A. On the 28th of December last.

Q. Were they in pursuance of previous notice?

A. They were.

Q. Have you a copy of the notice?

A. I have.

The witness produced a copy of the notice which was marked exhibit A.

Q. Have you the bids submitted for the repairs of that section? A. Yes, sir.

Q. State the names of the bidders.

A. Francis Kidder, Irvin A. Fonda, William O'Neal, Jr., Mill P. Pharis, Sheldon S. Pratt, Charles Vanderkar, Benjamin F. Wells, and Ryal Briggs.

Q. When were the bids canvassed?

A. They were canvassed on 29th and 31st of last December, Q. Who were present?

A. All the members of the Contracting Board.

Q. Can you name them?

A. N. S. Benton, J. P. Goodsell, F. A. Alberger, R. C. Dorn and B. F. Bruce, a part of the day; the last part of the day Mr. Bruce was not there.

Q. State the action of the Board in reference to these bids?

A. In the first place the bids are taken and opened by one member of the Board, generally the Auditor. I think the Auditor opened them.

Q. What was the action of the Board in this particular case of section 3 of the Champlain canal?

A. I don't know how I can answer you in any other way. The bids are opened and read, and a minute of them taken, and then they go to another bid; they were taken in rotation as they took them up on the table.

Q. In what book are the bids entered?

A. In the book of minutes of the Contracting Board.

Q. Where is that book?

A. It is in the office.

Q. After they have been read and entered what next?

A. Then they look to see which is the lowest bid. They examine them to see whether they are formal or informal.

Q. What did they do in that respect in reference to these bids?

A. In the first place, after examining the bids on that section, they examined Mr. Vanderkar's bid. There was a question arose in the Board whether it was formal or informal.

Q. In what respect was it alleged to be informal?

A. On account of some scratches being in it, and interlineations written over an erasure.

Q. Were the particulars in which it was found to be informal specified in any way in writing?

A. It is specified in the resolution; perhaps I had better go back and state

Q. You may go back. I was asking you of the course of proceeding in canvassing these bids. You told me that they were opened and the entries were made upon the minute book. Now, state the next proceeding that was had?

A. The next proceeding was the reading of the proposals.
Q. What next?

A. Then the next consideration was, what was the lowest legal bid?

Q. Whose was the lowest legal bid?

A. Mr. Vanderkar's.

Q. What was done in reference to that?

A. They raised a question in the Board whether it was formal or informal, and finally they took a vote on it. A motion was made to award the contract to Mr. Vanderkar, and they took a vote upon it. It was carried, and they awarded it to Mr. Vanderkar. Q. Can you give the vote?

A. I cannot here.

Q. Does your minute book show?

A. Yes sir, I think it does, but I'd rather have my minutes here. Q. To whom was the contract awarded?

The witness produced the proposals with a copy of the bond attached to the contract. They were the proposals of Charles Vanderkar, dated Waterford, December 25th, 1866, which proposed to keep in repair superintendent section No. 3, of the Champlain canal, for five years from the 1st of January, 1867, for $9,700 per annum; also the proposal of Ryal G. Briggs, bearing date Decem

ber 24th, 1866, which proposed to keep the same section in repair for the same period for $17,750 per annum.

The examination of the witness was here suspended.

Charles Vanderkar being duly sworn, testified as follows:

By Mr. SMITH.

Q. Where do you reside?

A. Waterford.

Q. What is your age and occupation?

A. I am 39 years of age, and I am a foreman on the canal, contractor, etc.

Q. Did you make a proposition to keep Superintendent Section No. 3 of the Champlain canal in repair at the last meeting of the Contracting Board?

A. I did.

Q. Is this the paper now produced?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you execute a bond?

A. Yes, sir; I signed it.

Q. What did you do with them after they were prepared?

A. I sent them to Albany; I did not send them myself, but I left them in the hands of another person to send down.

Q. Did you make a deposit of money?

A. I had a certificate of deposit in the bank. I got a certificate, I think it was $4,000.

Q. A certificate of deposit to the credit of the Auditor?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What was the next thing that occurred after you sent the papers to Albany?

A. The next thing I heard was that the contract was awarded to me Q. Who did you hear that from?

A. I heard it from somebody who was down from our place and who came up there. I cannot state exactly who the person was that I heard it from, but I heard it from several. It was a common report around that I had it.

Q. What next came to your knowledge in relation to it after you heard it noised about?

A. The next thing I heard was that I was to come down and enter into the contract.

Q. Did you come?

A. I came down on the 2d day of January. Then again after I heard it was awarded to me, I heard that they had pulled it back. Q. On the 2d day of Jauuary you came to Albany?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Where did you go?

A. I went to the Canal Board.

Q. What took place there?

A. I went in there and asked about the letting.

Q. Who did you ask?

A. Mr. Dorn; Mr. Dorn was there.

Q. Canal Commissioner?

A. Yes, sir; Mr. Dorn and the Auditor, Mr Benton; I think Alberger was there; I am not positive about the new Canal Commissioner, for I do not know him; Mr. Bruce was not there.

Q. Were they all present when you asked?

A. When I first went in I asked about the bids.

Q. Were they all present then?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What did you ask?

A. I asked how many bids there were for this section, and which was the lowest bid.

Q. What was said?

A. I went in and asked Mr. Dorn; I said I think this; I spoke to him and said "Who is the lowest bidder on this work?" he said "The lowest bidder was a man named Charles Vanderkar, and I suppose that is you;" I asked him "Who is the next lowest ?" and he said "I think it is Mr. Johnson's bid; then I asked if I could see the papers that is the proposals.

Q. Asked who?

A. I asked the whole of the gentlemen there. Mr. Benton, the Auditor, ordered the clerk to show me the papers. He showed them to me and I looked at them. Mr. C. A. Waldron was with me, he is the surrogate of our town, and I asked where the difficulty was, and he showed me the difficulty.

A. The gentleman who was here.

Q. Mr. Ackley?

A. That is the man.

He showed me a deficiency in it. [After looking.] I don't see it here, but there was some deficiency that he showed me at the time. I don't see where the deficiency was. I did not take particular notice of it myself, but Mr. Waldron looked at it where he said it was erased — where it was scratched.

Q. What did he say about it?

A. That is all he said. Then I asked if it was awarded, and he said it was.

Q. Go on.

A. After he showed me the deficiency in these papers, Mr. Dorn went out of the room, and I walked out in the hall, and I said to Mr. Dorn-in the first place, I was a little excited. I did not feel very well pleased at the matter. I asked him if my bid was not the lowest bid-I think that is what I asked him. I asked him if it had not been awarded, and he said it had. I asked him why it had been recalled, and if the contract was not mine. He said that it was by reason of an informality or something like that. He said it was scratched. Then Waldron commenced talking with him and asked him whereabouts it was. I cannot really state the words that Waldron used with him at that time, but he turned around and said " you would not take the contract!" I said "I will take the contract and I am here to enter into it." He said, "you cannot have it; your bid is informal-the Board would not let you have it." Then I spoke up and said, "there is no chance for a man here who has not got money"- that is what I said. I said "Willard Johnson has got money, and he runs the Champlain canal now." These were the words which I used with Mr. Dorn.

Q. Did anything further take place about it, so far as you know? A. Nothing further.

Q. Who filled out that proposition?

A. Mr. Cornelius A. Waldron.

Q. So far as you know, is it in the same condition here that it was when it was filled out and signed?

A. As far as I know. Let me just look over it once more. [Looking at it.] It is, so far as I know.

Q. Who filled out the bond?

A. Mr. Waldron filled it out.

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