The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-10-28

To the Editor OF the Dispatch:
have read In the Wing OF this morn
ing n communication from Madison Court
house. signed Jolly" which calls Tor
brief notice from me.
am not i'm the habit of noticing anony-
nous scribblers, and depart from the RUE
IN This case only TO dcnounce rs utterly
false certain statements made by the cor
respondent alluded to, and to expose the
methods OF those who have disgraccd
themselves I'm the estimation of all honor
able men. care nothing for the laudatlon
OF s. Brown Allen, as that is in accordance
with the prescribed form furnished from
headquarters. The statement that Mr..
Lacy, or any one else, proposed TO eject
from the courthouse a one-armed ICON
federate Readjuster" for interrupting me
is wilful and deliberate falsehood.
The terms for a joint discussion pro-
posed by us were that the first speaker
should open in one hour, to be followed
bv the second speaker in one hour; the
first speaker to have reioinder OF one
hour. and the second to close in half
an hour, giving to Mr.. Allen the right
10 elect whether he would be the first or
second speaker. The terms were accepted,
and MIR. Allen elected 10 be the hrst
speaker. and was heard respectfully by our
friends, and was not disturbed during the
progress of his speech. When | COM
menced nv reply then began demonstra-
ton which bcggars description. lew
white men i'm conjunction with negroes
undertook TO prevent my being heard.
They yelled and hooted like hyenas, and
the uproar was such as to drown the voices
Of all who appealed for an honorable OBJ
Servance OF the terms.
The scene was so disgraceful that the
Judge upon the bench made an apology to
me for the extraordinary exhibition.
requested him, as the Judge OF the county
and a CONSERVATION OF the peace, TO exert
his authority for the preservation OF order
and 10 enforce a respect for decency III MS
presence. He declared himself powerless,
while protesting disgust for the Disgrace
full spectacle.
| still insisted that he could prevent it III
the courthouse OF his county by the eXer-
ton of his authority as Judge. and when
again he said, with profuse apologies, that
he could do nothing, Mr.. Lacy said to him
that he would stop it il authorized by him
TO do so. ! occupied the stand for the
space of one hour, unable to speak because
OF the noise and uproar created by drunken
negroes and their white allies, and was
then told by the same Judge that my time
had expired, and that honor required Il
strict observance of the terms agreed upon
for the discussion. / then said TO him, and
to no one else, that that was my first visit
to Madison, and that | should never
again place myself in such posi-
ton. turned my back upon the
scene with the loathing and disgust
it was calculated to excite. a working
man who witnessed this foul disgrace ap-
preached me on the following morning.
and said that he felt ashamed OF his people
and race, and begged me TO believe that the
decent men of Madison had no sympathy
with those who had been guilty of such
disgraceful conduct. The effort to account
for the scene by the statement that one
armed Confederate was proposed to be
elected by Mr.. Lacy is a deliberate
fabrication. The men who created the
disorder had two arms and braZen
faces and throats. They went there with
the deliberate purpose to prevent fair
discussion by demeanlng themselves as
beasts; and they succeeded. For the de-
cent and orderly citizens of Madison have
a high respect, but for those in human
shape who consented to be the tools for
the violation of an honorable agreement |
have no other feeling but that OF loathing
and disgust. | said that much to the
Judge, and to no one else. | leave it to
the public to determine how "Jolly"
could have known anything OF my private
interviews with the Judge, and how such
deliberate distortions OF them could have
found their way into print.
Respectfully, GEORGE ID. WISE.