- tainextent. But, from the letter of Mr. Dunlevy, which I have just received, I learn that you were mistaken, and that he is to proceed under those which he brought with him. By the advice of the committee superintending the investigation, and of other Whig friends, I have pro- tested against proceeding under them. To go on would be folly. The truth cannot be reached, and the effect of all will be, a new cer- tificate of character to the Collector and Surveyor. We cannot understand here, why Mr. Lewis' confirmation by the Senate should preclude inquiry into his conduct previously. He is an officer, nominated by the President, and confirmed by the Senate, — the whole amounting only to one appointment. Cannot the conduct of an officer be inquired into ? and, if so, why not one period of his administration of his duties as well as into another ? The people never can be made to understand, why the act of the Senate in confirming, is more than the act of the President in appointing. The distinction taken by the Secretary of the Trea- sury, admitting inquiry into one period of an officer's term rather than into another, has no foundation in reason. The act of the Senate confirming an appointment does not act as an estoppel, precluding inquiry as to all other acts anterior to it. The power given to the Senate is cautionary, it is true, but never was intended to have such an effect as the Secretary seems to think. It was not designed to take from the President any of his powers over the officers whom he has appointed ; nor to limit him in the exercise of the duty to see the laws faithfully executed ; which he cannot do, if he will not inquire into the manner in which they have performed them. All periods of the official term of the functionaries of the Government are open to executive investigation and animadversion. He is not limited to the period subsequent to confirmation. But, if the rule of the Secretary of the Treasury be observed strictly, we are precluded from an inquiry into the manner in which the circulars were got up and signed, as well as into everything else. These circulai's were before the Senate, and the manner of procuring them a subject of inquiry. Testimony, to prove that they were forged and forwarded, was taken before the Mayor. But the examination before the Senate was partial — necessarily so. That body refused process to examine witnesses ; the consequence was, that we could not, when we attempted it, get the witnesses to testify. Some of them went out of the way, others were absent, and the whole attempt abor- tive, for want of the necessary powers. Now, we are told, that the examination was final — at least in its effect. 65 But the refusal of the Secretary to authorize a thorough investigation, operates most injuriously to the gentlemen who, out of respect Tor the administration, and to relieve the Whig party from the odium it was en- during from the conduct of the Custom House officers, preferred the charges on which the investigation was founded. In justice to them it ought to have been refused altogether, or pursued in such a manner as to give them an opportunity to prove what they charge. By limiting it, as has been done, nobody will be satisfied, the excitement will be in- creased, and the party injured. We hope, however, that, on a full representation to the President, he will see that the matter shall not be trifled with, — that the investigation shall be a thorough one. From the examination which I have made into the matter, I do not hesitate to say, that every material fact charged will l)e proved, and many besides. Is it not strange, (and it is C(;rtainly provoking,) that, when an investigation has been ordered, it should be rendered ineffectua by the rules prescribed for the conduct of it? Ho[)ing that the President will take the matter into consideration, and direct a full investigation, I will await your answer. Yours, &c., (Signed) CH: GIBBONS. The Hon. James Cooper. (No. 2.) MR. DUNLEVY TO MR. GIBBONS. Philadelphi.*., Dec. 25, 1850. Dear Sir ; — I have received an answer to my letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, and find that my instructions will pot be modified, the mat- ters you charge having been before ihe Senate, and fully investitmted, pending the question of Mr. L'wis confirmation. He directs me, therclbre, to proceed in the investigation with which I was originally charged. This I hope to commence to-morrow, and proceed with all possible dispatch until it is closed. Having been dirccted to call upon you for the names of wilntsses and other items of testimony, I can do little without some one to give me information of witnesses who know the facts. I do not know whether you withdraw from the in- vestigation or not, but, if you do, without any person to direct me to sourc-.es of testimony, the investigation, I presume, will be short and of little consequence. I shill first examine Mr. Brady, unless he objects to testify, and from him may learn who else had any agency in the alleged imposition pr.ictised upon the Senate of the United States. I must have copies of those circulars in your possession to which fictitious or forged names were sigoi d, and I presume vou will have no objections to leave them in the hands of Alderman Freem in, pre- vious to the commencement of the examinaiion. At any rale, I sliould 5 66 like to see you at the office of Mr. Freeman at 10 o'clock to-morrow morning. Yours, &c., (Signed) A. H. DUNLEVY. Charlis Gibbons, Esa., Philadelphia. (No. 3.) EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM A GENTLEMAN IN PHILADELPHIA TO MR. COOPER. Philadelphia, Bee. 25, 1850. My Dear Sir : — A good deal of feeling prevails here at present in relation to the investigation proposed to be made into the affairs of the Custom House ; and much dissatisfaction is manifested in regard to the instructions under which the Commissioner is to act. It is alleged that these instructions, if not designed, will, at least in effect, serve to screen the Collector and Surveyor, who, it is alleged, are implicated in certain malversations in office, and, in some fraud committed on the Senate, of the nature of which I am not particularly informed. I presume you know all about it. John W. Stokes, David Woelpper, John D. Ninesteel, and other prominent Whigs, made certain charges, which they offered to prove, and which, if they undertook to do it, I have no doubt they will accomplish, if an oppor- tunity be afforded them. They are not the men to undertake what they cannot perform. The administration will stand in its own light if it should interpose obstacles in the way of this investigation. There is great feeling on the subject, and an almost universal anxiety manifested that the in- vestigation should be prosecuted in such a manner as to elicit the whole truth. The Custom House set are very odious in the city, and, it is generally believed, that great frauds have been committed by them, not only in the matters referred to but likewise upon the reve- nue, by permitting false invoices to pass without notice. This being the case, the demand for an investigation is loudly called for by the people; and nothing but a full and searching one will satisfy them. If the investigation should be smothered by the instructions, a meeting, it is said, will be called to express the sentiments of the citi- zens in relation to the matter, and to petition Congress for an investi- gation. I think you should see Mr. Fillmore, and explain to him the state of feeling here. It is right that he should be apprized of it, in order that he may act with reference to it. Mr. Corwin is severely censured, on account of the instructions he has given to the Commis- sioner ; but I apprehend, when it comes to be understood, that it will be found, that the Commissioner has a reasonable discretion, and that he will hear all that is really pertinent to the charges. Less than this would be unjust to Messrs. Stokes, Woelpper, and their associates ; more than this would be unjust to Mr. Lewis andMr. Norris," &c., &c. Custom House, Philadelphia, Collector's Office, Feb'y 22d, 1851. TO MILLARD FILLMORE, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Sir,— Having had an opportunity of examining copies of the letters addressed to you by Charles Gibbons, Esqr. on the 13th November, and the Hon'ble James Cooper on the 26th December, 1850, it seems to me proper that I should submit to you the following re- marks on their contents. I fear prolixity will be unavoidable in untangling their webs of calumnies. And first in order, as it is in date, I will notice the letter of Mr. Gibbons, taking each allegation separately. 1st. He begins by a reference to the examination of Mr. Fisler, the first deputy Weigher, before the Mayor, in September last, a copy of whose deposition he forwards to you, asserting that "there is no difficulty now in proving that he (Fisler) '■'■swore falsely. ^^ 2ndly. He goes on to state that he did not examine George Read because of his infamous character, adding, "I had reason to believe that he was prepared to swear to anything which the Collector required, without any regard whatever to the truth." 3rdly. He states that "Read does not know the letters of the alphabet, swears to returns made by him to the Department with- out knowing what they contain : that "the money which he draws from the Collector's department to defray the contingent and other expenses of the Weigher's department, amounting," as Mr. Gibbons is told, "to some $20,000 a year, independent of salaries, is never properly accounted for," no vouchers being presented of its pay- ment, and that "the only evidence it is expended at all for the public service is his unsupported oath, which no jury of honest men in this county would believe." 4thly. He states that so far as Fisler's testimony before the Mayor, given in my presence, "went to induce the impression that Read was in any respect a suitable and competent officer, Mr. Lewis of his own knowledge knew that it was utterly false, and in- tended to deceive the Senate.^'' 5thly. He states that he understands "Mr. Lewis justifies the appointment of Read on the ground that he was strongly recom- mended by the Secretary of the Treasury;" that "Mr. Lewis had known him for some fifteen or twenty years;" that "in 1842 they both were examined, before a Committee of our Legislature, in re- lation to some serious charges of corruption and bribery in which both Avere implicated, and by means of which certain legislation was procured for the Bank of the United States, the Girard Bank 68 of which Mr. Lewis was Cashier, and some others ;" that " Read perjured himself, was detected, and exposed," whilst "Mr. Lewis was guilty only of a very defective memory ;" and that, while Mr. Lewis " has been sufficiently adroit to satisfy his friends here that he made the appointment with great reluctance to gratify Mr. Meredith, if the truth was known it will be found that Read had demanded the appointment, and Lewis gave it to prevent unpleasant disclosures," 6thly. Speaking of Mr. Brady, he asserts that "he" (Brady) "was an active Whig when Mr. Lewis was opposed to us," and then passes upon Brady a faint eulogy. 7thly. He states that " Zane prepared a draft of the affidavit which he proposed to make and submitted it to Mr. Lewis, who suggested to him that he should so modify it as to represent that when Read presented the Directory to Brady, and told him to copy the names from it, he spoke and acted in a jocose manner,'''' and further on Mr. Gibbons adds, "It is proper that I should say, in this connection, that / did not know that Zane had been applied to by Mr. Lewis for this affidavit until yesterday, when he called at my office and exhibited to me the draft which he had prepared, with the modifications suggested by Mr. Lewis." [I have underscored the above expressions, intending to ask hereafter your particular attention to them when I come to notice this allegation.] 8thly. He says, "that Read acted under the instructions of Mr. Lewis, in procuring the fictitious names to the letters, I have not the slightest doubt;" and adds, "the intercourse between them since Read's appointment has been intimate and confidential." 9thly. He states that "It is some consolation to know that Lewis, Read, Norris, and Fisler, all received their political and moral training in the Locofoco school;" and that "the best offices at the disposal of Lewis are filled with our political opponents." lOthly. In a note he asserts that Murray "has made an affidavit in relation to this matter, which is so drawn up as not to implicate Read, the form of which affidavit was prepared by Mr. Lewis, and it does not present a full statement of the facts." I believe the foregoing synopsis comprises all of Mr. Gibbons' allegations which at all concern me. — The other gentlemen whom he has slandered are abundantly able to defend their own reputa- tion against his assaults, and will doubtless do so. — Every one of these allegations, if true, he has had ample opportunity of proving, I shall answer them seriatim : 1st. So far from proving that Mr. Fisler has sworn falsely, the great weight of testimony taken under the late commission is in favor of his having sworn to the truth. 2ndly. Geo. Read was summoned by Mr. Gibbons as a witness before the Mayor, and hence his alleged pretext for not having ex- amined him is made with a bad grace, and seems especially un- founded when we see that he summoned him again as a witness, and actually did examine him before Mr. Dunlevy ! 69 3rdly. That Mr. Read is a very illiterate man has certainly been proved, but not to the extent asserted by Mr. Gibbons ; neither has my knowledge of the fact at the time of his appointment been proved, which knowledge I did not possess. The public posts he had held previously, and the extent and prosperity of his private business, seemed, indeed, to belie the idea. Mr. Cooper had him- self done so, by implication, in the strongest manner, or shown that he did not consider illiterateness inconsistent with entire compe- tency to perform important public duties. Witness the following statements extracted from his letters, urging Mr. Read's appoint- ment to office on Governor Johnston and myself. Notarial copies of those addressed to me, (the originals being in my hands,) and the originals of those addressed to Gov. Johnston, are attached to the commission. [The words having a particular bearing upon this point I shall underscore that they may attract your special notice.] In his letter to the Governor, dated Dec. 7th, 1848, Mr. Cooper says, "Mr. Read is honesty and entirely competent for the discharge of the duties of the station for which I have ventured thus earnestly to recommend him." That station was the highly responsible one of Bark Inspector for this City and County, one of the best offices in Governor Johnston's gift. In his first letter to me, dated May 10th, 1849, speaking of the ten persons he desired to have appointed, Mr. Cooper observes, "In addition to abundant qualifications^ they have rendered impor- tant services to the Whig party in the late and previous campaigns;" adding, "If I can have the naming of that number, I will endeavor to present such persons as will be at once deserving and competent,'''' and further on, in the same letter, '■'■U you should consent to this, I will BEGIN by naming George Read for the situation of Weigher, for whose appointment / am anxious.'''' In his second letter to me of May lOth, 1849, Mr. Cooper says, speaking of Mr. Read in connection with the Weigher's office, "He is xoell qualified to discharge the duties of the post he is seeking." But it has not been shown that Mr. Read swears to his accounts without knowing what they contain ; neither is it true that some $20,000 per annum, independent of salaries, are expended by Mr. Read without any voucher but his unsupported oath, the whole amount expended beyond such salaries never having exceeded $6047, in any one year, and such excess being always accounted for in strict conformity with Treasury instructions, and the accounts rendered under the supervision of my Auditor. That officer, (Dr. Charles Treichel,) has had twenty-seven years experience in the Custom House of this District, and is of well established correct- ness and probity. I may add that the proportion which the expenditures, as well inclusive as exclusive of the regular salaries, have borne to the amount of the legal fees earned in the Weigher's department here 70 since Mr. Read has held office, will compare favorably with those of any previous period, as will be seen by the annexed statement marked A, covering a space of six years, viz : from 1845 to 1850, both inclusive. As to the assertion of Mr. Gibbons that no jury of honest men in this county would believe Mr. Read on his oath, 1 pronounce it wilfully untrue, and declare with all sincerity that I would myself, after considerable knowledge of both, much sooner believe the oath of George Read then that of Charles Gibbons, in which opinion I know many of our best citizens to concur. 4thly. My remark in regard to the first allegation of Mr. Gib- bons, in which he assails the testimony of Mr. Fisler, applies equally to the fourth. The weight of the testimony taken before Mr. Dunlevy is great- ly in favor of the truth of Mr. Fisler's statement as to the superior attention of Mr. Read to his duties, and his systematic mode of per- forming them, when compared with several of his more educated predecessors. 5thly. There is no truth in the assertion that I have justified my appointment of Read on the ground that he was strongly re- commended by Mr. Meredith when Secretary of the Treasury. Neither is it true that 1 had known him for fifteen or twenty years, as will be seen by reference to the testimony of George W. South, who states the fact of his having introduced Mr. Read, then a stran- ger, to me in the Autumn of 184-8. Mr. South's language is, "Mr. Read told me he had no acquaintance with Mr. Lewis, and reques- ted me to introduce him. After we came out of Mr. Lewis' office Mr. Read observed to me, that he had known Mr. Lewis by sight for a long time, and asked me if that was the Mr. Lewis who was formerly Cashier of the Girard Bank, I replied that it was." It is equally false that in 1842 Read and I were examined before a Committee of the Legislature on serious charges of corruption and bribery, in which we '■'• were both implicated.'''' It is true that we were, (as appears by the record,) as were also some sixty other per- sons, or more, examined before a Legislative Committee in 1842 in regard to previous legislation concerning the Banks of Pennsyl- vania, but we were not even in Harrisburg at the same time, and were then, and for years afterwards, entire strangers to each other. It is also true that my memory, which Mr. Gibbons says was " very defective," did not retain facts that had never occurred, and that when interrogated as to matters which were said to have taken place some six years previously, but which in fact never had taken place, so far as related to me, I replied that I had no recollection of them. Neither would their actual occurrence have proved anything crimi- nal on my part. As to the assertion of the Committee of the Le- gislature, quoted by Mr. Gibbons, that Mr. Read was " self convic- ted of fraud and perjury," I only know that, never having read their Report, nor the Testimony, when I found Mr. Read's character for integriity and capacity so strongly vouched for by Mr. Cooper, and 71 other respectable persons, such a charge, made six years before, was not likely to make any impression on my mind. Mr. Cooper had been a member of the Legislature in 1844 and at subsequent periods, and was more likely to set a just estimate on the charge of perjury against Mr. Head, made in 1842 by a committee of that body acting under high political excitement, than myself, and yet Mr. Cooper urged his appointment as altogether expedient and pro- per, reiteratedly, and in the strongest terms, as I have already shown. The averment that "Read had demanded the appointment, and Lewis gave it to prevent impleasant disclosures," is an atrocious falsehood. 6thly. The assertion that I have been at any time opposed to the Whig party is equally untrue. I have always been a Whig, and a consistent one, sincerely believing the doctrines we profess to em- body those principles best calculated to advance the true interests of the country, and having done all in my power to promote their success. In my capacity of Whig, I lament to say that I once aid- ed in electing Mr. Gibbons, who professed to be one, to the Senate of this State, where, in violation of the loudly expressed wishes of his constituents, he proved a traitor to their interests as is generally believed to promote his oum, by opposing a measure essential to this city's welfare, and thus earning a vote of condemnation which was passed upon him with a degree of unanimity unparaleled in this community, the odium of which will adhere to him through life. I was a Whig, when Mr. Cooper, the present ultra of the party, was the editor of an opposition newspaper, published at Get- tysburg in 1835, soon after he crossed our borders, and when he sub- sequently openly electioneered in Adams County against the Whig ticket. My Whig principles were entertained, and avowed too, under circumstances calculated to test their sincerity. For the proof of this fact I venture to appeal to Chief Justice Taney and Judge Woodbur}', of the Supreme Court of the United States, each of whom was at the head of the Treasury Department, under a Democratic Adminstration, when I was the Whig Cashier of the Girard Bank, then a depository of the public monies in this city. They will say whether my sentiments, as to what I deemed the true policy of the country, were ever withheld or concealed from them. Nor does proof of this fact depend on tradition only. It will be found recorded in my testimony given, in February 1837, before a Committee of the House of Representatives, of which the Hon. J. Garland was Chairman. On that occasion, as will be seen by re- ference to the report of that Committee, I expressed my opinion of the removal of the deposits from the Bank of the United States in strict accordance with the Whig doctrine of the day, although the institution with which I was connected held about four millions of the public monies at that very time. 7thly. The allegations under this head I shall meet by references to the testimony of Joel Zane, one of Mr. Gibbons' witnesses. In reply to the question put by Mr. Gibbons, " at whose instance 72 were the words "m a jocose manner^'' in exhibit No 4, inserted!" Mr. Zane replied, " In a conversation with Mr. Lewis he asked me whether I thought Mr. Read was really in earnest when he handed the Directory to Mr. Brady." This is the sole ground on which Mr. Gibbons asserts that I had '■'■suggested to Zane that he should so modify his affidavit as to represent that, when Read presented the Directory to Brady and told him to copy the names from it, he spoke and acted in a jocose manner.^'' In a subsequent part of his testimony, on his cross examination, Zane states, " When called upon by Mr. Lewis to make an affidavit, I waited upon Mr. Gibbons for the purpose of consulting with him, and asking his advice as to the propriety of making an affidavit. He advised me to make an affidavit^'''' Sfc. ; and yet Mr. Gibbons, writing to the President of the United States, asserts deliberately that he did not know that Zane had been applied to by me for an affidavit till Zane called on him and " exhibited the draft which he had prepared^ It must be for others to determine which of these statements is true 5 both cannot be. Nor is it, perhaps, out of place here to allude to the fact that while Zane states in his testimony that he had accompanied Brady to Mr. Gibbons to consult " on matters connected with this dispute in the Custom House," he supposed "twenty times," Brady states, in his testimony, that he does not remember any body going with him to Mr. Gibbons' office. He further states, " I have met Mr, Zane at Mr. Gibbons', but had no conversation with Mr. Zane in Mr. Gib- bons' office. I dont know Mr. Zane's business with Mr. Gibbons : I dont know whether he knew mine." Witnesses like these would certainly find in Mr. Gibbons a most fitting counsel ! 8thly. I am quite certain that Mr. Gibbons does not, and never did, believe as he asserts, that Read had acted under my instruc- tions in procuring fictitious names to the letters, even if it were admitted that he had procured such names. The imputation is grossly calummous and false ; nor is it true, as Mr. Gibbons asserts, that since Read's appointment there has been any " intimate and confidential intercourse between us," certainly none inappropriate to our respective official stations. 9thly. The first branch of this specification has been answered, so far as I am concerned, under the sixth specification above. As to the allegation that "the best offices at the disposal of Lewis are filled with our political opponents," it is not true. It is true that I have refused to disorganize my office by making wholesale removals, and that, having allowed myself to be influenced by other, and what seemed to me proper, considerations, I have retained a small number of experienced and meritorious officers whom I found in place when I assumed the duties of my present post ; and for the retention of whom I have ample Whig support here and elsewhere. But when I state that of about one hundred and sixty offices, great and small, within the gift of the Collector here, subject to the approval of the 73 Secretary of the Treasury, I have removed the incumbents of one hundred and thirty of them, replacing them by friends of the pre- sent National Administration, I trust it will be thought that I have been sufficiently proscriptive to screen me from the charge of being a Locofoco. lOthly. As a reply to this allegation, I refer to the following passage in Mr. Murray's testimony, on his cross-examination, in reference to his affidavit of the 8th November last. Question. When you called upon him, ("Mr. Lewis,") did he attempt to exercise any control over you at all % Answer. No, Sir. QuEs. Didn't he make the alterations you suggested with his own hand, and enjoin it upon you at the same time to be correct 1 Ans, He made the alterations with his own hand, and requested me to state nothing but what I could swear to. QuEs. Was the second paper written from your dictation, which was signed by you 1 Ans. It was written from the conversation I had with Mr. Lewis at the Custom House. QuES. And did you believe it then, and do you believe it now, to be a substantial statement of what you said 1 Ans. I of course believe the truth of that affidavit. I believe it to be a substantial statement of what was said by me to Mr. Lewis at the time. ************* And on his re-examination by Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Murray re- iterates : " I wish to be understood to say that the affidavit is the substance of the conversation held with Mr. Lewis." These answers, I think, meet every calumnious aspersion con- tained in the letter of Mr. Gibbons above specified, and I trust they will be found satisfactory. Having, however, thus shown the intimate connection of the letter in question with the origin of the commission that has been recently executed here, I must beg leave to quote from Mr Gibbons' statement to the Commissioner, when called on by me to produce that letter, the following words which will be found on the records of the commission : "Mr. Lewis may as well claim to put his hand in my pocket and search its contents, as to call upon me to produce my private correspondence which has no connection whatever with this commission." Such a letter as that of the 13th Nov. 1850, addressed to the President of the United States, relating to a public officer, holding his commission under that President, and revocable at his will, a private letter ! the letter which formed the very basis of the commission, said by the writer, Mr. Gibbons, to have NO connection with it ! ! ! 74 I now come to the allegations of Mr. Cooper, contained in his let- ter of the 26th December, covering the charges signed by D. Woelp- per and others ; and will here premise that I do not propose to no- tice such of them as are mere iterations of the averments of Mr. Gib- bons which have already been refuted. Having in my " Narrative " which accompanies the testimony, and to which I ask leave to direct your particular attention, entered at considerable length into the conduct and motives of Mr. Cooper in his opposition to me, I find few allegations in his epistle which have not already been answered. Those few I will dispatch with due brevity. The chief charge against me, upon which the whole of the late proceedings were based, that 1 had imposed on the Senate by forged representations of my integrity and fitness, and employed my sub- ordinate officers to fabricate these representations, is so absurd, as well as disgraceful, that I have been scarcely able to bring myself to think that I could condescend to deny it without dishonor, inas- much as to deny might seem, by implication, to admit the possibili- ty of its truth ! And yet 1 find it necessary, in my present position, to assure you that it is a most foul and infamous calumny, and that 1 solemnly believe there is not a single individual who is acquainted with me, however base he may be, not even Mr. Cooper nor Mr. Gibbons, that believes or ever did believe it to be true. Among the documents appended to my " Narrative," are copies of letters ad- dressed on my behalf to President Taylor by some of our most dis- tinguished citizens, and of memorials to the Senate asking my con- firmation, signed by nearly three hundred of the principal business firms of this city, comprising more than five hundred individuals, of the highest respectability, the originals of which are on file in the Treasury Department, and among the records of the Senate. The genuineness of these documents, for which I hold myself responsible, Mr. Cooper has not attempted to call in question. To suppose that a person thus honored with the spontaneous support of the largest and best portion of his own party, as well as of the whole communi- ty in which he resides, and has resided, engaged in private and pub- lic employments in the full view of his fellow-citizens, for more than a quarter of a century, would have had recourse to the shallow and unprincipled scheme for gaining strength in the Senate, where he was well known, to which Messrs. Cooper and Gibbons pretend to believe that 1 resorted, is indicative of a degree of weakness and depravity which, notwithstanding all that has occurred, I can scarce- ly ascribe to them. The attempt to impose upon you a belief so- foreign from the truth, which they do not themselves entertain, is in- dicative, if possible, of a still greater degree of imbecility and wick edness, to say nothing of the insult offered to the Senate by the sup- position that its members were so stolid as to have been made the dupes of such a miserable contrivance ! Mr. Cooper says, " In this matter I have taken no part beyond re- 75 presenting to your Excellency and the Secretary of the Treasury the wishes of the respectable gentlemen who have moved in the mat- ter, and who are my constituents." " These men," he adds, mean- ing those who signed the formal charges against me, prepared by Mr. Gibbons and brought by Mr. Cooper to your notice, viz: David Woelpper, Thomas Helm, J. W. Stokes, Matthias Myers, and J. D. Ninesteel, "are amongst the most respectable as well as inlluential " members of the community in which they reside, and in what they "have done were actuated by the purest motives. They were in- "fluenced by no selfish considerations ; no malignant spirit or un- " friendly feelings animated them. They did not even volunteer. "They were appointed by a large meeting of influential citizens, of " whom, in this matter, they are the mere representatives and organs. "They are not office-seekers for themselves or their friends, &c." I doubt whether a greater number of falsehoods than are contain- ed in the above paragraph were ever compressed in so small a num- ber of words. Mr. Cooper, so far from having " taken no part in this matter " other than he has stated, which matter w^as neither more nor less than the effort to destroy me, strove assiduously, with his whole official influence, from the day I was nominated to the Senate till the day I was confirmed, to defeat my confirmation. And, notwithstanding his signal failure to accomplish that result, he has still busied himself in laboring against me, using the most dis- creditable means to vilify my character, in the hope thereby to de- prive me of office. Yet this person has the hardihood to say that he has taken no part in this matter, other than to bring to your notice charges which he had previously brought before the Senate, and which, in spite of all his efforts to sustain them, had been scouted by that body ! The signers of the paper he submitted to you are well enough in their sphere of life, though by no means "amongst the most respec- table as well as influential citizens in the community in W'hich they reside." Some of them, I presume, lent their names on this occa- sion to oblige Mr. Cooper and Mr. Gibbons, by whom they were doubtless made to believe that, if they would do so, witnesses would be procured to swear to the truth of the charges against me. The converse of all the other allegations just quoted is the truth. One of the signers, in fact, held office under me on a temporary appoint- ment for a short time, and attempted, by threats, to coerce me to keep him permanently, after he had already been kept perhaps lon- ger than in strictness he should have been ; he subsequently swore that more than half the time he received pay he was entirely idle, and yet he wished me to continue to pay him for services which he did not render, and would, doubtless, have lauded me as a most meritorious officer, if I had been willing to defraud the government and put its money into his pocket ! So much for the purity and disinterestedness of these nominal prosecutors ! Then, as to their being " the mere organs of a large meeting of 76 influential citizens ;" on reference to Mr. Brady's testimony in the Dunlevy Commission, you will perceive that this meeting, held in an upper room of one of our small public houses, was called by Bra- dy himself, by means of printed notices prepared by said Brady and signed by him with the names of some six or seven persons, without their authority! There is one thing, however. In Mr, Cooper's letter not yet ad- verted to, which I must not pass over without notice. It is the fact of a Senator sending to the Executive head of the government, in support of his own slanders against a fellow-citizen holding an office of trust and honor, a copy of an anonymous letter endorsing those slanders, and even adding to them others equally unfounded and base j the Senator stating, as his reason for so doing, that " the gen- tleman would probably be disobliged by giving his name." Was there ever anything so monstrous \ We are fallen on evil times in- deed, when a Senator of the United States can become a party to such a proceeding as this ! I sincerely regret the necessity 1 have felt myself under of tres- passing so much upon the valuable time of the head of this great nation in a matter which may be deemed in one sense purely per- sonal. In another, however, the case assumes a graver aspect. Not individual, only, but national honor is involved in the issue. The integrity of an officer holding an important commission under you is wantonly and unjustly assailed by a member of a co-ordinate branch of the Executive government, representing in part the so- vereignty of one of the greatest of the States. But the officer as- sailed is a citizen of the same State, and claims under our constitu- tion equal rights with the highest. Under that blessed instrument the innocent, however weak, is shielded from oppression, and can- not be stricken down unjustly by the hand of power ; but he may be shamefully wronged, and find no adequate redress. Such has been my case. Without having been guilty of any other offence than resisting the undue encroachment of Mr. Cooper upon my of- ficial prerogatives, I have been, for nearly two years, the object of his incessant and malignant hostility. He has made himself the ral- lying point of all the disaffected on whom I did not bestow office ; has propagated, and in some Instances invented, the most disparag- ing calumnies, and even accused me of the basest crimes, with- out the shadow of proof to sustain his accusations. However often he is defeated and disgraced in his endeavors, by such unwor- thy means, to compass my ruin, after every discomfiture he renews the assault, in some other form, with fresh zeal, so that but for a clear conscience, and a robust constitution accustomed to great endur- ance of labor, the time required to guard and defend my character would not have left sufficient at my disposal for the discharge of my official duties. 1 am far from complaining, sir, of the course taken by you in or- dering the recent investigation. On the contrary, I thank you for 77 having done so. But it was due to my own honor that 1 should make known the facts contained in this communication, and thus lay bare to your view the flagitious falsehoods concerning me, re- presented to you an truths by Senator Cooper and Mr. Gibbons, on which your action in instituting that investigation was based. The total failure of the testimony taken before Mr. Dunlevy to prove any of the charges against me will be manifest to you on its perusal. I trust you will find time at an early day to give it a tho- rough examination, so that your decision upon it may soon be made known. Feeling entire confidence that your unblemished honor and en- lightened judgment will guide you to a just conclusion, and in the entire absence of all fear of the result, 1 have the honor to be Your friend and fellow-citizen, WM. D. LEWIS, Collector of the Customs. (A.) Statement referred to in the foregoing Letter. Comparative Statement of the Legal Fees and Expenses of the Weighing De- partment of the Port of Philadelphia during the Years 1845, 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, and 1850. Expenses Total Ex- exclusive penses of Surplus YEARS. FEES. Salaries. of Salaries. Depart- ment. Fees. Dolls. Cts. Dolls. Cts. Dolls. Cts. Dolls. Cts. Dolls. Cts. 1845 9,726 26 8,600 00 663 91 9,263 91 462 35 1846 10,413 36 8,600 00 563 07 9,163 97 1,249 69 1847 15,052 43 8,600 00 2,651 49 11,251 49 3,800 94 1848 17,104 07 8,600 00 3,761 71 12,361 71 4,742 36 1849 18,553 44 8,600 00 4,738 30 13,338 30 5.215 14 1850 22,832 43 1 '8,860 00 6,047 54 14,907 54 7,924 89 * This year a permanent Messenger and Watchman was attached to the of- fice at $5 per week. By the above table it will be seen that the expenses have been in the years named, in the following proportion to the amount of fees earned, viz : Showing a reduction in the ratio of 1849, below the lowest of any previous year, of 38-100 of one per cent., and in 1850, of 6.97-100 per cent. 1845 percent. 95.25-100) 1846 « 88 74.75-100 72.27-100 71.89-100 I 65.30-100 j 1847 1848 1849 1850 NOTE. Not one of Mr. Gibbons' witnesses having given the slightest justification for the belief he has pretended to entertain, that the Collector had required his subordinates to append fictitious names to printed '■'■Circulars,'''' addressed to Whig Senators in favor of his confirmation, or had any knowledge of its being done ; and that the Surveyor had forwarded them to such Senators knowing the names to be fictitious, it may seem supererogatory to make any fur- ther allusion to those charges. Nevertheless, there are some circum- stances having a bearing on them, not yet referred to, which it may be well to notice before taking a final leave, as it is now proposed to do, of the whole subject. And, first, it is a remarkable fact that no proof whatever was offered by Mr. Gibbons, in the course of the investigation, to show that a Circular, subscribed with fictitious names, had been received by any Senator! Not one of them was traced either to the Custom House or to the Senate Chamber. It is also remarkable that of the vast numbers of such papers alleged by Mr. Brady to have been so signed, but six purporting to be such were produced, and that the only witnesses who swear to fictitious names having been signed, Brady and Zane, (both of whom had previously denied their having signed any names without authority) remember and identify certain of those fictitious names on the papers produced as having been written by themselves ; and this, notwithstanding their having, as they state, disguised their handwriting when they signed them ! To be sure, they say they had seen the papers in Mr. Gibbons' office before they were ex- hibited to them on their examination ! Where were they manu- factured 1 It is likewise a remarkable fact, and perhaps the most remarkable of all, that, although there were twenty-five Whig Senators in Con- gress, of the six papers exhibited by Mr. Gibbons, and which he said were the same papers that had been sent by Mr. Cooper for the purposes of the examination before the Mayor, two bear no ad- dress at all, while four of them were apparently addressed to the NOTE. same Senator, he being a member of the Committee on Commerce, which Committee, in spite of Mr. Cooper's efforts to make them believe in these frauds, reported unanimously in favor of the Col- lector's confirmation ! The forged papers may or may not have been sent to Senators. It has certainly not been proved that they were. It is not pretended that they were sent to more than one Senator, nor has it been proved that he received them. Wounded pride; pecuniary interest; anxiety to succeed in their unworthy schemes to gain personal advancement and political power ; the desire of revenge for deserved defeat ; all these mo- tives have united to influence the little minds that have been striving to break the Collector down. They have all failed, as must always fail of success, when honestly confronted, such ignoble passions the weapons of ignoble men ! A^^^nr\^n^^nf, mt^/s^va WMsm^ J^esaii; HYtfff^ --Wa :/^n^^^^ ^^,^'^' ' nA' te^^C^o^oroo^ ^r^A/^^r^kl/ fS.^f^^'^^hf .^.^^^.^^^^^%f^^^^ ^7^'^K^' "^•^'ft\^?^^-' '•/r^^ & A "ry ^ W^' ^tA^^ryr^^, ^^'^Aa. ^ :^, '- A. '^ '• 's^i^r^^^^^^ <,^>^^^^.^^^,r ■ ^/:^A;*. flf?X^»«^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 312 422 8