Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 9.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

The promise of a “suitable reward” for “useful information” when made by a wealthy government could not fail to procure whatever information such a government might happen to desire.

Merritt's principal statement is, that he was present at a meeting in Montreal about the middle of February last (1865), when a proposition to kill President Lincoln was discussed, and a letter from Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, was read, approbating whatever might be done.

Sanford Conover's statement, before the Military Commission, was that the rebels at Montreal only wrote to Mr. Davis in February to get his approbation of the assassination project, and waited until April, when they got such a reply as Merritt said they had in February.

Merritt says this letter from Mr. Davis was read to the meeting by Mr. George N. Saunders, and he fixed the time about the middle of February. He says that after this reading of the letter it was handed to the members of the meeting and read by them, one after another; that the members present were Captain Scott, Colonel Steele and George Young.

At the time of this pretended meeting Captain Scott, Colonel Steele and Mr. Young were at Windsor, opposite Detroit, nearly 600 miles from Montreal, and were not absent from Windsor at any time during the month of February. As to Scott, see affidavit of P. S. Worthington, Barrister at Windsor, and of Dr. C. B. Gilbert. As to Young, the affidavit of Wm. Chapman, book-keeper of Hiron's Hotel; and as to Colonel Steele, affidavits of Mrs. Annie M. Palmer, G. McMicken, Magistrate; S. S. McDonnell, Mayor of Windsor, and of Judge Leggete, of the county court, and others. And what is still more remarkable in his stupid, preposterous perjury, Merritt was not himself in Montreal during the month of February, but as sworn by William Bell, Esq., coronor of Waterloo county, Canada, William Jackson, Thomas Scott, and Thomas M. Cook, residents of the village of Ayr, in said county, Merritt was never absent from the village during February. Ayr is more than 500 miles distant from Montreal.

Merritt says he had a conversation with Mr. Clement C. Clay in the city of Toronto in February, 1865, in which the assassination was spoken of, as well as the letter of Mr. Davis approving it, and that Mr. Clay said he thought the “end would justify the means.” The Judge Advocate, in order that there should be no possible mistake as to identity, asks him this question:

The Clay of whom you have spoken is Clement C. Clay, of Alabama,