The Shasta courier., 1865-09-09
We Met the Enemy; We Fit 'em, We
WalIoped 'em.


Since the organization of the Union party,
we have striven: with the loyal journals of the
State, to keep that party intact believing
that in so doing we were taking the on y
course that would materially strengthen the
Government. In this course we have been
radical, in the fullest sense of the word We
have even been .fanatical-our personal
friends at least have SO charged-but those
friends were slightly conservative. We have
taken the ground that loyal men must WORK
inside the Union organization. and charged
that all who did not. subjected themselves
to the charge of disoyaltv no matter how
loud they might cry . Union! y We have
charged and maintained tina. men claiming
to be Uaio, men and loudly proclaiming IT,,
vet were firing shot and shell into the Union
party from the outside, thus demoralizing ITS
orga rzation. were not Union men, but, on
the contrary, were more cuIpable. more
dangerous. and less entitled to the respect
and confidence of Union men than avowed
advocates of secession.
The COURIER, too, has advocated the
policy of party Conventions, and ignored
the right of minorities to bolt from the acts
of Conventions, and charged that in 50 doing
thew became the worst enemies Of the Union
party. SO persistently has this been preach
ed in our county, that we were spared the
odum of a contest with any disorganizing
element-or any other. Shasta county
stood alone among her sister counties with a
Union ticket in the field without an oppo
siton.
Adjoining her on the south, though, lies
Tehama county, which, for long years, has
been supporting, warming into life and
making formidable reputed Union journal
that, after the action of the party Convention
bolted the party and its nominees, thus. as
it supposed, leaving the regular organization
without a paper to sustain it. Under these
circumstances, we were applied to for aid to
the good cause, and happily having no
special cali at home, we entered into it, made
the contest between boilers, copperheads and
traitors combined against the Union party a
speciality in our columns not for gain, but
because we believed we were doing our duty
in entering any fight on the Union side where
our blows could be felt.
We fatter ourself that we have done good
service for the cause. and we are proud of it ;
a fool TO ,rl, tbo
gratulate loyal men ali on the happy ter
mination of the contest; on the complete
triumph of principle over selfish faction; of
Union over secession of right over wrong :;
OF reason over assertion. Tehama has
proved too. that the Z" head tail and body"
of the Union party there, claimed by the
opposition as being Bishop, Gage & Elliot,
was a simple hallucnaton of the brains of a
few in Red Bluff, who had barely enough of
toe article in their craniums to enable them
to 90 to their meals under favorable circum-
stances; and further, that though such men
may have influence when worhing with good
and intellectual men, they are powerless in
opposition. Tehama has further proved,
by her vote, that she is ready and powerful
to punish traitors to her loval antecedents.
and lis we predicted. even the Democrats
had too much self respect to admit of their
giving cJuntenance to such a dirty iutle
thing as the Bishop bolter leader; the claim
ed head Of the Union party, and now the tail
of reasonable faction. SO with all traitors.
His fall is mostly in imagination in fact he
had not far to. 90. As between him and his
co worker, the Independent, there was but
hair dividing them between loyalty and
treason at best Dollars constituted their
principles and they had not wit enough to
follow even that plain land mark. They have
fallen back to the insignificant position for
| which nature designed them and circunl-
stance only brought to the surface, and from
which they will be resurrected no more
forever"