Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1877-11-22
PAINE E!gLICATED.
krScrsoiI's Reply 40 the New Yor.
Observer.

Did Thomas Pa;ne live the life Of
dranhen beast. auti d. he die drunilel
cowardly ana Lrasgi.y ,.e;,lh?
Upon you rests the burden of substar
tiaiing these infamous charges.
You have. | suppose, produced the hcS
evi lcncc in your possession. anu that cvi
dence will now proceed to examine
Your first witness is Grant Thorburn. IL,
makes three charges against Thomas Pane
lst. That his wife obtained divorce
from him in England tor cruelty and neg.
lect.
2d. That he was deflul.er and fled from
England TO America.
81. That lie WAS dlllnkard.
These three charges stand upon the same
evidence the word of Grant Thorbllrn.
If they are not all true Mr.. Thorb,lrn
st - l.; cached.
Tie charge that Mrs. Paine obtained a
divorce on account OF the cruelty and neg
lect of her husband is uttc,l, false. There
is no s!lch record in the world. and never
WAS. Pine and las wifi. separated by NH
tu:tl consent. Each respected tie other.
They remained friends. This charge is
without foundation in fact. | challenge
, the Christian world to produce the record
OF this decree of divorce. According to
Mir. Thorbu,n it WAS granted in England
In that country public records are kept of
| all such DEGREES. Have The Kindness to
produce this decree showing that ii was
given on account of cruclty or admit that
Mr. ThOrburn was mistaken.
Thomas Paine was Il just man. Although
separated from his wife. he always spoke
of her with tenderness and respect. ANA
frequently sent hcrmoney without letting
her know the source from whence it came.
Was this the conduct OF a drunken beast:
The second charge. that Paine was Il de
flulter in Enpland and fled to America is
equally false. lie did not flee from Eng
land. He came TO America. not rs Il filyl-
tive. but as free man. He c;lne with
letter of introduction signed by another
lntidcl. Benjamin Franklin. He came as Il
soldier of freedman apostle Of Liberty.
In this second charge there is not one
word of truth.
lie held a small Office in England. If he
was Il dctaillter the records of that country
will show that fact
Mr.. Thorbtlrn. unless the record can be
produced to substantiate him, stands con-
victed of at least two mistakes.
Now as TO the third: He says that in 1902
Paine was an ''old remnant of mortality.
drunk. bloated and half asleep /
Can any one believe this to be true ac-
count of the personal appearance Of Mr.. !
Paine in 1902: He had just returned from
France. lie had been welcomed home by
Thomas Jefferson. who had said that he
was entitled to the hospitality of every
American.
In 1902 Mr. Paine was honored with
public dinner in the city of New York lie
was called upon and treated with kindness
and respect by such men as Dewitt Clin-
ton.
In 1906 Mr.. Paine wrote letter to An I
drew 4. Dean upon tie subject of religion.
Read that letter and then say that the
writer of it was an "Old remnant of NOR
tality, drunk, bloated and half asleep"
Search the files of the NeaD York Observer
from the .irst issue to The last and you viii! /
find nothing superior 10 his letter.
liz 1903 Mr. Paine wrote a letter of con
length. and Of 9reat force. TO lis .
friend Samuel Adams Such letters are .
not written D, drunken beasts. nOrby rem
nlntS Of Old mortality. nor by drunkar,!s. I,
1t WAS ab0ul the SAME iiNie that he wrote
his Remarks on Robert I.alrs Sermons"
These "Remarks'' were not written by a
drunken beast. but by Il clear-headed and
thoughtful man.
In 1904 lie published an essay on the IN
vasion of England. and a treatise on o,ln-
boats, full Of valuable maratime informo-
tion-in 1905. a treatise on yellow fever.
modes of prevention. In short.
he was an industrious and thOupbtful man
lie sympathized with the poor and op-
pressed Of all lands. He looked unon
as species of physical slavery,
He had the courage to give his reasons for
his opinion. His reasons filled the churches
with hatred. Instead of answering his
arguments they attacked him. Men who
were not tit TO blacken his shoes, blacken-
ID his character.
There is too much religious cant in the
statement of Mr.. Thorburn. lie exhibited
90 much anxiety TO tell what Grant Thor
,urn said TO Thomas Paine. He names
Thomas Jefferson us one of the disreputa-
lie men who welcomed Paine with open
rms. The testimony of "A man who re-
'arled Thomas Jefferson as Il disreputable
erson. as to the character of anybody. is {
tterly without value. In my judgment,
he testimony of Mr.. Thorburn should BIZ I
brown aside as unworthy of belief. I
Your next witness is the Rev. j. ID. ,
vickham, ID. d., who tells what AN elder !
his church said. This elder said that i
aine passed his last days on his farm at 4
ew Rochelle with solitary female at '
.ndant. This is not true. lie did not t
ass his last days at New Rochelle. Con- y