The Van Buren press., 1859-11-25
For the Van Buren, Press.


animation into the political acts of every
public man. that his proper standing in the
political world can be correctly determined.
But if the columns of the press are open
ed for the purpose of permitting every vile
slanderer to vent his malicious spleen
against honorable men, and his friends are
not permitted to publish one word in his
defense, great injustice is done, and the
finest talents and most exalted patriotism
are powerless to insure confidence and in
fuence.
Had andonorable and manly course been
pursued towards the Hon. T. G. Hindman,
no vindication Of his course would have
been necessary for his friends to make But
regardless of justice. truth and gentleman
ly courtesy, and actuated alone by desire
to destroy his influence, certain newspapers
claiming .respectability, have, week after
week, permitted their columns to be filled
with the most low, vulgar, and bitter abuse
Of our Congressman elect, and at the same
time Stunned the responsibility of their ma
licious charges by screening themselves be-
hind the names Of reckless and unprinci-
pied anonymous scribblers. And to fill the
measure of their reprehensible injustice and
cowardly attempts to destroy his influence
as politician, the same papers-disgrac-
ing honorable journalis,n-refuse to permit
one word in defense. Such a course, while
it shows the dishonesty and hypocrisy of
those who pursue it, at the same time proves
their intense and bitter hatred for, as we'll as
fear OF, the person so assailed by them. If
they are honestly opposed to the Hon. r.
{. Hindman, and believe that his course is
reprehensiblc, why not show a willingness
to.havc the merits of his political acts full
y and fairly discussed Are they not sat
ished with having for'nine months traduced
and abused him without any attempt on his
part to defend himself from these unscru
tpulous assaults ? Are they not proving that
their opposition is dishonest and unmanly
by trying to close against him every ave-
nue. OF defense. First he was charged with
being disorganizer, traitor to the demo-
cratic party, DC, and when he treated their
charges with contempt, they loudly dcclar-
ed him guilty because he refused to defend
himself against such charges. But the mo-
ment his friends attempt to defend him
against the charges preferred, these same
gallant ossassins heroieally refuse to publish
one word in his defense, and calianHy rcite-
rate their foolish charges, doubtless think
ing by such course to effectually preiu-
dice the public mind against him to such an
extent that an effeetual vndication would
be impossible before a community thus
prejudiced.
Finding that tho charges, however
groundless, by oft repeating and remaining
uncontradicted, were operating to his pref
udice, Col. II. felt himself called upon to
60 before the people in person and defend
his course.
No sooner had he declared his intention
of canvassing the 1st Congressional Dis
trict than those raliont traducers set up the
most degrading howl against the man who
would be guilty of the unpardcnable sin Of
meeting his accusers face to face, and de-
nounce their cowardly assaults upon him.
and challenge them to repeat and substan-
tiate them in his presence. venture to
say that this is the first time that any man
who has been abused and slandered is con-
demned for defending himself or when
public servant has been abused, for appear
ing before his constituents in explanation
of his political course.
How did his enemies demean thensel, es
in his presence Did they then repeat
and attempt to prove their charges se>inst
him ? No; those who had been SC bod
in his absence, dared not offer one word in
vindication of their unjust and ungenerous
course towards him, but covered before him
while he triumphantly vindicated himself
rom every charge and numerically casti-
gated his traducers, while the shouts of.en-
thusiasm that everywhere greeted him pro-
we'd that the multitude were with him and
that his triumph over his enemies was COM
plete. But no sooner was he gone than,
those very men, who, like whipped ours,
had not dared to look him in the face, or
defend their dastardly course, renewed their
warfare but their recent castigations were
too fresh, and they were too keenly smart
ing under them to again repeat the same
things that they SO signally failed to prove
and which bad consequently been turned
with such crushing force upon them.
The unprecedented triumph of Humans S
canvass has desperately alarmed his enc
mics. and as his success was duly reported
by his friends and published in the papers
that were willing to see justice done, his un-
scrupulous enemies willing to resort to any
device, however low and dishonorable, to
prevent the counteracting influence OF an
important statement Of his public srssch-