Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) Report no. 326
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05584 Author/Creator: Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Document Date: 9 March 1848 Pagination: 1 p. ; 22.2 x 13.8 cm. Order a Copy
Lincoln reports his recommendation to the House that Brimfield, Illinois Postmaster H. M. Barney be released from paying specie funds lost in a disastrous fire. Barney's store, along with all the papers of the post office, was destroyed by fire on 15 December 1847.
[excerpt]
…Mr. LINCOLN, from the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, made the following
REPORT:
The Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, to whom was referred the petition of H.M. Barney, postmaster at Brimfield, Peoria county, Illinois, report:
That they have been satisfied by evidence, that on the 15th of December, 1847, said petitioner had his store, with some fifteen hundred dollars worth of goods, together with all the papers of the post office, entirely destroyed by fire; and that the specie funds of the post office were melted down, partially lost, and partially destroyed; that his large individual loss entirely precludes the idea of embezzlement; that the balances due the department of former quarters has been only about twenty-five dollars; and that owing to the destruction of the papers, the exact amount due for the quarter ending December 31st, 1847, cannot be ascertained. They therefore report a joint resolution, releasing said petitioner from paying anything for the quarter last mentioned. …
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