The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-10-24

this season. The peace negotiations made but little
Roadway.
The following card from the Hon. HENRY WIN
TER DAVIS appeared in The Patriot, of Saturday
afternoon:
To the Editors Of The Patriot .-..
Ny attention was this morning attracted to the follow
ing paragraph in The american:
ENCOURAGEMENT TO VIOLENCE.
In speech delivered by the Hon. H. Winter Davis,
few nights since, we find him. as reported in The En-
change saying:
"If they succeed at this time then on naxt day of
election, when the full play of freemen's spirits ought
not to be controlled by harsh application Of aw nor
individual conduct be closely inspected that day they
10 cothe the Sheriff with extraordinary ana illegal
power.
We have all seen it stated in The Sun certain persons
be prosecuted for their proceedings the day of
election Some may have got stuck with pins, there
may have been little nghtng, and few black eyes
agoing-but that is nothing but what occurs every
where"
The language there ascrbed to was used by me
there reported any of equivalent import
Like of the report from which it is taken and
which last night for the first time, it is gross
version of what said That part of my speech which
tpurports to represent, was, in substance as follows:
After reviewing the efforts of my political opponents, at
several prior elections to procure display OF military
power array of the public force at the polls
wholly destructive of the freedom of the election, and
tending, in my Judgment, to leopard the public peace
they proposed secure referred their appeal from
the Mayor the Sheriff. in connection with the assertion
of The rican that the Sheriff had power to arrest and
hold without bail the day of the election and the
violent attack in that paper the Mayor for refusing to
usurp such power and passage in the address of the
Reform Committee which seemed to imply the view
of the SherT's powers; and then pronounced the
sumption of such grossly Illegal dangerous to
lie liberty when usurped the day of the election when
of all Others should be free from illegal restraints
and not overawed by resort to bribery and illegal
sures; and further insisted that such assumption of
power the hands Of parzan Sheriff. placed the iber
Of every at his disposal during the day Of election
that by arrestng the active men side he would
hold in his hands the fate of every election.
did make reference to the gross and ridiculous exag
geraons Of the newspapers touching certain isolated in
stances OF wholly unjustifabe violence and outrage
few of the polls at the ateelecon, but not in the Ian
suage reported and in the of my remarks such
references were accompaned-as they always by
by expression of my entire dsapproval of all such
Illegal and unbeconng conduct in any degree. To that
disapproval the protested report makes aluson.
regret to be thus again obliged in justice to myself to
call attention to the gross injustice of the style report
ing adopted by my opponents
can speak that my hearers understand if they
will but not so as to give hostile reporters either the
making fair abstract of what say.
trust henceforth, that shall be considered relieved
from the necessity of noticing any report appearing in
hostile papers H. WINTER DAVIS
The publication of this card by Mr.. DAVIS i'm
poses upon us the dsagreeable necessity of re-
affirming, in the face of his positive statement TO
the contrary, the substantial and literal accuracy
of our report Of his speech This we do unhesi-
tatingly, emphatcally and deliberately That re-
port was furnished by one of our own reporters
a thoroughly competent and trustworthy person
who, during the delivery of the Speech sat on
the same platform with Mr.. DAVIS, and not six feet
from him, and who, being practised phono-
grapher, was enabled, by the use of the phonetic
signs and authorizations, to follow the speaker,
word for word. He did not profess to report
all that Mr.. DAVIS said as mis- report itself
states, but he reported nothing otherwise
than in the precise order, language and connex-
ion in which Mr.. DAVIS said it. The speech, as
published by US, was faithful transcript from The
notes thus taken-the lateness of the hour at
which the reporter returned from the meeting pre-
GLIDING the possibility Of any attempt at conden-
sation or revision even, except for the purpose
of correcting grammatical errors A faithful e.
tract from his speech, Mr.. DAVIS may, if he
peases, consider our report-as not comprehend
ing the whole of what he said-but an aJ-
strdct it was not, in any sense of the
word. The reporter whom Mr.. DAVIS charges
to be ''hostile' equally with the paper for which
he reportsis not only an intelligent and respect
able man whose truthfulness cannot be questioned,
but IS not even voter-has no party associa-
tons or sympathies whatever-has not resided
in this city long enough to acquire knowledge
of the political distinctions that exist among u.s.
and did not know Mr.. DAVIS by sight until he
saw him upon the platform He went to the
meeting at the Eighteenth Ward, in pursuance of
his business and our instructions, to report Mr..
DAVIS speech, as he would have reported lecture
or a Sermon and we are constrained to say that
Mr.. DAVIS card has in nowise shaken our con-
fdence IN the fidelity, impartiaity and accuracy
with which he performed his task Our desire to
have report of Mr.. DAVIS speech, arose from
the fact, that we had been informed upon good
authority, that at meeting held at the corner of
Lee and Hanover streets few evenings previous.
Mr.. DAVIS had expressed himself in language
nearly identical with that which he is reported to
have used in the Eighteenth Ward We were
furnished with q written statement TO that effect
by gentleman of the highest responsibility.
one of bis auditors on the occasion-who reported
Mr.. DAVIS TO have INDUCED in the same dema-
gogical illusions TO the "broadcloth gentry'' of
the 18th ward-to have spoken with the same
disgraceful levity of the crimes and outrages of
Election day, and to have publicly proclaimed his
own Shame, by stating that he had voted for JOHN
HINEsLY, and seemingly glorying in the fact
This statement we were requested 10 publish for
the Information of the voters of the Fourth Con-
gressonal District. Hardly able to believe that
our informant could have heard aright-and I'M
willing TO commit ourselves in any way to the
verbal accuracy of report which was not fur
nished by professional reporter, or from notes
taken at the time, but from memory ony-we
resolved 10 send reporter to the next meeting at
which Mr.. DAVIS should be advertised to speak.
Inc result has only proved that the language,
the use of which Mr.. DAVIS has now the hardihood
to deny has been his, not on one occasion
merely, but twice
Inc only errdta, therefore, which we note in our
report are two or three typographical errors,
OF trlfiing Importance, such as "ttree long
'Whereases for 'fhe long whereases," ''presses"
Tor purses" ''y" for an &C." in the word
possibly" and the obvious mistake of SUBSTITUTE
ing the word Northern" for Southern" in
place where the sense so evidently requires the lat
ter, that every reader would naturally make the
correction for himself With these exceptions, we
are satisfied that our report of Mr.. DAVIS speech
Is correct in spirit and in letter
1t Is somewhat remarkable, we may observe,
ana mas been illustrated as we'll in Mr. DAVIS Con-
gresonal career, as in therecent case of THE amer
'con sreport ofhs speech at the Maryland Institute
ana now again in the present instance that Mr..
DAVIS alone OF all our public men, cannot be
reported 1t is equally remarkable, that the
ihaecuracy of the published reports of his
speeches is seldom discovered until some days
aiter their publication, and never until they
nave become the theme of damaging comment,
ana the occasion of universal public Indignation.
ihat Is convenient system, truly, which enables
gentleman to reap the advantage of disreputable
ofai appeals to the passions and prejudiees of the
MOP and escape the responsibility which such
CONDUCT would fix upon him in the eyes of all
honorable men, by denying the accuracy of the
reports which are made of them
AzslsHSsnnawzn~urnw-zmznzwa
We hold that every man who accepts a pub
licsofice in this Community invites scrutiny into
his character and challenges cr;tc;sp, unon b;s