The Portland daily press., 1863-12-30
A Trcacherous Memory.

few evenings since supper was given
to Mr.. Speaker Colfax, at Wizards Hotel, by
the editors and printers who hold seats in
Congress, and few of the fraternity and craft
of the Capital City. Among the speakers was
Hon. James Brooks, of New York, who re-
ferred to the time when, as correspondent of
the Advertiser Of this city, he regularly wrote
The whole social life of Washington was then an
unwfitten myth. The Departments were ifever Wis.,
lied for news, as deaf, as dumb, to inquiry AS the
mute. The Committee Of Congress sat with closed
doors, and silence was engraved upon the lips of
every member. Unknowing and unknown, the
keeper OF my own secret broke into this mute pen.
etraiia, and opened to ventilation all matters l
deemed proper for the public prints. In about ten
days or Two weeks my letters would return from
Portland, the,l and, do not say their merit, but
their novelty their freshness, perhaps their andaci
ty, not only provoked curiosity but filed earnest
public want and more or less they circulated in all
the then journals of the United States The public
call for such Information was SO great the ensuing
winter, that then had more work on my hands than
any one hand could execute, and, with some slight
variations then supplied tissue-paper correspond
ence not only for the Portland Me- Advertiser but
for the New Orleans Bulletin the Richmond Wing,
aud for journal then conducted IN Cincinnati, by
Mr. Thomas, the name Of which just now escapes me.
with occasional letters for the Baltimore Patriot and
the New York Courier. as well as for some weekly
papers. In short, earned money enough In single
session to supply me with means Tor a long and wide
ly-extcnded journey in Europe. whence. again
wrote home letters for the Portland Advertiser.
The Advertiser at the time Mr.. Brooks sus-
tanned towards it the relation of an editor, or
travelling or Congressional correspondent at
Washington, was published by Messrs. ]. 4 W.
E. Edwards, both well known and now resid-
ing in this city. They paid Mr.. Brooks reg
ular salary, and we are quite sure 1t will be
news to them that the means by which he paid
the expenses of his "long and widely-extended
journey In Europe" were earned by the cor
respondence with the different papers to which
he refers. At any rate, after Mr.. BIS return
from Washington, he proposed to his employ
ers the propriety of his visiting Europe, and
succeeded in SO far convincing them that it
would be for their interest for him TO go, in
storing his mind with the right kind of mate
rial to be worked up for their benefit, that they
furnished him with the needful money to dn-
dertake, prosecute and complete the journey.
We are not quite sure how much they paid
him over and above his regular salary, wheth-
er $500 or 81 900, but we are quite as sure as
VIC oie VI 'hSh 'Si"S'eJ eu"e sac NAOssis. ISu-
wards paid his expenses, more or less. Mr..
Brooks memory is evidently treacherous In
the matter and he has simply forgotten, as he
did another thing upon Ills return he forgot
to work up that large acquisition of knowledge
and power for the benefit of those at whose
expense he went abroad, and before returning
to Portland, after his arrival In New York
from Europe, he actually took the iniiiatory
steps to make that his residence and place of
business.