|
We noticed in the proceedings of Congress on May 1st, that Senator
Trumbull presented a petition of 146 "citizens" of
Staunton, Va., representing that, the troops being recently
withdrawn from that place, the "Union" men are being persecuted by the
"rebels" and praying that the troops be returned for the protections of
loyal men.
That 146 citizens of Staunton ever signed such a petition is a
falsehood, and we desire to brand it as such before our contemporaries by
publishing it, give it credence elsewhere. "Union" men are not and have
not been persecuted by any persons here, and we unhesitatinly assert that
no one in Staunton, who claims to have been a "Union" man is in danger of
or really fears any such persecution, or desires the return of troops to
this place for his better protection. We believe that Mr. Tukey, Asst.
Sup't of the "Bureau of Freedmen, Refugees and Abandoned Lands," whose
duty it is to see that "Union" men are protected, will bear us out in the
above assertion.
This is doubtless the same petition which was originated and
secretly circulated in the country by Wm. J. Dews, which we
mentioned at the time, and heard denounced, as was Dews himself, by
several of the "Union" men of Staunton. Its assertions are without the
shadow of truth, and it was only intended by its originator to harass our
people. |