The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-11-08
Nort4.crn Men il, the South.

most absurd and slanderous stories to
Northern papers, which print them
under displayed head lines, anG radi-
cal readers devour them like gospel
truths. 1t is not SO easy, however,
to establish the real truth and coun-
teract the pernicious slanders of these
penny-a-liners. SO glaringy false
and unjust have these radical stories
become of late, shat g number of
Northern men, living in Mississippi,
have come out ip q formal card, ad-
dressed to the Now York Ereniuq
Post, emphatically denying, as far as
they are concerned, any injustice
from their Southern neighbors. The
document is so much to the point,
that we give it in full, with the names
attached Here it is:
We, the undersigned, Northern
men and new settlers, have bought
and leased plantations in the County
Of Madison, Mississippi, since the
close OF the late war, employing
freedmen, and tilling our lands with
their work. We have noticed many
letters in the Northern papers, which,
so far as ot1r locality is concerned, we
consider defamatory, exaggerated and
uncalled for; and, should we remain
silent to misrepresentation of our
locality and its ole citizens, it would
"a 81 TO i, I
rs Hospitality and treated US with
civility
In our neighborhoods arc muny
who have suffered losses of mules
and horses-among them some of the
undersigned. But old residents have
suffered from snch losses more Sc
vereiy than new settlers; thus proving
that mule thieves will steal mules, no
i, matter where found. With our neigh
bors we have had no difficulties. and
none but satisfactory business rela-
tions.
| The freedmen work for whom they
please to contract with. in the same
manner rs farm laborers at the North:
IN numerous instances arc employed
by Northern men, who are their old
masters nearest neighbors.. We think
our lives and property Us safe us those
OF old residents; that we can obtain
justice in the courts, if obliged to
take that course; and that new comers
can feel as safe here as in any sparsely
settled agricultural community of our
Western States.
Signed by Col. j. A. Bingham, OF
| r.
Cavalry; Frederick A. Billng gs, ir.,
formerly of Worcester, Mass. +. B.
Pratt, formerly Of Worcester, Mass. :;
l.: Is. Smith. formerly of Grafton,
Mass. John Humphreys, formerly of
England; Arthur Mathewson, late
Surgeon United States Navy; Geo.
Lyons, formerly Of Ireland; j. 3.
Richardson, formerly of Boston,
Mass; r. j. Ross, late Captain
United States Volunteers, formerly of
West Pennsylvania; G. H. Smith,
late Of Trumbull County. Ohio; II.
K. Austin, late of Bergen, New Jer-
sey; Chauncey Tyler. late of Connec
ticut; Mark Prime, late Assistant
Quartermaster United States Volun-
teers, Maine; j. W. Deering, late of
Maine.
The difference between the signers
OF this letter and the wandering
Arabs who represent the Northern
press in the South, the Nashville Dis
patch says, is just the difference be-
tween men who know whereof they
affirm, and fellows who manufacture
events to suit their employers-who
are, in short, paid for lying. There
are, doubtless, occasional cases of
oppression Of Northern men and
freedmen in the South; utuntil hu-
man nature is radically changed, we
must expect to hear of incidental
cases Of wrong and oppression there
as elsewhere.