Amos T. Akerman to William A. Buckingham, 28 December 1871

Dec. 28, 1871. Hon. William A. Buckingham, Chairman of the Committee on Investigations and Retrenchments, U.S. Senate. Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st instant, enclosing a copy of the Resolution of the Senate under which your Committee acts, and requesting such information as I may be able to give you in regard to subjects of the Resolution, and the names of such persons as I may deem best qualified to testify on the same subjects before the Committee. I have no information on the subjects inquired of which I think would be useful to the Committee. I do not know or believe that any office in this Department could advantageously be abolished, or that any salary or allowance to the holders of such offices could properly be reduced. I have no reason to believe that any of the moneys under control of this Department have been paid out illegally, or that any officer, agent, or other person has been employed by this Department without authority of law, or unnecessarily. Very respectfully, &c. A. T. Akerman, Attorney General.