The Placer herald., 1855-09-29
FF0m Ne Presbyterian Cr1f
The American Party,

national movement agrinst the Catholic
Church The recent excitement in the coun-
try has been, in the main the result of cor
rupt movement of the unprinciped politicians
to excite the protestant feeling of the people,
and to ride into power upon the tide. They
have run foul of the great maxim which they
have so conspicuouslv set forward among
their principles as if for the. purpose of ex-
posing the prolgacv of the whole move
ment, by violating in practice what they
praise in theory. 1t is absurd to deny that
making the mere religious sentiments of a
man the reason for refusing to vote for him
is violation of the great principle of religi-
Gus liberty. 1t is allowing a principle of dis
eliminating the political aspect of a vote to
be sound and Just. which would be wicked
| and unprincipled if embodied in law. If
our neighbors make their dislike to our
Presbyterian sentiments the ground for their
refusing to vote for us, it is perfectly useless
to disguise that we are under political re-
sponsbilitv for religious opnions-guoodh hoe,
we are suffering for them. The objection
able <a.lf re in this view of the case, is max
ing religious opinion unattended by any Wei
business Of action growing out of it, ground
for a unive' sal discrimination in political
affairs affecting permanently large masses
of citizens. This is our fist and great OBJ
lection to the American or Know Nothing
party: it is violating the principle of relgi-
Gus liberty which it processes to conserve,
and has adopted construction of that prin-
cip'e which strips it of all practical force,
| 'eaving it a dead letter in the statute book.
and abandoning its control over the political
action of the people.
We Object TO the American party. that it
is condenSing the Catholic and foreign ele
mcnt in our population into political body.
distinct from the mass of our citizens, armed
with all their power to do mischief and ami
mated by al that hostility which is natural
TO men suffering under ostracism of their re-
'g;on and birth. provoked hv an attempt to
diminish their full equality with other citizens
NOW, "h"t dooS Know -Nothngism propose
to do for the remedy Of this evil which it has
created! Indeed, the inference of tie Know
Nothing creed. on both the issues il has rails
ed, is logical and practical b'under from its
own premises II assumes in the strongest
sense OF an cyiSting fact. not as a log'cal in
ference from the Catholic creed the absolute
mcompatiblitv of the Catholic church and
the free institutions Of this country. This is
its premise: It's inference is. to render the in
dvidual Catholic ineligible to office: the true
inference from the premise as they construc
it is, that the Catholic Church ought not to
be tolerated at all. ON the other issue. the
premise is, that the foreign element in our
population is dangerous TO the government;
the inference IS the reduction of part OF the
rights of citiZcnship-thc incligiblitv to
Office, in the foreigners already here, and cv
tension of the term Of naturalization. The
true inference is. the prohhition of all mmi-
grafton for the future, and the avoidance of
everything that would cXasperae the foreign
element already in the midst Of us; the care
tul observance Of everything that would tend
to strengthen their attachment to the in
stitltions OF the country. These are the re-
suits which logically issue from the premises
of the know-No'hinC creed, and which they
are logically required to assume.
But they dare not do it: the measure they
propose to a1opt-the exclusion from Office
is rdiculousv incomplete as a practical
eNpcdient: it is a most impotcnt and lame
conclusion as logical inference There may
be special reasons why particular offices, in
voving the representation of the national
character, as well as the national policy,
should be exclusively occupied bv native
born citizens; but this is very different in
nature and proceeds upon wholly different
principle of political wisdom, from the uni
versal declaration of ineliebility to all offices
among large masses of citizens That eligi-
biitv attaches as an incident, or inhercs
among the mass Of the common rights Of
ciiizenship and it is absurd to admit the
citizenship in general, and deny this single
capacity which it involves. This principle of
action involves the explanation of the diff
Guilty raised by the writer in the critic for
May, in relation to the eligibility of the Chi
ncse or Mohammedan. This question will
be settled by the settlement Of a previous
question, and that is, whether large masses
of such persons, Pagans and Polygamists,
are to lie admitted to all the permanent and
general participation in the rights of citizen
ship in a Christian country.
1t is on this question, the great Mormon
issue now ripening for trial, will be de.ermin-
ed in few years. Conceding the issue as
determined in the affirmative, all minor
questions, such as eligibility to office, and
propriety Of voting such persons into office
are settled; it is absurd to question the ordi-
nary proprety of allowing by vote what is
allowable by law. The whole question, as a
general proposition, is determined by the
permanent admission of large masses of per-
sons in view of the common rights Of citizen
ship. It is one thing to allow specific privi-
eges to individual foreigners residing on
our soil, for specific purposes; but it is alto
gether another to dsfranchise in part, and
by a principle believed to be permanent,
immense masses of men already permanently
part Of the population. and so recognized.
The object in the last place, and with deep
severity of conviction, to the principle of or
ganization adopted by the American OF