The true Democrat., 1855-12-11

tered a hnOW NotnlnS council, or knew that there was one in existence. He pronounced the report that he had written or spoken against the democracy unfounded, and declared that he was, as ever, democrat, not from accident, but from choce.''
 The scene was now changed, and wonder ful drama enacted. The transformation of the rods of Moses into hissing serpents was not more astounding than the metamorphoss that took place. In Little Rock, on the first Mon day of August, 1855, grand Know Nothing ratification meeting was held. The gigantic antern-bearers, s,-Behemoth and the Mastodon, the big, little and lesser ignoramuses,-were there. Secretaries and vice presidents were "t thick as leaves in Valambrosa" The child ren of Sam' and all his kith and kin congre- gated in our capital city. And, toweriny obove them aN, like Me girqfe among gaze1les, yas tue floN. w. D. RICE, PRESIDENT OF THE MEET INCL!
 Political annals abound in individual "changes of front" but they set forth no such maneuvre as this. The circus delights its ,pa. irons with gymnastic exploits, but it can boast of no feat equal to this "ground and lofty tumbling." Of the political somersets of Mr. Rice, it may be said, as was spoken of the great Napoleon, they are without model and with out shadow" To him the language of the poet aptly applies,--" Oh, consistency, thou art a jewell! !" For him this appropriate para phrase might be made, "Frailty, thy name is Rice !n'
 On such multiplied and unequaled inconsis- tencies no speaker delights to dwell One would wish that they were mere creatures of fancy, and had no foundation in fact. With a single remark let the theme be dismissed :- With his antecedents, ,-such antecelents as the trM7JM record untoMs MT. Rice should have suffered the things of the past to rest in obli- vlon.
 It Is said that man may be "good demo crat,' and, at the same tme Know Nothing To prove this, we are told, in the first place. that the "old issues'' are dead If this be true, democracy is dead, 1.-the old doctrines of Jefferson are buried, and no living man can claim to be a democrat" Say this to one of these latter day nondescripts, "Know Nothing democrat" and you are met with prompt de- nial,-he responds instantly,-"I am as good democrat as 1 ever was" This may be true for the democracy of such men was never of the first water,-but the quick answer spikes one of the great guns of Know Nothingism- Either he Is a democrat or he Is not. If he is not democrat, the |" old issues," so far as he is concerned, may be said to have passed away But if he is democrat, Know Nottingham speaks with forEed tongue, and the "old is- sues'' are not dead. As to what these "old issues" really are, common error exists They are not the questions of bank, tariff internal improvements and distribution, as many believe These latter questions were sprung for the con- cealment of the old issues''-they rested on them, but did not constitute them. When feder- alism became infinitely odious to the people, it adopted the device of the scuttle fish to cover its identity, and proclaimed the new issues just enumerated. At the same time, 1t denied their connection with former questions, and affirmed that Jettersonian democrat might consist ently be a-aOhfg! By this means the whig party became power in the land. It's oriLi. nators were old federalists bat many of it's members were State rights men at heart In process of time, the small leaycn of State rights was crowded down. unmitigated federal ism displayed itself This aroused the ancient hostility to its name and doctrines In 1944 the Whig organization was mortally wounded In 1852, 1t was killed. In 1855 its death is everywhere acknowledged. la its place, the abomnabe federalism of 1900 re-appears- This Is matter of fact and can be convincngly shown. When Thomas Jefferson and John Adams opposed each other for the presidency the questions at issue were as follows: John Adams and the federal party contended that
 
 preme court, were absolutely binding on the States, and that it would be treason to resist them. They also opposed territorial exten- sion, and advocated an increase of the term of naturalization. On the other hand, Jefferson and the democracy declared that each State had the right to resist an unconstitutional act of Congress, whether pronounced constitutional by the supreme court or not, and that such re- sstance would not be reasonable. They also advocated territorial extension, and opposed any change of the five years naturalization law. On this identical platform of Jefferson stand tho national democracy to-day. They deny the old federal doctrine of coercion. and believe, as Jefferson did, that when so- vereign State judges law to be uncons ttu- tional, she has the right, ,-although it be sane toned by the supreme court,-to secede from the Union, if she deems it necessary to preserve the liberties of her people. They believe, as Jefferson did, that the old five years law of Washington fixes a reasonable and just term of naturalization. They believe, as efferson did, Ill the expediency of extending the area of freedom, and are of one mind as to acquiring Cuba. On the identical platform of John Adams stand the Know Nothings. The latter part of the 4th plank of their creed "avows that, in aUdoubtfal O. disputed points, the mean ing of the constitution may ONLY be legally as certaned and expounded by the Judicial po,oer of the United States.' This compels them to submit to an act which their State may pro. nounce unconstitutional, and requires them to treat as traitors their brethren who may obey the voice of Arkansas in preference to the arbtra- ry dlcta of the supreme court Their anti immigrant plank is, as construed here, worse than the position of the old federalists John Adams extended the term of naturalization to fourteen years;-the federalists of 1855 would extend 1t to twenty-one years. Their anti Catholic plank forces them to oppose the &C., quisition of Cuba, or of any territory inhabited by Roman Catholics. Had this Know Noth- ing policy governed the country heretofore, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Florida Caifor- mia and New Mexico would now belong to for eign governments, instead of being part of our glorious confederation,- all of them were populated almost exclusively by Roman Catho- lies when acquired. If the Know Nothing doc trines should be incorporated into the admin. lstratlve policy of the country" as Arkansas Know Nothings desire, Cuba can never be a slave State, and not one foot of slave territory can ever be added to the Union. Foreseeing this, the abolition delegates to the Philadelphia Know Nothing convention voted, in solid pha. lanx, for the anti-Catholic plank, and forced its adoption on the southern delegates, majority of whom were opposed to it. This anti. .Catho- lie plank, then, besides its old federal compost ton, is an abolition pill, thrust down the throats of southern Know Nothings by northern fana- tics. It is worse than abolition, and federal in its origin. It comes down to Know Nottingham by direct inheritance from Benedict A,moM- That arch-trator was the first to declare war; in our country, against Roman Catholics. After he had sold himself for British gold, he at- tempted to induce Protestant soldiers to desert to the enemy, because the revolutionary Con- gross paid due respect to the Catholic religion.
 Is it on such platform as this that demo- crat should place himself? Can man be de- mocrat and advocate old federalism, with an addition borrowed from Arnold, the traitor?
 The innate federalism of the Know Noth ing movement, is strikingly illustrated by two