The Portland daily press., 1862-10-24
tFor the Daily Press.
Pitiable Exhibition.

EDITORS PRESS If the Advertisers report
of Trains speech on Monday evening. is not
grossly unfair toward him, the lecturer made
most pitable exhibition of himself That a
man who prides himself upon his reputation as
defender of American institutions abroad,
should stoop so low, in addressing an audi
ence OF MS eountrymen at home, is exceeding
ly humiiating to portion of his readers and
hearers, who are thus compelled to feel that
withhis Yankee smartness, freely conceded
he has at the same time exposed himself to the
charge OF Yankee vulgarity, so often made by
foreigners who have seen only unfortunate
specimens Of the American citizen.
The changes rung upon the 'nigger," are
sufficiently disgusting in the report How
much more tasteful and refined the speakers
handling of the subject may have been, l do
not know. The reporter seems to have been
very much in sympathy with the lecturer, and
has probably given the spirit as well as the sub
stance of 1.-THE Express Trains" performance.
The nigger is everywhere" So aitirms the
Advertiser in a recent article, in which the au-
thor attempts to use the same unfortunate
niger in furtherance of certain notions and
schemes of his own.
Mr.. Train, with remarkable follow feeling
FOR the author OF that article, jumps on to the
same track, and pursues a similar train of
thought and expression. The Advertiser in
forms his readers that it was only in burlesoue.
Possibly the Advertiser, too, in the article be-
fore referred to, was only attempting to play
joke upon his readers. Certainly he could
not have expected intelligent readers TO swal-
low the whole dose offered them in that article.
as serious conviction of the authors mind.
That the negro is everywhere. in the great
national commotion now shaking the conti-
nent,-and the world even,-is fact too sol
EMMY true ro be treated in the "burlesque,"
fitting only stage clown. BY the Advertisers
own assertion, he is there by no agency of his
own. Other men, of the past and the present,
are alone responsible for the place he occu-
pies in the drama now enacting; drama of
which every act and every scene is quite too
tragic to admit OF low comedy or political
clap-trop.
The 'nigger" as a slave, or in other express
sion, Stacery Itself, is in this whole matter. at
tempt to wink it out of sight who will. And
because patriotic and earnest men, of far-sight-
ed craftsmanship, or OF only common sagaci-
ty, can see no sure deliverance from the evils
in which Slavery has involved us, but by the
overthrow OF slavery itself, wherever the Con-
stitution and the necessities of war allow il to
be done, certain class of politicians are
seeking to re-awaken the old prejudices
against abolitionsts and abolitionsin. as if so
shallow a device would lift them into popular
favor, IN this second year of the Shareholders
Great Rebellion. As if the people were not
aware that leading men in all the l1yal States.
who two years ago We're affected with this
same horror Of abolitiunism are now the most
emphatic and decided anti-slavery men, Some
of them, know, prefer some other name to
that of abolitonst; but they are thoroughly
converted to the principle that slavery is a
wrong to the slave, and damage to his mas
ter, and especially is an inevitable aud ''irre-
pressible" disturber of the public peace, aud
ought to be put under bonds to violate the
peace no more forever.
More than year ago Generel Butler. well
known to have disliked everything savoring of
abolition, said to the writer, Il regard slavery
as this day doomed. / am not much of an