The Portland daily press., 1865-10-30
Defamation Of the Industrious Deed.

N--~~--0- - $50 - SSrNAS~tt-~ -
A few days since, in reply to an article IN
the s.AdUertiser, touching the character of
Democracy, and among other things, the Con
nectlcut election, 'we'tSoE OCCASION to say:
az Webster1theIgr greatest Of our English exi-
cogranhers, and a Connecticut man by tne
way, defines Democrat as follows:
I'D DEMoonAr ~ one who adAeFes t0agoveriinngen At
Suffrage 10 ALL GLASSES oFMEN.
To this the Advertiscr replies:
.aia Now. be il observed that Webster, like the
editor Of the Press, was a progressive man,
when he gave the world THE aDoEes definition,
which is from his first Octave edition Of his
Dictionary, published almost, q quGrterrof a
1gcentuyy since. When his editor published a
new and unabridged edition last aedr, he in
serted no such loose definition as above con-
tanned in the old edition, but givesIsimply this
limited and correct definition: A9sA ? -
'DEMocRAT n. T. One who is an adherent OF
promoter OF democraey' or government by the pe0-
Further along in the same article the a.
veftsser odds; Euh nAi.4Ig.kHg
e v In Connecticut the abolition wing OF the
Republican party sought r. carry 4ssy wv Inat
definition of democracy WHlen W eDster lung
since repudiated as incorrect by letting In the
excluded negroes as votens.a sts=gH 50
The unabridged edition of Webster, pub
lisbed in 1sz7-froIn which we copied the first
of the above Notwithstanding DR. Web
ster's last corrections, emendstions ana feyis-
ions, made by his osaip hand, and death inter-
rupting him in the midst of his work, his ed
itor was careful to state chat his private notes
and memoranda were scrupuIousIy regarded,
But it seems that twenty-five years later,
ID when the great photographer had for that
length Of time been gathered to his fathers .
copperhead professor IN a college at New
Haven, inspired by hatred Of Democracy in
its true sense, e1palpged from the great Die
tionary the authors. own definition, and in-
serted in its place an emasculated version to
suit his own and his party's sense of proprie-
ty. Perhaps we should be grateful that he
did not confne his definition tofhis second
meaning--@a member of the Democratic par
ty"-a meaning which it never occurred to,
Webster to give at all. I
of the ingenuousness of the d dve1siser, in
the last sentence copied from it above, we have
nothing to sayatW Webster had been dead
quarter ola century before any one was found
sufficiently audacious to "repudiate" his orig
.inal definition, and then II Wasdofey no doubt,
in Difference to the eopperhead party, and by
one who, we dare aver, voted at the late Com
necticut election against equal suffrage.
To prove that the ahappiest condition" of
e the negro rs that Of ORANGE and slavery"
the editor of the Advertiser compares his con
dtion Of ignorance and slavery" in the South
with the barbarism in whiclihewas enshrodd-
ed in Africa. Brilliant, decidedly. by the
same rule it may be shown, possibly, that be-
cause the beautiful Caucasian girls in the SILL
tan's hafern are more exalted tha1, bateiSoted
and clothed in rude apparel, in their native
mountains therefore forced slavery and con-
cubinage afford the "happlest condition" for
these victims Of avarice, ignorance and lust.