Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1866-02-06

patch from Washington to the Public Ledger
said that petitions from some Of the States re-
Gently in rebellion had been received by the
President, asking, in behalf of their signers,
who are represented as Union men, that they
be protected against the usurpations and pro-
scriptions Of the dominant majority in those
States
In this connection we also stated that we
had been informed that Mr.. w. j. Dews WAS
getting signatures to petition of some charac-
ter, we knew not exactly what In view of the
fact that the petition was not made known to
the public, but was presented only to a certain
class, and the general impression being that the
object was to have troops sent here, feeling of
great interest was excited, and general indigna-
ton expressed, both at the secret manner used
in getting signatures and at the supposed OBJ
ject had in view. As the object has not yet
been divulged, and the petitions still kept in
the dark it is surmised by some that it is buta
part OF a concerted plan devised by the Radi-
Gals of the North in cooperation with their
friends IN the South, to nisrepresent the senti-
ment Of the Southern people, and to have the
!
OF mere conquered provinces.
Whether this be the case or not very great
interest and indignation have been excited, and
many have requested us to tell them all we
knew about it, and how we first learned anything
OF 1t. As this desire seems to be so general, we
viii give connected statement of how we
learned anything about it, and all that has oc-
Cured respecting the publication of it.
A day or two after our last Court respecta-
bic and perfectly reliable gentleman told us that
a man had told him that Mr. w J. Dews had
gone down into the neighborhood of Mt. Sidney
with petition to have troops sent here-that
Dews represented that Union men were not safe
here-that they had been threatened, &c-and
thas be himself had signed the petition under
that representation Of the condition of feeling
here. When told by the respectable citizen, to
whom he had communicated this information,
that the representations of feeling here were
false, he said that he would have his name
erased from the petition.
Ibis information was communicated to us at
night, and the next morning we told Dews that
we had heard that he was circulating petition
to have troops sent here, and asked him if it
were true. He said that the object was not to
| have troops sent here-that it was petition to
Congress for an entirely different purpose-that
! troops had already been ordered here, and that
they would be here that week or the next We
told him that Staunton was not mentioned in
the list Of places to be garrisoned. He replied
that they would be sent to Charlottesville and
thence distributed and some be sent here We
asked him if they were to be sent here upon the
application Of any one from this placer lie
replied in the negative.
After this interview, we wrote the article
published last week, and it was in consequence
of denial that the petition was for troops
that we stated we did not know the character
of the petition-he not having told us what it
was. The day after it was published, Dews
| came into our Office and said that the article
contained some errors, and asked us if we would
! allow him to correct them in our paper We
told him that, if there were any errors We
would not hesitate to allow him to correct Them
or that we would do it ourselves as we would
not mlsreprescnt any enc Intentionally, and
would always correct any Misrepresentation
when satisfied that they were such When
asked to designate the misrepresentation, he
said that he had net been chosen one of the
judges in the Freedmen Court by the Freed
men, but had been appointed, and that there
had been case in that court within the last
month. We told him that we had always IN
81 ~
zens had been chosen by the Freedmen and de-
cined to serve, that they had chosen him. and
that enc of cur most respectable citizens had in
formed Us that one Of the Judges Of the Court
told him that there had not been case in
Court for q month. We told him that we
knew nothing of our own personal knowledge
about the correctness or incorrectness Of these
statements, but that they were made under the
impressions and upon the respectable authority
given He seemed to question the correctness
Of the statement that the Freedmen did not
want the soldiers here, and asked us if we
thought they did not We said that we did not
believe there was sensible Freedman in the
community who wished the soldiers herc-that
they had received nothing but maltreatment
from them all the time they were here He
said they did not wish the same kind. We
said that We did not wish any soldiers of any
kind-that we would object to Southern sol
diers. With this, the interview closed
4 few days after, little boy handed us
note from Dews stating that, in the interview
he had with US, he understood us to say that
we based the statements III the article published
upon information derived from others, and ask
ing if he had understood us correctly? We told
the boy to tell him that he had understood us
correctly. In short time the boy returned
saying that Dews wished us to write To write
what said we. To write all that was said, re-
Piled the messenger. We then told him to tell
Dews that he had better come to see us in per-
i IL. - LII i.