The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-10-09


circumstances attending the death Of David MeM4-
hon. in Tin Pot alley, terminated yesterday after
noon when q verdict Of death from violence was
returned.
The,Americsn Bible Union in this city, still con-
tinucs its sttiDgs, and wastes time upon mere
verbal criticism and indulgng in uncha,isabie re-
MARI upon their opponents The President, how
ever, seems to think tina. the flERALp is right in
tire advice il has given-sn advice which he thinks
is also applicable to many other reefs who profess
Christianity. Men often lose the subsane while
lighting about shadows
As usual, our inside pages contain many columns
OF very interesting reading OF every aescrip
ton, together with large nuDb Der Of business ad
vertsements, to all of which the attention of the
reader is directed without further remark.
General Pierce ana the Religious Test-Thc
Question Settled ut last.
We publish in another part Of this days paper,
very important correspondence, that gives i5s qui
etus now and forever, to the infamous calumay
against General Pierce in reference to The religious
clause in the constitution of New Hampshire,
cludng Catholics from Office in that State This
atrocious fraud was Matched by Sliovegamuon s
Co., Of the N,0 York Tribune, and industrioasly
circulated al the country by the majority of
the whig newspapers, with u zeal and perseverance
worthy Of q better cause than personal defamation
for party purposes The documents We publish do
not remove any doubt from our own mind the
subject, for we never had doubt We know that,
like the charges Of ardice and Drunkenness which
were part of the same ioat brood, it eoncocted
for the vile purpose of mis,epresentng an honest
man before the country, in the hope of damaging
him in the contest for the Presidency. But there
are many dupas of party intrigue who may have
been led astray by the false lights hung out by des
peradoes, for whose conduct a counterpart only
be found in the dark deeds of the Barnsgat wrecker
To all such simpetons, this correspondence must
bring conviction like the lightning's flash; and
Wy not the man hopelesslv blind must he be-who
needs any further evidence to convince him of the
cruel wrong done to General Pierce by these polti-
cal pirates.
To accuse innocent man Of crime, has been
always regarded in every country and IN every age.
as act Of bassness, stamping its perpetrators
cold b)ooded villains. But to charge q crime upon
q man not only innocent, but known to the a,cusor
to abhor the crime, and to have done his utmost to
prevent it, is acme Of villany for which language
fails to supply name; and NIL men, criminals,
shun contact with the moral ]eper. Does this
species of infamy lose it's trebe-dy ed criminalty
when it js perpetrated to defeat one candidate in q
Presidential election, and to secure the success of
another ? Does 'Sthe end sanctify the means -
are the authors Of the accusation against General
Pierce not to be placed in the moral category
with the wretches who take "bloed money" to
swear away the lives Of innocent men in a court Of
justice As in the Of the charges Of cowardioe
and drunkenness, we knew that this charge also
would one day other fall upon the heads Of its
concoctors with terrible retribution and here it
Is like q tbunderbolt that must crush them TO the
earth. 1t s Of those sudden, unforeseen circum-
stances that generally turns up in the end to yind
cate the character Of the DETAINED, and to put to
confusion those W. o have borne false witness
against their neighber.
A gentleman named Flood, in Arkansas, nearly
year ago, makes bet with another, as to "whether
Roman Catholics were excluded from office in the
State Of New Hampshire, or prohibited from taking
office by the constitution laws of that State and
itfwas agreed to write to Mr.. Charles O'Conor, Of
this city, in order to have the bet decided-tha5
gentleman, from his great legal knowledge, aud the
fact of his being Catholic, being regarded as good
authority the subject 1t appears, however, that
Mr.. O'Conor was not informed the question;
and he naturally wrote to General Pierce, with
whom he had slight acquaintance, and who was
the best Of information. 30 deeply humiliat
ed was General Pierce by the fact Of this odous
stain still resting upon the constitution Of his native
State, that he ashamed to reply at the time,
and deferred his answer till he had reason TO believe
that the stigma was wiped away; bat, as Mr..
O'Conor remarks, ''the W ish father to the
thought" and he was soon doomed to bitter dis
appointment by the election returns. Mr.. OCo
nor sends on General Pierce5 letter to Mr.. Flood,
of Jacksonpor., Ark, together with note of his
own, subjoined on the same sheet Of paper, dated
24th March, 1852.
This original correspondence, bearing the post
Office mark, lies at our Office for the inspection
Of any gentleman who doubts it's gcnuineness,
together with the letter Of Mr.. Flood, dated
September 10, 1852, returning the correspondence,
at the request of Mr.. O'Conor. In THE letter
he remarks that be lost $50 on the bet. Mark how
plain tale puts down the upprncipled sandsrers
who web of falsehood which they vsinly hoped
would never be unrayelled They sent of their
myrmidons to New Hamsphire, to rake up musty re
cords, which he perverted, msquo.ed aud misreprc-
sented in order to brazen ont the original charge.
But here is a record that defes contradic tion-here
long before there the slg htest idea of General
Pierce being brought forward as candidate for
the democratic omination for the Presidency, We
have under his own hand his genuine sentiments
with regard to the religious test in the const
tuition Of New Hampshire. Aud this is the man
who was accused by the party press of being
friendly to that intolerance OF which ia a private
letter he declares himself to be :" ashamed" and
expresses ga hope that the State will no longer
be disgraeed by it." This unprecedented letter,
written long before General Pierce could have
cherished hope or entertained an idea of
his nomination, is perfectly conclusive, and is
like that kind Of proof which that great rea.
soner, Paley, adduces for the Commences of the
writings OF the New lie stament--the undersigned
condolences and circun stances which are stronger
than any direct testimopv II tho on,hanti,;ty oc