The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1855-02-15
M3o c

sssi,n Tbe great men who framed II hoped that the
people whose Liberties y GUARDS w0a,o never cease
The other blunder 10 which alluded IS the attempt 70
deprive the Of right essential TO their sovereignty
ana ndependeucea right before denied and which
NO State ia this Union Ii is hoped viii ever surrender
& quite evident that without change OF the constitution
Congress cannot deprive foreigners Of the night 70 VOC
and the know nothngs win be driven TO ASA the States 10
decapitate themselves by making this amendment or 70
further disgrace themselves by ignoby abandoning right
az the dictaton OF this secret order.
propose To speak at length On TINS point IN an
other oonnexon These leading features IN TINS new
organization Am not Justified in asserting that y u ae
6eut In the main elements OF strength, IN soundness OF
principle and ia the practcabiy OF It's objects When
the honest men Of this party land am lar rom saying
that there are not many SUM- sho a sH =, snS
that 10 attain some fsnced benefit they must trample the
constitution under foot they viii turn from TINS secret or
der as the ended deyoiee turned from the yelled prophet
Of Khorssan when they discovered that the object Of their
blind devotion hdeousy deformed in soul and body
1t il denied that prescription for religious opinions
Is the object OF this organization but from its in
ception the present time there has been an unceas
ing effort to the Protestant community against
the Roman Catholic In State, where the evils OF for
egn immigration scarcely felt at ALL you and know
that the anti Catholic feeling has been operated upon al
most exclusively / am not the advocate OF the Roman
Catholics condemn most empnaucaiy their denial OF
the right OF every read the Scriptures and interpret
them for himself do not believe in the nfaibility OF
the Pope OF the councils But because II is form OF
religion and protected By the constitution disposed
10 let their religion alone At most would simply turn
over clergy and commend it especially to
Douglas 10 think, without legitimate employ
ment repoe absolute confidence in their ability to make
head against the Roman Catholic Church and trust the
Protestant clergy will not surrender their righui calling
nor make the humating confession that they unequal
TO the task which they have undertaken by "dvine APP
pontment' by calling in the aid Of political party and
the terrors Of religious persecution.
Foreign emigration TO this country has both its evils
and benefits 1t is fact worthy OF consideration that
about the time very short time before the crusade
against foreigners commenced English political writers
attempting show that the rapid growth and pros
pey OF this country due in great measure 10 TINS
emigration arguing that ii brought money skill and IN
dustry into the country that canals and railroads
were made by foreign labor merchant vessels were
manned by foreign that much Of the skill in the
mechanical arts OF which this country boosted, was de-
rived other nations that the greater portion OF the
engrants brought less of money With them and
In short that capital and productive energies were
greatly increased by emigration These writers were not
writing encourage emigration but to cheek
it and they suggested the necessity OF measures 10 pre-
the exhaustion consequent upon the withdrawal OF SO
much labor SKILL and capital from England. Now 1T may
be the of this immigration upon the growth of
the country somewhat exaggerated but still II is not to
be denied that great advantages have been derived from it
by the country large in the manner pointed out II Is
estimated that the German immigrants alone bring nearly
$20Ooo00o annually into the country. There are evils
attending this mmigration-evs more limited in their
effect than is pretended by some and inclined to be-
pany With Ibis labor skill and capital ideness crime and
paupersm. These positive and palpabe evils and
presume there is not of any party who does not ad-
init It
There are other effects Of which the
nothngs complain and is that this foreign labor and
skill is brought in competition with natve-Amercan labor
and skill and another u.s. that the foreigners who come
here exercise undue and hurul influence in elections
What ought to be done to prevent these evils and what
the remedies proposed? The great know-nothng sp
cifc the repeal of the naturalization laws what is
almost equivalent it, enlargement of the probation to
twenty-one years. Why twenty-one years should be
adopted lis easy perceive, The assigned is
that nave-born American must be twenty years old
before Ne eote If should go far as to assume
that the foreign adult is lprpared to vote understand
,rfat, hava in
der violate the panest rules of logic to assume that
naturalization and the right to vote one and the same
bp ans cau exist .a' Without hs other The right
vote is derived from naturalization, and may be
conferred though naturalization should be denied
Let us inquire what will be the precise effect Of thus mod
living or repeating the naturalization laws and how far
such modification repeal will affect the evils complained
of And irst to the matter Of voting. Citizenship and
the right distinct One is regulated by the ma
tiona and the other is left by the constitution
be regulated by the States man msy be citizen Of
the United States and yet not entitled 70 vote IN
of this Union He may not be citizen OF the United States
and yet the right vote may be conferred upon him by
any State Of the Union In vain may know-nothng plat
forms proclaim the doctrine that State has no right to
regulate the elective franchise as respects foreigners The
propositions have just laid down are inconrorerhbie
The constitution has nowhere granted to the federal gov
the power to prescribe the quahcaon OF voters
in the several States and has nowhere placed any resc
ton upon the exercise of this power by the States The
tain relations between him and the federal
1t entities him to its protection against other gov
ernments, and gives him the right to hold certain
Offices in the federal government His social relations
and duties regulated by State law, and can only
be regulated by State law. State may confer upon him
the right acquire property to hold it and to transmit it
TO his descendants State laws provide for him the means
of protecting his life his liberty and his property and State
laws confer upon him the right vote IL he should
lec Massachusetts for his home, when the election comes
on he does look to the constitution and laws of the
United States whether be VOTE but the
constitution and laws of Massachusetts, As to elections to
State Offices it cannot be pretended that Congress can in
terre without utterly destroying every vestge OF State
sovereignty and the constitution has expressly declared
that the qualifications for electors for members OF the House
OF Representatives shall be the the qualifications of
electors of the branch OF The State egisa
lures and these qualifications only be fixed by the
States What Congress do directly, it do
indirectly The election of is conhded TO the State
legislatures however composed The qualifications Of the
members of these legislatures OF course be fixed by
the States only The result is that legislation by Con-
gess the subject of naturalization laws will not touch
the influence of foreigners in elections Their influence
The presidential elections most loudly complained of and
yet the constitution has given in express words to the
State legislatures unlimited discretion in determining who
shall choose the electors They may confer the to
appoint electors exclusively native Americans if they
think proper They confer il upon man, ten
men, upon all the inhabitants Of the State collectively
foreign paupers and convics it is in the power
the States prevent their being landed their shores
TO expc them after they landed There to be
doubt in minds to the effect Of decision of the
Supreme Court question growing out of foreign emf
grafton the decision made in the welxnown pas
senger OF Boston and New York Both the majority
and minority Of the court which divided on the main
question in these cases which the right the States