York, to be used by them in meeting such requisitions as should be
directly consequent upon the military and naval measures necessary for
the defense and support of the Government, requiring them only to act
without compensation and to report their transactions when duly called
upon. The several Departments of the Government at that time contained
so large a number of disloyal persons that it would have been impossible
to provide safely through official agents only for the performance of
the duties thus confided to citizens favorably known for their ability,
loyalty, and patriotism.

The several orders issued upon these occurrences were transmitted by
private messengers, who pursued a circuitous way to the seaboard cities,
inland across the States of Pennsylvania and Ohio and the northern
lakes. I believe that by these and other similar measures taken in that
crisis, some of which were without any authority of law, the Government
was saved from overthrow. I am not aware that a dollar of the public
funds thus confided without authority of law to unofficial persons was
either lost or wasted, although apprehensions of such misdirection
occurred to me as objections to those extraordinary proceedings, and
were necessarily overruled.

I recall these transactions now because my attention has been directed
to a resolution which was passed by the House of Representatives on the
30th day of last month, which is in these words:

_Resolved_, That Simon Cameron, late Secretary of War, by investing
Alexander Cummings with the control of large sums of the public money
and authority to purchase military supplies without restriction, without
requiring from him any guaranty for the faithful performance of his
duties, when the services of competent public officers were available,