The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1855-09-07
MR.. STEPHENS A KNOW NOTHING.

It is getting to be very common among
certain class Of newspapers in Tennessee, to
quote Hon. Alexander Stephens, Of Georgia,
as one Of the great lights Of the nation who
Il opposed 70 the American moveme emit, and
is now battling for the euemy--that enemy
who believes that the best American citizens
are those who were born in Irelar i and Ger.
many. We do not know how Mr.. Stephen.
may really fee, upon the American question
at this time, but rs recently as the year 1852
he was good American, and planted himself
upon the American platform. In proof read
the following extracts from an "Address de-
livered by MIR. Stephens before the Maryland
Institute in Baltimore, on the evening of the
2Sd February, 1852, in commemoration of
the birthday Of Washington" We take these
extracts from pamphlet copy of said address,
published by John I. Towers, Washington
City.
The other point promised to allude to is.
the subject of our foreign relations. This is be-
coming matter of grave and momentous i'm.
portance Tor the consideration of the Ameri.
can people. IL Is a matter that the far seeing
eye Of Washington did not overlook. Hence
his emphatic and solemn warning with you
have just heard, against the insidious
wiles of foreign influence Il conjure you to
believe me, fellow citizens,) the jealousy of a
Tree people ought TO be constantly awake"
This was the language Of the patriot and sage
in his last words to his countrynen. The
hand that penned it has long since returned
to its mother dust but the same voice still
comes from his tomb at Mount Vernon, and
here, this night, invoke you, for his sake il
not for your own. to hearken to that voice.
Again he says, "The great rule of conduct for
us in relation to foreign nations is, to have
with them as little political connection as
possible" From that day to this--for more
than half Ia century-we have followed that
advice. Our motto from that time 10 this, in
the language of Mr.. jefferson, has been
''Friendship with all MISUNDERSTANDING al,
liances with none" And am proud to say
that no Amercan-no son of Washington,
not even the most degenerate, was the first to
advocate change in this policy. 1t was re
served for the son of another and distant
ohme-a man, too, who had abandoned his
own country in the hour of her peril to come
here and teach US how to make ours great,
prosperous and powerful. For the honor Of
Americans, I say, he it spoken, that this first
attempt to arraIgn the wisdom of Washington
on this question Of our foreign policy, was
made by u foreigner. " ould that | could
say that no American had yielded to "the in
sdious wiles of his influence" But the virus
has taken effect; 1t lie spreading through the
land; and we now hear it openly proclaimed
in many places, that it is time for us to as.
sumo our position AMONGST the nations of the
earth; that it is time we had a foreign policy.
What does this language meant Il it intend.
ed by those who use it, 10 convey the idea,
that We have gone on upwards of sixty years
in a career Of prosperity never before eqnaled,
without any foreign policyi Was not the
rule laid down by Washington, and acted on
by every president from his day to this, a
Poiiey' 1t was policy. 1t was and is the
policy of attending to our own business, and
. letting other nations alone. 1t was and is
the policy. the ,imehonored policy. Of non.
Intervention. 1t may not be for>ign policy.
hut it is Washington policy by an obser.
vance Of which We have come to be what we
nrs-one of tie first nations of the earth.
| And above all lend no listening ear to
those who come from ether countries to teach
| you the principles Of repnblicanism. Yield
not to the tenpter. The father ofyour couu
try forbidsit 1t was in an evil hour that
our great Parents touched the forbidden fruit.
ing! were happy N their paradise their
. CAiLc lEpWl OlleE rtylOne-
Imagine for & moment the scene, when the
! guardian angel of tina. innocen. and noble
/ pair took bis departure from them when he
/ was called from his charge Of watching over
and protecting them. Hear the last wills
| pers oil his voice, bs.~are Of foreign influence
1t was this that WashinGton, our deliverer
| defender, and guardian sPhit, spoke to us or
taking his last parting leave. Had they
heeded the warning given to them, they had
| not fallen. May we as a nation, never fall
We they did,
All men are not snited for constitutional
| free government One Of the most common
Of the popular errors Of the dag is that any
people having the ,rish to be free also have
the ability to be free. This is a great mis-
| take. Constitutional liberty. or liberty reg
ulated by law-the only liberty that is worth
the name-is not so easily acquired. II il
were, we would not to-day be the only PEG
pie on earth in its enjoyment. 1t is true, the
| people Of almost any nation, with q firm
| resolution, can overthrow the strongest des
potism, but they cannot build up republic
in its stead. This requires more than physi
| cal force 1t requires virtue, intelligence
morality, patriotism, and statesma nship.-
| Brutus and a few associates found no Difficult
ty in removing Caesar from an imperial throne
but they did not thereby restore lost freedom
| 10 hOne.' france 1Onnu lIttle ulHlculty II
bringing Louis the XVI. to the block hui
France did not thereby establish republic
| She found even less difficulty in drivin,
| Charles the Xth from the kingdom he had 81
badly governed butshe did not'thersby sue
coed in establishing n good government TO
the people Louis Philippe had ih4ke man
ner in a short time to be carried to her Tar
peian Rock. 1t is now just four years sine
she made her last effort at .republcanism
And what do we behold Louis Napoleon
"a President King!
And so it will be, fear, with all the ma
lions Of Europe, until there be a change il
the minds, habits, education, and modes o
thinking on the part oftheir people. Liberty
in their estimation, is RIGHTEOUSNESS, lawless
ness. They do not understand or appreciat
its first principles. Men, to be capable o
maintaining law and order in a free govern
ment,--must De schooled in the elementar
principles"
There, reader, that's the sort of doctrin
advocated by Mr.. Stephens in 1852, and that
the sort Of doctrine the American party ar
now contending for, and we put it to thos
patriotic gentlemen who are fighting 8
zealously against it, whether they hadn't bel
ter pause and reflect before proceeding niue
farther in the unnatural crusade against thei
own country.
AUGUSTA, Classification is directed