Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1855-05-03

that although this acquisition of labor is in
some respect useful TO the community, yet
that these Immigrants are ignorant of the
| institutions, the laws, and even the LAM
guage of the country, and animated by a
spirit very different from that Of American
citizens. These persons are, however, very
speedily invested with the franchise and the
| exercise of political power.
This immigration s. furnishes what NAV,
without much exaggeration of phrase, be
called the distinct estate of our Republic.
/ Its eser-swelling tide is visible in every
commanity. 1t is banded into combinations
nlo1eor less apart from our long known and
familiar misses of native citizens, by ties
Of foreign Eiadred, by unforgotten and ever
ctefished iationaiiies, and by sympathies
| alien TO Inc spirit which alone sustains our
/ peoa..ar, temperate, and complicated system
u freedom. Worse than this, it has caught
the notice and stimulated the craft of selfish
political aspirants and demagogues, who
have too easily found it a plant resource
| for party use, and who have cajoled, flat
tered and seduced it into the ranks of par
,isan strife, and TINS impaired TO it conse-
quence and an influence amost powerful to
aid perverse ambition, bnt utterly power
less to accomplish any honest end for which
the highest prerogatives of citizenship were
originally designed" To this we may add,
that it exercises an undue and almost exclu-
sive influence over the American press, that
it is always endeavoring to embroil the Unit
ted States for its own sinister purposes. with
the European Powers, and that it is led by
the renegades, the sympathizers, and the
annexationists Of every cline who have
sought refuge hey ond the Atlantic.
not stop here. They observe that very
large portion of the annual immigration be-
long TO the Church Of Rome-a body re-
garded with distrus, by the greater number
Of the American people, protesting at least
| a moral allegiance to foreign and absolute
| Power, and organized in peculiar manner
| for the promotion Of Roman Catholic objects
at the expense Of those very liberties which
these persons exercise and enjoy. The Ame-
rican party, therefore, proclai;.ls tina, it takes
its stand against the political action of the
Roman Catholic Church in the L. States,
not from intolerance Of the doctrines of tina;
faith, but from conviction that the ienden-
cy Of that church is to embody It's adherenls
in party, the objects Of which are at vari-
ance with the institutions aud national spirit
Of the American people.
These declarations are, TO a great extent,
! new in the history of the United States
Hitherto. unlimited facilities and encour-
| agement have been held out to immigration
and the political parties in the community
have proitssed absolute Indifference to the
| religious faith of their members Expert
ence seems to have convinced at least one
considerable section of the American COM
muniiy that these privileges cannot always
be as literally conceded as they have hith-
erto been; and it is obvious that the prlnc-
pies Of this new party arc mainly directed
| against the extraordinary increase OF the
Irish element among the American popuia-
ton, both as aliens and as Papists. On
many other topics the manifesto preserves
discreet and significant silence, probably
because, although the Know Nothings are
cordially united on some points, that union
does not extend to ALL Thus, the vital
| question Of Slavery is left unnoticed, be-
cause in Massachusetts, for instance, the
Know Nothngs have dec AIRED for emanc-
patton, while in other States they supper.
| the Fugitive Slave Law. Again, the an
nexation OF Cuba and other territories is
NOT dlluHtu W, DtCduSt every tAVuStuIi III
territory inhabited by men of the Spanish
race aud the Roman Catholic faith must
tend 10 weaken the national American char
acter of the Union.
Ii these are the established principles Of
the Know Nothing party, we cannot but re-
gard them with considerable sympathy
We have ever watched with sincere admit
| ration the progress of the United States, as
long as it is directed to those legitimate OBJ
jects which are 10 be found within the mag
nifcent territories Of the Union. A less IA
vorable opinion Of their policy and condi-
ton has only been formed and expressed in
Europe when public opinion in the United
States was msed by factous agitators, or
misdirected to objects incompatible with the
rights Of others. The strength Of the Union
and the peace of the world would be pro-
tected and secured by policy which pro-
| fesses TO concentrate the strength of the
American people on American objects. The
language Of the new party appears to us to
be patriotic and wise, and far more nearly
akin to the true principles of the founders
OF the Commonwealth than the scandalous
attempts Of the modern Democrats to court
popularity at the expense of honesty and
honor. The Know Nothines owe their ex-
istence to reaction against the tollies and
excesses Of kossuTH meetings. of Irish jour
naism, of the Romish priests, and Of Mr..
IPIERcE's Ministers: and it is not improha-
BE that they will succeed in constituting the
next Government of the United States, as
they have already returned a majority to the
new Congress.
Solemn AND IIumoRous NoTHrSGs.-Iien-
| ry W. Beecher. in reply to rebake OF Sc