AMERICAN POST OFFICE FRADUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1211, 22 December 1882, Page 2

AMERICAN POST OFFICE FRADUS.

Another great American State trial has resulted in what, for the moment can only be regarded as a miscarriage of justice. Many months ago, the i colossal frauds which had been practised during the ministration of Mr Hayes upon the Post Office Department, amounting in the aggregate to several millions of dollars, were revealed. It will be remembered that the means adopted for robbing the Treasury displayed the simplicity of genius. The law required that all contracts for the transportation of mails should be awarded to the lowest bidder, but gave discretionary power to the authorities to take a different course in certain exceptional .cases. In the frontier and milling States, towns grow into fairsized cities, like Jonah's gourd, in a single night, and " mail routes," which in the budget have been put down for 1 service weekly, sometimes have to be suddenly transformed into routes with 2or 3 services a-week, or perhaps with a daily service. In such cases the Postmaster-General without adver- : tising, can, in the phrase of the bureau, "expedite" the route upon such terms of compensation as he deems proper. Again, where a mail contractor fails to perform his contract the Postmaster-General makes another contract *, for *ttie same service with whomsoever he pleased and charges the delinquent. The frauds were prepetrated by collnsion with the responsible heads of the Post Office. A route would be advertised as one for a weekly service. One of the tools of the ring would put in a ridiculously low bid, and having been awarded the contract the authorities at once " expedited " the route, and made it very lucrative. Or, again in 'the second class of cases, a bid would be accepted from an irresponsible dummy of the ring, ar^d worthless bonds accepted | for the due performance of the work. ' Then the dummy would default on his contract, and the authorities would ■give,out a new contract to the ring at .' extravagantly high rates. The principal and responsible authors of this little game where a senator of the United States, Mr Dorsey, who was at the time chairman of the Post Office Committee, and Second Assistant Postmaster-General Brady, in whose department the details of mail transportation were arranged. Many others were of course also in the ring — Congressman, and relatives and friends of Congressmen, hordes of small fry jobbers. Since the exposure of the great Tweed frauds upon the city of New York no more humilating scandal has been dragged fourth to the light The most guilty me_ were almost without exception the Stalwarts. Dorsey had j been secretary of the National Republican CommitteeS in the Garfield campagin, and it was rumored that a bargain had been made that if Garfield where loyally supported by the Stalwarts, the indictments against Mr Doisey and his friend should be nolle prossed. The event showed that this was merely a piece of injudicious rhodomontade on the part of the ring. Garfield ordered a rigorous prosecution of the indictment, and Mr Bliss, one of the ablest and most industrious lawyers of the New York Bar, was specially employed to bring the cases to trial. Justice moved, perforce, however, with a leaden foot ; it was months before the conspirators could be all arraigned together at the bar, and then came endless argument over the preliminary legal technicalities. Meanwhile Garfield was assassinated, and it was feared that the new Administration might, secretly or openly, bring about the escape of the parties. Dorsey was known to have been an intimate friend or Mr Arthur, and the latter gentleman presided at the testimonial dinner to the said Dorsey for his services to the party in carrying the State of Indiana at the most critical juncture of the compaign. But President Arthur, ' si cc his elevation to the White House,

has agreebly disappointed the expectations of his enemies by showing himself far more keenly alive to a sense of duty than to a sentimental fondness for his accidental associates in the past He put the management of the case into the personal charge of the new Attorney-General, Mr Brewster, and that gentleman and Mr Bliss left no stone unturned to secure a conviction. The defendants were represented by a cloud of able lawyers — among the rest the man whom Mr Beecher says is the greatest living English-speaking orator, Colonel Robert G. tngersoll. Inevitably, the trial was long and tedious. It took over two months to put in the testimony, and another ten days were consumed in the summing up of counsel. And now came the most startling event of the proceedings. The Judge, prior to delivering his charge, said that he had been informed by several of the jury that attempts had been made to bribe them. He added that such a monstrous and wicked crime would be rigidly investigated, and he hoped that the jury would be true to their oath. It was plain, however, that the Court and .he prosecution were very greatly in doubt as to the honesty of some of the jurors, and the result has shown that these suspicions were well founded. After remaining out three days the jury brought in a verdict convicting two of the minor culprits, and further announced that they were utterly unable to agree as to Dorsey and Brady — that is, the small fry were held fast in the net while the big sharks were permitted to go at large. Everyone who had followed the evidence knew that it was impossible for a sane man to find anyone guilty of conspiracy without including in the plot at least Brady and almost necessarily also Dorsey. Nine of the twelve jurors were for conviction from the first ; and the remaining three — two negroes and the white foreman — proved incorrigibly obstinate. With the general approval of everyone, the Judge has set the verdict aside in the case of the two men convicted as unreasonable and against the weight of the evidence. The Attorney-General has at once begun preparations for a second trial. Of course the grand jury will look into the bribery matter, and find indictment, against the guilty parties. The one white man who held out for acquittal has made an affidavit charging thet an agent of the Attorney-General offered him 25,000d0l to vote for conviction ; but this is too absurd a story to be accredited, and it only serves to strengthen the belief that its author is no better than he shonld be. The cost of the trial to Government has been enormous. Counsel fees foot up 50,000d0l and other incidental expenses make up a grand total of 200, OOOdol. Meanwhile Dorsey and Brady are out on bail, and nightly drive fast horses and stylish vehicles along Pennsylvania avenue and on the road to the Soldiers^Home. Strangely, like Tweed, they seem unable to deny themselves the pleasure of defying the world to do its worst, and, like that gentleman, they will probably find that thus spurred on to show its virtue, the world will in the end give them their deserts.-Correspondet * Sydney Herald.'