The St. Johns herald., 1886-06-17


 Hams, corrected and revised (and i; should have been annotated) in which the HERALD Is charged with attempting to ''white wash the characters of gentlemen, whom the author is vainly trying to besmirch with a tact and talent borrowed from the camp, barracks and mess room before 1t became covenient for him to seek d more cheerful field of operations than Fort Win gate. We would not pause to "hear this fellow in the cellarage," " but for the fact the communication points to the sequel found in the utterances of the Critic. The lan- guage employed in editorial com ments has adopted the sentiment. yet with becoming modesty has left to the scholarly Williams all the credit of his classic diction, so becomingly garnished with ''hog wash" We shall, therefore, ad- dress ourselves to the remarks of the Critic, and in parting with the itinerant Williams, say in a spirit of friendly compassion, that while regretting a coat of ''white wash, " IS too transparent an ointment for his case, We advise him in all sin cerity to seek some sequestered wallow, and in the "hog-wash" with which he is so familiar, he will find q fragrant cosmetic more congenial to his nature and habits, and in the seclusion of his grunt- ing happiness, he will find his re- ward in escaping without censure because he escapes without obser- vation.
 The Critic in it's comments upon clipping from the HERALD, sta ting the mode and manner of set clement made by the Sheriff in the matter of license tax collection, uses the following language "the statement of facts with regard to the Sheriff's office and the conduct of the Sheriff is unquestionably as straight as can be given, but the summing up or reflections on the case-if it may be so called-is a shocking waste of words"
 Now we did not intend to inti- mate, nor do we now believe that MT. Hubbell contemplated the de- liberate commission of crime, nor that he was in fact guilty of such, but we wished to censure, and as far as possible stop mode of do- ing business which threatened se- rious loss to the county and end less endorsements to the officers themselves. We say again that the law contemplates the payment of dues to the county in currency or coin, and as evidence, it is only necessary to state that county war rants, solemn certificates of the county's indebtedness, will not be received in payment of taxes. The law is the criterion by which to measure official acts, and it com- mands the officer to receive money, and if he does otherwise, he vio- lates it and does wrong, yet 1t does not make him guilty of a crime, but liable for the loss or damage resultant. A mans private life and actions are not subjects of journal istic criticism, and we do not intend to notice the doings of any one. except so far as they effect the pub lie good and are affected by the law of the land. We have judged of these officials merely in their rela- ton to the written law, beyond that we have neither concern or pro- vince. In commenting upon the matter in question, we tried to inn press upon those interested, not only what the law was, but other and additional reasons why its terms should be observed. The Critic may find a definition of com mercial paper in the cheeks given by Hubbell, and if our facts, state ments and summing up or refec- tions" cannot be understood, we can only repret OI1r inability to fllr-