Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1855-05-08
TUESDAY, MORNING, MAY 5. Is55.
TIE w-NoTRTNGS-THEIR ORIGIN, DESIGNS
AND PROBABLE INFLUENCE ON THE SOUTHERN



STATES.
When stranger makes bis appearance IL
neighborhood, the first question in relative 70 MN
usually is, Who is hep That as his na7neF Al
on such inquiry, it is ascertaIned tha1 nc mas
several names. sometimes calling himself by ore
an sometimes by another, it is regarded as very
r,f,vorable Circumstance against him. If it BE
further ascertained, thst,s when called upon IN
sni,sblo manner to give his true name, he has
evsaei the question or fatty refused to answer it,
we never fail TO look upon him with high degree
Of SUSPICION and dstust The law itself regsrds such
evasion and prevarication in the..same light. No
man ever entered into court and heard criminal
charged on an Indictment with long list of aliases
appended to his name, without strong impressions
that h was not an innocent man. After enquiring
his name, the next usual question is, Where is he
stayiag or Stoping in the neighborhood9' If no
body seems TO know, hut one has seen him in .
dark cellar in in some uDiuhsbited gsrret-or If
another has seen him slyly and cautiously wend-
Ing his way into unfrequented coves and glens of
tie mountains, our suspicious become greatly in
creased, and instead of Offering him the welcome
and hospitality generally due to the stranger, we
rscol from any intimacy, and decline even an ac-
quaintanoe with him. Bot stranger surround
ing himself by 50 many suspicious circumstances
wOuli hardly escape without further inquiry as
to what business had brought him into the neigh
borhood five should learn, in reply to such an in
quiry, that he never spoke of having any business
that he denied having any, but was nevertheless
discovered nightly decoyng individuals to his Sc
cret haunts Or hiding places, and that when these
individuals returned they ike himself would deny
their names and their designs; and like him, too,
wou3 make themselves known only By certain
signs aud tokens our suspicious great as they were
before, would rise at once into confirmed repug-
mace, if not adherence. Such would be the feel
ings OF every well regulated nighborhood in the
United States, if q stranger were TO present him
self under the circumstances we have supposed.
We nov propose to ask few plain questions in
relation to the "know-nothing" party and subject
1t 10 the same common-sense ordeal
Ist Whether tbs is not near party, noO ma
ling is appearance for the first tine among The
Cd and regularly organized parties Of the country
and suectag Itself to al TIE suspicious to 7chjai
zoe hare Just alluded?
It is altogether new, never having been heard
o. before some time in the past year. 1t is singu-
lar that we could have achieved our independence
that we could have gone triumphantly through
the second war Of iudependence-and at a later
period planted our victorious banner on the domes
OF the Mexican capitol, without ever needing or
hearing of such party. So, too, we could cleo:
WAsHECToE for our President and JEFFERSON
MADISON, JACKSON and Polk, without any occasion
to invoke the aid and assistance any such strange
party. We had, ii is true, other parties, but they
were open and public ones-their principles pro-
Claimed from the housetops and advocated boldly
by ii.us.rous men in all the high places of the ma
ton. But never till now was party founded we
know not by whom and we know rot for what
but bound to each other By the most secret ant
horrid o2ths. Mr. JEFFEBsoN and Mr.. MADlsop
were she founders of the republican or democratic
party; Mr.. CLAY and 3Ir. ADAMS the founders o
tie wing party. Now know-nothiDgsm declares
that these great men did rot understand the science
Of government half Is well, as the little second Oh
third rate men who originated the kuow-nothing
increment Indeed, we DO not know that they
were even second o. third rate men. We are in
clined to think they were not, from the fact that
the whole contrirance CT name, secrecy, and osths
is rather tie work C mere tricksters than OF men
aspiring to tie Eaul, Of statesmen.
Lsok a. It's name. Ask any of them the name
Of bis party? The answer IS 80 7 don't know" Is
it called " sam" in derisiou or in esrnest2 81
dom kuow!' /: it the " Star Spangled Banner?
Is it The Old native American party reviTed? All
you can get out Of them, IS the trisylab:c answer
"I-Dol't-Krow !" In the name of common
sense, why all this mumnery and couuratior
about nanel The fact that they have no name
thst they dare avow, is evidence that they have
no principles which thcy can venture honestly to
lay before the public. Where there sre principles
the uaae vii lie sure to indicate them. Hence we
hear Of bank and anti balk, tariff and anti -taria
parties: but who ever heard before Of the inverted
and self stullify ing name Of ow-nothing
81. Vlat necessity ,oas there for the creation
and orqa, cation Of tbs aeW partyz Had act
not parties enough bsfors2
J. the answer be, that neither CT the existing
parties proposed to exclude foreigners ana catholics
ON votin. ia our elections, the answer ia as ulan
as The noon Gay 5 sun. If a majority CT the whig
party desired their exclusion, all they rad to d.
woali oe at the first wing convention to nominate
their candidates, to insert their principles Ogains
foreigners aad catholics as a new plank in thel
parry platform aud the question could have beer
settled by the people at once. In the sane way
the democrats could have done, or any other exist
iug party might have done it. So both Of the grea
part Is have often d0ae. There was time, wheI
the wig party had not Incorporated distribution
OF the su Plus revenue into their creed. Subsc
Ierty ney did insert t, and the question was dc
cided. So there was a Iine when an Independent
Treasury was no part Of the democratic policy
Bar i, was put into it in 1887, and in 1899 or A
it was decided. All this is so plain and obvious
that We are forced to the conviction that Their,
were some other ulteror objects to be accomplished
and this crusade against foreigners and catholic
was ouIy one of the means OF accomplishing thost
objects. Now what were these Interior objects
Nothing more nor less than to turn the democratic
party out and put the wing party into power. How
Wa tbs 10 be done: TIE last elections showed
that the wings alone could not do it; that the abe
liuoniss aud eesoiers could not do it; and so The
plan was laid 10 form union of all parties and