Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-11-24
The American Party.

for the want of open sanction from those great
names TO which the country has been accustomed
TO look as beacon lights. Turning this circum-
stance TO advantage. the foreign party adroitly
made war apon the respseiabfiity Of the Ameri-
can movement and sough, by every species of
low ridicule and dirty defamation 10 bring it into
contempt. Mr.. Wise himself. # whom even his
enemies had been accust med to think asa gen
tlcman, did not esteem it beueo,l him 10 charac-
terixe il in terms better ssited to the fsh-market
or the Five Points. than ~ 9 polite assembly,
and pronounced those engaged in lousy, God
less, Christless, scoundrels, traitors and fools
Such language should have rottcd the lips TINT
uttered it, if he who employed ii had known to
whom it applied that ,&oosaods Of the purest,
wises, and most PATRIOTS men of the country,
who had adopted the American principles from
no other motive than a we'll c1nsidered belief that
they woald promote the best interests Of the
counirt. we're TO be found in the ranzs Of those
whom he thus coarsely illuminated. Would he
have cared apply such terms &c Gritiendeu. the
man ..witllout fear and Without reproaoh"-a
name the synonym Of al! that j. honorable and
chivalrous. that for third Of a century has rank
ed among the highest Of the nation, and at this
day is revered by ali who can appreciate true no.
hili,y Of soul, or commanding powerso Of intellect
Could he. without blistering shame and confn-
sion have SO befouled the fair escutcheon of
Stockton the paladin Of the seal" Would
lac have SO foully stigma,ized the immaculate
Bcrrien, "a spirit without SPIT or Bell ! or
Gentry J or Breckenridge /, or any Of the hun.
dred honored names we might mention ! In
charity, and i~uregard for our common nature,
we will not believe it. We prefer 10 think that
he, and they who caught up his words, aud echo
cd his abuse, were wholly ignorant of the char
acter of tina, organizatiol which they 1ebased
themselves by Safeguarding. But we designed
only to lay before the reader II portion of speech
made by Mr.. Crittenden, last Monday in Phila-
delphin, and an extract from Il letter Of Common
dore Stockton. The former geutksnen was chill
ed out at the Girard House by a crowd Of .iti-
gems, who had gathered to do him honor, when he
Acknowledged the tribute, in appropriate terms,
concluding as follows:
! am Of the American party. tIhree cheers
wtre proposed aud given for the American party
and then three more for the Union | have a
dapted II from no selfish consideration. | lare
adopted and intend 10 pursue it without fear Of
consequences, from n solemn conviction that it is
my duty 10 my couI ty TO do SO. anna single
individual. My voice Is a weak and small one; but
il shall be devoted to this cause, from a solemn
conviction of my heart. | owe il 10 my country
that has bestowed on me liorors and powers far
beyond my deserving. | have no Iretensions aud
no aspirations q Whatsoever mean 10 do my du-
ty in this gree cause: mean 10 preserve the
sovereignty of this great country TO the people
Of this country.
- - "
aigper whatever. / am willing 10 offer him every
thing-every blessing our country affords. |
will tell him-"Come share them with US. If
you have been The object OF oppression in a for
eign land, come here and be free. If in a foreign
land you have suffered from want come and SHIRE
in our plenty. Our laws shall protect goa. Our
laws win give you freedom, which You cunuo, en-.
joy any where in the world beside. But We re-
serve, to ourselves the right to govern ourselves
(Peals of applause.)
leave that to us. You shall have all the ben
eft that our free institutions afford. That is
the great boon which we offer. What other
country in the world offers the same! None.
Can one 60 to any foreign land and become in
vested with the poor political privileges conceded
to the people OF it No; not one. Come here
and take everything but the right to govern us.
We must take care that we shall not be aliens in
our own land. This liberty is ours. Our blood
~ ihnt Va " utht snhNt W. u IL VI ~ II
is ours by our right, and our title. and this land
we intend to govern and we will govern Gap
plause.)
Fellow citizens ! did not intend to make a po-
litical speech, or to detaip you long in your un
pleasant position in the cold night air. tCries of
1t isn't unpleasant Go on!)
/ believe, fellow citizens, that a change in the
naturalization laws Is necessary to the preser-
walton and purity of our Institutions. Who else
can understand theml Where else in the world
have a people been found capable of making such
institutions! And shall we who made them trust
them to hands not taught to do this work No!
we cannot safely trust them. We have in our
hands & great and mighty trust for the whole hu-
man race, to show that man is capable of self gov
eminent. We have had Il long training for it,
We think that VIC are capable of it * we intend to
assert our right to It. Let none interfere with
US in this great work. Our adopted fellow citizens.
received under the sanction of our laws,are bound
as much as we are to assist in this great work.
When thousands and hundreds of thousands are
pouring into the country from the OVERLOOKING
population of foreign lands we must guard this
fight. Phe most Obvious policy demands it at our
hands. We must do L and we will do it. ZAP
plause. and cries of we willy
This great principle will go or. 1t may be re-
viled. Those who maintain it may be reviled;
but the principle which is SO congenial to an
American heart, will vindicltei Itself, and it will be
triumphant. (Applause.4 /! do not doubt this at
all. Only let Us be true to ourselves. Let no re-
proaches be cast upon US by disappointed parties
or partisaus.or disappointed demagogues turn us
aside from this great work. Perseyere. and sue
cess is inevitable. 1t is a feeling in the heart of
every American citizen.
It will reach him every where: and in vain will
parriesin vain will faction inveigh against it, and
cast reproaches on it. 1t is a principle of patri-
otism. It's the feeling Of Americcnism. tits hu-
man nature crying out. 1t is the voice Of patri-
otisin speaking aloud in favor of the human race,
and it will prevail. despite the wiles and tricks of
Iapa1o0aaa (Annlauspl