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from the NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER. ‘
CALUMNY REFUTED.
The tongue of calumny has been deeplv
anti conftvirjv emulovcd in v;!hfywg th'*
V*” v ] ffif-r-G for the difmiffion or
V )'L M \ fiefs : With what just: ice will the
; u .i;r oe enabled to judge, when they have
• • ‘tided the fafils herein .stated.
ten the truth oft his statement the people
x j relv ; and lie enemies of the govern
r. e . and of the Poll-Mifter-Genrr.il are
il, n \r i to contradict it, cr to fLce ano
i-m case.
0.-e rite ckfmiffil of a Angle ofleer by
: . ne. correfpo-nder.ee of ore of the prin
: ‘.d officers had been frequently violated;
,i ointments mr.de bv the Poft-Malier
f ~} t “. i il had been foppreffeti, and the papers
pf ver hear i or, and the leal or tue depuit
rr-Dr had been twice broken at fume of die
offices.
There nr? one thoufitnd end ninetv-five
depute Pod-M afters in tit? unite.l Stages,
ca< h-account ible ro, and liable to c.if
n tilled by the Poft-Malle:-Gei*f al. Os this
immense corns of officer- it was a rare thing
to fi da fingie officer who was friendly to the
government o* the con: ry. i r.e v. uole
ph tlanx might be called fc .er..l, and many
©f them ranked with the rood; bitter oppo
nents of the admin: fixation. f o toe in was
on fruited the whole correspondence of the
country, under a Lit m, where, from its ex
ten’r, it is very difficult to trace the fupnrrf
i:on of intelligence to any particular otrace.
The) two, had the power of circulating the
plans or u.ttir party whir concerted lyftem in
t'-) everv county in tire Union, free fiom -ex
t enfe ; and at the ia me tine poiicfted me
pa wer of fu |-p re fling 11 ve conm vn i carlo n sos
oie adrrtinifiration itielf, as wet! as of its
j nds. 1 his power was certainly in fome
i tetence called info exercise ; though, to the
nor of the department and the officers them
ves, it is believed that tho.e in fiances weie
ot frequent. Ts he Great ’majority ot moie
in office, aie men o honor anu character, ano
ddchcree the duties of their offices wins ci;i
genoc and fidelity. .
In thisftateof things, although the Pou -
Mailer-General jisflly conTiders the republi
cans as fully entitled to their proportion of
tilt* honors and emoluments ot ounce, yet to
fjrnitli an additional evidence of a. diipof tion
to conciliate the feelings °f every part of the
community, a dilpofinon originating not
Lorn fear, but a bn cere desire to aMa tht
iViirlf n .in.. *'* s “r r r ’
ric.tcnTC'd rhfe pfeieht ‘aifTifinurration, he has
di[milled frorb office but forty-five Potl-Maf
t ts, out of one hundred and ninety five. That
he has not yet restored to the republicans an
equality of office, hut trulls principally to the
• antral pi ogre is of the department to erfcfil an
end so just and deftrable, is it to be attributed
ro j fVirit of conciliation, and to wish to avoid
thole evils, which might result from the in-
Cro lu<slio:a of two many new officers.
Os the forty-five, one was dismissed for in
finity.
One hag been appointed in the fever of ’9B
in the room of one of the mold promiiiing
characters in the Union, who was displaced
fora decent though noble maintenance of his
opinions, at a tune when nineteen-twentieths
of me officers were friends to the adminiftra
r;on, was di!milled to do jufticc to the person
whom he had succeeded.
One became he could not be answerable
on his bonds, being a minor under the age of
eighteen years. “ j
One for flagrant abufeof the government,]
and charging the executive with treason, and!
every other crime, j
Two, for having aidei the enemies of the
country during the revolution, and maintain
ing to this day the lame regard for British su
premacy, and royal government : Persons
who ought to be permitted the free exercise
or opinion, to have the enjoyment of their,
property and the just protection of the laws •,
but who it is believed, ought not to be em
ployed as officers of a government, which
they contemn and calumniate.
Two, for such negligence and inattention,
that the mails were retarded and the public
incommoded.
Three, for farming out their offices to the
halves, and wholly neglecting to bellow their
personal attendance upon them*
Five, for wilful mifeondudt of various
kinds :
Five, becauie their localfituations were not]
convenient either tor the public lervire, oi j
for the accommodation cf the people of the*
vicinity.
Eight printers, or editors of newspapers :;
and, _ _ ]
Sixteen, to give place to lone of the
friend’s of theadminiftration to participate in:
the offices of government.
The realbnfor not permitting the printers’
or editors of newspapers to be Poll-Mailers,
a e, that they have a strong inducement to
suppress the papers of rival printers, and to
extend the circulation : : their own j and an |
uncommon interest in aounng the privileges j
offrankinq. Thev enjoy superior advantage I
over their frllow-craftmen. This products
jeabufies, bickerings and conflant irritation *,
and however fairly the duties of the office
may be difdurged, these evils can never be
avoided. Indeed the propriety of the ex
citiflon was so manifest, that t A ie fate Post-;
Master-Genera! had forty years made it aj
rule, not to appoint printers of newspapers. j
Tiie wisdom of this nteaftire has rot been’
doubted but by Calender, who, having been |
rtfuffid an office in the department, feels all ‘
he vexation of disappointment. How caait j
ibe said that prcfe.mg characters, who are j
! ‘*as“ liable to luipicion, who have tne
! private interest to oppose to the re ß u ' a f tl11 ”
charge of their public duties, m lact oning a
I suspicion, and blasting tiie characters cd pi in- j
hers? They are undoubtedly valuable and]
imphtk'u members of the community. Bat;
I does it follow that it is not the ducy of an of- ;
‘rlccrto feieft fac'i petfons as are least liable j
to distrust, and who unite in their cha.-.fters j
the most gcnenl confidence ? Or will it be!
iforgotten that the rule applies indifcrtminnte- j
ly to all printers ? And can it be believed
j-i-or {•{)( Post-M?.stcr-'--eneral wifnes to cast
a stigma upon the republican printers r In
the mad rage of ilie opposition to destioy t!i?j
fair fairs of this officer’ they h.ivc published }
that that this rule war- apuii? ! to remove j
federal printers, but forgotten when an op-j
pc? ‘unity preknted of appointing a republi-;
cun editor : as an evidence of this pretend-j
ed duplicity ofconduct, they point out the j
instance of Mr. Blake, the editor of the /Eg is, |
land of Thomas Perrin Smith. Ell,. o( &la-j
ryland, who, they Ay, is all.) an editor. But;
j here, as in every other circumstance, tneir j
job ,rp-es ..re rr.aiicio'JS and unfounded. Mr. j
! Blake never was appointed. Mr. Smith, was
appointed by the‘late, not by the prdent
Post-Mastev-Gtacral. W hether lie be
editor of a paper or not, is unknown. In
!truth the removal of printers or editors has
I been liroitted to cases where there were rival
! prefies in the fame town, or where tne jcalou-
I fit's before mentioned tiad produced ierious
Sdiffiatisfadkion. There are a number oi fede
ral printers, and other republican printcrG sad
tn othce.
Several cases which have arrested the pub
lic attention, anti whitn nave i.u tut
utmost violence cf attack and bittemefs of
inveitive against the Post-Master-General
require a more particular
1 ‘in fust is ihe cause of William-I lobby
|of Augusta, Georg! 1, who was tiifmtiied as
‘under a perfuaflon that he was the editor of a
ncwfpaper. This he has keen proper r o de
ny, however the rhcl may be, itwasfo un
derstood by the Post-Master-Genera] j and
after the publication of Mr. Hubby’s letter,
governor Jackson, and Mr. Milledge offered
to certify, that the Augusta Herald was uni
versally called Hobby's .paper, that he was
the real and foie editor., and that they had
i never heard it denied, till that letter was oub-1
[ lifhed. Nor is it probable that Mr. Hob
by’s connexion with that paper, was the on
ly reason for his diimiftal ; ror complaints of
mifeonduft were made against him by seve
ral of the most refpedable citizens of that |
stare, a mens: whom is the Speaker of their;
Hoofe of A ffiembiy, whose letter on this u.b-1
was read on the floor oi Congress. 1 Oe j
Post-Master- General declined the acceptance j
of a certificate from governor Jackibn and j
Mr. Milledge, on the principle,.that it would |
be improper for an officer at the nead 01 n- i
ny department in the govern me nr, to enter
wi:h any perion, into a newlpaper contcii on
the lubjeci of his official conduct.
To Mr. John Try on, of Lebanon in the
state of New-York, a facceifor was appoint
ed, because the fltuation of the former was
inconvenient. Mr. i rvon iiveson the poit
road from Berkshire to Albany, near the
Maffiachufetts line ; and no other principle
road leading from any other place, unites
with this poll road, near Mr. i Mr.
Jones his fuccefihr Fves in the centre of po
pulation and of the town by the meeting
house, on the fame polk road. The new
Turn-kipe from Hari-furd, and the roads
leading to towns, which depend on the new
Lebanon office for intelligence, unite with ]
the re 2d fir ft mentioned, at or near the houfej
of Mr. |one s, ihe rc(Hence Oi x’.li. i ry-|
on was nearer tHe fpnngs ; bur the vifltors or 1
thofc waters, in their daily rides, pass Mr. ]
[one’s door. A number of the inhabitants j
of the town petitioned, that the cffi.ce ought
be kept near the meeting houie. Mr. Tiy
on, who was considered by the Post-Mailer-
General as a gentleman wei! entitled to the
confidence or the department, difeovered
that the petition was loon to be forwarded,
wrote co the Poft-Mafter-Generai on theiub
jetit, and suggested the propriety of cllabiifil
ing tvjo offices in the fame town, one at the
meeting house, and one at the lpnr.gs. Tiie;
latter wouid turn offithe imi;, which is con-]
veyed in a coaches fro .11 the Pcffi-road for]
a confidcrable distance, and made it necef
iary to open the Hartford mail, was the pro
per place for the office ; and that it was not
proper to eftabiifh mother office within two
miles and an half, to accommodate for a few
months in the year, thofc persons who v.iiv
ed the firings, especially as the road “'as ae
ry convenient, and the viiitors generally
■passed Mr. Jone’s every day. also wor
thy to be remarked char Mr. I yron wrote a
a second letter to rhe Post-Master general on
tife fiibject contained in the firfl, offfi ring to
! re(i ,r o °ffi ce , and recommending Mr.
i qvifficfs for his fuccefTor. The motives of
\\lr. Tryon will be justly eftimate.d by those,
who know that Mr, Ter buffi was bis te
nant.
The third is the case cf Augustus Davis,
printer of a r.’wfpaper. This man, though
he returned thanks to the Pcfc-Mailer-Ge
neral for his liberal and gentleman conduct,
tend afiTurcd him that whatever decision was
I made, he was fully convinced would be dic-
I rated by what was thought necefihry to pro-
I mote the public good, has publifned a long
; fcatement of a correlpondence between him
: felt and the P ofc-Mafler-General, villifying
tend calumniating the chara6lerofth.lt onicer.
That Mr. Davis was iatisfied with the con
dtifl of Mr. Granger he cannot deny ; for
| declarations i rporting his approbation, were
] made by him at Alexandria the Bowling
: Green. The inconfiltency of men’s conduct,
] who are governed by a desire to fublerve the
! inicreft of a party, ftrongiy exemplified in
! Mr. Davis. He pro poled to evade the rule
■ relating to printers and editors of newspapers,
Iby dividing 11)0 bteir.cfc l>otwen buTI V.yd Ills
] son, one was to take the Poll-Office, and the
] other the priming-office, both being under the
; fame roof. This was considered as inadmif
j fible, and as tending to destroy the benefit ot
j the regulation. The couftrudtion which Mr.
j Davis made, has not been v ppoled by the
] head of Department in his case only ; three ot
I the personal & political friends of Mr. Gran
• orer, have foil cited the fame and have met with
j D ;
the fame ditappoinrment.
‘The fourth case worthy of notice, and
which has been the fob;eel of public corn
! menr, is that of Benjamin Lowndes of Cla
jdensburg. As the fitOation of his office was
i fome distance from the poll road, and his
! houle quite remote, the Poft-Mafter-Genera]
S forwarded an appointment to a gentleman of
i refpedlability whose fltuation was convenient
j For the office. This was clone for the purpose
jof expediting and rendering fecurethe carri
! aare of the mail. For Going Eailward it leaves
j yy o o
j Walhington at one o’clock in the morning,
land arrives at Blade long before day
liohe. As Mr. Lownde’s office was atadil-
O
tance from the road, fome time mull needfu
rily have been spent in earn ing the way bag
to the office. This would have been incon
venient to the pafienger, and, when none
were in the coach, would in the absence of
the carrier have hazarded the mail to a rob
bery. About the fame time anew road was
opened to Bladensburg which pa tied by tiie
old office. The gentleman appointed, pro
poled to take the office if any convenience
j would muk from his declining it. The Pofl-
I m after -General having received information
of the new road, requested him to inform Mr.
; Lowndes that he had no objection to his
{ continuing in office ♦, ft nee by the opening
lof the new road his office was convenient fur
I the public service. Mr. Lowndes declined
! serving any longer, and a iuccourwas and
! pointed. He never was difmiffied, but re
-1 signed : no-objection was ever made a-^ainft
io 9 j o
him.
Col. Izra Taylor of Drefdcn was difniffied
on the petition of the inhabitants of New
Miiford, a neighboring Town, and of a
number of the inhabitants Dresden, because
he lived at one corner of the latter. The late
Poll Mailer General* established an office at
New Milford, and one at Dreldenj & miflaka
:ng the local fitufation of Col. Taylor, ap
pointed him. The Mail carrier was bound
to carry the mail through both Towns ; but
on experiment it was proved ‘fiat the rider
could not vific both offices. The office at
Milford was in confeqneoces wholly neglefted.
It was also repreiented in the petition that Col
Taylor had been consulted, and did not vviffi
to retain the office. It was not known to
which of the political parties he belonged—
Hew3 s con fide red a reputable oe di it ing u i fil
ed citizen in that part of the country. Bat
was di firm fed and a FucceiTor appointed to
extend the benefit of the public mails to the
inhabitants of two Towns, instead of limiting
chose bonifies to a imali portion of the citizens
of one.
The sixth case to which the public atten
tion has been invited through the medium of
the newspapers, is that of Mr. Frederic Wolcott
of Litchfield, in the Hate of Connecticut. —
His friends wrote privately fur his appoint
ment i about the 15th of October he was ap
pointed. At the time of appointment was
j forwarded, Col Talienage was in office*—
: tl'i was not removed, nor did he resign in
furnclent time to enable the late Poll r,aft r
General to fill the vacancy. For the ktr< r
retired from office on the la ft ot October, r.nd
Col. Tailmage’s letter of resignation of the
26th of the fame month, in which he recom
meded r.lr. Sheldon as h‘s fucctfibr, could
not, by ihe courfeofthe mail, reach the gene*
ral post offiice rill the third of November fol
lowing. Mr. Wolcott’s .appointment could
not therefore be legal. This is rot intended
as any reflection on the k*”’ postmaster gene
ral, who, undoubtedly, expelled Mr. Tall
mage’s re i: gnat ton ; and did not know that
Mr. Wolcott had fur years been rite calumnia
tor of Mr. Granger. Id or, can we believe,
that any one would fuppole that the latter
would hazard his reputation, by leaving an
office in tiie hands of a man, who had, with
out provocation and without caulc, attempt
,ed to defame, and to destroy his character.
Do these ads dec! ire the persecutor and the
tyrant ? Or do they manifell the confianc
attention of a vigilant officer, improve and
render more useful the department entrufled
to his charge ? If tiie removal of improper
persons, be tyranny, he is a tyrant *, it the
non-appointment of his perianal enemy, be
pdcxution, he is tfperfecutor. Bat another
attempt has keen made to destroy the confi
dence cf the public in the charader of the poll
rnaftcr general. Tins has been done
manner not fufceptiblc of a pre cite anfzTr >
because there has been no direct charge : But
dark insinuations have been published to the
world, evidently designed to rmprefs upon the
mind a belief, that removals were made with
1 a view to check a free coneipondence on the
| p3?*r cf the opposition, and r<> apply an ia.-
I porcant national eftablifiiment, to pa: ty pur
poles, and to the corruption of public opinion.
Will it be believed, that the postmaster gene
ral, with a little band of forty five officers,
twenty east of the north river, nineteen be
tween the river and the Potomac, and fouch
of the latter, has undertaken ro effect this
dreadful purpose, and lias fondly hoped to
escape the vigilance of iojo officers, of
whom the former administration approved,
and many of whom are thei r friends, and yet
devoted to their politics ? To luppofe it
possible,!: betrays such ignorance of thefyftem
as would induce any person, who poffiefifed a
decent fur their own’ reputation, to fee his lips
in file nee. But gentlemen have not long been
left in the quiet enjoyment o: this base method
of injuring the fame of a citizen. In every
instance, they have been solicited to commu-
I nicate freely any knowledge they poffioTcd re
fpedling abuses. In every instance, they have
been affiured, that the evils when pointed out
Ihoul 1 be corredled i and the offender lubjefil
ed to condign punifiiment. Bat they have,
remained fihnt. In the management of
such a department, errors will be-occasionally
rniflaid and loft. Newspapers mufl unavoida
bly meet with more accidents ; for, notwith
standing the law, they are packed up wet and
with carelcffinefs, and will inconlequence be
frequently worn to pieces in the bags. But
no man will presume to fay, that intelligence
is not conveyed with as much regularity and
fufety, as at any other period fiace the exiftance
of the government, It is certainly convM
ed with more frequency and with vastly grea
ter diipatch.
This department of government has been
repeatedly charged with a v/anron abuse ofirs
| power, and an unrelenting penecution of tiie
opponents of ad niniftration. Will the fafils
■ fluted juftify the imputation ? Will the re
moval of fix teen post out of one thou
find and ninety-fine give a colouring to the
calumny ? Will thole who oppugn the mea
lures ot the present government, be willing.
] to have the condufil of the preceding adminiL
i tration, tested by the fame principle ? They
; may,bee rule there was no necessity of reiefiling
jtrom office the oppolers of their measures.
j For bv* the natural operation of the govern
j rnent from its commencement, and by a care
jfui feledion o^fr lends to fill the offices which
I were created during its progress, this necessity
could not exist. During the existence of
their power, they openly and public]v avow
ed that no man ought to be in an official fta
rion, whose political sentiments were opposed
to the sentiments of their party. A.nd will it
bethought that persons, who advocated
fu ch principles, would relinquish them, and
rerain in office tneir enemies, had they come
into power under the fame circumstances as
J the present administration ? per
j Laded were they of the truth of this dofilrine,
• that under it impression they lou >; y proclaim
] ed, that the present government would pursue
Uheircte>;2 rule, and i’acrifice on the fear of
their own principle, every man who was de
voted to their party. But they have been
difippointed. And is it because they have
been disappointed, because they have not been
] immolated to prove their own prediction, that
j they are now determined to clamor against
the proceeding of government, till it be driven
to its accomplishment. They complain that
their newspapers are destroyed or fuppreffied
by irregular management in the poftoffice j
they complain also that the postmasters arc