Weekly Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1853-1861, 1855-06-14

The liberties of the country are destroyed, 10
will be by Roman priests'-was dug out OF
letter in which he quoted it but to refute 1t
The original letter was quoted by the Demo-
cratic press all over the Union and was IN
serted, due credit being given TO us, by Bishop
Spalling. Of Louisville, in certain work
which he published. Prof. Morse, of PouSh-
keepsie, y Y, upon tchose authority ne orr
g,nal statement ,eds made, finding himself IN
an unpleasant position, commenced contro-
veTsy with Bishop Spalding in relation to
the genuineness of our correspondents letter.
He asserts that no such book as the letter IS
quoted from is IN existence and that Old
Line himself IS one Of the dreaded persons
called 'Jesuits.' Now we assure Prof Morse |
and all interested in the controversy, that
Old Line IS Protestant gentleman, 'stditRch |
IN tie faith by no means bitter partizan, |
and that he can proye every statement he made
to BE- correct His veracity we believe TO be
as good as Morse's; and if the latter will
come to this city and risk anything on his i'm
parchment Of it, tire book s0iU be produced be-
fore a committee selected By the pa1ties. There
is no doubt whatever that Prof. Morse IS aH
tVroRg in the matter, or those who are quot
ing LAFAYETTE upon his authority are gross
" deceived We assure the public that 1t
can place the most implicit confidence IN the
/ Ea0lnrs7's communication regarding the La
/ Fayette forgery"
/ will Professor Morse meet this bold chal-
/ lenge given him by a brotier Prote5toRt' II
he does not, then with what face can he again
appear before the public, indefense OF motto
/ To which he cave currency. and which Is here
1 boldly charged 10 have been dug ont" of q
/ letter Of In Faycttc, written expressly to re-
| fnte ill., lf he dare meet the challenge,
/ shall look on as a spectator, with some inter
est, feeling that ''it is very pretty quarrel as
/ it standsn / hope the Professor will not
/ hack out, but viii meet the issue like man.
Here l viii, for the present, rest my de-
Tense. If the Enquirer can sustain its posi-
ton. then ali Professor MoIse's vague recol-
lections of conversations held with La Fay
cite. more than twenty wears ago, are scattered
to the winds, and all his long drawn tefs-
qraphic reasonings will fall of themselves to,
the ground.
should he even succeed IN proving that
the Enquirer is wrong, and that the book Is
forgery. he will still not have made good his
: position. He must yet prove that La Fayette
was the author of the motto in question; and
this bv much more conclusive evidence than
: he has so far been able to allege
When this necessary preliminary question,
involving the chief basis Of the controversy,
|, shall have been settled between Prof. Morse
and the Protestant editions of the Cincinnati
Fnq,ttre7. it will be quite time enough for me
to attend Ia other points, including the re-
n,arLaIle testimony of the Rev. Mr.. Van Pelt.
For the edification of Prof Morse, | may
here state, that though 1 have no personal
acquaintance with "Old Line or the editors
, of the Cincinnati Enquirer, | have recently
learned. on what take for reliable authority,
that when the Cincinnati Times yentnred to
! question the authenticity of LaFayett's letter,
the "staunch Protestant Old Line came out
in the ENQUIRER and offered to stake one thou
sand dollars. to be paid by the loser to the
I orphans of Cincinnati, that he would produce
before animpartial committee the book con-
tanning the letter The challenge was made,
, | understand, not so much in the spirit of
+ betting or banter, as with a view 10 present
substantial test of the question, the decision
of which, in either way, would accrue To the
T benefit Of the orphans. / am further informed
, that TAYLOR of the Times, rs,y prudently de-
. clined the contest. and, with discreet Uolor,
/ bacled out
Meantime, close this communication with
a few questions, containing what | conceive
, to be the gist of this discussion to which
questions | request plain and explicit answers
from Prof. Morse.
l. If the Professor was so long and so very
intimate with Lafayette, and if he cores
pended, and was con the Polish Committee
with him, why is it that his name is never
once mentioned in the twelve volumes Of
Memoirs Correspondence and Manuscripts
of General Lafayette, published by his fam
| ily 2" (lIemoires, Correspondence ct Mana
scrits d,t General Lafayette p,Iblses par sa
famille, BRUSSELS, 1890 1 have the work
before me, and if the Professors name occurs
in it even once, the fact has wholly escaped
my examination, and he, having the work,
can easily correct me.
.. If Lafayette urged him so repeatedly
and so earnestly, to give the warning con-
tanned IN the motto to the American people,
as early rs 1881, why did he delay giving it
till 1886 or 1887, Che gives both dates fve
on siI years efteyI0ards, and about three gears
after tie death Of the French Patriot? He
alone can answer this question.
3. If this was really the sentiment Of La
Fayette, why is not the famous motto found
in these twelve volumes, consisting in great
part Of his own writings? And why is no
trace Of it to be discovered in any of the pub
lished lives of the French patriot? Why
especially does his physician, Cloquet who
was so intimately acquainted with his Utmost
thoughts, say nothing whatever on this sub
ject in the elaborate work, in which he treats
of the private life and conversations of the
patriot? (See Recollections of the Private
Life Of Gen. Lafayette, by Jules Cloquet; l
vol 8vo., London, 1880
4. How does the Professor reconcile the
two manifestly inconsistent facts of LaFay-
cites using the motto to American Protestants,
and at the same time passing for Catholic
in France, praising the tender Catholic piety
of his devoted wife, and wishing to be buried
by her side? Was he hypocrite, or was he
only inconsistent? How explain the solemn
Catholic funeral service, so beautifully de-
scribed by Cloquet, and the interment in the
Catholic cemetery of PicptIs, with large
Catholic cross near his grave? (See cut Of
his tomb, in Cloquet, p. 29l) Think you,
the priests would have assisted in such num-
bers at the funeral, if he had been in the
habit of abusing them Or did Lafayette
have Que language for American PrOtestants
ami another for French Catholics?
D. In his chateau, or castle, at Lagrange
Lafayette, like other French Catholics of
rank, had chapel, (Cloquet, p ND now
what was the use of this chapel, if his enc
mics, the Romish priests" were not to Off
ciate therein? Was this, too, mockery, or
was it sheer hypocrisy?
, 6. When did Washington worship along
with Lafayette in the same church in Bos-
ton, as Rev. Mr.. Van Welt makes LAFAYETTE
assert? What historian records this fact,
which was the basis of the alleged interview?
S | ask for information.
$ Z. again ask an e1plcit answer to the di-
lemma before proposed, which repeat here,
4 as the Professor seems to have forgotten il.
Either Lafayette was Catholic, or he was
: an intdel; he certainly was not Protestant.
!, II a Catholic, he could not have originated
( the motto ascribed to him by Morse. without