State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1831-1836, 1836-09-06

nntrnaeonry, or any antimusonry 10 be ben
Gifted by it? have often asked this ques-
ton, and could never get an answer 10 1t.
| | do not believe il can be answered. And
does it not become those to answer it, who
are all the time, talking about "pardmount"
4 Antimasonry, and claiming to be the real ,
Simon pure, old line, antimasons? con-
fess am astonished at this. We had an
untimasonic state convention called last
winter TO nominate candidates for President
and Vice President. 1t met aud nominated
Gen. Harrison, and MIR Granger by deci-
ded majority. A portion of the minority
seeded on the ground that the nomination
/ was not All dntimdsonic one, and proceeded
to make nomination of their own; aud
thereupon, tset about raising the cry oil
"paramount antimusonry;" sold line anti
masonry" &c. A stranger to the whole
Affair." who should now Tor the first time,
come to look mt il, would have supposed,
| that these menl who for the ostensible rea-
son above suggested, broke of from the
main body of the convention and made u
separate nomination, must have found IN
theit candidate paramount claims to anti
masonic support; real, genuine, original,
full blooded anttnasonry.'
Nothing less than this, he might well as
sumo, could Justify such Il sacrifice as the
breaking up of Il party, and the consequent
alienation of old political friends. But
what,would he his surprise TO find that the
candidate of the seceders had no preten-
sions whatever 10 nntimasonry and had
never uttered n word in favor OF it, but had,
on the contrary, ever since it came into eX-
istence, been at the head of purity most
bitterly opposed to it; while his competitor,
the candidate Whose nomination produced
/ the cessation, had never acted against anti
masonry had always been opposed to
freemasonry,and had frankly declared when
called on for an avowal of his views, that
he considered it Il moral and political
evil, which the people might, if they
thought proper, correct at the ballot box.
, And woudghe not stand in utter astonish-
ment at such u secession and nomination
made in The name of dutimdS0ny? Para
mount nntimasonry? Would lie not he
more inclined TO think that mosonry had
something TO do with producing such u
strange result, than that it was brought
about by high regard to the cause Of anti
masonry?
But further. What has become of all our
| opposition, as party, to the ''principtes and
! pulley" of this administration, that that OPP
position should be abandoned, and thrown
to the winds in support of Mr.. Van Buren, !?
| Were these professions of opposition all II
pretence? Wus Mr. Barber sincere in the
high ground he took on the subject? Were
his assurances repeated year after year, to
the Wings that nothing but the question of
masonry divided antilnasons from the
wings and that the triumph of the princi-
pies of the wing party would he as sure
and complete in our success as in theirs, all
made for mere political effect, and without
any real regard for their principles? Did
he decIaim against the "corruptions of Van
l,urenisni," and declare that it "could not
succeed with the Green Mountain Boys"
and say that when antnasonry degenerat-
ed into those corruptons, he would desert
it, aud oppose it as uncompromisingly as
he then opposed masonry; did he, say
do all this merely to catch applause and
secure favor? If he did, the people who
went with him did not. They acted from
deep and honest conviction. They firmly
believed that when Mr. Barber and others,
talked about the "corrdptions of Van Blu
renism" they talked right; and 80 deep were
their convictions of the business of their
denunciations of Executive abuses and Van
Buren, corruptions, that they cannot he
talked out of them.
AN ORIGINAL ANTIMASON.