Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1854-10-27

| u SfTf Durlttl forever.
have said this organization against tho spirit;
of our lnws. Our laws sprang from the necessity nf
! tho condition Of our early settlers. They brought
with them from England their pepatcs the household
Gods of nm Ango-Saxon race tho liberties nr Magnn
Chara, the trial by jury the Judgment of the peers
and the other munncn:s of human dignity und hut
man rights secured the first English Charta These
foreigners brought with them from Emropr. Here
they found the virtues to extend these rights and their
munments The neglect of the mother country left
them scli-depcndrnt and sclf-rciant until they
thoroughly taught the lesson of sryfg1rcymrnt-ta
they could be their own suvcrcigrsand the very
periencc OF despotsm they had once tasted made them
hate tyrants either elective hereditary Their dcs
ttutc and exposed condition trained them 10 hardy
habits and cultivated in them every scrnor virur.--
They knew privaon, fatigue endurance, scfdcnal,
turtitudc, und were made men ut nrns-cautious,
courageous, generous just and trusting in God. They
had 10 night Indians, from Phillip, Massachusetts
Bay, to Powhatan, on the river of Swans And they
| had an unexplored continent to subduc, with its
teemig soil, its majestic forests, its towering noun
tains, and its unequalled rivers Above oil things,
fh'y needed pp"|t'on, more to~- -s'fffrs- more t0r-
rigncrs TO immigrdte, and 10 AID them IN hf task ot
om"drS Of Empire set btore them, oPcn the forests,
70 Icci the hills, AMI 10 raise mp The r0ys Of giant
ncw country Well, these foreigners did their task
| like men. Such work who can eXaggorate ii L
They did it against all odds and in spite o European
| oppression. They grew and hrivcd, until they were
| rich enough to be taxed. They were told taxation
was no tyranny. But these foreigners gave tho world
new truth OF freedom. Taxation w,tho" representa-
| tson, WAS tyranny. Tho attempt to impose itupou
them, tho least mite of it, made them resolve: "thal
they would give millions for defence but not n cent for
| tr'dmtc." That live drove them to the necessity
of war, md they, Foreigners. Pro"stdnts, Catholics
and n took the dire alternative, untcd as band of
brothers, and declared their dependence upon God
| alone. And they entered 10 the world compliant OF
| grevances,-a Declaration of Independence This
was pretty well Ia show whether Foreigners "t any
and all religions, just fresh from Europe, could be
| Ifri,st tod ~ fhn sid of
| the first Of their complaints was
| ale George Ill. has cndeavored 10 prrrem the
population of these States, for that purpose odSrac-
ing the haTS for naturalization Of torCracrs, REFUSING
10 pass others 10 encourage their emigration hhrr, aud
raising the conditions Of appropriations of land
There is the proof that they valued the naturallza-
tion of foreigners aud the immigration OF Foreigners
hhcr, and that they desired appropriations new mp
| preparations of land for immigrants.
Another complaint was that they Ind appealed M
vain TO "Brtsl 6rcthren." They SAID
ave have appealed to their .Nat'c justice and mag
nanimity; and we have conjurcd them. by TIC ties 81
our common kindred, to disavow thcac usurpatons
&c. Thy, too, have been deaf Ia the voice ofjns!icc
amt eonsansutnHy. We must, therefore, acquescG
in the necessity which denounces our separation and
hold them, as we hold the rest g '"an6'"d enemies III
war. in peace friends"
There is proof, too that Natirism can't always be
relied on 10 help ones own cnuntrymcn. aud that
6rC.hreu aud kindred, and roa:SaggR'y, will tn!l
whole people in trouble Just kin-hp too oftcn nii-
families and individuals III the trials ct life
And, lastly "ior the support o '!iis Declaration,
ith fr,n reliance on The pr0tccon 0t Dirln" Prort
dencc mutually pledge to cort ofhrr lrr' our
| Fortunes, and our sacred h0nOr."
| There was Tolerance, there was n firm reliance on
! the same one God; there was mutuaiitv of pledge
each 10 the other, at ono nitar, and there WINS com
| mon stake OF sacrhce-"irGs, t0riuurs and honD,, "
| And who were they There Hancock the Pu.
rtan, Penn tho Quaker, Rutedge :hr Hucucnot, Car
roll the Catholic Lee the Cavalier, Jefferson the Free
Thinker These, representatives, Of Nil the sers and
the siCncrs representatives OF ali the people ot al
| the colonies.
Oh! my countrymcn dM not that 'p'cdgc" bird
them and us thc'r heirs, jOrrrr IL FH1h ami Hppe an
Goi and Ia Charity for each oitcr-to 11iragcc an
Religion, and In "mntnGlHy" ~ Po!R'cH Frccdrm
| Down, down with any orcanz"ti"n thcn' which ar
nOunccs "scporat,on' between Protestant iTC'nla
| and Catholic Maryland-bctwccn III" children oi
Catholic Carroll and of Protestant George Nythe.-
Their names stand together among the sigma
ture-." and viii! redeem their 'n.uruni pledges with
my "lile my fortune, and my sacred honor $50
far rs in me lies-So help Inc Almighty God"
think that here is proof enough that "iorelgners
and Catholics both entered as mutcral elements into
| our Ane,1eayism. But before III" ith day Of Jny
| there were laws passed of the highest authority, to
| which this secre. organization is opposcl.
On the 18th of June 10, the Convention OF FlrCi-
mia passed "Decarn,un of Rights" Its ith section
declares that no man, or SET 0 men, nre entitled I"
exclusive or separate emolumcnts OF privileges iron,
| the community, but in confederation Of public ser
vices which not being desccndlbc, neither ought tho
Offices of Magistrate, Legislator or Judge to be hered
| itary."
Now does the Know Nothins organization no'
claim for the NoIirc born 'sc Of m TO be entitled
To exclusive privileges from the cnmnunty against
Naturalized and Catholic citizens and thus, by vir'
tue Of BIRTH 10 inherit the right Of election Ia the OF.
fees OF Magistrate, Legislator or Judge, which arc
| not descendble They set up no such claim for the
ndiridual person native born, but they do set up
| gunlty for NutirHy, to which, nni 10 which alone
they claim pertain, the privileges OF eligibility to Of
| fees.
Acan:-Docs this organization not violate the 7tl
section OF this declaration of rights which forbid. "'
power of suScRdiag laws, or the execution ut laws
by any authority without consent If the representa-.
ves Of the people, ns injurious +? clr rights and
which ought not be cxcrcised! Men the laws say
and the representatives of the people say, that Ca.
holics and naturalzcd citizens sh"H he tolerated md
allowed to enjoy tho privileges n citizenship aud eli
gbility to office hnvethey not organized nsccret power
to suspend these laws and to prevent the execution OF
hcm by their sole authority, without consent ot the
representatives of the pcoplc' This declaration de-
nounccs injurious TO tho rights o the people and
| as power which ought not to he exercised.
Agan:-Docs not this organization annul tina; part
Of the Sth section of this decaralloi which says
That no man shall be deprived Of his liberty, except
by the law of the land, or the Judgment ofhis pccrsh
This don't apply alone TO personal liberty the freedom
Of the body from prison. but nnn shall be deprived
Of his franchises Of any sort, I" his liberty Ill lis
largest sense except by the law OF tho land or the
private and secret tribunal right t" impose quail
icnons for office, and to enforce Their laws by test
oahs, so rs to deprive AM man "f his liberty to be
| elected!
Acain:--ls this organization not an lmpcrum in
mperio against the Nth section Of this declaration,
which says: "That the people hnvc right to uniform
government and, therefore, that no government sept
rated from independent of the government OF Nr-
cinia ought 10 be erected established vabin The
Tniss thcrcot" 1t is no, gorcrnmc@ but does it not,
will it not politically govern the portion ot the peo-
pie belonging to it, differently from what the portion
OF the people not belonging to II, arc governed ny the
laws OF Virginia.!
Again:-lt docs not adhere to the 'yuS''ce and mo-
dcraon" inclcacd in the 18th section of the dccara
tion. And lastly, it avowedly opposes the 10th Sec
tion which declares, "hat rri'ghon or hc duty which
we owe TO oul Creator and the mdamr "f hschnrS'"g
H. he directed only by reason and r0Hr'rfoH, not
BIZ force r0rncr; nnd therefore all men are cY"0y
entitled to the free exercise of religion, according m
ftr dictates Of consc'encc and mat II 's me m'H0i
dnty Of all TO practice christian Jor6'ardT' lore and
! cknrity tomards each other."
But this organization not only contravenes the
rules Of Declaration of Independence and Rights,
but is in the face Of positive nnd perpetual sntute,
now made part Of onr organic law by the new Con-
stutou-the Act of Religious Freedom, passed the
18th Of December, i7S5. Against this law, this
Know Nothing order attacks the freedom Of the mind,
by imposing "civil incapncitations IT thus "tcuds to
beget habits of hypocrisy and mcanncss II attempts
to punish one religion and to propagate another "by
coercion on both body and mind" ,"assumcs domin
ION over the faith of others it scts mp its opn
ions and modes Of thinking the only true and nfa
libe" it makes our civil rights t" have dependence
OH our religious opinions it "dcprlves citizens Of
their natural rights by prescribing tcm unworthy
the public confidence, by laying upon. them an inca
pucity of being called to offices Of ''us and ornou-
ment, unless they profess renouucc this or TINT re
gous opiuou; "it tends to corrupt the principles of
that religion il is meant to encourage by bribing with
monopoly of worldly honor. uni emolumen,s, those
who viii externally profess and conform to it, it
lacks confidence in Truth, which "is great und will
prevail" ii left TO herself tina; she is the proper and
sufficient antagonist to Error and has nothin, to fenr
from the conflict, unless by human interpostion dis
armed OF hor naturul weapons free argument and de-
bate; il -Ihdrars errors from free argument and de-
dnnrc-pus bccauso il is not pernted freely TO con.