The Portland daily press., 1863-07-24
UNION NOMINATIO
FOR iGovERNOR,
SAMUEL CONY.
What Constitutes Political Redo mp,ion,

mutation money, or TO pay for substitute.
The result of the meeting was vote, in favor
ofpaying the $500 to each drafted man, giving
him three chances--to take the money and 90
to the war, to procure a substitute, or to pay
the same to the government and stay at home.
This is the order in which the Argus arran-
ges the uses to which the $500 may be appro-
priated, though in the vote actually passed,
the stay-at-home provision was made first,
foremost and most prominent In announcing
the result of the meeting the Argus exclaims,
exultingly:
Westbrook has redeemed herself, notwithstanding
the desperate effort of the republicans to make her
appear in n false and niggardiy light before the
people Of the State.
1t becomes interesting to know what, in the
estimation of the Argus, constitutes political
redemption at the present time. Fortunately
we are not left without the means of informa-
ton on this point. In the Advertisers long
report of the proceedings of the meeting,
occupying nearly two columns, fifty per cent.
OF which is made up of 4. o. J. Smiths speech,
and forty-nine and seven-eghths per cent. in
glorifcation Of the same speech-all prepared
editoraly and placed under the editorial head,
F.O. J. s. himself being the editor--we learn
not only precisely what was done, and precise
~ what vital action was left nndone, but we
also learn what project the republicans had in
view calculated to make the town "appear in
false and niggardly light before the people
of the state" Mr.. Libby of that town, who
took part in the meeting, is Republican, and
the following extract from the Advertisers
report will show the proposition which he sub
mitted and whichhe and his republican friends
and other truly loyal men were willing to
support:
Mr.. Libby sustained the war and the gov
eminent lie would offer an amendment TO
Mr.. Smiths motion as follows:
To give three hundred dollars to each man draft
ed under the CONSUMPTION act when he a good and
sufficient substitute IN his stead IS mustered into the
serrice Of the United States and hereby author
ize the Seectmen and Treasurer of the town of West
brook to procure tlfe money by loan not exceeding
six per cent issue of town scrip to each soldier
payable in one two and three years from date, with
interest.
This is what the Argus calls "mean and Mig
gardly" 1t is lacking in one provision; that
which would leave the government without
soldiers; which would force the government
into dishonorable concessions to rebels because
of its inability TO dictate its own terms. But
the above proposition was voted down, and
proposition was raised which may result in
leaving the Government in its needs without
man from Westbrook to uphold its flag, to
defend its honor, to vindicate its authority, or
to punish its rebellious enemies and this, and
this alone, the Argus exutingly styles the
redemption Of the torn from disgrace. A
prompt response to the demands of the Gov
eminent, therefore, is "mean and niggardly,"
while refusal TO respond by furnishing men, is
noble and praiseworthy, and exhibits town
10 the blaze of redeeming light
A glance at the Advertisers report win re-
veal the dnimus of those who were most zeal
Gus in ''redeeming" the town, and what views
they entertain OF duty. We need not refer to
the leading speech, made by Mr.. Smith, for
Mr. S. takes occasion almost daily to yentilate
his views through the Advertiser, and is known
to occupy the extreme ground of Fernando
Wood, James Brooks and Clement l.. Vallan-
digham, and to be prostituting all his energies
to defeat the purposes OF the Government and
to bring about peace by one of two methods;
either by acknowledging the independence of
the South, or by allowing her TO dictate the
terms on which she will consent to rule over
the whole country.
Mr.. Payson of Westbrook was the Demo-
cratic candidate for Representative last fall,
and therefore may be considered the repre-
sentative man of that party in his town. Mr..
P. has been an out-spoken sympathiser with
the rebels, and has not failed to make that
sympathy known. He did not fail to reveal it
at the town meeting on Wednesday last. As
we find him reported in the Advertiser he
said:
He didt believe in the war from the start and
didn't nor. HE WOULDN'T VOTE A DOLLAR OR
A CENT TO CARRY ON THIS WAR, unless 1t was
TO help poor out Of the slough Of despondn
into which the course of the Administration had
thrown them. When the question came up as to
whether the poor should have the money TO give
him the same privileges and advantages under our
government and laws In times like these he would
go to the extent Of his means to aid him his just
He would suggest that the town issue town orders
OF $ioV apiece or more, payable in one three, five,
eight and ten years. bearing seven per cent inter-
est, and pay them out as money.
This speech of representative democratic
man shows what the Argus considers needful
to redeem a town from the disgrace which
Republicans would bring upon it. They would
pay the soldier for going to war to sustain the
government; democracy, as defined by Mr..
Payson, would pay not a dollar, not even n
cent TO carry on the war; would only pay to
help the soldier out Of the war or to keep him
out! This is political redemption. This is
the way for towns to redeem themselves.
This is democratic support Of the country.
In short, it is disloyalty, the essence of rebel
lion, the quintessenee of treason; and work it
over, sugar-coat n, and talk about it as you
will, it comes to this and nothing short of
this. This is the drift of democracy as now
defined; as represented by the Copperhead
organization. 1t aims to break down the gov
eminent if it cannot control it; to throw IL
into the hands of JEFF Davis if it can in no
other way wrest it from the hands of Abraham
Lincoln. God only knows from what the vic
tory at Gettysburg has saved us. No ntelli-
gent man can well doubt that the invasion of
Pennsylvania by Lee, the raid of Morgan in
to Indiana, the mission Of Stephens towards
Washington, the riot in New York, and the
generally planned riots all over the country at
the same moment of time, were parts of one
general programme, or that it was designed,
through these movementju just at the time the
conscription law was to be made operative, to
..I.. -.