The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-07-14
ma,x nriuori.les Cenrrol nIaiorities.

4
That only is stable government, which is |
inspired by the consenting sanction Of a ma
jority Of the people, These are salutatory,
practical, and permanent laws, which are
supported by a decisive prependerance Of pub
lie opinion. But minorities, single scots, iso-
lated schools Of opinion sometimes contriye to
affect public measures, and even to get laws
enacted, that are. satisfactory to themselves,
distasteful and even pernicious in the we" OF
everybody else. They do this by the exer-
else of the power of protest, which sometimes
In the near balance of parties gives an eccen-
trio opinion o Fictitious Importance. -. :.
For instance a few men in different parts Of
the State will refuse probably to vote for Gov
ernor Chamberlain because they unjustly attrib'
ute TO his influence the fact that capital pun
ishment was not abolished last year. They
have a perfect right to do this. Ordinarily that
very purpose preanllounced would have had
the effect to prevent his nomination. But for
the extraordinary popularity of Gen. Cham
berlain, the convention would have said,
here is man for whom few of our friends
will not vote, and therefore let us agree upon
an equally honest, able, and true man for whom
all will vote And SO the minority opinion
sistence and refusal to accommodate. But
what do such caleuiators presuppose? just
this. That my conviction is dearer to me than
yours is to you; that when make my notion
sine qua aon you win be polite enough not
to insist upon yours; that when I have got a
candidate that echoes my opinion, everybody
else is to give way and vote for him though he
is deadly hostile to them. And there is reason
for the expectation; for we presume, there is
not supporter of our present candidate, who
would give mis- views on the criminal code as
reaton for supporting him, and who would not
vote for him just as cheerfully, if he belonged
to the opposite school. Indeed the great body
of men who believed in the necessity of capital
punishment voted cheerlully for Governor
Washburn, and supported his administration
in perfect understanding that upon this ques-
ton his judgment, differed from theirs. So it
was both wise and fair for the Convention to
say, as they virtually, did: upon all questions
outside the Fundamental creed of the party we
cannot allow the candidate to be judged. He
may favor or oppose woman's suffrage, capt.
tai punishment, aconstabulary law, he may be
a Baptist, a Universalist, or a sceptic These
issues are not raised in our organization. If
hey were, tits manifest that entrelynew COM
binations would result, and We should not be !
here to select candidate at all If the candi-
date loses votes on account of any other opin-
ions than those that make him a Republican
he must make them up from those who coin
eide with himin such other opinions or fall
behind. Doubtless the same arguments will be
used in selecting candidates Tor Senators and
Representatives. The new opinion is always
the aggressive, the challenging one The old
opinion is quiet, conservative good tnatured
trusting in the popular inertia osl8dse Ell
Look out for raw schemes of Legislation,
that have never been submitted to any inyes-
tigation bnt that of partisan discussion, in
some local conelaves. Look out for candidates
selected in such conclaves for such specific
legislation. Let the discretion and good sense
OF the party be represented in the candidate
and not the schemes of any clique. Do not be
imposed upon by the representation, that if
some upright, temperate, intelligent and iinfiu-
entail Republican is put in nomination, GER
tain men, who are determined to try some new
experiments, will not vote for him.. If the
popular opinion of the locality favors such ex-
periments, it is right that it should be repre-
scented in the legislature. If not, it has no
right to procure representation by any fac
tious action. Trust your candidate to the con-
stituency; there viii be more than enough
votes to make good all that he loses, if it is
openly proclaimed why he is obnoxious asf
Any legislation procured by any surprises,
strategies, any stealing Of marches. any tam
pering with the known convictions of the peo-
pie at large, is mschievous in itself, breaks the
integrity Of parties, interrupts the harmony Of
neighborhoods, and is sure to be repealed Ey-
cry man Of any sagacity knows that the thing
to do, is not by hook or crook to get law upon
the statute book, but to abstain from enacting
even ideally good laws, until fair and full |
discussion has commended them to the conf |
dence of the majority, and until, without mis-
giving or qualification an intelligent public |
opinion comes spontaneously to their support |
A law is only permanent it only has the au-
thority of law in free country, when it repre-
sents the popular morality, the exact level to |
which the average sense OF justice and right |
has reached ia the State.