The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-08-27
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which should prevent their withdrawal from
participation in "ths wicked, this unholy,
this hellish war;" as one of his interlocutors
expressed it, was the fact that they would
have to fight their way home,-would In fact
be shot down as deserters. And this prom
Use was made to Convention which resolved
that "the war is being conducted by the
present Administration not for the restora-
ton Of the Union, but for the abolition of
slavery and the destruction of the Union,"
which condemned those who were conduct
ing 1t as endeavoring "to establish military
despotism on the ruins of our Republican
Government" and which had before it as
candidates for the Gubernatorial nomination
Marcellus Emery, and Samnel Taylor and
Abraham Sanborn.
But why pursue this record further? 1t is
a sad and distasteful task. 1t recalls those
days of shame and humiliation when North
ern men gave open aid, where they dared,
secret aid where they feared the just anger of
a loyal people, to rebels who were seeking
with arms in their hands to destroy the
Union and seize the national capital. We
might dwell upon that occasion year later
when Gen. Anderson in speech at West
Gorham denounced the war as "upjust
and iniquitous," ana said that "the cause of
the South is just and will prevaip'-an in
cendary harangue which so excited his hear
ers that they raised Rebel flag but few
hours after on the liberty pole under the
shadow of which he was speaking. We
might describe that speech in which he par
odied Chatham and Patrick Henry, and Ae-
clared that if he were Southern man he
would never lay down his arms; ;-or, in view
of his financial position to-day, that speech
in which he Haunted a note of the old Con-
tinental currency in the face of his audience
and assured them that If the war was pros
ecuted the greenback would be as worthless
as the rag-money of the Revolution. The
war has ceased, but he is still endeavoring
to destroy the worth of that greenback.
These and many other instances might be
adduced, but enough has been said to demon
strate that Gen. Anderson was an active
sympathizer with the South during the war,
aud threw all the impediments In the way OF
the prosecution of the war that lay in his
power. The effect of his speeches and ac-
tions and the speeches and actions Of men
like him, upon the South may be judged by
the following extract from the Richmond
organ of Jefferson Davis: "Let the people
[of the Confederacyl not be downcast at the
result at Gettysburg, nor by the loss OF Vicks-
| burg and Port Hudson. These losses will
| be more than made good to us by the disor-
| ganization of Northern society, which win
result from the expected triumph OF the
Peace Democracy"
But there is one thing more that must be
told, and it throws even darker shade upon
| Gen. Anderson's character for loyalty than
| anything we have heretofore adduced. 1t
refers to his conduct in the earliest days Of
| the Rebellion, long before the emancipation
proclamation or the war measures of the Gov
ernment afforded the pretext to peace Demo-
Gratis that they were not opposing the restora-
ton of the Union but only the conduct of the
war and the policy of the Administration.
On the night of the goth Of August, 1858, the
Hon. A. G.. Jewett of Belfast, lifelong
Democrat who had left his party because Of
| its reasonable attitude toward the Union,
delivered speech in the City Hall in Portland
| In that speech he gave an account Of a meet
ing of the Democratic State Committee at the
Preble House in this city in May 1851. At
this meeting Mr.. Jewett was present. When
| he entered the room a speaker, whose name
| it is now unnecessary to mention-for he has
| gone to his final account,-w denouncing
| Lincoln for violating the Constitution in
| sending the army across the Potomac, and
| was urging that the committee should issue
an address to the people of the State demand
| ing the recall of the troops. This confer
ence, 1t should be borne in mind, was held
soon after President. Lincoln had called for
| $4,000 men, and long before he had taken
any of those measures to which the opposi-
ton objected as being unconstitutional
Gen. Anderson was at the conference. Did
he denounce these sentiments? Did he take
ground in favor of the maintenance of the
Union? No. Gen. Anderson, said Mr..
Jewett, took bold and unequivocal ground in
favor Of the right of secession, argued tina.
any State had right to secede, and that
there was no Constitutional right in the Gov
ernment to oppose such secession by force.
Then man, a native of Maine, but said to
belong in Louisiana, was introduced to the
committee, and questioned by one OF the
gentlemen present. He was asked whether
there was any Union feeling at the South,
and whether If JEFF Davis should take pos
session Of the Federal capital aud depose Lin
coin and drive him out, and establish the
Confederate constitution and Confederate
authority there, he would be likely to allow
New England to come into his Confederacy.
The answer of the Southern traitor to the
Northern traitors was that while New En-
gland could not be allowed any voice in form-
ing the new Coniederacv, or in deciding upon
its Institutions, she might, perhaps, be ad-
mitted to membership afterwards, providing
she did not resist the efforts of the Confeder-
ates, or furnish men to make war upon them.
Sixty men sat at that reasonable confer
ence, listening to these questionings, and
only few of them offered single word of
remonstrance-and Gen. Anderson was not
among the remonstrants. He was in full
sympathy with the reasonable majority.
Mr.. Jewett denounced the proceedings, and
was twitted in reply with taking the ground
of Lord North at the time of the war OF In
dependence, and was told that the Secession
lists were occupying the same ground the Col
onists occupied iu the Revolution. The
names of other members OF the Conference
might be given, but that is unnecessary in
this connection. The result of that meet
ing was the peace convention of the 14th
of August following, when the conspira-
tors assembled at Augusta, nominated
John w. Dana, and refused to endorse
the war even to the extent Of vindicatiug
the constitution and laws and Of suppressing
rebellion. The convention resulted in a
split, the war Democrats seeding. Gen.
Anderson did not go with the war Demo-
Gratis, but cast his lot with the Preble House
conspirators.