The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-02-24


We are again called upon to offer Senator
RICE our sincere coincidence. His friends
seem determined that he shall "grow small
by degrees, and beautifully less" And they
aresucceeding in their efforts to this end.
When the Democracy Of the State re-
buked the Senator by refusing to pass reso
lutions endorsing his "ardent devotion to
the interests Of Minnesota" it was the plain
est dictate of prudence that the fact should
have been left, unnoticed, to pass out of the
recollections of men into forgetfulness. For
the next most damaging thing after public
rebuke, is public reminder of the fact.
And when this reminder comes from the
friends of the rebuked party, it comes in its
most unfortunate shape. If the enemies of
the Senator alone harped upon the circum'
stance, it might be laid to the account of
their malice. But, when his friends parade
the fact before the public, on whatever
grounds, or for whatever purpose, it shows
that they are damaged, and feel hurt and
misery is never pleasing subject for popu-
lar contemplation.
On these grounds we rendered Senator
RICE our sympathy when it was ascertained
that sundry of his friends, the federal off,
GERS, were sending circulars (return post
age enclosed) around to the delegates to the
late State Convention, begging them to
retract their action in such convention, and
just, with the trifing trouble of their sigma
lures, furnish the Senator with the coveted
endorsement. We treated this as a silly
procedure-very likely to fail in its object,
and calculated to do the Senator no good if
it should succeed. The result is demon
strating its folly, as we'll as the correctness
of our prediction. And it is demonstrating
something more. And one thing which we
could not have predicted or even imagined.
And, when we say this, we do not intend
to disparage our prescience or the range of
our fancy. But, Major JOSEPH R. BROWN,
Sioux Agent, is subject upon whom we
never waste our gifts of prophecy or imag-
nation. What man will do, who builds
vessels for purposes of navigation on spots
twenty miles removed from any navigable
stream; who gets charters through legis-
latures for the incorporation of companies
to turn the waters of Hudson's Bay into the
Gulf of Mexico, and solemnly perfects
organizations under them and who builds
ten.ton locomotives to traverse the wet and
yielding soil Of our western prairies; to
predict, or even guess, what such man will
do, would put JEREMIAH to his trumps, and
even puzzle Mr.. SAMUEL SLICK, himself
Now, we could not have foretold that
Major Brown, after having made journey
from Washington to St. Paul, for the sole
purpose of attending our State Convention,
and of securing through the action of that
convention an endorsement of Senator RICE;
after having been privy to the introduction
of an endorsing resolution; after having
labored with all his energy and ingenuity to
procure its passage through the convention,
and having voted against all the motions
made to prevent its consideration we could
not have predicted that the Major would, in
less than months time after, repudiate his
own scheme, and refuse his signature to the
identical resolution which he labored so hard
to induce the Democracy of the State to
approve. Nor, that he would make pub
lie such refusal Nor, that he would take
such public occasion to be sarcastic upon
Senator RICE, and superciious towards
District Attol ney WILSON. But, the Major
has accomplished all these feats, and within
the period of time above named.
1t appears that, shortly after our Demo-
cratic State Convention was held, Mr..
District Attorney WILSON addressed Major
BROWN circular letter, asking his approval
of, and signature to, the resolution which
failed to pass through that Convention.
This request the Major refuses to comply
with. And he does this in terms of sarcas-
tic levity which we consider unbecoming
his years, and insulting to the high official
position of Senator RICE. He says that he
"must be permitted to decline signing the
preamble and resolution" That, if he were
"a delegate to an agricultural or railroad con.
vention," or to "a cattle show" he might,
perhaps, give the resolution his "approba-
ton !" but as one of the representatives
of the Democracy of Brown county in the
late Democratic State Convention he
"must be permitted to decline" And
throughout the whole letter which Major
BROWN publishes in answer to Mr.. VIII.
SON, tone of keen and cutting, though
quiet, sarcasm, levelled both at the Senator
and the Attorney, is so plainly visible, that
our consideration for those gentlemen, and
the positions which they hold, forbids its