The daily gazette., 1877-12-21
SECOND EDITION.
WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY
LETTER FROM sAM'L TOWNSEND
For the Gazette.

For the Gazette.
MR.. C. p. JoHNsoN:-I send you COM
munication in reply to slanderous para
graph, in the Philadelphia Times report of
the proceedings of the meeting, held last
night, at the Clayton House, to celebrate
the opening of the new reservoir. There is
growing up in this country, a lot OF educat-
ed young men. some of whom are too lazy
to work, afraid to steal, and some of them
go 10 editors of newspapers and lie and in
gratiate themselves into their good opinion
to get said editors to send these squirts out
as reporters for newspapers. OF this class
was the Times reporter; he run down TO our
peach meetings last summer, and reported
some Munchausen stories about the peach
crop. And on yesterday as / went up the
street, about noon, he was standing in the
door of the Clayton House, and came and
called me by name and offered his hand, ,
and l shook hands with him. Now 1 men
tion this matter to prove this said squirt
knew me, and in his report he says Sam
Townsend, of Appoquinimink, marred the
jovial feeling of the meeting by trying to
get up a row about the seating of eX-Gov.
Ponder in seat 8, and that / might have
been paymaster of Delaware regiment if
| ha / not forwarded d to Secretary Stanton,
| letter of acceptance so horribly written
and unreadable. Now If this meeting had
not been run on such rigid cold water prin-
| ciples, might have been certain that this
| Times reporter squirt was drunk, but he
| cannot plead that excuse, and therefore
| must be branded as slanderOus liar by
| all decent persons who attended said meet
| ing. My seat was No. 172 and AZ no time
| after l entered the room did l leave the
| seat until adjournmen l was not near
| seat 5, nor had any controversy about
| said seat 5, nor did say one word to eX-
| Governor Ponder in the room. There was
| however, l was told, a little stir made by
| b. f. Townsend, a member of the City
| Council, about seat 3, and as before state
| this reporter knew me and why should he
| use my name in connection with what
| happened to another person unless done
| purpoSely, In regard to paymaster, i
| never received any commission from
| Secretary Stanton, and never in my life
| wrote him one word, but this reporter puke
| of the Times has | suppose in this paymas-
| ter slander been imposed on by some
| black-hearted lieing Wilmington republi.
| can. In the early part of the year 1861
| unwritten, unasked and unknown to me
Simon Cameron, as the then Secretary o.
War, sent to me a commission for pay
master, Without writing one word back
l went to Washington and into Mr.
| Cameron's office, and told him who | was
and handed him back the commission
had received, and told him l could no
and would not accept it; he insisted on my
| accepting it, he said he did not know me
but had heard of me. l told him did no
belong to his party, that was Douglas
Townsend without the help OF union demo
Gratis this country is gone and still insisted
on my accepting the commission. l tolC
him positively would not, but that hat
had a mind to appoint him, l thought my
brother would accept and says Mr.
Cameron will do so with pleasure, and die
appoint my brouher, Israel Townsend
| Secretary Cameron then told me that they
were concentrating at Perryville, ten u
twelve Thousand horses and mules, and 70
Inc to go their to Major Sawtelle, ant
take the contract of supplying them witt
forage, and that If me and Major SaWtell
could not bargain come to him, Cameron
and he would help me bargain, | went Il
Perryville one day and tooB my brothe
John, and looked around and concluded
to not apply but sent Mr.. Cameron lette
| defining, but at the same time thanking
him for his kind offer. And will tell som
of my Republican enemies the reason | de
cllned the war policy was changing ever,
day from union policy toa niger equality
policy, and l therefore did not want t
hamper myself with contraction the very
instant that policy was adopted of ni9ge
equality. would have thrown up the con
tract let the consequence have beer
what it may, L know dozens of gool
men, that l like, who are called Re
| puDllcanSs VINO at nearI are opposed u
the Niger equality republican policy fore
ed ON their party by Yankee Senatorial
power in the Senate, during the war. Now
| in regard to paymaster and forage con-
tracts, l refer ali sanderers to x-Secretary
of War, and ex-u. S. Senator Simon
Cameron, and my once old democratic
friend j. W. Forney. Some meddling
slanderers, of me to strangers had better
lay this number of the GAZETTE by, foi
| future reference,
SAMUEL TOWNSEND.
| Townsend, Dec. 10, 1877.