Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1859-09-02

Respectable and intelligent source, not with
view Of entering the ring, but, on the COM
trary, with solemn protest, that while we
will take pride in making our paper the We
Ehicle Of all moral and religious instruction, !
we can never permit ittoapproachthe field
ofsectarian controversy. Our labor will
rather be to pour oil on the waves Of ex-
element, or to make some suggestions to
both parties which may tend to Cancellation
and peace. We regret that our usually
prudent and right-thinking friends Of the
Spectator" should. from what we must
with great Difference consider a mistaken,
though we doubt not an honest view, of ed
ltorial responsibility, have admitted into
their columns, the. fre-brand which has
stirred tais strife. If the very objectiona-
bic words contained in the communication
Ito that paper, signed '.Conservator," had
been spoken Of an individual and printed,
there can be no doubt that the editors would
have incurred all the legal responsibility Of
! prosecution and suit for libel; and the
question is, whether, in the eye Of natural
justice. the responsibility is not infinitely
greater, when they are addressed to whole
community. The charge that sect Of pro-
Tossing Christians, in ODE dience to an an
Gent and loved mode of assembling them
selves together, IGNORE the Sabbath ,""vi-
olate the peace and good order Of society, !"
BY permitting or giving occasion for "drun-
kenness, profanity, huckstering, fighting,
lewdness, and almost every crime" is a
very grave one, and the assailed party,
though without legal remedy, and unwill-
ling to violate the laws of peace by a call
| for personal satisfaction, surely has right
to place the responsibility somewhere-up-
on some visible agent in the commission Of
the wrong. It may be asked, then, should
the wickedness of communities 90 unwhipp-
ed !? BY no means. The interests of soci-
ETY. may often require their chastisem ent at
the hands of an independent press. Nor
should press properly conducted shrink
from the performance Of such duty when
the sacred cause Of virtue and religion e.
quires. But we cannot concede that the
performance of so high a duty should be
covered under the shield Of anonymous IT.
responsibility. The editor is bound, before
he admits wholesale accusation into his col.
umns, to be satisfied, personally, Of its
truth, and of the high public necessity for
its correction or reform. Being SO salts
fed, it il, his duty to assumethe responsible
ity, but until so satisfied, he should reject
such communications, come from whatever
quarter they may. Now, from all our
brothers Of the Spectator" have said. we
are confident that they have no such opin-
ion Of the Methodist Episcopalians, as would
induce them to adopt as their own the Sc
we're structures Of ssConservator, and that
the article has been admitted into their col
umns under what ne consider a mistaken
view Of editorial duty, which we hope they
will reconsider as it is a very important
question for the press. ss Ts
To our friends Of the Methodist Church,
we would suggest that they can well afford
to overlook and forgive the error Their
acknowledged and exemplary piety-t their
extended usefu mess as the glorious pioneers
|of the Christian Church-Will blunt the
shaft Of accusation, and make it fall harm
lessly at their feet, while the God like viz
tues of charity and love make it sweet du-
ty to forgive trespasscs. Let bygones then
be bygones. w
/ Messrs, Editors Of indicator :--W We
have been no little surprised at the super
cillous pride and arrogance with which the
/ editor Of the Stanton Spectator attempts to
! conceal the fau.c pas Of which be plainly
has been guilty, See with what compla-
Ecency the editor Of SO widely circulated a
sheet as the Spectator wraps himself and
lies down to sleep in the pleasant ,dclusion
that all wrong things published Or said, all
lHEiofdl inIugs, Whatever De Lnelr tendon
cies, may be safely laid aside on the shoul-
ders of correspondents. See with what eff
frontery he contends that the medium
through which such deleterious writings
come. shall be pure and stainless as the
new fallen snow. See with what caImness
and dignity he steps aside to let the rebuke
Of the justly offended fall to the. ground. -
And does he really know no better than to
pretend that a sheet is not morally respon-
sible for, and identified with. all the ideas,
whether for good or evil. it circulates to
the world? He need Mt be alarmed about
the word responsible. We use it in. no Z,
fighting sense, but we repeat that any edit
itor is morally responsible for the general
tone and tenor Of the publication Of which
he has control; if not, his chair is only a
ounces stool, and our worthy friend should
be adorned with cap and bells. He is a
puppet in the hands of some wire puller be-
hind the scenes. Oh. blush even to init
mate that the press. the great lever by which
the world is moved, has sunk so low as to
have lost all self-respect, all judgment Of
right and wrong, and has become the mere
cat's-paw Of some artful demagogue. But
we are glad to be able to give the editor Of
the Spectator credit for, more intellect than
his present predicament would Indicate
| III vo.,. l. II