Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1855-11-28
part vas he taking 3 was he

|" hatpart was he taRing2 Was he
an officer ?''1tsI IL was in tosqn meeting
where u saw him. ~ why do you
answer inssthat manner When q
said meeting did you suppose I meant
5owa glesting2" {. Is1lfd not KNOW .bltt5that
goa did ssHaye you seen Gardiner ta
king part in such meeting of society
such as / have described to you and il
SO, what part 2" '.I do not know what
part g Has your society g password g
ut has, Has it g gnp or token By
which you gain admission 90 Ithas !;
but ! will not disclqse3it2 6 Whatsd did
you mean when you testified that you did
not belong to any such society as that
called ( KNOWN othings g ~ = T. said 1
did not belong to the h -Rn0sb-l Hotliags.' :"
".What did you mean when you said
that you did not belong to any secret So
ciety opposed to aliens, when you now
admit that5you do, and take anToath to
keep it secret?' IS I thinkiti is not much
of secret society when all the doings get
into tile newspapers" ne is that all your
answer 2" cit is"
These contradictory statements it will
be recollected, were made In Court of
Justice and UPON OATH If further proof
of the lying tendency Of Known othing-
ism is required. we confess our inability
to 9ive it.!
In proof of the prescription of Know
Nothingism, we again quote from the
oath of the initiate
" You will not vote nor give your in
fuence for uny man for any office in the
gift of the people, unless he be an 4meri-
can born citizen. IN favor of americans ru-
ling america, nor if he be a Roman Catho-
ic."
If here is not prescription with ver-
geance, we do not know the meaning of
language. This oath obligates person to
not only vote for no foreigner or Catho-
lie, but no " American born citizen, I'M
less he belongs to the Know Nothing par
IT,, as they pretend to believe that all 9TH
els are opposed to Americans ruling
America" That this is what is meant,
is proved by the declarations of their
leading presses and speakers that they
should elect to no Office, not even ConSta-
Die, any who do not belong to their party.
Nor will it do to plead the example OF the
Democratic party, in justification of this
prescription, for it has never practised it.
In this county, with decided majority,
that party has heretofore divided the
members Of the House of Delegates with
its opponents, gave them State Senator,
Clerk of the County Court. County Sur
veyor, and even in the strongest Demo-
cratic district in the county, the magis~
trates were equally divided. Thus evin-
cling aliberality which We would commend
to our Know-Nothing friends.
We hope that we have succeeded in
showing the editor of the " Age" that
Know Nothingism has at leasta 'squin-
ting towards falsehood and prescription,
and have no doubt that we shall be equal
ly successful in proving it to be produc-
tive of "strife, hatred and violence" In
the first place, it is well known that there
exists. within that order a regular organi-
zation for riotous purposes, the workings
of which, as we learn by their ritual and
obligations, and which we have no doubt
will be recognized by the brethren, is af-
ter this fashion
" In time Of danger, or where the Ame-
rican interest requires an immediate as
semblage OF the brethren"-to destroy a
ballot box or kill some poor devil of a
foreigner, we suppose brother will
give " the cry of distress" which is ''Oh !
Oh - The brothers hearing it are sworn
TO respond " Hio Hio % and immedi-
ately fly to the place from whence the
cry of distress proceeded, &c snzess 1t be
physically impossible" such is the Ian
guage of the obligation which also re-
quires the members, when so assembled,
to obey the command of the State
Council president or his deputy" Be-
ing thus assembled at word, and under
the direction of an INSCRIPTIONS leader
whom they have sworn to obey, the or
ganization can act unitedly and effective>
ly, which accounts for the extent and sue
cess OF their riotous conduct at Louisville
and elsewhere. There are also other
means of assembling the brethren ogeth-
err especially on an election day. for pur-
poses peculiar to themselves. We are not
willing to accept as an excuse for this orr
ganization, any similar riotous occurren-
ces which may have happened before the
formation of the 's9reat american pqriv. !"