BOTH SIDES
In order that the public may have a
fair understanding of the Spanswick
Kerns aflair which has caused so much
commotion in our midst, and may have
both sides' from which to draw their
conclusions, we republish the statement
which appeared in the newspajiers of
Eugene City, bearing date of March
1st, 1879, and our answur to the same :
A Statement.
We, the undersigned pasture of Eugene City (
respectfully eubmit the following statement to
the Intelligent public concerning the recent os
tetiHible assault nmn the person and character
of the Itev. T. W. Spanswick t
We recognize the fact that we and not Mr.
Spanswick are assailed We began a serie of
religious meetings, with the consent ami en op
eration of our several churches and congrega
tions, without any thought of having Mr.
Spanswick with tie. These meetings ha 1 con
tinued more than a week before his c raiin j wu
suggested. He did not come until the 12th
day of the meeting. He cam a in respmseti
our united invitation. We invited him be
cause we hal heard of the remarkable rdigious
awakening at Brownsville under his Lib rs,
an 1 because we considered that his sUn lin j as
a minister was sufficiently guaranteed, in which
opiuiou we are still hearty and unaniin as.
Under his lab rs and lea lershlp our work
was greatly blessed in the awa'cenin,' of a re
markable and general religious interest an 1 the
conversion of scores of persons. We were p ir
suing our work in the most ipiiet and orderly
iiianne.", except as our good oriler wasdisturlied
by thoughtless or malicious persons, when Mr.
Spanswick was assaulted on the street while
quietly attending to his own business an as
sault for which there is evidently no justifica
tion. During the same afternoon a pretended af
fidavit was prepared, alleging that Mr. Spins
wick had been guilty of larceny, was un
churched, expelled from the ministry and com
jwlleil to leave the community in disgrace.
This affidavit (?) which, um uwpiasti med in
formation, we do not hesitate to pronounce un
true, apware as that of a man who is unknown
uud without character or standing in the com
munity, was printed and a boy was employed
to take a great nuudier of copies into our meet
ing and distribute them. Hy an evidently
preconcerted plan, this was done Just at the
close of the sermon, and just as a crowd of the
roughest class in the community Hied into tho
aisles and ante room, some of them armed and
lading the atmosere with the odors of whiiky.
The evident pursue of the whole proeeedure
was to break up the meetings, and kill the re
ligious interest that is now stirring the com
munity. That this was not the result is not
liecause the plan was not well laid and executed.
If Mr. Spanswick were an imHster, no one
in the community could be more interested in
his exswure than ourselves, and if these par
ties had in their possession reliable information
against him, ami wished to expose one whom
they believed to le an iinposter, the only hon
oraole course for them to nave pursued would
have leeu to lodge their information with us.
The fact being shown, or a reasonable doubt
of his good standing being raised, we would
have been coiiiielled, in our own defense, to
dispense with his services and Iwcome parties
to a thorough investigation. The circumstan
ces I ttending the proceeding strongly indicate
that it was meant to destroy our religious work
and bring the strongest jxissible odium upon
us and the christian community! and Mr.
Spanswick was assailed under the supposition
that he was a total stranger and hence pre
sented the vulnerable point which invited hc
cessfnl attack.
We deem it just, however, to the people of
Kugene City, to state that the tersons who
procured the ptiMieation of this alii, lav it lielong
to a class neither numerous not influential in
this community. J. H. 'ohnw.ul,
S. ('. l'aur,
A. Atwihiii,
E:. 1U Heart.
To the abovo undersigne.l ami others
who have taken such a deep interest
and active part in defending the char
acter, conduct and htanding of the
Rev. (?) T. W. Spanswick, we would
resjiectfully submit the following, and
let the public judge whether there has
been an "ostensible assault" on the
pereon and character of ltev. T. W.
Spanswick without any cause or reason.
We deem . it, however, but just to
the Revs. E. It Geary, A. Atwood and
J. II. Cornwall, to say that we recog
nize the fact that it was through the
representations of others that jou
signed the above statement, but as your
names are appended to the same, we
cannot do otherwise thau address you.
In your statement you assert as fol
lows : " We recognize the fact that we
and nut Mr. Spanswick are assailed."
From what evidences or circumstances
you have drawn such distorted and
foreign conclusions, is beyond the com
prehension, we believe, of the intelli
gent imblic whom vou have addressed.
The public will, we apprehend, fail to
discern how an accusation oi larceny
ni'iiinst Mr. Spanswick implicates your
selves, and if Mr. Spanswick is an im-
poster, and not to be exposed ami pun
ished for the reason that he associates
with vou and is vour L'uest, you could
indeed, gentlemen, become an engine of
power in the State by affording an
asylum of refuge for criminals as well j
as saints ; and it you uunere to the
doctrine that the person and character
of a minister of the l'osi! is sacred and
hallowed, and not to be called in (pies-1
tion, you ad!iere to something that I
would forever destroy tlie safeguards ot j
society, and set the laws at naught ;
you would annihilate the morals of
mankind, and bring on an age of an
archy and absolutism as great as that
of the " Dark Ages." All thinking and
reading men are well aware, from their
own observations and the records of the
past history, that no rank of men, be
they high or low, ate the chief and only
perjietrators of crime. We read of it
by tlie crowned head, we know and
read of it in the lowest peasant, and
alas, and how too often, do we know
and read of it by those who are clothed
in saeredotal robes, and claim to be the
deciplea and followers of Ilitn whose
ways and thoughts knmv no guile. And
can any one name a crime so dark and
damnable but what it has found within
the pale of the church its per .etr.itorl
And can you, as christian geiitlemen,
say that from the euliest history of the
world, from the tirst incipient stages of
Christianity, to the present time, but
what from" the highest in office of the
church tj the lowestlay member in the
body,' havo been dragged fortjt and ex
posed to public condemnation, the most
execrable fiends in human shaK, nnd
that the mere profession of Christianity
and good standing in the church are
not guarantees of a good character, or
prevents the commission of crime Then
is it to be supposed that Mr. Spanswick
is infallible and unassailable because he
sets himself up as a teacher of morals
and a preacher 1 And does itr follow as
a logical sequence that assailing Mr.
Spanswick is assailing all those who
'abor with himt The same reason
ing followed to its legitimate conclu
sions would hang every preacher in
Christendom, and the intelligent public
and this community must see that it is
unfair and uncharitable for you to as
sume that you were the parties assailed
and not Mr. spanswick.
But you say that " Mr. Spanswick
came here by your united invitation,"
which may be very true, but we fail to
see how your inviting him here deal's
him from the charge of larceny with
which lie stands accused, and when
adjudicated, we believe will be clearly
proven.
Again you assert that " Mr. Spans
wick was assaulted on the street, an
assault for which there was evidently
no justification." From what source
you drew your evidence we are not
aware, but if from a true and reliable
source, we can but say your ideas of
what constitutes a justification for an
assault are entirely different from that
of most of men. To a great many it
will be difficult to explain how an iten
erant and comparatively unknown r
Bon under the guise of a minister of the
gospel can use offensive and ungentle
manly language to respectable young
ladies in a public congregation in a
public house, without meriting a severe
and condign "punishment ; and we are
perfectly willing to let it rest with the
public and this community to say
whether Mr. Spanswick received his
just deserts or not.
Again in your statement (we shall
not be so uncharitable as to call it a
inistatement) you say a " pretended af
fidavit was prepared." What idea you
aimed to convey to the public by the
word " nretended." is beyond our con
ception, and we presume that you are I
too honest to claim it as a iorgery wuu
all the facts so easy of access and so
well known to every one in this com
munity. Mr. Kerns, the man who
made 'the affidavit, has not denied
making it, ami 'has given bonds in
the amount of $500, to apear and
substantiate tli material allegation
contained in it. He made this affi
davit of his own free will and accoixl,
without pay or the hope of reward.
And when you assert that Mr. Kerns
is " without standing or character," you
assert that, wliich we opine, you cannot
piove, and to the worldly, it will seem
that that assertion was not dictated by
a spirit of christian forgiviness, but
rather emanated from a heat oppressed
brain wliere revenge was the only thing
sought after. We should remember
that many an honest heart beats beneath
old clothes ; that poverty is no crime ;
that an honest laborer is us much to be
respected as a clergyman with his un
soiled hands. Outward appearances are
often illusory and should not be the guide
f,r reasonable men to follow. Yet it
ape,irs that this ha.1 been the ground
ii.xui which yon have based you asser
tion. While we are not the champi
ons of Mr. Kerns, we can assert that
during his sojourn among us, his de
portment has lieen unexceptional. Can
you assert us much for Mr. Spanswick 1
Are you still "hearty and unanimous
in the opinion that his Htanding, as a
minister, is sufficiently guaranteed"
And have you that ' unquestioned (?)
information " that led you to pronounce
the affidavit of Mr. Kerns as untrue
Or do you believe there is a dark
shadow over Mr. Sjianswick's character
that you dhl not unfold in your state
ment, but rather obscured We are
willing to lot the public draw their own
conclusions.
But you say the " evident purpose of
the whole procedure was to break up the
meetings, nnd that this was not the re
sult was not because the plan was not
well laid anil executeJ." In this you
have stultified, or at least blinded your
reason with passion. If this were so,
why was uot some vitsa'i made before
Mr. Spanswick came, as upon your own
statement, the meetings bad continued
more than a week. But the last part
of the assertion, to a reasonable mind,
kills the first part, for every one of
common intelligence knows that if the
affidavit was false in regard to Mr.
Spanswick, it would only redound to
your own credit and spur you up to
greater exertion. But you say " that
tne plan was well laid and executed,"
which implies that no mean intelligence
was at the laboring oar, and that a
master mind was at the foundation of
the plan, and this, virtually, destroys
the assertion, for no one with a master
mind or a goml intelligence would lay
a plan to destroy anything, which, when
carried into execution, would have the
opjwsite effect from that intended, in
stead of destroying would only build
up and strengthen, for that this would
be the result if the affidavit was not
true, any one of a common mind could
see and needs not an experienced and
master mind to discern.
If any one else came there " armed
and lading the atmosphere with whisky
to destroy your meetings," let them
answer for it. We are not here to de
fend them, but to refute the base de
signs that some are wont to attribute
to us ; to deny that we aimed, in any
way, to destroy the religious feeling
that was being awakened in this com
munity, or in any way to cast any re
flections upon the pastors of the several
churches in this city. We feel confident
that most of them are above reproach
or suspicion, and their standing and
characters cannot be called in question ;
that intellectually and moraly they are
the jieers of any other mi isters in the
State'. But this does not do away with
the fact that they may be imposed up
on, and such, gentlemen, we believe to
be the case.
And as to your last assertion in your
" statement," we believe you have over
stepped the bounds of propriety, and
will simply say, if you had the under
signed before your minds when ton
wrote the same, that it would be better
for the public to judge whether we have
any influence or not, and that you
should not take the. matter in your own
hands and judge for that public, for it
is well written, "Judge not that ye be
not judged."
And again it appears to us unjust
that you should calumniate one part of
this community to defend one, who ap
peal's from the evidence, which you and
the public are invited to examine, to be
an impostor and a thief, to say the least
From the telegrams, letters and exparte
affidavits received, we believe, as reas
onable men, you will come to the same
conclusion. We would also add, ac
cording to the strict rules of law, that
when a person makes a statement de
claring something to be true, when he
only surmises it is true, he is just as
nprehensible in the eyes of the law us
if he had made a niistatemtnt knowing
whereof he was speaking. Upon the
receipt of tlie affidavit of Mr. Kerns
accusing Mr. Spanswick of larceny, etc.,
there was an individual erhaps from
his intemperate zeal who read the
same and denounced it as a willful
pei jury ; that Mr. Spanswick was an
honorable minister with a good name
and a character untarnished. And
this sane individual, no doubt, believ
ing he was entirely right and well in
formed, introduced a resolution at the
close of the meetings at this place,
thanking Mr. Spanswicf to1 his labors,
(labors that were abundantly paid for)
and recognizing the fact that Mr.
(over.)
I VMIWVI " MUM 1 1 Ml I VlVWVIIt
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' I And TROniTK TAKKX AT THE HIGH-