The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-03-05
Henry Clay Dean.


Rebels, it seemed, were to take back seats
Yet at the dinner table, the special correspon-
dent of the Boston Advertiser heard an Iowa
Democrat say to New York delegate, an old
line Wing, "Well, s'pose you all mean to
ike hold in your State and work right along
with the Democratic party, don't you?" ana
tie Wing replied, ooh, yes; we shall WORK
right along with you" The common sense Oh
the country pronounced the coh'en'ioh
d Democratic masquerade, and so IKE al sllaihs
and hypocrisies it fell into con'ehp' anu oD-
livion. 3d.
While the Democratic leaders were playing
th;s rearing farce of "The Foul Penitent, or
the Reformed Copperhead," there were three
men who were not allowed to come upon the
stage These were Clement L. Vallandigham,
Fernando Wood and Henry Clay Dean
Wood had sense enough to take hint quietly
and keep away. Dean had not at that time
influence enough to make any serious trouble.
Vallandigham after strenut us contest, was
compelled to retire, yielding as he said his
own deliberate conviction of duty and right TO
the almost unanimous opinion and desire OF
his friends. These men were ruled out of the
convention because their sympathy with the
rebellion had been so frank and outspoken
that their appearance alone would have mark
ed the meeting as a gathering of the rebel
| clans. The mere fact that they wanted to get
in, as it turned out, was enough to ruin the eff
feet of the whole performance.
This Dean had first achieved a national rep
utation two years before at the Chicago con-
vention. From the report OF his speech on
that occasion we take the following passages,
often republished. Their authenticity so far
we know, has never been denied or disputed
| Speaking of the Presidents call for reinforce
ments for our armies Mr. Dean said:
Since the day when Ahasuerus issued his
| edict for the murder of the Jewish nation, a
| more gigantic crime has not been recorded
than the recent edict of the ignorant baboon
at Washington, calling for half million more
of your sons and brothers, for fresh immola.
| ton to the Abolition god.
But with all the vast armies placed at his
| Up sident Lincoln'sl command, he had failed
failed ! failed failed ]! Such a failure
has never been known. Such destruction OF
human life has never been known since the
destruction Of the army of Sennacherib by the
| breath of the Almighty. And still the mon
! Ster usu'per wants more men for his slaughter
| pens. - ... tu ssq
The Judgment and good taste of Mr.. Deans
characterization of the President we pass in
silence, simply calling attention to his passion.
ate opposition to the reinforcement of our ar
mics. There had been hard fighting that sum
iner. Grant had enveloped Richmond with
his forces; Sherman was before Atlanta and
Farragut's fleet in Mobile bay. Our brave
boys were looking northward, for the rein
forcements upon which their salvation and
A.. 81 l,o IL
at such time that Dean flung himself in the
way and insisted that they should be sacrifc-
ed! What wonder then that he should now
| speak of them as he is said to have spoken re.
! Gently in New Hampshire where he is now
openly owned and put forward as their expo
nent by the Copperhead Democracy. We
have seen in the Concord No nitor, the Bos-
| ton Transcript, Advertiser and Journal, the
New York Commercial Advertiser, aud in the
great majority of Republican papers, the fol-
lowing extract from speech of Mr.. Deans
delivered on the stump in New Hampshire:
III could have my way would place JEFF.
Davis in Congress, where he rightfully be-
longs; then 1 would go to Concord, take all
those miserable battle flags from the State
| House, and make a bonfire of them in the
| State House yard; then would go all through
| the North and destroy all the monuments and
gravestones erected to the memory of soldiers
| in short, would put out of sight everything
| which reminds us that we ever had war with
| our Southern brethren. I do not Eraow as
,oould han q one-leggedi and one-arnaed soldiers
bat aooutd pray to God to get them out of our
aC0y dslS00n as possible.
That man, who in 1864 was willing to sac
rifce our soldiers by leaving them unsupport-
ed to fall before rebel bayonets should now be
almost willing to hang them for achieving
their glorious victory, is net inconsistent.
Nevertheless if Mr.. Dean had written to us
when we copied this passage into the Press
and stated explicitly that he had never used
such language, we should have made the cor
rection with the utmost pleasure. Mr.. Dean,
it appears, is unaccustomed to dealing with
gentlemen Instead of taking the only direct
and manly course to set himself right, he sends
the following document, which he calls "a
card to the Argus, from which we copy it:
To the Editor of the Portland argus:
CARD.
Dear Sir:-In the Friday issue OF the port
land Press" observe very clumsy tissue of
unfounded fabrications,-the purest mess of
malicious falsehoods purporting to be my re-
marks made in speech they neither date nor
locate
Malicious lies SO base need never be an
swered.
learn that the editor of the paper referred
to is an insignificant creature of corruption who
keeps his diminutIve soul and contemplate
body together by doing the scavenger work of
the most vile, hypocritical and mercenary band
of libertines and sneak thieves who ever dis
graced human nature by wearing the human
form.
The object of this note is not even to notice
the vermn who suck their subsisten ce from
the diseased body polite; but to say once for
| all, that no falsehoods they may fabricate
about myself will excite any other emotions
than that of pity, scorn and contempt
1t is to these creatures q privilege which
shall not interrupt
Let dogs delight to bark and bite
For God hath made them So"
And long experience has demonstrated the
fact that no dog law can be made sufficiently
stringent to prevent puppies from barking at
gentlemen.
am very truly your obedient servant,
HENRY CLAY DEAN.
To such language this there is of course
no reply to be made:
Qui couche des chens, leye DIES puces.
The Star says IF anybody had ever had
any doubt whether he made such speech, he
could hardly have it after reading this letter;
at least it is very apparent it would be
such speech as he world be likely to
Make" which we suppose win be the gen.
eral verdict. The Argus apologies for Dean
on the ground that he has mistaken his
man."