The Congressional Globe, [Volume 27]: Thirty-Second Congress, Second Session, Appendix Page: 69
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1853.]
APPENDIX TO THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE.
69
32i> Cong 2d Sess.
The Gardiner Claim—Mr. Olds.
Ho. of Reps.
that the fiunul to whom lie had inference was Mr. Thomas
Uorwin, and that he would am! see lum. Governor
Young went away. I aw noistne whether it was the&amc
dayortho ue.\t morning that he returned and said that it
was satisfactory to Mi. Cos win to leave it to him (Governor
Young) to determine what the value of the claims was; and
Govenjoi Young ? aid, it' f wa«- satisfied, it should be the
undeibtandmg. I told him T was satisfied. Governor
Young aftmvaid:- biou«lit me a valuation of the claims,
(this was along that .-.ea^on,) and I paid about §80,000 for
them, f rccoiJeet that theie was an interest m tlic Gardi-
ner claim included. i think it was in all a little over
$80,000 (but not much) that t paid ; but i cannot say how
much 1 paid foi thr Canlitioi claim m pellicular. T gave
my chock for tlic amount tbi all the claims, or Mr. Corwin's;
interesti'i them."
Again, Mr. Law says:
(l I jmrchased tl'.o.-e claims a t'avor to Governor Young,
who \va* a irieml of mine, and m whom I had entire con-
fidence. lie seemed to be dt^nous and anxious to relieve
Mr. Convin from this enibai raiment, m the way of ijoing
into the Cabinet. Witnet-s had very little acquaintance
with Mr. Convin ; he knew him by Mglit; but he (the wit-
ness) would have done the «ame tlumr Mr anyotlicr person
to oblige Governoi Vomiif, hciwity full confidence in him."
"1 did not know anything of the value of the claim?, ex-
cept whai wa^ stated to me bj Governor Young. My ob
ject wa« not to make or lose money, but to do Governor
Young a lavoi." - * " '• i made the purchase,
relying upon Governor Youm?V judgment and integrity.
1 did not undettake to go mw the mattoi in detail."
Now, Mr. Speaker, what is? the only true infer-
ence to be drawn iVnni such testimony? "Why
simply this, .sir: Governor 11;o sub-treas-
urer of New York, the custodian of the Govern-
ment money in that city, w;is the personal friend
of Mr. Corwjn. Perhdps, sir, ins continuance in
theoffre of sub-treasurerdepended upon Corwin's
assuming the control of the Treasury Department.
Perhaps, too, sir, the fact of Governor Young's
being; the sub-treasurer, and controlling the enor-
mous revenues of the Government in New York,
will explain George Law's great confidence in,
and extreme willingness to oblige him. Perhaps,
sir, Governor Young's control of the Government
money made it necessary, to save appearances, to
use George Law, or some other third person, lest
it might be said that the Government money, in
the hands of Governor Young, had been used in
this transaction. Perhaps the fact that George
Law was of Governor Young's sureties, his
name being upon his official bond for ^400;000,
will account for his great confidence in the Gov-
ernor, and the loose and unhusiness-like manner
in which, by his own showing, he seems to have
conducted this whole transaction.
Be all these conjectures as they may, there can
be no doubt but that Governor Young was ex-
tremely anxious to have Mr. Corwin enter the
Cabinet of President Fillmore; and in order to re-
lieve his "feelings of delicacy," undertakes to
negotiate a sale of Corwin's interest in these va-
rious Mexican claims. And to oblige Governor
Young, without any investigation or examination,
the sagacious George Law agrees to purchase those
claims. This he docs without the least anxiety or
hesitation, as Governor Young is to assess their
value. This, too, is satisfactory to Mr. Corwin,
inasmuch as the claims ai e to remain un transferred,
and his partner and nephew is also to assess their
value. Mr. Corwin's "feelings of delicacy" are
relieved, and he takes his position in the Cabinet.
Governor Young and Bob Corwin wait until the
award of the claims commission is known, or as
Mr. Law says, until "some time along that season
and then they assess the value; and then,and not till
then, the contract is consummated and the bargain
reduced to writing. The precise time, the com-
mittee inform un, was in November, more than
four months after Mr. Corwin had entered the
Cabinet of President Fillmore.
Mr. Speaker, a careful reading of this testimony
has satisfied me that Governor Young, Mr. Cor-
win's sub-treasurer in New York, and not George
Law, was the real purchaser of Corwin's interest
in these Meriican claims, if such a loose unbusi-
nesslike transaction as this could be dignified with
the name of a sole. The extracts-already read
from Mr. Law's testimony lead the mind imper-
ceptibly to this conclusion; and the following ex-
tract from the testimony or" Robert G. Corwin,
taken before the committee, confirms the impres-
sion:
llobci I G. Corwin appeared as a witness, and was
sworn.
<l Qae^thii i.y Hon. Tltamus Corwin Weie you con-
cerned with me, a< counsel, in prosecuting claim* before
he late commission under the treaty with Mexico ? If so,
state whether I sold out all my interest in those claims,
and when, and to whom.
" Answer. I was concerned with you in the prosecution of
claims up to the time when you went into thcCabmetofMr.
Fillmore. Your interest was sold prior to your going into
the Cabinet, and your interest was represented afterwards
by Governor John Voting, of New York. I don't know
exactly by whom the whole arrangement was made with
Governor Young. The.assignment of his interest was made
to Jacob Little; he afterwards transferred his interest in
these claims to George Law. I understood that Young was
tlic negotiator, and that the assignment was made to Little
to enable Young to jrot the money ftom him fairly ; then it
was transferred to Law, ftom whom the nionev was re-
ceived. The sale was made prior to the organization of Mr.
Fillmore'? Cabinet, which was sometnncin July, 1&>0 ; but
it was agreed that Governor Young and niv?elf s-honld esti-
mate the value of vour interest in ail tin* clanns you were
conccinedin. We wete concerned in thirty-seven claims
in all. We, Governor Young and myself, concluded the
' elimination «.f all the papers, and made out the estimate a
! shoit time prior to the next legular session of the hoard m
j November, IdoU."
I Now, Mr. Speaker, I ask, in all fairness, does
not this case really assume this one aspect? Corwin
must sell his interest in these claims before enter-
ing the Cabinet of President Fillmore. Conse-
quently, he sells to Governor Youm; at such [nice
as Governor Young himself, unil liobeit (J. ("or
win should fix upon them; givinjr them time to
wait until the award of the commissioners should
be known, before fixiti? the value. And then, us
| Governor Young was Mr. Corwin's sub-treasu-
! rer in the city of New York, George Law, the in-
| timate friend and surety of Governor Young, is
! used to throw nil obscurity over the transaction,
and s;ive it the semblance of a side.
Wily, sir, when you have exposed and set aside
Geoige Law's connection with this transaction,
you have taken from it the veil of obscurity, and
it stands, like Moore's Prophet when the veil was
lifted, exposed m all its "hideous deformity."
And yet, sir, this is what the gentleman from
New "York calls exonerating Mr. Corwin, " and
turning back upon me the odium !"
Tiiesefive.specifications, Mr. Speaker, m the very
Older in which I have named them, embrace all the
duties imposed by the resolution of the House
upon the Committee of Investigation. That reso-
lution, sir, nowhere charged the committee with
the duty of inquiring into Corwin's knowledge of
the fraudulent character of Dr. Gardiner's evi-
dence. No such specification is made in the reso-
lution, and as a matter ef course 110 testimony
was adduced before tiie committee to establish any
such inference or implication. If any such thing
had been attempted, Mr. Corwin, if he chose,
could at once have objected to the jurisdiction
of the committee, and have told them that they
were going beyond the duty assigned them by
the House.
Mr. BROOKS. Will the gentleman from Ohio
allow me to read the preamble to the resolution ?
Mr. OLDS. Certainly, sir.
Mr. BROOKS. It is as follows:
c! Whereas, a strong suspicion rests upon the public mind
that fraudulent claims Have been allowed by the late Mexi-
can Claim C'ommi.->wioners, Willi one of wiueh it is sc.- moot-
ed Thomas Corwin, Bocretaiy of the Tieasury, ha.-, been
mipropeily connected ; therefore," &e.
Will the gentleman from Ohio incorporate it in
his speech1
Mr. OLDS. Certainly I will. But, Mr. speak-
er, it does not in the least change the interpreta-
tion of the resolution, neither does it in the least,
change the character of the specifications against
Mr. Corwin.
Why, sir, the committee do not hesitate to say
that the commissioners allowed fraudulent Mexi-
can claims. The suspicions of the public then,
as affirmed in this preamble, were well founded.
Is it not, sir, equally as clear, that the connection
of Mr. Corwin with one of them, as affirmed in
the preamble, was improper? If not, sir, why
do the committee, as they hare done in the bill
now under consideration, seek to nifnte, in future,
precisely such a connection, a misdemeanor, even
though the claim may not be a fraudulent one?
: Mr. Corwin, sir, is welcome to the full benefit of
1 all his friends can make out of this preamble.
Now, sir, with these facts before us, will the
honorable gentleman fromNew York, orany hon-
orable gentleman, rise in his place and say, that
the committee have not fully sustained eveiy spe-
cification made in the resolution of the House? 1
may, perhaps, be told that, in the remarks which
I had the honor to submit to the House, at the
time I introduced the resolution calling for this
committee of investigation, I made certain charges
against Mr. Corwin, which the committee felt it-
self called upon to investigate; and that upon those
charges they have acquitted Mr. Corwin, and
"turned back upon me the odium" of b ng an
" infamous slanderer."
On the 5th of March last, in my remarks in
this House upon the land bill, I charged that
Corwin had been employed in this case, that it
might receive the aid, not of his legal abilities, not
of his great eloquence, but of his political position,
and the influence of his great name. He is not
charged with being a party in the fraud, but the
charge is, that he sold his political position and
political influence in aid of a claim, fraudulent in
itself, and sustained by perjured testimony. _ 1
repeated the same language, showing my precise
meaning in the remarks i submitted at the time of
calling for the committee of investigation. That
I may place myself right, and be correctly under-
stood, I will read from the remarks then made, as
reported 111 the Congressional Globe, page 2303,
! part ltd of the 24tli volume, und repeated in the
' Appendix to the same volume, page 2G6:
! " s11, let 1110 divert the attention of this committee for a
! single moment to charges thatcommon rumor fasten upon
| the pre-c:u Hccretarvnfthc Tieasury, anil wlucli 1I10 coun-
try demand to have investigated by this Congress. 1 refer,
sir, to his corinecliou with (lie Gardiner claim. Public ru-
I mor charge-*, «ir, that Mr. Oorvvu) received $79,000 as the
I agent of tins Card.nei claim. Now, sir, the inquiry natu-
j lallyain-c^Why did Mr. Gardiner stipulate to pay Mr. <Jor-
! Win tins enormous fee ? Wat- Mr. Gardiner so dumb that
lie could not acta: the agent of liis own claim ? Not so,
I sir; lie 11 a man belonging to one of the liberal profes-
sions, and cannot be supposed to tie devoid of common
sense ; and, mi', if his claim iva> a just one, lie eould hins-
seit present it before the proper tribunal and ask a decision
upon its merits. But if his claim was bud, he would nat-
uially desire to hi me; the stronger influence to its support.
He eould not have selected Mr. C'oiwin becauseoflns great
eloquence; ioi, sir, a plain, simple ^tateinentrof facts was
all that was allowed before the tribunal, llecuald not have
seleetod him on aeeount of his legal acumen in taking and
arranging testimony, for, Mr, this case was piepared and
the testimony taken in Mexico; and every one knows that
Mr. (Jenwin, HiourIi a gieat favorite in Mexico in conse-
quence of 'Ins bloodv hand and hospitable grave'senti-
ments, was never in Mexico. Nay, more, sir; a grand in-
quest of the country, upon their oaths, iiave said that this
whole ease is a forgeiy. Why, then, sir, was Mr. Corwin
selected? The answer is obvious: Mr. Corwin is a great
man with his party, tie has been made so, sir, by the
Whigs of Ohio. They made him their Representative first
111 tiiis House; then,sir, tliey made lum their standard-
beai er of the party in Ohio, by selecting liim as their can-
didate for Governor; then, sir, they sent lum to the Senate
of the United States. But this is not all; lie was at one
tune the favorite of Ins party 111 Ohio, as a candidate, for the
1'iesideiicy. His liame.iii connection with that office, was
at the mast-head ot his'party press. Sir, Mr. Gardiner, as
a shrewd man, knew all tins. lie knew that this man must
lie possessed of gicat influence with a Whig Administra-
tion ; and for the exercise of this lulluenee, for the power
of this position, Mr. Gaulmer eould afford to give Mr. Cor-
win sT-]0,0U0, if thereby lie could get allowed his claim of
<M80,000. Rut, sir, in what light does itpresentMr. Corwin
b'e.nre. the country ? The peoplcliad sent him here to guard
their interest-*; they were paying him eigiit dollars per day
to watch the National Treasury ; tliey supposed, sir, that
with the vigilant and ever-walchtul eye of Mr. Corwin
upon the Treasury, all would be safe, lint, nr, rumor says
that they were mistaken m their man ; for whilst receiving
nay >0111 the people to watch and guard their Trcasuiy, this
Mr. Gaidniei, (mowing his man, feed lum on the other side
—he o'lti'.id the people. Gardiner's $100,000 was as nm-
111 noU-nl over your N'ationa) Treasury as was the 'Open
sesame' ot Ali Baba over the cavern of the ' Forty
Thieves.'
1 Mr. Speakei, the evidence of General Thomp-
, son himself, as well as that of Edward M. John-
1 son, the secretary of the board of Mexican claims
| comm.ssion, fully demonstrate it was political in-
fluence 'hat Gardiner desired to aid and strengthen
■ his eJ,1:111, mid not forensic eloquence or legal ae-
cumen.
Johnson, in his testimony, says :
" Aft"i tlic first instances, the board became satisfied that
Dr fiauUner Inmsolt understood liis own case better than
anybody else, and that the best means of arriving at the truth
i would lie to receive his own statements, and cross-examine
; lum on all tiiese points."
! Gardiner, then, was fully competent to the
; management of his own case; and in the selec-
tion of liis counsel and agents, his object was to
: secure the aid of such persons as had- power and
-indue..ce with the commissioners.
: Thi-i is shown in the testimony of Waddy
Thonrisc" of the employment
of Major Lally, a near connexion of one of the
commissioners, says :
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United States. Congress. The Congressional Globe, [Volume 27]: Thirty-Second Congress, Second Session, Appendix, book, 1853; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc30784/m1/81/: accessed April 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.