Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1879-03-07
A CARD.
In Wednesdays issue of the Nashville
Banner, find the following:

In Wednesdays issue OF the Nashville
Banner, find the following:
W. j. RAMAGE.
The deposition taken at Knoxville, Febru
airy Is, 1879. Said witness being sworn, de-
posed as follows:
Question-Were you at any time connected
with any newspaper in Tennessee? Ii so,
how long, when, and with what paperP
Answer was the business manager OF
the Knoxville Press and Herald, January,
1867 to 1876.
Q1es.-Durlng that time. was any PROPOSE
ton or negotiations made to you or through
you to said paper by any railroad or railroad
companies or other person or persons to en-
gage your paper to adopt particular line OF
policy in regard to the State debt, or any
part thereof If so, by whom were the
proposition or negotiations CONDUCTED or
made, and what consideration was oheredr
Ans.-Well, the only proposition that l
know anything about was made by Colonel
j. NJ. Heating, OF the Memphis APPEAL. l
can, and undertake to say what year 1t was,
and his proposition was IN substance this;
He said by combining certain newspapers
and "bearing" Tennessee bonds and depre-
eating State credit, certain sum, | think
ten thousand dollars, could be made, and
we. the Press and Herald, should have one
fourth. His proposition was declined.
Q1es-For whom dId you understand
Colonel Heating to be operating?
Ans.-Colonel Heating did not say, but L
understood inferentialiy that the Memphis
and Charleston railroad had started the
matter.
Mr.. Ramage is mistaken. | never had a
conversation with him in nv life about the
State debt, the State bonds, the State cou-
pons o. anything else nearly or re-
motely affecting the interests of Ten
nessee. | met him in Nashville twice
IN January of 1869, since which time | have
neither seen nor spoken to him. | never
wrote him a letter in my life, nor did l ever
receive 4 letter from him. | was in Knox
vile twice In my life. but only Tor a few
hours each timc-orce in the winter OF 1866,
with congressional excursion party, and
once by reason of some railroad delay ON
Sunday in 1872, when q was returning home
from New York-on neither occasion did
see or have any conversation with MI
Ramage. I hope that when this meets Air
Ramage's eye he will make haste to do me
prompt correction. A statement which ap
peared in the testimony of Dorsey B. Thomas
on the say-so of Colonel L. }. DuPre, now o
Austin, Texas, in which my name ~ men
toned, Is wholly untrue. l was never mem
asr of any ring in this or any other State, o
any place else, and l know of no ring
never was employed by any ring, and ever.
attempt to connect me personally will
any so-called funding or other ring, or an
ring, is an outrage which l deuounce as vii
fully malicious and without the fIintest trac
of truth. even the shadow CT truth on whlc
TO rest it.
The legislature of the State, to which ever
citizen has right to look for protection, ha
disgracsd itself by permitting an &c par
star.chambes preceding, and by consentln
to or conniying al an er-purte publication
evidence by which good citizens have bee
traduced and made to appear as II crimlni
conspirators, without the opportunity for II
huttal which the courts afford even th
meauest criminals. No pretended or a
sumed public good can excuse proceeding
so discreditable to the State an
which have only eliminated ia a mass
evidence, much of which, being purely nea
say, no court in the country would receiv
but which is being spread all over the Sta
AS if it had the indorsement of the State an
every word of it was true. A more coli
blooded, cruel, vindictve, malicious al
wholly causeless proce eding, so far as ! a
Individually concerned, was never perp
trated. j. NJ. HEATING.