Mr. Goruch's Letters

The letters of the Rev. Mr. Gorsuch, which we published two weeks ago, are having a wide circulation in Southern papers, and are, of course looked upon as a faithful statement of the transactions which preceded and followed the death of his father at Christiana. What additions have been made at the South to the real facts of the case may be seen by the extracts on our first page from Southern papers. For some of these Mr. Gorsuch is not responsible, but not, it would seem, from any scrupulous regard for the truth on his part, but only, probably, because, he was too wise to say anything which was notoriously untrue or which would be easily detected as false.

His first letters were followed by another written and published by way of explanation. He had, in one of the first, referred to the Attorney General of Pennsylvania as equally failing in his official duty with the Governor of the State. This statement he corrects as follows:
"I conceive it to be an act of justice to call attention to the remark I made in my letter to Gov. Johnston, in regard to the Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Hon. Thos. E. Franklin. Contrary to the practice in Maryland, I have learned that the Attorney General of Pennsylvania has no jurisdiction in criminal cases, and therefore the inactivity of Mr. F., in the premises, was not censurable. I am glad to say, to the credit of that gentleman, that he volunteered his presence and assistance at the recent investigation at Lancaster, and thus proved his loyalty to the Constitution and laws, and zeal for the vindication of public justice.

In regard to no other part of that letter have I one solitary retraction to make."
That the Reverend gentleman should have been deeply moved by the event at Christiana, can of course surprise nobody, but the sympathy which may have been excited in his behalf will receive a check when it is understood, as is clearly shown in the following letter of Attorney General Franklin, that the bereaved son was consenting to make his filial piety an instrument to forward the object of a political clique: - Standard.

To the Editor of the (Lancaster, Pa.) Union & Tribune.
SIR: In a letter dated the 18th instant, addressed to Governor Johnston, by the Rev. J.S. Gorsuch, of Washington, which the writer thought fit to publish without waiting for any reply or explanation, he assailed the Governor in the most vindictive terms, and imputed to him and to me, inactivity and gross dereliction of duty in regard to the murder of his father near Christiana. I cannot consent to be placed in a different position in reference to this matter, from Governor Johnston, upon consultation with whom all the steps have been taken consequent upon the lamentable affair, and in pursuance of whose suggestion I took part in the investigation. If, as the writer now acknowledges, I have proved my loyalty to the Constitution and laws, and my zeal for the vindication of public justice, the Governor is also entitled to the credit which belongs to him, of having placed it in my charge as a matter of public duty.
The course pursued by the Rev. Mr. Gorsuch has been most extraordinary, and a reference to the dates of the transactions may afford some clue to the motives which have actuated and the influences which have prompted it.

The murder of Mr. Edward Gorsuch took place, on the morning of Thursday, the 11th instant. A number of arrests having been made of persons suspected of participation in it, a hearing of the case was fixed before Alderman Reigart, for Tuesday, the 16th instant, at 11 o'clock, A.M. At the time appointed, I appeared in behalf of the Commonwealth, prepared to assist in taking part in the investigation. The Rev. Mr. Gorsuch was then present: I was made acquainted with him; he was apprised of my connection with the case, and I had considerable conversation with him on the subject. In consequence of the absence of witnesses, the hearing was postponed to Tuesday, the 23d. After the postponement Mr. G. went down to Christiana, where he wrote a letter which has been extensively published, dated Sept. 17th, containing a pretty correct and fair statement of the facts, and giving credit to the public authorities for doing everything necessary to bring the transaction to light and the offenders to justice. He then proceeded to his residence in the city of Washington, and there, on the next day, the 18th, indicted the letter which contains the injurious imputations I have alluded to. Whether the writer could, in the meantime have acquired any additional information which could have induced the entire change of tone, temper and feeling, from that which characterized his letter of the previous day, or whether it is not more probable that he was determined and unscrupulous political enemy of the Governor, I leave to the public to determine. His publication made no change in my course on the second hearing. Form a sense of personal dignity, however, I avoided as much as possible, any intercourse with the Reverend gentleman, who seemed so entirely devoid of Christian feeling, and to have so far lost sight of his obligation to his fellow-men as that publication showed; and his retraction of the 25th inst., could not have been prompted by anything which occurred on the second hearing. This statement will enable the public to judge of the conduct of Mr. Gorsuch, and to those who have used him as an instrument in endeavouring to prejudice Governor Johnston.

THOMAS E. FRANKLIN.

Sept. 19th, 1851.