The Portland daily press., 1867-05-20
The Release of Je ierson Davis.
COMMENTS OF THE PRESS OF MAINE.


"e keetease OF JEFFERSON Davis.
COMMENTS OF THE PRESS OF MAINE.
lfrom the Portland Star, MAY 49,
tv wo ,nG sh name Of an outraged loyal communi-
annrove tbe W; hke TO know how anybody can
,aPpIose the miserable hocus pocus which hos
orouSh1 ABOUT the release al this nr;,,,.a "f
traitors ana embodiment of trrosnn : ihis -, "
VINO s'lnus mus ana mas stood through It an, as the
w ..;i noiH III Iepeion universally conceded
to be CRIMINAL, reasonable and bIasnI,anao,,S
which consigned to untimelv and ipt1-.'
graves so many of the flower of tho ini,5 vi
which draped so many households in monrnin,,
and weeds of woe, which has left So mans
hearts desolate, hearts of widows and belnIs:s
orphans, and in place of their pride and sun.
port leaves an aching void which never can Be-
filled in this world; and how comes il that ali
these shall be SO insulted and utterly crushed
as the act ofyesterday at Richmond can not tail
to do?
From the Zions Adrocate, May 15.l
OF course the action of the presiding judge
has the sanction of the Executive; and perhaps
we ought not to be surprised ut anything done
by that officer of the Government Yet the
people of the loyal States will recall with in
dlgnation and wonder the emphatic denuncia-
tons OF the Executive against treason and
traitors, at his entrance upon offiee,-and COM
pare those sharp words with subsequent crimi-
nal leniency towards the chief offenders IL is
strange, moreover, to see the weak pity and i'll
timed sympathy manifested by some Northern
men towards this unrepentant rebel The edi-
tor of the New York Tribune was one of the
first to offer bail for the criminal: and this
new exhit It'll IN of misdirected sympatby for
Southern traitors will reconcile many well
wishers of the radical editor TO his loss of seat
in the National Senate.
from the Eastern Argus, May f5.I
Probably no man has been more cordially
"a tod
Greeley. Yet We see him clasped to the heart
of this very people because OF a simple act of
noble generosity toward their chief Horace
Greeley, who has seen the day when he would
have been mobbed in Richmond for his Wifi
cation of the South is literally huSged to-day
by men crying for joy, and all because he has
put his name upon the bail bond of Jefferson
Davis, and shaken hands with that gentleman
in open court.
Shall this lesson pass, and teach us nothing?
Or shall IL show us-mOre vividiy than words
can tell the temper Of the South? They hate
us, and they have every reason to hate us.
They used to hate Horace Greeley: but his one
act of kindness has made them his frineds for
ever.
from the Rockand Democrat, May 1871
The removal of Jefferson Davis from his
quarters at Fortress Monroe, occupied by him
two years, and his transfer to the soil OF "Old
Virginia, excites scarcely ripple in the pub
lie mind. Such change affects the rebel
chief and his intimate friends and relations
more than 1t appears to anybody else. With
the certainty of his inability to do any more
harm has decreased the public anxiety as to
his fate.
lFrom the Bangor Democrat, May 16.l
AT length the great majority of the people of
the country will be grattied TO learn that the
ridiculous and wicked farce of keeping a dis
tinguished gentleman and eminent statesman
in prison for two long years is at an end and
that jefferson Davis mas been released from his
long and weary confinement.
IFrom the Bangor Whig, May 16.J
The least that might have been expected un-
der the circumstances was the exhibition of a
decorous Daodesty on the part both of Davis
and his triends-a silent acceptance OF freedom
by this leader of those who have caused the
slaughter OF 100000 OF our loyal brothers and
sons. A penitential procession, if any rather
than an ovationl and that ovation headed of
all men, by Horace Greeley We can say no
more. We cannot do justice to This subject.
From the Bangor Times, May i6.l
Who is responsible for this state OF things, or
whether it is the result of causes to be traced
TO no individual origin, we are not prepared to
determine. Nor do we question that all is for
the best But of one thing we feel sure. viz:
If there is such crime as treason the South
ern leaders in the rebellion must have been
guilty of it-fagrantly guilty, and without the
excuse OF attempting to overthrow established
iuStituiioft5 PURPOSE introducing Del
ter. And of another thing we feel equally sure,
viz that treason so gigantic, SO heilish in its
results and perpetr2ted in the interests of an
institution indescribably wicked in all its ram
ifieatioDs,-a treason that inaugurated four
years vi internecine war; caused rivers of loyal
blood to flow, covered the whole land with en-
blems of woe-a treason that enacted all the
the nameless horrors of Libby, OF Anderson, OF
Belle Isle, ought to 90 into our legal history in
az its hideans outlines. with the iun penalty
lQf 81
tieipants. At the present time there is not on
record a single capital trial for this crime of
treason, and the chances are that there never
Will be. This may be as it should be but there
are thousands ON thousands of true loyal
hearts who will find it difficult to so believe.
From the Belfast hge, May 1871
The loyal people of the country demand that
there shall be an end of this Davis perform
anee winch has been going on for some two
years, during which they have been unable 10
distinguish whether it has been tragedy or
farce. If treason is to be considered crime
they want to see it made apparent by tryina
the man who above all others has been instru-
mental III bringing all the calamity and woe
which the country has suffered upon it, Late
inves stigations have revealed the TACT that the
horrible suferings which our prisoners under
went, were all inflicted by his order for the
purpose OF compelling an EXCHANGE of prison.
ers ON rebel terms. Hanging is too easy pun
So lnHuUidu 4 monster. the
loyal people are looking with no complaeept
eye to the delays and shifts that are resorted
to IN order to screen him from justice.
lFrom the Fsrnilngton Chronicle May, 16.l
This infamous traitor who richly deserved
hanging within the first twenty-four hours af-
ter his capture, is at liberty to travel in tri-
ulnph through country, which sacrificed half
amillion OF lves,t to save thetgovernment which
he and his associates sought to destroy. For
the credit OF the country, we are glad to see
the approaching finale of so stupendous q fraud
upon the patience and forbearance of the ma
ton.
From the Augusta Standard, May III
1t is a matter of surprise TO many, that Hor-
ace Greeley and other prominent Republicans
of New York and Philadelphia, should take
the trouble to go all the way to Richmond, TOR
the purpose of giving bail TO Mr.. Davis, and
many questions are asked as to what it can
mean.
Rumor has it that political considerations
led to this singular proceeding, arrange
Gals to run MIR. Davis for either President or
Vice President, upon the radical ticket, with
the belief that he would be sure to carry the
Southern States, and thereby secure the sue
cess of the ticket.
[From the Kennebec Journal, May III
When, after his capture in unmanly apparel,
Jefferson Davis assumed the role of the noble
proper assertion of his dignity to refuse spoon
victuals, there was hardly division of opinion
as to the proper disposition to be made oi him.
But the injured innocent could not wait forev-
er, and as was his constitutional right, he de-
manded that some reason should be shown why
he was restrained of his liberty. OF course
there was none, and he was set free. A cruel
sheriff, as civil officer, then arrested him on q
charge of treason, which was admitted to be
bailable offence, costing only q Presidents sal
ary for single term, which his sympathzers,
of whom Horace Greeley was proud to be the
first, quickly furnished, and the great and no
Bile man retired amid shower of bouquets and
the vivas of the people to his sumptuous apart
ments in the Capital of the Confederacy. It is
hardly expected that anything further will be
heard from his case, To prosecute the matter
further would be resented by great number
OF people as unnecessary cruelty to the uhioi-
tunate.
From the Rockland Ga-ette, May i7.l
AS to the treason of jeff Davis, it is little, II
any, worse than the treason OF other prominent
rebels. 1t is for the cruel,les ana Dafoaritles
that were perpetrated without excuse, under
the government" of which he was the head,
that he should be chiefly execrated. Even II,
as maa he has repentad of his guilt for these,
Of which we have no evidence, as n criminal
and the head of traitors he cannot Justly nor
safely be treated with respect and courtesy by
loyal citizens.
From the Biddeford Journal, May l7.l
Jeff Davis has been admitted to bail i'm the
sum of 100000. Horace Greeley is m liking a
fool of himself by his obsequious attendance
upon Jetl, in order to get notoriety.
[From the Hallowell Gazette, May ISL
jeff Davis, who has at length spent abou t
two wears of his unprofitable life in Fortress