Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1877-05-09
To the yeters Of shenandoah County.

TO the Voters ershenandsah County.
1 only heard to-day Of the distribution
of a private circular by my honorable
competitor for Commonwealth At
torney, whichis peculiarly personal to
me, and which demands a prompt reply.
Of course I cannot know who of our
citizens may see the circular, as 1t goes
out in envelopes through the post Office,
and therefore I can only meet it in this
general way. When 1 determined to
become candidate for Commonwealth
Attorney I had no thought of doing
more than merely announcing the fact,
leaving the issue with the people, in &C.
cordance with the custom ofgentlemen
who have filled the Office in the past,
and 1 cannot refrain from expressing my
establishment that this wholesome GUS
tom should have been infracted by the
issuance ola private circular SO near
the close of an harmonious canvass.
The circular represents that ''last
fall" I promised not to be candidate,
and that he had reason all winter to ''be-
lieve me sincere"
The answer to all Of this Is simple.
Soon after the death of our lamented
Attorney, Col. D. H. Walton, it was
determined to hold an election in No
vember. Twas then on the electoral
ticket with ten counties to canvass, and
when asked, as 1 repeatedly was,
whether 1 would be candidate, I always
answered no. That was my determine
ton ''last fall' as the circular says, and
to that determination 1 adhered, with
out feeling that I WAS making any
promise to any body. Investigation
developed the fact that the election
could only be held i'm May, and during
the winter the vacancy was freely dis
cussed by people and lawyers. When
it became generally known that Mr..
Stickley would not resign the place Of
Commissioner in Chancery, it became
as generally conceded that be ought not
to be Attorney for the Commonwealth,
and nearly, or quite, every lawyer at
the bar was urged to become a candi-
date. Either Of these Offices impose
about as much responsibility and duty
as the average man is capable of dis
charging, and no man has ever yet
asked to have both Of them. Indeed,
on former occasion, an honored attor-
ney for the county promptly resigned
the one when he entered upon the duties
Of the other; and business men here,
as we'll as people who have business to
transact here, are not favorable to the
system of blending Offices, which too
often compels two or three trips by
persons at distance before they can
have public matters properly attended
to. Such considerations as these in
duced some anxiety, and solicitations
followed. In the exercise of my right,
l became a candidate. For this, Mr..
Stickley had as well complain of me, !
suppose, as of others for it was Ger.
tain that he would have opposition un.
der these circumstances. The office Of
Commissioner in Chancery is one of the
most important in the county, and
since the present clerk Of the courts has
never resigned his Office as Commits
sioner, with Mr.. Sticky filing two
places, we should have had but one
Commissioner to rely upon at all times
for the accommodation Of the scores o.
people summoned here in chancery
matters. In view Of these considera-
tons, may becomingly add that I was
earnestly urged to become candidate.
which I did by announcement one week
before my competitor.
AS to ;'promises" about who should
| have the vacant" Commissioner Office
I have little to say. Certainly neither
Of US had much right to dispose Of it
The Judge Of the circuit court has the
appointing power, and recently one Of the
bar went to him with a request, to ap.
point very worthy gentlemen, who hae
| the unanimous endorsement Of the bar,
to the vacancy" The response was
that no appointment would be made:
that he did not consider that there is any
vacancy. The absurdity of mention.
| ing this matter in these cards must ap.
pear when the reader reflects that neither
Mr.. Stickley nor myself can create va.
cancies Or fill them. Mr.. Stickley seems
to forget that he was appointed Com
missioner while he lived IN Strasbure
for the convenience of people there, and
that when he removed here he brought
the Office with him, and has so held il
since. To add still another here is to
make the position less remunerative,
less desirable, and to do injustice to
those who have always done then
official work faithfully and WE'LL
Whether these considerations moved the
Judge or not I cannot say, buthis will.
and not Mr.. Stickley's, is the law on
this subject. This ] regard as a sufficient
|answer to all that the circular contains
about promises. For the truth of these
statements l respectfully refer TO every
Iattorney at this bar.
In reply to a less important
statement of the circular, that mis-.
represented my competitor, I can only
Tsay that have tried to conduct mysel
L ~