Martin of most unjustifiable intrigues with the
rebels, yet he was in a position to assure them, as he had already
assured those to whom Mr. Martin was primarily responsible, that that
gentleman's hasty flight was dictated solely by a consciousness of
political guilt, and that, in money matters, Mr. Martin's hands were
as clean as his own. The reproach that had fallen on the fair fame
of Aureataland in this matter was due not to that able but misguided
young man, but to those unprincipled persons who, in the pursuit of
their designs, had not hesitated to plunder and despoil friendly
traders, established in the country under the sanction of public
faith.
The reproach to which his Excellency eloquently referred consisted in
the fact that not a cent of those three hundred thousand dollars which
lay in the bank that night was ever seen again! The theory was that
the colonel had made away with them, and the President took great
pains to prove that under the law of nations the restored Government
could not be held responsible for this occurrence. I know as little
about the law of nations as the President himself, but I felt quite
sure that whatever that exalted code might say (and it generally seems
to justify the conduct of all parties alike), none of that money would
ever find its way back to the directors' pockets.
Pages:
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183