Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1852-09-30


TIONS and believe that, if the time has
not yet come, it wiU speedily come, when il
will be indispensably necessary either for this
body, or some other body of this State, or oi
the United States, to inquire whether it is
not right 10 PIT this plan into execution, by
which foreigners should be prevented from
controlling our elections, and brow beating
our American citizens at the polls +"
We apprehend the above extract Is
quite sufficient to satisfy any reasonable
mind as to what Judge Woodward's views
and feelings then were; but We may as
we'll add another still more conclusive
Judge Woodward continues:
"And what claim have foreigners from any
country-aye, sir, from any country-which
is strong enough to Justify Us in PROSTITU-
TING OUR POLITICAL PRIVILEGES,
by comforting them carelessly and indiscrlm-
inately on every individual who may reside
here for two or three years, become a natu-
rallied citizen, and then command our offices!
There are very many of these emigrants who
know nothing of political privileges In their
own country before they emigrate to this
The world is unknown to them, or if they
hear of it at all, they hear of it as something
in which they have no participation. Is not
this the fact! Sir, we ak know that it is; we
know that very many of these emIgrants nev-
er enjoyed any political privileges themselv-
es-that they HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE
OF THEM, AND LEAST OF ALL HAVE
THEY ANY KNOWLEDGE OF OUR PEO-
PIE, OUR GOVERNMENT, OR OUR IN
STITUTIONS. The requirement of this
knowledge is not the work ofa day. They have
no sympathy in common with US: they have
no qualifications in RENDER THEM FIT
RECIPIENTS OF THESE HIGH POLL
TICAL PRIVILEGES"
Judge Woodward has been further
charged with having, no latter than last
fall, justified aud vindicated the resolu-
ton offered, and the speech made by him
in the Reform Convention. The evidence
to sustain this charge is to be found in an
address issued by him on the 9th of Sep
tember, 1851. and which he states, in the
foregoing letter of his, published in the
Harrisburg keystone, of the 23d of Sep
tember, 1851, and from which, as proof of
the charge, we make the following extract:
"Who could complain of my proposition (!
Certainly no foreigner then in the country,
none on his pay to this country, none who
would choose 10 come before the fourth Of
July, 1911, for none of these were to be ex-
cluded from anything, either residence or
political privileges amongst US. Nor could
those who should choose TO come after the
fourth of July, 164I, complain, for they would
have had nearly four years notice that they
acre not TO share in our political privileges.
How does Judge Woodward now, in
his Pittsburg letter, which we have pub
lished at length, meet the charges made
against him, and refute or explain the O.
verwhelming array of testimony adduced
in its support? lie says the charge ais
attempted to be sustained by motion
when | made in the Reform Convention
in 1887" and proceeds to explain the
resolution offered by him as mere hmi-
tation of an amendment proposed by Mr..
Thomas, of Chester. So far from this
being true, his resolution proposed to &C.
tend the scope of inquiry. Instead of
confning the inquiry as designed by the
mover of the original resolution, Judge
Woodward voluntarily, and of his own
accord, without word of debate having
previously taken place to direct attention
to the subject, or elicit such proposition,
thrust his motion upon the Convention to
add to the duties of the proposed commit
tee the labor of inquiring into the propri-
ETY. of excluding foreigners from the right
of suffrage. That he was in favor of such
measure at that time no candid man
for moment can doubt; and we may
add, if he was an honest and truthful man
who would rather compromise his pros
poets of an election than his personal hon
or and character for veracity, there can
be no doubt he would himself say So
But these considerations, it would seem,
have but little effect upon bis mind when
such course might destroy his political
prospects. Devoid of that manly courage
which prompts the man of truth and of
honor to made frank and honest admis-
sion, avow a change of opinion, and give
his reasons therefore he seeks to escape
the dilemma in which his own indiscre-
ton and folly has placed him, by skulk-
ing out of it by deliberate equivocation
and Misrepresentation of his own acts
His effort to escape thus, if made without
any attempt to shield himself by falsely
attributing the blame to those who are
innocent of it, might be .palliatcd and ex-
cused, if not justified. He is known to be
ora nervous temperament, timid as hare,
and altogether devoid Of that kind of man
ly courage, which would impel many men
to make an honest confession and give
the reasons for changing their opinions,
and he might therefore be excused, if not
justified, for shrinking from such an avow-
al; but when he seeks to shield his own fol-
ly, as he now does, by an attempt to sad
die the odium thereof upon the Wings,
he is guilty of meanness which no Ian
guage can too strongly portray. To at
tempt such thing is what we might ex-