The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1884-08-20

dread of 1t. We have not. it Is true been trained
to deeds of daring in Kennebec, nor are we prac
ticed in the elegances of Kennebec journal COM
bats, but we have never as yet, we believe refused
to father what belongs to us. We have never been
pursued by the sheriff with the compulsory aterna
tive of wedlock or paddock. Nor have we ever been
drunk in carriage with ladies', that we know of:
and yet we feel ourselves quite ready and compe
tent for "a brush" if that is as much desired as an
pearances indicate. We shall not have the slightest
objection to trying rowels in the sides of the
Advertiser donkey, if necessary.
Eighteen days later, September 80, the fol-
lowing appeared:
We hear that an article In the Daily Argus of the
18th instant headed Personalities" has been err
roniously understood by some as containing an at
tack upon the personal and private character of
James G. Blasne, the leading editor of the Adver-
tiser. We deeply regret the misconceptions as it is
not our intention to charge him, by implication or
otherwise with the offences we then disclaimed fo1
ourselves. We now, therefore, take great pleasure
in disclaiming any design to impute any such delin-
quencies to Mr.. Blaine and we most cheerfully add
that we know nothing Of him which would injuri-
ously affect his standing the personal and social
relations of life
Meantime Mr.. Blaine had applied TO Will
liam Pitt Fessenden to institute suit for
libel, and in yesterdays Argus the editor ac-
kno@ledges that Judge Nathan Clifford and
George f. Shepley, then TWO of the owners
OF the Argus. after conference With Mr.. Fes-
sender urgently insisted that a retracton
should be made and in Difference TO them it
was made. What the editor of the Arg
may now say about what passed between
these eminent gentlemen is of no account.
They are all dead and he knows that they
cannot contradict anything he puts into
their mouths. But it is to be observed that
he deprives himself of all credit for making
the decent disclaimer which was made. II
was done, he says, because Nathan Clifford
and George F. Shepley, after hearing his sto-
ry, and kno wing how the libel would be met,
insisted on withdrawal of every charge aad
implication, and the withdrawal was as com
plete as language could make it, and includ-
ed statement that the editor of the Argus
knew nothing of Mr.. Blaine which would
injurionsly affect him personally or socially.
Nobody reading either of rhe extracts que
ted above would doubt that they referred to
one man and one only. Language is with
out meaning ifthe..earlier article did not refer
only to "the Kennebec Importation" But
now the editor of the Argus claims to have
thrust at three. The "padlock and Wedlock''
sentence, he says, referred to one, whom, be-
ing dead the editor of the Argus now bravery
ISLANDERS. The ''drunk in a carriage with
ladies" sentence refers, he says, to subordi-
nate employed on the Advertiser, who very
likely is dead, or so far away that the editor
feels safe. The Gathering what belongs to
Us" paragraph is the only one intended to be
applied to Mr.. Blaine, and that had ref
erence to Mr.. Blaine's habit of some
times failing to remember what had been
printed in his paper. And this is the terri
BILE incident in the career of Mr., Blaine.n
which the editor of the Argus "knew all
about twenty-five years ago. and is willing
TO give now as then, and which will make
any moral delinquences alleged against Gov
ernor Cleveland seem trifing!
After the absolute disclaimer, which its
author cannot now dscredit without dis
creditiug his own honor, legal proceedings
against him were suspended for about year
and half He was then indicted in Andro-
scoggin County, for publishing the article of
September 18th. Why this proceeding was
undertaken we do not kUog and have no
means of knowing. We are at liberty to
presume, however, that it may have been
because evil minded men, catching up the
insinuated calumny of the Argus had busted
themselves TO make scandal of it, so that
Mr.. Blaine thought it due TO himself to oh.
tain the protection of a judicial cond emma
tion of the Islander. The case did not come
to trial. By the direction of Mr.. Blaine
a nou pross was entered. There was a good
and sufficient reason for Mr.. Blaine's course
and one which he did not hesitate to give to
the public, for on November 18th, 1859, he
published in the Advertiser The following
letter:
G. W. WaItor, Esq, County attorney, Androscoq-
gin;
Dear Sir:-As Jno. NJ. Adams, editor of the
Eastern Argus, was indicted in your county in Nav
last on charge OF libel, and upon my complaint
hereby advise you of my willingness to have a mol
pros entered in the case, and for these reasons:
procured the indictment, not so much with the
intention of infiicting exemplary punishment on
the author of the libel, as with the view of yndi
eating myself from the unfounded aspersons and in
uuendoes which have from time to time appeared in
the Argus. lind, however, that an indictment and
criminal prosecution will not conduce to this end
As the party aggrieved have to intrust m5 case to
the State, and am in this way debarred from the
advantage of procuring testimony or deposition
AS the most material of my witnesses reside out of
the State, am reduced to the alternative of fore
going the advantage of their testimony, or Of pro-
curing it, at heavy expense to the county of An.
droscoggin. cannot, in justice to myself afford to
do the former and for matter SO entirely personal
] could not feel justified in doing the latter. L
am compelled therefore, from an indsposition to
accept either horn Of the dilemma thus presented
to request that mol pros be entered Had refs Ct
ed upon, or anticipated the peculiar disabilities
which the rules Of evidence in criminal cases i'm
pose upon me, i should never have sought redress
through an Indictment.
an effective remedy is, however, open to me BY
insttuting civil suit against Adams in this coun-
ty, for libel published nearly year after the one
on which the indictment procured in Andres
coggin This will afford me all proper facilities in
procuring testimony, and at the same time conclu-
sivey silence the charge that have renewed legal
proceedings on case previously compromised and
adjusted. Unfounded in truth as that allegation
was in reference to the libel which the indict-
ment was procured. am unwilling to afford even
pretext for such evasion and escape in future pro-
ceedings.
With this explanation, which could not well give
In fewer words, you will understand my wishes in
the premises. Yours very truly,
j. G. BLAINE,
One word more. The article In yesterdays
Argus began in this way:
The PRESS yes .erday published an article recall
ing the controversy between the Argus and Mr..
Blaine twenty-seven years ago. 1t is not from the
pen of the editor. 1t shows that Mr. Blaine is con
Quoting his own campaign.
The article in question was from the
pen of the editor of the PRESS. Mr.. Blaine
must be acquitted of any resnnnsihiIitu