The American patriot., 1855-07-14
Prescription Because Of Religion.

Prescription Because Of Religion.
This is the cukoo cry of great many un-
thinking. but echoing men against the Ameri.
can Party, which is warning with Papacy not
with Catholicism Papacy, that is allegiance
to the Pope of Rome is one thing: Catholicism
is altogether another
What man thinks of Confession" " Tram
substantiation," "Purgatory," "Nunneries,"
Monasteries," is his own business; not ours :;
may, what he thinks of the Pope of Rome is
also his business, and not ours until he wish
es to become an American citizen, and to share
with us in the partnership of this Government
when it does become our business to know
whether he, our partner IN this Government,
owes allegiance to the Roman Potentate, or to
the Government of the State of New York. and
the United States of America. Partners in
Government, thus divided, owing even allegi-
anccs to conflicting soveregns, cannot, it is
certain, amicably transact business in Govern
ment together,-and hence, they had better
never begin to try.
Everybody assents to all this,-but says the
Roman Catholic, 81 owe nothing but esprit
uAL ALLEGIANCE to the Pope" This has ever
been Greek to us,-and we could read Greek
too, in our earlier days, with some facility
but the more we read the Papal Greek, and the
older we grow, the harder becomes the under
standing of such an absurdity "" The Pope
says the Roman Catholic, in substance, has
my spirit, my soul, but not my body" Now,
if the Catholic would only give his spirit to his
own country, as the rest of us do, the Pope
might have his temporalities and his body in
welcome, the spirit of a man, in our estimate,
being of far more Importance to have than any
of his temporary possession,-or even his body.
Indeed, the Pope may have any mans tempo
rol allegiance, if he will only give his spiritual
allegiance to his country. He who owns the
mind, the spirit, the soul of man, owns all a
man hath
Papacy, then, Papal alcgiance-not Catho-
ficism is what we quarrel with. Man or wo-
man, they may worship the Virgin Mary till
doomsday, or believe in the "Immaculate Con-
ception," or confess all of wife's or husbands
secrets to the priest,-f they choose, and we
can vote for them, elect them to Office, and
consent to be governed BY them. We may
have in them that sort Of confidence, and love,
by which we can trust them in anything and
everything When they act of their own free
wills, under the inspiration of their own con-
sciences, and, by the conclusion of their own
judgments, s,-but if a conscience in Rome, 4, 900
is to be our judgment-and Roman will the
will over us,-wc demur to the partnership and
to the subservence. The allegiance of Amer
leans to Roman Potentate is not the allegiance
of an American citizen.
To pricsts,-to Catholic pricsts,-to their
churches, ,-thei, ceremonies, their burning
candles, s,-their Latin Masses,-their rosares
and breviaries,--we may not object The dash
ing magnifcence of their ceremonies NAV be
useful, may be necessary, perhaps, to ovcrawe
and elevate the unthinking mind of Irish, Span
ish or Italian multitudes. But to priest sent
from Rome, Independent of us all,---not of us,
nor owning us,-nay, owing temporal and Spir-
itua allegiance in all matters of faith and prac-
ticc to Romau Potentate, we do dcmur. That
stupendous Hierarchy, of which the Haly Fa-
| ther is the head and which dictates priest
from Austria to the United States,-from Spain
to Chill, from the East Indies to the West
Indies, is despotism we will not, if we can
help it, submit to. We may so love our own
self chosen priest,-that we may be willing our
wives and daughters shall enter his confession
al, almost lip to lip, and breathe into his atten-
tive and luxurious ear, the consecrateG secrets
of our beloved homes and families,-but we
are not willing to have that lest forced in up
on us, and dictated to us from Rome, 1000
miles off. The Monarchy of Rome, that stretch
es over us, Americans, here its authority. is
of that sort and class, that in 1776 provoked
rebellion and in 1866 is provoking rebellion
now.
| Now, thcn,-let it be understood, it is not
upon mans religion Or his forms of religion,
that the American Party wars,-but upon
American Papal Allegiance and Papal Govern
ment, in America. Professionalism is, in Catho-
lie countries, "a crime" we know, and pun
ished as ga crime" in Italy and Spain but
Catholicism is no crime here, ,-disqualifies no
one for Office deprives no one of citizen.
ship. Nay, absolute Papal allegiance is no
crime here; every man that pleases can be as
much of a Papst as he pleases. All the bless
ings and privileges of our country, and of our
Government, are recognized as his even in the
American party,-savc only that with this
man thus owing Papal allegiance, the Ameri-
can declines to share the partnership of the
Government of this country. Let us hear no
more then, Of this cuckoo cry, "Proscription
because of Religion. ~ Y Express
A
Col. J. V. DuRALDE.-The nomination OF
Col. Durable, of West Baton Rouge, for State
Treasurer, by the American Party, meets uni
vcrsal appreciation in this section of the State
He is an affable and courteous gentleman, a
Creole, Prominently identified with the interest
of Louisiana as sugar planter. As politician
Col. Durable has ever been Whig; but has
never taken any active part in poltics-he has
never been an "office seeker; :" in this instance
it may be safely said, ''the Office has sought
the man, and not the man the Office"
The Scientific American says that if builders
filled up the spaces between every wall and
flooring with sea sand, no fire could communi-
cate from one apartment to another. The
! staircases, if constructed Of iron ON the ren.