The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-08-05
Letter from Mr.. Blaine,
On the Issues Involved in Our State
Campaign.
AUGUSTA. Me. Anons

| your wishes, so kindly expressed, I am not al
| present able TO assign day when I should DC
| able to visit your city and speak to your peo-
| pie. will venture however at some length
| in this familiar and informal way, to present
| the questions of Importance which in my
| Judgment are involved in this election and are
| soon to be submitted to the voters of Maine for
| authoritative decision.
And first let me say that it was in many re-
| spects great misfortune that the election fol-
| lowing directly after the nefarious attempt to
| steal State government. was one primarily
involving national issues in the choice OF Pres
| ident and Vice President. I believe there
were many honest Democrats and honest
| Greenbackers in the State who sincerely de-
sired to record their disapprobation of;that III
| iquitous proceeding, but they found that 10
| do SO in 1880 involved separation from their
| party in a national campaign and the aDan-
| donment of issues in no way connected with
! the local politics of Maine. They felt that
they could not afford to turn their backs on
| their honorable and gallant standard bearer IN
the nation, to punish the misdeeds of State Of
fcials at home. The time has now arrived,
however, when no such embarrassment sur
rounds the plain question of duty, and it go
happens by the perverse designs of those who
sought to impose fraudulent government on
Maine, that the issue of that evil conspiracy Is
thrust upon the peoples in the pending election,
whether they be willing or unwilling.
Every intelligent man in the State recoi-
ture were fraudulently counted out by Gov.
Garcelon and his Council, and would have
been deprived of the seats to which they were
chosen by the people and spurious mem bers
installed in their places, if it had not been for
theiinterposition Of tn Judiciary The opinion
of the Supreme Court was asked in a perfectly
regular and constitutional manner and the an
swer given by that tribunal destroyed the con-
spiracy against the rights OF the people. The
opinion of the Court was SO strong, its discus
aioQ 0f the alAyn prinoinlag ff RAnubfl-
can government SO able, and so comprehensive,
that it secured the admiration of a much vic er
circle than those directly interested in its con-
illusions.
Among the members of that Court was one
always connected with the Democratic party.
He was appointed as Democrat and is identi-
fed with his party to-day. He stood with his
distinguished brethren on the Bench in favor
of unfolding honest government, in favor OF
seating the Legislature chosen by the people,
and against the usurpation of the Governor
and Council in their attempt to change and
defy the popular verdict.
For this act of judicial fairness, for this up
right course which does him so much honor,
Artemas Libbey has fallen under the dis
pleasure, and has earned the yenomous i'll will
Though ranking as lawyer at the very front
OF our bar, with personal character above
reproach, and with every attribute (which
doth beseem a. judge" Gov. Plaisted has re-
iuocu W ECAppolDb ulll db ZIG ClDso Oh HIS urSb
term on the bench. And he has refused be-
cause Judge Libbey gave judgment against
the conspiratOrs who sought to destroy the life
OF the State, by destroying the integrity of its
government. The present Executive Council
refused most properly to confirm any one of
the respectable gentlemen nominated by the
Governor to fill Judge Lbbey's place. If they
had done otherwise they would have made
themselves psrtakers of the crime by which
just Jucge is to be punished for resolutely do
ing his duty against conspirators who belong to
his own party
In the pending election therefore the most
important local question is that of sustaining
an honest and independent Judiciary. That
great biess1ng-prlceleSS to the people-haS al
ways been enjoyed in Maine Our Supreme
Court, never more eminent than today, has
always been distinguished for great legal abili-
ty, for high personal character, for purity and
for impartiality. Every man who votes for
Governor Plaised votes TO empower him to
punish just judge for doing his duty conscien-
tiously and fearlessly There is not a voter in
the state who does not know that Judge Libbey
will be honorably restored to the Bench il Col
onel ROBBIE is elected, and that Governor Plais-
ted will refuse to appoin him, and refuse be-
cause OF Judge Libbey's most honorable course
in crisis which threatened the peace and good
order of the state.
Ii there were no other issue pending before
the people of Maine, the question involved in
this attack upon an Independent and fearless
Judiciary is enough to arouse every man in
the State to activity and zeal The Democrat
&c party lost power in the nation more than
twenty years ago, and one of the potent causes
OF their defeat was the attempt made by Mr..
Buchanan's administration to impose spuri-
GUS government upon the people of Kansas.
But the Lecompton swindle, as it became popu-
larry known, was not so bad nor SO bald nor so
shameless destruction of popular rights as
was attempted in the Garcelon conspiracy of
1880 And now today, in the year Of grace
1852, nearly three years after the ignominious
failure of that conspiracy, Gov. Plaisted asks
the people of Maine to entrust him with the
Executive power of the State in order that he
may punish An upright and able Judge, who
rose superior to all his party as
sociations and maintained the right of the peo-
pie to choose their own legislature according
to the constitution and laws All power re-
sides ultimately in the people, and to that court
OF last resort the case now goes. The candid
and fair dealing character of the people of
Maine gives full promise Of a righteous iudg
ment.
2d-In addition to this important State is.
sue, the election of 1882 involves many ques-
tions of national neutrality-suspicious. which
deeply affect the prosperity of the people of
Maine. Whoever neglects to make his inRu
ence felt in the pending campaign disregards
the interests which pertain to his own future
and his own Preside. The choice of four rep
resentatives in Congress and Legislature
that shall appoint a Senator of the United
States brings directly before the people every
issue that is involved in the administration of
the national government. On every question
on which parties divide in this country, the in
terests OF the people of Maine must lead them,
after sober second thought, to support the Re-
Dublicans. By the spread of manufacturing
industries, by the growth of our agricultural
interests, the people of Maine become every
year more and more interested in the mainte-
nance of protective tariff. No candid man
believes that protective tariff would be upheld
for q single year if the opponents of the Re-
publican party should come into power, and by
just SO much as any voter in Maine helps to
elevate the free traders to power by SO much
he aids to imperil the manufacturing and ag-
ricultural interests of the State. And not less
so in the matter of shipbuilding. Two out of
every three candid free traders outside of New
England will probably declare that if their
party was in power they would at once pro-
coed to admit foreign-built ships to American
registry, and would break down what they
term the odious monopoly of the coasting
trade. Causes which need not here be enum-
Grated have imposed a long list of hardships
upon the navigation interests of the country
but the free trade party is the only one which
has proposed to alleviate those hardships by
the utter destruction of the navigation interest
itself.
In the transfer of so large proportion of
the ocean freighting to steam ships, the sailing
vessel has relatively lost its Importance; but
it still represents a verysarge interest,in which
the people of Maine have great stake. Dur
ing the year 1882, our principal ship building
district " Ill launch as large number Of wood
en- sailing ships as it ever did in a single year
even when thoseivessels were the ocean freight
ers of the world. Whatever contests may be
before us in regard to revival of American
commerce, no Maine man who is intelligent as
to the future of his State can vote to sacrifice
an interest which under every Encouragement
has thus far been so energetically maintained
1t would be curious to call over list of the
occupations of the people of Maine, and after a
careful inspection of its details to have the
free trader point out one that would be helped
by the destruction of the Protective Tariff-or
indeed one that would not be harmed by it.
The first one indicated by the free trader would
probably be the navigation interests which he
would boastfully maintain is seriously injured
by Protective Tariff. But the ship owner
would not desire the destruction of the protec-
ton to manufactures il at the same time it car
ried with it the destruction to the protection OF
the navigation interest, which comes from Sc
curing the coasting trade to American built
and American owned vessels. Not to speak OF
the countless sailing vessels engaged in the
coasting trade on the Atlantic, the Gulf and
the Pacific, it must be remembered that the
steam tonnage engaged in the same trade, all
built and owned in the United States is larger
than the entire steam tonnage OF Great Britain
twenty-five years ago. The coasting trade
keeps alive the navigation interest OF America
oyd ont Of IL will coynatipaa urnfu q foreign