The Portland daily press., 1869-06-25


Fourth PGgs-Postry; A Good Story Of q
Maine officer; Attempt to Burn Man in his
Own House; Fatal Prize Fight bils nl9as
denomination of Governor Cham
-iti sa. 'fsa ber1ain. 5d I9aH uEds
The nomination of General Chamberlain, as
the candidate of the Republican party Of
Maine, for Governor of the State, is an event
auspicious both for the party and the State.
None of our chief magistrates have done more
to confer distinction upon the office, than he
has done during his term, which the people
have Enthusiastically indicated wish to pro-
long 'Ai '''@ ~
Phere had been usage for some time pre-
vailing, for the incumbent Of the executive
chair to vacate it, upon having been honored
with third election. The people have sub
mitted, not that they did not wish TO retain in
the Office such public servants as Cony, Wash
burn the Morrills, and other able and popular
men, but because it has been hitherto such .
sacrifice for man Of large capacity to hold
the unpaid honor of the place, that when D
relief was asked for, it was felt unjust to with
hold it, Now that something has been done
towards endowing the Office in proportion to
its dignity and Importance, the people never
anxious to dismiss q faithful public servant,
will mot hesitate to establish new usage In
favor of Governor, whose administration has
been as useful 10 the State as it has been hon
orable to himself
At the present time the denomination of
Gen. Chamberlain was simply political me-
eessity. He stood In the State Just as Gen.
Grant did in the nation, clothed with such q
prestige, that the slightest sagacity recognized
not only his availability, but his indispensa-
bility. Not to have renominated him, after,
upon the solicitation of influential citizens, be
consented to revise his determination to de-
cline, was to peril the ascendancy OF the Re.
publican party, by throwing outside Of it and
into spontaneous movement of the people at
large, the great advantage the Republican par
ty had derived from his popularity. .l5 an
How strong that popularity was, and is, the
jealous and sincere men, who have undertaken
the task of multiplying themselves and ex-
tending their fair influence over the State by
this time know experimentally,l They can but
say how strong his hold was on the affections
OF the citizens of the State, who have tried SO
assduously to shake it off - ~
To specify the elements of strength in such
candidate is not difficult With good in
tellect trained by liberal culture, he could
adorn the platform or the lecture room with
the graces of his eloquence, and the resour-
ces of his scholarship. His patriot services
in the war entitled him to our gratitude. and
there was the attraction Of heroism, connected
with bis brilliant military campaign, cut short
by the catastrophe of q, nearly fatal wound.
he came back from the cruel war, Names
quota OF the glory, which 50 many young men,
of whose nobility the country would never
have known, but Tor the bravery, with which,
for its sake, they encountered wounds and
death, brought to exalt and make more honora-
bic all the dull and dfeary routine of Anne rican
political and official life In the spirit Of this
new era Of young men, upon which the State
and country have happily come, Gov Cham
berlain has entered upon hisa official duties s--g
Whatever by pen and tongue, by judicious adj
vice and blameless example, could be done tol
promote public morality, liberal; and, Christian
feeling, to repress crime, 70 promote, public
education, and to develepe the productive and; |
industrial interests of the State, he has done. |
Loyal, republican, and radical in all his politi-
cal opiniens, he has remembered that his rela-yl
tions were to the people rather than to partyal
and without narrow apartizanship, he has ad-l
ministered the government so as to gain the
confidence and respect of all parties. .n4iassACd
We dohnot overlook the fact that he had A
most earnest and determined opponents. who
have been able to convey through the organs
OF public sentiment, a claror of protest, en-
tirely disproportioned to their numbers. ssIisel
We are in no mood to discuss with these
men the question Of the Justice Of their accu-
satiens. They certainly differed with the Gov
ernor, we presume sincerely, upon some ques-
tons Of public policy. But their controversy /
was not fairly SO much with him, as with the
public opinion, which he only too faithfully
represented Upon the matter Of capital pun
ishment, about which in certain theological |
schools OF opinion so intense a feeling was
cherished, his hesitancy to adopt their theories,
was not so much the obstacle, as two success
siye legislatures, who, influenced by the social
revulsions everywhere produced by the great
outbreaking Of crimes, refused to diminish the
terror of committing crimes, and were more
and more confirmed in their doubts by the thor
ough discussion called out by the proposition.
IL is harder to discover the j1stness OF sad
ding upon the Governor the punishment for |
thwarting the plans Of the extreme prohibi-
tionists TO take the execution Of the liquor 1
laws nom the usual law officers and give it to
an inquisatorial board, when this project was
prevented by the Legislature, persuaded by
the counsels Of the most eminent and oldest
friends of temperance throughout the State,
the Governor having NO opportunity, even un-
Officially, to indicate his own opinion Of the
proposed measure. 1t was natural that SO Fee
BILE an accusation should have been re-enforcedl 4
with an equally groundless one of want of per
sonal conformity to "a habit OF strict temper
ance, an accusation the only EFFECT of which,
upon nine-tenths of the Republican party was
toraise the question, whether line SO rigorous
as to exclude the party chief from fellowship
as temperance man. would not exclude with
him SO large following OF the party as to |
make new definitions desirable liaso.ils9-
But tive have nodisposition, now that the per-
sonal qualifications and public conduct of our /
distinguished fellow citizen have been passed |
upon BY q convention of his political friends, |
TO complain of the spirit in which these accu-
sations have been pressed For once, politi- |
cal controversy has been conducted inside of /
the party itself, in style of such undiplomatic
frankness and openness, as to leave no one /
just cause for finding fault with OF. attempting
to appeal from the decision. -
A STRANGE STORY comes from the editorial