Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1859-04-20
Mr.. CantwelI and the Giraffe, and the Giraffe
and Mr.. CantWell.


We find in the last Giraffe letter from Mr. Can't
well in reply to the Standard Of Wednesday last,
and long editorial, very similar in its tone and
views to the letter of Mr. Cantwell
We were waited upon by friend of Mr.. Cantwell
on Thursday morning, and asked if We would pub
fish his letter. We respectfully but firmly declined
to do So We declined because Mr. Cantwell had
no claim on our columns, and no right to such
courtesy at our hands. He had no claim on our
columns and no right to such courtesy because
he had advised the Secretary of the late Democratic
meeting to violate Democratic usage and to slight
the Standard and its readers, by Withholding the
proceedings from the Standard, and by bringing
them out in his own paper, which was neutrul
one, and by furnishing the Know Nothing paper
here with portion of them, before they were ftlrn-
ished to us; and in the very letter which Mr. Can't
well complains of us for not publishing, the admis-
sion is made that he did so advise the Secretary.
We knew it beforehand. We felt sure that Mr..
Cantwell had acted the part of enemy and not of
friend and we felt sure that his purpose and the
purpose of those with whom he had counselled, was
to slight, ignore, and injure the Standard And
L
his Introductory note to the Girats, to say II am
now absolved from even the appearance of discour-
tesy to Mr.. Holden or the Standard, when ask of
yon to publish it. This letter. with this explanation"
Why his whole course in relation to the publication
of the proceedings, had been iiberal and discour-
teous; and yet so fearful was he of even the sap
pearance of dscourtesy to Mr.. Holden" that he
I'D To cb <lo
admission of what every one will consider the most
marked discourtesy, was made! The Standard re-
fused, refused properly, to publish his letter; yet
there portions of it. and portions of the editorial
of lis organ the Giraffe, to which we propose to
reply.
Mr.. Cantwell and the Giraffe labor from first to
last to change the issue-to make appear that they
were assaed not because they monopolized the pro-
ceedngs and withheld them from the Standard, but
because they took part in the meeting and that
they have been singled out for censure because they
are Mr. Branch's special friends, and because then
were more anxious than were others in the meeting
| to give to Mr.. Branchs course warm and unequiv-
ocal endorsement. Nothing could be more unbound
ed than this assumption on their part. Our article
Neither Mr.. Cantwell, nor Mr. R. Harper Whitaker
nor any one else was arragned' for Figuring in a
Democratic meeting" or for "heping to secure" the
fullest possible endorsement for Mr. Branch If they
"helped" at all in this business they must have
"helped" themselves, as Mr. Cantwell "helps him.
self" to Office whenever he gets half chance; for
nineteentwentieths of the Democrats present we
venture to say, approved Mr.. Branch's course as a
whole, and were in favor of his denominations But
Mr. Cantwel charges that because he "helped" Mr..
Branch he has been denounced in the Standard
that this is the only reason why he was assailed
and with the tact of person trained in special
pleading he says, "another pretext for this angry
assault appears to be contained in the suggestion
that advised the Secretary of the meeting not to
send the proceedings to the Standard unless calico
for, or until already printed in his own paper" He
does injustice to the Standard by assuming that it
was against him because he was for Mr. Branch, and
he endeavors to render its reason for assang him
and the Secretary, which reason he knew to exist
and which he admits, mere "pretext" or excdse ;
and yet he expected this letter. aught with this in
justice, and containing this imputation upon the
Standards sincerity, to be published in the STAN
dard and he even thought it would be "discour-
teous to Mr. Holden not to offer it to him for pub
lication! Such logic, such assumption and pre-
sumption, such deductions and such special pleading
are worthy only of Mr.. Cantwell. % \
= But Mr.. Cantwell admits in the next paragraph
that he did advise the Secretary to withhold the
ceedings from the Standard We give the admis
sion and the pretext" for the advice, as follows:
81 admit that in conversation day or two afte,
the meeting with Mr. Whitaker, (of whom by the
way, will remark, that he is member of one O
the Oldest and largest democratic families in Wake
county, learning that the Standard had not extern
ded him an editorial courtesy he had asked for ant
expected did advise him, without dreaming of any
slight upon Mr.. Holden that he was not called upo1
to volunteer to send copy to the Standard office il
advance Of his own publication-in the absence o
any order to publish in that paper any special ap
plication from it, for the proceedings"
WAS there ever an excuse "pretext' so trans
parent so ridiculously lame as that Let us picl
this thing-this "pretext' to pieces: In the frs
place the Editor of the Giraffe had asked of US NJ
courtesy; and if he had, his course had been sucl
towards us as to relieve of all obligation to exten
the courtesy. He had requested portion of tn
press of the State to copy as an advertisement
his prospectus in relation to Mount Vernon Put
ting it on the ground of money, and owing us a bill
already, which he neglected or was unable to pay
wedid not choose to add to our account against hin
That is all. If he had placed 1t on the ground {
courtesy, the probability is that would have put
lshed his prospectus; notwithstanding the fact tn.
last autumn he published editorially an unjust SUI
picion, in connection with the Warrenton Ne,o
against the Senior Editor of the Standard, and no
withstanding that as a member Of the craft he hs
-underworked his brethren and has attempted
make money out of the tomb and home of WAsl
Il NGFoN. Mr. Bonner, of the Ledger, gave Mr.. E