Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1855-08-29
Letter from Hon. A.. 2. Butler.
sroNELAsps, (Near Edge6eld C. H.)
- August g.. 1855.

sroNELAsps, (Near Edge6eld C. H.))
Angus 8, 1855.
Gentlemen Your communication of the
3rd inst, inviting me to attend ga meeting
of those citizens of South Carolina who be-
lieve that States Rights, Southern Rights
and the Liberties of the, People are endan.
gered by the existence aud progress Of the
Know Nothing Order" andsin the event of
my inability to attend, requesting "such OK.
preston of my views as may think proper
to commicate," has been received. y
Whilst the state of myEhealth viii not
allow me to be with you oathe occasion to
which you have invited; me, fear in the
few remarks which shall Submit, cannot
do Justice to the subjects onwhich you wish
my opinion. In the threshold of these re.
marks, give it as my belief that the fair.
play spirit and unbigoted provisions Of our
constitution cannot 'assailed, with success,
by the daggerpower Of secret aud irrespon.
sible associations. .Ea
TO illustrate what I shallsay hereafter, /
will quote from memorysa sentence, of
Washington Irving: "Our ancestors not
only proclaimed but practised hardy NOR
ality that feared no contact. They trusted
to the courage and power Of truth in their
anti proscriptive constitutions and opinions.
They were willing to trust their destinies on
the arena of fair and open trial. They
thought they could trust the cause of reli.
gion, SO far as there should be a political
jurisdiction over it, to the following clause
Of our Federal Constitution:
"COngress shall make no. law respecting
an establishment Of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof; Or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceaBly to assemble
aud to petition the governnlent for redress
Of grievances"
And, by the same Consultation, Congress
vas intrusted with the p6@er Of establish.
Mg an uniform rule DC aiigation. Now,
as understand it, the Know. w.Nothihg organ.
ization is to make war upon both these pro-
visions in their true spirit suppose their
aim will not be avowed to establish rel-
gion or to exclude a foreign immigration;
but, under the assumption of Protestant pu.
rity and American patriotism it is the pur.
pose Of the Order to take voluntary juris.
diction over these subjects-that is, to put
into Office themselves under the names Of
Protestant piety and American DEVOTION
And, if they should succeed in their designs
by the influence of these heterogeneous and
irresponsible alliances, they will have sub.
stituted their conventional obligations for
the Constitution of the Confederacy.
believe have left out another one of
their avowals-a common purpose to pre-.
serve the Union, as they understand it should
be preserved.
acknowledge 10 piety that is proscrip.
tive. | recognize no patriotism that is un
civilized and exclusive, and want no Union
that is not under the control of an opera
tive Constitution. The Declaration Of In.
dependence and the Federal and State Con.
stitutions of the United States were made
under auspices and influences to rebuke the
bigoted and conceited spirit that would in.
wade them in the 10Th century, when the
different parts of the earth are as near as
the different provinces of the same empire
were formerly.
regard the Declaration of Independence
and the Federal Constitution as the great
and enduring pillars Of an altar erected in
this new world to toleration-an altar that
owes its construction not to Jews nor Catho.
lies, nor to Protestants only, but to the uni
ted labors of all who had sought here
refuge from transatlantic domination
While Protestants may have borne the first
and largest share in the work of American
independence, others, Of whatever religious
education, were scarcely behind them in
zeal and activity for the hallowed cause.
Even the Jew was no idle spectator Of its
advancement. remember to have heard it
stated-indeed, ample evidence of the fact
was on several occasions before me while
upon the bench-that young Salvador was
the first person who publicly read the De-
claration of independence in our '96 Dis.
trict. He fell shortly afterwards, battling
for American freedom. And who was this
Salvador! A gallant and dashing young
Jew.
But pertinent enquiry, in the considera:
ton of this question, relates to the origin of
.nothingism. Where did it originated
And whys tits certainly not indigenous at
the South. There were no such pre.exis.
ting evils here as could be remedied by its
supposed virtues. It was, and is, foreign to
our necessities, whether social or political.
1t was no more Southern in its inception
than it ia in its development. The North
was its birth. place. 1t arose, primarily, as
an antidote to evils which we're there brought
about by an abuse Of the Naturalization
laws. The introduction Of foreigners was
permitted, in disregard of the several con.
stitutional requirements as to three years
notice, five years residence, &c. Mischief
is now resulting from the practice. But it
is their own fault. They have mingled the
waters of the Orontes and the Tiber, and it
is theirs to drink of them. At the South
these abuses have not prevailed. A proper
observance of the law has had the effect of
bringing amongst US different class of
foreign population from shat at the North
-one, at any rate. Of which we do not
] complain.