ARGUMENT 0FI HON. HENRY L. STONE.



of -the State, had been attacked by the plaintiff, Thomas M. Greenf,
through the public press, with a recklessness and desperation perfectly
amazing to all fair-minded people. Once more a Judge of the Court of
Appeals was sought to be stricken down. This time, however, the
assault is not upon his life; but upon that which is far more sacred-
his character. The weapon used is not the knife or the shot-gun of the
assassin; but the poisonous and more deadly pen of the calumniator.
  As early as Monday, the 28th of April, 1879, but two days after
the nomination of Judge Hargis for Appellate Judge, W. B. F. Clift,
of Mason county, held a conversation with judge Andrews, at his office
in Flemingsburg, upon the propriety of reviving the charges that had
been made against Judge Hargis in 1874. Judge Andrews repudiated
such a course, to his honor be it said, but in that conversation Mr. Clift
tells Judge Andrews he had learned from Mr. Green it was his purpose
to again revive these charges against defendant. On the 5th of May,
the plaintiff, having been in the city of Louisville, arriving at Maysville
on the night of the 4th, is met in the street by one Mr. Hutchins, and
there occurs the beginning of the revival of these charges in the year 1879,
Mr. Green does not take Mr. Hutchins' proposition, he does not base
his action upon what Mr. Hutchins says to him, but shortly afterwards,
on the same day, Mr. Wadsworth, the leading counsel for the plaintiff'
in this action, sees Mr. Green. A similar interview to that with Mr,
Hutchins takes place between them upon the subject of these charges.
Mr. Green says to Mr. Wadsworth: "I can take no action in this.
matter upon verbal statements. I am willing to act upon information
given to me by responsible men, but that information, and that basis.
upon which I propose to act, must be put down in black and white,
So Mr. Green himself testified.
  Now what interest in this matter had Mr. Wadsworth  Why didn't
he leave it as it was  But instead of that we learn from the testimony
of Mr. Green himself that Mr. Wadsworth, later in the day, came to
him.with a letter which forms the text and basis of the article of the
7th of May, i879, written out in full with his name signed to it. For
what For the purpose, I am authorized to say, of giving Mr. Green
an excuse to revive these charges against the defendant. That letter is
as follows:
                                              MAYsvII.LK, May 5, i179.
THOS. M. GREEN:
My Dear Sir:-I have heard for some time that the statement was in circulation that
you had changed your opinion, heretofore often and plainly expressed, of the charge
against Thos. F. Ilargis, of mutilating the records of the Courts of Rowan county.
  I now learn from Col. R. H. Stanton, that when he was in Clark county, recently, a
gentleman there asked him if you hadn't taken it all back, and if Taber hadn't confessed
that he did the crime, at the same time telling him it was freely so reported in Clark,
Mr. W. B. F Clift, of this county, also says it is so reported about Mason county.
  It is right that you should know this, explicitly.
                                  Very truly yours
                                                 W. H.WADSWORTH.
  We thus see from the record, and from the lips of the plaintiff him-
self, the manner in which this controversy was revived in the month of
May, i879, at the instigation of his leading counsel. Not a candidate
against Judge Hargis, not personally interested in the contest for
Appellate Judge, for some unexplained reason Mr. Wadsworth takes it
upon himself to write this letter, to afford Mr. Green a pretext for reviv-
ing this controversy.



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