The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1862-01-11
An UnprfncipIed Attae ek.

tDe WdT.-ED- JOURNAL
An UnprIncipIed Attack.
EDS. JoURNAL-Dear SIR: The follow
ing item of news originally appeared in the
Rockpcrt Democrat, and was copied into
the Mt. Vernon Advocate of recent date.
AS manifest injustice is done the subject
of the notice, we seek a small porto of
your space, in which to offer brief refuta-
tation of the charges and statements it
contains
q A crazy Abolitionist named Abbott,
resident cf Mt. Vernon, this State, delivered
free nigger lecture at the Court House in
this town, on Monday night. He took the
ultra Republican ground in bis harrangue,
favoring the freeing and arming of the
slaves, in the " God-sent war;" as he termed
it, for their freedom. The speaker COM
menced his address to quite a numerous
audience-and concluded it to !" beggarly
account of empty benches His free mig
ger dogmas ma ay be considered all right in
Abolition sections, but they will find few
sympathizers along the lower Ohio river"
The above contains no less than ten posi-
tive or implied falsehoods. If the doctrines
of the lecture were so unpopular and un-
teuable why has no champion openly ap-
peared to overWhelm the lecturer when he
has time and again given the public oppor-
tunity?
The reason issthat these small souls think
it safer to skulk in some dark corner, and
assassin-like stab IN the back.
We enumerate the ten falsehoods as fol-
lows:
lst. The truthfulness of the assertion tnat
the lecturer is tcrazy," is submitted to the
decision of those who may read this state
ment.
2ud. That he has never been an aboli-
zionist is known to all who have any
knowledge of his political views. He ad-
vocated the Union ticket during the last
Presidential canvass, both through his jour-
nal, the Umpire, and on the public stand.
This the Democrat knew, for it had the
Umpire on its exchange list and saeh
he was introduced to the Rockport auditory
on the occasion of the lecture.
Sd. 1t was not "free niger" lecture.
None of that class were present, unless the
men of the Democrat. One might Judge
from his statements t>at if he was, he has
no excuse for his wilfuily cupable course.
So far was the doctrine of the lecture from
being in favor of freeing the negro, that on
the contrary it advocated the establishment
of government protectorate over all slaves
contraband of war, till such time as they
can be sent away to such country as may be
provided for them.
4th, The lecture was given, not iu the
court house, but in the Presbyterian CHURCH.
5th. The idea of e arming the slaves is
not Republican doctrine. Nobody in or
out of Congress has more than hinted at
the possible necessity for such measure.
But the semi. secession sheets in these border
lands, eagerly seize upon the mere intima-
ton of the kind and hasten to blazon it
forth as a settled Republican point of doc
| trine. In due course of time there will be
meted out their merited judgment of infamy
to such Union dissenters and INSCRIPTIONS
party schemers.
9Th. The lectures. said not one word
about " arming the slaves" Such thought
never entered his mind. It came from the
Union-hating brein of the man of the Dem
ocrat.
9Th. He did not style this "a God sent
war;" either for or against the freedom of
the negro. The statement is false-length
and breadth--without anything of the ma
ture to justify the inference.
9Th. The lecture was not commenced to
squite numerous audience :" for the no.
tice was short and imperfect and the at
tendance comparatively small.
9Th 1t was not +" closed to a beggarly
account of empty benches" A half dozen
guilty spirits, perhaps, such as this whole
sale calumniator may have left the room.
10th. The doctrines advocated in the lee
ture. do meet with more than "a few SYM
pathizers along the lower Ohio river bor-
der5'
In the several places-which if necessary
can be named-where he has been and adj
vanced substantially the same views, they
have received the hearty approval of a large
proportion of the people.
Those who oppose are such as boast of
their pro-slavery preferences, and, unwit-
tngly to themselves make public the dis
union tendencies which they cherish in
their hearts.
After having thus shown the wilful per-
verseness that this one short newspaper
paragraph contains, we pause and wonder
that such an amount of meanness can be
contained in any one constitution claiming
to be of the human kind
How gladly the contemplate Mt. Vernon
Advocate clutches the precious morsel to
hold it up to its two-score of readersl We
had not supposed till now, that the smart
of the castigation which we administered
mere than year ago, had so acutely ling
cred tne ever suggestive sentinel ofa sneak
| ing revenge.
So it is-and so it seems it must be with
thoseswho, in their own helplessness, bind
themselves to the despotism of blind and
headlong party. But we have not devoted
| time and space, thus, to 90 small mark as the
above, for its own sake. 1t is more for
the purpose of placing in the contrast orr
own doctrines upon the present crisis-such
as was presented in the lecture which is the
subject of the above wanton and cowaadly
! attack.
In few future numbers we propose, with