, 1889-11-21
ANOrHER LETTER.


Under date of New York, October 10
General Porter renews his appeal tc
Messrs. Nicolay and Hay, as follows:
MEssRs. NIcoLAY AND HAY-Gentle.
men; In your letter of July So ultimo
acknowledging the receipt of mine OF
July %, you said: "Whcn we revise
the chapter ofour work, to which you al
ludc, for book publication, we will give
fair and careful consideration to the ar.
guments and suggestions which you pre-.
sent"
! have received no other reply to my
letter, nor have seen any attempt made
by you to comply with my request con
tanned in that letter, that you would
take measures to correct, at an early
day, the erroneous statements about my
Magazine, In your so-called History,
the Life Of Abraham Lincoln"
More than two months have elapsed
since you acknowledged the receipt OF
my letter; more than ample time, If
you intend and desire to be Just, either
to become confirmed in the opinions YOU
have expressed, or else convinced of
their injustice and of the injury inflicted
on me by false impressions upon the
minds of a multitude of readers who
have not the means at hand OF knowing
or learning the truth.
Permit me to call your attention to
the case of my two principal accusers,
one OF whom, with n willful disregard OF
the truth and in his engcrness to injure
me, publicly used an official report dc.
scriptivc of the battle of 30th August,
1862, as of the 2th, and thas made d
false statement of all important fact
bearing on my trial, and allowed this
false statement to be circulated,
Ill
wholming that he had falsified /;
in which he was materially aided by the
other. When the inlsity of these two
men was proved so conclusively that
they were Obliged to admit their otfense,
one declared that lie did not see what he
had to do with correcting the wrong,
and the other said that It was not his
province to clear up the mistake. Do
yon desire to be clusscd with these
caluminators2 would do you the JUS
ticc now to believe tl,at You do not. |
can not for one moment, nor will do
so, until forced by your inaction to do
what is right and just, believe that you
would desire to be placed on the same
level with another of my bitter per.
secutors, who, when urged by friend
to cease his denunciations OF Inc in con-
grcss, replied, that although he knew
that his efforts against me would prove
ffuitiess, yet That he must keep up his
attack tn defend himself
The true historian is swift to correct
his own drrors his own self-rcspcct ro-
quircs TINT he should do so; Justice to
his readers demands it; and the future
can only be satisfied by such course.
Permit me, then, TO present this sug-
gestion to your careful consideration,
that II you do not, ~ an carly date,
show disposition 10 bo Just, you will
have no cause to complain If ain indig-
nant public hold YOU us pervcrters ofthe
truth and false to history.
am not pressing claim upon you
which is unjust in itself, nor one to
which ] AIN not entitled. You have
made incorrect historical statements; !;
you have falsiticd page of the history
OF this country in which am personal
ly interested; you have slnndered an
honorable name, which 10 is my duty
and my pleasure to transmit untarn-
ished TO my posterity. now, therefore,