ACQUITTAL OF THE AGENTS. 135 WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 30, 1865. MY DEAR SIR-I inclose you a certified copy directing your release, saying you are acquitted. The others are convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for life. So says the Secretary of War. Very truly yours, JOHN GANSON. Col. Samuel North, Unadilla, N. Y. (Copy.) WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, MR. WY. P. WOOD, Superintendent Old Capitol Prison :— SIR-Col. North having been acquitted by the Military Commission before which he was tried, the Secretary of War directs that he be immediately released from confinement. Report receipt and execution of this order. (Signed) (A true copy.) Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, E. D. TOWNSEND, Asst. Adj.-Gen. E. D. TOWNSEND, Asst. Adj.-General. "It will be noticed that the Secretary of War stated that Cohn and Jones had been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for life. He repeated this to Col. North and others, and insisted upon it. The statement was published in the papers and generally believed. Then comes another letter from John Ganson, as follows: WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 15, 1865. MY DEAR SIR-Cohn and Jones were acquitted and discharged accordingly, on my application to the Secretary of War. The statements made in regard to them were for the purpose of letting the party in power down easy. I hope your freedom has restored you to good health. Col. Samuel North, Unadilla, N. Y. Very truly yours, JOHN GANSON. "Edwin M. Stanton deliberately lied, in saying that Cohn and Jones were convicted, as this letter shows, and as the records, then in Stanton's possession, establish. Though these general statements were made, and the agents were released, yet the War Secretary re fused to allow any official verdict of the Military Commission to be published. Why, I do not care to presume, unless it was to prevent further publicity of his atrocious falsehood. It was not till last year that the records were furnished the accused, and then by order of Andrew Johnson, upon the application of Congressman Goodyear." Here follows official record of proceedings of the Military Commission, dated February 12, 1867, showing that North, Cohn, and Jones were found "not guilty" on all the charges, "and do therefore acquit said Samuel North, Levi Cohn, and Marvin M. Jones." Signed, John A. Foster, Col. and Judge Advocate, and Abner Doubleday, Maj. Gen. of Vol. and President of Military Commission. The Tribune having just before the election charged that Mr. Jones made a confession, and afterward claming that the three persons named had been convicted, but released through the leniency of the President, was obliged through fear of legal proceedings to publish two denials of its former statement, of which the following, from the issue of February 3, 1868, is one : "The New York Daily Tribune, on the 2d day of November, 1864, in an article in relation to the arrest of Messrs. North, Jones, and Cohn, at Washington, upon a charge of fraud in connection with soldiers' votes, published the following referring to M. M. Jones, Esq., of Utica, N. Y. : 666 'Marvin Jones, Colonel North's Chief Assistant, confined with him at Old Capitol, has thrown gravel and ashes into the teeth of. Governor Seymour's Special Commission to-day, by making a ful confession of his complicity in the forging of votes, and that the business has been carried on at Colonel North's Agency, much more extensively than any thing done at Baltimore. It is understood that the Commissioners are further staggered by his complete implication of Colonel North in the frauds. The end is not yet reached. "It appears that injustice was done Mr. Jones by this article, although, at the time, we supposed it to be true, having received it VINDICATION OF THE AGENTS. 137 from a Washington correspondent. Mr. Jones was, after a long imprisonment, discharged by the Military Commission, and we are satisfied that there was no evidence that he made any confession of, or that he was guilty of any forgery by himself, or at the New York Soldiers' Agency, as we charged in the above extract, and his discharge is satisfactory proof to us that no evidence of forgery existed.'" Similar falsehoods were circulated in regard to the Baltimore arrests, and it is sufficient to say that not a single person appointed by Governor Seymour was convicted of fraud, although tried by secret' and partisan military tribunals. The whole affair was characterized by Hon. William C. Bently, in the Assembly last winter, as follows:— "If gentlemen knew the degrading character of that imprisonment, and the means used to insult and persecute the accused, it seems to me that they must unanimously condemn the affair as the most outrageous and abhorrent acts of a bold, wanton, and unscrupulous administration, inasmuch as the proof is irrefragable that Stanton and his accomplices knew the innocence of the accused at the time they arrested and incarcerated them like condemned felons, in the strong cells of a dungeon." And it is honorable to the Republican party, when these facts were laid before them, and their eyes for the first time were opened to the crimes thus perpetrated against the soldiers of New York, and the agents who were engaged in taking care of the sick and wounded, that they aided to pass a bill which appropriated an ample sum to pay the counsel engaged in their defense, and thus to show their abhorrence of the shameful acts of the administration at Washington. Thus in another instance Governor Seymour stands vindicated by the official votes of his opponents from the charges persistently made against him. CHAPTER XVI. PROCLAMATIONS DURING THE WAR. GOVERNOR SEYMOUR'S Proclamations during his gubernatorial terms were invariably models of elegant and vigorous writing, and were remarkable for touching and patriotic sentiments. Yet for every one that he issued as for every other act or expression of his life, however wise and pure it might be, he was unscrupulously abused. The reader may be pleased to judge for himself of their character by some extracts from proclamations issued during the war. The proclamation of a thanksgiving on the last Thursday of April, 1863, said:— 'Acknowledging our dependence upon His power, let us put away pride and ingratitude, malice and uncharitableness, and implore Him to deliver our land from sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion, and to restore the blessings of peace, concord, and union to the sev eral States of our distracted and afflicted country." The following is the proclamation of August 3, 1863: "WHEREAS, The President of the United States has set apart Thursday, the sixth day of August, to be observed as a day of National thanksgiving and praise, for the signal victories recently gained by our armies and navies; I, Horatio Seymour, Governor of New York, do hereby request the people of this State to observe that day in the manner and for the purposes recommended by the Chief Magistrate of the Union. "Humbly acknowledging our dependence upon Almighty God, let us assemble in our respective places of public worship, and with heartfelt gratitude thank Him for our National successes. Let us pour forth the fervent prayer for His blessings upon those who have periled their lives in desperate conflicts, to uphold the Constitution of our country, and to maintain that Union of these States which is essential to the peace and happiness of our people. In the midst of our rejoicings, let us remember those whose homes have been made desolate by the ravages of war. Let us offer up our petitions that our people may be animated by virtue, intelligence, and patriotism, and that our rulers may be endowed with wisdom to put down rebellion, to uphold the liberties and rights of our people, and to restore the blessings of peace, order, and prosperity to our afflicted country." The Thanksgiving Proclamation for November, 1863, read: "Let us offer our fervent prayers that rebellion may be put down, our Union saved, our liberties preserved, and our Constitution and Government upheld. As a becoming proof of thankfulness to God, and as a proper evidence of our gratitude to the armies and navy, I urge our citizens to make contributions on that day, for the comfort and support of the destitute families of those who have lost their lives, or have become disabled in the service of their country." The following appointed a day of fasting: STATE OF NEW YORK, PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR. } The President of the United States, having set apart Thursday, the 4th inst., for national fasting, humiliation, and prayer; I, Horatio Seymour, Governor of the State of New York, do recommend that the day be observed thoughout the State with suitable religious solemnities. Let us repent of our manifold sins and offenses, and humbly pray that Almighty God will put down all rebellious resistance to rightful authority, all sectional hatred, all bigotry and malice, all hurtful ambition or partisan purposes which tend to discord and strife. That he will restore the Union of our States, and fraternal affection between the inhabitants thereof, and give peace to our land. Acknowledging the justice of his punishments upon us for our |