Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-09-01

heart beat in the United States at that date. ="
This is tolerably sweeping. If true, Mr.. I'll
den was as loyal and patriotic as Dix and
Morgan and Wool, and D. S. Dickinson.
and the other prominent New Yorke-s, OF
whom every reader can think by scores,
who rallied round the flag at the firing on
Sumpter as loyal as Lincoln and Stanton
and Sumner, and the best Of all
the North. Mr.. Tiden was a prom
inent New Yorker. How happens it
that his loyalty and patriotism at that time
has only been discovered now, after sixteen
years? There happens to be ample testimo-
nv, however, to the contrary. The history
of Mr.. Tilden's refusal to take part in the
great Union meeting Of April Goth, 1861, in
New York, was made public by Col. L. G.
B. Cannon, in a communication to this pa
per, in 1874. Col. Cannon knew all about
the facts Of which he wrote His state
ment of them was widely copied by the
New York papers ard the Republican press
of the country. and its truth has never been
impugned He told how desirable the
Union men of both parties deemed it, that
Mr. Tilden should give his name and pres
enee to demonstration which was to settle
beyond question the position of the great
commercial metropolis Of the country on
the question of support of the Gov
ernnent against armed rebellion how
his personal and political friend, Mr..
Samuel Sloan, was sent to urge him to
sign the call and attend the meeting how
Mr. Tilden distinctly and positively refused
50 to 90 and now Mr. Sloan notified him
that if that was his (Tilien s) attitude. their
ways must part and their friendship end.
All this was, of course, known to many
others, and among them to Gov. Dix, who,
in a letter TO an inqniring friend in Au-
burn, n. Y, since the appearance of Mr.
Hewitts speech, printed in the Auburn
Adrcri.ser of last Saturday, says
Nh Iilden did not unite in the call for
after the attack and surrender of Fort
Slmpter. But he refused to attend it,though
urgently solicited by one Of his own politi-
cal friends. The meeting was called for the
purpose of sustaining the government and
to provide for sending troops to Washing
ton, which was thought to be in danger OF
an attack by the Confederates. This fact
was publicly stated when Mr.. Tllden was
a candidate for Governor in 1874
Mr.. Hewitt further said IL say that
Tammany Hall raised regiment and that
Gov Tilden was contributor, and large
contributor to the fund raised to fit out
the regiment
Mr. Hewitt was challenged to mention
the sum Mr.. Tillen gave, but could not do
it: but he repeated that the Tammany reg
iment was raised by the Democrats of New
York city without assistance, and without
carrying the hat round among Republicans
There happens to be a record which entirely
upsets these assertions Of the little New
York Congressman. Il Is the Report of the
Union Defence Committee, made August 81,
lS6l. and signed by Simeon Draper, Chair
man ard Prosper y. Wetmorc, Secretary Of
the Executive Committee. That report says:
at will be observed that in regard to
four Of the regiments (the Mozart, Garibal-
ii, Tammany. and Dehalb) the appropria-
tions to each far exceed those in all other
cases.
These were the only regiments Of which
the entre cost was betrayed by the mon
Defence Committee.
In every other case, sare these, the regi-
ments assisted by the committee received
aid from private sources or from the author
ities of the State of New York"
The correctness Of this report was not
challenged a; the time or ever. Ii shows
that the Union Defence Committee of the
city of New York defrayed the eafire ex-
pense Of fitting out the Tammany regiment,
without aid from private sources and eonse-
quently without aid from Mr.. Iilden. of the
millions of official and other documents pub
lished during the war, not one has yet been
fund showing that Mr. 1ilten had given
counsel, or money or a word Of encourage
ment in favor Of perletuating the Union
Samuel j. Tilden IVES never known to Go
anything to help on the war, either By as
sisting the soldiers themselves or by minis
tering to their families during their absence
or after their deaths. On the contrary. he
i known to have refused assistance on many
occasions
Mr.. Hewitt further had the hardihood to
assert that for more than three years "
before the exposure of the Tweed frauds,
Tilden had been following =" these people -
Tweed & Co.-Iike sleuth hound. =" and
finally dragged them lorth to public exseu-
ton" Against this i Mr.. Tilden's own
declaration in a published pamphlet
81 had no more knowledge or grounds of
suspicion of the frauds of 1869. as they were
/ discovered three years aiterward, than
the Times or the general public. The
publication by the Times Of what i called
| the Secret Accounts was completed on
the 29tn Of July, ISL. The state
mentS made NE believe that municipal frauds
had been committed immeaSurably transcend
ing everything | had suspected
Mr.. Hewitt says
The bare naked fact Is this, there WAS
war, war TO the knife. between Gov. Tilden
and Tweed. and it ended in the defeat and
exile of Tweed
In answer to which. listen to Mr.. Tilden
on the witness stand in the Court Of Oyer
and Terminer
Il never had any personal quarrel with
him Tweed at all. lneyer rad any malis-
nity against him. They the
Ring were not very high-toned men. dis
trusted them, but | had no conflict with
them
Here is Mr.. Hewitt again
- No one will intimate that there was the
slightest intimacy, personal or political, at
any time. between Samuel j. Tilden and
William NJ. Tweed. There never was.
Ind against this are Published letters of
! Tilden to Tweed, which We have no space
to copy, showing personal and political in
imacy of the most unmistakable kind.
Mr.. Hewitt declared that Mr.. Tilden sop
posed publicly and privately" the famous
Democratic declaration of 1864, that the
war was failure. And against this is the fact
that Mr.. Tilden was member of the commit
tee on resolutions of the Democratic national
convention which reported that declaration.
And the undisputed record Of the conven-
tion shows that Mr.. Guthrie, who was on
that committee, stated, speaking of their
not being ready, that it was in the hands
of a subcommittee for revision. but
the general committee icere unanimous
m their rietrs. Mr.. Tilden himself fol-
lowed Mr.. Guthrie in the declaration,
wish to add that upon the adjournment Of
1