The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1860-02-09

honest that he was pure in his purpose
that be was actuated by the highest love
of Christian charity, yet it was not the
ground upon which l stood, as | was 9
Constitution and law loving man, ar
gued to him that I could not and should
no longer stand by him, that owed it tc
myself, and owed it to those laboriDg
men of the country who held no slaves,
whose cause | pleaded, and who confded
in my leadership, to say to them that bis
was an unsafe and untenable position, and
one which no man can hold; that it would
Immediately bring them into conflict with
the laws of the country, and that that po-
sition, no matter by whom strengthened,
could not be ID maintained. That is what
| told him aud them. Well now. | am
no Don Quixote to go forward and fight
the battles of every man who may veture
an opinion upon the Subject of Slavery;
and am to be accused as seditious mau
and denounced by others as a bully be-
cause l was willing to stand by those
men who took and m aintained the ground
that had taught them to stand uponl-
l put it to every man that hears me if it
would not have been base in me, after
pursuaded men comparatively ignorant
to come out and take ground against Sla-
very, if l had deserted theml Although
I love life as much as any man, and have
perhaps as much to live for as any man,
| would die ten thousand deaths before |
would be guilty of such base ingratitude.
l say this, that wherever man, planting
himself on the broad constitutional ground
of our fathers of l776, follows me, | will
stand by and defend him to the best of
my ability, and give him such protection
as I can, when the laws of the country
refuse to give him what the Contitution
guarantees to him as bis right. There
fore could not stand by Fee and bis as
sociates. believe be is as pure man
as ever knew; yet did not believe his
position was tCnable, and | was not will
ing to take ground with hiw. | not onl J
proclaimed this on the stump, but at a
later day, when 8ss asked by men SYM
pathizing with him. coming from other
portions of the United States, if could
not conscientiously lend him my aid and
countonance in carrying on his work, and
enforcing his doctrines, declined by
letter, announcing that | could not stand
upon the platform of Mr. Fee; upon that
ground we must split. He was response
Bile for bis acts, and [ for mine. That
hes been my whole course in connection
witty these parties.
1t is untruc--it is absolutely and en-
tirely untrue-on the other side, that
said that these men ought to be expelled
from the Commonwealth. My position
was one of strict neutrality. said that
while | was willing to see these men re-
moved by law, if they violated any Law,
i vas the sworn and eternal enemy of
mobs, come they from what source they
might. AS soon as | heard that my
name was connected with this transaction
in that wsy-that /, who had fought a.
gaiDst some eight or ten mobs, had come
aud sanctioned a mob--I Immediately
wrote to the editors of Richmond MeSSen-
ger and Tie Cincinnati Gazette utterly
denying it. aud stating ny views. What
was the result! | was told eight days af-
ter it was done, and that, with the iu6u
ence of my name, he of The Messenger
received my letter. Iu eight days he re-
ceived my letter, at distance of about
an hours ride from my Office. That was
what Judge Field told me, the day before
l left. have inquired with regard to
the other letter to TIE Cincinnati Ga
zette, and have learned that there has
been 10 such letter received in that quar-
ter.
Fee and John Brown.
What furtherl Mr.. Fee is stated here
as sanctioning the raid of John Brown
upon Virginia. A voice on the outskirt
-"Hurrab for Brown!'1 Let US be hon.
estl Fee is an exile; be is a native Ken
tuckiap; he has, away from this, explain
ed himself; and have received report
of the speech at Brooklyn, and he there
stated that while be admitted the self
consecration--ov in other words the Go.
votion-of John Brown, he did not ap-
prove of bis course, nor of his way of set
tling the Slavery question; in other words,
he was opposed to insurrection. 1t was
his view of the matter that he should 60
to shareholders. aud by argument induce
them, and, by the force of divine teach
ing, persuade them to reliuquish their
hold upon the slaves.
A Sorry Hoax.
Well gentlemen, the report reaches us
of boxes of Sharp's rifles having been
transported through the ordinary chan
nels of commerce to Berea. After these
men are removed, We are now told that
this vas all hoax. All | baye to say
about that is that it was very sorry
hoax. A sorry hoax as far as Fee is
concerned, doing him great injustice, i'm
putting to him a criminal intent that he
did not entertain and purpose he did
not design, and, SO far as the Common
wealth is concerned, certainly it is sor.
~ hoax.
SO much 10 connection with that sub