The Shasta courier., 1865-08-19
Rea Bluff Correspondence.
REn RLuTr. Aug. Is, 1865.

tained in a communication dated aug. TN,
and attempts to diseredit some homeiy trulns
plainly stated. The Independent foofs up
the gross amount of all poll taxes at siooo'
and the Collectors per centage thereon AZ
so25 per annum. '.All poll taxes" Will IN
clude the State poll tax, road poll tax. hos
nifaI nulf tax. military poll tax, and foreign
miners, license or poll tax. From these
sources the revenue collected i'll this county
in 1862 was 81 ,246 so, and the Collectors S
ner ceptace thereon was 81, 152 % aad for
the wear 1868, the revenue from poll taxes
was so. 40, and the Collectors per centage
thereon S1.754 20. There is quite a contrast
between these figures, obtained from the rec
ords, and those of the Independent, manu-
factured fer the occasion. They demonstrate
how little the editor and his advisers know
of county finances, and what experts they
are in the art Of belittling. They use the
microscope when looking at their own mer
its and their own deeds, and when viewing
those of other persons, they use the telescope
with the large end to the eye.
The Independent accuses 81 of being a
hired writer. That is utterly false. IS. !"
never received a cent nor the promise o., y
dollar from any candidate on the Union
ticket, nor from any member of the Union
party, nor from any ybody else except-well,
no matter now. What do honest men think
of the editor of the Independent, when he
contends that, to defend the character of a
friend when lying, malicious, slanderous
and lbelous attack is made upon him, one
must necessarily be hired writer? A man
with such instincts must be constitutionaly Y
corrupt.
Mr.. Editor, believe it to be a part of the
manhood of man to defend a friend when
wickedly traduced by his enemies; and
whether my friend be rich or poor, saint or
sinner, black or white, | shall hold it both as
a right and as duty to defend him. Hired
Must honest men be hired to tell the truth
and expose lie? He is beneath contempt
who thinks SO, even though he occupied the
editorial chair of the Independent.
When the COURIER of August 5th arrived
here, the paragraph in relation to buying
offices" was pretty freely discussed, and the
editor of the Independent was emphatically
told that the assertion therein admitted to be
true was :" as false as hell" and the man
who told him so the editor had known init
mately for five years, and had never known
him to tell an untruth and yet the lnde-
pendent copied the paragraph, and the law
imposing penalty of S., 900 upon any per-
son guilty of such offense; and now it has
the unblushing effrontery to say that : it
were better s. had kept his mouth shut, "
and that it the independently had hoped the
matter would be allowed to rest where the
Independent left it. Now the editor of the
independent charged my friend with an infa-
nous Crime, and | pronounced the charge
false and gave the facts in relation to the
matter, entirely exculpating that friend from
the crime charged. The Independent at
tempts to mpeach my testimony, and in
doing so convlcts himself of both ignorance
and Misrepresentation. By his own admis-
sions the editor Of the Independent stands
convicted of being wicked, malicious SLAM
derer, and a libelous villifer of public and
private character, for the purpose of crafty
ing a mean spite against a gentleman who
has always furthered the interests of that
paper when in his power to do so.
The Independent whines about . migrate
full cliouesn being formed against it. Let the
editor calmly contemplate all the occurrences
of the past five vears-up to this day-and
tell me of what ungrateiul act he can com
plain.
Mr. Editor. the uhselish character of some
of our boilers IS SO transparent that you
must be permitted to look through it. Take
the Independent as an example. 1t was
started in 1860, when there was another
paper here, and when the Democratic party
was shaken by contending factions, and when
it was for the interest of the Independent tt
favor u third party, and to breed discord in
Democratic councils. In the Presidential
campaign of that year the Independent re
ceiyed the patronage of three different par
ties In 1861, when loyal mem all over the
land were leaping into the ranks in defense
Of the national life, the independent wen
with the masses; it could not do otherwise
patriotism and sef-interest both pointed in
| that direction. From that time until July
| 1865, the Independent received the patron
age of Union office holders, of Union mer
chants, and of Union men generally. In al
that the Independent did, l contend that the
editors simply performed their duty in the
sphere in which they happened to be placed
aud that the millions of nameless loyal citi
zens throughout the length and breadth o
the land who did what they could with the
ability God had given them, were entitled tC
as much credit, and thousands of them tC
more, than the editor named. The triumph
of the Union party was the triumph of the
| Independent newspaper. 1t was enabled to
buy out the Democratic Beacon, get the
county printing. nearly all the business pat.
ronage of Red Bluff. and all the legal patron
age of the county, in word, to grow fat, and
then turn upon its best friends and do its
worst to ruin them, and prove traitor to the
principles and the party which warmed il
into life and gave it a name and standing
among California newspapers. Witness the
course it has pursued for the last five or six
weeks, and any one who refuses to keep
| his mouth shut" is forming ungrateful
cl;oues' Because the editor of the Independ.
ent suffers himself to be led around by the
collar. is it any reason why s." or any
other Union man. should submit to the same
degradation
You must remember that A. W. Bishop
was one of the editors of the paper in ques-
ton, aud that besides gaining much credit,
and making a good living out of the paper,
he held the Office Of Federal Tax Collector
and part of the time was Under Sheriff. -
Remember. too. that L. w. Elliott is District
Attorney; that 10. Smith is Sheriff and E
S. Cushing his deputy; that W. Fl. Bahney
is Superintendent of Common Schools; tina,
j. d. Gage is Justice of the Peace, and for
most of Mr.. Ruggles' term has held, and still,
holds, the position of Deputy County Clerk;
that w. P. Mayhem is member of the
Board of Supervisors that w. D. Olondori
was Coroner and Public Administrator and
that all these we're elected on the Union
ticket, or held Office by appointment of those
Al 4