Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1855-07-28

slavery seuument 81 the country which 1t has Oc-
casioned, and shall thus follow out the line Of dis.
already begun, by demonstrating more
fully the want of any just comprehension of our
or any intense hatred OF the Institution
Of Slavery, among the people Of the free States.
/ object to Know Nothingism, in general terms
because, Judged by the light of principle, tits ut
tcrly lndetensible. II Ia radically vicious in spirit,
1t tramples down the doctrine oil human brother
hood. 1t judges men by the accidents Of their
condition, instead OF striving TO tnd Il common lot
Tor all, with n common access to the blessings Of
life. 1t makes its appeal, not to the reason, but
TO the unenliShtcncd preiudicos nnd instructed
passions Of tho people. 1t cxcites our ahherrcnco
by yelling itself in darkness, in a land in which
the people are their masters, aad discussion Is
free. 1t is not called for by any real need of the
times. 1t is at war with Justice, Humanity, Re
pablicauism, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 1t
is, when dragged to the light, q bald and CHASTITY
hcresy, wanting even the thin covering OF a decent
iallacy TO hide its naked features.
Considered more pa rticularly, ! oppose 1t, first,
because of its false assumption OF danger from the,
Romish Hierarchy. According to the late census,
the Protestant churches Of the United States are
about thirty-two times as numerous as the Catholic
and can accommodate more than twenty times as
many worshippers. The proportion OF adult Cath
olics of this country to the whole population Is on
" as one to twenty eight. Ia the State OF Ni1gin-
ia, where the Order seems to flourish, the Catholic
churches cannot accommodate ono hundredth part
of the number receiving acc) modations in the
Protestant churches. These, sir, are the Facts by
which this newborn scheme of bigotry and intol-
erance must be tried. This is the mOnstrOus pow
CIR that is to swallow up our liberties. unless politi-
clans aud priests unite in open and secret combina-
tons to che5k its aggrosSiOns. Now, | ask, can
any man feel alarmed, who will allow himself to
reason? Tho Papacy, like every other force in So
ciety, must submit to those necessary conditions Of
life which surround it. 1t has seen fit to take up
its abode in our Democratic ~Itepublic, and, in doing
so, it has been compelled to diyest itself Of its
most odious and repulsiye pretensiVns. 1t may OK
crt Il pretty decided influence upon our civil and
ecclesiastical pohty but while thus acting, it will
be necessarily aud most powerfully acted Upon, by
the spirit Of free inquiry, by our republican insti-
tutions, by our free schools, and by that general
and traditional rcpugnance which al Protestant
denomipatious cherish towards it. Herein lies the
great blundor of Native Americanism. 1t supposes
Catholicism to be an eccentric force, ~dlsowuing all
law but its own, entirely cut Of from those cOndi-
tons Of of time, place,an circumstance, by which
all other institutions are modified and controlled.
Sir, it is impossible, in the very nature Of things,
that the Papal power should now be felt in the
United States as it is i'll Italy or Spain, or as it
was felt in those countries ages ago. 1t must obey
the laws of its condition, and can no moro withstand
the multiplied moral forces which perpetually beat
against it, than the physical world can withstand
the laws which make it their shve. To suppose
our Republic seriously i~mperiled by it, is to sup
pose the ages of darkness are about to return, or
that under Providence the Catholic faith is design
ed to prevail over the world. every sohoolhouse
is a larrier against it. Every printing-press is a
b~attlement. Every steam-car is a battering-ram
to break it in pieces" Free thought, its free ut
terance, a free press, an open Bible, and a hearty
trust in the almightiness Of Truth-these are the
only weapons needed here in the warfare against
error and in the hands of twenty-five millions OF
Protestants, there is wanting even the Shadop of a
prctext for secret combinations, or any sort of ex-
traordinary measures in defence of our constitu-
tional rights. Professionalism, with such advan-
tages, can afford to fight its battles in the open day
light of the world, and it dishonors itself when il
invokes the machinery of despotism in its behalf
1t c~onfosses itself unfit for its mission, and thus
strikes at its own life.
And this brings me to my second objection to
Know Nothingism. Granting that our institutions
are in danger from the rapid growth eff Romanism
among us, | oppose this new crusade against it,
because its method of opposition must necessarily
aggravate. instead of mitigate, the mischief sought
to be cured. Secrecy, indeed! Our Model Repub-
lie loving dakness rather than light! American
Democracy carrying concealed weapons! Ameri-
can Professionalism stealing the livery Of the Jesuit,
and at the same time raising the war-cry against
Rome! The rights of conscience indicated by a
great American party, which makes Catholicism a
religious test, whilst its members surrender their
own private judgement and freedom of action to
tho majority of the Councils to which they belong!
Has it come to this Was the Reformation a
failure? Were John Milton, Roger Williams, and
William Penn, weak-headed fanatics? Is Protest
anism to be saved and sanctiied by men who syste-
matically trample it in the dust? | could not be
a Know Nothing, for the very reason that am {
Protestant. With me, Protostan tism is too pre-
cious, too sacred, to he thus dishonored, even fo
its own sake. 1t is our life blood as a people, ant
can only bc preserved pure, 10y circulating freel,
and naturally through the body polite. Gu
Native American friends, by protesting a peculia
zeal for it, and at the same time joining a secret
oath-bound political order, for the wholesale pro
s%cription Of Catholics, Prove themselves to b.
Jesuits in policy. We're they real Protestants
they would have faith in Professionalism as q priu
pie and they would show that faith, not by viola
ting it, but by trusting it, and standing by it, in ez
ample Us well as preccpt, under all temptations
They would recoil from even the thought of lay
ing aside their legitimate weapons, to which Prot
estantism is indebted for all its genuine growtI
and strength, for the sake of employing oithe
fraud or force in maintaining their cause. Thei
hatred Of Jesuitism would make them the last t
initiate its unhallowcd practices. They woul
feel that the best possible service Of Protestant
ism is the the testimony of q consistent example
and that its worst foe is the weakness that woul
build up its power by methods which are wholly q
war with first principles. No good cause has eve
yet been helped by enlisting the devil on it
side, because no man has been found wise enoug
to tell how TO employ him without thereby fortiIy
ing his citadel, instead of bombarding it.
No, sir, If Professionalism wishes to palsy tn
rampant spirit Of Romanism, it must not borroy
that spirit, nor adopt its tactics. The work tina
should chiefly concern it is at home. Its worst en-
emies are those of its own household. Mr.. Mac
aulaY, in bis mastery speech on the civil disabil
ties from the Jews, says truly "Christianit
triumpled over the superstitions of the most refI
cd and of the most savage nations, over the grace
full mythology Of Greece and the bloody idolatr
of the Northern priests. 1t triumphed over tn
power and policy Of tie Roman Empire. 1t tame
the barbarians by whom that empire was owe
thrown. But all these victories were gained, nj
by the help Of intolerance, but in spite of the OF
position Of intolerance. The whole history
Christianity proves that she has little indeed
fear from persecution as a foe, but much to fea
from persecution as an ally"
This is truth which Know Nothingism seems Ell
tirely to overlook. Let Professionalism, in the fir
place, understand itself, and define it's own pos
ton. Lot it digest its own manifold cruditie
and purge itself of the spirit of persecution whic
hos inrLnnah It's histnru frnm tho hnrinninr mn