The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1860-08-23

EDlToR COURIER The following Is copy
e note ADDRESSED to the editor of the Union
after reading his sanderous attack on Mr..
Spaulding in his paper of 9th inst. 1t was
hoped after little reflection, that he would
have the magnanimity, and of enough of self
respect to make the necessary CORRECTION
/ This he has not done You, Sir, with many
others Of Mr.. Spaulding's numerous friends,
may think any such notice entirely unneces-
sary, that ial&ehool SO gross, only searches
I the lips Of him who utters it, and after that
does no harm think differently and there
fore ask you to give place to thenote NV.
August, 18th, 1860
Mr.. j. II. D. STREET, Sir:
/ . In your paper Of
last week, You make some statements in re-
gard to Rey. b. A. Spaulding, and the char
acter Of his preaching which are so foreign to
| the truth, and so injurious to his reputation
as minister of the gosdel, that in his alb
Sence, as friend Of his, feel called upon
I 10 take some nOtlCe oil them.
Any denial ofwhat you say, is made nee
essary, only, by the fact that our town and
vicinity, are largely ofthose who have recent
" come among lis, and, of course, to whom
Mr.. Spaulding as a man and minister, is
comparatively stranger.
You make the statement that he is accus.
toned to preach Black Republican politics
in his pulpit on the sabbath day. After the
plain verbal statement, you 60 on to insinu-
ate that he culogiscS old Brown recommends
Sharp's rifles and Bowie knives, rs the best
! Bibles; talks about underground railroads,
encourages running of slaves, inculcates
disre lard of the fugitive slave law, and pourS
out abuse on the democratic party. All this
as part ofhis Sabbath day ministrations.
Mr., Street, for one moment ask you to
let yourself down from the frenzy fpolitical
excitement into which You have worked
yourself, and consider what it is you have
said, and how great the injury done to an
old friend. need not tell you your state
ments are false. You kao,c they are falls
IN eoery particular. You were member of
Mr.. Spaulding's church for more than five
years. have no hesitation in saying, that
during that time, you never heard him make
Slavery, or any of its kindred subjects, the
theme of single discourse. Since | have
been in Ottumwa, now nearly eight years, |
have been an almost constant attendant upon
his pulpit ministrations, and | am free to say
that during that time, have never heard
him from the pulpit on the Sabbath day, ut
ter single paragraph, or discuss to any ex-
tent whatever, the subject of Slavery. |
have made inquiry ofour Oldest citizens who
have been familiar with his preaching from
the time he came here, about sixteen years
. ago, and not one corroborates the statements
you make, but on the contrary, all testify to
to the fact that, his preaching has always
been marked by very great earneStness in
/ setting forth and applying the truths of the
Gospel to the hearts and conscienccs If his
hearers, without reference to any the dis
tracing questions ofthe day. These are the
facts in the case, and if there has been error,
it has been on the other hama; such would
be the Judgment of nine tenths of the christ
ian public.
( The only pretext you have for your aSser-
tons, is that he did, in week day thanks
giving sermon, in 1854, believe, to some
extent, incidentally discuss slavery in its
relations to our national prosperity. On that
occasion, some two or three persons whose
pro-slavery sensibilities were wrought upon.
left the house, and from that day to this, Mr..
Spauding has not ceased to be the object
mot the rictim) Of their jesuitical malice.
VIII You join them and take to yourself
the unenviable distinction ofbaing the first
to openly SANDER one ofthe most irreproach-
able of men, one, too who has done more and
sacrificed more for this community, than any
other one man
What say you? viii you as a gentleman
and man ofhonor, publicly retract your state
ments, or will you, as you say you will, con-
tinue them next week. Should YOU deter
mine on the latter, ask you to publish this
in your next issue as needful corrective
where the facts are not otherwise known
j. WILLIAMSON.