Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1838-06-15
BY III. IL. STACY.

publication in your useful paper, reply to
Mr.. J. Holcomb's right handed compli
ment, addressed to me and published in the
Vermont Telegraph of January Sd, togoth"
or with a reply to all the arguments which
have seen advanced by the opponents OF
the resolution that passed the legislature
of Vermont at their last October session,
declaring that the legislature did not pos
cess the constitutional power to pass law
to interdct the making and vending of ar
dent spirits. But here it is proper to in
form you of the reasons for my making this
request. On the 22d of November last was
published in the Vermont Telegraph, uh-
der the signature of ]. Holcomb of Bran
don, addressed to me, what he styled a
left handed compliment, on the subject OF
the above resolution. The language in
his compliment, as he termed it, appeared
TO me to be scandaous and abusive in the
extreme. therefore wrote such reply
to his compliment as / thought he justly
deserved, and sent it to the editor of the
Telegraph for publication. Mr.. Murray,
although he published my reply, instead of
acting the part of an impartial editor, made
hmselfa partisan in the case-assumed the
right ofiidging Of the merits Of the respec
tive parties Informed the readers of the
Telegraph that Mr.. Holcomb had, by his
production placed himself on envable
ground. He informed me, also, in his ed
itorial r,marks, that | should find poser
in the remarks of Mr.. Curtis, which, by
happy csncdence, he said, fell into the
same pap,r, side by side with my remarks
'And after recommending to his readers
careful psrusal of the remarks of Mr.. Cur
It's, he challenges discussion on the subject
in the following words, " come on we sixty
three. give Us your strong reasons;" abiding
TO the sixty three that voted in the affirma.
tive Of the resolution. l made no reply to
the partial and ungenerous remarks of the
editor but when the right handed com-
pment Of J. Holcomb, appeared in the
Telegraph Of January Sd, in which my
views Of the subject were entirely msrep'
resented, came to the conclusion to com.
init my reasons to writing which had pre-
vailed on me to bring forward and sustain
the resolution in question in the legis
ture, and also to notice the manner in
which that resolution had been treated by
its opponents. The papers herewith trans
mitted to you for publication contain my
reasons On that subject, which sent by
mail to the editor of the Vermont Tele.
graph for publication, on the 9Th day of
March but hearing nothing from said pa
pers, about the twentieth of April address
sed letter to Mr.. Murray and requested
him, if he did not intend to publish my re-
marks that he would return the papers to
me again by the next mail, together with
his reasons for not granting my request.
received the papers again by mail on the
25li April. They were returned to me in
the same wrapper in which they were sen,
without any communication to me from M
Murray, on the subject whatever, leaving
me to conjecture his reasons for SO sinsu
lar procedure; but probably after read
ing my remarks, he, like the Senator from
South Carolina, believing that the victory
would not accrue to himself and his party
he therefore closes the columns of the Tel
egraph agains, me, although he had in
formed me that its columns were wide ope
to me for the DISCUSSION of the subject, an
gravely copte Is that silent contemp
would be inc St noble reply.
Here, sir, WI have an example Of thu
temper and disposition of modern reform
er, whose motto is, 81 am set for the de
fence of the Gospel" | had heretofore
Hattered myself that Vermont was a Ian
of civil and religious liberty, where fire
and liberal discussions were maintained i
the greatest purity. 1t is twenty six year
since first became member Of the Yer
mont Legislature, and never until the las
session, had known free discussion on a
important question defeated by blgotry an
fanaticism. had often seen the dlsapprc
bation of the House manifested toward
members who had consumed much time
Ipeakng on unimportant subjects b
coughing, stamping, and the like mean;