American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1845-02-08
From the Crisis ]

POLITICAL IGNORANCE OF FOREIGNERS.
No Anerican surely, will be SO insensiblc to
the nature of cur institutions, and the ott-re-
pedted declarations of cur statesmen and pa
triot sircs, as net to see and feel that their con-
tinuance depends on the virtue and intelligence
of the people. How then can he reconcile to
himself to his'common sense and common no
nesty, the annual admission of hundreds of
thousands to our shores and to the control of
our institutions, most Of whom unable to
read or speak our language, and those, too,
who have long, or frequently, been the tenants
of prisons and pauper houses-to say nothing
of the deep-raoted foreign .prejudices they al
ways and necessarily must bring with them
Look at the state Of intelligence, ever OF TO-
reign things, among the people of the nations
whence flows the bulk of our immigrant popu-
lation, and contrast this with the universal in
telligence of our own countrymen; to say moth
ing, again, of the essential advantages of ours
being their natural Language, their natural
country, and their natural brethren. What a
contrast do we see in all that is calculated to
preserve pure and perpetual all we love and re-
we're as Americans! And is this not conclusive
argument in favor of retaining in their hands,
and in their hands only, the making and ad-
ministeriug of our laws and the final destnies
Of our country? What say you, Americans?
Contrast England, with its boasted intelli-
gence, with our own country 1t was lately
stated in Parliament that there are l,096,93
between the ages of and Ia, and ZOO, 600
between the ages of and 7-naking 2,291,-
Gee between 3 and l4-tcho receive no school in
struction! 1t was also stated that IN the dis
trct of London, not one in ttrenty reeeire any
sdotcationi and that in the manufacturing dis
lrcts it is still worse. In one section, nclud-
al 10
pulation of Sl1 900 children, $1,000 only of
whom go to school! Thus 10000 of the u
bovc number, or only one in thirty receiue any
education ,ciatsoeri And further, to show the
effect of education on crime; of the %, 097 com
United for criminal offences, S,476 could nei-
ther read nor write! 6,664 of whom were ie-
males, and 10, l47 males. Only 2,l9t could
read or write well, and but 9S males and three
females were possessed of much higher educa-
ton! AS Il contrast to this, it is said that, in
stead Of one in thirty who cannot read and
write, there is not one in one thousand of our
own countrymen who cannot read and write.
What Il bulwarll this presents for the prcseIva-
ton of our liberties, were our countrymen alone
entrusted with the guardianship Of those lber
ties. But, by the annual influx, Il vast mass of
foreigners who cannot read write or speak our
language ale intrusted, before they can do any
one of these, with the control Of the liberties OF
cur countrymen and the laws ot'the land. Not
satisfied even with the limited period required
by the laws as they are, these ignorant persons,
in wanton violation of those laws, seize at the
power to control us and make such base use of
1t, too, as we have before ntimated. And
there are those of our countrymen so far lost
to a sense Of Justice and patriotism, as to press
and aid by base articles these ignorant crea-
turcs to clutch at the power Of welding our
rights and our laws, even long before they are
permitted to do so by the laws of the land.-
Would to heaven there were few. of SUCH but
facts show many on whom the love ofcountry,
virtue, and a regard for the laws sit thus loose
ly. Such, with these foreigners, in the Ian
guare of Mr.. Van Buren,, ''nlate our elections
curse instead ola blessing"
Ofthe ignorance of the body of foreigners,
alien and adopted and of their abuse of the
elective franchise, as well as their subscrvlency
to political dcmagogues, we will give an exam
pie or two, which, for novelty, happened to
be made subjects of legal inquiry. They are
taken promscuously from numerous cases
among proceedings in New Jersey and there
are tens of thousands of such .fmerlcans voting
at our elections.
W. Borhman, s,corn, Examined by an inter-
prctor.)-Was born in Germany; was never
naturalized; voted at the last election; can't say
what ticket he voted could not read it; Benz
Jory gave it to him; John Frank gave his name
to the judges; paid no attention to the ticket;
hardly looked at it; Jory told him he must vote
for gold and siluer; have paid no tax.
NJ Buchage, sscorn.-Was born in France;
was never naturalized; voted at the last cleo
ton; did not notice the ticket he voted; have
voted before Peter Snyder is my step-father;
he was never naturalzed; he voted at the last
election.
D. GG'ret, s,corn.-Was born in Germany;
was never naturazed; voted at the last cleo
lion; can't tell what ticket he voted; can't read