Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1877-12-22
FEL1CIANA SENTINEL.

FELICIANA SENTINEL.
own laws. The further you went
in your search, the more proofs you
found to contradict the calumny which
yoA had predetermined to utter, and
YOU found absolutely nothing, for nothing
existed, to sustain it. But, true, to tho
morality of the Returning Board, you re-
solved to make what you could not find.
You took my opinion of Nov. 20, 1850, and
there You saw an exposition OF the sub
ject precisely the opposite of that which
you wished to impute to me. Then you
falsified the record, suppressed what L
actually wrote, and attributed to me SEN
timents which never entertained or ut
tered. Your account iof tile paper and
it's contents is not only different from,
but directly contrary to, all that is con-
tanned in the paper itself.
This is bad enough, but that is not the
worst oft. In order to give some show
of authenticity to your false version of
my opinion you pretend to transcribe a
paragraph; but yonr transcript is basely
fraudulent. Let any man take volume 8
of the Attorney Generals Opinions look
at this one on page 523, and compare
your pretended copy with the original.
You pick out sentences here and there
from different places, and present thens
to your readers as if had written them
continuously. What you strike out is
absolutely necessary to n proper under
standing of what you leave in. most
serious and embarrassing difficulty had
been brought upon the administration by
the resignation of all the Federal officers
in Sonth Carolina. The President, anx-
ious to perform his whole duty, required
my advice. OF course did not say this
was casus beli as against the State. We
could not lawfully kill the whole popuIa-
ton because our officers vacated the
places to which we had appointed them.
Military force might be sent there to aid
the civil officers III executing the laws.
but we must first have civil officers to be
aided. For this I gave reasons which
any one who reads the opinion will per-
eeive to be ent rely satisfactory. You
make me talk nonsense about it; seem
to PROFOUND a question which 1 do not
answer; to describe a difficulty with out
proposing any relief, and to draw con-
clusion from no premises. Having thus
deprived the passage of it's real meaning,
You ascribe to it a false one, and assert
that it contains sentiments inspired by
Unreasonable allies" of the Administration
sin aid of the great rebellion"
In law this is not a forgery. But
among men Of average honesty the fraud
nlent alteration of "a paper to iniure an
others character passes for about as
shameful and base thing as can be
asne:- Let me illustrat tie by cases which
need not say, are merely hypothetical.
FEW ANALoC1Es.
Suppose yourself appointed 10 the mis-
sion you have sought so earnestly. You
wish to ruin some man or woman by
trumping up 4 false accusation a gainst
him or her, and you try to do it by di-
Dramatically misrepresenting the con-
tents of a written document which you
have in your possession, and from which
you make false quotations you are de-
tected and exposed what ould be done
with your All further intercourse with
you would he declined; your recall
would he Immediately demanded; you
would be kicked ont Of the country as
iguominiously as the rules of information
al law would permit.
Imagine yourself lin conrt as a
counsellor with a paper in your
hand whose contents j. is necessary
for you to make known; you mis-
state the whole tenor and purpose
of it; you pretend to read par:
of it, but read it so faleeIy that the
true sennse Of it is altogether OBJ
scnred. If You are caught in the
trick you are certain to be expelled
from the profession.
Suppo. another case: A Federal
officer is impeachcd for being en-
gagged in conspiracy against the
government, and you, being wit
ness, testify positively that he is
guilty because you have seen a pa
per written by the accused ,inwhich
sentiments are expressed favorable
to the conspiracy and hostile to the
right of the government 10 execute
its own laws. Moreover you pro-
duce cory, made by yourself, Of a
paragraph. which you swear to he
plenary proof of en- intent to sur
render the power Of the Union 10
the conspirators. After that you
are indicted for perjury. and it is
proved that no such sentiment was
expressed in the pap,r but the d.
rect contrary, and that your COPY