Daily Richmond Whig

FOR THE WHIG.
To the Editors of the Enquirer.

CLINTON, October 15, 1830.

I had foreseen my exclusion from the columns of the Enquirer, and so said, in my expose contained in the N. Intelligencer of the 25th ultimo; but, I could not have foreseen, nor could I have supposed that, added to this exclusion, would be found, in the columns of your paper, a mutilated statement of what I wished to publish, by which mutilation, I am made to say, by fair inference, what I never did say, nor intended to say, and I feel well justified now, in saying that, your mutilation was designed, as I believe, to do me further injury. I shall be amongst the last to complain, of the latitude of the press, though it may be my misfortune to be the victim, let it be free, in the fullest sense of the word; what I think I have a right to complain of, is suppression of defensive matter, after a base and groundless assault upon character, wantonly and wickedly made by others, and seconded by yourselves. In the Enquirer of the 1st inst. will be found the following article, quoted from the United States Telegraph. "No. 28 abuse, fault and deception. The Collector of Petersburg, Va., J. Robertson, was represented to be very obnoxious to the people. He had for some time reported a large sum to be in suit, and a considerable balance retained in his hands. After his removal it was ascertained that most of the bonds reported by him to be in suit, had actually been paid, and that he was in default $24,857 51." This article, in the columns of the Enquirer, was but a continuance of the same course towards me, manifested, by numerous, previously published, false, and scandalous squibs. I thought that I had submitted to all, with something like Christian forbearance, and that it was time to check, if I could, the currency, which you were giving to falsehood, and defamation—accordingly I forwarded to you, a short piece, in refutation of the strongest features, contained in the disgraceful article, which you republished from the Telegraph. If your paper had been free, the piece would readily have found a place in your columns; yet as you did not choose to publish it, your duty was to reject it. But you have chosen a different course, alike new, offensive, and culpable. In your paper of the 12th inst. you say, "we must decline publishing the communication of the Ex Collector of Petersburg, as we have no wish to embark this paper in what would turn out to be an unpleasant and very useless controversy."—Between whom was this controversy to be, if it arose at all. Certainly between no others than the author of the black list, and myself. And why did you not think of this controversy at the time you inserted the offensive article in the Enquirer? Although you have long acted on the principle that "all is fair in politics," yet I was not aware that you were willing to apply the same principle, in practice, to morals—There was however, no danger of a controversy, for, after answering the article, I was done—But after saying that you declined publishing my communication, you go on to publish, as much of it as it pleased you to do, and in a form too calculated to make it appear, quite a different thing from what it is. The refutation of that part of the quotation from the black list, which charges me with reporting bonds in suit, which, after removal, were ascertained to have been mostly paid, the communication which you refused to publish asserts. "That a circular had been received from the Treasury Department, commanding the Collectors in their subsequent weekly returns, to report all bonds, not paid on the day of falling due, to be in suit; though, in truth, they might not be, and that I had never, during my continuance in office, reported but a single bond in suit, which was afterwards paid and entered to the Credit of the United States, in my account current long before my removal from office. Instead of giving this plain and unequivocal language, as it was written; you have chosen to give it, partly in your own way, and partly in mine, omitting the most material words: by which omission and perversion you have made me admit, that one bond was falsely reported to be in suit by me—Again, in refutation of that part of the black article, which says, that I was represented to be obnoxious to the people, the communication which you have excluded, in addition to what you have quoted from it says, "but I do not believe that any respectable man ever made such a representation, and therefore the article has left no impression either upon my feelings or my mind, against the generous people of Petersburg." These italicised words, you have designedly left out, and no other motive can be assigned for such an act, than a desire, on your part, to enlist the good people of Petersburg against me. You entirely omit all my remarks upon the amount charged to be due to the U. States, willing, I suppose, that that should appear as large as either truth or falsehood may make it. The excluded communication stated, that this part of the black list is falsified, by a Treasury statement of my accounts, under date twenty-fourth February, 1830, now in my possession. You say that I criticized the twenty-ninth number of the black list. I here state that I did not touch that number, in any part of the excluded communication.

One word at parting. Your press has long since ceased to be free; it is held and conducted upon the ancient principle of pure villanage, and fealty*—what it has lost in freedom however, it seems to have made up in defamation, and, with the present temper of the times, perhaps you may discover that this would be the most popular dress you could give it.

In conclusion: I here take leave to tell you, that I feel much more inclined to be responsible for my own compositions, however bad, than for yours, however good they may be—and henceforward, when you speak either for me, or from me, speak truly, and speak all. I am glad to see that you have halted in your publications of the black list. I was fearful that you might rashly go on and get into the Post Office department before you know it—here I trembled, as well for the living as the dead. It is a field which presents a rich harvest, and your defamatory scythe might mow down character by whole regiments, permitting none to escape. But you have stopped short, and I sincerely hope that, all will escape, who have offended in that department.

J. ROBERTSON.

Your late avowal that you wanted no office under the General Government, and that you would accept none which could be given you by Gen Jackson or Mr. Van Buren, furnish no proof of the freedom of your press. You know very well that the pap which you cling to, at the breast of the Commonwealth, gives you more milk than any teat which you can reasonably expect to get hold of, at the breast of the General Government. This key unlocks the sentiment which you have lately uttered with so much apparent independence.