Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1867-04-23
lcommunicated.l
Mr.. McNamee Defines his Position.

either write or speak in defense of
his loyalty. Yet such at present |
consider my disagreeable duty. But
it Is only for those of my neighbors
whom | have always considered and
wish to retain as such, that make
this explanation or defense, in as
much as am no speech maker, and
would find it impossible to address
them in crowd. But to come to
particulars: At the regular caucus
| held before the town election | was
nominated for justice and assessor
This | took as matter of course, as
the town of Mt. Hope is witness that
both offices were forced on me last
year. On the day of election it was
found that an opposition ticket had
been got up, most loyalty styled "the
Union Town Ticket" leaving it to be
inferred, of course, that the first tick
ct was anything but union. 1t was
all right to have second ticket. The
men proposed were well able to dis
charge the duties of the several otfi-
ces to which they were nominated.
Most of them had never held an office
in the the town and it was right they
should take their turn. Opposition is
always the life of any election If con-
Quoted in right spirit. | am sorry
to say the opposition at our town
election displayed anything but a
proper spirit. A young gentleman
who | thought ought to know better
denounced me as a id copper
head. One of my friends gave him
the lie, as | would most assuredly
have done had l heard him. He did
not notice the reply until he went
into the crowd and got a few Of his
ilk to back him up, when he sudden
ly discovered that his honor bad
been most foully insulted-that the
lie must be taken back &C., and had
it not been for the timely interior
ence Of more peaceably disposed per
sons, there would undoubtedly have
been an exhibition of pugilistic
knowledge. will just say for the
benefit Of said young gent that altho'
physical cowardice is none of my fail
ings, | always prefer to seek redress
at law when such can be obtained,
than to attempt to get it by brute
force 1t was in coming home
from the election that [ was inform
ed that my opponents had made cap
ital of the fact that / had permitted
my name to be placed on the demo-
cratic ticket for Assemblyman last
fall. Now | think | was sufficiently
explicit in my reply to the gentlemen
who nominated me to satisfy any rea
sonable man. | am not bound to any
party name, and further, never will
be. | thought if the democrats ac~
cepted me as an Independent in poll
tics, they would of course vote for
me, whilst on the other hand, as /
considered my loyalty unquestioned,
[ thought | would receive cohsidera-
BILE help from the republicans, and es-
pecially the soldiers vote. And as
there is always undercurrent of
vanity in every mans disposition, |
fiattered myself that | would possi-
bly, make quite respectable mems
Der Of the Assembly. But the voters
of this district thought differ
ent and of course they knew best.
| always voted with the democrat
ic party up to the time the war broke
out, because | believed it to be the
true party, and that it had the well
fare of the country at heart. Since
then | believe the greater part of
them have proven false to the great
principles of democracy. But how>
ever that may be, | am sure there is
less blatant hypocrisy among them
than you will find in the republican
ranks.
If was copperhead, that is to
say, false and traitorous to the gov
eminent that sheltered me when /
fled from the penury and persecution
of my native land-false to the gov~
eminent that invested me with all
the rights and privileges of citizen
the best, the greatest government
on the face of the earth, what was
to hinder me from running away to
"work for the government, as some
of my neighbors did? Or to Canada
or Europe, like a great many others
or by making little effort, rake up
money enough to buy substitute
No, | choose rather to go and take
my place among the brave defend
ers OF their country, because knew
tn cause was just. l was always OPP
posed to the $500 clause in the draft
Law. / was opposed to taxing the
town to pay for volunteers because
| did think it right that the property
OF absent soldiers should be taxed to
enable their equals to stay at home,
and because | thought that rich and
poor should go together and work
tremendously for the defense of their
country.
Since the war closed | have been
of the opinion, that in consideration
of the viIlainy of the South, in kick
ing up that most causeless rebellion,
in consideration of the billion of debt
imposed on the country, and, above
all, in consideration of the thousands
of lives, precious lives, lost in the
struggle to maintain the independ>
ance of the country, | think that no
punishment can be too heavy for it
and | think that it would be no more
than simple justice, if jeff Davis and
the rest of the rebel leaders were