The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-10-07
General Butler and MIR. Atkinson.
BcsToN, October /, 1868.

81 tls Editors Of the Evening ITdoeHer:
find in your paper of this date letter
e.om BENJAMIN F. Butler, in which he
i Us conv of private telegraphic mes
eNs0 wbicb was received by me few days
since from Mr.. Samuel Ward, OF Washing
ton. u.oh;.~.,,, 49,.
~ three times, and once at dinner party
N New York, but never had any communi-,
na,;on from him by letter or telegraph be-
fore or since this one.
His message was as follows
"wAsErxGroN, D. c., Sept. 26, 1868.
" Hon. E. Atkinson, Boston:
cam cred;bly informed Dana declined
,o,;nat;on in Fifth District because he
nanno. snare time from his profession.
40 there not enough wealth and public
s,;r;, among Won to insure his life or other
Wise indemnify his family for the sacrifice,
and thus prevent your time-honored Com
monwealth from being again disgraced by
the Great Inscriptions =
".whou friends and foes alike despisa;
Wh hose soul squints through his devious eyes.
In which, ana in his face, you see
The dcvii's likeliest efagy;,
Ireplied to this message by letter, Of
which kept no copy, but to this effect ::
"Nr. Dana has not declined nomination
in the fifth district for any reason such as
you allege."
General Butler has become possessed of
COPY of the message from Mr.. Ward, and
thereupon makes the following charge
against myself:
"Sam Ward naturally does not like Gen
eral Butler, so that he has conspired with
Atkinson to manage the politics Of the fifth
district and to provide the people with q
candidate for Congress"
have some questions to put to General
Butler. No copy of that Geographic mes
sage has gone out from my Office the origi-
nal had been seen only by myself and by
the clerk who fled it with my private pa
pers, until his letter appeared. I there
fore ask General Butler:
Fnst-How did you get your copy of that
message?
!Sscond-Did you bribe clerk in the Of
fee of the telegraph company
Third-Did you conspire with Mr.. Samuel
Ward 10 send that message to me and to
furnish you with a copy 7
F0urth-What excuse have you to give
for printing private message which, un-
less YOU received it from the gentleman
with whom you allege that | have con-
spired, you knew could only be in your
possession through breach of trust ?
Except you received it from Mr.. Ward,
you stand in the position Of "receiver
Of stolen goods?"
If YOU received it from Mr.. Ward, you
are his confdant and fellow-conspirator,
not |.
I beg Mr.. Wards pardon for these impu-
tations against him. From what know of
him do not believe he would conspire with
YOU or trust you in any bargain. You have
made the charge of conspiracy against him.
have very slight acquaintance with him.
General Butler, it is for you to give or
refuse answers to these questions. In my
argument upon your financial views l be-
lieYe l have treated you as a gentleman.
Have made mistake in so doing!
In the first part of your letter you make
another charge against me, and In your
statement of the case you conceal an I'M
portant fact. I have said that |, as an
officer of corporation, paid q note to q
savings bank in greenbacks, which were at
the time worth only sixty-eight cents on
dellar, and which greenbacks had reason
TO believe the bank invested in fye-twenty
bonds.
You now allege that I paid that note as
an individual and so defrauded the bank.
You conceal the fact that as an officer of
a corporation | was compelled to pay it's
notes in lawful money; but you admit that
unless that bank receives its payment In
gold for the fve-twenty bonds it will be de-
frauded, and you are the man who proposes
the measures that you admit will defraud
that bank and others.
The Government has protected that bank
and all other holders Of its fve-twenty
bonds by promising them payment in coined
dollars, and in the mean time paying its
interest in gold ; and you propose to repu::
date that promise.
No fraud will occur, and no one will be
injured if public faith be kept.
hope that the honest and honorable re-
cord Of the fifth district will no longer be
furnished by representative who can only
promote his own reelection by the dis
honorable use of private Geographic mes
sage, of which he can only have become
possessed through bribery or breach OF
trust, or by collision with the person who
sent the message to me.
EDWARD ATKINSON.