American union. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1859, 1855-09-01
AnrnR1cAN1snG Defended

lieV idteiy WriUen Dy CnarleS Clemens OF AL
ALBANIA, in defence of the American Party,
| parts of which strike us as alike vigorous i'm
logic and style. On the question OF slavery
he says:
81 have seen one column Of newspa-
per filled with denuncia,ions of the secre
feature OF the order, while the next not on
ly purported to give the principles of the
party, bnt even the very forms of initiation.
One thing is certain, either those forms
were torgeries, or al! the indignant denun-
ciatio ons of secrecy withwhich we have been
favored, were hypocritcal pretences in no
way creditable to those who employ them.
All parties observe more or less secrecy in
relations to certain portions of their tactics
The secrets Of the Democratic caucus are
as profound as the Know Nothing Council,
and the will OF every member is more com
pietely subjected to The control of the ma.
Jority. n Knotc Nothing after his party has
made nomination, may abandon his order
and thus rid himself Of all obligation to sup
port 1t, but Democrat who has once taken
part in Caucus, is held in honor bound to
abide the decision of that Caucus, no mat
ter how dis,asteful il may be. II the term
DARK Lantern Party was applied to the
midnight plotting of those who manufacture
in Caucuses and Conventions, Candidates
without consulting the will of the people,
1t would be much more appropriate. The
State and the National Councils having both
removed the injunction Of secrecy, that re-
proach is disposed Of; in point of fact it ne
yer existed. Their principles were known
from The beginning: and he must have been
| ignorant indeed who had any doubt of the
aims and purposes of the order"
On the Catholic portion of the creed, he
thus speaks:
"There is another branch Of the question
which lapproach with more reluctance, be-
cause | am afraid with more prejudice than
will enable me to consider il dspassionate-
| iy, Without belonsipg 10 any church /
'I,sssSty st'yy up i'm The Methodist persuasion 1t
was the faith in which my Mother lived SS
died, and could not change It'll I would.
! Among the earliest books which fell into nv
hands, found accounts of Catholic persecu-
tions OF early Protestants. or men women
and children thrown into dungeons-s
ed upon the rack, tortured with thumb.
screws, and finally burned at the stake for
the crime OF worshping God as reason &
conscience dictated. Then came the cor.
der OF Jesus" with the Inquisition in its
tram. For centuries every page is blacken.
ed by The iniqui,ies Of that Church whose
Poniif arfogantly claims to be the immedi-
ate representative of the Almighty, and who
has not hestated at all times 10 exercise now
Iets In accordance with that claim Subjects
released from obedience to their legal ru
leTs-m murder, perjury-incest, every crime
made vena if it tended to the advance
ment OF the Church. know it is said that
these powers are not now exercised or clai
med. Where has il ever been abandoned
where they had power to enforce il? What
is the use OF the Confessional, il the Priest.
hood do not still claim the power of for
giyeness for sins committed or to be com
mitted? have searched in vain for any au-
thentic document which shows that they
have ever abated one jot or title os the pre-
tensions which characterized them in other
years, and characterize them now in other
lands. lhave visited two countries in which
the Catholic religion is established by law,
and found in both the same intolerance,
the same blgotry, the same hatred of Pro-
nj nE tI.,I In.l
lof Protestants are denied the right of burial
in a Catholic grave yard. The masses are
taught to believe that the rotting corpses
OF the faithful would be polluted by the
neighborhood OF Brother who held in life
different creed. In Spain an assemblage
OF more than fifteen protestants, for the pur.
pose OF religious worship, is declared an un.
lawful assembly, and all the remons,rances
Iof England have failed to ameliorate this
detesllble tyranny. Wha, we see existing
elsewhere, what we know has always exist
ed wherever Catholics had the power, we
may surely dread for ourselves without being
liable to the charge Of excessive timidity,
particularly when we see the rapid strides
they are making TO power and influence a
mong us. From 1910 to 1850 the number
of Catholics in the United States doubled,
and now the. exceed two millions of souls.
AT that rate it will not take them long 10
acquire all the power they want, aud when
acquired they will not fail TO exercise it,
In the very nature of things the Catholic
| must be a pereecutor. when ho bsiie zoe ihat
every Protestant is on the highway TO hell;
when no believes that /, is Charity TO tor
ture, and piety 10 murder tbose whom he
looks upon as enemies to his God, ii would
be absurd to expect mercy, or look for tol.
erationp