The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-02-28
Mr.. Atkinson Of E,nsIem !,


1t is very trite remark that authors are
greatly indebted to proof-readers, and orators
to reporters, for the perfect felicity which
marks their finest utterances. Mr. Willism
Atkinson, who represents Emden in the
State Legislature. is an exception to the rule
We have already given some specimens O,
TINS gentleman's eloquence, when he led the
House in its virtuous opposition to the So
called reform measures touching the usury
and marriage laws, and it is due to truth to
say, that the reporter has evidently done very
little for him. Gliding refined gold has been
esteemed waste Of labor, but the attempt to
burnish one of Mr.. Atkinson's sentences
would be still greater presumption. The
ancients used to speak of milking a he-goat
into sieve as particularly Improbable kind
of industry; but an attempt to clarity Mr..
Atkinson's logic would be if possible even
more hopeless. The reporter has wisely
thought it best to content himself with sim
ply recording the striking utterances of the
member from Emden. zHa1m a7.IHa
Mr.. Atkinson's last effort was speech
upon the resolve in favor of Bickford c.
Matthews. This venerable resolve has been
so long before the successive Legislatures,
that the memory Of man runneth not TO the
contrary. It is a claim against the town of
Liberty--for what, nobody exactly remem-
bers. 1t is Of twenty years. standing, ac-
cording to one statement. Mr.. Frye of Lew
iston, wha has heard the results of three in
vestigations. undertook to give history OF
the matter, but evidently did not succeed in
making it ineligible to the reporter, who
simply says that 'Mr. Frye gave history
and does not even try to repeat it. We COPY
Mr.. Atkinson's luminous speech upon this
subject. in full, from the record, as follows
Mr.. Atkinson went for this resolve on the
broad ground that the State is bound to guar
antee to every citizen recompense for every i'll
jury done by miSfeasances and malfeasances
of officers of the State. He thought we was
bound to make good this injury to Mr.. Mat
theWs. He himself had been robbed of over
hundred thousand dollars by vampires, by
techn'cabilities, and knew of six times that
amount that had been stolen in the same way
The ex post facto clause of the federal and
State constitutions applies exclusively to
criminal cases, and ifaDy lawyer attempts to
kite in arguing the point. Mr.. Atkinson con-
tinued eloquontly advocating law reform.
"Tecnnicabilities" is positively delicious; 1t
is even worthy Of the exalted genius of Mr..
Charles Yellowplush himself. Mr.. Atkinson
we observe speaks with the feeling of fellow
sufferer, and believes that the State ought not
only to pay MIR. Matthews claim but to restore
his own hundred thousand dollars spirited
away by the ''misfeasances and malfeasances''
Of officers of the State. The orators lofty
scorn for the lawyers is quite proper and be-
coming. Amy lawyer who would undertake
to argue constitutional question with Mr..
Atkinson would deserve to be knocked not on
ly higher than kite but in our opinion high
er than the celebrated old COW that jumped
over the moon. y
With all possible Difference, we take leave
to suggest that Mr.. Atkinson Is perhaps mis-
taken about the circumstances of the robbery
"by technicabilities." We understand him
to say that vampires" carried off cool hum
dred thousand of his money. Now in the first
place the naturalists say that the great bats
with two-toot wings, like winged rats, which
are called vampires, are only found in the trop-
ical regions of America. Secondly, even if
the creatures are found in Maine, we never
heard of their occupying offices of trust or
emolument in the State, and it is of the mis-
feasances and malfeasances OF officers of the
State that Mr.. Atkinson complains Thirdly,
although the bats have been accused of suck
ing the blood of men and brutes, thereby caus-
ing their death, like enlarged and improved
mosquitoes or professional Sangradoes, this
accusation is now believed to have been mere
SANDER, and it has never been even limited
that they were concerned in speculative oper-
atlons such as Mr.. Atkinson calls robbery 1t
Is due to the vampires to say therefore, that
Mr.. Atkinsons loss canr OF be charged upon
them, with any show of probability. 1t is
the "technicabilities," we think, which are to
blame. These we suspect to be certain flaws
and imperfections in the system of laws by
which we are governed, and which putting
sluggish and an active wit on the same level
of equal opportunity really gives an advantage
to the latter Mr. Atkinson proposes to re-
form all this, and we wish him all the success
his project deserves.