The interior journal., 1874-07-10
tracks Of the one which made il necessa.


tom. charging exhorbitant aud illegal
fec-bills. I will only say, In general
terms. that | have never, consciously,
eithe, IN this method, or by any other,
wronged any man Of a cent. ] have
never, knowingly, SO help me God
charged any man a cent more than the
law authorized, aud ! have, frequently,
charged less. or none. My fee-books are
open to the public. I, cordially, invite
everybody to inspect them, aud ascer.
tain, from the records, whether ! am an
ex,ortioner or not. They may bring
with them either Mr.. Alcorn, Mr.. Coop-
er, or both Of them, 10 assist them IN
their researches. IL ] ever, inviting
". wronged any one, in any way. of a
dollar. ak no higher privilege than to
knoS il aud have the opportunity OF
making reparatinn.
With reference to the specific charge,
in the case oi Mr.. Luce, il is true that my
fee-bill against him wa, reduced, upon
reference to Judge Saufley, for the rsa.
snn that judy, Sauiley construed the
law differently from myself. II was con-
solidated case, to which there were a
number Of parties. The referee held
that the Clerk had no right to charge
fees for each ot the consolidated cases,
aud that some of the fees charged 10
Luce should have been charged to other
parties To the suit, instead of To Luce.
Yielded, aud the error, If error it was,
was corrected.
am. also, charged with having re-
ceived money on judgements and re-
plcvin bonds IN my office. plead gull
ty. At my own RISK, and purely for
the convenience Of attorneys and par
ties. all Of whom have invariably rati-
fed and approved my conduct. ! have,
in this way, collected, ! presume, s25,-
600 90. or $50, 600 90. all Of which has
been promptly paid To the parties, with
out css to any man, If principal or in
tcrest. An ltalici-eJ question is asked,
with reference TO the Galloway collec.
ton. The debt ras paid in my Office,
ard it was, perhaps, two or three weeks,
Certainly not longer than month
befure he received his money. Mr.. Cal
luway had no attorney here, and lived
in Rockcastle county. ! have pursued
this course, impropei. perhaps. certainly
dangerous 10 me, chiefly to oblige the
attorneys practicing at this court, who
have uniformly requested me to do so,
and endorsed what have dome. Mine
was the rick, and mine, it seems, il to be
the olium. In the future | shall not
feel called upon TO be 81 obliging. !
have never, with but one exception, re-
tanned money in my hands an undue
length of time. That is u recent case,
not mentioned by these worthy gentle
men, and resulted in no injury TO any
body, and was uuinteutioually and iuno-
Gently done.
In regard to the hail money Of \. j.
Adams. | trust that my card, on that
subject, in to-day's Interior Journal, vi
he satisfactory To all honest men, and
lovers of iair.play, in the county.
Now, gentlemen Of Lincoln county,
this is the worst that can be said, and all
that can be ,aii or insiuuated, or sur
ni,ed, by the malignity Of personal
enemy. as to my official record of six
years; every act Of which has been open
to. aud subject to. his scrutiny for years.
This is all that the most malignant
watchfalne.s has been able to hoard up
against me, during my entire term Of
office say all, but Mr.. Alcorn might
have charged me, with much proprieiy,
with the loss Of important papers. re-
fer to the papers in the case Of Jas. Nj.
Carter ". First National Bank Of Dan
vile. was. as Clerk. response
BILE for these papers, and they were
STOLEN FROM MY OFFICE!
They were last seen in the hands of Mr.,
Alcnrn, who was an attorney in the case,
aud who was greatly benefited by their
mysterious disappearance. They have
never been seen siuce. Way is Il that
Mr. Acorn has neglected to make THE
charge against mef
In conclusion, frankly sey to the
people who have once honored me with the
office. and at whose hands | ask it again,
that | have, doubtless, made many
mistakes aud committed many errors in
the course OF my official life. If | had
not done SO, l should have been
more than mortal. But for the general
efficiency, integrity, and thoroughness of
my official work, proudly challenge
comparison with the similar labors of my
predecessors, or of any clerk in the State,
and can call to witness every LAWYER
who has practiced at this bar, except
Messrs. AIcorn and Cooper, every cit
men, who is competent to judge, and ev-
cry official act OF mine Ms shown by the
unlying records Of the Circuit Clerks of,
fee.
earnestly desire reelection now, not
more for the sake ofofiice than for the vim
dicalion of my character. which there
has been a widespread and preconcerted