Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1866-03-20
BEARING FALSE WITNESS.

on the transfer, as we find it r, yr,ct. in the
Globe. Mr.. Wiley has m. e assertions after
assertions that have 40 roundation whatever
In fact, and it IS no use for him to saw that
he has been ms4nfoCmcd. Papers were be-
fore the Senate utterly dispr: wing the most of
these assertions; and all OF them could have
been disproved just as thoroughly if. the Sen
ate Committees, which had this matter in
charge, had not denied hearing to those who
were opposed to the transfer, after having
heard those who espoused the side of West
Virginia; and if he had chosen to investigate
this matter, as was his duty to do, he could
easily enoug IN have arrived at the truth.
Why is it that Mr.. Wiley has not ga
doubt to-day that there is not loyal man, as
We used to understand that term in Jefferson
county that is not in favor of remaining where
Jefferson county is now supposed to be, part
of West Virginia? ?" Has he been in the
county, mixing with its people? We have
not heard of his presence here. From whom,
then, has he derived his information ? Ger
tainly not from the petition before him from
upwards of twelve hundred and fifty voters
of Jefferson county, amongst which are to be
found the names of Maj. Quinn and nearly
every other officer of the U. S. Army, residing
here, who fought out the war against the
South, as we'll as those of more than one-Lalf
of the whole Union sympathisers with the
Federal cause against that of the South! 1t
would have been easy enough for him to have
taken this memorial and gone over the names
signed to it, and it would have furnished him
the best of proof on the score of the politics
OF those who are opposing this transfer he
would there have found men who were more
loyal to the United States than he-tor they
not only fought for their government, but
never went to Winchester, or elsewhere, and
spoke words of advice, comfort and encour
agement to the late Confederate cause, as he
did.
Upon what authority, too, does the Sena-
tor say that q the disability Of which thew
complained so grievOusly has been reno. ed
by legislative action in West Virginia ?''-
This shows that the Senator has read the pe
tition sent to Congress-eIse, where did he
find what disabilities we complainedof Now
the action of the West Virginia legislature, so
far from removing the disabilities of which
we so grievously complained has made them
much more grievous-has added to them four
fold. Is it possible that Mr.. W had not read
the late enactments of his own State legis-
lature?
Again, in speaking of the election held in
this county under the act of Virginia. in Nav.
1868, the Senator says: 1.-THE election was
held in pursuance of the act allowing it to be
held" 1.-THE election was openly held
Every man that wanted to vote could have
voted" Now what are the facts? Facts of
which the Senator knew, or had the means
of knowing-for they were staring him in the
face, and of which he had no right to speak
as he did unless he had personal knowledge
The act OF Virginia Of which he speaks, re-
quIres polls to be opened at each plucc of TO-
ting an the county. Polls were opened at but
tlcO of the eight places of voting in Jefferson,
and Mr.. Wiley must have known it, The
election was not "openly held" 1t was held
at two places in this county, and those two
places were on the north and east side of a
chain OF pickets, which cut off about two
thirds of the county lying south and west of
that line, and through which it was impossi-
bic for the people to obtain the privilege of
passing. No election was held south and west
OF that line, and the people of this portion not
only could not vote, but were never even no.
tilted that any election for that or any other
purpose was to have been held We never
heard of the election until long after it had
been held at the two precincts of Harper's
Ferry and Shepherdstown. We therefore
could not have voted, whether we had wanted
or not.
The men who are petitioning to-day that
vote be taken again, were not in the coun-
ties at the time that election was held They
were IN the armies Of the alleged Confcdera-
cy. 1t IS true that number of these peti-
TONERS were in the Confederate army and
therefore not at home at the time of the cleo
ton; but it is equally true that there we're
several hundreds of us who were at home.
were not in the Confederate army, and never
had been in it-enOugh of us-had we been
allowed to vOte-had notice of the election
been given us, and our own places OF voting
been opened for our polls-to have given a
large majority against the transfer. The
Senator has no authority whatever for his
statement.
We cannot conceive, for the life of us, how
any Senator of the United States can dclibe-
rately rise in his place, and attempt to deceive
his colleagues hy making statements which he
declares he knows to be true, when they were
not only not true, but the proof of their falsity
was easily accessible to him-indeed must
have been known to him. But it was neces-
sary for the miserable little faction of radical