The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1859-11-11


lightful place to spend quiet summer, as
the country anywhere affords. And thus,
so far as the matter of taste is concerned,
we must commend the Senator for choosing
it as a spot in which to while away his
Congressional vacation. But, as a spot
in which to fulfil his obligations, and
perform his duties, to the Democratic
party of Minnesota, it was one Of the very
worst that the Senator could have selected.
For the Democracy of this State have felt
that Senator RICE stood in the attitude of
owing them some service. They had sus-
tanned him during long number of years
and had advanced him from position
as Indian Trader to his present distinguished
post as United States Senator. They
claimed that the slightest return which their
BENEFICIARY could render for these high marks
of their favor, was the active, energetic
support of the party in its seasons of peril.
These claims were urged upon the Senator,
but they were not responded to either by
his presence or his pen. Hobnobbing with
officers of the revenue service, or catching
white fish in La Pointe bay, or trout in
Raspberry creek, were more corgenial oc
equations to the Senator than the toilsome
labors of campaign, in defence of party
which had lifted him from nothingness into
fame, and in support of friends who, in their
generous devotion, had stopped to make of
themselves steps in the stairway by which
he had mounted upward to place and
power.
And so the season passed along, and the
campaign with it, until the 9th of Septem-
Der, when, having torn himself away from
his summers enjoyments on the shores of
Lake Superior, Senator RICE arrived at his
home in St. Paul. The chilling GOODNESS
with which he was met by members of the
party on his return, more than limited to
him that he had either stayed away triae
too long, or had come home long while
too soon. He felt that be had committed
a blunder, and that, at the least, it was
necessary for him to be identified on the re-
cord with the canvass He therefore pre-
pared an address to the people, and had it
published on the 4th of October, just week
before the day of election. He issued the
address too late for it to obtain circulation
throughout the State, and composed it Of
facts and arguments relating to matters
which would have deprived it of any ma
terial influence had it been issued at the
commencement of the campaign instead of
at its close. The address of the Senator
was confined to personal vindication,
when his personal interests were not in.
volved in the contest, and when its effect
could only have been to divert the minds
of the people from considerations of
the highest consequence, to matters per-
sonal to himself. and utterly irrelevant to
the canvass. Instead of proving an aid
to the party, the Senator's address was
looked upon as an indicate and even i'm
pertinent intrusion of his personal affairs
into contest where he had nothing person
al at stake, and concerning which he had
not beforehand manifested even a common
partizan interest. He had studiously avoid
ed doing any good while he could, and the
character of his efforts when they were at
last made, rendered it impossible that he
could do any good if he would.
We shall hereafter state the reasons
which operated upon Senator RICE to
keep himself aloof from our late canvass,
and investigate still further the question
whether he was " averse to Republican
victory?"