The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1875-08-26
Senator Morton Answered.
from the Boston Post |


scoring OF his matchless assurance; hold
inc him up as an able political mounte-
bank, but putting him down as an incapa-
BILE in logic, whether he touched the
finances, the Constitution OF our dual Gov
eminent, or the Just relation of the once
rebellious States to the Union. He dis |
cussed the speech of his colleague in Ohio
in reference to its three chief points, name
ly, the Republican doctrine of concentra
ton in the Federal Government, the pre-
valent sentiment of the South, and the
currency, If there is anything left of Sen
ator Morton besides the peerless impu
dence with which he presents himself to
the people on both sides OF question, it
is wholly invisible. On the subject OF
the character of our republican and fed
erative system Of government, Senator
Mcdonald declared himself unwilling to
take the definitions of Republicans as his
own. but was content with those OF jeff
erson, which approach as nearly to the
scientific as is possible in politics. And
while Mr. Morton asserts in the most pos
tive manner that 'this Government was
formed by the people in their aggregate
capacity as a people, and therefore that
in all things it is supreme An imperial
republic, consolidated Government -
Mr.. Mcdonald proclaims the opposite doc
trine at once purely republican and pure
" federative, that ''the sovereign States
of this Union surrendered certain of their
powers to form q more perfect union, that
| we might be represented as one people in
| our intercourse with foreign nations, and
| that it might be the means of prcscrv
ing domestic tranquility, after which the
| rest of the powers belonging to sovereign
| Governments We're reserved to them
So long as this simple plan OF government
| is maintained said Senator Mcdonald, we
| shall have not only liberty and union. bat
peace and happiness, The Republican
party doctrine is one Of a strong central
Government, and It is precisely that doc
! trine which ten years ago substituted re-
| construction for restoration and has kept
| the country in trouble ever since. Fortu-
| nately the Centennial is at hand to sweep
| it all away. 1t is amusing to witness the
manner in which the speaker SHOWS up
Morton's quickness in changing positions
! on public questions. AT the end of the war
he held, with President Lincoln, that no
State could secede rom the Union; that
once in the Union, always in the Union )"
| and lie openly defended President John
son in Indiana tor adhcring to his prede-
cessors theory. But as soon as ne got TO
Washington having been elected to the
Senate N the interim, he put himself IN
the very front of those who advocated
reconstruction, which he had himself
! previously defined to the people OF lndl-
ana to be the holding of the rebellous
States 'out of the Union, and subject to
the jurisdiction Of Congress, like uor-
ganizcd Territories. No public man il
| the equal OF Senator Morton in the tacill-
| ty with which he changes either back
wards or forwards, or in the bold and
shameless assurance with which he de
tends it as if it We're pure consistency.
| The voters of Maine know in advance
| what kind OF u man it is who is about to
represent the Administration before them.
| AS to the charge of Mr.. Morton that the
| Democratic party trusts no man as a lead
| er who took part in suppressing the rebel
lion, Mr.. Mcdonald simply points him to
! the cases of Gen. Ewing, Gen. Morgan
| and Durbin Ward, in Ohio, all Democratic
| leaders to-day and to Gen. Manson, Gen.
Slack and Col j. W Williams, in Indiana
-Morton's own party procuring the pa
| role of soldiers in 1864 to 60 to Indiana to
vote against the veteran Gen. Manson
whom the Democrats placed on the State
ticket, while he himself stayed ut the front
and was defeated in this way al the polls.
Since then he has been elected by the De-
mocrats to Congress- But this is cheap
stuff, even from one so hard pushed for
campaign material as Mr. Morton. When
Senator Mcdonald contronts his tortuous
colleague on the currency question, the
latter collapses utterly. Neither his logic
nor his views bear serious examination.
And the record Of the Republican party is
made to tel its own true story to the peo-
pie of Ohio in this canvass After having
issued paper money and made it legal
tender under the plea of q supreme neces-
sity, it has taken no step for ten years past
to bring that paper up to par with coin.
1t has theorized and tinkered, and in the
days of Boutwell, and Richardson quidded
with the question, expanding after con-
traction was well under way, and keeping
business of all kinds in doubt up to this
very day. Directly after the panic it I'M
dertook the idle experiment Of equaliziug
| the currency that is, of withdrawing it from
the States that had the most in order to give
it to those which had the least as it. like wa
| ter, it wouldnot speedily find its level again
Then Senator Morton rushed to New y ork
to advise the illegal issue of the Sl4 ,000,-
600 for the purpose of arresting the panic
Then when Congress assembled soon after,
the Republican party passed a relief bill,
which the President vetoed. Finally, last
winter it passed what it continues to style
specie resumption bill, of which Senator
Morton has recently said in Ohio that it
was practically neither for contraction nor
expansion, but proposed to maintain the
volume of currency where it is. Yet, said
Senator Mcdonald, it puts sufficient power
into the hands ofthe Secretary oftheTreas-
ury to bring alb out resumption by increas-
ing the public debt bytwo hundred millions