Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1872-12-17

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not supposed that this man who
writes under the nose of so learned
and fair a Judge as Mr.. GillenwatCrs,
would assert as law, that, he could
boldly accuse a man without proof,
, and then demand that he should
prove himself innocent. OF course
We knew he had thus acknowledged
that what he had asserted as truth
could be disproYen. Here is the let
ter. We are sorry for the writer, and
dislike to publish it.
JoNEsBoRo, TENN,
Nov. 80, 1872.
Mr.. 1. C. FOWLER,
ED. BRISTOL NEWS, Dear SIR
Your favor of 29th inst. to hand en-
closing s., 80, amount due for paper.
We regret that anything unpleasant
should arise from our article which
may disturb the friendly relations
which have heretofore existed between
us. If you can convince US that we
were wrong in our statements and that
you have suffered injustice from them,
by stating over your signature that you
were not aware of the fact that Judge
G.. in suspending his Courts, was act
ing in accordance with the wishes of
the boards of Aldermen in the several
towns, our statements with regard to
you will be promptly retracted' 9th
erwise we must consider the criticism
as just and must, of course, abide the
consequences of it.
Still hoping the matter may be ad-
justed in friendly manner we remain
Your Ob't S'vts,
WHEEEER & MAHoNEY.
We felt that we could not hate
man who was so incapable, as to ask
that We should not allow f'the friend
ly relations which had existed be
tween us" to be disturbed, by his
having accused us Of doing base
thing through base motives. We
were sorely tempted to restrain from
dispising his capacity. So we wrote
the following reply.
BRISTOL, Tenn,
Nov. 30th, 1879.
Hcssrs. Wheeler d; MdhOney:
Yours of to-day is Just received,
and | beg leave to state does not even
do yourselves Justice. You state that
if l can convince you that you were
wrong in your statements, and that /
have suffered injustice by them, by
stating over my own signature that l
was not aware that Judge g., in sus-
pending his courts was acting in ac-
cordance with the wishes OF the Boards
of Aldermen in the several towns,
your statements with regard to me
will be promptly retracted, otherwise
you must cOnstrue the criticism as
just &C.,
Now i'm my article 1 stated that
" Judge Gillenwaters has refused to
hold his court, in either Sullivan,
" johnson or Carter. A more senseless
proceeding we have never heard Of"
Again: Judge Gillenwaters in dis
missing his Courts has inflicted a
shameful wrong, &C." This was a
legitimate criticism upon the public
acts of an officer, and in reply thereto
you made personal assault upon my
character, stating that / have ''pEr-
posely and knOWiRgLy perverted the
truth" aud that | did it to injure
an Individual, &C." Again you state
that my remarks were called forth by
" personal malice or political animesi-
ty."
These charges are personal and are
very grave. In order to make them
YOU should have known that they were
true, and if they are known to be true,
YOU cannot hOnorably do what you
propose, namely, withdraw them sim
ply because of any mere denial on my
part. If you did not kHOGO them to be
true you had no right to make them
and you owe it both to your own hon.
or and my character to state now in
your editorial columns that you do
not know them to be true.
/ much prefer that you should set
yourselves right than that should be
compelled to prove you unjust. For
you to make against my character q
public charge as false as those COM
plained of aud to refuse any redress is
a thing, should never have expected
of you. For me TO get upon my knees
and ask you to convict you of it by a
denial while that charge stands is a
thing / shall decline to do, even for a
fee simple title to your estates. l shall |
not stop to consider whether TaylOrs- |
vile or ElizabethtOn or Blountville |
hare each a Board of Aldermen. These |
are matters you should have looked |
into before you assaulted my charac- |
ter for truth or undertook to read my /
you undertook to |
meet an official criticism upon the |
alarm exhibited by public officer, by |
q personal assault abounding in as
sertions which you did not and cannot |
know to be true, / shall await with /
patience sufficiently long to see wheth-
er, in having estimated you as gentle
men, | have committed the error in |
which will be shown, If |
you are incapable of making manly
and frank acknowledgment Of error.
Very earnestly Yours,
j. c. FOWLER.
We will close by stating to the pub
lie, that personally, We have never
known Judge Gillenwaters, but have
always had a very favorable opinion
of him both personally, and politi-
cally, have regarded him as a gentle
man, good Judge, a christian, and
a very fair minded republican of lib
raj tendencies. We have not yet
changed that opinion, nor have we in
the least changed our opinion, as to
his having exhibited shameful alarm
small pox at Bristol