Morning journal and courier., 1882-01-09

The ac1Sburn COntroversy--
 The Union General in Defense of His
 Course.
 WASHINGTON, Jan. Swallowing is the correspondence between General s. G. Bur bridge, late of Kentucky, and Congressman J. sc. Blackburn, of that State, growing out of MT. Blackburn's charge that General Bur bridge as Union commander in Kentucky had murdered many men with whose graves his (Blackburn's) district was now dotted. Burbridge on hearing of Blackburn's marks wrote him that his acts in suppressing guerrillaism in Kentucky were by authority and he would not consent to be classed as murderer therefor. To this General Black burn replied, declaring that he would not take back anything of what he had charged. To this letter General Burbridge replies as follows
 WAsHINGToN D. O., Jan. 7, 1882. To Hon. J. s. c. Blackburn, M. O., Seventh District
 Kentucky:
 sir-Your letter of the 27th ult. in reference to point that the distinguished gentlemen who ap- knowledge of the facts Declining to assal the char acters of the men whose loyalty to their State and their country at the period of my administration is in striking contrast to your own, assume that they had not full knowledge of the facts The deeds which received the hearty approval of all Union wrath of the rebels in Kentucky in 1884, not done in a corner. They were planned in strict cordance with orders from Secretary Stanton and General Sherman and executed in the light of day. The letters Copies of which will be published in nection with your letter this repy) written after my military career had closed and at a time when the Democratic press of Kentucky was loudest in it's denunciation Of official conduct. They were written by men who were fully conversant with all the facts both before and after they had been dis orted by rebel hate It is to be regretted that in alf hn offin fn "a execution of the orders for the suppression of rillaism was tntrusted you failed to include Berry's r band murdered MT. Kalfus on BardstoWn suit, and how the ncensed neighbors and pur- sued them until Mr. Roberts, the country surveyor, ted by the guerrilla bands who roamed the State. You refer to men whose acts put the beyond barsm, , or in the domain of actual crimeS Would it have been act of this character to hunt down your district was 'dotted over with graves it was for such acts as these. As informed you in my pre- vous letter, not put to death by my order without first having been tried and convicted by regularly organized court martial The acts which war in the twilight of barbarism," or worse, in the domain Of actual crime, the very acts which it and allowed many to secure pardon upon promise of future amendment, admit. That I frequently censured for this is true At time when the Ken lucky Legislature had no power to command me- appeared voluntarily before the committee appointed by the Senate and all the charges to which you refer were fully and upon the advice of Hon. Asa C. F. Grover United States Senator the in- vestgation was abandoned by the lower house. In conclusion allow me to suggest that there acts attempted by the adherents of your cause, while those to whose death you patheticaly alude risked their lives in battle, which not only put the perpetrators beyond the pale of civilized the twilight of barbarian, verse, in the domain of actual crime," which far surpass those above mentioned as to provoke inquiry whe her they were not conceived by the prince of darkness allude, sir to the attempted introduction of clothing in fected with yellow fever into northern cite, during the war. do not know by whom this crime against are ample and while vexing your righteous soul about the barbarous treatment of thieves and cut throas in Kentucky, 1t might be we'll to allow some portion of your indignation to find vent against this diabolical attempt to murder innocent women and children. (Sigped}
 s. G. BURBnIDGE.
 Following are given copies of the docu- ments above alluded to- among others being the following:
 UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH( By telegraph to General Burbridge: Go and raise the hue and cry, and don't mind the cost money horsehesh to hunt down every of It, and Morgan and all such will let Kentucky alone in ali time to come Seize fresh horses where they be had, and leave the tired ones giv l ing certificate for after settlement.
 (Signed) w. T. SHERMAN, Major General. HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIvIsIoN) OF THE MISSISSIPPI, BIG SHANTY Ga, June 21, 1864.
 10 0eneral burpr1uge, commanding the District or Kentucky:
 The recent raid of German and the concurrent acts "Guerrillas" call for determined action on your part, in the Southern States rights State of Kentucky. The State has not seeded. Her people, by vote and by action, have adhered to their all legance to the national government, and the South would now coerce her out of our Union and into theirs. The very dogma of coercion upon which so much stress laid at the outset of the war, and which carried into the rebellion the people of the middle or border slave States but politics aside, these acts of so-caed 'partisans" or "guerrillas' are nothing but simple murder-horse stealing, arson and other well defined crimes which do not sound well under their true names under more agreeable ones. Now before starting on this cam paign foresaw, as you remember, that this case would arise. I asked Governor Bramlette at once organize in each county small trustworthy band under the sheriff if possible, and at to rest every man in the community who dangerous to it. and also every fellow hanging about the towns villages and crossroads who had honest calling. the material of which guerrillas made up. But this sweeping exercise of power doubtless seemed to the Governor rather arbitrary. The fact is that in country personal liberty has been well secured
 that public safety is lost sight of in laws and coin