Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1878-12-25

ing of the sort has occurred. Their real object is
| to divert the public mind by side shows Mr.
| Blaine struck the keynote, and made a mastery
stroke in bis shoit opening speech. He pat the
matter in light which startling and novel;
| yet perfectly convincing TO any fair mind You
need not fear for him; he will come out all right
the people are for hun though the politicians may
! try to belitte him. just now from the great
northwest, we know that the people there en-
| Enthusiastically in bis favor. See what the Chicago
Evening Journal the leading afternoon paper Of
that section. says in its issue of Dec. 10th:
| THE GRET DEBATE IN THE SENATE.
! The llth day of December was a memorable day
| in American politics. The trial of the great suit
which is to be decided in November, 1880. the
! people being jnd2e and jury. defnitey and
! distinctly commenced that day in the Senate
| chamber 1t is not TO be proceedings IN chance
| ~, with string of conflicting am~, but a cause
at common law with sbarply-diawn line of bat
/ tie. MIR. Blaine, the acknOwl, dyed leader of
! 1.-THE party OF the hr,t part, stated the case for
! his side and MI. Thurman and Mr.. Lamar filed a
/ plea reply The maiis have al last brought the
! tull report OF all the debate aud proceedings of
the Seuae on that occasion, and IT i only in the
light OF this full report that the >tuation, de-
! ternined b, the attitude OF the Democracy, can
be fully understood.
I 10 say that Mi Blaine towers above both his
competitors, looking at the deb te from a merely
intellectual point OF view, is Il moderate state
ment. The q ference was lattly due, 10 dou VI,
to the TACT of superior pref aratiou his part.
A cutie would PROBABLY say that the Name ora
tor weakened his Grafton, "a an oiatoricai per
formance, by closing II with applied quotation
from Mscauley, very app Optate III 1t, words, brt
slngulsriy inappropriate IN Its suggestion. 1t
suggested a conn arson between the South and
Daniel % onneil The speech i, also open TO
criticism from constitutional or logical point of
view. The amendment of the constitution which
provides for Congressional spportonment. aud It's
abrldgment If the RIGHT OF suffrage i Denied
wa done III the southern States, not at all
open to the construction often given to it, tLat
SUCH denial must be made by the STATE As such.
and Mir. Blaine ough t 10 have pointed out the IN.
justice OF such construction. No such lo1phole
eft tor evasion by the Iamers of that
amendment. 1t Is quite immsieIlAl whether the
denial be in lhl- way or that, reduction in repre-
seutaton Is lis prescribed penalty. But these
trivial point, and, as whole, the speech is
most remarkably satisfactory Presentation of the
case OF the panlf in the suit.
The fact that MIR. Thurman was the first to
ply had peculiar significance. He Is the ac-
knoweged leader Of the Democracy. The coun-
tiy has titus received notice that the Democrat
party as such is the champion of The solid South
IN all lis iufamics Ii ~as not u SouIhe,n Scna
tor who came forward in defeEce of bis section,
and when Lamar, oI Mississippi. Gid SPEAK il
was partisan and not a sectional reply that WAS
/ made. Blame and Thurman are the indisputsble
leaders Of their respective paItes, quite indepen
dent OF nominating convictions. Never was
Clay, Douglas Seward more pronounced in
/ Leadership than those two Senators are to-day.
Mr.. Blaine and his constituents ma, well feel
proud of such an encomum coming from so reliable
source for the Journal is conservative and en-
tirely non sensational paper.
GEN GRANT.
One might readily be led to think hat this
great man really the choice of the
republican party for our next President, If they
should firm their judgment from perusal of the
newspapers just now. There is evidently Grant
monomania sweeping the press but we believe it
like all other RACES will have its day and be gone.
This movement is no wonder; it Is simply the
safety valve-the escape pipe for the pent up
steam of the radical opponents of the Hayes poll
cy. We predict that very little will be said about
Gen Grant for third term twelve months from
now. The democrats will of course keep 1t alive
as long as possible, on mischief intent, for they
very well know that the nomination Of the ex
President would PROBABLY result disaster to the
republican arms forming into life, it would, the
buried feuds In the party. And really there is
not the slightest tensbe reason why Gen. Grant
should not be nominated. In the first place he
! does not seek for it, does not it and in the
second we do not believe him the choice Of
majority of his party. 1t is good subject to dis
cuss to keep up little excitement but we doubt if
many Of the men who are now crying out "Grsnt !,
Grant, have any sincere purpose in the cry.
Gen. Grant deserves well Of his country, and he
certainly has received the highest homage of any
American citizen, both at home and abroad
! What more can he expect What more can his
friends askf
THE HAYES Policy,
as we all know, has received IA heavy blow from
the source whence it expected aid and the re-
suit of the carrying out of that policy, which for
while tbreatended the very existence of the re-
publican party. has been to strengthe the party.
| We believe it stands stronger and more harmo-
! NOUS now than it has stood for ten years; and
! for two obvious reasons. First, republicans have
quit fighting each other and united in an aggres-
sive warfare against the common enemy; and
| second, because they now see that the South has
| pot kept it, pledge. The people demanded of
I President Hayes that he should give the South a
fair chance, and he has done it, and the result is
/ unfortunately by no means hattcring to the Ples
! dents sagacity or to the people Of the South
/ They have been left entirely to themselves, and
the worst day. of carpet bag rule show no backer
record than that which to-day slares the American
Nation in the face. Let South Csrolinisns now
pratc about their honesty if they dare. Let
Louis aua now boast of her law abiding citizens
if she dare. All this alk about Northern ntimi-
dation is the merest twsddie. 1t is "too thin, 4"
and only made use of to try and make out cross
/ bill. CLAIMING.
| Political,