The true Democrat., 1855-11-20

] Madam Roland, in her apostrophe to liberty, as she was being carried to the scaffold, during t the reign of terrer in France: 70, religion! what sins have been committed in thy name." s Washington, Madison, Hamilton and Frank : lin, and others of the fathers of the republic were neither ignorant nor unmndful of the ] direful influences of religious intolerance upon the happiness and prosperity of other nations a of the earth and wisely guarded themselves s and their posterity against it. They wisely confined the jurisdiction of man in our govern 3 ment to things temporal, leaving rulers and : the ruled alike in questions of conscience, af. fecting those great eternal interests of the soul l to be judged alone by the infalible wisdom ] and goodness and of an all-wise and omnipotent , God. Their wise heads and pure hearts gave to us the constitution which hold in my hand the greatest monument of human wisdom and 7 goodness that the world ever saw I will read
 to you clause from it, which, to minds cherish ing for 1t that reverence which do is a better l argument against the insidious assaults of the ) Know Nothings upon the sanctty of conscience, } upon the liberty of regon,' than could of } fer if 1 could speak to you with the tongues of men and of angels" The last clause in the f sixth article of the constitution of the United , States, says, in brief, simple, but unambiguous l 7 required qualification to any office of pub l lie trust under the United States" And to show with what vigilance this principle of non-
 interference with matters of religion was guard ed during the "purer days of the republic,'' will read to you from the first of the articles of amendment to the original constitution. The
 first clause of that article says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of re- ligon or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" When the Philadelph council adopted the l 4th article in their platform, the following: "Obedience to the constitution of the United States as the supreme law of the land, sacred
 ly obligatory@lpon all its parts and members; Q and steadfast resistance to the spirit of innova- s. tion upon its principles, however spacious the 5 pretext," they surely had never read this clause i'll the original constitution, and the sub- sequent amendment, which 1 have quoted or they would never have adopted the 9th ar e ticle.
 Such is the language of the constitution, and e 1t could not be plainer, clearer or more eXpli- !; cit. But I will not stop here As the great name of Washington has been prostituted to de- fend the principles, and promote the purposes e of the Know Nothings, l will read to you ex-
 tracts from his writings as compiled by Jared n Sparks:
 7 "If could have entertained the slightest apprehension, that the constitution framed in V the convention, where had the honor to pre- s side, might possibly endanger the religious c rights of any ecclesiastical society, certainly 7, would never have placed my signature to it; l and, if l could now conceive that the general e government might ever be so administered as e to render the liberty of conscience insecure, 1 beg you will be persuaded, that no ono would S be more Jealous than myself to establish eff
 l,,. .i | tyranny, and every species of religious persecu- q ton.
 2 "Govcrnment being among other purposes, instituted to protect the persons and conocenceS } of men from oppression, it certainly is the duty l of rulers, not only to abstain from 1t themselves t but according to their stations to prevent it in others. The liberty enjoyed by the people of : these States, of worshppng Almighty God s agrecably to their own conSclences, Is not only
 the choicest of their blessings but also of their t rights"
 ) In order more fully to vindicate his venerat- . ed name from such groundlcss calumuies, 1 will e read to you extracts from his farewell address I to the people of the United States, the most valuable legacy that patriot, whose whole life " had been dedicated to the service of his country, f could have left them. He offered unceasins : VOWS to Henven that the free constitution, which Is the work of your hands t,rmay be sa- 1 creclly naaintainel" and that the government = ight be 50 administered under it, as to recom- e mend it to the applause, the affection and the , adoption of every nation which Is yet stran- ger to it."
 ] Again: Towards the preservation of your government and the permanency of your pre- sent happy state, 1t lsrequslte not only that you = steadily dlscountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but Mat you resist
 e0'h cure tue spirit c innovatton upon ats priaci pies, however spacious the pretext." If you l will compare this last sentence which have quoted, with the 4th article of this Philadelphia :, platform, you will perceive that a portion of : the latter, is plagiarism from it. If Washing ton could have lived until to-day, the hope ex-
 pressed in his farewell address that other na- : tlons might initiate and adopt our form of go- vernment, would in respect to freedom of relj- l glon have been in some degree realized. In a Sweden there has long been perfect religious h toleration. In England, the once outlawed V Jew, is now not only member of Parliament, but of the Ministry, which Is in fact, the go- : vernment itself; and the Catholic Emancpa- : ton bill long since opened every avenue of fortune and honor to the professors of that once I prescribed faith. Indeed, that bi5otry and n- e tolerance which once dsgraced the institution
 ofreliglon itself, in most of the States of Europe f no longer prevail in any civilized and enlight- l ened portion of the earth, as they once did. e Jefferson, next to Washington, in the affection and veneration of his countrymen and the ad- 6 mTaton ot the world, as a great apostle of ci- ) vii and religious liberty" thought that of all l the varied services and benefits he had confer red upon his country and upon mankind, after t the declaration of independence, that with n which he most desired his name should be as sociated in after ages, and most entitled him to l an immortality of renown, was the act securing religious liberty to Virginia, and requested that ' the epitaph inscribed upon the tomb which marked his last resting place should be-" Here l lies the Author of the Declaration of Indepen. s dence and of the act securing religious liberty
 to Virginia"
 These, gentlemen, were the sentiments of Washington and Jefferson, and shall we discard the teachings and admonitions of such patriots, philosophers and statesmen, and follow such l false gods as the charlatans, demagogues and l imposters, who composed the Philadel phia con- ' vention! Heaven in its infinite mercy forbid. 1 will not contrast the Catholic religion with the Protestant, or rather, with Protestant reli- s gaons because am not competent to do so.-- 3 Though reared under the influence of the Pro- 3 testant faith, and entertain, and hope always e exhibit a most unfeigned respect for that res- giOn which is illustrated by the lives of its pro- 5 fessors. if were to assume to be the champion of any particular creed, my whole life would attest my unworthiness for any such office.- 6 Whatever else may be, my nature preserves e me from hypocrisy and imposture.
 But while all the old histories and traditions 7 of Catholic intolerance and bigotry and tyranny are received with an eager credulity, the casual e reader of history could offer much in their de- s fence. I am not afraid of the consequences of }, speaking the truth, and history sustains me in saying that when Protestant sects have gain s ed the ascendency in those religious contests which from time to time have convulsed and
 disgraced different portions of the world, they , have been just as cruel, relentless and unspair-