Year: 1873

MALICE AEORETHOUGHT sa


The fair fame of the State of YER
mont, is too well established to be de-
stroyed by the assaults of the defamer,
and we do not feel called upon to de-
fend our State, her judiciary or her
prominent citizens, from the three col
umns of falsehood, malice and misrepre-
sentation that appeared in the Spring.
field Repat6tieaa of Tuesday last. This
article is the most marked and fragrant
exhibition of malicious mischief that we
ever knew an influential journal to in
dulge in. We think we see the handi-
work of Mr.. f. 3. Sanborn, one of the
editors of that paper, in the composition
of the article, and we suppose it is an
echo from some disappointed rival to
the successful railroad interests of the
State, Its malignity was evidently in
spired through personal hatred, and has
worked itself out in the Republican as a
revenge for some fancied wrong


The accuracy of this editor as a ahisto-
rian, is so notOriously out of joint, and
his statements of facts so distorted, that
any person at all acquainted with the
current affairs of the State, will not be
deceived by them. The Hon. Homer E.
Royce is so well known as as upright,
learned and honest judge, that the SLAM
derS of a comparative stranger will not
destroy his reputation. The people of
Vermont have always been vigilant in
sustaining the character of their judi
ciary, and this is the first time that a
member of her highest court has ever
been charged with venality and cOrrup-
tion, and the only way we account for
this assault is, that the Republican is
making itself the mouth piece of the
parties who were beaten by the opinion
of Chancellor Royce, in the recent at
tempt to force the Central road into
bankruptcy, and ruin all hopes of its fu-
ture prosperity, for we know it is
natural for an unscrupulous man, who
has been defeated in court, to revile the
judge. There can be no other way to
account for this false and malicious as
sault upon the characerof Judge Royce


As for the reputation and standing
of the Smith family, we leave that with
the people of the State. The same par
ties that are instrumental in getting up
this assault, went into the legislature
last fall with their complaints, and a
Fni
pointed. This committee has thorough
| ly investigated all charges made. With
commendable patience, they sat for
days and listened to the squabbles of
counsel who ought to have been gentle
men, and to the detailing of all suspi-
! ciOns and surmises of enemies as we'll as
to facts that had bearing upon the sub.
ject matter of the inquiry, and when
the parties were all through they made.
report which fully exouerated the
Smiths and the other managers Of the
Vermont Central Railroad ''from all
corruption, fraud, peculation or mis-
management and here again the beaten
! party comes in aud endeayors to do away
that report with cry of ''whitewash,
and reiterate their old charges, prcfaced
by a scandalous assault upon the Smith
family, commencing with Captain John
and ending with the Governor. r....


In reference 10 some litigation which
has taken place, recently, the report in
the article of the Repu6kc1n, has no
foundation in fact. The Central Yer
mont Company, nor none of its officers,
had anything to do with the litigation,
or in procuring the injunction from
Chancellor Wheeler against the Yer
mont Valley Company; and John Greg
ory Smith was as ignorant of the move
ment as the editor of the Republican.
The treasurer of the Rutland Railroad
Company thought he saw q desire on
the part of the Valley Company to take
action at a meeting, its officers had
called, to injure the interests of the Rut-
land Company, who hold lease of the
Valley road. The president of the
company was absent in Europe. and the
treasurer thought it his duty to act, he
COuSultcu TWO vi Chc ledCtinS lawyers III
the State, and under their advice the
bill was brought and injunction pro-
cured. The Valley Company answered,
and upon hearing, Judge Wheeler dis
solved the injunction. For this, Gov
ernor Smith is arraigned in the Repu5G-
can, and with about the same show of
reason as the other charges against him,
Mr.. Park, and others. The treasurer of
the Rutland Road, acting in his best dis
cretion, under the advice of the best
counsel he could obtain, is alone respon-
sible for that suit. He brought it to
protect the rights he represented, and he
would have been unworthy the conf
dence reposed in him if, under the cir
cumstance, he had acted differently
from what he did.