Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1857-07-25

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It's now nearly two weeks since our amable
and esteemed contemporary of the Petersburg IN
,tRieencer favored Us with his last broadside up
on the railroad question.
| We beg his pardon for the seeming neglect
with which he has been treated. though 1t has al.
| WAYS been our intention to return his fire with
such effect as we could after ''hauing up aud
repairing the damage sustained We we're
willing 10 submit for time to the impuintion OF
being "egregiously mistaken" or, perhaps of
undue earsiessness in our statements feeling that
by patient waiting should be able to establish
the only material points made against US We
asserted nothing that was not OF our personal
knowledge or sustained by the most respectable
testimony, aud therefore, when what we affirmed
10 the effect that the South Side railroad was
given to understand by the =. o. Department
that il should have the mails for the entire length
of its road in the event Of the Danville road de-
clnng to enter into the proposed arrangement
was fatty denied by or contemporary, we felt as
wa do now that it was incumbent upon US TO re-
lieye ourself Of the onus cast upon US, as well as
to sustain those from whom our information was
derived. II remains for Us 10 say in confirmation
of our first remark that written testimony from
the highest source is now at hand to prove that
it was generally understood at the Department
that the South Side road should have the mail
through its entire length the Danyille road de-
clined How it could be "generaiiy understood
aud vet all unknown to those most interested.
we leave our friend of the Inteiigencer to deter
mine.
With respect 10 the other grand mistake of
the Tirginian." alluded to by onr friend thus
I'VE stated that the pay offered the South Side
was S25 per mile per annum. Our printer made
a mistake and printed % cents. Our cotempora.
~ avang himself Of this typographical error
although we spoke Of dollars in several other pIa-
ces IN the same oonneetion-se,s to figuring the
% cents per mile, &C." Now we eau convince
our friend that we lid not take advantage of
single Typographical error" which we should
have scorned to debut based our calculations
upon two seemingly deliberate statements in his
editorial aud here they are: "For this change of
schedule and extra mail service the Department
only offered % cents per mile" aud again in n
subsequent part of his article, while tho pro-
posed increased mail pay was only % cents per
mite for the II miles above the Junction" Now
it will be observed that this statement in round
numbers of the amount of compensation proiier
ed by the Department is asserted and reiterated,
whilst in but one place, and not "serer0i in the
same connection" as the InttHgencer now at
firms, did our friend say 1.-The Department offer
ed $50 per mile, only from Lynchburg 10 the
Junction" Considering that the latter state
ment was made but once and the other fioice. we
put it to our contemporary to deciGe whether we
would have been justifedin supposing tina, in t,co
instances rather than one, the "mistake of the
printer" could have escaped his prac,iced and
vigiant eyel
He assumes that we are mistaken in asserting
that 1.-THE South Side road was offered $50 per
mile for conveying the mail. for which IIeiskel
& Co. receive $l0O." This depends greatly up
on the construction given to OR language. We
intended to say that tho S. S. road was offered
$3.50 per mile for II transporting the great mail a
greeabiy to the mishes Of The Department, for
which lIeiske IL Co. receive 500, and the Va.
& Tennessee Company $3.50. Had the S. s.
Companies concnrrcd in this arrangement they
would have enjoyed the presh. ye of being the
speediest mail route, and have brought US the
northern mails which now reach Us by lleskelrs
line, or > hours in advance Of the mails via
Richmond and Petersburg
Our friend also administers kind rebuke for
our failure to advertise the public of what we
knew Of the intentions of the Va x Temp com
pany, las il would have relieved them very
much and avoided all this controversy" which
we deem equivalent to saying that it would have
kept the public in ignorance of the determine
ton of the South Side companies not to enter in
to an arrangement which time and experience
will demonstrate would have been the best for
all concerned; failure to comply with which
Mes We did not then, nor do we now conceive
that there was any obligation devolying upon us,
to make public in advance. what was commun-
Gated to Us in confidence. 1t was intmated how
ever that the Va. q Tenn. Co would take care
of the travel" which,with generosity character
istic of this great lne,they dd,and that when 100
miles of railroad refused to concur in the sched-
ule which had been adopted by companies con-
trolling $50 miles, and thereby embarrassed the
who 10 line and forced the u. .. Department into
an arrangement d, trimental to their interests
We record this more in sorrow than in anger
when we think of the temporary injury at least
which has resulted from these complications and
MISUNDERSTANDING, and we cannot reverse the
opinion formerly expressed that the policy of the
South Side Company especially, was suicidal.
The effect of it has beehive fear, to array the
South Western Companies against those between
ihs nd Il al i