Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1851-11-27
Yours, truly,
w. ]. BROWN.

Yours, truly,
w. ]. BROWN.
The above letter was not intended for publication. IL
Ellis had been a gentleman, he would not have made il
public. Wanting those qualities, however, he has bro.
ken the seal of privacy, and given it a place in his COL
umns, and we are glad of it, for it gives US the text, for
an expose Of our whole intercourse and quarrel with
this fellow, which we shall now do.
Some ten or twelve years ago, DR.. Ellis commenced
the publication of the Goshen Democrat, a ~sprightly
little paper, at Goshen, Elkhart county, Indiana. He
fought well foi the cause, succeeded and was elected
Auditor of the county. In 1914 he supported Mr.. Polk
with much zeal, and as his district was then represented
by Judge Sample, a Wing at his request we furnished
him public documents, speeches, and everything which we
then though; would be of advantage to him as a Demo.
cratic editor. The truth is, we had great confidence in
his democracy, and regarded him as our personal and
political friend
When the Wilmot Proviso was first introduced into
Congress be took open ground against it in his paper.
In 1847, when the subject has first agitated, he pro-
nounced " the Wilmot Proviso a humbue-powerless for
good and pregnant for evil" In the same article, he
says: " So far as new territory is concerned, it will be
time enough when we acquire it; and come to extend to
it the protection of our laws, to fight the battle Of
Slavery and Anti Slavery, and for one, we say that when
that time does come, that if a portion Of that territory
shall be found better adapted to a slave than a free pop.
ulation, inasmuch as a single slave will not be added to
he aggregate, we shall have no queamishness in seeing
such extension"
In Is4S he supported the election of Gen. Cass. On
the Sth Of January, Is49, we met hin in indianapolis.
It was at the Democratic convention, and a few mo-
ments after Gov. Wright had received the nomination for
Governor. He was then highly excited and swearing
H. IL ~ -. L
the nominating committee, after the result was announc-
ed, he had offered the following resolution:
ResOlred, That Joseph A. Wright be considered as
the unanimous nominee of the Southern Democracy OF
Indiana. as a candidate for Governor.
He followed this resolution with a bitter, denunciatory
and disorganizing speech. 1t was, however, rejected,
and the Governor was afterwards unanimously nomina-
ted. Ellis went home, pouted awhile, and finally came
in and supported the ticket. By this act relieving him.
self of the lmputation OF a disorganizer.
Soon after the election of that wear it came 10 our
ears that it was the intention of Ellis to be a candidate
for State Printer, in opposition to the Chapmans. and
that It was his design to follow up that move with the
establishment of another democratic paper. Satisfied
that such a course would be unjust to the Chapmans, who
had for years. been lnboring in the cause Of the party,
without the hope Of much pecuniary reward, we imme-
diately wrote to Ellis urging him to be a candidate for
Auditor, stating that C~hapmans ought to be elected
Printers. In reply he wrote us that he would follow our
suggestions, and requested that we would have his name
publishing private letters we should publish this one, for
it is exceedingly rich.
We Immediately went to work with our friends, who
were members of the Legislature, to secure his election.
We pulled the wires in the right direction, although we
had some difficulty with those who had heard his disor-
ganizing speech in the Convention, to convince them that
in future he would be true. We. however, succeeded
he was elected and removed to Indianapolis. We re-
garded him as a true man, and as a true friend and IL
he had stated to us that it was his intention to start a
new paper, we should have had nothing to do with the
Sentinel, but would have left him and Chapmans to fight
it out. Had he intimated a desire to purchase the pa
per, such was our confidence in the man, that we should
have cordially acquiesced we would have thrown no OBJ
st&cles in his way. But we very naturally supposed
that he would be satisfied with the very lucrative Office
of Auditor of State without wishing to be State Printer
and editor.
When Austin II. Brown purchased the goodwill Of
the Sentinel, for which he paid four thousand dollars,
the earnings of his whole life, we naturally felt, as a
father should feel. a deep solicitude for the success of a
favorite son, in the business he had chosen. He was
young and inexperienced; he needed counsel and advice
and when we wrote the letter asking the man we had
b~efricnded to aid our son, we supposed we were writing
to a friend. Naturally c~oniding, we never dreamed
that we were addressing a most deadly enemy, who, at
that very moment, was planning and plotting the pecu-
mary ruin and destruction of our son, who we, with a
generous confidence, was asking him to aid and assist.
"Ingratitudel thou marble hearted hend;
More hideous when thou shOw'st thee in a man,
III. sha n rnrnEfar
When we were c~onfding in him rs our friend, he, with
a black hearted malice that would have mantled the bra
zen cheek of Judas Iscariot with the blush of shame.
was plotting our rain. "rH let Bill BroDn see that he
has nerer had the right sort Of opposition here. The Sem
tine shall 90 dolon. Bill Brotcn has sold the State Il
the South, and ri driDe him schere he belongs" This was
his language.
The change of his position on the Slavery question
was, no doubt, after the Sentinel had been purchased
and he had determined to break it down; because we
as its editor, had avowed our determination TO support
the Compromise measures, and, as a member of Con
cress. was voting for them all. The increase OF the
subscription list of the State Sentinel from eight hundred
to nearly four thousand, shows how impoient are hi:
threats and opposition. The first indication OF change
Of sentiment was in a communication which appeared y
the Goshen Democrat, about The latter part of Nav
1850. signed Democrat" and written by De-. Ellis
; From that article we make the following extract:
And now, in what position stands Indiana IN Cen