The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1862-10-18
A Gem from the Advertiser.

UuueT thc personai cOnIot oil us reIned
and princely proprietor, the Portland Adver-
tiser often sparkles with brillants that would
fttingly ornament a London fish-woman, or
the head waiter in St. Giles groggery. Here
is one from the polished pen of the editor,
which constitutes the first paragraph in his
leading article Of yesterday:
"The qudsi-negro-blooded Editor of the
Daily Press, who in the Legislature last win
ter advanced the silly idea that there is no
such thing as International law, has recently
argued. that because the war now conducted
is a civil war, between different States of the
same Federal Union, the parties, or the U. S.
Government is not bound by the laws of civil
lied wariare!'
This is perhaps the fourth or fifth time that
the gentlemanly conductor of that journal has
seen fit to edif'y his readers by telling OF the
negro-blood of the editor of the Press; and
to save him the trouble of repettion-as he
uses such language only for the sting he sup
poses it to contain-we will assure him in all
frankness, that we would rather, thousand
fold, be the relative, the brother, or even the
child of an honest negro, who knows how to
tell the truth, to love his country, and to be a
decent man, than have our children justly feel
that the blood which courses through their
veins had been transmitted by a traitorous
sire, who would stick at nothing to accom-
plish the purposes of his hellish ambition; who
would not hesitate to whisper mischief and
revolt in the ear Of the soldier who is peril
ling his life in his country's defence, who
stands ready to welcome foreign Intervention
to stop war for the maintenance OF const-
tutonal liberty, who appeals to the basest
passions and the wickedest prejudices of the
human mind to stir up opposition against the
rightful authority of the government, or who
basely prostitutes intellect, heart, soul and
conscience TO the most unholy, because the
most unpatriotic and reasonable. purposes.
With this emphatic declaration we trust the
gentleman who controls that paper will be-
come disabused of the idea that any filings of
the negro or the Negroes blood in our face by
him, can in the slightest respect disturb us.
Indeed, considering the aninus of all such
filings, we regard them as compliments-the
highest he can show us.
The extract at the head of this article says
lilit lilc eultOr Oh the freSs, III tne legislature
last winter, advanced the silly idea that there
is no such thing as international law" If the
writer of this allegation knew anything of
what he was writing, he knew he was making
false and baseless statement, without SO much
as a solitary element of truth or fact upon
which it could stand. The speech to which
he doubtless refers, was published, aud its au-
thor, admitting the full force of the obligations
of international law in war between foreign
nations, contended that such law is inapplica-
Bile in civil war in which the rightful and
constitutional government is exerting itself to
suppress domestic rebellion. 1t is family
quarrel, in which foreign nations have no
rightful concern; with which they can inter-
fere only at their own peril He also said
and this is sufficient reply to the last state
ment of the extract quoted from the Adver-
tiser-that in dealing with rebels, the Federal
government is restricted in its power to subdue
them, only by absolute inability, and the "re-
quirements Of a Christian humanity" We
are content to stand upon and abide by this
proposition.