The New York Herald Newspaper, July 10, 1851, Page 6

THE MILITARY COURT MARTIAL. {UE DEFENCE OF GENERAL TALOOTR, dic., dhe., dite Wasuineton, July 7, 1951. ‘The Court Martial met to-day at one o'clock, for the purpose of hearing General Taleott’s defence. It was read by his counsel, J. M. Carlisle, Esq., and | know not whether it reflects more credit upon him for ite legal acumen, or its eloquent and pa thetio beauty. However it may read in print, cer- tain It is that whilst Mr. Carlisle was reading it to-day, there was more than one passage which suf- fused the eyes of the audience. After the defence had been put in, the doors were closed for the purpose of making up the opinion of the court, which it is supposed will be completed to-morrow. The following is the defence: — Ma. Presipgnt, anv GENTLEMEN OF THE CouRT: ‘This oceasion, I doubt not, is to you, as itis to mo, full of interest and solo ay f I feel the un- le value of an honorable name, so likewise . If have heretofore worn mine with an pride, so has each one of you. And though ve wpe agers — bosummoned now t to i possession, beens ita Mestioned, up. the hil! of life, the narrow table land which lies at its sam- and far downward in the path taat leads to the below, yet do I feel and kuow that this contest etirred in the breasts of my judges something of that earnestness which fills wy own. It is not enough that | bave been sustaiaed by the conscious- ness of my own rectitude; that | have for- |, from begiun with unshaken confi- dence, to the e of this investigation ; that I now count upon your justice to accord te me @ full and acquittal of the crarges laid inst are wounds which it is not in Le zs i Eni i me— there the power of human justice wholly to heal. | and who Suob a wound is this arraignment before my pee: and in the face of my country, to answer to charge of the detestable crime of wilful and de- liberate falsehood—a crime which poisons the very fountain of common houvesty. It is this whi eee ad to these charges their envenomed a: . Ibis totais point that I shall most earnestly address wyself in these remarks ; and if I shall fail to sustain myself, not merely #gainst the technieal specifications to which 1 am tv answer, but inst wll dvubt, and all s ion, then, indeed, will] have failed to attain the ob- > ae at this moment | desire above allearthly ings. not insensible to the gravity of the other cbarges preferred agairst me; but you will require no word of explanat: from me Ww make you com- prebend how insignificant they appear to me in comparizon with that which uot only imputes to me a military offence, but impeaches my personal honor a¢@ private gentleman. It is my purpose to examine them each, and to rely upon no merely technica; defence as to either. For the result of this trial, it would be sufficient for me to show that neither of these charges has been clearly and specifically establisned, by irresis- tible proof, beyond all reasonable doubt. Showi this much, and no wore, | should be entitle to an acquittal. But 1 desire that this paper, side by side with the accusations against m eball exhibit their complete refutation, not = was not either prior authori- juent hes a Ist. As to previous aut 5 ‘The specification seta out the contract, and the Can it be necessary to do more to collate these two written papers, and side side to compare them, in order to decide at once that, that order is no authority for that contract! No one can have read them without expect- img that if the making of that contract was to be ch: to some other or further au:hority would be proven, than what is contained in that letter. Even the Secretary of War, to whom a copy of it was communicated in my report of the 27th of January, did not so understand it. In his testimony on that point, he say:— «This ans (viz. the report of the 27th Janu- py of the order of the 6th of No- satisfactory, I ceased to ntil my attention aim after, by Mr. Green, agai! penlioning the shot being made at the works at Ri , When it occurred to me that possibly Col. Huger might be making shot under chat order of the 6th of November.” From this testimony of the Seoretary of War himself, two tl result, conclusively, viz :— First, That the Secretary of War, who, be it re- membered, had previously been informed on two distinct occasions, by Mr. mas (jreen, that “the Tredegar Works had a large contract for shot for the ‘War Department,”” and that “a large quantity of shot was making at the Teadegee Works, in Richmond, owned by Mr. J. R. Anderson; and that a considerable quantity was piled up inthe fe ard, or somewhere about the foundry”— his suspicions aroused, and bis mind | turned directly to the investi; of this very point, received from me and read an official copy of that letter, of the 6th of November, without ima- gining that it could b» counted as authority for the alleged contract, or could even tend to render it probable that the information he had received had any foundation whatever, until some time after- wards, when, with the aid of Mr. Taomas Green, | “it occurred to him that probably Col. Huger | might be making shot under that order.” d secondly, That whereas it is now charged t me that the authority assumed in thst or | der was usurped in violation of the regulations, be- cause not sanctioned by the The Secretary himself has here on oath, that my report communicating to him that 1 had issued such an order, and transacting the or- der word for word, and letter for letter, was by him considered ‘perfectly satisfactory,” and that he ‘ceased to think upon the subject.” How could this be, if he didnot understand, as I did, that I had the authority to issue that order? If any sanc- tion of his, previous or subsequent, express or im- plied, were necessary, has he not here on oath placed it upon your record, on the declaration that the rt communicating that order was “ perfect- a oe that he “‘ceased to think on | ubject ?” | Hear also what is said by Capt. Manadier, the principal assistant of the Bureau, and a witness for the ution, not on his cross-examination, but form only, but in substauce and spirit’; and to this end it is necessary that, even at the risk of being tedious, | should review in detail every act and declaration which has been arrayed against me, from the beginniog tu the end of the covered by the charges and specificati am not unconscious thut upon such # review possible that very diferent conclusions may be reached by different minds,th ugh ac:uated,perhaps, by the same desire to discover the truth. » therefore, upon the extraordinary in- b have been drawn, in a high quarter, comme ferences w! from circumstances, which. to say the least of them, _ are surely not irreconcileable with pure and inno- cent intentions, | shall be far from impuring any malicious or unfair m»tive to the mind which has colored them with the dark hues infamy and guilt. Iam aot now to learn for the first time, | that there is a disease which some’ though | rarely, infects the most honorable miuds, but usu- contact with baser spirits—a dwease of jaun- diced suspicion, which no svener is communicated | to its subject, than “ trifles tight as air” become | “confirmation strong as proof from holy writ.” You, sir, and gentlemen, will approwch this sub- ject, are, with n» such foregone conclusions. | You pproach it, rewembering that your in- | quiry is for the motive and intention of a man | whose life has not been spent in hules and corners, but who bas walked openly. and in the light of day, upon the same theatre which your own footsteps bave marked with such distinguished honors—e | man who, if he has in this transactions entered | the dark and tortuous pith of infamy, has, without | any imaginable metive, suddevly turned back y the object of his parsuit through , and | wo al in the merest wantoaness, a treagure | for which life would have been too small a | sacrifice. And here, better than elsewher invite your attention to that which cannot be | ted, and which, at the outset, pours flood of ight over the whole field ot investigation—I mean the total absence of the imputation, or fair sus- picion, of any motive for the commission of the offences which are charged am charged with violating the the Ordnance Kegulations, in approvio; allowi a i ion to whiel only is it not charged that I bad any interest, upon a state of facts, us you will see when I come to apply them to this question, utterly repugnant to irreconcileable with, any such interest. | am charged with wiltul disobedience of orders and | instructions from the Secretary of War, when upon i motive can | d for such dirobedience. And finally,! | dwith repeated falsehoods and false re- not only the same 1 absence of | rent, but when the veriest dolt on | ve seen that imminent inevitable de- right hand, and open motive is a earth mus: tection stood ready at b shame was staring him in the face Am | that mon- strous anomaly in human nature, so to act as to | outrage every well aud spriog of human action! oF are you not to try me as a man—to conduct, holding those great rules and # action as gong a to me as to yoursel manifest an le to be passed over does this great gap in the case appear to me, that [ can- not but suppore that those who formed these charges and who considered them worthy of your attention, | must have been helped across it by the unworthy wuspicions of rome of thow my 8 personages | | such purchases while in the hands of the learned and gallant Judge | Advocate. He says:—‘I always supposed, aad | frequently mentioned to Gen. Taleott, my urm be- | lief that Col. Huger had exceeded his instructions | in giving the order to Dr. conduct in Ppa, bays order was to me totally inex- plicable;” this when he was familiar with every | wordin the order of the 6th of November Need armichael; and that his | more be said or recapitulated, to show that the Io my | contract, ifany contract was made, was not in pur- suance of the letter of the 6th of November; and that that letter, according to its fair and natural import, was, in the judgment of tho Secretary of War himself, clea: ly thin my official competency, and “‘perfectly satisfactory” to him? The ion the mains, was that order the | na en rel , Was order the 0 ygiven by me to Col. Huger? Let him answer it himself. I put the question to him roundly and distinesly, ‘Had you any farther or other authority from Gen. Talcott in reference to pred pees of shot or shells, than the order of the 6th of November recited in the charge?” His answer is simply and distinctly ‘‘no.” Not only is this testumony entitled to be received as conclusive, on account of the character standing of the witness, his position here asa wit- ness for the prosecution, and the powerful induce- ments, if it were possible for him to swerve from the | truth, all operating to draw from him in the | strongest terms, his own justification for the order } given by him; but there is ne cle of evidence | upon the record Fiving you the slightest ground | for depriving it of one atom of its controlling and overwhelming weight upon this part of the case. When | inquired ofhim in an unofficial letter, “ Do you want any shot or shells for Fort Monr: 80, what quantity and calibre !”—his reply of the 5th giving me no information to enable me to cause to be made, as I had sup- osed might be required, my letter of t | | | pth of November was written; departing in no degree from the idea which I originally enter- tained, that purchases to ved extent might be neceseary—not expressly or impliedly borizing or contemplating the com, art ent of the fort, or large supplies, or anything lik bu: plain- y and clearly, in as — wor uage ‘ords, limiting his authority to procuring them, | from time to time, to a reasonable extent, if they could be had on favorable terms, and by open pur- | chase only. This, my sole authority to Colonel | | Huger, was read and considered by the Secretary of War, under the peculiar circumstances alread, verted to, and was regarded by him as “perfectly satisfactory.” It is not to be imputed to Ein that he did not know his duty; that he was not acquaint- ed with the limits of his own powers and of mine. And if that order contained anything more than | had the clear right todo, it is impossible that it could have been “perfectly satisfactory” to him, or that he should have ‘ceased to think” upoa a | subject which had brought offi sially and directly to bis notice the usurpation of power, and the viola- tion of law, by the head of one of the bureaux of | the jepartment confided to his >. It saything further were needed on this point, it is to be fow in the order issued by the Secretary. nearly three wonths after my letter of the 6th of November, which directs that the heads of bureaux of the de- partment should rot thereafter “make or authorize any contracts for supplies, or for arms and muni- tions of war, to be purchased, or for services to be | performed, to an amount exceeding two thousand | al “aot connected in any manner with the depart- ment” who, it would apprar by the testimony of the Hon. Secretary. have stood ready a dur- ing the progress of my trial to make suggestions to him that other facts existed than that which bis vigilence bad suspected, avd these facts were of importance to be searched for and I refer particulary to the letter ot Col Hager, discovered mm ite regular place amuog the * he De part ment, upon the suggestion any manner connected with the departm proceed now to an examitstion of the chai +yecifications in detail : " “Charge 1.—Violation of the 132 article of the regulations for the government of the Ordnance | epertment.” pen this charge I remark, first, that it alleges that] have viola‘ed an article which expre sly. and by its terms, purports to regulate the condact of in | ' od | | Mcers and agents of the Orduanece De partment, im | ferior to the chief of that department; and which, | neither by its terms, nor by any fair implieation, jays apy injunction upon ihe chief of the depart ment, or prescribes any rule for hie conduct. If thie be 20, it will require no arguwent to show that it ia not legally or logically possible that Lean be guilty of a violation of that article, upon any state of facts whatever A man cannot violate a law which does not prescribe a rule of conduet for bim; for, as to him, it is nolaw. The language of the a:ticle is as followe— « No contract for the service of the Ordnance De- | rortunent shall be made by any offieer or agent ‘hereof, except by special authority from the chief { the Ordnance Department, sanctioned by the vntracta shall strictly obrerve the provisions of the avs on that subject. (“ce Appendix No. 2.) ntracie shall be made in triplieste, one of which sall be forwarded co the Chief of the Ordnance | epartment, at the date of the contract, that it any be depaited in the offiee of the Second Comp- | troller, within sinety days thereafter, as the law directs.” The question is, to whom is the command ad- dremed? The persons to whom it is are directed, before making any contract, to obtein my epe tial authority. Can |,inen, be one of thore cons! Not unless this abeurd construction be given to the article, that before making a contract I shall Cake care to get my own «pecial authority to dy so! The to waom it is addressed are eommand- ed toforward one copy of the contractto me. Can ‘ myself, then, be one of thore persons? Not unless the regulation has cooferred upon me the daty of inventhy some mode by which | cau “forward” one copy of the contract to myself ' TF tseretore, Thad made a contract, and if the making of that contract was unauthorized and im- proper, surely nothing can be clearer than that my offence, if any, it not a violation of the 132d article, and consequently that | am not guilty of the first it Pete in fact and inlaw, I made no contract. Not only did | make no contract in the sense and with- in the terms of article, but | mede no contract in law or in fact, in any case whatever, general or special. Nor, indeed, does the specification under this charge impute to me that | made a contract: tary of War; and all officers or agents making | collars, withoat previously submitting such con- | tracts or propositions to the Secretary of War” — on order which was perfectly nugatory and un- meaning, unless, indeed, such previous sanction had | not been required theretofore in procuring sv to on amount excecding two thousand dollars. Secretary rays that he was informed (and, it is to be presumed, through the proper official channels,) that it bad been the practice of the Ordnance Bureau not to require such previous sanction in cases ex- ceeding two thousand dol The 132d Kegala- tion iteelf, if by a vielent construction it can be held applicable to the Chief of the Bureau, does not ex- press whether the sanction is to be previous or sequent. If, therefore, such was a proctical construction of the article, tacitly approved, and a sufficient justification of aa act done n accordance with it Nor was there any subsequent approval by me of the order given to Dr. Carmichael. { shall have ion presently to review my conduct in this res- vect, with reference to the last charge; at present Tcontent myrelf with saying tbat no such approval bos been proven. Cn the contrary, Col. Huger, who alot’ could prove it, and had every motive to do so i bad taken place, has testified that I expressed my curprire at the amount of the order he had given, when it was firet made known to me, and when, a I shall demonstrate at the same moment, all the necessary steps were taken to make that order, or purchase, or contract, or by whatsoever t name it may be described, as completely i null and void, as if it bad never for one moment existed. And when, afterwards, he ix preased by the Judge Advocate on this point, and hit attention called directly to the same period by the following ques tion © Question—You say, on the cross-examinati on, and in answer to the question next before the last, pplies | The | that you had no further authority from Gen. Tal- cott, in reference to the procuring chet and shells, than the order of the 6th November. Do you mean that you received no jority from him per- sonally bere, in November, 14)” —he answe “None whatever; unless his ap proval of my letters to Anderson by Capt. Stone, and mine to Kemble, be considered as such, which 1 do not.” ‘There was, then, neither prior authority for, nor subscquent approval of, the order to Carmichacl a out in the speci! he wear the race as he dier —the per were be proven virtually abendoned and renounced this o! Secret of War testified before you | | a just _ which depend upon conversations between two per- | Kemble, I knew nothing o practice did exist, it | possible order, with which the precise connected, to refer the disebodiense to a gener: regulation, made lang after tha order of the 6th of November, which then been two months be- fore submitted to him. But I aver that there was not! said or done wae Seoretary at the interview with Dr. Carmi- chael, in November, which implied, or could lead me to imagine, that hv mesat to forbid the making of any purchases, or of any supplies from that . The matter before him gave no ooca- sion for the expression of his wishes on that subject. It was a distinct, specific application by Dr. Car- michael, for a contract in redemption of the pledge which he alleged he had received, and I aver that I heard nothing of any other application, or any other precension by Dr. Carmichael, treated of or decided by the Secreta: His decision was, that there had been no recognition of this pledge, and that he would not recognise it. I certainly so un- derstood it, and eo referred to it, as he himself has testified, when next I met him. ” But, in order that there nit be no doubt upen the subject, I put the question distinctly, whether other applica- tion than the one specified was fact made !—to which he gave no other answer than by rec spitula- ting the arguments and persuasive suggestions =a by Dr. Carmichael, in support of his preten- sions; and when asked if he had ever told Dr. Carmichael, in my presence, that the department was not in want of any shot, he could only give his impressions, qualified the declaration that he ‘would not be positive.” s: Is this the evidence upon which an officer is to bo convicted of “wilful disobedience of orders and in- weet. to the remaining chat ‘ge 111.—I pass now to the remaining char, The first specification has been fully answo: what bas been already said. So, likewise, has the second, except as to the allegation that I knew that Dr. Carmichael was “not in a capacity to ex- ecute the said contract, otherwise than through a sale or consignment.” To this ‘allegation it isa sufficient answer, that no yp of proof has beam, oRhat fo mata its Bat, on the contrary, my conduct in refusing to recognise the transfer pe Brod it. If lam not deluded in my firm confidence that I am to be tried, here at least, not by suspicions, but by proofs, it is waste of time to say more. The third specification presents, in a solid body, the whole array of fulsehoods and deceptions | charged agent, me; and the fourth, fifth, sixth while they have the ap; nce of re- re but reproductions of the same ar- | ray, in several detachments. I shall treat them together. There is still anocher of these black and hateful offences, not indeed specifically laid in the shorges, bot awa for Fs Cyr a! per- lorming \ see ry office of me to ou, at the threshhold of this transaction, under a cloud of guilt; not speaking, but in silence uttering a lie, and by my presence maintaining the unfo' pretensions of another. I allude to the circumstances, detailed by the Hon. Secretary, touching my introduction of Dr. Carmichael to him, about the end of October or beginning of November; a detail which I think you must have hesrd, without imagining that any human bein, could see more in it than eommon courtesy an official duty combined, until the further testimony | - the yengee eens. to you indeed | thought, ‘’Twas strange, twas passing strange, ay wonderful!” That it really and tealy made upon his mind the impression he has communi- cated to you, no one can doubt; but that it can similarly affect any mind not in some mode pre- red to think the worst of me, J cannot apprehend. it the chief of a bureau could not venture to accede to the request of a person whose social posi- tion itself entitled him te it, to introduce him to the Secretary, in order that he might ra claim (against which the bureau had al ay record,) without incurring the obligation to inter- rupt the conversation between them by flat denials { = the apenmaye te the claimant, at the risk of | having his own ity suspected, certainly nev occurred to me; still less that such suspicion could arise when, as the Secretary himself has stated, I held the papers, and all the hand before bim, in such manner as naturally to lead bim to ask at the Broper moment, ‘‘ General, are these oe perere v Nor can I suppose it to be material whether I instantly sprang to my feet and tendered the papers to him, or whether, that ques- tion being answered in theaffirmative, he requested me to hand them to him. This covduct, however, the honorable Secretary has again and again re- ted and reiterated, he thought “singular” and prising” conduct, for which “he could not account.” And being asked by a member of the court whether there was anything in the circum. stances authorizing him to ay that I would not have expressed my opinion e had not himself reached the same conclusion upon a perusal of t! papers, he answered not by specifying any such cumstance, nor by expressly admitting that no such circumstance existed, but as follows :— “The reason why my surprise at General Tal- cott’ ence, when lr. Carmichael asserted that there had been a written recognition ofthe contract by Mr. Crawford, was increased by his remarking, the next day, or « day or two afterward, that t iy ‘alcott might have agreed with Dr. in supposing that the letter of Mr. antes te . recognition; but when General Carmick recognition, my surprise at his silence increased, because | did not know how to account for i:.” From this it would seem, either that the Secretary regarded that paper as really susceptible of two constructions, or that he was vacillating between bed two opinions, that I was either a knave ora fool. If I have seemed to dwell too long upon this point, 1 beg the court remember, that in order to decision upon the remaining accusations, sons, one of whom is the witness, and the other the accused, whose statement is no evidence, it is | of the first importance that you should, as far as possible, enter into the minds of the parties re- epectively, and discover with what pre-ocoupations, and upon what foregone conclusions, they severally spoke. The question is not what words were ut- tered, but with what intent and meaning they were uttered. Without enlarging upon this suggestion, I proceed now to shew wha: ideas occupied my | own mind on the various occasions referred to in these specifications, as to which | remark, in passin & that if | have correctly noted the testimony it fails short, by one, of the number of conversations alleged. itis abundantly clear uj the date of my letter to November, up to the recei the record, that, from Solonel_ Huger, of 6th of rt of the letter from Mr. the order given w Dr. Carmichael, nor had | any reason to imagine that any such order had been given. That upon the receipt of that letter, | referred it to Colonel Hager, then in Washington on special duty, with directions to reply to it, as | knew nothing of the facts to which it related. That be then f:+t communicated | to me what he had done upon the supposed autho- | rity of my order. ‘That |“ expressed my surprise” at what be baddone. That I als, in reference to the offer of the order for sale, told him that “the Secretary of War would be incense 1, and justly so, if an order fo: ies should be hawked about in the market.” ‘That I refused my assent to any | transfer of it. ‘That he accordingly repudiated the propored transfer to Mr. Kemble, and the subse- quent tranefer to Mr. Anderson, all of which oc- curred within twenty days from the date of the letter to Colonel Huger, and promptly after | was informed of what be bad done under it. It wae now clear that Lr. Carmichacl's represen- tatiens to Colonel Lluger were unfounded, andeou!d not be fulfilled by him; and that in bis own hands the order, if it ever had validity, was null and void, From the date of his assignment to Mr. Anderson. certainly he bad no shadow of right to claim the | execution of the order so indiscreetly given to him, even if, at any time, that order constituted a oon- tract, or impoeed any binding obligation upon the department. Jt was equally clear and indisputable that, by the express terms of the regulation No. 133, if any rights whatever had vested in him as a con- tractor, they eould not “ be transferred to any other person or persons,” under any circumstances what- ever. Was there, then, any contract outstanding for shot for the Ordnance Department? Who, except Mr. | Anderson, affirms that there was? Does the prose- cutios, now that the whole case is known, assert or | admit that therewas! Does the Secretary of War | assert or admit thatthere wast Ifhe joes, by what right, moral or legal, does he, when made aequaint- contract! As] asserted, when in entire !gnorance of the fast that any shot had beon made, or any attempt to induce Col. Huger to recede from the position which he bad taken under my directions, #0 I now assert and maintain, that no such contract existed. Not only was there never any contract, in thegense of the Ordnance Negulations, or in any strict legal renee, but the particular tempted by Col. Huger, in imisaj terme of my authorization of the 6th of November, | bad, fortunately, entirely failed, #0 as to leave no pretence whatever of any obligation iven to Dr. Carmichael. it remembered, was brought to with the first infor- improviden uy of things, nowle simult order. Am 1 wrong in these conclusions, or either of them? | timong as (o the usage of the department, the inoj- decided of | rs, neces- | sary to show the whole truth of ge toons my | he srid be agreed with me, that there was no such | aking at | in the fea, | to be imagined that the Secretary of War could was right, was, that I had supposed it possible that | ed with all the facts, prevent the execution of that at ion of the | the go- | vernment to accept a performance of the order so | | And this | in — He ation of the fact that Col. Huger had given that | presenting that riow You have before you, in the shape of tes | the party giving the order; fo: ration for it, and it is revocable at any time. This is not the tribunal or the occasion to enlarge froint, nor is it necessary to do more than pase Certainly there can be no upon point that an order to Dr. Carmichael, given with the distinct agreement as. it should sunnied. ata cortein yey and under # specified su; tendence, the freight from that certain for ons calculated and turned into the price, cor not be binding, in morals or in law, when transferred to another person, to be executed at another foundry, and under different superintendence; above all, w! as appears in the case from the statement of Cay one, who, at the request of Col. Huger, arranged the details with Dr. Carmichael, portionlee attention was at that very time called to that, and shells received from the very bagi | to which the order was aftor- rds assij the fact that they were not ricated satis! rily, remarked upon by Capt. Stone. This last fact, though unknown to me at the time, is material as to the fundamental assump- tion which lies at the bottom of all these specifica- tions, viz: that there was, in truth, an outstanding contract the existence of which I know and de- nied. Nor can it be questioned that, if Col. Huger’s order, in the first instance, constituted a contract, neither the proprietor of the Tredegar works nor any other on could acquire any rights whatso- ever by a transfer or assignment of it, by whatso- ever contrivance or indirection the form of an as- t be evaded. Col. Huger, in his | position before the Secretary of War, here given in evidence by the ution, states this point clearly and correctly:— Witness di- yeoten ( ‘apt. Stone to return the power of attorne; to Mr. Anderson, and inform him that he considered _ the power of at as in substance an eee ment of the order; that Mr. Carmichael no | right to make such a transfer; and that he (witness) would not recognise it.” An attempt has been made to show, sbpparently, that si evasion is countenanced admitted at the T: pon this I have no further commentary to make, | than to say, that if such is the practice, it is in yio- ‘the law, in letter and spirit; and is a | strange commentary wpoe the gravamen of one of these specifications, which cS, as @ disgraceful offence, that ie gab 80 was “ exposed to the discredit arising from the sale of a public contract”—an offence which, it would then seem, the government encourages and protects. is, then, was the state of things, as made known tome in the month of Novembor, simultaneously | with my first information of Col. Huger’s miscon- struction of the termsof my letter. His order had become, to all intents and purposes to affect the de- rtment, a mere dead letter. I had no reason to lieve or imagine that enything could be done or would be attempted underit. Being ontirely satis- fied that Col. Huger had acted, as has always | done, with the purest and best intentions, and with | & view to the publicservice according to his judg- ment; and that his mere error of judgment had re- sulted and could result in no injury to the govern- ment, it required a new quality to bo infused into my nature before I cor for a moment think of gratuitously involving him in any difficulty. Not only bad J no reason to suppose that an g had been done under the Carmichael order, but so late as the end of December I had the most satisfacto: positive evidence that nothing had been done. refer to the co1 dence between Mr. Anderson and Capt. Ma: ier, in which Mr. Anderson com- plains that Col |. Huger will not allow him to exe- cute the order, in Wires if Col. Huger has any per- sonal objection to him (Anderson), and states the circumstances and reasons which he supposed made such refusal inequitable. It must have been shortly after this, certainly be- fore I had any reason to believe that the condition of things had at all changed, that the Secretary made his first inquiry of me. In his testimony, he does not state explicitly what that inquiry was, or in what language it was expressed; though this is material in order to understand the answer, and ascertain whether it was true and tothe point. But it may be inferred from what he says, viz he had been ‘informed that the Tredegar works had a large contract for shot for the War Depart- ment.” "Anat he sent for me, and informed me of it. That I said ‘it was a mistake; that no con- tract existed for shot, and that none was making at Richmond for the department.” I believe I have quoted his precise words. having access to the record, I take them from the notes of counsel. In his written statement of the 6th May, addressed to me, also inevidence, he states my answer simpl thus:—* You told me it was an error ; that no sucl contract existed.” Whether upon this occasion, or upon any of the subsequent occasions, I used lan- ua | rting that, in point of fact, there were n> poe the Fredegar Works, no shot piled or shipped thence to Fort Monroe, eapnot be at ‘all material; for such language could only have been uttered, and could only have beea Sallecssesd, as denying that any shot were making, or made, or shipped, under a contract with, or by authority of, the Ordnance Department. It is not bly have understood me as pere mptorily deny- » bere in Washington, the existence of facts ed to be occurring in Richmond. All that I \d deny, and all that it was reasonable in him to inquire of me, was, that no such facts existed by, or under the authority of, the Ordnance Department. To have undertaken to go further than this, and positively to contradict physical facts, alleged to be occurring more than one hundred miles beyond my range of vision, would have been to offend his coi mon fense, and to have renounced my own; so ¢ Secretary having manifestly understood it, for, upon Mr. Thomas Green's second report to him, he renews the investigation in writing, as it now ap- ars, though | bad no intimation, at the time, that is purpose was other than a general one; and the corres, nee between the department and the bureau, comprised in the six Papers on your record, of dates from the 2Ist to the 27th of cluding @ copy of the order to Col. Huger, spe: tor itcit and shows that the inquiry was simply as to existing contracts and charges upon the ordnance appropriations. It cannot escape your notice, as it has painfully forced iteelf upon my own, that the course pursued by the Secretary, upon this second occasion, indicates too clearly that, from some source or other, his mind had been so abused as to my character, that he thought it necessary to approach me with generalities, | in order to get at the truth; but I cannot abandon the expectation that, uponfa review of the whole case, he, too, will see that he has, unintentionally, done me the greatest injustice. You have now the | key to all the specifications imputing falsehood to me. Inthe mind of the Secretary was one thing, in mine another. If, in these repeated arraignments of me, I manifested, ashe has said, some impatience and heat, it was because { understood him to be again and ngain renewing an inquiry which I bad | already fully and truly answered, and ia regard to | 1D, all co Which, no single new fact, or reason to believe a | > fact, bad come! to my knowledge, from the date of my firet answer to the date of my declaration, that there was not a word of truth in Mr. Green's letter. Down to the date of my interview with Mr. Ander- sop, who happened to be in Washington, when that letter was referred to me, 1 never imagined that any act or word ,of Colonel Huger bad, in any de- gree, varied the condition of things in (November, to wit:—Dr. Carmichael himself tailing to comply with, and finally renouncing and consigaing to other bande, the improvident order which had been iven, and that transfer repudiated and finally re- fected, and no contract or pretence for a contract i Nor do | mean to say that what had oo- nd was unkoown to me, did in fact var, the condition of things. It is not pretended that knew any of these facts. The only circumstance which appears to have been relied oa as bearing upon this point is, that Captain Chatecow mention- to me, casually, that Colovel Huger bad requested him to send to Mr. Anderson a couple of guages; and enid he supposed there was no objection to send. ing them, to which I answered, “ 1 sup; not” but be bimeelf bas testified that there #as nothing either in Colonel Huger’s request, or in what he said to me, inconsistent with the idea that they were required to make a few shot for experiments, and that he believed at the time that such was the object. | bad no reason to believe, ani did not believe, that it had any reference to the execution of the order, the transfer of which had been dix tinetly and officially re ted. My letter to Col. Huger remained, as had stated, in force to authorise the procuring of shot and shells for actice and experiments—and to no other effect, as was now fully advised of the mistake he had | made, hnowing it to be available for this object | ae | stated to the Secretary of War when ked whether Col. Huger might not be making | ot under that order, | supposed the request for the gauges to relate to some purchase of that sort, — and to nothing elre. J polemnly aver that I understood the sabsequent | oral interrogations of the Secretary, as | did the et, from the beginning to the end, as calling upoa to answer to a single point, to wit: the legation that there some contract, or ar- rangement, which the Tredegar Works, with my knowledge and authority, were engaged a large quantity of shot for the depart- fully sustains me in this upon his Inst cross examination, when, in answer to a question of the ter to him, he an- | ewers that, in the inquiries which he made, he took it for granted that the shot could not be making and authority. If this was + Grmly rooted in his mind, can you doubt the aw | ment | still believe, that if I have fallen into any orror, it | justice, without respect to | Pw Ta A pale i must positively stul mi ] in an evil hour, a double curse suddenly desve on me—the loss of common honesty and common intellect. Not only must [, without motive, have become a liar, but I must have uttered falsehood while Truth stood over me, scourge in hand. Could 1 know that Mr. Anderson, relying on acts and let- ters of Col. Huger, was cogaged in executing an order drawing largely upon means, and claim- the rights of a contractor, and yet dream that his mouth was to be closed, and hia powerful mo- tive of interest be stilled, by my simple denial that such things existed? Can you impute to me such a wretched idiot’s plot asthis? Must not a fool have seen that that ‘devil that will not down”— interest, the interest of a contractor whose invest- ment, as well as his expected profits, were at stake — would tear off the flimsy veil with which I had co- vered myzelf, and leave me naked and oqweriag’b foro the world? Is it credible that I should have uttered falsehood after falsehood, while I held the figure of Mr. Anderson already advancing upon me, armed with bills, and esti- mates, and feaeee, and letters, and pointing tri- umphantly from these to a pyramid of shot at Fort Monroe, to demand his money—and yet not make one step towards him—one faltering effort to stay the blow so sure to follow? And ret not a word or eps ~ him, My jim - me ever on this subject, until he answered, in person, my note of “April, when directed to report on Mr. omas Cireene’s letter ; for, although warned that nothing would be valid without my consent, he made no approach to me, but doubtless ‘took it for granted” that as no fair construction of my let- ter could authorise, so no approval by me could ratify, the order or its oe aap Mr. ident and Gentlemen :—I have, perhaps, dover many things worthy of commentary; ut this paper is already exten: to an unreason- able length, and I feel satisfied that I have said all that is necessary for my defence. Reviewing wy conduct now, from the humiliating position in which I have been placed, 1 cannot but is one which sprang from a kind tive. I submit my cause to you with entire confidence. Even if this were a contest in which either the dis- tinguished psnetontee or myself must fall, I should not doubt that you would administer even- it Lacoagy But this is no auch cave. Now that all the facts have been thoroughly ascertained, [ trust that you aro satia- fied that so far as any statement mi by mo was understood to import more than the truth justifies, it was simply the result of misapprehension on one side or the other. To you, sir, and the gentlemen of the court, I beg to return my thanks for your jent attention during the trial; and to the Ju Advocate m acknowledgments of the courtesy and candor wit which he grr a his = igned) Brevet Brig. Gen’! and Col. J. M. Caguisix, 1. THE MORMON TROUBLES IN MICHIGAN. ‘Trial of James J. Strang, the Mormon King, for obstrueting the United States Mail, (From the Detroit Advertiser, July 4.) Eri J. Moore, called and sworn—: x he has lived on Beaver island, in the State of Michigan. ‘Went to Beaver island in June, 1846. | know the defendants, all of them. I left Mackinaw on the lith of February, and arrived at Garden island on Thursday night, about 9 o'clock. I went from Mackinaw, having the mail in my possession; went to St. Helena and met Goold; gave him the mail to wary. back ; we arrived at Garden island on Th night, Goold, myself, Denemy, Matthew and Gilday. We staid at Garden island on Thurs- day night; Friday morning Goold took the mail and started for Garden island. Mr. Goold came over on Friday evening, bringing Mrs. Moore; on Sunday he started back to Beaver island ; he came back to Garden island on Monday, henging the mail. [t was pat up in @ canvass b: carried on the train; it was brought to Gar island with three 3. ‘Ti Mr. Gool and generous mo- The next morning being Tuesday, took four dogs and put the mail into the sled, and Mrs. Moore got onthe train, and we started from there to Mackinaw. We got about half a mile, the sun was rising. We then proceeded towards Mackinaw, going from Garden island to Hog island ; between the two islands we saw several | pond Sollgying us. We supposed them to be lormons. We hurried ona run, got down as far as Hog island; saw two Indians coming towards us ging their hats. I told Le Blanc to stop until they came up, saw what they wanted. We stopped the train until those Indians came up. After those indians came up, and after talking a few min- utes, we returned back towards Garden island, and met twe or three Indians, and three or four white persons—Gilday, Henry Larraway, Jack O'Donnell and Richard Cooper. We had some conversation with them, and went on towards Garden island, near the where we started from. As we arrived a short from where we started from in the morning, returned back in consequence of the information received from these persons, who were sent out by Mr. ee We saw some fifteen or twenty Mormons. ‘I'he information we had received was connected with the Mormons. In passing around that point we saw these persons marching out in single file, near from where the Indian village was; as quick as they saw us, they came to a halt and front face. Mr. Goold spoke to me, and I turned and ran back towards where the Indians aud those men who had brought them the information we: While | was running towards 1 saw a num ber of these Mormons chasing did not at that time see any of t cept those who were chasing me. and the men that I bave mentioned. to them, and told them that the Mormons were after the mail. Ran up and met these persons and had some conversation. I did not see anything of the dog train from the time | turned to run, until 1 had completed the distance. There were some twelve or fifteen. After we stopped, the Mormoi stopped. Deane, the chief, went to the Mormons. Then, after ayia * few minutes, they started off in single file; after that the other Mormons, some five, six, or cight, andnear the Indian village they went off towar Beaver island. Aftor thoy | went home, we went to the Indian village. Never saw the mail after we left the train. Mr Dorey was with the mail train. I was one of the three who had the custody of the United States mail. Remained there until April. 1 went to Mackinaw in a small bo: Went to Beaver island about the Ist of April last, where I have resided since. No since my return, has been served on me, there because I could not get away from them; because those persons who are here hin- dered us from going. Found no difficulty on the | ice. Had these transactions, which | have spoken of, not occurred, we should have gone in aud de- | livered the mail. | had been mmber of the | eburch of Latter Day Saints, of James, previous to this time; had taken the covenant; according to my beet itnpression, Joseph Ketchum, John Brown, | F. Page, Asa D. Field, and Seymour Pago, were | there. The king was not the 1 have heard | rang, speaking about the mail, say he would | tuke measures to get the control of the m no letters should be received there and di until he should know the contents. Neith be sent until the cont was anything said ag: kingdom. rd the most of them say that the laws of the United Staes had no control there. | Stra told me that the laws of the /pited nd of this State, should not be ‘4 forbade my issuing any papers wople. It was after 1 had issued a process against Linnell. 1 heard lost, Kice, Hrown, hetchum, the two Pages, Orrin Hill, and John Ilill, say that they did not hold themselves in allegiance to the United States government or ‘tate laws, and would not be controlied by them; ey declared their obedience to the laws of the kingdom of Strang | did observe a weaponinthe | hand of one of these men, like the one here, but longer than that one. I think that is the weapon! saw there--cannot say in whose hands I sawit. I arrived at Mackinac on Thursday evening. Mr. Austin left me at St. Helena. Le Blane, Denemy, and Gilday, went with us to Garden island. 1 bad a sled. 1 employed them to carry my beggnae i Blanc, Gilday, aod Wm. A. Denety. Teinployed them at St: Holena to carry my baggage, including the mail, to Beavor island, and to bring back my wife and baggage, id whatevor else | should have, to Mackinac. ‘They left Garden island Friday morning for Beaver island. I did not accompany them. iy wife was on Beaver Island at that time. I didnot go to Beaver island because | had been threatened my life by Strang and his privy council. The mail errived at Garden island on Monday, in the cus- tody of Le Blane and Dorey. When we frst saw | them moving towards us they were some forty or fifty ros off; saw the motions to front face. It was some twenty minutes after we left the land, and t upon the ice, when | saw the Mormous. Le Siane spoke to me when | left the train; he told me to go back to where the Indians were, and tell them the Mormons were there—that they would hill us and, requesting their assistance. Le Blanc handed to me a gun. When | left the train Ls Biane and Dorey were with the train, and Mrs. Moore. Thove whom I first met were some cight or ten ; afterwards all the indians came up. When information was given to Dorey, Le Blane and my- self, | understood part of what they said; | um stood the principal part of what was said by the In- dians. They were in le file—heard no command given--saw them front face about fifteen or twenty ods; they pointed towards us. | saw something in their bands ; I saw nothing but the cane produc here; the perton who carried the weapon seomed | | testimony :—1 believe in James to be the commanding officer; he carried it in hi hands. I eaw some five er six ns coming out of the wood; should think they were the same a8 those who followed us. Le Bland carried the mail from Garden island to Beaver island. Saw Graham at Mackinac when he was in custody of the Sheriffof Mackinaw, in a8 Hada conversation with him (Grabam) at Mackinac. They made no attempt on my life; but I heard threats. Samuel Graham administered the covenant te me. The conversa- tion between Strang and myself was in July or August, between the printing office and my house. No person present mens myself. Cannot s; time or @ when these remarks were made. Strang said this in front of my house, about the time I had issued a warrant for nel. Cannot identify time or place. As to the declaration of the other defe ts, one Kauffman had some things which had been,stolen; he came and made a complaint, and | issued a warrant pasa Hiram Linnell. It was stolen from me, with all the rest of my papers, by one James J. Strang My house was broken open, and everything taken out. That was done about the time of last fall’s election. I was at Mackinac at the time. acted ag counsel for Linnell, and quashed the ings for irregularity. ‘Was sent for to attend a meeting of the privy council, at Cheeseman’s. Strang, Adams, Mr. M. Aldrich, Sr., Dr. McCulloch, Franklin, and Johnson, were there. I cannot state what was said there. ke on the occasion; he spoke about the laws of his kingdom, and that they must be obeyed, and that they were superior to the laws of the United States.” I have d them nearly all say the same thing in substance. I cannot define the place or time. Have heard Post say the same thing. Mr. Rice is shown a leuteew ich he identifies, and says it was written im. "The prosecution haritg xased their case, Mr. McReynolds moved the discharge of Strang, Rice, Townsend, Post and Chambers, on the und of no evidence having,been addu sed against them, and the name of Townsend not being mentioned by any of the witnesses. The motion was granted as to Townsend and Mr. Chambers. The court refused the motion with regard to Strang, Rice, and Post. The District Attorney announced that Townsend was also indicted for counterfeiting, andwould be- held in custody. [By counsel’ repeating the testimony heretofore ‘iven, we learned that several of the defendants ad repeatedly said they would not hesitate to stop the mail, or do anything else “James” (the king) should tell them to do, and would think they were doing God’s service; that they would obey his laws and disregard all eee) Ir. McKeynolds opened the case to the jury, giv- ing an outline of the character of the defence ; said. heexpected te be able to prove there was hot a shadow of pretence for the charges; that the de- fendants were there for a very different pur) 3 that a complaint was entered against Eri J. Moore, setting forth ahigh offence ; a warrant was issued and Bhiced in the hands of a constable, and he, with & posse, went over to arrest Moore; that the sj ofthe alleged scene cobeineniing: the mail) was the spot of all others wl they would not have at- tempted such a thi hat Mr. Moore knew they were efter him, and did not leave the island for fear of his life being taken; that the testim of Adams was false; that the offences he sought to fasten upon Strang were the very ones he proposed himself to commit. Mr. McReynolds reflected somewhat upon several promised of the witnesses for the prosecution, to preduce esunter testimony enough to neutralize what they had sworn to; would go into a ge- neral impeachment by thirty or forty wit: > as to two or three of the main witnesses for the prose- cution, and would presert a perfect and triumphant vindication of defendant’s conduct. At the request of Mr McReynolds, Mr. Stra the “King 63 Beaver Island,” was permitted to dress the jury. a His Highness spened by stating that he once had asmattering of legal lore, but did not appear here as a lawyer; he wished to say something with regard to certain f heer reports, of a system of “higher law,” Divine law, above all civil law, which it was eaid governed them up on Beaver Island. He denied any thing of the kind; said they had a Divine law to pres them, but it taught obedience to rulers and magistrates, and all in au- thority; he referred to the rancor and bitterness of religious animosity; religious persecution of the saints had caused rivers of blood to flowin past. Said acertain book had been testified about and commented upon, for the purjose of affecting the public mind and this jury; said the character of the book and the covenant had been misrepre- sented; said itis alleged, that becauso the defen- dants have taken a certain covenant, are bound to gether to commit overt acts, rob the U mai U. 8. and ce soni the laws of the Union, &c. Shoul show that these defendants believed in the doc- trine, that God established this nation and govern- ment for the final geibecing, in of the children of God, ard establishing his church a, upon the earth; believed in revelations from re, and the final gathering of all the children of God; the day of millenium, &c.; the final consummation of all things, through the true (Mormon) chureh. As tothe book, it taught no such doctrine as im- puted to it, and nothing st variance with the laws of the country, and good moral and religious society. Would refer to the witnesees here against them, and the ungentlemanly course taken; he would like to know, if a Mormon was not to be credited, how those not fit to belong to the Mormon church even, were to be believed T said the witnesses here were cast off and kicked-out members of the church, not pure enough to belong to it. In the course of his re- marks, he reflected severely upon the course of Mr. Adams, one of the principal witnesses for proseew- tion; said Adams had shown, in his testimony, that he was the second in command in the church, tho chief spokesman and religious teacher; that he had, under the covenant of that church and his teach- ings, so corrupted the people of his ol eo, that they were ready to commit all kinds of depredations, even to robbing the mail. Said that he had here shown that he had, as a teacher inthe church, sworn hie followers (oy the covenant) to disobey all 3 but those of the kingdom, and, by bis own showing, had heard them stand up in the synagogue and de- clare their willingness to violate the laws of the land, state and national; that he (Adams) had taught them these doctrines, &c., and now a here, the pure and immaculate witness, to impeach the whole * kingdom,” and punish them for doin the things which he, as @ religious teacher a pc faa instructed them in, while one of the ebief priests and guardians of their religion. Ho spoke with great vehemence, exhibiting considera- the feeling towards Adams, and did not think such a Witness entitled to much eredit, Mr. McKeynolds proceeded with the defence by reading various depositions taken before a coms missioner on Beaver Island. They were mostly for the ng negne ye of the character of Adams and Moore for trath and veracity. Adams and Moore are two important witnesses for prosecution. The affidavits read were all nearly of the same import, going to impeach the witnesses named, and in al- most every ease their opinions had been formed | subsequent to the #th July, the time when Adams left the church and refused obedience to the king. This reputation against them did not seem to ol tain to any great extent among the “ (ientiles,” but was confiaed to the saints almost exclusively. SECOND DAY. The most cf the day was spent by defendants to establich that the posse of Mormons which drove 7 the mail train beck, wore out for the purpose of ar- | resting Moore, one of the mail carriers; that a war- rant was out for him, &o. The following is a portion of William Townsend’s J. Strang, as the Prophet of God—that God makes immediate revo- lations through Strang, and if Strang should tell me he had received a special revelation from God, 1 should believe it. Should Strang tell you he had reosived a rove- lation from God that the character of a certain man jon did not know was bad, should you believe it? should. Would you swear to it? ‘Idon't think E should swear to thing Idid not know. Then you do not believe in revelations? I do (Here the counsel for defendants made strenuous objections to this view of inquiry ; in reference toe traneaction where guns were fired, said they were eighty rods off, and he beard them whistle and strike in the bushes some six or eight reds from him ; heard the balls strike before he heard the re- port of the gun.) Dr. MeCulloch sworn, for defendants—Know Adams, Moore and Drowne; their reputation for truth and veracity is bad. This witness testified also to many other things, relating to transactions on the island. ‘The tenor of the affirmative evidence may rally be interred by negative answers on this cross Ceapiatiinn. neers . [We omit many parts of tho evidence referri to paticular incidents, and give that only connsoted. with certain points. Crose-examined by Mr. Bates—I went to the island in April, 1850, with Adams; I stoppod at Moore's house; took the covenant at his house; Moore was then a Justice of the Peace; immediate- ly after I became acquainted with the brethroa, [ heard his reputa’ was bad; he was then ber of the ehurch ood standing, and also wife; [ was present when Moore was ordained as a “noble,” or “nobleman ;” his reputation was then bad; he was ordained by Strang, as a viceroy, or @ higher officer in the church; this was while his re- putation was known tobe bad. There has been a good deal of feeling in the eburch towards Moore; have heard Mr. Ward, merchant, say that Moor aking Of his connection with t! ‘ard ia a Gentile; never heard any one else out the church say so; there bas been a difficulty be- tweon Adams and the church. | first heard Ai character for truth and veracity spoken inst when I firet went there; became acquainted with the brethren. I was present when Strang aimed Adams to be the viceroy, the second office in the chureb, to act in his absence; think this was about the Sth of July; Adams continued in the office of