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第44章

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hat he was going to buy; but Davidson proposed to sell him something which Mr。 Cummings believed to be some kind of provisions; and he bought it。  He did not know for how muchwhether over 2000l。 or not。  He never saw the articles; and had no knowledge of their quality。  It was out of the question that he should have such knowledge; as he naively remarks。  His clerk Humphreys saw the articles。  He presumed they were brought from Albany; but did not know。  He afterward bought a shipor two or three ships。  He inspected one ship 〃by a mere casual visit:〃 that is to say; he did not examine her boilers; he did not know her tonnage; but he took the word of the seller for everything。  He could not state the terms of the charter; or give the substance of it。  He had had no former experience in buying or chartering ships。  He also bought 75;000 pairs of shoes at only 25 cents (or one shilling) a pair more than their proper price。  He bought them of a Mr。 Hall; who declares that he paid Mr。 Cummings nothing for the job; but regarded it as a return for certain previous favors conferred by him on Mr。 Cummings in the occasional loans of 100l。 or 200l。 At the end of the examination it appears that Mr。 Cummings still held in his hand a slight balance of 28;000l。; of which he had forgotten to make mention in the body of his own evidence。  〃This item seems to have been overlooked by him in his testimony;〃 says the report。  And when the report was made; nothing had yet been learned of the destiny of this small balance。 Then the report gives a list of the army supplies miscellaneously purchased by Mr。 Cummings: 280 dozen pints of ale at 9s。 6d。 a dozen; a lot of codfish and herrings; 200 boxes of cheeses and a large assortment of butter; some tongues; straw hats and linen 〃pants;〃 23 barrels of pickles; 25 casks of Scotch ale; price not stated; a lot of London porter; price not stated; and some Hall carbines of which I must say a word more further on。  It should be remembered that no requisition had come from the army for any of the articles named; that the purchase of herrings and straw hats was dictated solely by the discretion of Cummings and his man Humphreys; or; as is more probable; by the fact that some other person had such articles by him for sale; and that the government had its own established officers for the supply of things properly ordered by military requisition。  These very same articles also were apparently procured; in the first place; as a private speculation; and were made over to the government on the failure of that speculation。 〃Some of the above articles;〃 says the report; 〃were shipped by the Catiline; which was probably loaded on private account; and; not being able to obtain a clearance; was; in some way; through Mr。 Cummings; transferred over to the governmentSCOTCH ALE; LONDON PORTER; SELECTED HERRINGS; and all。〃  The italics; as well as the words; are taken from the report。 This was the confidential political friend of the Secretary of War; by whom he was intrusted with 400;000l。 of public money!  Twenty… eight thousand pounds had not been accounted for when the report was made; and the army supplies were bought after the fashion above named。  That Secretary of War; Mr。 Cameron; has since left the cabinet; but he has not been turned out in disgrace; he has been nominated as Minister to Russia; and the world has been told that there was some difference of opinion between him and his colleagues respecting slavery!  Mr。 Cameron; in some speech or paper; declared on his leaving the cabinet that he had not intended to remain long as Secretary of War。  This assertion; I should think; must have been true。 And now about the Hall carbines; as to which the gentlemen on this committee tell their tale with an evident delight in the richness of its incidents which at once puts all their readers in accord with them。  There were altogether some five thousand of these; all of which the government sold to a Mr。 Eastman in June; 1861; for 14s。 each; as perfectly useless; and afterward bought in August for 4l。 8s。 each; about 4s。 a carbine having been expended in their repair in the mean time。  But as regards 790 of these now famous weapons; it must be explained they had been sold by the government as perfectly useless; and at a nominal price; previously to this second sale made by the government to Mr。 Eastman。  They had been so sold; and then; in April; 1861; they had been bought again for the government by the indefatigable Cummings for 3l。 each。  Then they were again sold as useless for 14s。 each to Eastman; and instantly rebought on behalf of the government for 4l。 8s。 each!  Useless for war purposes they may have been; but as articles of commerce it must be confessed that they were very serviceable。 This last purchase was made by a man named Stevens on behalf of General Fremont; who at that time commanded the army of the United States in Missouri。  Stevens had been employed by General Fremont as an agent on the behalf of government; as is shown with clearness in the report; and on hearing of these muskets telegraphed to the general at once: 〃I have 5000 Hall's rifled cast…steel muskets; breach…loading; new; at 22 dollars。〃  General Fremont telegraphed back instantly: 〃I will take the whole 5000 carbines。 。 。 。  I will pay all extra charges。〃 。 。 。 。  And so the purchase was made。  The muskets; it seems; were not absolutely useless even as weapons of war。  〃Considering the emergency of the times?〃 a competent witness considered them to be worth 〃10 or 12 dollars。〃  The government had been as much cheated in selling them as it had in buying them。  But the nature of the latter transaction is shown by the facts that Stevens was employed; though irresponsibly employed; as a government agent by General Fremont; that he bought the muskets in that character himself; making on the transaction 1l。 18s。 on each musket; and that the same man afterward appeared as an aid…de…camp on General Fremont's staff。  General Fremont had no authority himself to make such a purchase; and when the money was paid for the first installment of the arms; it was so paid by the special order of General Fremont himself out of moneys intended to be applied to other purposes。  The money was actually paid to a gentleman known at Fremont's headquarters as his special friend; and was then paid in that irregular way because this friend desired that that special bill should receive immediate payment。  After that; who can believe that Stevens was himself allowed to pocket the whole amount of the plunder? There is a nice little story of a clergyman in New York who sold; for 40l。 and certain further contingencies; the right to furnish 200 cavalry horses; but I should make this too long if I told all the nice little stories。  As the frauds at St。 Louis were; if not in fact the most monstrous; at any rate the most monstrous which have as yet been brought to the light; I cannot finish this account without explaining something of what was going on at that Western Paradise in those halcyon days of General Fremont。 General Fremont; soon after reaching St。 Louis; undertook to build ten forts for the protection of that city。  These forts have since been pronounced as useless; and the whole measure has been treated with derision by officers of his own army。  But the judgment displayed in the matter is a military question with which I do not presume to meddle。  Even if a general be wrong in such a matter; his character as a man is not disgraced by such error。  But the manner of building them was the affair with which Mr。 Van Wyck's Committee had to deal。  It seems that five of the forts; the five largest; were made under the orders of a certain Major Kappner; at a cost of 12;000l。; and that the other five could have been built at least for the same sum。  Major Kappner seems to have been a good and honest public servant; and therefore quite unfit for the superintendence of such work at St。 Louis。  The other five smaller forts were also in progress; the works on them having been continued from 1st of September to 25th of September; 1861; but on the 25th of September General Fremont himself gave special orders that a contract should be made with a man named Beard; a Californian; who had foll

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