The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1854-06-27
From the South Cdrolintan
Letter from Rev. M. E. Cross.
CHEsTERvILLE, June ~,

MESSRS. EDETORS 1 OoSSi'SN q" "'N'S'N 80
your paper of to-day, giving some notices pur
porting to have come from the Suffolk CHRISTIAN
Sun As they contain statements which q"
great injustice to me, would request you to
publish the following communIeat on as an act
of justice to me, explanatory OF the matter.
The uncharitableness and gross injustice OF
the notices, I think, will appear sufficiently evI.
dent, il simply furnish you statement of
facts:
Impelled by benevolence, have been tor
some time past engaged in efforts to promote
the noble cause of temperance, linked IN as It
is with the highest interests of humanity. :,
NY agency IN this cause has comprehended
the following elements:
l. have employed my pen-I wrote his
tory of the temperance cause, entitled lhe
Mirror Of Intemperanee," which has passed
through six editions; published by 1. Il. Col
lins, Philadelphia. have written also various
tracts and pamphlets on the subject which
have circulated extensively and gratuilonsly,
and have written numerous articles for the tenn
perance and secular press.
Q. Another branch of my labors has been
lecturing and preaching on the subject. My
lectures have been to a great extent free
prompted by desire to do the greatest good
to the greatest number. During the last year
/ delivered more than three hundred lectures
and distributed hundreds of thousands OF pag, S
of Temperance documents gratutuus'y, and
travelled over FIVE thousand miles.
. g. Besides tracts and documents prepared
by me and by other societies, have, since Sep
tember last, as my accounts will show, circu
lated near 100000 pages, or about 20 600 d"eu-
ments, issued by the American Temperance
Union. have received them at various points
in my travels, directly from the office; two
packages Of 500 received th7 ough the post
office at Columbia; and [ reunited S. for 25O
more through the post Office at Columbia, as
your postmaster knows, who registered the
same.
The injustice in the notice was of a two fold
character-an attempt to play on the term
agent, and an attempt to cast suspicion on my
character.
The relations Of many Of our Temperance
agents to particular s"cieties know has to be
of very general character. Th"se societies
have not funds to employ agents. only a they
are seIfsuppor,ing by the efforts of the agent
himself Ny efforts for the Union have been
of voluntary character, aiming to give these
tracts as wide circulation as lco"ld, believing
them adapted to do good--and remlting them
what funds 1 could spare for printing more l
have at times labored for State and other so.
cieties, but am not now iaboring directly for or
receiving any salary from any society. Du
ring the last six mouths have incurred the
entire expense Of printing the supplies of tracts
have used and my travelling expenses. And
as a remuneration for all that have done, the
tracts that have.distributed, and the expenses
that have incurred in thousand ways that
cannot enumerate, have depended, first, upon
the appreciation Of an approving c"nsrlencr;
second, the blessing of Heaven; and third, some
small contributions that | have RECEIVED from
friends and ,fellow.citze,rs equally interested
with me in this great work. The statement
purporting to have come from MIR. Well"ns is
wrong, and calculated to mislead the public.
The truth is, | spent about one week in Suffolk
and Nansem"nd county, Virginia, preached an
lectured in Suffolk and in other tow Is IN the
county, and collected little at Suffolk to aid
the cause and get supplies of tracts. hired
horse and vehicle, at my own expense, several
days, to make arrangements for meetings, and
to fulfil appointments in that county, at some
of which places did not receive remuneration
enough to pay expenses.
difused also near one thousand documents
in that county. Now, if Mr.. Wellons is very
much aggrieved at the loss of the dollar he gave
to promote the cause, if he will let me know
will refund the same. | can conceive OF no
motives persons could have had for the unwar-
rantable attack upon me, other than desire to
iniure fellow labnrer, or a fear that the clrcu
lation of n,y documents might diminish the sale
of theirs. cannot believe that you, sir, or
the chivalrous, honorable. minded people of the
South, would desire to injure u str niger who
is passing quietly through the county on be-
nevoient errand.
have bean pleased with the content and
decorum Of your colored people and with the
humane treatment they receive.
have been struck with the degree of intel
ligence evinced by your people generai'y in the
rural districts. The social intercourse is prob
ably better here than in any part of the land
The frequent and lengthy visits at the South
are occasions of interchanging opinions and of
diffasing general intelligence on important t"
pics, and to please and shine in social inter
course requires high degree of mental culture.
and nowhere are these traits better displayed
than at the South.
remain, dear sir, yours truly,
MARCUS E. CROSS.
Gert;frote of Presbyteria[ Connection.