The Portland daily press., 1869-04-26
rhe Lit,Ie RehelIion in nIontx,IIe.

Montville is Republican town. There is
no doubt whatever about that. As weh de-
ny the demise of the late lamented Marley.
But Montville, assembled in solemn town
meeting-that best, most perfect and most
cherished instrumentality of pure democracy
has voted not to raise "demnition" copper
to pay the war debt of the municipality Such
is simple statement of the case. But Mr..
j. w. Knowlton, alias Judge Knowlton, has
written to the Belfast Progressive Age of the
reason for the towns extraordinary conduct
He says the good people have concluded that
until the law is SO changed that governments
bonds in .he hands of wealthy and unpatrlotc
holders can be taxed, it is not incumbent upon
them to make any exertion to liauidate the
demands AGAINST the town. And here we are
almost tempted to duplicate the Advertisers
celebrated mot "who is Mr.. Knowlton?' "a
singular query as applied to Rev. Ebenezer
Knowiton, an ex-member of Congress, and an
active and very efficient partizan OF Mr.. Nor
rill in the recent Senatorial contest) Per-
haps Mr.. Knowlton was not correctly inform
ed as to the grounds Of the action concerning
which he writes, since he has his bright home
not in Montville, but in Liberty. But if he is
right, and If the decision of the Montvillians
had reference to anything more than the tenn
porary exigencies of local finance, the people
are decidedly wrong, and will realize their er-
ror as soon as they have properly investigated
the subject. Admitting for the moment that
all the bondholders are sefsh and design
ing men, who by virtue of a miraculous
foresight anticipated the issue OF the
rebellion and knew that the invest
ment in government securities would be-
immensely profitable, and bought them
without shadow of patriotic motive,-ad-
mitting all this, the people of Montvills do not
begin to make out a case in their favor even
on equitable grounds They would not think
as honest individuals OF disputing the claim of
a creditor because he had driven a hard bar
gain with them. They would not devise cum
ming schemes for depriving him of what they
had promised to pay. But on legal grounds
their case is still weaker. The creditors of the
town have demands against it which may be
enforced in the courts in default of voluntary
payment while the bondholders have a solemn
contract made with them by the supreme leg
islative authority of tho United States, to pro-
tect them from taxation. But when in addi-
tion to this it is remembered that the majority
Of the bondholders are not incarnate fiends,
that they did not invest in government securi-
ties with uniformly selfish motives, that they
ran 30 great risk that Copperheads believed
them madly following the road to certain bank
ruptsy and that the government was hardly
able to raise money enough for its purposes
even upon the liberal terms it offered, it will
be seen that Montville has acted most incon-
siderately. That it has done so is not matter
Of great importance in itself, but it has been
magnided by Democratic papers into an in
cipient rebellion. 1t is confidently predicted
that other towns will follow the example Of
Montville and that the people generally are on
the point of recanting as herssy the idea OF
the inviolability of the bonds which they have
but recently affirmed at the polls. Ifthe event
had any such significance as that, it would in
deed be portentous, but nobody, unless it is q
Democratic Bourbon, believes it.