The Portland daily press., 1870-07-04
"Thc siiunfion.o

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The last number of the Biddeford Journal
contains an editorial under the above caption,
on the result of the Congressional Convention
which met at Saco on Wednesday last, which
in style and spirit strongly resembles the
manifestos issued by the Southern fire eaters
Immediately after the nomination of Abraham
Lincoln, in 1860. The analogy goes still furth-
er. This Biddeford manifesto, like its South
ern prototypes, is an attempt by factious
minority to bully the majority out of the as
sertion and exercise of its legitimate rights.
The article bears internal evidence of the
same authorship as the manifesto issued by
Mr.. Butler .before the convention, and is I'M
doubtedy of the same fraternity.
We are not surprised that the Union. and
journal does not support the nominee of the
Convention, although it announced its inten-
ton to do so before it assembled; for knowing
as we do the indictive nature of the editor of
that journal, and the malignant spirit which
he had evnced toward Mr.. Lynchssince his
failure to obtain the appointment as Postmast-
er at Biddeford, we concluded that behind
this avowed intention of support, lay the men
tai reservation providing the candidate suits
me-
Bu. while we did not expect any real sup
port of the candidate nominated, we did ex
pect at least an acquiesence by protested
organ of the Republican party in the action of
regularly called, and fairly conducted Re-
publican Convention. We had a right to ex-
pect this much, because there is no precedent
to be found in the history of political parties
in the Northern States, of opposition to the
nominee of party, by an organ of the party,
simply and soly on sectional or local grounds !;
and because the very iexistence of political
organization depends upon its sustaining in
good faith the action of its own choice agen-
cies.
Assuming the pretended grounds of opposi-
sion by the Journal, to be the real ones, let
us.see how the case stands.
A Republican Convention is called by the
regularly constituted committee of the party
to nominate a candidate to represent the dis
trct in Congress. The toaons comprising the
district with the number of delegates to which
each is entitled, is appended to the call; and
these to,cns are invited to choose delegates to
represent them in Convention.
Was 1t not the intention and expectation
when the call was issued that these towns
should choose delegates to represent them and
that the aggregate of these town delegates in
Convention assembled should represent the
whole district and thus make manifest the
will of the whole people of the district by a
majority of their delegated representatives !?
Was it not expected and understood that the
Republican voters of every tOwn in the district
should have the right to express their prefer
ence for the man Of their choice and that the
candidate who received a majority of votes of
the Convention thus constituted would be con-
sidered the choice of the Republican parry of
the district and entitled to the support of
those who opposed as well as those who IA
vored his selection? No, according to the
Union and Journal, no such thing. On the
contrary the delegates to the Convention were
warned in advance--if not who they should.
at least who they should not nominate, and if
they disregarded the threat they did so at
their peril and must abide the consequences.
Is there any parallel to this presumption ex-
cept in the action of the Southern secession
lists? 1t matters not that the candidate NOM
mated had one-third of the towns and more
than one-fourth of the delegates in York
county; that he had more votes and more
towns in the Convention from York county
than any candidate residing in that county:
that nearly every one of those candidates pre-
ferred Mr.. Lynch to either of their rivals in
the county; that he would have carried the
county overwhelmingly over either of those
candidates singy; that he did have more
than nlne-tenths of all the votes cast in the
Convention and two-thrds of the full num-
Der oil delegates entitled to vote; that the
other third was divided between five comnet-
ing candidates upon neither of which on,d
be concentrated the strength of all; that No
exception is taken to the candidate selected
on personal grounds, no complaint made that
he does not faithfully, fairly and impartially
represent every section of the district; allth
and all these are, according to the Journal, of
no account, and imposes no obligations upon
those who took part in the Convention, or
the constituencies which they represented, to
support the candidate thus selected. If the
position taken by the Journal is to be sus-
tanned then political conventions are farce
and fraud upon the people, and the sooner
they are dispensed with the better And let
us tell the journal that it evinces but little
political sagacity when it talks about CARRYING