Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1855-05-03

lie debstes have uniformly been applied 10 articles of prop
er and aerer % passsnvs voluntarily coming to the
imports IS in my Judgment most evidently without
any reasonable foundation.
It will be seen that the opinion of Chief Justice
fancy excludes passengers voluntarily coming to
this country in ships from the operation of both the
provisions Of the Constitution referred to-
Justice Woodbury. uses the following language:
elf Congress without co ordinste concurrent power
ID the States prohibit other persons well slaves
from coming into The States they of allow it and
hence permit and demand the Submission of slaves
well as any kind o. Tres persons coDycts paupers into
any State and enforce the demand by tue Overwhelming
power Of the Union however obnoxious the inhabitants
and Wishes Of the people Of particular State In view OF
inference like this has therefore said that under
this section Congress cannot admit persons whom State
pleasss exclude. 18th Wheaton, 2S0-7n Holard 542
He also read the following extract from Chief
Justice fancy, in the case of Smith vs. Turner 7th
Howard, 465:
"The first inquiry xhher under the Constitution the
Federal has the power to compel the
States to receive and suer to remsn ton with
its citizens every person or class Of persons whom it may
be he policy pleasure Of the United States 70
If the people OF the States OF this Union reserved to them
selves the power Of expeng from their borders any per-
class OF persons whom might deem dangerous 10
its peace likely TO produce physical moral evil among
its citizens then any treaty law Of Congress invading
this right and authorizing the Introduction of snv nsrso5
description Of persons against the consent Of the States
would be ursupaon which this could Meth
er recognize nor enforce.
Gov johnson then further recited from Justice
Woodbury.
at Is mistaken view to say that the power Of state
exclude slaves free blacks conyics or paupers or
to make pecunary for their admission may be not
conflicting with Commerce. while the same power applied
to alien passengers coming in vessels does conflict. And
il Mississippi and Ohio rightly impose prohibitions
taxes any TO such coming by land water from
other States may Massachusetts, and New York thus
coming from foreign nations by waierIh Ho'card $50
1t must now be apparent to all that this is
power that should be exercised by the States and
not the Federal government If New York or
any of the eastern or Atlantic States have had or
| may hereafter have a superabundance OF foreign
I population thrown in upon them, they have the
remedy in their own State authority. Ii criminals
and paupers are attempted to be thrown upon their
shores, they have the power to reject them Ii
the ballot box is corrupted or abused by the for
| eign population, they have the remedy in their
| own hands, and know better how to correct the
evil complained Of THAI any other State or the
| Federal government
| Tennessee has no authority directly as State,
nor indirectly through the National government, to
interfere with the internal regulations OF New
York any other State of the eoniederacy, nor
Is New York or any other State the rght to IN
a ffere with the internal and domestic regulations
tennessee Tennessee has the authority, as we
olnsedy shown, in the event that any popula-
% sn or native, shall be thrown within her
90 That are inimical to her Institutions, to re-
ject and eject them beyond her sovereign limits
This is power that is now in practical operation
under law now upon our Statute Book, which
law excludes free persons OF color, under heavy
penalty from coming within the limits of the State,
aud the law can and WILDE so extended ifit should
eFer become necessary to 90 SO, as to embrace
criminals and psupers end sill other persons who
are dsturbers of the peace and 1niriendly TO the
well being Of the State.
| 1t must now be clear to ali that this question is
not a national one and the power is that should
not be exercised by the Federal government, but
by the States, as circumstances and necessity may
require Fbs question beiDe ,rioOed Of an it. nationality
and shown to be local and State in its character,
the enquiry very naturally arises as to the extent
of the existence of the evil within the borders OF
our own State Has the ballot box been corrupted
or abused b. foreign population? Have there been
criminals and psuper. thrown by foreign govern
ments within bordersl If these evils exist, We
have the remedy in our own hands, and should ap-
ply it to the case If they do not exist the elaor
which has been raised by this new Order, in refer
enoe to foreigners and paupers, has no foundation
in reality. He would ask how many foreigner:
there were in the State of Tennessee The whoiS
number, according to the census Of 1850, was M,
| thousand siE hladred and thirty eight-He asked
was this any great cause of alarm Fire thousand
sac hundred aud hirty eight foreigners dispersed
through sepeE hundred and ftty sac thousand eig+
Hundred and thirty Sic the white population Of the
State; which shows that there are one h,ladreo
and Hirla-tour Hatips born citizens to One foreigner
This ia the great cause of alarm and constitutes IN
part, the foundation OF the know-nothing party
He would now ask how many foreigners there were
holding Office in this State? He did not know Of
but one, who was holding an office OF any lmpor-
lance, and that was one of the Judges of the Su-
i. H. Nf1Er and Ia
would further ask, who it was that put him in Of
fee; if it was not the people Themselves and who
| had right to condemn them for what they did at
the ballot box2 The people have right to elect
and select whom they please as their agents or pub
lie servants and no one, he held, bad right to
ragn or question their action in appointing or ell, C.
ting their public servants. .
But the watch-wofd or the Syren song now sung
by this new Order is, that Americans mnst rule
America" Gov. J. sad that he was not only fol
Americans ruling Americans. but he was for Ameri-
cans ruling foreigners also. He had been taught tC
understand that in this government the peoplerued
and that in filling the Offices which they had cres
tad in the formation of their Constitution and th'
laws passed in conformity thereto, they were mere
= " appointing agents or servants to transact ant
herform the duties which they had prescribed Il
lie Constitution and laws, and in the selection o
these agents, they had right to elect those tina
II thew deemed most efficient and faithful to the Law
and Constitution whether native foreign born
This ne considered was Americans ruling America
or in other words, the people controlling the actor
of the government according to their own will anc
N Judgment.
<k Gov. JOHNSON then took up the pretended OF
4 position Of the know nothngs to Catholicism, anC
4 contended that it was the yeriest hypocrisy CT
b their part So far as he was concerned, on that
OCCASION il was not his intention to interfere with
any of the numerous religious denominations that
prevail in this country but to leave them all where
the Constitutions Of the United States and the
States had placed them, believing in and yielding
his fn credence to the doctrine that all men have
a natural and indefeasible right to worship Al
mighty God according to the dictates OF their own
conscience. He was for no established religion -
no Union of Church and State,-bnt for their re-
manning separate and distinct He said that, if be
understood correctly, and he thought he DID, the
position Of the know nothings, that there were
but two differences to be drawn from It: one was
! the Union OF Church and State, the other was the
overthrow ofaIl religion and the establishment OF
Atheism and inidelity upon its ruins. The know no.
things assume the bold and broad proposition that
Catholic is disqualified from holding Office on ae-
count of his religious tenets. If Catholic IS IN
| competent and disqualified on account of his re-
gious teuets the opposite of the proposition must
be true aud assumed at the time, that the IN
dvidual who is qualified must profess the religious
tenets aud principles necessary to quahiy MIN 10
hold Office, which was at once making q rehgious
F