Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1824-07-29
From the Baiimsre FEDERAL Gazette
SEMI OFFICIAL DISPuTATlON.

Tue puohC dispute oetWceu TIC oSCTeU'y
of State and the editors OF the National IntellI.
gencer, is too important to be permitted 10 pass
without notice; when the first officer in the Ca
biaet charges the public printers with .garbIing
the publication of important documents and
fer that alleged cause resorts 10 another journal
10 publish state papers. every citizen is interest.
ed in knowing the facts. We have therefore,
thought it necessary 10 give synopsis of the
dispute, with extracts from the statements Of
the respective parties Our limits and necessa-
ry attention to other duties and the length of
discussion, compel us to adopt this course.
although it would have been more sa,isfacto-
ry and congenial TO our wishes, to have given
the detailed statements as published on the oc.
casion.
The editors Of the IntelIigencer in their pa
per Of the firr Of July, explanatory Of the cause
of delay in publishing the list Of awards under
the Florida clam, state that they had applied
for copies Of the papers, which had been rcfu-
sed to be given to them, and copies we're made
out by order of the Department Of State for the
National Government Journal, in which paper
they were accordingly inserted; and in,imatins
further, that the Secretary of State had deter.
mined to withhold the publication OF official pa.
pers from the National Inieligencer, which de-
termination, they say, they 'sppr ,hend will
prove more inconvenience to the government
than to Them
The reason assigned by the Secretary for re.
sorting to the paper which has recently as
sumed the name Of National Government
journal; will be found in the subjoined para
graphs, copied from that paper OF the Sd in
stant:--
"The necessity of resorting at least
occasionally, to some otse, seii:le than
the National Intelligencer has esui,ed
not only from tire general course OF the
Editors OF that paper for some time
past, towards the present Administers
ton, but from the peculiar manner in
which they thought proper, on recent
occasion, to garble the publication Of the
Documents relating to the Convention
for the suppression of the African Slave
Trade.
"The editors of the National Intelli-
gencer, after promising in their paper
of 9th May, that THE WHOLE of the
proceedings in the Senate and Docu-
ments should be given as earls as prac-
ticable, commenced the publication of
them the next day, but omitted all such
parts of them as they were pleased to
think immaserial; which omissions were
Immediately represented, in other prints,
as intentional suppressions by the Secre-
tary Of Stcse, to screen himself from ex-
posure.
among the omissions, were two ex-
tracts from Reports IF Committees of
the House OF Representatives, which
formed part of the important Message
of the President to the Senate, OF the
2lst May, 1924. The allegation for
their omission. was "scant Of ROOM
while an editorial column of the same
paper, occupying more space than the
two extracts would have required, was
reserved for hsarsay statements of what
had been said in the Senate az ainst the
Convention. 1t happened, also, that the
omitted extracts bore precisely as argu-
naent IN reply to the objections, thus sedu-
ously display ed against the measure of
the administration, upon the only point
OF importance which labored in the Sc
nate;-so thatt whole subject went
forth to the public, under the auspices
of the National Intelligencer, with the
whole argument against the Convention
exhibited in full relief, and with the re-
futation of that argument, omitted for
want of room.
''Nor have they to this day published
In their paper more than half the docu-
ments communicated by the President
to the oenate, with the Convention.
under these circumstances it became
Indispensable to seek some other vehicle
than the National Inielligencer, for the
publication of the convention and Of the
documents connected with it. hey
were accordingly, with the appreciation
of the President Of the United 8 ates,
published in the National Government
Journal.
But while directing the publication
of these documents in the National Go
vernment Journal, the Secretary of
tate caused the Editors OF the National
Intelligencer to be informed that it was
not his intention to withhold entirely
r. Al Al II