Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1853-11-23
Chr Ddilp spy.
Ono of the WING Ticks.

Ono O1 thAe W ing
Amongst the means employed by the Wings to
induce the Catholics to vote against the Amended
Constitution, was one eminenIIy characteristic
and worthy of thar honest party They causedt be
circulated, among the Catholic voters a pamphlet
purporting 10 be the New Constitution, - the fol-
lowing article of which they directed especial alien
lion:
GAS the happiness Of people, and the good order
and preservation OF civil government, essentially
depend upon piety, religion, aud morality; and as
these cannot be generally ditfused through a commu
nifty, but by the institution of the public worship of
GOD, and Of public instruction in piety religion and
morality. Therefore, to pronnie their happiness,
and TO secure the good oder and preservation Of their
government, the people of this Commonwealth have
right TO invest their Legislature with power to
authorize and require ,and the Legislature shall from
time to time ,auihorize and require the several towns
parishes, precincts and other bodies polite ar re-
ligious societies TO make suitable provision at their
own expense, for the institution of the public wor-
ship of COP, and for the support and maintenance
OF public, PROTESTANT teachers OF pietv, religion
and morality, in all cases where such provision rha
not be made voluntarily"
Now this is the Sd article Of the original Massa-
chuseus Bill of Rights. In 1920, when i; and the
Constitution of 1880, were revised, the 81 arfi-
Gle Of said Bill Of Rights was essentially modified
and amended, to secure perfect religious free
dom and the voluntary support Of all public teachers
oil pety and morality, Protestant we'll as Roman
Catholic. Ii is needless say, that in the Amended
Constitution of 1853, entire freedom of conscience
and perfect religious liberty secured. But what
shall we say Of party which, while processing to
embody in itselfall the responsibility all the dignity
all L II
the State, could grossly outrage truth, and be so
utterly lost to all of manliness,as to present the
Bill of Rights and Constitution Of 1880 to foreign
voters, as the Amended Constitution Of 1889 The
English language, comprehensive and forcible it
is, does not contain ephets sufficiently opprobrious
TO characterize such meanness.
They wanted to defeat the amended Constitu--
tion-they set themselves, body and soul, to do
it, and, adopting the doctrine of Loyola, that
''the end justifes the means,'' they imposed
upon the credulity of Catholic voters by repre-
senting the obsolete articles Of the old Constitu-
ton, as the provisions of the Constitution framed
by the Convention of 1858. The Wings sue.
ceeded, by this outrageous means, in exciting the
religious luminosity of portion of our Catholic
citizens against the State Reformers, and they
induced them to vote down the new Constu.
tion. Perhaps the Wings will live to learn that
they paid too high price for their temporary
triumph.
There is sufficient acerbity in politics, without
adding to them the bitterness of theological pas
sion; and the men who introduce theology into
the merely secular aud social contests of our
American society, are responsible for the conse-
quences that may insue. Protestants, when their
religious passions were aroused, have shown
themselves to be as stern and unrelenting in per-
secutiOn any other sect The mild persua-
sion of liberty has led to the abolition Of sectarian
anlmosity and persecution in Massachusetts; but
the Wings have the Infamous distinction of seek
ing again to revive the ideas of such men as
TorquemadO, and stern Cotton Mather 1t is a
distinction which no other party in the nation
would seek to share with them.