The Arkansas Banner

The Neely and Holland Affair

We did not intend to mention this affair again until the evidence given before the tribunal before which they were arraigned should be made public—which we are distrustful will not be done. But having received the following letter from Holly Springs, we publish it and the "accompanying document" for what they are worth:

Holly Springs, Sept. 3, 1849.

Editor of the American:

Dear Sir: Enclosed I send you a notice that the Rev. J. C. Holland had stuck up here to-day. I attended the meeting, and of all the awful abuse you received it. You ought, I think, to publish a full account of the whole proceedings in your paper. By so doing, you will oblige, &c.

P. S. J. C. Holland, by his speech, convinced nearly every one that he was guilty."

The following is the notice referred to, which came enclosed in the above:

"To The Public.—All that feel interested in hearing a correct statement in reference to an article emanating from the "American," a paper published in Nashville, headed "Reverend Rascality," will confer a favor by meeting at the court-house, this afternoon at 3 o'clock.

"Sept. 2d, 1849.

J. C. HOLLAND"

We have also understood from the best authority, that Mr. Neely, immediately after the publication was made in the American detailing the circumstances of their arrest, wrote a letter to a gentleman in Columbia, (Mr. Towler) which was read to various individuals there, stating that such was the indignation of the people in Nashville, on account of said publication, that it was as much as influential citizens could do to prevent a mob from destroying the American office. This will certainly be news to this community. We have enquired of various gentlemen since we heard of Mr. Neely's letter to Columbia, who state that never had they heard even a hint of an outbreak of popular feeling against the office. We should certainly have heard of it had it been talked of.

On the contrary, on the day that the evidence before the church was concluded, a gentleman of the highest standing as a citizen and as a member of the same church came to our office and asked for a paper containing our article, stating that he desired to show us where we had done wrong. We handed the paper to him, remarking that we desired neither of the parties injustice, and would retract publicly, if convinced that the evidence we could produce failed to sustain us. The gentleman then read the article twice over, and remarked that on reading it on the day of publication he conceived us to have been wrong in one or two instances—but that, after hearing all the testimony, and again reading the article he, "could not find a word to alter.'

Besides, before writing the article, we requested a highly respectable gentleman to accompany us to Water street, who can testify that we obtained at the place and in the neighborhood of where the arrest was made, good evidence of the facts announced in our paper of next morning—and which we read to him after the article was prepared for the press, for fear we might be wrong on some point or other.

Having no malice to gratify, we had no cause or desire to state aught but truth, and although the matter was in the town's mouth, yet, as we shall always do, we endeavored to get the facts without heeding rumor.—Nashville American.