The Portland daily press., 1864-01-06


TEaxs- $500 per year in ddcaace or 81 90 at the
end Of the gedrJ
FRENCH SpoLIATIoNs.-"J. n" appears in
the Advertiser, in his Characteristic style, in
reply to paragraph of a few days since in the
Press. He opens as follows;
A word with you, Mr.. Press, in reply to
youps Of Jan. 1st But first, why so much
dainty circumlocution? Why say "correspons
dent of a contemporary journal" instead OF
saying J. N. in the Advertiser?
lit will appease the vanity, not to say ego
tism, of 81. NJ" we will tell him plainly why
we said "a correspondent Of contemporary
iouraain We knew, as almost everybody else
did. that ~. NJ" meaning our distinguished
fellow citizen who frequently writes over those
initials, had broken with the Advertiser long
months ago, and that he had said, iterated
and reiterated, in private and in public, open
~ and squarely, that he had so little sympathy
for the course of that paper, and SO much-un-
disguised contempt for the whole concern,
that under no consideration would he allow
any word of his to be communicated to its
columns it was much easier for us to sup
pose there was another -. NJ who had DON
ned the plumage of the peacock to conceal
the form of the raven, than to suppose our
distinguished lellow-ctizen would eat his own
oft-repeated declarations. Again, we did not
think ~. N" meaning our distinguished fell
low-citizen, would fall into SO gross blunder
as that to which we referred in the Press Of
{. nil he
frankness of our answer. He called for it, and
limited that he wanted no ''dainty circumlocu-
tion,v no "roundaboutness,' but would have
something Ito the point He has it.
Were not ~. N" many years our seniors,
we would mildly suggest to him, that his usual
style of approaching every one with whom he
happens to have word of controversy, as a
domineering pedagogue would approach a
tlmd delinquent boy, with command to of
jacket and 7.eceire d.fageliatioa, while it may
seem very funny to him, looks supremacy ri
dicalous to common readers, and therefore we
advise him TO drop it. He lives in demo-
cratic age and a democratic city, where one
man is regarded very much as the equal OF
another, and where swelling and egotism and
bombast pass for exactly what they are worth
and no more. At any rate, he will find all
such modes of address thrown away upon us,
for we have grown so old and rheumatic that
we could not cover If we would, beneath his
uplifted lash, and we would not If we could.
So do, -. NJ please put on the airs Of an
equal, and thus show that you retain some
affinity for mortals who tabernacle in the
flesh.
Badinage aside, -. n" asks, "where on
"earth did you get the notion that France
"eUer paid dollar IN money into the .hands
"of our Government? Had we considered
~. NJ authority in snch matters, we might
have got the idea from him, for he said, only
few days ago, sour Government, haring OBJ
'.tdiaed fire millions of dollars for the benefit
"of her own people, put the aohole awdy in the
national strong Dor, and told the sufferers to
whistle for their money!
We suppose even 81. n" win not say any
thing bat money could be put in the national
strong box, the u. S. Treasury-but If,
discovering his ludicrous blunder, he now
means to say The French Government nerer
-
would suggest that he was probably asleep at
the time one Andrew jackson enforced the
payment of twenty-five million francs under
threat Of reprisals upon French commerce. If
he says this was for spoliatons subsequent to
the year 1900, while he means that no money
has Been paid by France for spolations prior
TO that date, we have only to say that he thus
jumps from one error into another, and when
he becomes half as well posted as he claims to
be, and as he would have the people suppose
that he is, he will correct bis error himself
perhaps; at any rate, he will not repeat his
emphatic statements until he knows upon
what he bases them.
~. n" don't like the intimation of ours that
spectators should not be allowed to make
money out of their claims, and with suspicious
spirit asks
"What business is il of yours, or mine, or of
"the government, a debtor and trustee in the
ease, that claim has been got hold of by
spectators, at mere nominal price, or at no
price at all ?"
We leave the answer TO this queer question
to the honest people, whose taxes are to pay
the claims in question If they are ever paid.
We have a notion, if the honest claims of real
sufferer have been parted with through fraud,
deception or necessity, to sharper, that quite
as substantial justice will be done in the
premises should the Government refuse to en-
dorse his action, and simply make him whole,
as if it should put thousands of dollars in his
hands for which he has rendered no equiva-
lent. 1t seems to us -. Ms" theory would be
very convenient TO cover al the deyiltry OF the
shoddy contractors and spectators upon the
Government which now curse the community,
and all the substitute brokers and others who
are fleeing the soldiers by enlisting them for
small bounties, selling them for exorbitant
ones, and then putting the difference in their
own pockets. These are our individual opin-
ions; they may not be up to the standard OF
law, bat we think they will stand the test of
justice; at any rate, we are willing TO submit
them to the proper jury-the people
Memorial Resolutions.
HEADQUARTERS 10Th Me. Rect,
Near Liberty, Va, Nov. 10, 1868.
At a meeting of the officers of the 10th
ID