Vermont Telegraph

I am not fond of troubling the readers of the Telegraph with local matters, or private difficulties. It is not my design to allow any local affair to occupy space out of proportion to the circulation of the paper in the region of the transaction. If this be strictly adhered to,—and I design it shall be,—it is presumed there will be no complaint. This is my apology—if any be needed—in view of what follows:

Abuse of Editorial Power.

During my absence at New-York, some weeks since, the Editor of the Rutland and Addison County Whig, published in this place, suffered a correspondent of his to make an attack upon me through the columns of his paper. On my return, the article coming under my observation, I felt constrained, in view of the source from which it emanated, and the misrepresentation it contained, to notice it, which I did by handing a few lines to the person in charge in the absence of the Editor of the Whig—and it was published. Two weeks afterwards a following up of the attack, from the same source, appeared in the Whig—grossly misrepresenting me by implication and insinuation. Upon this I promptly furnished the Whig with a very brief reply, which went into the hands of the Editor, he having returned before his succeeding paper went to press. The Editor took it upon himself, at this juncture—after a correspondent of his paper had been allowed to speak twice to my once, preceding and following me with his attack—to decide that it was now time for the controversy to stop! I protest that such a course was unrighteous and dishonorable. It was not in character with the manly demeanor of the Editor of the Whig towards me on other occasions. On my remonstrating with him personally, for such injustice, he promised me that he would inform his readers, in his next paper, that he had received a communication from me, and give his reasons for not publishing it. I have waited three weeks for him to fulfill his promise; and not knowing how much longer he may neglect it, I give, below, the article which he rejected, that as many readers of the Whig as see the Telegraph may understand the course taken and judge for themselves:

“The Corrector set right by Facts."

To the Editor of the Whig:

Under the foregoing head, I find, in your last, a following-up of your correspondent, with his attack upon me, which, coming from the source it does, I feel in duty bound to notice—trusting that you will do me the justice to allow me a brief hearing before your readers. Your correspondent has not denied what I stated in my former communication—he would not. On the contrary, he has virtually admitted the truth of my assertion there made. If he had stopped when he had done this, I should have had no more to say. But, instead of presenting the "facts" as the heading of his article promised, he undertakes to make out a case which he calls "exactly parallel." In doing this, he could not have gone wider from the "facts," as they were, than he has, by implication and insinuation. His talk about "personal attack," and "personal bearing on my friend," a part of which latter phrase he has crowded eight times into a single paragraph, is all without a particle of foundation in truth. Not a word of the kind ever passed between us.

O. S. MURRAY.

Brandon, May 26, 1840.