Mr. CUNKLING. I appreeiate the indifference with which the House must listen to an issue such as this, in its design on one side so personal and individual in its character; and at this hour of the day I shall not presume so far upon the good nature or the sense of justice of my fellow members as to ask them for any great length of time to hear an expla nation or a statement the main object of which must seem to be to repel a purely personal attack. I can, however, assure the House with the utmost sincerity that for everything in this most extraordinary communication savoring of imputation upon me I am consoled, ay, doubly consoled, by the fact thatI shall become the humble instrument of initiating an investigation much needed and good for the people of the whole country, who esome and cleans in to the future. foreI sit down, Mr. Speaker, I shall yield to some gentleman to move, and Iknow the House will order it, a committee to investigate a subject which has now ceased to be individual and become public. a subject which concerns the rights and interests not only of that great procession of mourners and cripples which war as left in our land, not only of the tax payers of the country, but also to those in every walk and avenue of life, because all have a deep interest in preserving the purity of the government in all its Depts. Of course, Mr. Speaker, I shall have no part in that committee. I shall not move it, as it would not be proper for me to move it, but a committee will, I trust, be appointed to bring fairly to the public knowledge some of the matters whereofl shall briefly speak. Now, sir, asking the indulgence of the House for a space, I wish to take up some of the matters in this communication of GenlFry as [was able to noteJhem in the reading, which point directly, and which are intended to point injuriously to me. iLIl. Speaker, I did not file in the War Dept long avo information in reference to wide 5 read frauds in recruitingin the State of NewYork in which extensive combinations of active men were banded together in cities and out; I did not act as counsel for the Government in unearthing and breaking up these combinations and exposing the actors; I did not de vote upward of 4 months of patient labor in an attempt to arrest the enormous robberies and wrongs which prevailed in the State of NewYork, nor did I make an assault upon this bureau here, without counting the cost and knowing the conse ueuces. I was prepared or all the imlumnics ozid all the responsibility that he must take who ltrikesat the thieves, mmuders, and mise reants who have fatteued upon the necessities and needs of their country. I knew the resources and the desperation of the men who have made wealth out of the public woe. I under stood perfectly that I must be prepared for all comers of this description, an it was to this that I referred in the avowal of my readiness to maintain my allegations of wrong1 in the Provost Marshal Bureau at all times an places. Iwill not say “elsewhere, ” for fear of unset thng the nervesof some who hear me; but avoiding the expression “elsewhere, ” which is so dreadful, 1 say that I did not forget nor did I desire to avoid the responsibility of being asked to make good by proof the accusations I made; of course I expected, by disatches to news apers instigated by General ry and his satel lites, by every mode, secret and open, of influ encin the public judgment, and diverting attention from the objects of accusation, to be vilified; and I hope to be permitted, if not invited, to point out to some authority compe tent to receive and act upon itthe evidence on which I relied. That opportunity will be af forded if a committee shall be raised; and now I wish to call attention to 3 or 4 things contained in the letter of GenlFry, and I will not go further on this occasion. It is stated by this officer, as the House has heard, that upon a.certain occasion I tele graphed to the SecyWar in the language of the communication, as I caught it, in order “to make a case for myself, ” that is, to procure my own irofessional employment. It was said that my ispatch was to the effect that the provost marshal of my district wanted advice. Let me state that transaction, all of it being matter of record in the War Dept, so that it can be unmistakably verified or challenged. An alleged deserter was arrested by the provost marshal of my district without the process of any court. A writ of habeuscorpus was sued out of the supreme court of the State of NewYork. Acting upon a decision which had been made years before in a western case, and an opinion, or rather a charge, given a grand jury by Mr. Justice Nelson, of the SCOTUS, the officer made a return, in substance, that although no process of law had been issued for the arrest, lic, as a military officer of the U.S., held his prisoner and refused to obey the man date of the writ. An attachment was issued and we were on the mint of collision between the civil and the military authorities. Rel egraphed the SecyWar nothing except the facts, and my recommendation that he should direct the officer what to do. There was need of this. It was in 1863; atime in the State of NewYork when my colleagues well remember that it would only have been necessary that a collision should have occurred between the civil authority of the State and the military authority of the nation upon the issue of the habeascorpus and the effectwould have been like drawing a match in a magazine of owder. he SecyWar telegraphed that the provost marshal must hold his prisoner at all events. I do not now profess to give the vre cise language, but it was that he must hold rim and stand by his position, and the dispatch requested me to appear as his counsel, to take an appeal, and to argue the question between the military authorities of the U.S and the judicial authority of NewYork. did appear; I did argue the case, and although that is neither here nor there, the decision was reversed and reversed by one of the urest patriots and one of the most honore judges that ever graced NewYork s bench, and the decision stands as a monument of learning raised at a most critical and disordered time. An appeal was taken to the court in bane and there again I was renested by the SecyWar, and I think teAttyGen upon the application of the district attorney of the U.S. to act.as counsel, and Idid so. The decision was not. reversed, and it performed a very useful part at a very important. juncture. That, Mr. Speaker, was my connection with that transaction, and that was all of it; and upon this, an Officer at the head of a bureau has dared to send here a.letter on pretense of defendinghimself, containiu a groundlesslihel deliberately written to stab the reputation of a Representative in retaliation for discharging his duty here. I do not mean to be led into much zeal over the matter; but it is a bad plan for a man unjustly accused to resort to this sort of counter assault. Again, this writer states that [was appointed, if I understand it aright, without the knowl edge or assent of the SecyWar, but i) the Asst Secretary, Mr.ana, judge ad3r vocate for a certain purpose. Let me state briefly that transaction. During the period referred to, or before, detectives were sent by the War Dept into the State of NewYork, to en cavor to ferret out, if possible, and put a stop to frauds in recruiting. These detectives, it seems, had been directed by the authorities to apply to me, among others, for advice and information as to persons in various localities whose statements could be relied on. They came, several of them, and repeat edly, to me. They came in the night as well as in the day, and communicated to me various fragments and bits of evidence which they collected, showing rather the extent of the evil,and the difficulty of getting at the bottom of it than anything else. Weeks elased, and very little information was gathere, or, asthey exrcssed it, although they could get moral evience enough, they could get no lega1 evidence. Atlength I promised that when should be relieved of engagements in the courts which were then pressing, I would investigate, as far as I could, various things which they and I suspected. I did so; and I sent to the War Dept such information as I gathered, an some very pregnant disclosures which were made. Having done this, acting as a citizen, I supposed my connection with it was to cease. But afterward I cannot state the date precisely; it was in April, a year ago I received in the city of Syracuse, 53 miles from my home, while I was there prolbssiouallywzngaged, an or cut telegraph from the SecyWar, as ring me to come to Washington. As soon as I could release myself I took the cars, and, riding night and day, reached here in ignorance of the purpose for which I was summoned. Ar priving here in the morning, I went to the War Dept, and there had an interview with Mr. Stanton, the SecyWar. He explained his sending for me, and stated to me certain facts, and I stated to him other facts relative to the subject of frauds and malad ministration; and he proposed that, as counsel for the Government, I should investigate and prosecute, until the euormities discovered should be ferreted out and the guilty convicted. I at 1st declined, for reasons connected with my other professional engagements, knowing that preparatory to leavm home for the present session of Congress should need all my time and strength in my ordinary business. In my place, I suggested to the Secretary a gentleman, whose name I need notmention here, but it is one of the best and purest names in the State of NewYork, agentleman of very high standing at the bar, and whom I hoped might be able to give the matter his attention, and l advised that.to him rather than to me the retainer should be given. The answerof the Secretary was in effect, no, I know you, and I want you to do this, believing on will do it with activity and vigor, or some ike remark of confidence. I took some little time to cousider it, debating with myself. Upon reflection, I assented, and the Secretary himself directed in person and in my presence to be drawn up and presented to me a retainer which I believe has, been read among these papers. That, sir, was theorigin oft hat engagement, and of that transaction. Yet, the author of the remarkable production on the table ventures to insinuate, ifhe does not state, that I sought this employment, and obtained it, not from the SecyWar, but from Mr. Dana, and that without the authority or assent, and I think without the knowledge, of the Secretary. I went to my home, disre garding and neglecting, as some persons who now hear me know, professional eniployments vastly more profitable to me, and devoted more than 4 months of most nntiring, faithful labor to this investigation. I threw u numerous other retainers and gave undivide attention to this. I gave to it an effort which, although anybody else might have made it, and which did me no credit in the world, I stop to say, brought into the Treasui of the U.S. several 100,000 dollars, and checked it most heady tide of swindling. The investigation led, among other things, to the trial of this asst provost marshal general, of whom GenlFry says so much and yet so little; a trial which alone consume about ci rht weeks, at places distant from my home. Vhen at last it was over, I declined to go further, thinking my poor share had been done, and finding it destructive to my regular business to engage in trials so. interminable and absorbing, and I made report to the War Dept and to the district attorney of the U.S. of the results which had been reached. Some time after this, I received as other acting counsel do, I believe, a suggestion that I should present my bill. I made out and sent to the War Dept an account of the precise sum I ha actually advanced in money, as traveling and other necessary expenses, rendering the amountto a farthing, an I made out no other uccountand no other charge. But I stated to the Secretary that I preferred not to do so, but to leave him to fix the amount; that the service was unusual to me, and that he better than I could judge of its value. I declined to fix any charge, but left it to him to fix such sum, whatever it might be, as he deemed the service worth; this I deemed at least fair to the Government, more than fair, for had I wished extravagant pay I should have taken any other course. In reply I received from the SecyWar a letter, in which he stated his opinion, and his opinion as a lawyer and as SecyWar is a tolerably good one. Perhaps it will not be considered a remark too much aside, considering the intimations we have heard, if I pause, and render to the SecyWar my personal thanks, and my testimony to the thanks which I believe the nation owes him for the integrity, the courage, and the manhood which he has given at the expense of his health to the American people during the darkest passage in their life. he SecyWar, in reply to my letter, wrote to me, saying that he deemed $3,000 a moderate sum for the labor which had been performed, and if that should be satisfactory to me, it would be very satisfactory to him. I returned an answer that it was entirely satisfactory, as I may sa any other sum he might have fixed would rave been, as I did not consider it an occasion out of which profit was to be made, or in which even such a charge might be made as any lawyer (it to conduct sue a prosecution would have expected from aprivate client.