The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-09-14


MILTON WHITNEY, Esq, States Attorney, after
having submitted for long time, with exemplary
patience, to the structures of the press upon his
official conduct has begun, it seems to fear at last
that silence may be taken for acquiescence, and
has felt it due to This friends his family, and
himself" to address the People of Baltimore
upon the subject We concur with him in think
ing it was high time for him to say something in
his own defence, if he had anything to say; but
we think, quite as decidedly, that prudent ad-
wiser would have counseled him to say nothing,
unless he had a better "record" TO show, than that
on which he has now planted himself. But it is not
our object at present to comment upon the general
course of Mr.. WHITEEYs standardization. A
portion of his address refers especially to this
Journal and it is to that exclusively that
we propose at this time TO direct attention. We
think it will furnish pretty fair illustration of
what the rest of the defence is worth. The passage
to which we allude is as follows. We give Mr.
WHITNEY the benefit Oft, in full:
Falsehoods of the most unmitigated character have
been ndustrously circulated to injure me, anonymous
pamphlets have been spread abroad the creatures of
cradle petty envy and malice. have no time here to
refute them but desire to cite example by which
the others may be judged.
Some time since my attention called to an account
found in of the morning neCs papers of yacht race
in which boat named the Milton Whitney, said to
be engaged Its stated that the boat Joseph
Edwards and otlersthat was present at the launch
presented it with set of colors that participated in
and after it furnished the company with
champagne supper Here most certainly is truly ormi
dabe statement. Now what the facts On the day
in question. my dwelling till SIX o'clock in the
afternoon, when gentleman called for take ride
returned at X o'clock, and spent the evening with com
pany house.
The first knew Of any such boat having taken
place was when read this account of the consnicnons
part had taken in it. saw the boat mentioned
that myself and brother day the neigh
borhoo of a ship yard where a boat was building that
they said was to be named the Milton Whitney, net
dreaming it committing a sin, we went and looked
at it; found about If finished have never seen
the boat since. DO not know whetherit finish
ed or launched that it had any colors. never pre-
seDted any colors to any for it. gave a dollar
for coors for the boat for other purpose
with the boat to interested in the boat and
never In my life it except above stated and never
have had any knowledge of supper except that derived
from the newspaper account
The propretors of paper were notified of these
facts by c zen of the highest responsibility in this
community, who was with me- upon the day in question:
yet they had not the magnanmity to retrac from the
statement utterly false as it was
twill doubtless surprise the public to know,
that in this brief statement carefully and deliber
ately prepared and published, there are at least
two unqualified falsfcationS of the "record" as it
really exists. We did not state that Mr.. WHITNEY
participated in the race" nor did we suggest
that he Furnished the company with champagne
Supper" either CATER it was over" or at any
other time. All of this is Mr. WHITNEY's sheer in
vention. Everything that appeared in our paper
on the subject was the following paragraph, which
we reprint, rerbatim, as it was published in our
local columns, and which, at the time it was pub
ished we believed to be correct, upon information
furnished TO our reporter, on which we relied. 1t
was as follows:
The noble sport of yachting certainly seems to be look
ing up among In addition to the exciting race be-
tween the Joe Miller and Blanca, chroDcled above our
Reporters have furnished with the parcu RS of an
oher which took place yesterday in our harbor be-
tween the yacht Milton Whitney, the property of our es
teemed townsman Joseph Edwards ESQ., and the gentle
men of the "Piger Club and a sail boat fname
unknown belonging to Dr. E. R. Baer polite and at
tenti'e Physician at the Marine Hospital The stakes
were supper OF champagne and soft crabs be paid
by the losing party. and the with ease by
the Milton MISUNDERSTANDING her petitor is said
some ght miles The Milton Whitney is new boat only
launched few days ago. and named in honor of that in
defagable and inc rruptibe official the States Attor
ney of whose bounded popularity among all classes of
the community we are thus furnished with additional and
gratifying evidence. In return for the compliment Mr.
Whitney, informed, both condescepded to be pres.
ent at the christening, and partake of the little enter
tanment served the occasion by Mr. Edwards and
the hosptable Tigers The sails and coors of the new
STRIPED were also, Madam Rumor saws present to The
Club from the States Attorney
On the day upon which this article appeared
friend of Mr.. NHITSEY's, personally unknown to
us, but whom, except for such association, we
would willingly believe TO be "a citizen of the
"highest responsibility in the community" called
upon US, to assure us that we were mistaken, and
stated to us with some additions, and, as he said,
with Mr.. WHlTNEYs authority, what Mr.. WHIT
NEY has now asserted, on the subject, in the ex-
tract from his address we have quoted above
Relying upon the gentleman's statement, we
promised him TO make the correction next day, and
should certainly have done so, had we not ascer-
tanned, mean while, the absolute incorrectness of
some of the minor facts, which he had mentioned
to us with as much poSitivepess as the principal
matter IN dispute. Our reliance upon his accura-
cy was course shaken, at once, notwithstanding
our respect for his good faith and we Immediately
informed him, by letter, that we had reconsidered
the subject. and declined inserting his statement.
But we were careful, at the same time and in the
same letter, to say to him, that we would make
any correction for which we might be furnished
with Mr.. WHITNEY direct written authority, and
for the truth of which that authority might be
given The result was, a letter from the gentle
man in question, declining to furnish us with any
such authority from Mr.. WHITNEY, and there the
matter ended. We thought then, and we think
now, that having proceeded in good faith, and
upon evidence which was satisfactory to us, we
did Mr.. WHITNEY full justice when we offer
ed to accept and act upon his mere state
ment overriding it. We did not consider him
entitled TO ask from US correction, for the truth
of which he would not give us his direct sanction
and, to be perfectly candid, we did not RELY on
Mr.. WHITNEY sufficiently to take at second band,
any assurances from him, which he might repudi-
ate, if he thought it expedent, or get rid of by
saying he was misunderstood. That we were right.
we think the public will concede, when they OBJ
serve that statement of fact, which his sensitive
nature shrank from furnishing then, in his own
is now made conspicuous prop Of
his reputation, in voluntary printed appeal TO
The community. If he is not above making
he statement, under his own hand, now, rs an
clap-trap why was he above furnish
ng it then, when ii would have suficed to free him
rom what he now stgmatses as a magnantasper-
lion? The only reason we can imagine is that he
preferred to suffer for the cause in order to have
he advantage afterwards of showing his wounds.
Il is out of reason, at all events, that he should
olacard US, as desiring ITO crush him and the
family dependent upon his exertions for their sup
port and protection ''-merey because we were
unwilling to believe better of him than be was will
ing to say of himself
~=-~nz----
We call the attention of our readers to the
charge delivered yesterday to the Grand Jury by
he Judge of the Criminal Court. What this dis
Iuisiton had to do with the functions of the body
o which it was addressed, unless by way of salts