Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1880-01-05
"RebelliOnS."

Under the head OF heoeiiions NHe S
ard purports to give It's readers resume Oh
some political excitements that have agltased
the country in times past, and to draw there
from some useful lessons. IF its lessons are
no more valuable than its facts, they waste
their paper.
The 6r.t rebellion" is the case OF Aaron
Burr. who was tried for treason and acqu't-
ted. That is q curious sort Of rebellion,
but doubtless il has an important bearing on
the present position Of affairs in Name,
and the Standard should have told US what II
is. Next comes the s'Shsy rebellion ana
the "Buck.hot rebellion" important chap
tiers, of course, in the history OF the country
and valuable precedents in our present DIM
Guilty. if the Standard would only condescend
TO tell US how to use them But the greatest
..rebelIion'' of them all was the '.Dorr War
as it is Familiarity called in Rhode Island, ano
here the Standard man cuts loose from his
tory and common sense and gives his mag
ination chance. He calls L. /. a pancake
kingdom, whose Governor is king, assisted by
hall dozen lotus anu Behtie"'e" VIM N'
sti,ute the nobility Itwould be difficult TO
imagine awning more amusing to hhode
Islander than this sort of reading As mat
ter of fact there is probably no state In the
Union the Governor of which has little
power. His salary is merely nominal: his
mower to draw on the State treasury for any
purpose is limited to one thousand
dollars per year; he has no patron
age worth mentioning to dispose of; his
only voice in legislation comes to him when
presiding in the Senate and there is tie vote
in that body; he has veto power and does
not even sign bills that are passed by the leg
islature When present he presides in the
Senate and in Grand Committee, but he is
far more often absent, and these duties de-
volve on the Lieut-Governor-a still less i'm
portant officer, for this alternative duty
is the sum total of his functions, un-
less the Governor happens TO die in
Office And as for the half dozen
lords and gentlemen" who strut as ''nobli-
ty' in the Standard mans mind. they have
not even an existence. The Governor Of
Maine has a Council and fine dance they
are leading an estimable old gentleman. But
X. l. knows no such body of men in her form
Of government, and still the little State has
kept good average of peace and content
ment in her borders and grown rich and re-
spected.
On the question of the r. /. idea of suffrage
the Standard is still further adrift. 'About
one in five Of the adnlt males are permitted to
vote provided always they vote to sustain the
monarchy;" and again: A person of foreign
birth has no rights there. for he is not reck-
oned as belonging to the human family"
Wore nonsense never was written. Every
adult male in the State votes. upon payment
of a registry tax of one dollar per annum,
unless he be foreigner not naturalized.
The only restriction imposed, (where dis
tinction is made between native and natural
lied citizens) is in questions involving the
levy and expenditure of the taxes and in
such cases Rhode Island holds to the doc
trine that those who pay the money shall say
how it shall he spent. Consequently both
native and naturalized citizens must be tax
payers in order to vote. and the dis
tincton is. tina: a naturaized citizen must
own real estate instead Of personal property
(sl34 WORTH.
As to II. |. being the "worst governed or
at least the most governed patch of earth
within the boundaries of the United States
opinions may differ. The inhabitants do not
seem to think so. and the assertion from such
a source comes with bad grace FRI.
is any worse governed or any more governed
than the State of Maine to-day. the Almighty
is merciful in so clouding its peoples intellects
that they cannot realize their sad fate.
The rise and progress of the Dorr idea in
r. I is part, very fully written part. of
the conntry's history. 1t was no mere fight
upon technicalities. but il went to the verv
roots of the theory of self government Its
advocates were at least able and honest men
who firmly believed in the justice of their
cause. who acted ADORE hoard and in the
sight Of all men, and took the consequences
of their acts In all this, it is humbly sub.
mitted, that. right or wrong. they set an ex-
ample which might be profitably followed by
men now in the public gaze.
"Rebelions" is a fair sample of the worth
Of the pap with which the Standard feeds its
readers.