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To The congress of the United States:
Your Petitioner L G Chambers ^of Virginia^ respectfully represents: That on the 7th of April 1837 April being at Tuscumbia in Alabama, he enclosed $100 in a letter to Thomas O Flint at Culpeper Court House Va; that the said letter was duly mailed at Tuscumbia; and that the letter and its contents never reached the gentlemen to whom it was addressed. In mailing the letter your Petitioner was careful to take a receipt from John Bishop, at that time Post Master at Tuscumbia with a minute description of the Bank note enclosed in said letter, to which receipt he wants filed reference is prayed
As soon as the loss of the letter and money was made known to your Petitioner he procured a representation to be made to the Post office department at Washington, by the Postmaster at Tuscumbia. Such investigation was made as the Department thought proper, to direct, and although no positive discovery was made, yet the Postmaster General was satisfied that your Petitioners letter was purloined by a young man employed empl in the distributing office at Huntsville Alabama, who had absconded about that time (See Postmaster General Kendall’s letter to L. G. Chambers herewith filed)
Your Petitioner having thus lost his money by no default of his own but wholly by the default of those employed in the P.O. department, by the U.S. government, conceives himself entitled in justice to have his money repaid by that government. He trusts that the delay in asking justice will not be used
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as an means of argument for refusing it now when it is asked. Your Petitioner was not aware that he could apply to the government with any hope of success until so advised by those who know the poverty to which he has been reduced and the wants of his large and dependent family. He now asks for simple justice and that the gov’t should restore to him what he has lost by confiding his money to the care of the agents of the government.
Your Petitioner there^fore^ respectfully asks your Honorable body to direct by law the repayment to him of the money lost as above set forth. And your Petitioner will every pray &c
Landon G. Chambers
[ certification ]
state of virginia
Culpeper County to wit
This day personally appeared before me a justice of the peace in and for the county aforesaid Landon S. Chambers and made oath that the facts set forth in his above petition to Congress are true to the best [...?] Tho Hill JP.
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[ certification ]
01/06/1848
State of virginia
Culpeper County to wit
This day personally appeared before me a justice of the peace in and for the county aforesaid Thomas O Flint and made oath, that he never did receive a letter from L S Chambers and Postmarked Tuscumbia ^Alabama^ and enclosing a one hundred dollar noteThos O Flint
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 6th day of January 1848 Tho Hill J.P.
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[ docketing ]
Goggins
[ docketing ]
(Gog
[ docketing ]
Petition of Landan G. Chambers of Va asking that he may have refunded to him monies lost, in transmitting same by mail through the Post office, by being purloined therefrom
[ docketing ]
January 17, 1848 Referred to the Committee on the Post office and Post Roads P O & P Roads
[ docketing ]
Com. Discharged
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Goggin dis. & [?]
[ docketing ]
Goggin
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[ enclosure ]
8th August 1837
Tuscumbia Alabama Franklin County
I. Colin Bishop, Post Master, at Tuscumbia do hereby certify that on the 5th of April last Mr S. G. Chambers enclosed a $1000/100 bill to Thomas A Flint Esqr of Culpepper Court house Virginia, which bill was handed me by Mr Chambers and I took its No date &c, which are as follows $100. State of Alabama at Mobile, litter A Number 904. payable to J T. Roberts or bearer on demand at the Pheonix bank New York dated the 22 June 1833 A Armstrong cas[?] Geo G Gaines prest which bill I enclosed in the letter Mr Chambers, had written to Mr Flint. I then sealed the letter handed it to my assistant who put it in the letter Box, which was ^was^ locked and at 9 O clock ^P.M^ of the said fifth of April, I put up the said letter containing the said $100, in the Eastern package, and then put the said package in the Eastern Mail Bag and locked it, which Bag, left my office at 5 Oclock next morning on the Eastern Rout John Bishop P M
at Tuscumbia Ala
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[ enclosure ]
Post Office Dep’t.
13th January ’38.Sir,
Yours o[f] [t]he [15?] th inst. is received. In answer, I have to State that, the loss mentioned by you, was immediately made known to this Department by the P.M. at Tuscumbia, Ala.
The case was confided to Arthur Nelson Esq. an agent of this Department, for investigation, but, no discovery has yet been made.
The probability is, that your letter was purloined by a young man in ^the^ distributing Office at Huntsville, who absconded soon after your letter was mailed.
Very respectfully,
Your Obt. Serv’t.A. . . Kendall
P.M. Genl L. G. Chambers Esq. Culpepper C. H. Va.
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[Envelope]
[Envelope]
WASHINGTON CITY D.C.
JAN
13 P.O. Dept. L. G. Chambers, Esq. Pendleton, Culpepper C. H. Anderson Co S C. va.
FREE
[ docketing ]
M Hobbes

Handwritten Document Signed, 7 page(s), RG 233, Entry 367: Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Thirtieth Congress, 1847-1849, Records of Legislative Proceedings, Petitions and Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents Which Were Referred to Committees, 1847-1849, NAB