Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-08-09
A. ~ ,bc charge of his having feigned pre-.

Stanton Convention, although MS keys may
have been in King William, any locksmith in
Richmond could, in thirty minutes. have OPEN
ed his desk without injury to the lock: :,
BIT he proposed that Governor W Use should
furnish his own recollections' OF the letter.
Exactly. And any inaccuracy, however uniln,
nortant in Governor Wise's ''recollectionS,
would have furnished a most desirable pretext
for evasion on the part of Mr.. Aylett.
Mr.. Aylett maintains q prudent silence about
his voluntary pledge to make the dmende hon
oraJ}e to Gov. Wise, on the floor Of the Staun-
ton Convention, which pledge was never iulhl'
led there or elsewhere.
have thus taken this correspondence and
scanned it narrowly" according to Mr.. Ayietts
invitation. lie had better furnish no more
such correspondence, TO be exposed and scan
ned by the public.
Mr.. Aylett complains that Tin spite OF Gov.
Wisc's conccaling for the sake Of his (Mr. Ay-
~lctt'sl family" the correspondence in question,
prcjudicial rumors have been set ailoat, and Mr..
Avlett thus describes them
They were all to this effect, that in lSof
had written to Gov. Wise. pledging him my
support, and asking him to furnish me with
documents for the purpose of writing articles
in favor of his nomination, and that after tins
pledge | had used the material in The prcpara'
ton Of articles against him"
This ru.nor was. aS is usual with rulnorS. err
roncol.S. Gov. Wise has never so charged Dir.
Avlett. lie has charged, and does charge him
with worse treachery-worse because more
artful and more inSiiiOus.
Mr.. Aylctt's prctcnce that he himself IN
tended and desired to publish his corrcSpon,
dcnrc with Gov. Wise after he knew that
would publish it, is so gross, aS, of itself, to
throw discrciit upon his whole statement
He was furnished with full copies Of that cor
reSpondcncc, through my OWL second, before
any publication was made even by the seconds,
and after the publication of the article in the
News" which. as he says, grouped together
all those rulnors, which, he pretcnds, he was
50 DESTROYS TO diSprove by the publication OF
the correspondence. Why does Mr.. Aylett
conceal this: Why did he fail TO publish the
correspondence in iMs own card, in answer to
the News" Yet he has left it to me to bring
the correspondence before the public, and now,
tia, it i, published, he makes up his mind to
brave it is beneficial TO him! lie claims now
to have been the 'unsuspccting victim OF this
correspondence with Gov. Wise!
\ considerable part Of Mr.. Aylett's card Is
filled with boasts of the approval of his
conduct. which his friends have signitied-
| have no intention to initiate these boasts, by
citing the opinions Of my friends or Of any
body else. But il Mr.. Aylett can obtain
for publication, from any gentleman OF high
character. 4 single certificate approving his
conduct in connection with his correspondence
with Gov. Wise. and contributions to the En-
amincr, then. | will admit, that he is far more IN
icbtcd to the over partial indulgence Of
friends" than ! now believe tobc possible.
Mr.. .Aylctt boasts of his services in the can
vaSs Of lsjj. How much they We're impaired
By his previous vindictiyc and yitupcrativc ar
ticlcs in the " Examiner he fails to inform Us.
Mr.. Aylctt INDUCES in the following sneer at
the heavy weight Of obligation imposed upon
him by Gov. WISE for not removing him from
a small State Office"
lie continued ME in 4 small State office to
which | had been appointed by Gov. Johnson.
| have duly appreciated the heavy weight oil
obligation imposed upon Inc by Gov. Wise, for
not removing me from this office"
Mr.. Aylett omits to inform the public that
he assumed the character of Gov. Wisc's 'rer.y
tru, .tiriend," to apply for aStatc office some
what more important. What 4 contrast be-
tween the tone Of the following letter and that
Of the foregoing sheer:
copy.
''RIcmNoND, May Sd, 1858.
"Noa. Henry 4. Hi",
Dear Sir respectfully solicit the appoint.
mcnt of State director in the Richmond Board
Of the Exchange Bank Of Virginia.
1.-The appointments | may be allowed to
saw SO without mourning the charge of vanity
would not, | believe, be unacceptable to the
business men of this city.
II am, very truly, your friend,
Up. II. .AYLETr."
Mr.. Aylett ought surely to have mentioned
this evidence of friendly feeling in the same
paragraph which refers to his very i~lattering
notice Of Gov. WiSc's literary address.
will not weary the public by discussing
collateral matters which appear in Mr.. Aylctt'S
publication. 1t is not necessary for me TO re-
produce the correspondence between us in
Nov, ISIS, which he publishes in full, and in.
terlardS with the following attack:
"ASoSYMoCs EDITORS.
at this stage of the correspondence Mr.. q.
J. Wise, for the first time. believe, since his
connection with the press manifested a strong
.cluctancc to discussing political questions
With AN anonymous adversary that gentle
man having. | believe. for months before his
editorial connection with the Eaquirtr was
published to the world, conducted long and an
cry discussions with the publicly recognized
editors Of the .So~td, the Wig, the Mercury.
the D.Ita, and other papers, without regarding
such anonymous contests rs improper or Oh
iectionablc. lie was, Of course, personally re-
sponSiblc for his articles, as | have always been
for mine.
To this | have only to reply, that ! have
never denied to an adversary the right to pub
lish my authorship, when he was informed OF
it otherwise than through my confidence; that
in the latter case ]. have once dcmdnded as Il
right that my authorship should not be made
public; that | have never stopped to ask such
"a .racor' from any adversary; that when |
wrote for the editorial column Of the Richmond
enquirer" before my own public connection
with that paper. it had responsible editors. well
known to the public, and fully responsible to
public opinion, who chose TO adopt my articles
as their own; that when wrote as a corrcSpon,
dent of that paper, the editors were authorized
to furnish my name, jar publication, to any one
entitled TO demand it; that when | threatened
to expose, and actually did expose, Mr.. Ayletts
ANONYMOUS cditorship OF the EXAMINER in
November last, that paper had no known editor
responsible TO public opinion, and the exposure
of Mr.. Aylctt's editorShip was necessary to
strip the course OF the paper OF an undue I'M
~portancc which might otherwise attach to it.
The correspondence just alluded to, my pre-
viors publications in the Enquirer referred to
in Mr.. Aylett's last card, and my publications
which succeeded it, were sufficient to show Mr..
Avlett my estimation Of his character, my ap.
probation of his hostility to Gov. Wise, and
that ! would not submit to Mr.. Aylctt's "ban-
ter"
When he recommended this banter" n
short time since, it was, therefore, doubly o.
~fcnsive, and it was marked, too, with a vindic-
~tivcncss toward Gov. Wise, which Mr.. Aylctt
now denies. but which was too obvious to per-
nit inc to credit his denial.
therefore published, in terms which he well
understood, my just opinion as to his charac-
...l.,t uhnt nr,ininn l. not Oh mod