Commonwealth of Massachusetts. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Jan. 19, 1844. Ordered, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into any charges which may be preferred against Asahel Huntington, District Attorney of this Commonwealth, for malfeasance in the discharge of the duties of his officeand that said Committee be authorized to send for persons and papers. CHARLES W. STOREY, JR., Clerk. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, March 12, 1844. The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom the order referred to in the foregoing report was recommitted, have taken the subject into consideration again, and respectfully recommend that, in conformity with the desire of the respondent, a Committee be appointed, to meet during the recess of the Legislature, to examine the charges which have been preferred against the said Asahel Huntington, and to make their report thereon at the next session of the Legislature. And further, that the said Committee have authority to send for persons and papers. For the Committee, L. SALTONSTALL. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Jan. 1845. The undersigned, Committee appointed by an order of the House of Representatives, passed March 13th, 1844, “to examine the charges which have been preferred against Asahel Huntington, Esquire, District Attorney of the Commonwealth," and "make report thereon at the next session of the Legislature," having attended to that duty, ask leave to REPORT: That on the 19th day of January, 1844, the following order was passed in the House of Representatives, on the original motion of Cyrus Washburn, Esquire, one of the members of the House from Lynn: "Ordered, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into any charges which may be preferred against Asahel Huntington, District Attorney of this Commonwealth, for mal-practice in the discharge of the duties of his officeand that said Committee be authorized to send for persons and papers." That said Committee met on the 26th day of the same month, and Mr. Washburn presented the following charges :— 1st. That said Huntington, in the year 1836, received of Nehemiah A. Breed, of Lynn, $42, as fine and costs, of which only $19 65 have been accounted for to the Commonwealth. Witnesses: N. A. Breed, of Lynn, William F. Wade, of Ipswich, County Treasurer, and book. 2d. That the said Huntington, in the year 1837, July 10th, received of Caleb Wiley, of Lynn, $130, as fine and costs, of which only $99 34 have been accounted for to the Commonwealth. Witnesses Caleb Wiley, William Fabens, of Marblehead, and William F. Wade, County Treasurer, and book. 3d. That said Huntington, in the years 1842 and 1843, received of Abbot Walker, of Salem, $100, as fine and costs, of which only $50 have been accounted for to the Commonwealth. Witnesses: Abbot Walker, of Salem, and William F. Wade, County Treasurer, and book. 4th. That the said Huntington in the year 1843, received of Samuel W. Spear, of Lynn, $100 00, of which none has been accounted for to the Commonwealth. Witnesses: Samuel V. Spear, of Lynn, William F. Wade, County Treasurer, and books. 5th. That said Huntington in the years 1837, 1839 and 1843, received of Benjamin F. Rogers, of Salem, $274 00 as fine and costs, of which only $140 have been accounted for to the Commonwealth. Witnesses: Benjamin F. Rogers, of Salem, William F. Wade, of Ipswich, County Treasurer, and books. 6th. That said Huntington, in the year 1837, received of Asa Gove, of Salem,$93 00, as fine and costs, of which only $5 00 have been accounted for to the Commonwealth. Witnesses: Asa Gove, of Salem, William F. Wade, County Treasurer, and books. 7th. That the said Huntington, in the year 1841, received of George Wentworth, of Salem, $45 00, as fine and costs, of which only $8 88 have been accounted for to the Commonwealth. Witnesses: George Wentworth, of Salem, William F. Wade, County Treasurer. 8th. That said Huntington, in the years 1842 and 1843, received of Prince Farmer, of Salem, $130 00, of which only $68 00 have been accounted for to the Commonwealth. Witnesses: Prince Farmer, of Salem, William F. Wade, County Treasurer. 9th. That said Huntington, in the year 1840, received of Daniel Millett, of Salem, $50 00, as fine and costs, of which none has been accounted for to the Commonwealth. Witnesses: Daniel Millett, of Salem, William F. Wade, County Treasurer, and books. 10th. That said Huntington, in the years 1842 and 1843, received of Lot Peach, of Salem, $86 25, as fine and costs, of which only $8 86 have been accounted for to the Commonwealth. Witnesses: Lot Peach, of Salem, William F. Wade, County Treasurer, and books. Mr Washburn also presented another paper to the Committee as follows: "The following are the names of witnesses to prove the charges of malpractice preferred against Asahel Huntington, of Salem, District Attorney for the Commonwealth, which charges of malpractice consist in Huntington's receiving money of persons in sums much less than the law requires, and therefore discharging them from indictments found against them, without the order of the court: Joshua Peckham, of Salem; Joshua C. Perley, of Salem; Joseph Potter, of Salem; John S. Martin, of Salem; Peter E. Webster, of Salem; Thomas W. Sweetser, of Salem; Joseph E. Leverett, of Salem; Richard Lindsay, of Salem; William Gray, of Salem; John N. Martin, of Salem; John Reed, of Salem; William Young, of Boston; Theophilus Fisher, of Salem; Philip Markoe, of Salem; Samuel Vial, of Lynn; Joseph Moulton, of Lynn." That upon the filing of the specification of charges as aforesaid, the Committee on the Judiciary gave information to Mr. Huntington, that charges were preferred against him, and furnished him with copies of the same, and appointed a time and place for proceeding in the investigation thereof. That the Committee met on the 5th day of February for that purpose, and evidence was then submitted to them, that Mr. Huntington had then been confined to his room for nearly two months by fever, and that such was the state of his health as to afford no prospect of his being able to attend to business. with safety for several weeks to come. That the matter therefore remained before the Committee on the Judiciary until the 12th of March, when the session being about to close, and Mr. Huntington's health not being sufficiently re-established to enable him to appear before them; and |