The New Hampshire Gazette

The Libel upon the U. S. Senate.

On Monday last, Mr. Benton from the special Committee appointed by the U. S. Senate to enquire into and report what measures, if any, were proper to vindicate the character of the Senate against the charges of corruption made by an editorial article in the Washington Times, on the 5th, 9th, 10th and 11th inst. submitted a report. The articles in the "Times" contained three specifications of a character sufficiently definite to admit of specific inquiry. These specifications were:

1. A dinner, or entertainment, at the British minister's, at which many senators were said to be present, and where corrupt conversations in relation to the Oregon question were supposed to have been held. 2. A meeting of whig members in a room at the Capitol, on the Friday before the sailing of the steamer Cambria, at which the British minister was charged to be present, and where it was said to be agreed to have a vote taken to be sent off to Great Britain by the return of that steamer. 3. An admission by Mr. Senator John M. Clayton, that he was present at the British minister's table when the strength of the British Oregon party in the Senate, as it was styled, "was counted by their noses."

Each of these specifications, says the report, were found, upon investigation to be utterly and entirely false. The Committee gave the editor and publisher the benefit of directing the inquiry to the points which they deemed material. With respect to the dinner at the British minister's, and the alleged corrupt conversations there, the editor & publisher of the "Times" each declared on oath that they had no personal knowledge of them. The two persons named by them as witnesses having "a knowledge" of the dinner, or entertainment, and conversation there held,--Messrs. Medary & Turner--swore positively that they had no such "knowledge!"--There remained then no persons for further examination on this head but the Senators charged with being present at the supposed dinner; and the editor and publisher having each refused to say that he expected to prove by any member of the Senate any conversations with the British minister of the character mentioned in the publications, the committee stated that there was no doubt on their minds that the charge was a false and contemptible libel.

In relation to the meeting of whig senators and the closeting of the British minister with them on the Friday before the sailing of the Cambria, and the alleged resolve then taken to have an immediate vote on the Oregon question to send out by the Cambria, the committee declared that after a full examination they had found "the whole story unfounded and untrue."

With respect to the charge of "nose counting," at the minister's table, it appears, that on the first day of the meeting of the committee, the editor of the Times wrote down, in their presence, that he expected to prove by Mr. Schnabel, of Philadelphia, that Mr. J. M. Clayton, a member of the committee, then present, had admitted that he was present when this "nose-counting" took place. Mr. C. instantly demanded the production of the witness. Mr. S. quickly appeared before the committee--and on seeing what was written down as expected to be proved by him, manifested perfect amazement--declared that he could not sustain Mr. Robinson--that he was totally ignorant of every thing attributed to him--that he had never seen Mr. R. until the night before--and that all that was attributed to him was false and unfounded. On the following day Mr. Robinson sent a communication to the committee, declaring his previous reference to Mr. Schnabel to have been an "inadvertence," and that Messrs. Medary and Turner were the persons intended to be named. The committee saw no reason to examine these two persons who had previously sworn that they had no knowledge of anything that had ever been said or done at the British minister's table. But Mr. Clayton desiring it, these witnesses were recalled and examined on that point, and both fully declared that they knew nothing of any dinner at the minister's house, or any conversation there, or any admissions of any kind from Mr. Clayton, and that they had never spoken to or conversed with him in their lives, and had given Mr. Robinson no information on the subject!

Thus terminated the examination into these charges of the "Times." Some believed, when this matter was first brought up in the Senate, that it would gain for the Times newspaper a profitable notoriety;--but no man of honor can envy the notoriety which the printed report of this investigating committee will give the editor of that paper.

At the conclusion of their report, the committee recommended that the editor and publisher of the Times, and their reporters, be excluded from the gallery of the Senate Reporters. The Senate concurred.