M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1856-07-31
9oIditaI.
Letter from Judge Douglas.
WASHINGTON, July 4th, 1856

WAsHIEGToN, July 4th, 1856.
Sir II learn from the newspapers that
on Sunday, the first day of June, in SER
mon preached by you in the Plymouth Con-
lgregational Church OF Chicago,you deemed it
your duty to assail me personally and by
name.
Referring to the afrray between Mr.. Sum-
ner and Mr.. Brooks, you say DOUGLAS,
or GIANT INFAMY, STOOD BY WITH HIS
HANDS IN HIS PocKETs."
ALTHOUGH have no personal acquaintance
with you, or knowledge of your character as
a citizen or a minister Of the Gospel, my
respect for your profession and for those
Christian principles which it is your duty to
proclaim and observe, induces me to take it
for granted that you would not knowingly
utter an unmitigated lalsehood in the pulpit
on the Sabbath day, with the intent to in
lure the character of fellow-citizen, and
that having commi tied such an act of inius-
tee, you will feel it both duty and pleas
ure to repair the injury in the same place,
and before the same audience where the in
jury was done. With the view of enabling
you to do me and yourself and the cause Of
truth the act ofjustice indicated, | now state
to you that it is not true that | stood
by with my hands in my pockets at the time
that was not in the Senate Chamber when
the afray took plnce-that did not witness
any part of the tIansaction-that was en-
gagged in consultation on public affairs with
several Senators and Representatives in
another part of the Capitol at the time, and
had been so engaged for more than an hour
prcvious-that had no knowledge, intima-
ton or belief that any such transaction was
to take place at that or any other time nor
had | any knowledge or reason to believe
that either Mr.. Sumner or Mr.. Brooks was
in or near the Capitol at the time and when
| returned to the Senate Chamber the af-
fray had been over and quiet had bee re-
stored for some time.
These facts are not only susceptible of
proof by the Senators and Representatives
referred to, but are so we'll known to the
Senate and to the whole community here,
that no ogentleman would hazard his charac.
ter for truth and veracity by intimating his
belief in the truth of the charges which you,
under some strange misapprehension, have
made against me in the pulpit of Christ
ian Church, on the Sabbath day.
You are also represented as having made
another charge against me, equally unfoun-
ded and untrue, which quote from the
newspapers, not having seen copy of the
printed sermon: This and the Kansas
crime reveala new step in the policy of sla-
very that physical force must and shall be
used to carry out its measures. The iBsti-
gator of all this crime (Douglas) a short
time since ventured to dvulge the secret
policy, when he declared to its first victim,
6 We will subdue you, SIR and no one
knows but this very thing was in his mind
at the time.'
In this passage YOU attribute to me Ian.
guage which | never uttered, and senti-
ment which never conceived or harbored.
1t is true that the New York Tribune and
other unscrupulous partisan sheets attribu-
ted to me several months ago the same sem
tlment, but it is also true, and the official
debates Of the Senate attest the fact, that |
promptly denied it in open Senate in the
presence of Mr.. Sumner and all others to
whom it was alleged to have been directed,
and not one Of them intmated or pretended
that the charge which had been thus branded
in open Senate as a base calumny, and adj
mitted to be such by The silence of all tht
Senators to qDhOm it was said to have beer
directediis now repeated,after the lapse of Sc
verOl months, in the pulpit ofthe Plymouth
Congregational Church, and made the foun
dation OF a series of inferences equally un
founded and unjust. have never advised
or failed to rebuke resort to physical force
as a substitute for truth and reason in the
discussion and decision ofpublic questions.
Whether the Nebraska Bill was q crime
or wise and just measure, is question
which l have always held myself ready to
discuss calmly and dispassionately on all
proper occasions and if physical force or
mob violence, or any other improper mean
have been used to destroy the freedom of
speech, either in Chicago or elsewhere, it
has not been approved by me or my friends.
| send this letterto you, instead ofthe news
papers, for the purpose of giving you an op.
pOrtunity of doing justice to me and the
cause of truth, which | trust you will regard
a christian duty, in the same pulpit where
the injury was committed.
| have the honor to be very respectfully,
Your obedient servent,
s. A. DOUGLAS
| Rev, J. F. Row Chicaoo I'll