Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1855-01-20
DIR. SHAW ON KNow-NoTH1NGIsm.
INDIAN Town, North Carolina, !
November Both. 1854. {

slant, and shoGid have acknowledge its receipt al
an earlier period but for absence from home and
many very pressing engagements
You ask me for my opinion of the new organiza-
ton lately COTTON up in country, called Know
Nothngsln" 1t is at all times a pleasure to to
interchange opinions with my fellow citizens in re-
gard to matters of public Importance, AMI especially
with those whom esteem as personal friends, and
greatly regret that the time at my disposal will
not allow nor the ordinary limits of letter admit,
of my answering your enquiries in a manner at all
satisfactory to myself Or fear, acceptable to you.
| shall, however, give you my opnions-indeed my
eaIn nest and well settled convictions, in the same
frank and candid manner i'll which you were kind
enough to communicate your own to me.
Next to Abolitionsln, | consider the Know
Nothing move eut the most dangerous organza-
ton that has raised its monstrous head in this
country, since the establishments of our happy gov
eminent. 1t is in direct opposition to the consttu-
ton, which expressly declares that " no retigious
test shall ever be required as qualification to any
Office public trust under the United States Cart
g., Sec. 81 aims fatal blow at religious oleration
the incstimable right of every man to worship his
Creator according to the dictates of his own con-
science; and, if have read history to any advan-
tagc, must, if successful in its aims, inevitably lead
to Strife bioodSed ard all the horrors of civil war;
You seem inclined to favor the movement; where,
let me ask is it to end? Suppose you band together
day to deprive Catholics of their rights and priv
ileges as citizens and to crush them out" as
ligious sect-suppose you succeed to your hearts
content-who can say that others will not unite to-
gether at future day, to deprive you of your reli
gous liberty? Having put your heels upon the
necks of such men as the Chief Justice of the Su-
preme Court or the United States; such men
Charles Carroll of Carrollton and the lamented
Gaston-having ostracised the Catholics, who will
fall next? You and know that the difference be-
tween Catholics and high church Episcopaians is
somewhat like that bctwixt tweedie-dum and twee
de-dee-indeed the Episcopalian church itself has
not unfrequently been stignatized as the bastard
child of the whore of Rome"-wi not equal reason
l>n tn cir,,ila Whnr
will 1t end The asst sned for this crusade
against the Roman Catholics is, that theirs is not the
true religion then if religious federation is to be
destroyed, and men to band together to putdown
every form of religion that fails to up their
standard, if the principle be good, and one that
should be acted upon at all, it cannot stop short OF
totally annihilating every form OF worship except
that of the greatest number, which would ultimately
give the Mcthodsts religious supremacy in this coun
try, they being most numerous. Now | do not say,
nor do believe, that the Methodists any other
denominations contemplate any such end; what l
do say is, that if such principle is good to be acted
upon at all, there is the same reason to apply it in
in another, and if established at all
rule of action, man. the wiscst among US, tell
where it will stop, The strongest stay 1t in its
awful progress.
But you seem to apprehcnd peculiar danger from
the spread of Rolnansm in this country, and think
something should be done to check it in its onward
your fears are well founded; will
you impede its progress by persecution? You are
too well read not to know that the dissemination of
no religious faith has ever been checked in that way
the history of the Christian Religion itselfis the
most striking illustration of the utter facy of any
such notion g rhe blood of Martyrs is the seed of
the church." But docs any such danger really
list? Admitting that there is cause to fear that the Pa
pists will outnumber the Protesants in this
try is there any special to suppose that they
would attempt to interfere with the religious the
civil rights ofthose who entertain opposite sentiments
of religion? confess have no such fears neither
GYnp -lnAo n
human nature teaches me that there would be any
more danger Of such an abuse of power from one
sect rather than another and so far the history
Of our country extends, the Catholics can COM
par notes very avoraby with the Protestants; the
greatest historian America has produced, himSelfa
tells that while the Catholic founders
Of Maryland were freely extending perfect religious
liberation to all who chose to settle in that colony,
he Puritans in Massachusetts, prosecuting the
Quakers in the most inhuman manner, |
md driving the poor Baptists out into the wilder
ness would trust no church, Catholic or Protcs-
ant, with power mems rights either civi! or |
eligious the latter (rcgious rights least of all
The wisdom Of the fathers of the Republic and the |
ramers of the Constitution is no where more striN
ngly manifested than in those CLAUSES of that noble
,harter intended secure perfect freedom of con-
science; one have already quotcd-the other, the |
irSt article of amendments, reads thus: Congress
hall make no law respecting an establishment of |
eligon, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"
With little leaning toward the Catholic church
If its creed ant-scriptural, would say alb
urd, lift were proper thus to characterize opinions
which, " from time whereof the memory of man .
unneth not to the contrary" up to the Reformation,
constituted the religious faith of all Cristen-
lom and very considerable portion of it since that
ri, and which have been held sacred by men who
TODD out beacon lights of learning and science,
would lay my hands with violence upon the reli-
,ous rights of Protestants as would upon
hose of Catholics because | think the principle |
would be the and the danger to institutions
nd to free government no greater.
But is there after all the least grounds for alarm
ither of the present strength of the Cath
lies i'll this country, their superiority hereafter
BY examining the census of 1850, find the church !
(the only mode at my command of
scertaining their numbers) for Roman Catholics in
North Carolina, give them 400 in a white popula-
ion of 553 O2S for the whole State or one Catholic
o 1874 Protestants; the whole number of Catholics
n the United States is set down at SGT 1928 which
one in 90 of the white population of the country.
have have neither time space here to pursue
his investigation further; think however must
ave carried it far enough already to prove to you
hat your apprehension of danger is not well founded
A similar investigation will show that the danger
Thich you fear from foreigners generally. emigrants
0 this country, can exist only in imagination the
ensus of 1850 gives 2, 240,5 persons of foreign
firth, which, compared to 9,552, O6S our total
rhite population is within fraction of nine native
0 one foreign born citizen. Now admitting that
hese people are hostile to u.s. which l d, only for
he argument where, pray, is the danger? But
ave they ever, either in time of peace war; given
violence of any hostile des gins? Scattered all over
ne country, entertaining differences Of opinion in
,ol,,~