The Committee found that a large percentage of the $427,000
was not a proper subject for contract under the law, and that
it would have been collected by the Internal Revenue Bureau
in the ordinary discharge of its duty. The law provided that
the person with whom it was made should assist the Treasury
officials in discovering and collecting, so that the collections
were to be made by the Treasury. But the contract in fact
signed authorized Sanborn to make the collections, and required
the Treasury officials to assist him.

The Committee further called attention to the fact that the
law provided that no person should be employed who should
not have fully set forth in a written statement under oath
the character of the claim out of which he proposed to recover
or assist in recovering the moneys for the United States,
the laws by the violation of which the same had been withheld,
and the name of the person, firm or corporation having withheld
such moneys. This provision was disregarded utterly.

The Committee found that the Commissioner of Internal Revenue
was not consulted in the matter, nor was any official of his
Bureau, nor was he advised as to the making of the contracts
or of the character of the claims, although the proper officials
of the Government, referred to in the statute, could only
have been the officials of the Internal Revenue Bureau. It
was shown that the Commissioner of Internal Revenue wrote
a letter protesting against the manner of these collections
to the Secretary of the Treasury, which was never answered.
The Committee found that the Commissioner was studiously ignored
by the Secretary of the Treasury and the officials in his
office.

The wicked and fraudulent character of the transactions is
shown in the report.

When the Committee made their report the matter was debated
in the House of Representatives by Governor Foster and other
gentlemen who had taken part in the investigation. All these
Sanborn transactions were with the Assistant Secretary in
Mr. Boutwell's absence, until later Mr. Richardson became
Secretary of the Treasury. The Committee unanimously agreed
to report a resolution that the House had no confidence in
the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Richardson, and demanded
his removal. President Grant was notified of this conclusion.
He sent for the members of the Committee and personally urged
them to withhold the resolution, and offered that the Secretary
should resign