The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-11-02
THE NATIONAL ERA WASHINGTON. D. c. NOVEMBER g. 1854

Churches while the value of their Church
property is rnne times greater.
Whatis there in this showing to arouse APP
prehens of Catholic ascendency? The
CATHOLICS are in a minority here, and must for
ever reh so; and we are glad of it. Were
they an absolute majority of the People, we
would not trust them-the rights of conscience
would be in jeopardy; but We should feel jeal-
Gus of power in the hands of any sect whatso-
ever. Were the Methodists or Presbyterians
an absolute majority of the People, although
pledged, as Catholics are not, to federation,
there would be no security for Conscience
against Governmental prescription. In all ages,
and in all countries, they are few who appre-
ciate thoroughly the rights of Conscience and
the principles of religious liberation. The safe
guard of religious liberty is to be found in the
division of opinion and the multiplication of
denominations, to which the great Protestant
doctrine of the right of private judgment ne
cessarily leads. Each sect, being in the minor
ity, is bound by the instinct of selfpreservation
to respect and uphold freedom of conscience.
Did our views need illustration, we might
point to the fact that even in this republican
country, under a Constitution which prohibits
any religious test, and in this age of the world,
when it is claimed that the principles of civil
and religious liberty are more generally under
stood and recognised than at any former period,
Party aiming to put down Catholicism by ex-
Guiding its disciples from political office, should
have found favor with many of the most active
advocates of Professionalism, the very essence of
which is, stern reputation of all coercive
measures calculated to restrain the liberty of
conscience! Listen to what the reverend Doc
tor of Divinity who presides over the columns
of the Hcsteyn Christian Adrocdte, says, COM
menting on our protest against religious pro-
scription:
.sTo exclude Catholics from civil office be-
cause they recognise the supremacy OF the
Church in matters of faith is not to prosecute
them. as the Era, without ground, contends for,
nor does it war against conscience, nor institute
any proper religious test in politics. The true
state of the question is: the conscience OF the
true Romanist leads him to deprive others of
the right of conscience. No man has the right
to make others bound to his conscience. To
grant to the Catholic the rights of conscience as
he demands, is to surrender our conscience to
his will; and by the exercise of this right, as as
sumed by the Catholic, all Protestants or here
tics are to be prosecuted to death; if need be,
deprived of the right of worship, their children
taken from them and educated for Catholics,
besides q thousand other invasiOns of natural
rights, as the history of the world shows and all
proper standards of Popery teach"
The argument is, that because the Catholics
are prosecutors, we have right to persecute
them because they deny the right of private
Judgment, we are justified in denying it to
them: because, if they had the power, they
would exclude us from Office, we, having the
course is not persecution He denounces
Popery and would adopt its policy-execrates
Rome, and goes to Rome for his Christianity!
We need not say how utterly we loathe the dog
mas concerning Papal authority, inculcated by
Brownson, the Feemon's Journal, Boston Pilot,
and other blind zealots. The Catholics of this
country have incurred much odium from the
anti American teachings of these opponents of
their faith. While it would be wanton proscrip
ton to exclude them from political Office. SIM
ply because they are Catholics, they cannot
wonder that Republican People should be
anxious to know the views of any doubtful can
didate in regard to these dogmas, and should
Indignantly reject any claimant for their suffra-
ges, who recognises supreme allegiance to the
Pope or Church in civil affairs. The purity
r
lection.
Before closing this article, we must correct
an error into which the editor of the Western
Christian Adrocate has fallen in commenting
upon our views. He says:
"The editor of the National Era. in his issue
of October 18th, writes an article on & the
Rights of Naturalized Citizens-KnOw Moth
ings, in which he much of truth in respect
to the course of the Wings and Democrats. in
endeavoring to obtain the patronage of the Ro-
manists He comedies that the Democrats have
succeeded in obtaining the alliance, and that
the Wings have been disappointed The editor
of the Era forgot that the Free-Soilers, in for
mer years. tried their hands at this work, and
published certain extracts from Papal bulls,
and from O'Connell and others, in view of secu-
ring Romanists to their party; but the plan did
not succeed"
The Free-Soilers, who were organized under
that name for the first time in lS49, never made
any such appeals-never tried their hands at
this work. What the Adrocote alludes to, is,
the circulation given about the year 1910, and
little later, to certain speeches of O'Connell,
on the subject of American Slavery, calculated
to counterfeit the Pro-Slavery tendencies of his
countrymen in America, and to the publication
of the bull of Pope Gregory, we think, on the
slave trade This bull was published as extern
sively by the political press as by the Anti-Sla-
very press proper; and no Party attempted to
use it for the purpose of obtaining g the patron
age of the Romanists.' As to the Free Soil
Party, it was not then IN existence. We pub
lished the document, hoping that it might have
some little influence in bringing Catholics to
take sound views of the question of Slavery.
Just as we used to publish Wesey's Thoughts
on Slavery" for the purpose of inducing our
friend of the Christian Adrocate and his breth-
rem to abandon their hostility TO the Anti-Sla-
very movement. In dealing with opponents, it
is proper to try them by their own standard,
and appeal to authorities which they recognise.
There is no demagoguism in this.
CHANGES IN THE SENATORIAL DELEGATES
OF THE FREE STATES.
The terms of the following Sena tors will ex-
pre on the 4th of March, 1855 Messrs Nor
ris of New Hampshire; Seward, of New York !;