American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1855-08-30
Thursday Morning Aug. 80, 1858
From ths LoaisviHe Journal.
= The Great Riots ut louisville.

.& THEIR F3REIGN OAIGlT.
= In common with every good citizen we
deeply and most sincerely deplose the san
Culinary tumults which, on Monday, the,
9Th inst, marked the annals Of Louisville
with dark and ineffaceable stain. We
can find no words sufficiently strong 10.
express our reprobatien Of mob law aud
mob violence. Our voice ever has been
and ever will be raised against the unlaw
ful exercise Of arbitrary power even by the
sovereign people. rs Lave ealways strivcn
aal shall ever continue 10 strive TO pre-
vent it If possible when contemplated and
TO rebuke il sternly and fearlessly where It
has been practiced. Ina government like
ours, where tho law emenates from the
ople, where the people themselves are at
once the sovereign and the subjects, a GO
ycrnmcnt intended to be an exemphtieation
OF The praclicabiliiy of sclf-governmeht,
tho s'rict maintenance and observance of
l,w an order, is of psramount Importance.
i. peculiarly essential to the safety and per-
nnulcnrc Of the government itstlf. Al
ways reprehtnsiblr, always dangerous. al
ways destructive TO public morals, public
peace an public safety. the prevalence Of
mob spirit and the preparation by
mob Of A. is ofviolcncc even to the she'd
ding Of blood and the destroying Of life aud
property are m ost to he deprecated In a
community, like ours, in which, by means
of forms Regularly cons:i uted an. tixel
and aloptsi by mn,utlagreem,nt, the pei,
pie thsm ,lves are really the makers OF the
law as well a, its subjects. Circums'aar.
ces may pallia:e the enotmity Of the out
rage, bat, no matter how great the provo
cation, nothing except necessity for rev
olution can altogether excuse the commis,
sion Of any act Of popular violence. u - =, (.
But when such, violence has been conf
rnitted, when the streets of our cityare still
slippery with the blood of citizens ruthless
" shot d5wn aal cruelty batchercd in a
moment Unpopular fury. when the heav-
EMS are still darkened with the smoke of
burning houses, whose smoking ruins at
test the depth, and intensity Of the furious
indignation and terrible vengeance Of an
incensel and outraged populace, we are
unwilling quietly and without resistance to
suffer unscrupulous political partizans to
falsify the truth of history, toabuse public
confidence, and to calumniate the charae-
ter Of natiye-born citizens and SANDER the
purity OF the American party by fraudu-
!entIy and falsely changing na,iye-bofn
citizeus with having produced and beg IN
the riotous proceedings, knowing as we do
and Having the power eouclusiyely to prove
that the work was not ouly commenced
but actually premeditated and pre-arrang-
ed by the miserable Foreigners, some OF
whom have fallen victims to the popular
fury their own outrageous acts produced.
We deeply lament and strongly condemn
the riotous excesses that were committed
by soma Of our native-born citizens upon
the day of the election aud the ensuing
night, but after thorough, calm, cool,
and unpreluced examination Of all the cir
cumstances attending and preceding, but
connected with these terrible tragedies,
we are forced to say, that, if ever any pow
erful provoca,ion could be pleaded forsuch
misdeeas, it certainly can be offered, II
certainly should be pleaded, upon this oc'
casion, in behalf Of the Americans who
were engaged in these most, horrible riots.
For several weeks previous to the elec'
ton the whole beyy Of Sag-Nicht organs
in this city. wantonly and m'lignanlly
with an inexcusable violence, unexampled
many previous political canvass, devoted
their columns daily to most unwarranta'
bic denunciation and abuse not merely o
the principles Of the American party, bu
Of each and every individual member Of it
The men belonging to the party were in!
Discriminatory called "thieves," murder
ers, ..midnight assassins." ''perjured
scoundrels,' "traitors to God and theil
country" and "open and avowed enemies
Of all foreigners and catholics" False
hoods until theninconceivable were shame
lessly promulgated The basest passions 4
most violent prejudices of the Roman Cath
olics and foreigners in our midst were ap
pealed toin the most inflammatory and in
cendiary language. The foreigners wer'
taught TO believe thatthey possessed right
which were dearer and Of higher impor
than any which a native born citizen coult
claim. that foreigner and Catholic onb
ofall the citizens Of the country were EN-
iushtly and truly patriotic; that they, from
the very fact Of their being foreigners AMI