The Portland daily press., 1863-11-20
Treason in the Pierce Cabinet.

In 1856, and until March 4th of the follow
ing year, JEFF. Davis was member of Presi-
dent Pierce's Cabinet, at the head Of the War
Department. j. M. Mason was in the U. s.
Senate from Virginia. On the Both of Sep
TENDER, of 1856, Mason wrote a private letter
to Davis, which was found among the papers
OF the latter when his private library was tax
en- by our Union men at jackson, of which
the following is copy:
SELMA, near WINCHESTER, Va,
Ae Sept. 80, 1856.
Ny DEAR SIR: have a letter from Wise,
of the2 It'll, full of spirit. He says the gov
ernments OF North Carolina, South Carolina
and Louisiana, have already agreed to the
rendezvous at Raleigh, and others wil-this
is in your most prirdte ear He says further
that he had officially requested you to ex-
change with Virginia, on fair terms of differ
ence, percussion for flint muskets. l don't
know the usage or power Of the Department
in such cases, but, if it can be done, eren on
liberal construction, l hope you will accede
Was there not an appropriation at the last ses-
sion for converting flint into percussion arms |?
If SO, would it not furnish good reason for
extending such facilities to the States? Vr-
ginia probably has more arms than the other
Southern States. and could diride in case of
need. In letter yesterday to a committee
in South Carolina, gave it as my judgment
in the event Of Fremont's election, the South
should not pause, but proceed at once to ''im-
mediate, absolute and eternal separation. So
am candidate for the first halter.
Wise says his accounts from Philadelphia
are cheering for Old Buck in Pennsylvania
hope they are not.delusive. Vale ct Salute
Colonel DAVIS. ]. M. MASON.
Here is a reasonable proposition made by
Senator to Cabinet officer, both sworn to
protect and support the Constitution and the
Union, and yet the proposition, il not acted
upon was not exposed, nor was the traitor
making it arrested and made to suffer for his
baseness and treachery. Mason, a"strict con-
stitutionist," who would allow no liberality of
construction in behalf of freedom and popu-
lar rights, proposed to 'liberal construction"
to Cabinet officer in behalf of usurpation,
treason and negro despotism. Who can doubt
that the halter, the first for which the writer
of the above letter said he was candidate,
should have been used in 80, upon Mason for
writing such letter, and upon Davis-occu-
plying the position he did-for consenting to
receive it and keep it private?
Or, who can doubt that Wise - a prime
mover in rebellion thus early-deseryed hal
ter in SO infinitely more than did old John
Brown, several years later; or that, in the
sight of God and Truth ,he was the most guilty
wretch that graced John Browns execution,
and should have been the first to swing, Ha-
man-like, from the gallows he prepared for
that old man, whose soul is so visibly "march-
ing along" in the passing events Of the hour?
To SUBscRIBERs.-S Some few gentlemen
have promptly called into the Office and paid
up for their daily In response to.a call which
We made few days since for payment. We
should be happy to have others do So or pay
ut once to our collector when he calls. Don't
put him of gentlemen with promises, for those
things amount to nothing TO us; We cannot
pay our paper bill, telegraph BILL or help in
that kind OF stuff; nothing but grecnbacks or
good bank bills will be received by those we
owe. So shell out gentlemen, for as sure as
we breathe, the daily will be stopped unless
little more interest is manifested ON the part
Of subscribers towards keeping their accounts
squared up with the Office. We do not like
to be thus calling on the public, 1t is not con-
genial to our feelings; aud besides it is little
discreditable TO our place to put In print that
we have men here who do not pay the printer.
We trust 1t will not be so much longer.
The above paragraph, which we copy from
the Bath Times, affords unmistakable evidence
that Bro. Lincoln lie beginning to understand
what are the duties, obligations, rights and
reasonable expectations of a publisher of
daily paper. We know him to be one of the
most forbearing, long-suffering, uncomplain-
ing men that can be found in half day ride
by steam, but it has been said there is a
point beyond which forbearance ceases to be
virtue and Bro. Lincoln has not only got to
that point but beyond it.
With the economy practised and the con-
slant labor bestowed upon the enterprise, we
have no doubt the Times would have gone
along swimmingy but for the sudden and ex-
traordinary rise in paper and printing mate
rials generally, which has nearly doubled the
expenses OF carrying on the establishment,
without in any manner increasing the income
Then, again, the business men of Bath, in
stead of coming forward and contributing
literally to snstain one daily paper for the
convenience and advantage of the city, some
of the most prominent Of them have labored
to break down the Times by contributing to
aid In the establishment of competitor, when
any man acquainted with newspaper business
must have understood what the result would
be, II persisted In.
When it was well understood that the
Times was not paying anything more than its
expenses, by the aid Of these men another
daily was started, the results of which are
being experienced. The evening telegraph
news which was furnished from the office of
the Times solely for the benefit of the people.
as it was much of the time loss to the pub
Usher and all the time u great inconvenience,
they are now. deprived OF, the evening paper
for which they were willing to bleed SO freely
to establish having died for want of support
after supplanting the Times evening dis
patches. Se8 81 -.
We have said this much as Introductory of
what we intended to say in relation to what
appears to US to be the duty as well as for the
Interest of the business men of Bath. A well
conducted and judiciously edited daily paper
Is almost Indispensable in a city with the bus
mess facilities and enterprise of Bath There
are hundred arguments In its favor not one
of which need be mentioned. The Times is
as near what is required as any one paper can
be made to be; loyal to the core-seldom per-
T.. &c