The Shasta courier., 1855-10-20
Foreign Emigration.

Judge Murray, in his very able opinion rem
,lered in the Leidsdorff estate case, declares
that the policy of the Government of the
United States has been to encourage the emf
grafton of foreigners AS an evidence of this
he states thai :" system of pre-emption has
been adopted in all the Territories and new
Safes, in whic.. there is 20 discrimination be-
tween foreigners and native citizens
Thqt this is tie policy Indicated by the au-
thors o4 our government, no man at all conver-
sant with the history Of our federal legislation
viii He teachings Of Washington and his AS
socia;es. vii! tier siomeat deny.
In.lccd, when recur to the writings of the
Fathers of the Republic, we forcibly inn
pressed with the fact that tue emigration of
foreigners was the chief source upon which
they depended for the necessary means of sub
duing and c,iltivai.g the itch and boundless
plains and yallies, hen comparatively unknown.
now supporting in wealth and luxury popula-
ton of Millions of freemen. Even in the De-
claration Of Independencc-that document
lronsht with more importance to the orld than
any State paper ever before penned-among
the long catalogue of governmental injuries
and usurpa:ions' npon which the patriots of ,h..
Revolution depended for Justification in thu.
eyes of the civilized world, for falling back
npon that dernier resort of an oppressed an!
enslaved people, Revoluiion,-even in this
paper find among the first the one that tie
British King had thrown obstacles in the way
Of that living stream which was flowing towards
our shores from the kingdoms of the old world
and upon which they seemed go confidently to
rely for The necessary supply of human muscle
with which 10 conquer the wild lands of Ameri-
ca, to fell her forests, cultivate her broad vallies
and green hills, and rear her towns and cities
What says that matchless paper! Read =
"IIe has en1eavored To prevent the popula-
lion of these States: for that purpose. DISTRACT
ing the laws f,r naturalization of foreigners; re-
hsine to pass Others to encourage their niigra-
ton hiiher. aud raising the conditions ot new
appropriations of lands"
Thus spoke The men who knew, unless they
success, that the loss of their heads would be
the penalty Thus spoke such men as Jefferson
Franklin, Lee Carroll Adams, Hancock and
their associates. Were they not worthy of be-
lug American ciiizens7 ay, even those of them
who were born il other lands!
But the Convention whose language we have
quoted, met long time ago-in 1776. Since
them in 1857 another convention of Americans
assembled in the city of Philadelphia. and pro-
mused to the world new political faith. Let
see how the opinion of Tie convention of l776
accordS, in spirit, with The eleventh article of
the platform adopted by the Convention of 1855.
Here is article llth -
Eligibility to office both in the States and
natlon, should he restricted to persons born
within the jurisdiction. or some part of the
territory inclnded within the existing bounds of
the United States.
Now let the reader pause and calmly ask HIM
self the question, How wonld this and
strange doctrine of Know Nothingism have been
received by the AnericaAs assembled in PhiIa-
delphia in 1876? Would they not have secuted
it with indignalionl thrust it beyond the pre-
cincts of the sacred hall in which they were
galheredi Who can Gou!i that such would bavc
been their coursel No one If so, then how
could they, if now living be co-workers with
the Know Nothings of the present day {? If they
could not, then would our Know Nothing friends
dare say they were not true Americansl If so
then. they might place Washington in the same
category, for he, in language both beautiful and
forcibe, uttered the following sentiment:
The bosom of America is open to receive
not only the opulent and respectable stranger
but the oppressed and prosecuted of ALL Ma
TIONS and ALL RELIGIONS, whom we shall
welcome to participation i'll ALL OUR
RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES"
Thus it will be seen that the signers Of the
Declaration Of Independence. and Washington.
entertained and declared sentiments directly at
variance with those now deemed purely Anaeri-
can by the Know Nothing party.
For one we are satisfied with the company in
which placed by the opponents Of the
Democratic party. If Washington was unwor.
thy to be called American, then do we es-
chew the name. " If this be treason, make the
most of it,"