Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1878-07-19

the name and residence Of the gentleman
who Bore my letter to him. This made it
improper for me in pursuing this matter
to expose any friend to the severe penal
ties Of the law of the District Of Colum.
bia which inhicts the punishments of con-
flnement in the penitentiary on the bearer
of challenge.
| No alternative was now left me but to
| reach Mr.. Alexander in some mode which
would imperil no one but myself. l
therefore addressed him the following
| letter:
ALEXANDRIA, July IS, 1878.
| Columbus Alerander, Esq.,:
SIR: 1 addressed you letter, giving
you an opportunity, of which you should
have availed yourself, to correct all error
into which you had fallen. Instead OF
doing this you have replied Extensively
through the press, and been guilty OF
such illusions to my friend, Capt. Shep-
pard, as justify the apprehension that you
| would avail yourself Of the police of the
District to subject any friend of mine to
| arrest under certain circumstances.
! I am thus constrained to resort to the
mail as the only safe method of communl-
ting with you. Relying on your declara'
ton in your second card, that you are a
Virginian, ask that you will indicate
some place beyond the reach OF the DIS
trict police, where a demand for the repa-
ration which Tirginians accord IN such
cases can be madeiupon you. ..
To be sure you receive this, L SEND IL
as q registered letter. An answer ao-
dressed to me at this place will reach me-
Your obedient servant,
EPPA HUNTON.
THIS letter was placed in the Alezan.
dria Post Office and registered at III
o'clock q. m. The earliest mail leaving
Alexandria for Washington was at II
O'Clock m,
The following telegram was also sent
to him:
ALEXANDRIA, July II, 1878.
| Columbus Alenu,der, Wushington, d. c, :
Call at Post Office for registered letter
| from me.
| 1Sioned1 EPPA HUNTON.
The operator in Washington telegraphed
| that the above message was delivered at
I1O.45 a. m. on the 18th Of July.
Ireceivcd no reply to this letter, but in
the Alexandria Gazette this evening, MT.
alexander published the following card
| WASHINGTON, D. c., July IS, 1878.
To Tie Editor Of the Alexandria Gazette
SIR: regret to be compelled to trouble
YOU so often. Yesterday morning re-
ceived a telegram from Gen. Eppa Hunton,
in which he informed me that he had
mailed to my address registered letter.
That registered letter / could not obtain
until THO morning, July 18th. Here IS an
exact copy of it:
NY answer to Gen. Hunton is this:
You publicly, in speech, published in
the Baltimore Sun and Washington Star
grossly insulted me by saying that tue
most infamous ring measure ever passed
through Congress, and for which you
voted, chad been brought TO you endorsed
by Commissioner Bryan, Judge Wylie,
and Columbus Alexander" Greatly Of
Tended at that assertion, felt compelled
to show from the Record that your state
ment was false.
Instead. however, of writing to these
papers and correcting the wrong done me,
You send ne, through one Of your ap-
| Dontces under the Radical District gov
...A,nont. q letter, in which you attempt to
"bulldoze' me. W"ll. that you cannot
do
I am free citizen, and I shall always
avail myself Of the great privilege of such
Il citizen, to wit: to defend myself and
fellow-citjzens and our property against
| such infamou. and confscating Ring acts
as the one in question, and for which yo'!
not merely voted, but for the passage OF
which you exerted yourself personally,
something which you dare not deny. That
it is Ring act Of tho most atroclous
character is shown by the recent opinion
Of District Attorney Riddle, who cannot
help excusing himself for the hard fea'
lures Of that law by cxclaiming that he
did not make tie law! You have been
our enemy, and for that reason, and no
other, we ask the Virginia Democracy not
to return you to Congress.
I There is nothing in my letter that
should induce you and your friend, Gap
tain Sheppard, to believe that ever Ia
tended to use the police against the latter,
though I must confess that his visits were
frequent and annoying, one Of them being
made on Sunday night, about 10 o'clock,
after had retired to bed. 1t is not CHS
tonary in polite society for strangers to
make calls in such manner and at such
times.
You seem to have an ungrounded fear
of our District police, though you ought
to know that it is under the control OF
your Radical Ring friends, who will GER
tainly see that no harm shall be done you,
In that YOU lave even the advantage over
me, as that very police stood guard over
and directed the hired burglar to my
house on the night when the Ring scoun'