American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1866-05-31

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THE CITIzEN-THE MAIL-THE
FREEDMEN AT THE FIRE.--(Too
much head, by half, for so small a
subject but The Mail has raised a
tempest in a teapot and we must
endeavor to ride the whirlwind. y
just few words facts in a nut
shetland we've done with the sub
iect. We said, I'VE were particular
" struck with the nonchdlcnce of the
freedmen at the fre]. Many of them
looked on with arms a-kimbo,' &c'
Others would, when ordered per
emptorily, move at Il snail's gallop,
and only about five out of fifty offer
ed mind the word offered > to as
siSt in any way Now, the terms
five and fifty might not have
been precisely accurate, but the num-
Der that did work compared with that
that did MT bore about that proper
ton. We neither counted heads nor
heels. What we stated was from
oar orh personal observation. We
,cere at the frc-and were about the
first one TO give the alarm outside OF
the premises, the suggestion heard
nv orr friend Par,' to the contrary,
Notwithstanding.
In the succeeding number Of The
Mail the editor said:
I've are reliably informed that the report
which preraiicd In regard to the inactivity OF
the negroes, on Friday night, during the
fire, II is totally incorrect, and that so
far from standing Of mih utter indifference, the
majoriiy Of them behaved in truly creditable
manner, working diligently and faithfully to
stay the progress Of the flames. We are glad
that, instead of having to ytnd fruit, WE are
able on good authority, to commend their
good conduct on the occasion"
THE italics in the above are ours.
Now, though our paper is not men
toned in the above, it is patent to
every one that it was, and was in
tended to be, fiat, palpable and
pointed contradiction, based upon IN
formation from another, on others, ola
fact which we had stated from per-
s0nal observation. We confess that
the manner in which this correction
was made-bluntly and unqualified
Twas not Just to our taste; hence,
upon the spur of the moment, we re-
Joined somewhat tartly-hSisting
that our statement was substantially
correct, and characterizing the edi-
tors contradiction of it, mler the
circumstances, as presumptuous.
In his surrcieinder, the editor
clings with the tenacity of a turtle
to his former statement, based upon
information from gentlemen &c.
We twitted our neighbor on his tard-
mess in noticing the fire, knowing
that he is ever on the qW Circ for a
local For this he charges us with
want of generosity saying we
knew well enough that his paper
went TO press on Friday evening, &c.
We know that it does sometimes,
and we know that sometimes it does
not. o.. Our contemporary, as a pero-
ration to ais article, descants at con-
siderable length upon his large and
increasing subscription list and "a
large patronage otherwise Well,
neighbor, We grudge you none of
your prosperity. Whatever be our
faults, there is not particle of envy
in our composition. May YOU CON
tinuc to drink the waters Of HelicOn,
and flourish like a green bay tree
A word about the freedmen. We
have never, in all our life, inflicted
an intentional wrong upon a negro.
We have no prejudice against them
as d race. On the occasion in ques-
ton we could have had no motive
for. and had nO intention of, doing
them the slightest injustice. We
have often seen white men severely
censured for Indifference manifested
at fires, and, pray, why may not the
negroes be?
In conclusion, if our readers con-
cur with us in the opinion, that this
is much ado about nothing they
viii not fail to place the responsible
ity where it belOngs-tO-wit: on the
shoulders of the editor of The Mail,
for his uncalled-for and ungracetul