Belmont Chronicle

Senator Wade and the Conduct of
the War.

The following is from the Washington
correspondent of the Commercial:

The investigating Committee, of which
Hon. Ben. Wade is chairman, continues to
examine searchingly into the past, and present conduct of the war. It does not disclose the evidence to the newspapers, and
thereby it gets at many facts which might
otherwise be withheld from its scrutiny,
while its influence as a wholesome check
upon mal-administration, as well as a spur
to meritorious activity, is sensibly felt by all
the officers of the army. The whole time
of the chairman—Senator Wade—has, for
weeks, been absorbed in these investigations, he only appearing in the Senate to
vote on important questions. Within the
last three or four days, indeed, he has got
back to taking a very active part in the deliberations and debates of the Senate; but
this is only auxiliary to the military duty referred to, he having in charge the two very
important war measures, which have now
become laws, as before recorded. The well
known vigor and intensity of character of the
Ohio Senator were strikingly illustrated in
the course of the debate upon the railway
bill. He declared, in reply to sundry pettifogging objections, that although he believed the President might now exercise the
power which this bill aimed to confer upon
him, nevertheless he thought it better that
Congress should invest him with it, so as to
render unnecessary any seeming usurpation;
at the same time, declared Wade, "if I were
President in such times as these, if Congress
failed to confer all the power needful to put
down this rebellion, by Heaven! I would
take it; and you might call it what you
pleased."