Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1854-12-08
Went into Returned
BISHOP HOPKINS
On the .v'afaraFf= afson Lars.
And the objects OF the
" KNOW NOTHINGS."

\ correspondent oil the Boston
Transcript gives a very clear anc
comprehensive report of most in
teresting, and, in connection with
the signs of the times" quite inn
portant lecture by the Rt Rev Bish-
OPP HoPKINs, of Vermont. II will
be read with deep interest and ex-
ert an important influence on the
public mind. We quote
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. l6. 1854.
Last evening the Episcopal Bishop
of Vermont opened another course
by a lecture on the "True Admins
tration Of the Law in the Natural
izalion of Foreigners" Bishop
Hopkins is Irish by birth, and that
fact gave peculiar interest to his
treatment of this important subject
-one that is of such popular inter-
est, that | propose to sketch an oLt-
line OF his treatment of it. He o.
pened by alluding to the secret or
ganization of the Know Nothings,
and maintained that there must be
at the root of the popularity and
power of this body some truth
That truth was, the abuses to which
we, as a nation, had been subjected
by the admission to citizenship OF
masses of unworthy foreigners. As
a remedy, the abolition of all nat
urallzation laws had been proposed ;
but that was unnecessary and i'm
practicable. The law of naturaliza-
ton, he contended, was wise and
inst, but the evils complained of
had arisen from the unrlghteous
mode in which it had been admin
islered.
Universal suffrage is the grand
exponent of the genius of our ma.
ton, but in It's application a compe-
tent degree of virtue and intelli-
gence in the people was assumed by
the trainers of the Constitution
The statesmen of the Old World
have no faith in the practibility Of
our national principle, because they
have no faith in the sufliciency o.
the virtue aud Intelligence of the
people but every friend to the
| Constitution denies the low estimate
OF the 0oPabiiity of the popular
mind, and demands from society the
means of its true development for
wise political action. But yet it is
well to consider the facts of our his
tory and our condition, that the
present question may be wisely met.
The lecturer spoke of the charac-
ter of the Colonisls, and that they
brought what was better than
wealth or the sword, or both united,
for the well being Of the State
virtue and intelligence and here
had been built up IA government
whose foundation principle honors
capacities of our race. But the
sixty years Of our existence, we are
reminded, is but a brief period in
the history of nation, and already
we are hearing complaints from ev-
cry quarter of the land that our IN
stitutions are in danger, and the
eclipse of our glory is approaching.
With these fears the speaker did not
sympathize at all. All the evils
complained of came from another
class of errors than those of princi-
pies or laws. 1t is not that the
principle touching the elective fran
chise is wrong or impracticable, but
the power involved has been lightly
conferred on a large class Of low
foreigners. The law is good
enough, but the people are not the
same-they are not Of the character
contemplated in the law which pro-
sided for their admitlance to the ad-
illustrative power of the country
Here, then, is the great evil-a
charge must be preferred against the
Judiciary Of the country-serious as
the act Of making such a charge