The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-05-19
Fact VS.. Fiction.
Union STATE
Committee.

We regret to see in the columns of the Re
publican Clarion long extract from a mis-
chief-making article which appeared some
weeks ago in the Advertiser Of this city. The
extract includes comparison Of the admins
trations of Governors Coburn and Cony, clos
ing with the following malicious insinuation
Our purpose is only to justify our opinion,
that unjust intrigue, and heartiess treachery,
and not any marked defect, occasioned the
overthrow of the former, to give place 10 the
latter, which by the way, was not the admins
tration which the intriguers intended TO IN
stall.
This is all the Clarion quotes, but the Ad-
oertiser goes further, expressly assembling what
it calls "the overthrow" Of Gov. Coburn to
the Vaccinations of Senator Spring, and
charging upon Mr.. Spring the design of GUST
ing Gov. Coburn to make room for himself at
that time. The source of these charges ex-
cused us from any necessity of referring to
them when they first appeared; transferred to
the columns of the Clarion, they require brief
notice.
To the friends of Mr.. Spring in this vicini-
ty, there is no need to say that the substance
of these allegations is not only incredible but
impossible. The Republicans in this section
of the State were much divided in 1858, with
respect to the policy of changing the party
name The Press insisted, until the wish OF
the majority had been clearly expressed, that
all men who were willing to stand by the Uni
on could and would act with the Union party
No .,,oII Jor 4lo ,,oroo of Ranuhlicane aS nm
der any other. The delegation from this city
to the State Convention at Bangor, was about
equally divided Mr.. Spring was of those who
believed that conciliatory policy should be
adopted towards the many Democrats, who
loving the country better than party, were un-
willing to embarrass an administration strug-
Cling with armed rebellion by acting with the
Copperhead faction. Gov. Coburn authorized
Mr.. Blaine to assure the convention that he
fully appreciated and sympathized with the
effort to unite the loyal people of Maine, and
did not wish to stand in the way of any con-
cession which might be regarded as desirable.
The concession to which Gov. Coburn re-
ferred, was as everybody knows, the nominal
ton of Union Democrat for governor. That
Mr.. Spring was not thought of, that he could
not for a moment have DIR canned of succeeding
Gov. Coburn, is put beyond the possibility OF
doubt, by the fact that Mr.. Spring, like Gov.
Coburn had acted with the Republican party
from its foundation. So much of the Aduer-
Users story is plainly impossible. That Mr..
Spring should have agreed with Gov Coburn,
that a coneiiatory policy was to be preferred,
is nothing wonderful, and certainly cannot be
called intrigue" Or "treachery" by English
speaking mortals; though we do not venture
to say what meaning these words may bear
in the dialect of the Adrertiser.
The Portland delegation, as we have said,
was equally divided on this question. Many
of the very men who now desire the nominal
ton of Mr.. Spring were then equally DESTROYS
of the denomination of Gov. Coburn. At the
first ballot Gov. Coburn received Ais out OF
1888 votes and there was no choice. His
name was then withdrawn in accordance with
his own desire, and Gov. Cony, who had pre-
viously received only 474 votes, was nominat-
ed by the convention. 1t may or may not
have been an error, to attempt to unite the
loyal men of Maine by such means; but it GER
tainly was not "heartless treachery."
The mischievous purpose of the Advertiser
in making these accusations needs no COM
ment. 1t is no compliment to Gov. Cobun
to say that he was ''thrown overheard; that,
if it were true, no friend of his would say.
The circumstances we have recalled sufficient
ly show that the Advertisers indirect depreci-
alton of Gov Coburn is as unfounded as its
unjust imputations upon Mr.. Spring.