Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1867-08-15
The Bolts auxhurst Imbroglio.

Inv A'ieHHone OispdtcH OF TUESDAY says
About " o'clock yesterday the city was rife
with reports of a difficulty having occurred in
the grand-jury room Of the U. S. Circuit Court
between the Hon. John Minor Bolts. foreman
of the grand jury, and Mr. John Hauxhurst,
President of the Republican Convention. Our
reporter endeavored to get the facts about the
| affair, but so numerous and varied were the
reports that he concluded it would be better to
get the statements of the interested parties.-
| He went to them, and after much reluctance
on their part, succeeded in gaining the state
ments appended:
| MIR. BOTTSS STATEMENT.
| When came into the court room I spoke to
! tie. jurynen therein ASSEMBLED Mr. Slsslx ]
hurst advanced and extended his hand. said:
/ s.Mr Hauxhurst, don't you speak to me; you
have forfeited all claims to speak to me or any
other gentleman; your conduct has been most
outrageous" He asked: s'What haseI done?"
l said: ssYou have done everything you ought
not to have done.'' He asked what it was,
when told him s'we had met here some six
or eight weeks ago to see if we could harmon
ize all of our difficulties and bring tho two
wings Of the party together to organize the
Republican party in such way as to secure
our success. By that agreement tae cenYeu-
ton which [ had called at Charlot esyille, to
be held on the 4th Of July, was transferred to
the city of Richmond, to be held on the 1st Of
August, when we were to have met on terms Of
al; III Q,1r.u rtx
senting some 5000 or $4,000 voters in the
State, being themselves gentlemen Of respecta-
biity, influence, and for the most part large
property holders, numbering between 206 ard
| 800, came here, at great inconvenience and
expense, to attend that convention. Ne had
been frequently told that you and others were
constantly urging the eolored people to be on
| hand to fill the house the moment the doors
were opened. Mr.. Hunncutt had assured me
that seats should be reserved for every member
of the delegation, who should be treated with
the utmost respect and courtesy Instead Of
which, on the morning Of the 1st of August,
by some means you obtained the keys of the
house, sneaked around to the back door, ac-
companied by large crowd of your peculiar
trinas, who were made to occupy the platform
and front seats, having at the same time from
one TO two acres Of ground in front Of the
church crowded and packed with colored peo
pie, who the moment the doors were opened
rushed in and occupied all TIE vacant space in
| the house, to the exclusion of every gentleman
from the country IN attendance On or congen-
ton. Finding that no business could be trans
acted there, you finally adjourned 20 the Capt.
tol Square, where about 1000 persons, ostly
colored men, were assembled, which had more
the appearance of a riotous mob than a con-
vcntion for business, and through which no
gentleman would undertake to make his way.
Over this body you and your townsman, Geo.
| Tucker, took sole control, and we were not al
lowed any fair participation in it, We then
called a meeting of our convention, to be held
in the House of Delegates at o'clock that
nisht. when we should have finished our bu-
siness independent Of you and yours; but be-
fore the time of meeting we were informed that
your mass meeting had adjourned in better
spirit than had been exhibited through the
day, and had invited cooperation with the de-
legations to our convention next morning at
] 10 o'clock, and had extended an invitation TO
several gentlemen, myself among the number,
to address the members of the convention at
that hour We appeared there, and before we
were allowed to address them, or before we
were invited upon the stand, resolution was
offered and adopted declaring that the bust
ness of that convention completed. and
they adjourned sine de- and then resolved
themselves into mass meeting, and in that
capacity alone were we allowed to address
them. Now, Mr.. Hauxhurst, your conduct
has been such as not only to disgust every
decent and respectable white man, but there
wasn't respectable colored man in the crowd
that would not have fels ashamed to have been
I guilty Of the conduct you were and therefore
don't care TO hold any intercourse with YOU"
Mr. Hauxhurst said he you'd like to make an
explanation l said Il don't want to hear
any explanation from you. What I've said
know to be true, and you can't ex plain ii away
Here the matter ended.
Mr.. HAUXHURTTsS STATEMENT
/ was sitting in the grand jury room when
I Mr. Bolts came in. He spoke to several Of the
! Jun ors as he walked in. was sitting in po-
sition as to some hat interfere with his taking
his seat. arose as he was approaching and
extended my hand. He said, mo. Haux hurst,
l will not take your hand, nor will any gentle
man, and l will tell you the reason. You 50
/ packed and arranged the African church on
the day of the Convention that nc respectable
people could get in; you induced DR.. Bayne,
I of Norfolk, TO offer and push an adjournment
of the Convention" My answer was, 'sBoth
4 of those statements are false: that while claim-
ing it was a mass Convention, had requested
that the people from Richmond shonld not
fill the church until after the country dele
gates were seated; that in reference to intro
ducing DR.. Bayne to procure an adjournment,
/ had been to him pers onally and endeavored
Il to dis5uade him from doing it at that time !;
asked him to modify his resolution 80 as to
declare business closed, and give Bolts, reir-
point, and others, an opportunity to address
the Convention.
At this point one of the jurors interfered
and demanded that the business of the jury