The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-05-19
The Fisk investigating Committee.

The Fisk Investigating Committee.
ID will be remembered by our read
ers that during the last session of the
General Assembly a committee was APP
pointed to investigate the truth of GER
tain statements made by Gen. Fisk, of
the Freedmen Bureau, in 8 speech
made at Cincinnati In that speech it
was declared that a certain number of
negro soldiers, who had returned from
the army, stood bleeding and suffering
in the streets of Lexington, from inhu-
man treatment at the hands of the citi-
zens of Kentucky.
On the Dist of March General Fisk
called upon US and stated in substance
that be had written TO Hon. w. Dud-
ley, Chairman of the Investigating
Committee appointed by the Legisla-
ture, eight days Jgf0rc asking when a
meeting of the committee could be
had, and we stated that Gen +. was
ready at any time to meet the COM
mittee, and settle the questions that
the Legislature had called upon it to
consider.
In response to this statement, which
we published at the time, Gen. Dudley
sent us the following:
LEXINGTON, KY. March %, 1866.
To the Editors Of tie Louisville journal
GENTLEMEN-I noticed in your edito-
rial columns of to-day the following
statement:
1--WE learn that General Fisk wrote
to Hon w. Dudley, Chairman of the
Investigating Committee appointed by
the Legislature, eight days ago, asking
when n meeting of the committee could
be had aud we have authority for
stating that General F. is ready at any
time to meet the committee and settle
the questions that the Legislature has
called upon it to consider
viii you oblige me by stating in
your paper that no such letter has
been at any time received 10y me that
/ have Just inquired at the postofiice
whether there was any letter addressed
to w. Dudley, and find none such
there; that ! have been ready to pro-
ceed with the examination Of any wit
ness who might be produced by Gene"
raj Fisk at any time since the adjourn
ment Of the Legislature; and that am
still ready to do go whenever sufficient
notice is given me to enable me TO
summon the other members of the
committee am very sure that no
member of the committee wishes to do
General Fisk any injustice, and, if he
can establish the truth of his state
ments by proof, he will find them all
ready and willing to acknowledge the
fact am, very respectfully.
w. A DUDLEY
We afterwards learned, and so stated,
thst the committee had decided upon
meeting for further consideration Of
| the subject, on the I5th day of May,
and, through their chairman, had mott
fed General Fisk Of their intentions,
giving him permission to be present and
make a defense
The committee met yesterday and a
letter was read from Gen Fisk, in
which he declined to appear before
them. The committee, having at
previous session taken all the evidences
It was in their power to obtain, ad-
iourned, and will proceed to make an
official report of the result of their sit
tinCs TO the Governor of the State.
IN this matter General Fisk has
placed himself in rather an unenviable
light. Whether actually guilty Of
having expressed such sentiments to.
wards the people OF this State or not,
we have believed IL no more than an
act of Justice 10 them, as well as TO
himself, that be should attempt to &C
Quit hImssif of this charge We can
only infer from the course he has pur-
sued that he shrank from an open and
straightforward examination of his
statements or that he is totally indif.
ierent as to the good or i'll will of our
peoples
What his reasons are for declining to
meet the committee we have not the
means OF knoEing, but they certainly
must have been powerful, else be would
have been promptly on hand-LJas-
UINl Journal