The Portland daily press., 1879-12-25
Mr.. Reeds Speech.
Wit. Wisdom, and Sound Advice.

as large this This hall has witnessed the begin
with the strife and exultation of all political par
ties and has throbbed with the anXities and sue
cesses of great civil war, and yet, although feel
my duty is plain to say nothing might in the
ture of eXaggeration, know that / should do in
justice to you well as to my own feelings if did
which we meet together here is more serious than
any meeting we have ever held before. The very
principle upon which our institutions rest to-day
upon trial They are as seriously and as efectually
on trial as the battle day of Gettysburg it was on
trial whether there should perish out of this land
government of the people and by the people.
1t is a fundamental principle of our system of
government that every man is the equal of every
other and hence that we should be controlled only
small the majority may be- if it be but a majority
of one it is sacred i'll the eyes of the true patriot
as if it was a majority of millions. [Applausel
Whenever things have come to such pass that any
set of men deliberately set aside decision of
the people and be tolerated therein then the end of
our system of government has come Therefore |
say that institutions are to-day upon trial. and
for one believe in their ultimate victory Zap
plause.l
come here tonight in no partisan spirit. / charge
this thing upon no party tonight. The only men
who are guilty now are the misguided men who have
committed the crime. If any party is to be covered
with guilt account of it it must be by the acts OF
that party itself appause) by their undertaking to
stand up for them or to stand behind them and
say it is to the credit of fellow citizens to their
intelligence and to their honeor that thus far no
man even of the political parties which these men
are supposed to represent and which think they
really mSrepfeSent, SUOOt SlSlstlll lIiSHt
wish we could go further and say that they had
come openly and publicly, as they do privately and
denounced it.
on this subject. l come here with no defamation
Adiectiyes cheap. If the deeds of these men do
not damn them words never can do it. There
fore 1t is our duty here and now, to discuss facts
and have come here for that purpose During the
last wear we have had great campaign, unsuppass-
ed and unequalled in the history OF the State OF
Maine We met the enemy upon their own ground;
we discussed their own subjects, ara l appeal to
every man here if did not have as fair, as hon
est as pure election as was ever known IN the
history of the State of Maine. (Applause.) When
we got through that election every organ OF public
opinion, every newspaper OF every shade OF poItcs
of Maine was upon our side to the extent OF nlne-
teen Senators out of thirty-one and ninety Repre-
one This victory, thus universally conceded,
thus admitted on all hands, has been overturned
OF course you have had a spectacle utterly unlike
anything in the history of this State rms IS not
the first great test this is not the first close and bit
ter fight that we have had, but never until to-day
has any Governor-Whig or Federal, RepupncSa!n
or Democrat been summoned to the bar of public
opinion for crime like this [Great applausel That
our Governor realizes that he has been summoned
witness his defense, first published, am told, IN
the New York Sun four hundred miles away. He
found it necessary to justify himself even to the
constituency of Tweed. [Laughter.] Now it is nat
ural that there should be an excuse; there never
was crime committed against liberty in the ms
tory of the world except by men VINO are Voluple
in reasons for doing 1t.
The Governor has come forward with his defense
and you will notice that out of some th1rty-seyen
cases where the will of the PEOPLE has been reversed
he gives the particulars of but one. The whole thir
ty-sx outside of that we depend for our information
not upon the official statement OF the Governor and
Council but upon the enterprise OF newspaper men
and individual examination. The Governors de-
tense is only broad generality-that he acted ac-
cording to the forms OF law" whenever you near
that expression you will always notice that the man
unconsciously puts the emphasis on the 'J0TneS
(Applause.) Now my friends propose to ask you
to consider two or three d o tS Ms eondmc
both of the Individual and of the government Law
is founded upon common sense. Law is the perfec,
ten of human reason and If it was not administered
nv fallble men we should realize the dream of the
old English divine and law would indeed be the har
mony of the universe. Laws are made tor the govern
menf of men like YOU and me-therefore II you and
will give our attention to them we can understand
them especially laws relating to our own govern
ment
Now the object of every provision for the counting
of votes to ascertain the will OF the people as they
have declared it at the ballot box There is no pro-
vision OF the law which Is mace lor rne oa
law which is made for the purpose OF SURPRISING
the opinion of the people as delivered at the ballot
box Its whole scope and tendency is to express
that opinion and for hfty-nine years under our con-
stitution it has, without single exception always
expressed that opinion. Is 1t not singular tI Ior
fifty-nne years we have no statesmen until my
friend Charles H. Chase became member OF the
Council [Laughter.l Was the path of salvation
closed to men until John B. Foster left the 1nsur-
the Council. Laughter.
/ viii not enumerate the names of all OF these
great men, 1t might possibly be too much for you
to carry away in single evening". Applause9 But
ask you to take home to yourself as men OF sense
and wisdom this question: was there never any any
law to be found in Augusta until these gentlemen
kindly consented to serve us. 80
NV friends the provisions of the constitution with
regard to elections are few and plain ami simple.
Governor Washburn has read them to you and
need not repeat them In single wora WneT E tne
ell are bound to count it and bound to give the GER
tificate to the who appears to be elected NOW
let see how they have performed that WORK. lney
have nothing to do with matters when are not III
the return / had intended to go over number OF
cases. but do not propose to keep you from gentle
men who will interest you all tonight; -. e
In the first place there is the case OF the city OF
Portland which you know. Here is city Wnlch
pays oneeighth of the taxes of the State OF Maine
was to declare the will of its citizens tcre we're
found return of scattering votes instead OF giving
the name of John Jo1es Ha yon Of 600 and
if that scattering vote was added to the hlghesG
Democratic candidates vote it would not have made
a perceptible ripple in our majority. DO you pc
lieve for an instant that constitution and the
people who framed it intended to shut out such re-
turns as that?
elected our men. The vote was fair and perfectly
clear ON the returns 1t was rejected because some
body says one selectman was an amen. Alien OF noi
no lawyer earth dares say he was not just as good
an officer as anybody far as the rights of the peo-
pie were concerned. How did the Governor know
he was:an alien? 1t must have been by the look OF
his signature. BY this more than three hundred
men were DISTINGUISHED.
In Harrington we had majority of forty, but the
Governor SAYS the town officers must return the
sswhole number of ballots' Now the ballot is the
piece of paper which the names OF the candidates
are printed. From four ballots the name OF our
representative was cut off, Hence his votes were
four less than the number of ballots The clerk so
returned. The Council said there was discrepan-
CIV between the ballots and votes.
fra1I n
twenty-seven voters was erected into district and
Pennington with "a o voters had foisted on them
Democrat whom the people had refused by forty
majority. Skowhegan was even worse. Ihree nun
bred majority availed nothing Every Repuoilcan
ballot put out OF the ballot poX, because me D
lot was printed in aco columns instead OF one! Even
if that was distinguishing mark which it was not,
all this was done i'll direct defiance OF the statute
r. S. CHI. 4, $40, which read:
ssNo ballot shall be received at any election OF
State or town officers unless in writing or printing
upon clean, white paper without any distinguishing
mark figures thereon besides the name OF the per-
son voted for and the offices to be filled, BUT NO
VOTES SHALL BE REJECTED ON THIS ACCOUNT AZ
TER IT RECEIVED INTO THE BALLOT BOX. 80
No wonder the Hon. a. p. Gould fastened with
hot foot to repudiate so base an action! In the
Gouldsboro class Oliver p Bragdon had forty-tnree
majority The clerk of one town in making the 2.
for his middle initial found he had put on such
flourish that some fool or knave might think he
meant b.. and scratched out the flourish. Under
the sforms of law that scratched ont flourish
counted out forty-three majority honestly got ana
fairly deserved 'Forms of law indeed! All that
L fear is that will not believe the SIMPLE truth
about these cases. And yet every man who knows
the facts of these knows that what have SAID
is careful understatement. have more cases, but
have no right to take the time of other gentlemen
Now my friends | have no advice to offer as to de-
tails of how shall meet this thing IN particular,
but committee has been selected of distinguished
and honorable citizens of wide experience to take
this matter into consideration, and to do the right
and best thing, to sustain by every appearance OF
public sentiment these Representatives who
have been nefariously counted out in ., Their
honest honorable and legal attempt to obtain
restitution of the rightsof which they have
been deprived and of which you as well as
they have been robbed. Don't let this be a mat
ter of day Let your feelings dwell upon it, Let
you minds be thoroughly imbued with the nature
and character of this transaction and take it home
to yourselves and acqut yourselves like men ana