Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1860-04-10


| Messrs. Editors :-"Junius" is out again in 6
column and half of neffable stupidity. His
Eagle plumes are gone, and he stands confessed
Screech OWL His 0anaty is perplexed to know
| if sZn is alarmed. At what9 His impotence
would not alarm hare. His fears suggest that
"" is angry--let his poor nerves be quiet
The stagnant pool of dullness in which he is
fated to float, awakes c0naDaaser0taon, not anger
The most poisonous adder, divested of his fangs
is contemptible, rather than hurtuz-his poison
remaining in his own body, is innocuous to
others. So thou, poor "Junius," most willing
for mischief, by kind Providence, hast been
shorn of the power for evil, and thus insured
from the hatred of generous minds. You have
written long article, and yet have Stunned
answering questions which involve your own
honor, and that of your friends. Why don't you
tell who stopped those ''wheels of Justice?"-
The people are demanding areply, and you need
not expect to escape it. | will ''teach star
ling" to say ''wheels" at you, without ceasing,
till you answer. Again, why don't you string
together those ''Philippics" which you say the
lawyers have uttered against Mr.. Fultz, and
point them out to them, and the peoplee You
have been asked to do so, but are as dumb as an
oyster-except to repeat the charge without
specification The ''Philipplcs" you speak of do
not exist The course of Judge Thompson's
friends has been simply to defend him against
false accusation. You know it, those who read
the papers all know it-bnt it suits your pur-
poses to cater for sympathy, by falsely crying
persecution, and at once, without scruple, you
do it. You stand, now sir, in the unenviable at
titude of admitting by your refusal to answer,
that your friend did mean to charge his adverse
ry with unfounded delinquency, and that you
did mean to charge the advocates Of Judge
| Thompson with persecution of your friend,
which you knew they were not guilty of. This
| is an unfortunate predlcament for one who puts
himself forward as the mouth-piece of the pure
minded farmers of the circuit-yet call upon
the intelligent people we both address, to testify
10 the truth, that Mr.. Fultz and his friends have
committed the only prosecutions that have
charges over his own name, of such gross official
ncapacity against Judge Thompson as if true,
should have made him ineligible. The whole
object of Judge Thonpson's friends has been to
meet those charges, and they have been met and
disproved SO successfully, that his worst enemies
dare not insist on them. What neXt2 They
| turn from Judge Thompson, and endeavOr to
make his defenders odious, by charging upon
them the hatred and persecution of Mr.. Futz
The whole end and aim of the last article OF
"Junius" was to create prejudice against the ban
and to misrepresent their conduct. After pranc-
ing into the lists with the lions skin upon his
recreant limbs and calling on the world to listen
and after some five weeks of tedious nonsense
it all comes to that same war upon classes, which
"A Countryman" had insisted on, and which
had been universally execrated, before "Junius'
drawled it out 1t is singular, and deserves es-
peeial note, that while Mr.. Fultz himself has
rested his claims on unfounded allegations Of tie
official delinquency of his competitor has Gdc0-
Gates build their hopes of his election on the
false pretenson that he is prosecuted man, and
lsurrendering has charges, as utterly disproved
seek to desolate society and stir up eniniGy ano
| distrust among its MEMBERS for the sake OF ald-
| ing his cause. Was ever canvass so inaugu-
rated and so conducted before, since the world
began? Your game is understood and apprecia-
ted by an intelligent and indignant community,
virtuous men are alarmed into activity, TO break
down this system of fraud and outrage, which
threatens to destroy the social fabric, and your
reckoning will be tremendous. You insidiously
ask 'swhy was this call (of the bar upon Judge
Thompson) SO scrupulously confined to the law
yers. and SO carefully excluded from the farmers,
mechanics, merchants and others9" Your in
sinuation is that others were desirous of signing
the call and were not permitted, yet You knoss
| this was not fact. You pervert determine
tion of the Bar, not to dictate to azy one into
an attempt to exclude their fellow citizens from
their lust privileges. AS freemen and voters,
| the LAWYERS had an undoubted right, to prefer
what ever candidate they most approved, and
having the closest association with the Judge
and the Bar, it was their right, and duty to
make that preference known--not in spirit OF
dictation, but for information to their fellow
citizens. to 90 for what it was worth This
they did, and nothing more. 1t was just such
4 Ill ,F il
habit of making in behalf of an esteemed and
worthy associate-such as the Richmond Bar
has recently made, in favor of their present val
liable Judge-such as was made here eight
years ago, in behalf of the able, pure and lament
ed Judge Baldwin, in which all the Bar cordial
| ly united except his then late partner and pro
| tigee David FultZ; who, for reasons best known
| to himself, refused to endorse his benefactor.-
| 1t would be as reasonable to brand with the
name of s'dictation" the cordial letters of recon-
mendation given by neighbors to worthy as
sociate and friend, or the resolutions of approval
given by passengers saved from wreck to the
captain who had brought them through the
storm, as to afix it to the action OF the lawyers
in this case. But suppose they had gone farther
as the sage "Jlnius," that brilliant commentator
on constitutional law, and brave defender of the
peoples privileges, condemns them for not doing.
in his behalf, they had determined to convert it
into an electioneering trick, and rode over the
country to get subscribers to their Call? Then
indeed they might justly have been charged
with spirit of dictation-an attempt to ram
their preferences down the throats of the peo-
pie, and 10 control the election. The Bar, which
as history testifes, has been the enthusiastic
friend of liberty, in all ages, understood its
principles better than that. And it is left alone
for this one ''brd" so far to msapprehend those
principles as to condemn the Bar for not under
taking to control the people. l am not sur
prised that my poor ''Junius'' has committed
this silly but dangerous blundet, for am aware
that among his friends, all sorts of solicitation,
and even the taking of written promises, when
voters can be persuaded to give them, is con
sidered lawful, and called ''sharp practice -
While Judge Thompson, with just sense OF the
dellcacy and dignity of his position, and re-
fined love of popular right and popular intell-
gence, has not opened his mouth to accuse his
competitor, or to laud himself, but leaves The
voters in freedom to judge and decide his claius,
Mr.. Fultz in person opened the canvass with
grave and serious accusations. While Judge
Thompsons friends have confined themselves
strictly to defending him against those charges,
making no assaults but such as inferentialiy and
necessarily flowed from the disproof of those
charges, Mr.. Fultzs friends have dealt in un-
sparing denunciation Of them and their motives,
accusing them of abuse they never uttered, and
phillpics they never penned, calling on the peo-
pie to prescribe them as their enemies, insist
ing that their call upon Judge Thompson was
instigated by bitter enmity to Mr. Fultz, though