F &^vty'-;^ji'i-^'^^Skfti^S^'.'?'';^;i:'^i^:'1-S''i^ ^UU^nuzI (Ri...J.-L^^ Ja^ d^4u^ ^^JU^ /^J/ Glass, Book. hi ?. 7 EXAMINATION OF CERTAIN CHARGES AGAINST LEMUEL e. ARi:^X>LD5 ESCl, THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNORj BEING A OP n AFF0£NT;SB APHlIi 12 1831. PROVIDENCE, 1851 ^'-^j30 f\J^ REPORT, &G Resolved, That William Pabodie, John Whipple, William Church, Zachariah Allen, Silvanus G. Mar- tin, Benjamin A born, Dexter Angell, Je.'-se Metcalf, Isaac Brown, William Sheldon, Mai hew Wal«on, Abner Peckham, and Henry R. Green, Esquires, be and they are hereby appointed a Ccnimiltee to enquire into, and as far as po^sible to trace to their origin, the ciiarges and reports which have been put in circulation, impeaching the moral character and the political principles and conduct of Lemuel Hastings Arnold, the candidate recommended by the National Republican State Convenlion for the office of Chief Magistrate; and that said Committee be requested to make their report by publishing the result of their investigations in the newspapers or otherwise. The above is a true copy of a resolution passed at a meeting of the National Republicans, holden in Providence on Tuesday evening, April_^12, I&31,in the Court House. Attest, PETER PRATT, Secretary. The Committee appointed by the foregoing resolii- tion, now make their Report in the manner therein directed. If it be true that a correct judgment of the sound- ness or unsoundness of a cause may, generally, be formed from the fair or foul means employed in its support — the honorable or dishonorable condiict of its advocates; there are few candid men who can bo at a loss to decide between the cause of the Van Bu ren or Fenner party, or, (as for present purposes it seems to prefer calling itself^) the Jackson, or admin- istration party, and that which has always, hereto- fore, been supported by a great majority of the Free- men of this State, as the true cause of national onion, national republicanism and self government. The Committee consider it greatly to the credit of our respected fellow-citizen, Lemuel Hastings Ar- nold, that, as soon as he had consented, (upon the nomination, and at the request of the National Re- publican State Convention,) to be presented to tl Freemen as a candidate for the office of Chief M istrate; (knowing tliat in every party there will l some whose zeal outstrips their discretion) he called upon the conductors of all the friendly presses in this town, and made it his serious request that, so far a» depended upon their example and influence, the ap- proaching political contest sliould be conducted in a fair, temperate and liberal manner; and that, espe- cially, every thing disrespectful, or of a personal char- acter towards tlie opposing candidate (Gov. Fenner) should be cnrefiliy avoided. The friends of Mr. Ar- nold also have approved of this manly course, and h'd\e joined in promoting it; and, Ave believe that it has been strictly adhered to. It is to be regretted that many of the opposite party, among whom we are compelled to include some, at least, of its princi- pal leaders, haveshe\^n (.hciuselves incapable of ap- preciating such honorable conduct, or following so wholesome an exjunple. It is not to be pretended that the broken down, dependant conductors of tlie inferior class of printing presses are left entirely un- regulated and uiiadvised, to fohow thi'ir own sugges- tions, and to publish whatever they ])lease without consulting those in whose service tliey are employed, or regarding; their wishes when expressed. On the coidrary, it is well known that they are under the entire management ol' their })olitical patrons and par- ty leaders, and are furnished by them, and by para- graph Nvrite'is rownteuanced bv them, with the bulk of the political articles which are published in their papers. This Ix'ing t!ie case, what a picture docs it present of the character of the party lia\ iiig the con- trol arnl diicction of those presses! scarcely a paper has iv,sues por«^'Oi:al Abuse, and with direct charges or insinuations afTcct- ing his moral character i>nd principles. But misrep- resentations published in newspapers are too soon and easily confuted to work much misch'ef. The poHt- ical enemies of Mr. Arnold being sensible of this ob- stacle to tlie success of their efl'orts, sometime ago caused to be prepared and circulated, at first, in the interior and distant towns, as privately as possible a pamphlet containing tlie most shameless and w antou attacks upon tlie ciiaracter of respectable citizens, which have ever been witnessed in this State. This pamphlet contains two principal accusations against Mr. Arnold and Mr. Jas. F. Simmons jointly: the latter of whicli gentlemen, because he is the y.ealous and valued friend of Mr. Arnohl, appears to have become peculiarly obnoxious to his adversaries. The Committee havecar^tiilly and thorougldy ex- amined both these cliarges, and all others that the pamphlet in question contains, and will proceed to lay before the f: eemen the result of their investigation. The most prominent and slanderous charge is in sub-tance as follows, vix: I'hat Messrs. Arnold and Simmons, as Comnnssioners of the Fa; risers and Me- chanics Bank, got jjossession of a mortgjige executed. by Wm. Harris to that Bank, on 192 shares in the stock of the Providence and Paw tucket East Turn- piihares were $C0 each, and amounted to $9.()(10, and that the Bank had ai interest in them to tiiat amount, by virtue of sai mortgage, 'i'hat Harris (heing insolvent,) as^signt all his right, title and interest in those shares to Mr, N. Searle and others, his ai^signees, subject to the lien of the Bank. That " in Dec. SSiO,'' (says the j)antphlet) the assignees offered for sale at public auc- tion Harris' interest in s;iid shares, and that Me?sr«. , A. and 8. became the |>iirciutseis thereof lor }^'-:97(\ - 75, on their own iiKh'vid'ml account. That the same V rs paid Jan. 4, ISSO, by rn otiket en the morignge either in cush or by note of Mefsrs, A. and S. alanv r^te that they became rrspondUe t;. the Hni.k il'r that amount. The pamphlet, after making a nnm- ber of contradictory insinuations, — such as that the Commissioners made the purchase in anticipation ot tiieir commission, and that they purchased in the bills of the Bank at twenty-five per cent discount, and turned them into the bank at par, to the amount of the purchase money; proceeds to assert that the two commissioners, as trustees, appeared at the assignee s sale and became the real purchasers for their own benefit; and virtiiallfi disreiiai^ded and cnncellcd the nwi^lgui^e btlonjing to the Bank, and no longer treated it as the property of the Bank. And this charge of corruption on tlie part of the commission- ers and fraud upon the Bank, is kept up throughout the pamphlet, and repeatedly presented in the most aggravated terms. The grossest impudence and absurdity of such a cliarge must be apparent to any man who will take tlie trouble to examine it for a single moment. — How could the purchase of the equity of redemption in tliose shares by the Commissioners or any other ])ersons, at all affect the Bank's mortgage on them; if anv such mortgage had existed? How could it be made to operate as a discharge of such a mort- gige? How could the purchase money for the equi- ty of redemption be paid to any body but the assign- ees of Harris, who sold it for the benefit of his (Har- ris') creditors, fo l)e dislributed agreeably to his as- signment? Mow could it be otlset on the supposed mortgage of the Bank; or how could the purchasers be responsible to the Bank for the payment of money which tlie assignees alone had a right to receive and give a dicharge for? Fortunately, the Committee arc not under the ne- cessity of dwelling upon these inconsistencies; for it has turned out and is at least, confessed by the libel- lers themselves, (after making all the use in their power of the fabrication) that no such mortgage or lien as they had asserted to be lu^ld by the Bank ev- a-r existe*!; nud tliat of coiu-se no pnrcjiase monejr was ever offset on any such mortgage: that the commissioners were never responsible to the Bank for any such money: — That no bills of the Bank were ever purchased in at 25 pr. ct. discount by said Commissioners and turned into the Bank at par to the amount of said purchase money: That no mort- gage belonging to the Bank was ever discharged or cancelled by said Commissioners; and, in short, that the whole story, from beginning to end was a sheer fabrication. But although these false accusations against Mr. Arnold, are eilectually defeated and put down, yet the Committee are of opinion that so barefaced and base an outrage upon the character of respectable citizens, and so unprincipled an imposit- ion upon the community, ought not to be passed ov- er without being thoroughly exposed. It appears, that after a number of copies of this pamphlet had been secretly sent out of town and circulated, the authors of it, to guard against being indicted when they should be detected; pretended to have discov- ered an error oy mistake in the pamphlet, which they were desirous of correcting. And to keep up this show of correction, they print a short note on a blank page of the pamphlet, in which they slightly mention the pretended error. Whoever reads this note with attention, will be convinced of two things : 1st. That the author of it and of the pamphlet,, never was under any mistake, as he pretends, in re- lation to the false statements he makes, but that he knew they were false when he made them: and 2d, That the note was contrived and intended to be us- ed to skreen the author in case of a prosecution; and in the mean time to interfere as httle as possible with the purposes which those calumnies were calculated to answer. The author of the pamphlet assures his •eaders, — those whom he selected to send it to — that us ''statements are derived from a uthentic sources," Ind he then goes on to state as positive facts, that lie Bank held a mortgage on the 192 turnpike j^ei, amounting to |9,<)00; and that the purdiase money of the equity of redemption was offset on the mortgajjje, — stating precisely the date of the offset to iiave been Jan. 4, ISjJO. ilow came he to suppose the existence of things wliich never did exist? A man may mistake in stating facts wliich have some foundation: but when things are positively stated as facts, which iiave not a shadow of existence, and ne\er.(iid exist; this is not error or mistake, it is sheer fabrication and falsehood. But this Iibell<^ convicts himself of iiaving made these false state- ments know ingly nnd wilfully. He states (page 4th first pampiilet) that the ]>urchase money for the equi- ty of redenq3tion was offset on the mortf^-agc, Jan. •i, 1839. Tliis flict (of the day of tlie oflset) he could only ascertain from the assignees of WiHiam Harris, who had sold those shares: probably from Mr. N. Searle, who we nnderstand, kept the ac- counts of the assignees proceedings: and at the same time that he ascertained the date of the payment of the purchase money he ascertained also that that payment was to the assignees themselves, and was not ofiset on the mortgage as he positively asserts.— And their pampiilet contains in itself other intriPisic, and conclusive evidence that the author knew per- fectly well that the statements he was making for the purpose of building upon them the grossest accusa- tions of corruption, dishonesty and fraud against Messrs. Arnold and Simmons were utterly false.' — From his style of writing and his descanting upon what he calls ''the plain and well setil-ed principles in chancerij,'^'^ governing Trust Funds, and his lay ingdown the law applica!)le to the respective rights of a mortgagee and of the holder of the equity of redemp- tion, it is evident that he is professionally a lawyer, of some grade or otjjer. But even if he is not a liwver, and is merely possessed of the ordinary share of inforniatiou which is possesed by the generality /eii of uuv'diicated business men, he could not fail xr> know tliat the statements he was making, ^tz:— That tlie purchase money of the equity of redemp- 17 tliat it should so revert to the public: for in 1S08 and 1S')9, more than twenty years prior to the petition in q lestion, i^, (the liCji^ishitiu'e,) hiid pasvsed acts, in a hiition to the charter of the West 'rurnpike C<>n> pmv, expressly to empower that Company to put iheir to!is as low as it pleased, and thereby to per- pet late their right in the road. Under such circiini' stances, uiiat possible impropriety could there be in tlie petition of the East Turnpike Company for a nn- ion? Take it either way, eitlier that the road was not expected to revert to the public, or that tlie State intended to take it to itself, and what impropriety c )uld there be in the petition? Let us consider. If t'le road was not to reveri, but uas to continue the property of t!ie Company, there could certainly be no objection, on the part of the State, to the unior. — tlie p \b\\c wo dd be l)ene(itted by it, they would liave tlie use of two good roads instead of one, without any increase of tolls. Tiie Geneial Assembly had clia'tered the Ea^t Turnpike Company because it (O'risidered that Tin'npike a useful and necessary one; lh-» p'op'e of Providence and rawticket also consid-^ ered it a useful road. Why tiien should it be left to go down? — On the other hand, if the road is to re- vert to the State, and to be held by it as a valuable property, and a great and lasting source of revenue, tlien the East 'I'urnpike Company would have no object in being imited with the other; for the increase of the toils of the r.est road 33 per cent above wliat they were, w^ouUI give sufficient travel to the East road f il!y to satisfy its pro[)rietors. That tliis W(mld be the eillH t of the West road's becoming the prop- erty of the State, is to be inferred from the law pass- ed in Oitober last, r- ' '^-l day of April 183J to inspect the bridge at the village of Pawtucket, and the propriety of repairing the same. ' I further certify that the petition of "Wm. P. A!l 3n and Others, stockholders of the Pawtucket and Providence Eut Turnpike Corporation, for power to unite itself with ihe Providence and Pawtucket Turnpike CorporEt'on, was call- ed up at the June Session, 1S3'J, and postponed to the next Session. And immediately alter said postponement, a com- mittee was appointed to examine the books, &c. of the Providence and Pawtucket Turnpike Corporation, to re- port at the next session. — That since the appointment of said connnittee, said petition of Wm. P. Allen et al, has not been called up nor acted upon. Attest, WM. S. PATTEN, Clerk House Representatives. Upon a full view, therefore, of this transaction, in every possihle shape in ^vilich it can be placed, 'v\hat shadow of impropriety was (here in the petition for a union, at the time that petition was preferred? "What member of either House, then saw any such impropriety in it? Not one, we are confident; for it was not then discovered that ^ plain and simple pcti- tion before the General Assembly could he nuide use of to produce political effect. 'J'he petition was first called up and advocated at the Jan. session, 1S30, by Mr. E. R. Potter. The same petition having been aflerwards referred to the Committee on corpo- 15 rations, of which that gentleman, (Kr. Potter) was ('iuiinnin, he, at th':; June sor.sion, 1830, reported t'le bii! for uniting the t'.vo roads, Avhicli is now on the files of the Ho ;se, :ind wiiicli he tlicn strenuously ad- vocated, making', in the course of liis arguments the following remarks, viz: *'lle, (said Mr. Potter,) was of t!ie Coinmittee wiio reported the act of union, and saw no objection to the House's adopting it. All the parties had been represented before them, (the Commitlee) and he believed that the public interest would be promoted by the contemplated union of the two ro ids." Major Bull, also one of the members f oin Newport, approved of the object of the petition, and promised to give it his aid. Are these two re- sp 'ctuble leaders of the Jackson party chargeable \\ith having lent their aid to an attempt to speculate upon the Junch of the Statel Are all the other stockholders of the East Turnpike Company who, as well as Mr. A. and S. signed the same petition; are the town of North- Providence and its Committee, [including Mr. Edward Randall liimself,] ail to be subjected to the same charge of corruption? There are also a nundjer of minor charges in the same pamphlet against Messrs. A. i$- S. which the ( ommittee think it scarcely necessary to notice par- ticularly. One of them is that the Taivn of JS'orlh Prr}viil'^nc('. was overreached ardmost egregi usly t 'kzn in by those gentlemen. *' 'I his in efiect, (says the pauiphlet) was enabling t!:ese gentlemen, (Messrs A. <&/ 8.) to realize out of the good cilizens of the Town of JVoi th Providence^ luhose votes are now solicited to elect Mr Arnold, GctJ^rnor of the State, the neat and handsome profit of six himdred and ninety doHars," &c. No doubt the go- d citi^ zp.ns of N. P. will duly appreciate the very friendly solicitude th- s expressed for them. But as to the charge itself, the gross falsehood of it, is shown by the following te;jtimony of two of that tawn's Cues* iQaittee upon the subject in questioiLr 20 We the Commince of the town of North Provi= ^ence, appointed to confer with the prnpiiclors of ihe Turnpike leatlmg fr()m;t*rovidenc'e to 1 ^^^tucket, and make an arrangement in relation to the rcbu 1']'"^ or repaying thp bridge ov«r Pawtucki^ Falls, and pei'^im to tlie General Assembly in relation to the same, ha\ C exam red a |an> piilet, the first ami the cnnecled ropy ibeieot, ptihl'sl rd at tlie Herald nffi e in P,ov.d(Mice, charging Mr. L II. Antol ! anil James F. Simmons with an attempt to specujalate fu t'lefuids of the. SUitc, and of overrcac hing tlie town of North providence in an arrange^neni made wiih iis lor thjat town. \Ve consider it due to those gentliMncn as well as to our- selves as a Comm'ttee of the town, to s-taie that u e called on them in pursuance of our appointment and proposed to them an arrangement for rehuJJnig and re|)a''ring and ma'"- taining said bridge, provided the;r petition to ( lie Gene f.l Assembly for a un'on should be siraule I and the un'on take place. That in our conversation on this subject and allud- ing to the probabMty that they would make a prcfji on il.eir p'.nxdiase they did not so consider it, and offered the Com- m'ttee their Stock in said Rast Turnpike at just what it had cost tlie-n — which we decl net\. Th-^ charges in tin s ' pampldets, ofthe town's ! o'-!g over- reached or that theie was a condition that the town woidd be obliged to take the stock at an advance or | irft, is wholly unfounded in fact. Neither the town or its c t zens were obliged to take tlie stock at any |)rice, the mere privi- lege of taking some of it at the original cost, was obtained ai the request of one of the committee. IMCHD. ANTHONY, NATHAN A. DROWN. J^orth Providence^ ) Jlpril 12, 1831. \ *Th3 signature of one»of the Committee was not obtained, in consequence of not being able to liaJ him in time. Tlie following certificate of the Treasurer of tbe Kast Tanipilie t'orp-iration will show t'lat no mm- ner o^ reliance can be placed on the calculations and assertions contained in the pamphlet {\r.ir:ce of the firtjerd-tv with wli'ch thcv were cliarg'^ci, hy the Freemen^ — t'l-it of ei:de;i- voring- to t •ace t!iOse t'lia-gvs to their o igiii — our of <"iie co.niirttee, in eoinpany \^ itii ;Mr. Aviio'd, calk d at the p.-iiitingo'Iict^ foni vvliich the paiii'^'dct a.ypr.-jrs to hive bee!) issised, fo/ the purpose vS (!« maiuiii 2^ the name ofi's a it!io\ '['lie dennnd was inu'e hy hi'-. Arnold, of the p -inter, •.* ho repl:e(l t'iat he en ild not at p;f^.sent r^h.e the nanieof th.eautlio.-, b.two.dd some other thue. 'V\\-\i a mm who co d I he g dliy of inventirg rm 1 pihiisliing s !cli execrable cal nmiies sho'ild wish to keep in c;)aceahiient is not to be wondered at. I'or- t inat>' wo lid it be if he was in leed a solitary objrcc of (liso- 1st. ' If he bad no coidj ito's. 1:0 co mse lors, 110 aiders and abet'o s: foit mat*" if there were r.one to rejoice in the poisono ts ellect of bis slandeis, and g,-eedily, tho igh slily, to p-ofit bv them. f^ B it when we know that hundreds of these very libels, vile as they are, are circidrited all over the h^cite, w.t'i the g-eatest activity, even by some of the leaders of the party, to serve wlio>e cause it was fab ricirted. b/ men who are perfectly well acquainted wivh the inj n-ed pirties, and have often exp essed the h'ghest respect and re2 he a-^oears, ia the sight of all menj he is odi- ous. Providence^ SDf.'t .Ifarc/i, 1831. Sii — When tli's politirnl canvass coinmenceJ, I bad rea» son to hope >1!k1 believe, that all malignant attacks of a pri- vito or peraona! cuaracte? would be avoldod, and that tb« 13 mutual c;ood understanding between us woiiid not neeessnri" \y be thereby interrupted. Although the two papers in iliis town friendly to your election, have descended to pcrsoiial- ities, and liave falsely assailed my private conduct and char- acter, I have forborne to complain, because it was done |)ub- I'cly, and so far as it was worthy of notice, it could easily be refuted. But, sir, 1 have been informed that some of your political friends have now in the press, if not in circulation, a pamph- let containinifFer it if known to you. I have therefore taken ilie liberty to notify you of it, that you may in j istice to your- self as wi^ll us to me, take the necessary steps to suppress it, or such parts of it as are not fomuled in truth. I am the more strongly persuaded that you will readily adopt this course, since your refusal or neglect to do so, will lead to the unequivocal inference tiiat you sanct on or approve of it, or at least are willing to ava 1 yourself of it. I would not liave you or any one else suppose thai I fear the strictest scrutiny on any proper occas,on; and if your friends deem it necessary to secure you- election to go into an investiga- tion of my private transactions, I give them my free and fill consent to state ja^>'lj and openlj every public or private transaction of my life. I am respectfully yr. obt. servt. Sign.!. L. 11. ARNOLD. To his Exy. James FeiNner. Prnvidence, J\Tarch oOth, 1831. Sir — Yours of yesterday's date was handed to me this af- ternoon. Tluis far in the present pol'tical canvass I have not con- sidered you to be resjionsible for any thing which might in- terrupt " our tnutual good understanding." You address yourself to me, presuming, as it would seem, thai I control or inflience the measures of f.lefence which are adopted by my friends.— It is not so, — It must be known to 24i yon, as to otliors, that 1 have been cnnfined to my botise by y > lis'jos'tion for more than two months, anci t!iai I have not h I i ) ') ;.s-) 1 il ;ii;e 1 '.y in a ly pol.ticul move.neiit. A- yo I intro luce into yo'ir note, in a lone of complaint, th3 t'.r."e^ pi^)or-; wli'f'.i are (iirn:slie:l weekly in snjjuoft of !Mv (^h^clion. w 11 yo i have the ^^ooJiiess to Ite-tow a tlionght c 1 lh:> roirie>).» or sixtee i wli c.li iippeMi- we-.-kly to clei'amG m:) an I lo sMj)i)ort yoi? I am not lUToniitahle for the lan^ eiaH;^ of onr_ paper-;, for I neither hn'n'sli matter for t!ie })ress, nor visit to join in the s.rtiialcf an/ ojjir.e. If, Itow- ever, the langna-^e of onr rei^ihhmn pnper.s is calculated to exc'te vo'ir sens h litv, what, '!o yo;i think, shojl.l be the efl'' •! of i!u' Uic'^ m ycrn- own? Ifthei-ehe in iho '' pi-eis," oi- in " circulation," a pnntph- let of t!i ; character yf) i me it on. yo i are better informe 1 oi t'le sihj'?*;! t'lan myself. Von :\re rie thit my pollical fr en !s wonlJ MiQcr, in their moral q lalitie^, hv a coniparlso.i with the ppl.tical friendo of any oth-r o;p'iile nan. I 1 atre iijitn.;, by " imeqn'vonai inference," to make me |-es'j'V!s"i)ie for the a -ts of othei'^, are yon aware, sir, of tiie crisiiirr 1 VI I of responsib i.ty w!i ch yonr lo£;ic imposes «»-ii yo n-self? .Vm I to co is: ler yon acconntaMe f.)r all ilie false- lioirhnnd left nation nga nU n e vith wl; chyonr papers have tpe ,jo 1 since vou have been a candidate for office? Are yon will n-T to a-sn:ns that responsibil ty, and to becoine amena- ble to m:3 accordins; to i\\^ laws of oir cou itry? I have been fir, verv fir, from as;'r b'n;i to you even n tiU'e of the abnse an I vnl"- iritv w:i!t wh;( h f liave been a-sa le I— Yet yonr reasonin'j;, " '»y nneq I'vo-al infeience," leads to the bebef, "that von sancthin or approve of it, or at least are wiliinj^ to ava 1 v'vnr-.elf of it Wiiile I jii'otest a,i;ainst all responsibirty for the conduct nf others, yon mav re-t as^'u-e I that ne'iber yourself, nor an- oi'.i^r citiz?) s'nll have jiu ca ise of complaint against I'M for an i i'", d'.vial a2;'i;res >;o i on private rights, nor, per- ban^, evei by ina Ivertence. R ;sjK3 -tf dlv your obt. servt. J. FENXCR. LEMUEL II. AltNOLD, Es-j. St7-_T rec'd. yours of thcoOih, in answer to my note of the 2Dth inst. au.! an bai>py to have your tciheony that notbinsjhHS transpired on my part to disturb our friendly re- lations? 1 am a little surprised, however, that yon could 2$ liave misunderstood the object of my letter. I bad bo in- tention of detracting from the " moral qualities" of "your political friends," rior of denying the high and responsible character of "the three papers which are furnished weekly in support of your election," nor do I mean, for the reason mentioned, to complain of their pejsonal abuse, nor boast of the number and respectability of the papers that have es- poused our cause, nor will I shrink from assuming the "re- sponsibility" of any "libels" published in our papers agamst your Excellency with my knowledge^ and without a decided expression of my disapprobation. 1 did not expect my " logic" would have produced such a "crushing load" of interroga- tories. Having answered these, allow me to ask your attention to that^ pai:t, in fact the sole object of my note, which ap- pears almost to have escaped your notice. I refer to the " pamphlet," and the time and manner of it sintended circu- lation. My information came through one of your " political friends," and had credulity enough to suppose that it might be true. Were I thus notified I should feel it my duty to in- (fuire^ and if I found the fact to be so, to exert my influence to suppress falsehood and scandal, even if it were to be used against a political oponent, and to promote my own election. I do not ask you to " influence the measures of de- fence," but aggression. Would any one believe that any re- quest you should make as to the mode of advocating your own cause would not be complied with by thepres^e? devot- ed'to your service.'' Am I to understand by your " protest against all responsibility for the conduct of others," that if you are informed of the publication of a false and scandal- ous pamphlet, you will not aitev.ipt to interpose your influence to prevent its circulation.'' If so, will it not "lead to the un- equivocal inference that you sanction and approve of it, or at least, are Vv'illing to avail yourself of it.'" The propriety of the course appears to me so plain, I ought not to doubt for a nioment that you would exert your influence in such a, case. I only wished your assurance to that effect to pre- vent a resort to personalities on our part by way of ;' de- fence," which I should very much regret. Believe me, when I assure you, my note to you was dictated by friend- ship, love of truth, and a desire to have this political can- vass conducted upon open, fair, and hGnorahU principles. I am very respectfully vour obi. ser'-'t. Signed, ' ' LEMUEL H, ARNOLD. Tg his Ex«ri|>Uency James Ft^.NEH. f5 Providence ^ April td, 1851. SiR — Id reply to joor Bote of last evening, I have to ask, only, that you give to me the nanne of my "political friend," from whom you received the information which has caused so much alarm. Respectfully your obt. servt. J. FENNER. Leml. H. Arnold, Esq. Providence, JlprilS, 18SI. Sir— -I have delayed answering your last note in conse- quence of the absence of my informant. In lieu ofthe name of your " political friend," through whom my informaiion came, I have the honor of presenting to your Excellency two copies of the pamphlet alluded to, both of which are now circulating in the country. I would ask yonr careful attention to both editions, and refer your Excellency to Mr. Searle's letter, published in the Journal and American of this morning. You can then judge whether my information was well founded, and whether I had any just cause of comijlaint, I am respectfully your obt. servt. Signed, L. H. ARNOLD. His Exy. James Fenner. N. B. I will thank your Excellency to return the copy- marked, " R. B." as I have no other of that edition. Another anonimous pamphlet, under the title of "A Landholder," has been sometime in circu- lation. Its object is to set the farmer against all the other classes oif his f tllow-citizens. This device has grown too stale to produce any efl'ect at this tii^e of day. The farmers are gravely informed and assured in the pamphlet, that Mr. Arnold, and all the Sena- torial candidates in the Prox with him, are deadly enemies to the country interest. That they will be in favor of repealing the Bank tax, and all the other taxes by which tlie revenue of the State are at pres- ent raised; and finally, that it is their design to lay all taxes upon the land. What assurance have the landholders that this nameless writer tells them the truth? What assvn-ance that he has not taken their name for the purpose of imposing on them? What, that he lias not written this pamphlet to answer his own ends? 27 This great friend of the Farmers is endeavoring: to persuade them that Mr. A. and all his friends will act directly against their own interest. Mr. Arnold's property is nearly all in real estate, and if the present system of taxing is changed, his portion of a tax on the land would be twenty times more than he now has to pay. All the other candidates are similarly situated, they are all of them real land- holders, and nearly every one of them is a farmer by profession and practice. TO THE LANDHOLDERS OF RHODE-ISLAND. Bank and Land Tax. A very injurious report having been circulated in the country, that the National Republican candidates are in fa- vor of repealing the Tax on Banks, and substituting in its place an oppressive Land tax, we have felt it a duty to make a direct and written enquiry of each of the candidates as to the opinions he holds on this interesting subject. To a letter addressed, by a member of this committee, to the candidates, separately, we have seen the replies of each of these gentlemen, which are most direct and satisfactory. — They utterly deny the truth of this rumor, and treat its im- putations as a malicious publication. Of the gentlemen nominated as candidates for the Senate, Messrs. Benjamin Smith, Stephen B. Cornell, and Thomas Whipple, were members of the Assembly when the law im- posing the Bank-tax was enacted. They then voted in favor of this tax^ and are still in favor of it. Messrs. Stephen Steere, Hezekiah Bosworth, Samuel W. King, Wager Wee- den, Duty Arnold, Ethan Foster and William Smith, were not at that time members of the Senate; but they have al- ways been friendly to the tax in question, and are now upon principle., totally opposed to its dimimdion or repeal. With re- spect to the opmions of Mr. Arnold, and Gov. Collins, it is proper to add, that they concur, entirely, in these sen- timents of their colleagues, and as they were always satis- fied of the justice of this tax, so they now are for main- taining It with firmness and moderation, and as an indispen- sable branch of the Revenue of the State. As to the extraordinary suggestion, that the candidates nominated in the N. R. Prox, (who are all of them Land- holders,) are supposed to be favorable to a tajc on land^ ths xnofit onerous imposition upon their own prop^rtv — -it vf S8 scarely necessary to say, that it is utterly repudiated by each of these gentlemen, and is surely not entitled to aay serious consideration. We u^U add that the letters referred to in the preceding statements are now in the hands of Dr. John P. Mann, of Newport, and are open to the inspection of such of our fellow-citizens as are disposed to consult them. JNO. P. MANN, WILLIAM BATEMAN^ GEO. IRISH, C. E. ROBBINS. ^pril, 183L I, Joseph Wheelock, Cashier of th^ Merchants Bank, Providence, do hereby certify tliat I have received since last October, and still cont'nue to take at our Bank, the bills of the Farmers and Mechanics Bank, on the same terms that I take any of the bills of other banks out of this town. JOS. WHEELOCK, Cash. Providence, ^pnl \2th, 1831. The forgoing statements, documents and remarks are respecti'ully submitted to the Freemen, by their Committee. WILLL\M PABOmE, JOHN WHIPPLE, WILLIAM CHURCH, ZACIIARIAH ALLEN, SILVANUSG. MARTIN, BENJAMIN ABORN. DEXTER ANGELL, JESSR METCALF, ISAAC BROWN, WILLIAM SHELDON, MATHEW WATSON, ABNER PECKH AM, HENRY R GREEN. Providmce, April 14th, 1831.