The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-08-22
~..,~rs nut to Mr.. Pend1eron by the
&ueS Peouie of U nine.

The people of Maine desire to know wheth-
or or not on the 18th day of June, 1864, Mr..
pendleton made an elaborate. speech in the
then pending in that body for the abolition of
slavery land whether or not he distinctly took
the ground that under the constitution sLAv-
cry COULD NOT BE ABOLISHED though an
amendment to that effect should be ratified by
three-fouths of the States?
Secondly, the people desire Mr.. Pendleton
to answer catego'ically, without subterfuge
or evasion, whether he has since changed his
views, or whether he holds that slavery has
not been abolished notwithstanding the due
ratification of the amendment, by three-iourtns
of the States? Does slavery still exist, or ala
YOU make an egregious blunder, MIR. Pehdie-
ton9 Your Southern followers do not regard
either the 18th or 14th amendments as valid
and rely upon you for authority.
Third, Do you propose TO pay the government
bonds in greenbacks? If so, and if your prop
osition is anything more. than a demagogue's
buncombe, you of course mean to pay them in
that currency nop and so begin to save inter-
est. This will necessitate the issue of over
TWO DllllOn OF greenDackS.
Fourth, Did you not in debate on the le-
BARTENDER act on the 18th OF June, 1867, make
use of these words: "Sir, it seems to me, that
in the language of the Constitution and the
weiebt of authority can settle any proposition
If is that Congress has not the poaoer to do that
achich it is proposed to be done By the provisions
Of the bala" Did you not say in the course of
that speech that "euery contract for the pay
ment Of money is in legal contemplation con-
tract for the payment of gold and silver coin9"
However You answer the last two
questions you place yourself in most I'M
comfortable position. You must answer both
in the affirmative, and so answering it appears
that you would have the government paw
creditor, promised, according to your own the
ory, repayment in gold, in promises to pay
which, according to your own theory, the go0-
er7anaent has no constitutional right to make
and are therefore null and uoid Do you come
to Maine to preach robbery to us, Sir? We
direct against you your own weapons prepared
by you for use against bill to issue only $780,
100000 of paper currency, as the only means of
paying our soldiers in the field .Greenbacks to
pay soldiers are unconstitutional, you say, but
to rob the public creditor let US have billions Of
them.
Fifth, Did not Vallandigham who has just
been nominated for Congress by the Demo-
Gratis of Ohio and the majority of your Demo-
cratic colleagues speak or vote with you on the
legal-tender act and by endorsing the Demo-
cratic platform are they not convicted of an
attempt to rob by their own words uttered at
that time?
Sixth, What did you do, Mr.. Pendleton
during the war, as a public man, to aid in the
suppression of the revolt? DID you strength
en- the hands of Lincoln's or of Davis admins
traitor? Were your words quoted most ap-
provingly at Washington or at Richmond?
Which army looked to you for aid and en-
couragement, Grants or Lees? In your re-
corded utterance, from the beginning to the
close of the war which is criticised and de-
nounced most severely, the proceedings of
the Federal or the Confederate government?
You must answer these questions, Mr.. Pen
dleton, to our satisfaction, squarely and fairly,
for the people of Maine will not accept as a
teacher of political truth man who believes
that the Institution of slavery, blasted by God
himself with lightning from Heaven, still ex-
lists; that the 100000 laborers, widows and or
phans who according to Seymour are CoMPUL-
sorry HOLDERS of government bonds at present
prices can be paid in "unconstituti onal" and
therefore void promises to pay; and that the
North was wrong and the South right in the
war for the preservation of the integrity of the
Union. Tonight you will have an opportuni-
ty to answer in your address to Seymour's
Friends" in this city. If you fail TO do it sat-
isfactorily you would have done far better to
the "lost cause" (Which is to be regained by
the election of Seymour and Blair) by re-
naming in the obscurity of your Ohio home.