The Portland daily press., 1865-07-12

STATE RIGHTS.
When the good prince Plantaganet, on his
famous voayge in search ofthe Oracle ofthe
Sacred Bottle, came near the confines OF the
Frozen Sea, readers wen remember that ON al
sudden he and his ships company were stu
ned by a confused din of words and noje's :.
which they could make nothing, till tne -
explained hewsa great sea fight paa 49,.
fought there the winter before amy 'noss
shouts and cries had frozen IN tnes ar ana
were but lust then thawed out IN the mild
spring weather and become audible we ma
in Yesterdays Advertiser some excellent spec
linens of CONCEALED words and frozen logic,
which seem to have fingered somewhere in
the region above the clouds during the last four
wintry years, and again BECOME audible in this
balmy springtime of returning peace. Here
they are-the old, empty, resounding phrases,
this time propos to the Maine law touching
hawkers and pedlers: ssrr rgs4 u
We are not prepared to uphold the narrow
guage animus of this law, nor assert Its validl-
fy AGAINST the constitutional rights of citizens
Of other States to carry on free and untram-
meled commerce with the citizens of States
Mr. Curtis exposition ably, nnot unanswerably
handles this subject in its legal aspects
But we cannot help remarking to the people
OF Maine, tnag the a1c.llne y. w Z, une
and institutions ofanother State is being illus
trated to their practical understandings IN this
turn Of the Massacnusetss Guns upon i t1el.l
dence. State rights and State sovereignty,
we have been taught by Massachusetts politi-
clans for our years las. past, mos. espec,aly
are nlgss u 4 ~ A'1o os n e
the cs,,nen,s month with the resistant States
of the South, and we don't exactly compre-
bend with what grace the aeygt citz@s OF
Name VINO nase ,sngu - svspt u
State RIGHTS can now resist or find fault with
the prefensfons Of this same Massachusetts TO
send their visiting committees and legal opm-
IONS 70 put down sae d9ca tta u s
ests or hostile To the views Of the citizens Of
Massachusetts, " Ia q .sasN laasnrBs bas gui1qs
Now wa have already and recently express
ed our views touching this matter. We have
,ot,,i,,o e. AZ viii, fine sanirous Of fbe law Al
.,rosont Rpt ,ve accant This extract from ifbe
Advertiser as a perfectly fair illustration Of
the Democratic myth known among men now
and heretofore as State fights. = And We wish
to observe that. while the Advertiser is wiz
ling to concede that the law is uncehstitution-
al regards Judge Curtiss exposition as liable
if NOT unanswerable., the State right claimed
10 s;yonlv as seen from the Adoertiser.ss stand
ro;n. " ~, as,s,,n,e iap
Wal frankly we don't believe in anv sucl
st.te ,;gbts' -, ,.ra., 81. -. oa,rr-
Tn the second place. and here is where til
din Of frozan words GROWS Ior,dest fhe s4dre,
II en- treats the grave and decorris criticisms Z
our laws by citizens Of Massachusetts, as a,
infringement of our State rights 1t is the Oh
story. sYou must mind your own. business
YOU mustn't speak, write, think about slavery
YOU must re spect the feelings Of your Southern
fellow citizens, &c, &C. And lis as childis
now as then. Free speech and afree press ca
no more exist without criticism than raiI
clouds without showers. And sound, jud
cious criticism is as necessary, to national .
civil culture as rain to the fields. hiudicior
criticism Is better than none. The harsh, al
feeling British scorn which burst out upon
from Black,oood and the Times four yea
since. has done us good. lit has caused us
look about us more carefully, to walk moi
circumspectIy, to remember mare scrupulou
lv nerhans 4lAl-~.-''issst5ie affairs are @al