The native American., 1837-08-10

be LOGS foreigners and but 1863 native citizens in the
Aims house. 1t appears from report of committee
recently appointed by the honorable the Common
Council Of this city, that there this time, 3O70
Ipaupers in the Alms-house, three fouhs Of whom
aliens, subsistng upon public charities. How many
lmore foreigners live upon private charities, let the
swarms Of mendicants who daily and nightly throng
our streets attest At recent date appears that the
number of convicts confined in State prison at
| Sing Sing was 500, of whom 603 foreigners.
In the year ending August 1886, there received
in the Boston House of Refuge, s66 paupeTs SIG of
whom were foreigners. From the lst OF January to
j April 25, 1887 there 264 paupers admitted to
the same House Of Refugee l60 Of whom were foreign
ers. In the Official Departments of the Genara State
and City Governments, the same proportion e1lsts.
At an election for town officers held at Paterson, a
little more than year since, out of 80 public ot-
GERS elected, 33 were of foreign BIRTH 1t is beIeVea
that up to recent date, the greater proportion OF
officers in this city held by naturazed citizens
There are, 1t is stated upon good authority, no less
than 60 foreigners now holding high and responsible
Offices in the Departments at Washington, ard on
missions abroad: 6 in the State; 2 in the Patent; y
| in the Treasury; in the War; in the Navy, and ~
in the Post Office Departments. 1t mast be borne IN
mind that those foreigners only who arrive in vessels
over 40 tons burhen, registered and taken into
the account before stated. There hundreds, nay
thousands, who arrive in vessels OF less size, and
who come by the way of the Canadas. 1t - conn
IDENTIFY believed, that the whole number of foreign emf
grants who have arrived in this city since $780,
1 amount to more than 100000.
/ 1t is well established principle, that the per-
petnity Of all free governments depends upon the IN
tegence and virtue of the people, and that the de-
gree Of liberty they enjoy is in proportion to their
intelligence and virtue We are the freest people on
the globe, because in the aggregate, the most
j lenghtened; and we shall continue to be free, SO
| long as remain virtuous and enlightened, and no
longer. But is there danger to be apprehended in
the ndiscrminate admission of foreigners to all the
rights and privileges Of citizenship without regard to
their fitness or adoption to state of civil liberty!
We daily see the evil consequences resulting from our
intercourse with our adopted citizens. Sentiments
are now openly avowed, which utterly at variance
with all previously conceived notions Of moral and
political principles Radicalism, agrarianism, and
thousand other crude theories and specuatons, which
have their origin in ignorance, folly, and lcentious.
ness, are undisguisedy urged upon u.s. by individuals
who have left their own country to enighten us poor
natives in the art and mystery of civil and religious
! government. We do not wish to be understood as
denouncing all foreigners who come here, as thou
sands do, for the purpose of becoming peaceful citizens,
willing TO become subject to laws and institutions,
and who do not oficously, and think improper
ly, seek to intermeddle with the affairs Of Government
i To all such give hearty welcome. But untor-
tnnatey for of the foreign emigrants who flock to
shores in such vast numbers, many Of the most
unenlghened and degraded class. They have butlitle
sympathy with institutions, and less knowledge OF
the past history of the conederacy, and Of the sacrh-
ces of blood andreasure made by fathers in rear
ing this fair fabric of American liberty.
The term Of five years is too short for them 70 be
mbued with proper respect for our system OF Gov
eminent, and due appreciation of the benefits enjoyed
by those who live under it. Can it be expected that
without these patriotic associations-that reverence
for the Union-that interest in the affairs Of Govern
ment-tha recollection of the great struggle for our
Independence, OF the dear price and nestlmable value
our liberties, which every natveAmelican chershes and
feels that they should be qualified to exercise the elec-
tive franchise in conformabe to the spirit OF
the Constitutions by which great plan OF sell 60
vernment sanctioned and secured. Experience
Al Al IL &1,tf rrhfc
and duties Of citizenship neither properly estimated
nor understandingly discharged by the great mass OF
our adopted citizens. 1t is to be amented that many
of the emigrants from Europe who have arrived IN
this country range themselves in clans, and refuse TO
part with their national pecuiarites and predections
They do not take root in the soil that has given them
a generous welcome. They almost universally con-
tinue gregarious, and will not assimiate with the ma
tive Inhabitants. Some of them escaped from the OPP
pressive restrictions, under which home they have
groanedleap upon shores with the fallacous pre-
sumption that this is land Of unlimited license; and
that here their unbrided passions may run riot with
mpunity. The effect of this disposition to appears
at variance with thelegmate design Of the fair opera
on of our governmental system. We consider the
elective franchise sacred right TO be ignorant
y regarded or corrupty exercised; for, we have be-
people in the exercise Of this right based the safe
fifty of our Institutions The whole theory of our Go
vernment springs from this foundation The language
Of Mr. Jefferson on this subject, is SO lucid, that we
cannot refrain from quoting lew sentences lie says
'sTo the principles of our Government nothing can
be more opposed, than the maxim of absolute monar
ches Yet from such to expect the greatest
number of emigrants. They will bring with them
the principles of the Governments they have imhbed
in early youth if able to throw them off, it will be
in exchange for an unbounded icenousnesspassing,
as is usual, from one extreme to another 1t would De
miracle were they to stop precisely at the point OF
temperate liberty. Those principles, with their Ian
guage, they will transmit to their children. In pro-
portion to their numbers they will share with us in
the legislation They will iafuse it into their spirit
warp and bias its direction and render it heeroge-
neous, incoherent, and distracted mass. But if these
conectures be certain in event. they not possl-
BILE, they probable! Is it not safer to wait with
patience for the attainment of any degree of popula-
ton desired expected IL will be recollected that
these views Of MIR. Jefferson expressed prior to
the year 1900, at period when, if foreigners were
ever acceptable, they were them If Mr. Jefferson's
views correct in relation to foreign emigration at
that early day Of our national existence, with how
much greater force will the same arrangements and
reasons apply to the present condition Of the United
States. But is there no remedy for the evil we SO
much deprecated We believe there is Congress has
the power to check this flood of foreign emigration
Let Naturalization Laws be altered, that twenty