Weekly Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1853-1861, 1855-04-26
Know Nothingims Impartially Con-
slider ed.

Oi tne unsuspectlng ana the Ignorant, VINO
were swept e'a nlasse into its arms.
Sat;se ApsriseaiSR + ses iss sssls,;sIl;s;zz'.
pie. Hatred of Papacy is one OF It's leading
doctrines. "What ~ say its members, q shall
an imbecie old dotard at Rome give laws to
America? Shall this glorious Republic be
subject to the tiara Never!" "But how"
says some patriotic Catholic, "can you make
out the truth of such a statement We are
Catholics, it is true; we believe his Holiness
to be Gods vicar upon earth, and in all spir-
itual matters, we bow in reverence to his de-
crees. We have right to our own religion,
and we will worship God rs we please."-
Nay, but you are bound to obey the tempo
raj commands of the Pope. You are bound
to do as he directs, in all things 1t is no Use
for you to argue upon that point. We know
what we do know, and we won't be convinced
of anything else. Your religion was the cause
of the Inquistion. You prosecuted Protest
ants and we will peBecute you. You believe
that no faith is to be kept with heritics so that
we won't believe any assertions that You may
make.'
Now let us look at this matter in calm
and dispassionate light.
If Know Nothingism is the virtuous order
that its friends represent it to be, why does it
shun the light? Why do its members deny
that such an order exists That certainly
does not look very much like virtuous fear
lessness. Free Masonry-Odd Fellowship,
and all such orders, do not profess in fact they
totally disclaim any connection with politics !;
they are charitable associations, the benefits
of which are confined to the members those
societies claim that they are secret, but their
members are not ashamed to own their men,
bership-they glory in it. They have stated
times for their meetings, which are known to
all men. The Know Nothings, on the con-
trary, are just the reverse. Triangular bits of
paper, scattered hither and thither, uncouth
placards and strange pictures are said to be-
for outsiders know nothing, ccrtainly--the no.
tifcation of their assembling. Like the Holy
Vehm, they meet in dark places-in the dark
hour of midnight.
AS to the principles of Know Nothingism,
we can know nothing, except from hearsay,
and by the acts of those persons who are sup
posed 10 be members as we have stated be-
fore, they are anti Catholic and Native Amer
lean to the death.
1t is remarkable fact i'm the history of this
country, that at least nine-tenths of the peo-
pie of the United States are of foreign ex-
traction, and that a great majority of the de-
scendants of Americans are not allowed to
vote. In this State of Indiana, there is law
forbidding the descendants of Americans to
vote. What singular state of affairs is this?
Nearly all the great and good men of this
country have been of foreign extraction.
This country purports to be, and is, the
asylum of the oppressed and down-trodden
of all nations; this city set upon hill ought
not, and does not, wish to hide itself. This
temple of liberty, where worshippers from all
climes may bow the knee, should be sullied
by no stain of fanaticism and tyranny.
Looking at our antecedents have we a
right to prescribe foreigners and prevent them
from voting? Was our independence achiev-
ed by our own unaided efforts Did we seek
no foreign aid at that time ? How contempt
ible, mean and paltry is that spirit which
would tempt us to seek foreign aid and as
sistance when we needed it, and when we
become powerful and strong, to throw it off /;
to drive away men, who, from pure love of
our institutions and laws, evince their prefer
ence by settling among us. To be sure, it is
great honor to be a native born American cit
izen, but it is an accidental honor, and one in
which we natives have had no share Who
deserves the most honor, he who does a thing
from choice, or he who does it from compul-
sion ? Our forefathers who were foreigners,
came to this country; they evinced their pre-
ference for the institutions and laws of this
country by leaving the land of their birth,
the land where dame fortune had placed
them, and settled in n country whose laws
and institutions they loved. We, their de-
scendants, were here born, but had they not
immigrated, we would have been foreigners
And now, we, who have had the good fortune
to be born Americans, shall we deny that in
estimable privilege to Others, by denying to
foreigners the right to settle. To be sure,
the Know Nothings disclaim that they would
keep out foreigners, but they refuse them the
rights of citizens and what would be the
glory of being an American without being a
citizen. Some of the most rabid Know No
thing are the sons of foreigners. We could
name certain high functionary, of State
not a thousand miles from this city, who is a
very wool-dyed Know Nothing, and whose
paternal ancestors, he who begat him, came
from over the waters. And the Know Nothing
candidate for the Attorney Generalship of
Virginia, is, we believe, grand son of Gen.
HUGH MERCER "a Scotchman - a man who
fell at Princeton fighting bravely for the
country of his adoption.
AS we have said before, we can know no.
thing, certainly, concerning the principles oi
this mysterious order. But by their fruits
we can know them. A drunken rowdy, whose
business it is to scare off peaceablc and quiet
citizens from the polls, where they go to ex
ercise the rights guaranteed them by the fed
eral and State Constitutions, becomes involv
ed with some other spirits like himself, anC
in the melee hs1issbot-not by foreigner
6: c.: ;, :;. ; !; ::;:: 6: &:
passes from mouth to mouth men loo
excited, red bits of paper arc sprinkle