The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-01-10
"a Sort of MildeW."

uiuateS voted for at the election in
|iS7S, and having been selected by a
republican State Senate as choice
ot evils between himself and Mr..
smith, the Greenback candidate. One
cannot help wondering what sort of
4 man Smith must be, that Garcelon
should have been preferred ito him.
doubtless Garcelon has developed
ms capacity since the choice was
made. Helding an Office for which
only pitiful minority of the voters
n Maine supported him, it is not
sIrange, perhaps that he should hold
4 infitie4 iii' something ike con.
tempt. Being Governor in spite of
them, why. he reasons, should he not
continue 500 Or if not he. some other
representative of beaten minority :?
And if the people of Maine have SUBJ
mltted for year to the rule of a
minority Governor, why should they
notsubmit to the counting in of a
minority Legislature, the election of
minority State officers and minor
ity United States Senator? So Gar
celon and his co.conspirators have
counted out the Republican majority
in the Legislature and made their
arrangements to steal the State. All
withinthe forms of law, of course,
and upon technicalities which, with
rolling eyes and hands upon their
hearts, they solemnly vow they cam
not conscientiously disregard. That
Republican Legislature was elected
they do not deny, but there are as
not dotted and Us not crossed in the
returns which they say makes them
by the Constitution fatally deiec-
tive" We could mot trample on
the Constitution, you know" say
they with leer. And when their
attention is called to a statute law
which meets the case and empowers
them to amend the technical defects.
they answer at once, "Oh. that is
unconstitutional"
1t is an old habit of these people
to use the letter of the Constitution
to stab the State. They tried it on
large scale in 1861, when they clam
ored that the Federal Constitution
not only did not contain the principle
OF self.preservation, but that it actu-
ally offered a shield and defence to
its assailants. But even under this
claim of a constitutional right to de-
feat the will of the majority, it is not
believed that they can sustain them
selves. The whole business has been
characterized by such indubitable
signs of rascally plot on the part of
the Governor and Council to steal the
State; they all point so clearly to
premeditated purpose and prepar-
ed plan; and the condolences
are so striking and significant,
that even upon their technical de-
fence they feel that the weight of
public opinion is overwhelmingly
against them. They have been espe-
cially called upon to explain the re-
markable fact that the returns have
been found fatally defective only in
such cases as would result in the de-
feat of Republican candidates. The
latest effort in this direction is let
ter from Governor Garcelon, publish
ed lately, in which he says Every
year there have been defective re-
turns rejected-that is, not counted
for noncompliance with constitu-
tional or legal provisions" He ne
elects to state the fact that this is the
first time in the history of the State
that legally and fairly elected ma
jority in the Legislature has been re-
versed upon such technicalities per-
haps because it is so we'll known.
"But this year." he adds, ''in addi-
tion to the usual occurrences in this
sort of mildew or epi-
demic seems to haye infected several
of our larger cities" "a sort Of
!" Well, we should say so.
And he might have added that it was
"a sort of midew" that was engen-
dered in the filth of the Office of Eben
F. Pillsbury, the chief functionary of
the Maine Democracy, and its expec-
tant candidate for United States
Senator. 1t was sent out from there
like the yellow fever germs which
another Democrat. now Governor of
a State, undertook to distribute
throughout the North during the
war. 1t went in the form of blanks
for returns, printed under Pillsbury's
in a manner purposely in.
tended to mislead returning officers,
so that there should be lust these
defects upon which this
gang of eonspirators could defeat the
will of the majority and steal the
state.
Tt moS Goroalop aud D;Ilohur,, ou1