The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-01-25
Col. A. C. Haskell's Letter.

COLUMBIA, S. c., Jan. -, 1877.
Editors Chronicle and Sentinel:
GENTLEMEN-In your paper of the
10th instant, there appears a letter signed
ga Tilden Democrat" which undertakes
first to show the mischief occasioned by
the recently written letter of Governor
: Hampton to Gov. Tilden and to Gov.
Hayes, and conveyed to the latter by
Judge Mackey; and second, to give an
explanation of the acts from which as
your correspondent claims such unfortu-
nate consequences have ensued.
Z The gravity is not in the letter, but in
the subject upon which it dwells, and in
the unfortunate credulity with which the
most unfounded and unwarrantable state
ments are accepted. The evil effect of
such a letter cannot be more strongly
evinced than by the second sentence in
your editorial comment upon it. I'The
mission of Judge 7. j. Mackey, who
went to Governor Hayes as the accred-
tied representative of General Wade
Hampton, was surprise to the whole
country" Whereas Judge Mackey was
not sent by Governor Hampton, nor was
he in any respect his representative, and
General Hampton mad publicly SO stated
in response to all inquiries made of him.
Again, you say: "A page in the recent
history of South Carolina politics is
opened, and the public are invited to
read for themselves" I beg leave to
answer you thai you are greatly in error,
and that not one jot of any secret of our
political campaign has been revealed in
the letter to which you refer. I am cog
nizant of and officially possessed of every
detail of the canvass, and I assure you
your correspondent is, to say the least,
gravely in error.
/ must ask permission, too, to say that
your editorial gives force to the letter
which tie letter itself has not, when you
say, a.We print this letter because it is
writer in such a way.as to show its per-
feet god faith and because the state
ments contained therein are Of general
interest" I am not one of the persons
named in the letter, but avail myself of
your permission to use your columns in
response. I do so in my character as
Chairman of the State Democratic Exec
utive Committee, because your cores
pondent totally misrepresents the Demo
cratic party of South Carolina, misstates
the conduct of General Hampton, Gov
ernor Tilden, the other gentlemen named
by him, the State Democratic Committee
and the National Executive Committee,
as connected with the canvass, and by
peryersions of the facts which he has col
lected casts aspersions upon them all.
The text of the letter is hostility between
General Hampton and Governor Tilden.
1t alleges Hampton's failure to recognize
the candidacy Of Tilden and further his
consideration of a proposition to abandon
the Democratic electoral contest and
form passive alliance with Hayes; that
these combined causes lost the State to
Tilden, and finally that Hampton ignored
the people who had originated the policy
and had selected him as their candidate
and allied himself with those who had
been his opponents and thereby almost
defeated the State ticket-as by his other
steps he defeated the national ticket.
All this as originating in and growing
out of ill-feeling between Hampton and
Tilden is set up by ga Tilden Democrat"
as the facts which explain "Mackey's
mission to Columbus" In plain words,
this insinuation means that General
Hampton has deliberately betrayed his
party and the honor of his people.
There have been scurrilous articles
written against General Hampton in
few of the extreme Radical sheets, but
no enemy in the North has published so
base slander rs that contained in the
article in your columns. The piece
could not have been published in this
State; it is matter of regret that it has
appeared in any Southern State or Dem
ocratic paper.
The grounds upon which the writer
bases his insidious comments are either
entirely without foundation or are per;
versions of facts which occurred. And
it is to declare the truth with regard to
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