Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1866-08-17
VALEDICTORY.

Having disposed of our interest In tn
GAZETTE establishment to Capt ALFREI
E.. LEE, late Of the SD Reg. 0. Y. L, on
connection with the paper terminates witt
the present number.
In retiring from position we have s,
long occupied, we are but acting In ao
eordance with decision arrived at sew
eral years since. Protracted and constan
application to the arduous and wearing
duties of the editorial profession, will
somewhat impaired health, mads respit
and repose desirable, and we only awaited
a favorable opportunity to effect the de
sired ch ange. A recent renewal o
negotiations commenced more than a yea
ago resulted In sale, the terms Of which
were agreed upon several weeks since
but previous engagements on the part Of
our successor prevented the change ot
proprie torship till the present time.
We took charge of the GAZETTE when
it was weak and feeble, with few sub
scribers and limited support. We leave
it firmly established journal, occupying
a position in the front rank Of the eoun-
gEV pa ACA0 "a eAAd A2teAIG4 IL GALGAAo VI GlA-
oulation and advertising patronage second
to none, and more prosperous to-day in
all its departments than at any former
period of its existence. With innumera-
bic pleasant associations clustering around
its history, and regarding it in the light
of a child nurtured under our own guild
anee from eeble infancy to robust man
hood, we were naturally solicitous as to
the kind of hands into which it should
fall, and we are happy to be able to say
that in this respect our desires have been
fully met-the young gentlemen who sue
ceed US being IN every way qualified to
discharge in a satisfactory manner the du-
ties they have assumed The senior
member cf the new firm is a writer of
more than ordinary ability. graduate of
our University, and who as a soldier dur
ing the entire war of the rebellion made a
record that will not suffer by a compar-
ison with that of any other young man
who entered the army from Ohio, and as
an indelible certificate of his heroic de-
votion to the cause carries on his body the
marks left by desperate wound received /
while fighting, musket in hand, in the
front ranks on the sanguinary field of
Gettysburg. The junior member has /
held a half interest in the establishment /
for nearly two and half years, and has
had almost exclusive charge of the
business details and local department.. He
is a native of Delaware, we'll known to
its inhabitants, and his character and
standing in community require no endorse
ment from US. It will be their interest
as it will doubtless be their aim to main
tain the present good standing of the pa
per-and having the energy and ambition
pertaining to youth, with means and
ability adequate to the task. we doubt not
they viii not only effect that object, but
add to its efficiency and popularity We
most oheerfully and heartily commend
them to the favorable regards of every
present patron Of the establishment, and
to the citizens of the city and county
generally.
In conducting the GAZETTE it has been
our aim to act fairly and hcnorably to-
ward ALTO avoid giving offense unneees-
sarily, and to exclude from our columns
ali that would be repugnant to good taste
or offend the moral sentiment of the
community In dealing with differences
of opinion or conflicting interests within
our own political ranks, we have ever
counseled moderation. Cancellation, and
the cultivation Of a fraternal feeling
among those contending for the same
principles or measures. Detesting mere
personalities, we have, in dealing with
opponents, as far as possible eschewed
them, and have but seldom been tempted
to their use even under the pressure Of
extreme aggravation. In avowing differ
ences of opinion on matters of public
policy, whether discussing with political
opponents or friends, it is not requisite
in order to give force to our arguments
that they should be accompanied with
personal assaults upon those Of opposite
sentiments-and TO be firm and decided
in the advocacy Of measures, it is not
necessary to forfeit self-respect and yio-
late the proprieties Of life by STOPPING to
the level of the blackguard. The liberal
use of slang phrases and opprobrieas cpl
thets may, with some, be regarded as
evidence of fsmartness and some there are
who think or affect to think that nothing
can be firm or spirited thatis not person
al and Yituperative-but, whether the
fippant efFervescence of precooious i'm
pertinence, or the venomous ebullitions {
of mature malignity, they afford an infal- ]
lible index Of the character, tastes and
instincts Of the person using them, and
are never otherwise than self-debasing,
and demoralizing.
Though adherence to the course just
indicated has occasionally subjected us to I
animadversions, it leaves us {
at the close of our editorial career the {