Southern shield., 1855-10-20

Cdot' II IL nau you cOulu not nave
 said you had no sympathy with theil
 objects, because you could not have
 known what those objects were.
 Your next objection is one of those
 stereotyped falsehoods which come with peculiar fitness from Greeley or Forney,
 but which when uttered by the wise and the good are calculated to sadden the heart, even more than rulHe the temper. Look around you, General, and tell me 1 If you do not know that some of the
 best men of your acquaintance are members of the American party Ought not that to afford at least pre- sumptive evidence that no illegal oath was required, no pledge inconsistent with the duty of good citizen dcman- ded as prerequisite to admission.- My personal knowledge of their pro- ceedings is not very great, but I pre- .sume it exceeds yours. I have attended all American Council twice, once in November, and once in August last. I then witnessed a number of limitations. l heard of no oath; I saw no bible, cross or other symbol upon which to administer 1t. The ceremonies were not so imposing, nor were the pledges required any more solemn than those of the Sons of Temperance. I saw nothing to excite fear, alarm, horror. or indignation. Every time you enter Democratic Caucus the obligation upon you is as great, and your will is more completely subjected to the ma .lorlty than theirs. Do away with your Caucuses if you expect us to believe you sincere when you talk about the enormity of subjoctin5 the will of the minority to that of the majority. For many years AIr. Benton'S well known words "union, concession, harmony, everything for the cause, noihing f6r men" furnished a text for every Dem ccratic paper, and stump speaker throughout the Union; and upon that principle we were required to support any man who might be foisted upon us by Caucus, no matter what may have been his antccedents, or how strong our personal repugnance. In a few which also claims our obedience. We are not only to submit to caucus tyran- ny, but we must follow the President in all his vagaries, no matter how fan tastic they are, and be ready on all oc- casions to pronounce his acts the per- lection of wisdom and patriotism. That men laboring under a slavery like this should dare to talk about the subjec- tion of others to the control of ma
 iority, is one of the most astonishing features of the times.
 When you alIude to the late unfor- tunate events at Louisville, and lay the whole blame upon the American party, are you not guilty of a grievous wrong both against truth, and against patri- otism? Do you entertain the belief that your own countrymen arc more cruel, lawIess, and blood thirsty than other men? Are you prepared to as- sert, not only without evidence, but against it, that men reared in habitual respect for law and order-who have been accustomed to sec the decrees of even petty magistrates enforced at all times, without violence, without blood shed, without armed soldiers, or any other insignia of power to back the minister of law-who have besides the deepest personal interestir the preser- vation of order; will you, I ask, assert that such men could suddenly lay aside
 the habits of lifetime, and, without
 excusable cause, become the assailants
 of unoffending personS-murderers,
 and house burners? While on the other
 hand the Foreigner who has been ac-
 customed to the sight of soldiers al
 the hustings, who has heard their treac
 in every village of his native land, anc
 who has never been taught to regard
 any law which has not physical force
 to back it, should just as suddenly lay
 aside his distinguishing characteristics and become meek, orderly, well dis posed and law abiding citizen? It would seem that nothing but a bare state ment of the case is required to prov'
 the absurdity of the position in whicl you have, l trust, inadvertently place( | yourself. But other proof is not want ] ing. Affidavit has been piled upol
 affidavit to prove that the disturbanc, commenced not at the polls, but ia :, away from them-that 1t was begun b, foreigners shooting down unarmed cit } izens in the streets, and that they ha ; prepared themselves days beforehan 5 for their bloody work. When you an 3 others have ceased your lamentation l over the widows and orphans of tn : dead foreigners, it is to be hoped tha l you will still have ~few tears to she over the widows and orphans of Amer 7 jeans, butchered in cold blood by thes l desperadoes, upon whom you seem s : anxious to bestow the crown of mar t tyrdom. a You say that as a "disciple of tn | loAo