Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1886-06-05
Letters From the People.

EDITOR ENTERpEIsE.-Sir: Reply
ing to the remarkable communication
from the three ministers of Onancock
in your last issue, will say that have
been for nearly two years the regular
Eastern Shorc correspondent of the
New Y DIRK Herald, and us such am the
responsible author of the telegram sent
to that paper from Onancock OH the
End day of May, 1856. Having repro
duced this dispatch Ole month after its
publication, these gentlemen make bold
to assert that in sending 1t to the Her
aid I have assailed their characters rs
christian ministers ard sought to injure
men whose sole aim has been the puhlic
good. Now, L emphatically deny that
have ever desired or attempted. di
rectly or Indirectly to injure any one IT
these gentlemen ut ANY time: nor can
see ANYTHING in The dispatch they have
reproduced c;l;I he tortured into the sup
port OF Suci. an assertion. And being
supported III this opinion by every fair
minded, unbiased man with whom l
have talked on Tue subject, both here
and elsewhere. challenge these gentle
men to state what grounds they have
for bringing against me this serious &C.
cusation, in which they have presumed
to divine my motives and sit III judg-
ment on my intentions. The dispatch
was sent to The Herald because my du-
ty as the correspondent of that paper
demanded 1t of me. Now, while the
language of these gentlemen would JUS
| tify the belief that they would like to
get the people of the county few Of
whom have any personal knowledge of
the question at issue) to deny the ac-
curacy Of every statement in this dis.
patch, that seems to have given them so
much offense, yet I am sure there is
but one statement in it that they
would venture to call in question; and
that is the one representing them as
having paid close attention to the col
ored voters, held meetings with them,
and fraternised with them OIL familiar
terms. "The head and front of my Of
Tending hath this e1tent-no more. D
The communication Of these ministers
contpcls me to state, i'll few words
and as mildly rs can, the grounds Oh
which this statement WAS made: These
gentlemen, all three of them, are known
to have participated in a meeting held
in the Town Hall of Onancock at the
very inception of the prohibition con-
test in this district. There were pres
emit in that meeting two cole ed minis
tiers and several other prominent iepre-
sentatives of thatrace, with the approval,
if not on the invitation. Of the white
ministers. In this preliminary council
of war, as / was afterwards credibly in
formed,a committee WAS appointed, con
sisting of members of both races, to or
game victory among their respective
countymen. Later on, Capt. w. G.
button, Chief OF Good Templars in Vir-
GINA, came over from Portsmouth, aid
with the approval of the white minis
tiers he.e, labored faithfully and effec-
lively among the colored people, going
to the meetings that were held in the
colored churches at night, and 10y his
earnest appeals and stirring eA ortations
turning the tide in>favor Of prohibition
I was told at the time that Capt. Dut.
ton was attended on his missionary toul
among the colored people by one, if not
two, of the white ministers of Oman
cock, who rendered valuable assistance
in capturing colored votes. And then
again was told, by persons who ought
to know, that one Of these ministers
worked like Trojan" on the day Of
the election amongthe colored voters.
These representations made to ME by
persons whom I considered reliable,
form the basis for the statement which
regret to see has givel. so much of.
fense to these gentlemen, whose christ
ian character and social standing ]
would be the last one to aSSail.
It is ain additional source Of regret
that these gentlemen have seen fit In the
manner Of publication to 10 violence tc
! the time-honorcd propretics that usual