Thibodaux minerva. [volume] (Thibodaux, La.) 18??-1858, 1855-09-15
Calumnious Accusations.

The f0lOWlHS, Whieu VIC CoPy ifoM ene Ne"
Orleans Bee of the 18th inst, is so much to the
vcut, and so far superior IN force of language
and dcton, to any thing that we might say
ourself, that we cheelfully give it place in our
columns for the many truths it contains:
$50 much of fasehood and calumny has been
uttered and printed in relation to the ob'lga-
lions Of members of the American party, that
re have almost grown weary of refutlng 1t.
whatsoever things are vile, dishonorable, lntole-
r.nt. and atrocious have been, unscrupulously
.,,r;buted to the Order. 1t has been charged
With fostering and intoxicating principles utterly
r.nupnant to reason, patriotism, sound sense,
I'd Common honesty Thousands of gallant
-.o,Iemen. of high minded and upright citizens,
sho loathe falsehood, and hold in scorn any
roIcv save that of rectitude and honor, have
hseu ecntemptuously styled dark-lantern
1917. reviled as midnight assassins and as
s.;led with the coarsest epithets that the voca-
hul.rv Of abuse can supply. And why! Be-
..u,e forsooth the sons of America, those
IAN the iudissoluble tie of birth binds to their
VIC land. conceive and assert that our coun-
.-v .hou,d be governed by Americans alone.
ror this and for this Alone they are vili6ed
and denounced; the angry prejudices of igno-
-.,t aliens are aroused against them ; they are
loaded with obloquy, their views misrepre-
.ented. their tenets caricatured and distorted,
and themselves pointed at, as outlaws of society.
Such course is little less than infamous, and
II. cruel Injustice must revolt every man who
has = heart in his bosom, or whose love of
country is not guaged by the measure Of ONCE
and pef.
If persistent SANDER and defamation, look at
If Hofholic proscrinfION--a
charge iterated and reiterated till the gorge
rises at it. The members of the Order in
Louisiana KNOW this allegation to be absolutely
faise-know that it has not even the semblance
Of truth that it is false in all its parts, that it
is the mere invention of an adversary whose
unlicensed imagination is not restrained by
uroper sense of decorum and discretion. The
outsiders, if they reflect for moment. must
see that the charge is alike shallow and sense
less. If the American order were opposed to
Catholics, how could the State ticket contain
the names Of Catholics; how could the vene-
rable candidate for Governor have presided for
. year as the President Of the State Council in
Louisiana: how could Catholics be nominated
in the Creole parishes by the American party,
for various Offices? Can any man with an
ounce of brains within his skull really swallow
such abominable stuff as this accusation, in the
teeth of the palpable evidence to the contrary!
And yet our opponents faint not and falter not
in bowling forth the unmitigated libel, shrek
ing it out to the echo that repeats it again and
again.
"We are, indeed, told on the rare occasions
when the anti-American party condescend to
argue, that Louisiana may have abolished the
Catholic test, but that it is in full force else
where, and has only been repealed here from
motives of paramount expediency. This state
ment is replete with error In the first place,
we deny boldly and unequivocally that Catho-
lie test ever existed in this State; that the
word Catholic ever occurs in the ritual; or
that any species of religious intolerance is in
culcated by the Order in Louisiana. publ
cation has been made, whether spurious or
genuine we know not, Of what purports to be
the ritual of the American party. Not only is
it wholly and utterly untrue in its application
to Louisiana, but it would be impossible for
any person working under it, to obtain ad-
mission into wigwam. To the members OF
the Order in Louisiana this pretended revela-
ton is a perfect enigma, not recognized or
understood by them. In the next place, it is
equally incorrect to assert that the Catholic
test prevails elsewhere. 1t does not exist in
Mississippi; it has been formally repudiated in
Texas; Georgia has abolished it; South Caro-
lima refuses to incorporate it in her platform;
Kentucky rejects its application to American
Catholics; Maryland will assuredly disavow it;
Alabama will do the same, and has already
taken steps to carry it out; Virginia. by I'M
anmous vote of her State Council. will tolerate
no religious test; and Tennessee has evinced
her determination to follow Louisiana. In
Arkansas the test never existed. Thus Of the
South and Southwestern States. there are
scarcely any that acknowledge religious test;
while even in the North and West, the eighth
section Of the Philadelphia platform is declared
to apply to those alone who recognize CIVIL
allegiance to any potentate or power superior to
that they owe to the Constitution of the United
States and the laws made in pursuance thereof.
"The truth is, the anti-American party are
compelled to rely upon this continual charge of
Catholic prescription, in default of more stable
accusations, and they lack the candor to admit
that Louisiana is not amenable to the charge,
and that if it ever could be urged against other
States, it is about being done away with by the
action Of those States. The Antics dare not
place the issue on the true ground-the reform
of the naturalization laws. This they avoid
altogether, and substitute in its stead appeals
to passion and prejudice, virulent invective,
garnished with the low bufoonery and bastard
wit Of some of their prominent speakers. We
trust that in this canvass, our public men will
compel the anti-Americans to keep to the
record. Bring them to the direct issue, "Shall
the naturalization laws be amended" and force
them to defend, if they can, the present lax,
inefficient system that opens the door to null
titudinous frauds, and corrupts the public senti-
ments Of the country"
CARLYLE ON THE EUROPEAN WAR.-Mr. Car
lyle, the historian, in letter to = friend has