Litchfield enquirer., 1867-08-29
A Nasty Business |"
In it's issues of July 12 and July l9 the

A Nasty Business"
 In it's issues of July 12 and July l9 the Sentinel made the following statements:
 ''The men who hold the reins of power are who'll ly irresponsible and stand ready to commit any outrage that will tend to enhance their party's power. Nothing but the fear of publicity restraints them from Crime
 ''They do not mean to give up the reins while there Is money to steal"
 We objected to such style of discus sion. The Sentinel, having at that time no proof whatever of the truth of it's charges, was necessarily silent. Last week, howev- CT, it felt encouraged to reiterate them on the following evidence:
 One Durham, alias Conover,i in the spring of 1865 came forward with testimony to the complicity of Davis and other noted Con- federates with the Assassination plot. On this evidence President Johnson issued his proclamation offering a reward for the ap- prehension of Davis. On further exami- 1 nation, however, the testimony in ques- tion turned out to be false. Durham was convicted of perjnry and sent to the Peni- tenuary- He is now eIdeavorlDg to ob- tain his release and oota ined recommenda- tions for pardon from Judge Holt. Mr. Ash ley and other Republicans and from Mr. Rid He, prosecuting attorney in the Suratt case. on the ground that he had furnished val uable information and assistance in that case. Messrs Niblack, Rogers, Eldridge and other prominent Democrats of the last House also petitiored for Dunham s pardon. To make sure of the matter Dun
 ham certifes that Ashley and Holt had plotted with him to suborn false testimony against the President. On the other hand, several witnesses make affidavit that Dunham obtained his Demo cratic endorsement by engaging to make the exact accusation against Ashley and the "impeachers that ho has made,-plot- ting in this instance with Roger Pryor, Ben Wood &c.
 Whatever else may be doubtful in this matter, one thing is certain-Dunham 1 looks for . cure to "a hair of the dog that bit him Yet the Sentinel relies on such testimony against men of high character 1 and standing, and retails this man s brazea periuries as facts We do not wish to re- peat what we said 8 month since about such a style of discussion. It is with much greater pleasure that we cite an instance of l the opposite mode of treating the misera.
 ble islanders that deflc the columns of a
 partisan press:
 l We wish We were through with this nasty busi-
 ness of printing affdavits and counter ailidavits
 from irresponsible people, perjurers, and adven.
 private citizens. We have had assaults Of this kind
 upon Mr Johnson, which, of course, no one be-
 heyod Then clerk of Mr. Johnson replies by an
 assault upon MT. Holt and 1ir. Ashley, which, oi
 course, no one will believe. Now, some ill advised l friend of Mir. Holt gives Washington correspOn- 1 dent several afidavits from people whom nobody
 knows, assailing Gen. Dick Taylor of the Confede- l rate army, and Gen. Roger A. Pryor of the Con- l federate army, and MT. Benjamin Wood of this l city, IS guilty of eub0rnatiOn to perjury. Mir. l Wood may speak for himself. We do not like his course, but we will do him the justice of believing that these stories are false. Because a man is 8 Democrat he IS not necessarily scoundrel. As for General Taylor, he is said to be in the South somewhere, trying to earn living. Mir. Pryor is a member of the New York bar, who seems to have retired into the absolute secIusion of his pro- fession. These men were Rebels but because they were Rebels, are not, necessa- rily petty knayes. Mr. Pryor publishes an affids- truth of the charges, so far as he is concerned. We shall ask better evidence than what We have read before believing that either Taylor, Wood or Pryor perjurors.
 and we wish there was end of it.--N T. Trib- s0e, Aug. 16