The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-01-29
DAILY PRESS.
Wednesday Morning, January 90, 1853.

PORTLAND.

Gov. Patton of Alabama Fest Case.
The brief summary of the PROCEEDINGS of
the Senate on the bill for the relief from NO.
litical disabilities, of Robert NJ. Patton. Pro-
visional Governor of Alabama, given in our
dispatches yesterday morning, is peculiarly
instructive. 1t is a revelation, or ought to be
SO, to those honest people who believe that
Hendricks, Buckalew, Davis &c Co., are patri-
otc statesmen who are doing their utmost to
bring North and South together once more in
peace and harmony. Patton has been rebel.
When the President began to carry out his
policy, he pardoned him, and made him Gov
ernor of Alabama. Still, having been before
the war the incumbent of official positions
which required him to take the oath to sup
port the Constitution OF the United States.
and haying afterwards engaged in the rebel
lion, he was, by the terms of the reconstruc-
ton acts, one of the disfranchsed. But
Patton was not an obstinate egotist, like the
Governors of the ne.ghboring States of Mis-
sissippi and Georgia. Once rebel, ALWAYS
rebel, is the motto Of Messrs. Humphreys and
Jennings, but not of Patton. Instead of put
ting on the gloves and fighting the constitu-
tional convention, snubbing it at every turn
and locking it out of the treasury, as his
neishbor of Georgia did, Gov. Patton afforded
that body every facility in his power for the
speedy completion and for the success of its
work He made himself valuable coadjutor
instead of an obstacle. Therefore the con-
vention petitioned Congress to restore him to
the rights of citizenship, joining with him a
large number of others who had taken the
same wise course. A bill was framed in the
Senate designed to comply with the wishes
of the petitioners. .e ls.
On Monday, it was called up by Mr.. Stew
art of Nevada, radical Republican. At the
time of this writing we have but the most
meager outline of the debate, but it appears
that that ideal bore, from Kentucky, Garret
Davis, at once denounced Mr.. Patton. Ac-
cording to the garrulous old Kentuckian. all
who come, like the beneficiary Of the bill, and
claim Of Congress immunity from proscrip-
ton on account of their submission to its
laws, are "double-headed traitors" Mr.. Stew
art thought not. In his opinion the differ
ence between Patton and others who had
been pardoned by the President was that the
former was penitent and the others were not.
He appealed to the Southern people to do
likewise, and Congress would gladly receiue
them. Then the bill passed by vote of 25
yeas to 5 nays,-Davis, Buckalew and Hen
bricks voting III the negative. 81
Never were men placed in more awkward
position than the Democratic Senators in the
case above described. They put themselves
forward as the especial champions Of the op-
pressed whites of the South. But as soon as
Congress begins to remove the cause of COM
plant, their thunder is all gone, and they are
consequently enraged when the very thing
comes to pass which they profess to desire.
Such action gives the lie to all their protesta-
tions respecting the hatred, the deep-seated
malice, and the diabolical vindctiveness of
that party. They know not what to do, and
SO do the worst thing possible-vote against
the relief of penitent rebels, while they pro
fess to desire, and do desire, the relief of i'm
penitent rebels. Their mask is torn off-they
are pronounced wolves, and not sheep at all
except in the dullness of their apprehension
But they will not escape with this trial; many
similar experiences await them. Hundreds
of the disffanchised have been recommended
by loyal blacks and whites Of the South ior
favors like those solicited for Mr. Patton.
Henc. Democratic Congress1nen are likely to
be in hot water for the rest of the session.