Newspaper Page Text
The Savannah Daily Herald.
tFESDAT. JVNK 13. 1865.
FROU oi;r evening edition
OF YES I‘ERDAY.
STILL LATER.
New York Dales to Ike Til*.
GOLD i:*7
The New kale CoiistMullon of Nitseuri
Rejected.
THE NEWS FHOH ENGLAND,
Sivii and Qidy Still in Fortress
Kouroe.
iSpecial Despatch to the Savannah Herald.]
Hu/rox Hkad, June 12. lsn>.
Yonr agent here li‘vs received Northern
papers of June 7th. The news is as follows:
Gold closed in New York, on the Cth, at
i-37 2-8.
The.new State Constitution of Missouri
wae rejected by five thousand majority.
The New York papers have telegrams
direct from Richmond.
The London Owl says England has inti
mated that it does not intend to pay for the
depredations of the Alabama ; and that tbe
rejoinder from Washington, alludes to com
pulsion. This is not regarded reliable, how
ever.
Jets. Davis and Clement C. Clay are still
confined in Fortress Monroe.
The Reserved Testimony.
From tbe full, correct, and authorized re
port of the suppressed testimony given by the
Washington Chronicle we make the follow
ing extracts giving the most important points;
The Origin of the Plot.
Richard Montgomery, a witness for the
prosecution, being duly sworn, testified us
follows:
By tub Judge Advocate.— Q. Are you
a citizen of New York ? A. 1 es, sir.
Q State whether or not you visited Can
ada in the summer of 1864? A. I did.
Q. How long did you remain there ? A.
I remained there goiDg back and lorth ever
aiuce until within a week and a half or two
weeks’ time.
Q. Did yon or not know in Washington
Jacob Thompson, formerly Secretary of the
Interior, and Clement C. Clay, formerly of
the United States Senate ? A. I did.
Q. Will you state whether you met those
persons in Canada, and when ? A. I met
them in Oauada, at Niagara Falls, at Toron
to, at St. Catherines, and at Montreal a num
ber of times, and Very frequently since tbe
summer of IHC4 up to this time.
Q Did you ot uot meet George N. San
ders? A. I did.
Q. And a man by the name ol J. P.
Holcomb? A. Yes, sir; Professor Hol
comb.
Can you name any otUer rebel citizens
of the United States in Canada of note that
you met? A. Yes, sir; I met Beverly
Tucker, W. C. Cleary—l think those ure the
inUllials—sud a great many others under fic
titious names. There was another one by
the name of Harrington. Those are the
ones that 1 principally hud communication
with. I met another one by the name of*
Clay, not Clement C. Clay. I met one Hicks
up there also.
Q. Under how many different names did
Jacob Thompson pass in Canada-r-do you
know ? A. It would be impossible lor me
to tell you. I kuew him under three or
four, aud others knew him under other
names; his principal name was Carson.
/Q. Do you know under what names Clem
ent C. Clay passed ? A. Yes, sir; one of
them was Hope; another T. E. l^acey; I
have forgotten the initials of his name as
Hope; T. E. Lacey was the principal one ;
another one was Tracy.
Q. State any conversation you may have
had with Jacob Thompson, in Canada, in the
summer of 18W4, in regard to putting the Pre
sident of the United States out of the way,
or assassinating him. A. During the conver
sation in 18ti4, Jacob Thompson said to me
that he had liis friends, Confederates, all
over the Northern States, who were ready
and wilting to go any lengths for the good of
the cause of the South, aud he could at any
time have the tyrant Lincolu, aud any others
of bis advisers that, he cl.ose, put out of his
way; that he would but have to point out the
man he considered in his way, and his friends,
as he termed them, would put him out of it,
and not let him know anything about it, if
necessary; and that they would not consider
it a crime when done tor the cause of the
Confederacy.
Q. Did you not see Thompson some time
in tne mouth of January, 18tio, and where?
A. That was in Canada, in Montreal.
_Q. Will you state what he then said to you,
if anything, in regard to a proposition which
had been made to him to rid the world of the
tyrant, Lincoln? A. He saida proposition
had been made to him to rid the world of the
tyrant Liucoln, Stanton, Grant and some
others; that he knew the men who made the
proposition were bold, daring men, and able
to execute anything that they would under
take, without regard to the cost, that he him
self was in favor of the proposition but had
determined to defer Iris answer until he had
consulted the Government at Richmond, and
that he was then only awaiting their approv
al; lie said that he thought it would be u
blessing to the people both North and South
to bare those men killed.
Q. This was in January A. That was'in
January last.
Q. What time in th« month was it ? A. It
Was About the middle of the month ; 1 saw
him a number of times; I could not give the
exact day of that conversation.
Q. Was it about that time that you saw
Clement C, Clay, and had a conversation
with him ? A. No, sir; in tbe summer of
- I$C4, immediately after Mr. Thompson had
told me what he was able to do, 1 repeated
the conversation to Mr. Clay, and he said,
‘•that is so; we are all devoted to our cause,
and ready to go any lengths,” “to do any
thing under the sun,” was his expression, J
remarked, “to serve their cause."
Q. Look at these prisoners at tbe bar and
see if you recognize any of them as having
been seen by you in Canada, and under what
circumstances? A. I have seen that one
without his coat there. [Pointing to Lewis
Payne, one of the accused. ] Ido not know
bis name.
Q. Will you state where and under what
circumstances you saw him ? A. I have
seen him a number of times in Canada. I
saw him alaiut the Falls in the summer of
1 KG4, a_d I saw’ him again—l guess it was
the last time I saw him—and had sonic words
with him, at the Queen’s Hotel, at Toronto
city, Canada West.
Complicity of the Rebel Government.
Q. Have you been to Canada since the as
sassination of tbe President? A. Yes, sir.
Q. State whether you met auy of those
men of whom you have spoken on your re
turn to Canada, and if so, what conversation
you had w ith them there in regard to the as
sassination of the President ? A. I met Bev
el ly Tucker a very few days after the assas
sination ; three, or four, or five.
Q. W here ? A. At Montreal.
Q. Whut conversation had you? A. He
said a great deal in conversation about the
wrongs that tbe South had received from the
hands of Mr. Lincolu, and that he deserved
his death iong ago ; that if was a pity that
he did uot have it long ago, and it was too
bad that the boys had not been allow’ed to
act when they wanted to.
Q. Do you mean by “ tbe boys'’ the men
who were to arsasinate him? A. Ves, sir;
tbe Confederate soldiers who were up there
who had been engaged in their raids. They
used the expression “ their boys ’ in regard
to their soldiers and the men in their employ.
It is common among them.
Q. Did you meet with Booth there ? A
No, sir; I never saw Mr. Booth in Canada.
Q. Did auy of these men of whom you
have spoken say that Booth was one ol' the
men referred to by Jacob Thompson, who
was willing to assassinate the President ? A.
Yes, sir; W. C. Cleary told me. I related
to him the conversation I had had, or a por
tion of it, with Mr. Thompson in January,
and he said that Booth was one of t#e par
ties to whom Thompson had referred.
Q. Did he say in that conversation any
thing further in regard to him ? A. No, sir;
he said in regard to the assassination that it
was too bad that the whole work had not
been done.
Q. What did you understand by tbat ex
pression, “ tbe whole work ?” A. I inferred
that they intended to assassinate a greater
number than they succeeded in trying to.
Q. On your return to Canada did you learn
from these parties tbat they supposed them
selves to be suspected of this assassination,
and W’ere they taking any steps to conceal
the evidence of their guilt? A. Oh, yes,
sir; they knew’ a very few days after the as
sassination that they were suspected of it.
Q. What did you learn they were doing, it
anything ? A. They were destioying a great
many papers. They also knew that they
were going to be indicted in Canada for a
violation of tbe neutrality laws a number of
days before they W’ere indicted.
Q. How did you learn they were destroy
ing papers about, that time ? A. They to’ld
me.
Q. Which one of them ? E ich of them
made mention of that. Tucker aud Cleary
both said that they were destroying their
papers.
Q. Have you stated. what Tucker said to
you ? You had an interview with him after
you returned? A. Yes, sir. He said it was
too bad they had uot been allowed to act
when they wanted to.
Q. [Submitting to tbe witness a paper con
taining a secret cipher] Will you look at
that paper. Are you familiar with tbe cipher
uned by tbe Confederate authorities ? A. I
am familiar with two of them.
Q Is that one of them or not ? A. Yes,
sir.
Q. You recognize that as one of the ci
phers in use among tbe Confederates ? A.
Yes, sir.
How the Evldtiirr was Obtained.
Q. During yonr stay in Canada were you
or not in the service of the Government, and
seeking to acquire for its use intormation in
regard in tlie plans and purposes of the rebels
who were known to be assembled there ? A.
I was.
Q.* To enable you to do this did you or
not deem it pioper and necessary that you
should assume a different name from your
real name and that under which you now
appear before this court ? A. Yes, sir, 1
did.
Q. What name did you assume in vour in
tercourse with them ? A. I assumed as my
proper name James Thompson, and then,
leading them to suppose that that was my
right name aud thut I wished to conceal it
there as not to be identified by the Federal
spies, I adopted other names at auy hotel I
might be stopping. 1 never registered
“Thompson” on the book. I led them to
suppose that I wished to conceal that name;
but James Thompson was the name that
they supposed was my proper name.
Your whole object in all this was sim
ply to ascertain their plans against the Gov
ernment of the Uni tea States ? A. Yes, sir;
that was my whole object.
Q. Will you state how you became ac
quinted with this cipher which has just
shown to you? A. I saw my cipher in Mr.
Clay’s house, the priyate house in which I
I was stopping in St. Catharine’s.
Q When was that ? A. That was in the
summer of 1804.
Q. Have you not also been the bearer of
despatches for these persons ? A. Yes, sir,
I was entrusted with depatches to carry irom
Canada to Richmond.
Q. Did you oarry them ? I carried some
to Gordonsville, with instructions that I was
to send them from there.
Q. Did yon receive despatches in reply ? A.
Once I did. .
Q. Were they carried back ? A. Yes,
sir ; they were carried back.
Q Did you come through Washington?
Did you make them known to,the Govern
ment ? A. Yes, sir ; each time. I deliv
ered the despatches always to the Govern
ment of the United States. 1 passed noth
ing that I took, except by their permis
sion.
The Raids and Burning of the Cities
Q. From whom was the despatch at Gor
dousville received: A. A gentlemen who
represented himself to me as being in their
State Department, and sent with the answer
by their Secretary of State.
Q. And you lx>re the despatch back to
whom ? To Thompson or Clay ? A. I bore
it back to Mr. Thompson.
Q All of the men—Thompson Clay, and
Cleary— represented themselves as being in
the service of the Confederate government ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When was it that you received that
despatch at Gordonsville ? A. It was in the
fall. I brieve it was in October.
Q. Did you ever hear the subject of these
raws from Canada upon our frontier and of
the burning of our cities spoken of among
these conspirators ? A. Yes sir. many times.
Q By Thompson, Clay. Cleary, Tucker,
Sanders, and those men? 11. Ves, sir; I
kuow that Mr. Clay was one of the prime
movers in the matter before raids were start
ed.
Q. You understood, in your conversations
with them, that all those men folly approved
of these enterprises? A. Yes, sir; they re
ceived the direct endorsement of Mr. Clem
ent C. Clay. Jr. He represented himself to
me as being a sort of representative of their
War Department.
Q. Do you consider that you enjoyed fully
the confidence of those men. so that tiiey free
ly communicated to you? A. I do; I do
not think they would have entrusted those
despatches to me unless they had the fullest
confidence in me.
Q. Did they or not at all times represent
themselves as acting under the sanction of
their Government at Richmond? A. They
represented themselves as having full power
to act without reference to them. They re
peatedly told me—both Mr Clay and Mr.
Thompson—that they had full power to act,
by their Government, in anything they
deemed expedient aud for the benefit of their
cause.
Q Were you in Canada at the time the at
tempt was made to fire the city of New York.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was that the subject of much conver
sation among these people ? A. I left Cana
da with the news two days befoie the at
tempt was made, to bring it to tbe Depart
ment at Washington.
Q. That such a project was contemplated ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You knew that it originated there and
had the full sanction of these men? A. Yes,
sir.
Q. Do you mean to say the same thing in
regard to the St. Albans raid? A. Yes, sir;
I did not know tbe point where tbat raid was
to be made, but I told tbe Govejnment at
Washington that they were about to set out
on a raid of tbat kind before the St. Albans
raid. I also told them of the intended raid
upon Buffalo and Rochester, and by tbat
means prevented those raids.
Q. Capt. Beale, who was subsequently
hanged at New York, was known there as
leading in this enterprise, was he uot? A. I
did not know him by that name.
Q. Was be spoken of among those men?
A. I never heard him spoken of. They were
iu the habit of using their fictitious names in
conversation with each other.
Q. You say that you do not know anything
about Beale ? A. No, sir; I knew tliat the
object of his mission was contemplated. I
did no» know who were to be the immediate
executors of the plot. 1 knew of the plan
at tbe time and reported it.
Q. Did you hear the subject of the funds
by which all these enterprises were carried
on spoken of among these conspirators, as to
who had the funds, or the amount they had.
or anything of that sort ? A. Yes, s*ir; in
regard to the raiding, Mr. Clay had funds.
Q. Did you ever near the probable amount
spoken of by any of them ? A. No, sir;
he represented to me that he always had
plent y of money to pay for anything that was
worth paying for. He told me he had money
to pay any price lor anything that was worth
paying for.
Q Do you know in what bank in Montre
al these rebels kept their accounts and funds?
A. No, sir ; I do not.
Q. You know tbat there was a Bank of
Ontario in Montreal ? A. Yes, sir; I kuow
that there Is such a bank. I know that they
deposited in several different banks. They
transacted a good deal of business, in what I
think is called the Niagara District Bank. It
is almost opposite where Mr. Clay’s residence
was in St. Catherine’s. During all last sum
mer they transacted a great deal of business
at tbat bank.
A Letter from Jefferson Davie.
In the testimony of Jus. B. Merritt occurs
the following;
Q. Were you afterwards in Montreal in the
month of February last ? A. I was.
Q. Did you or not. hear among the rebels
there tbe subject of the assassination of the
President freely spoken of. A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you or not hear mentioned the
names of persons who were willing to as
sassinate him ? A. I heard Mr. Sanders’ name
over a number of persons that were ready
and williug, as he said, to engage in the un
dertaking to remove the President, Vice
President, Cabinet, aud some of the leading
generals.
Q. What, if anything,did George N. Sand
ers say in relation to their having plenty of
money to accomplish these assassinations ?
A. Mr. Sanders said that there was any
amount of money to accomplish the pur
pose. 1 think that Wijs the expression used.
Q. That was the assassination ? A. Yes,
sir; then he read a letter which he said he
had received trora “the President of our Con
federacy.”
Q. Meaning Jefferson Davis? A. Yes,
sir; which letter justified him in making any
arrangements that he could to accomplish the
object.
Q Was there not a meeting of those icb
els at that time in Montreal, where Sanders
was, and where you were also ? A. Yes,
sir.
Q Was it at this meeting that Sanders
read that letter trom Jetferscn Davis ? A.
Yes, sir.
Q. Will you state some of the language of
that letter ? the strong language wliicir he
if the tyranny of Mr. Lincoln was sub
mitted to ? A. Ido not know that I can use
the exact langqpge.
Q. The substance of it? A. The letter
was in substance, that if the people in Cana
da and the Southerners in the States were
willing to submit to be governed by such a
tyrant as Lincoln, lie did not wish to recog
nize them as friends or associates, or some
thing like that.
Q. And you say that in that letter he ex
pressed his approbation of whatever mensure
they might take to accomplish this object ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was that letter read openly in this
meeting by Sanders? A. Yes, sir.
Q. After it was read was it not banded to
members of the meeting, aud read by them,
ooe after another? A. Colonel Steele read
it. I think Captain Scott read it, and Young
and Hill. "
Q These were all known as rebels, were
they not? A. I believe they were.
Q-. Djd they, or not, all acquiesce after
reading it, la the correctness with which
Sanders had read it openly to the meeting ?
A. There was no remark made as to any
mis-statement of the letter by Sanders.
Q. As tar as you could judge did it seem
to be llie sense of that meeting that it was
proper to have this object accomplished ? A.
I did not hear any objection raised.
Q. You said that was in the month of
February. Can say at what time of the
month that meeting was held? A. I should
think it was somewhere about the middle of
February.
Q. By whom were you invited to alteud
the meeting? A. Captain Scott invited me
to attend tbe meeting.
Q* Was it on tbat occasion, or on some
other, that Sanders named over the persons
who were willing to accomplish jhis assas
sination ? A. At that time.
Q- Will you state whether among tbe
persons thus named John Wilkes Booth was
mentioned? A. Booth’s name was men
tioned ; I do not remember tbat the “John
Wilkes” was added to it. *
Q. Did you see Booth yourself iuC’anada?
A. Not then; saw Booth in October, 18G4.
Q. Can you recall now other names tbat
were mentioned besides Booth’s? A. Yes,
sir; George Harper was, one, Charles Cald
well one, llandall, and Harrison.
Q. Did you bear that person Harrison
spoken of by any other name ? Did you
hear the name Surratt mentioned ? A. I
heard Surratt’s name mentioned.
Q. Do yon know whether it was the same
person or not ? A. Ido not think it was.
Q. His name is John Harrison Surratt ? A.
Surratt’s name was mentioned
Q Did you see the prisoner Harold in Ca
nada at that time? A. I say I saw Harold;
I saw tbe one who was called Harrison in
Toronto.
Q Would you recognize him ? Look at
these prisoners and see if y’ou recognize him?
A [After looking at the prisoners], 1 should
think that third one on the bench there was
the man, [pointing to Harold.]
Q. He was spoken of as one who was
ready to accomplish assassination ? A. I
understood Mr. Sanders to say he was ready
to accomplish it or with others. He went
there by the name of Harrison.
Q. Look at the remainder of the prisoners,
and see if you recognize any them. Do yon
remember to have seen the prisoner Payne
iu Canada ? A. Ido not. I do not see any
other that I should recognize as ever having
met in Cauada, except Herold.
Q. Did I understand you to say that in the
conversation occurring between these rebels
and their friends, there was no leserve at all
in discussiug the question Af the assassination
of the President and his Cabinet ? A. I do
not think you understood me correctly if you
understood me that there was no reserve.
There was uot a great amount of reserve.
Q. It was discussed freely among them
selves then? A. Yes, sir.
In the cross examination of this witness,
further information concerning the letter was
elicited.
Q. You spoke of drinking wine with Mr.
Sanders; was that befoie or after the meet
ing at which the letter was read to which yon
referred ? A. That was after the interview
we had in October, but before the meeting
at which the letter of Davis was read.
Q. Where was that meeting held ? A. In
Mr. Sanders’ room.
Q. Who invited you to be present at tliat
meeting ? A. Captain Scott.
Q. It is possible that a portion of that let
ter has been misapprehended. I would like
to have you state the main points in it again.
A. Mr. Sanders read the letter aloud. I did
not read the letter myself. I think I stated
that iu the commencement. The purport of
the letter was tliat Mr. Davis did not wish
to recognise any persons as his friends who
were willing to submit to be governed by
Mr. Lincoln, conveying that sentiment,—the
language might be varied a good deal—and
that it the President aud Vice-Presicleut, and
some of the Cabinet, and some of the leading
generals, could be disposed of, it would satis
iy the people of the North tbat they (the
rebels) had friends here.
Q, That was stated in tlie letter? A. That
was stated iu the letter. I think. That was
the meaning of the letter. The phraseology
I, perhaps, do not exactly remember.
Tlie Conspirators Commissioned by tbe
Rebel Government.
SANFOHI) CONNOR CROSS-EXAMINED.
Q. As I understand you, you said you saw
those blank commissions that were signed
by Seddon, Secretary of War, to be given to
the persons that were to be engaged in the
assassination of the President and Cabinet,
and so on ? A. I saw commissions after they
were filled, which I was told had been filled
there.
Q. In Canada ? A. Yes, sir.
(J. Did you see how much of them were
blank when they vame there from Richmond?
A. They were all blank but the signature.
Q. Was there no grade of rank in them ?
A No,' sir ; that was put in by the agents
themselves; they conferred the commissions
at pleasure.
Q. Did you understand that these commis
sions were to be given upon their engaging
in this affair, as a sort of cover in case they
were taken, or that they were to go into the
army following it ? A. It was a cover so
that iu case they were detected they could
claim that they were rebel soldiers, and
would therefore claim to be treated as pris
oners of war, and it was understood that
they would be protected as such.
Q. Those commissions, you have said, were
to be given to them as soon as they engaged
in this enterprise. Was that engagement to
to be given by an oath, or by the obligation
of a contract ? Did you understand that ?
A. That 1 do not know, but they took the
oath of office, I suppose, or whatever it might
be called.
Bv Mr. Stone — Were these commissions
to be conferred principally as a reward for
carrying out this assassination project, or for
any of these enterprises which were prevent
ed on the borders ? A It was to enable the
parties upon whom they were conferred, to
act officially and to act Its rebel soldiers, and
to be protected as such iu case they were de
tected. Mr. Thompson said that in case the
men engaged in the enterprise were detected
and executed, the Confederate government
would retaliate.
Q. Could that apply to anything but raids
on the borders ? They could not expect au
assassin to be protected by a commission, I
suppose ? A. It was no murder. Mr.
Thompson said—mere killing.
HtQ. Did the giving of these commissions
have reference io the assassination project,
or embrace (ill enterprises on the border ?
A. It embraced the whole of them ; but I
think Booth was specially commissioned for
this purpose.
Q. How early was it that yon saw these
commissions ? A. I saw some commissions
as early as December.
Propoaltlona to Potion the Croton He«tr»
voir and Blow Up the Dam.
Sandford Canaver recalled;
By the Judge Advocate. —Q. You have
probably observed that in some judicial nm
ceedmgs which have recently taken pfo<?e °*t
Nassau, it lias been made to appear that
certain Dr Blackburn packed a numuJ of
trunks with clothes infected with tlie ydlow
fever for tbe purpose, through them, of n
troduein" the pestilence into tlie city of Nt tv
\ork I wish you to state whether or
not, the Dr. Blackburn referred to in these
proceedings is or is not the same person so
whom you referred in your testimony on
Saturday, as being in intimate assoriatinn
with Jacob Thompson, Clay and others ’ \
It is the same person; but 1 never saw him
with Clay. . U 1
Q. Will you state the persons whom
saw associated with this Dr. Blackburn in
Canada? A. Jacob Thompson, George N
Sanders, Lewis Sanders, son of George N
Sanders, Ex-Governor Westcott, of Florida
Lewis Castleman, William C. Cleary.
Q. Was Clay among them ? A.' No ah •
I never saw Clay with him; also, Mr. Portl
erfield, Captain Magruder, and a number of
rebels of lesser note.
Q. State whether or not this Dr. Blackburn
was recognized there and known as an agent
ot the so-called Confederate States? Yes
sir ; lie was said to be an agentfaud repre
sented himself as an agent. w 1
Q Just as Jacob Thompson was an ao-eart
A. Yes, sir. a
Q Will you state whether or not you had *
any consultations among these men upon the
subject of introducing the pestilence futo the
cities of the United States, aud what was
saia, and when? A. Iu January last I
know of Dr. Blackburn’s employing a per
son to accompany him for that purpose.
Q Name the party. A. Mr. John Came
ron ; tor th£ purpose of taking charge of
goods and bringing them to the cities of New
York, Philadelphia, and Washington, as I
understood.
* Q. You mean goods infected with yellow
fever? A. Yes, sir; I heard Dr. Blackburn
say that about a year before that time he lmd
endeavored to introduce the yellow fever into
New York, but for some reason, which I do
uot remember, failed. He went from Mont
real about a year ago last January to Bermu
da, or some of the West India Islands, lor
the express purpose of attending cases of
yellow fever, collecting infected clothing, and
so on, and forwarding it to New York, but
for some reason the the scheme foiled.
Q. Did you learn on his return, in the
course of these consultations, what he had
done, and what had interfered, if anything
had, to lead to a failme of the enterprise?
A. I have seen him; but not to speak to him
since his return.
Q. Was Jacob Thompson present at these
consultations? A. On one occasion I re
member Jacob Thompson aiul Mr. Cleary,
and, I think, also Lewis Sanders.
Q. Will you state whether or not they con
curred in the enterprise of Dr. Biackburn
introducing the pestilence in the manner
mentioned ? A. Yes, sir, they all favored
it, and were all very much interested in it;
and this time it was proposed to destroy the
Croton dam, and Dr. Blackburn proposed to
poison the reservoirs, and made a calculation
of thfe amount of poisonous matter it would
require to impregnate the waters so far as to
render an ordinary draught poisonous and
deadly.
Q. Had he taken the measure of the aque
duct so as to ascertain - what amount would
be required ? A. He had the capacity of the
reservoirs, and the amount of water that was
generally kept in them.
Q. Was the kind of poison wiiich he pro
posed to use mentioned ? A. Strychnine, ar
senic, and acids, prussic acid, and a number
of others which I do not remember.
Q. Did he or not regard the scheme as a
one? A. Mr. Thompson,
however, found it would be impossible to
collect so large a quantity of poisonous mat
ter without exciting suspicion aud leading to
the detection of parties ; but whether the
scheme has been entirely abandoned or not I
do uot know. So far as the blowing up of
the darn is concerned, it has not been.
Q. Will you state whether or uot Jacob
Thompson fully approbated the enterprise if
practicable? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Discussed it freely ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did tbe other persons whom you have
named also discuss it and approve it ? A.
Mr. Lewis Sanders and Mr. Cleary I remem
ber very well did.
Q. When was this matter discussed ? A.
In January last. 1 have heard it spoken of
since.
Q. Among the same persons? A. With
the exception of Dr. Blackburn. It was
spokeu of by* a Mr. Montross A. Pallin, ot
Mississippi, also a rebel, who bad beeu a
medical purveyor in tbe rebel army. ,
Q. Where does the agent, John Caineron,
of whom you speak, as having been employ
ed by Dr. Blackburn for this purpose, live ?
A. He ha3 lived iu Montreal; he declined to
go, being fearful of taking the yellow fever
and dying himself.
Q. Did you know whther a large compen
sation was offered him? A. les, sir; to
the extent of several thousand dollars, he
told me.
Q. Did you understand whether this was
to be paid by Jacob Thompson ? A. I un
derstood by Dr. Blackburn or by the agents.
I think Mr. Thompson was the moneyed
agent for all the other agents. I think they
all drew on him for what of money they re
quired. I know that some of them did.
Q. You say that up to tbe time when you
left Canada, or at tbe assassination of the
President, you did not know whether this
enterprise for poisoning the people of the city
of New York had beeu abandoned or not by
these conspirators ? A. No, sir; 1 did uot
know whether it had been abandoned. So
far as the destruction of the dam is concern
ed, that part of the scheme had not t>e^ n
abandoned.
Q. The only difficulty which Jacob Thomp
son suggested, I understand you, was that
the collection of so huge an amount of poison
might attract attention to the operation ? A.
Yes, sir. Mr. Thompson made a suggestion
of that kiud: but Mr. Pallin and others
thought it could be managed, and managed
in Europe.
Q. Pallin himself is a physician, is he uot ?
A. Yes, sir. _
~~ IIEADQ’RSIUSTKfcT'SAVAsS’AB,
Savannah, 6a., Jnn«s>, IS;*.
General Obders,)
No. 31. f
Capt. S. S. Starr, A. Q. M. of Volunteers, i# hereby
appointed Chief Quartermaster of the District of Sav
annah, and will perform the duties of that office ill ad
dition to those of Post Qnartermaster He will be
obeyed and respected accordingly. ’
By command of
Brevet Major General BIRGE'.
Oi-iver Matthews. A. A. O. juU-'(
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