Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1855-03-12
OBJ Daily spp.
MONDAY, MARCH IL, 1855
PToscriPtfve.

The Atlas, of Saturday, contains a lon
correspondence between Major General Ed
mands and Colonel John c. Boyd, OF the N
V. NJ, upon the subject of the latter's with
drawal from the militia service. The CORES
pondence is interesting. as it illustrates tn
operation of the principles propounded b,
His Exceleney, Governor Gardner. when h
assumed the chair of state. In his inaugura
address, the Governor declared his intention
to prescribe from the militia service all person,
OF foreign birth or extraction He pro.
nounced, in the strongest manner. his deter
mination to drive all such persons from the
service of the State. We do not undertake to
say whether the Governor did right or wrong
IN the course he pursued. He probably acted
IN conscientious accordance with his own
most enlightened views of the new philosophy
OF "Americanizing foreigners HIS Excel
lency, the Governor, in his capacity of COM
mander-In-chief Of the Massachusetts, Vol
teer Militia, disbanded several o-4panies OF
militia supposed to be composed of citizens of
''foreign birth and extraction Colonel
John C. Boyd, Inspector of Division, after
carrying out the order to disband the obnox-
ious companies, rendered his resignation to
General Edmands, and through him to the
Commander i'm Chief, Governor Gardner, on
the ground that he is of ''foreign extraction"
Colonel Boyd has been for fifteen years in the
militia. He is q man of as eminent social po-
sition as Henry J. Gardner. He formerly
represented Boston in the Legislature, and
did so, it is said, with as much ability, Mt
least, as our present Governor; yet he is now
driven from the militia service by the Govern
or. simply because his parents were born in
the country that produced such men as Wal
lace, James Watt, and Robert Burns
We do not undertake to say whether the
Governor has acted like statesman and true
political philosopher or not in prescribing men
of "foreign extraction = but, we think, if the
principle was carried out 'to its fullest extent
that even his Excellency would find himself
inconvenient'y mixed up, amongst the pro-
scribed. If however, "toregn extraction is
meant to designate those, only, whose fathers
or mothers were born outside of the borders of
the United States, Gov. Gardner, of course,
would escape prescription; but even with such
limitation many of the most illustrious of our
great countrymen's names would be stricken
from the roll of the nations fame. Patrick
Henry, Benjamin Franklin, General Jackson,
Gilbert Stuart, Washington Irving, and
many others, are of ''foreign extraction in
this limited sense. Franklin's parents were
in loci 4
Henry's, Stuart's, and Irvings in Scotland,
where Col. Boyd's parents were born. Now,
although we may wish deyoutly, that Adam
and all his posterity had been born in the U.
States and although we may consider those
who were not born here to be very foolish
people; still we think our country would not
consent to throw away the names we have !
cited. What American. that is proud of his
country's great men, would think of proscrib.
ing the prophet-orator of the Revolution;
the philosopher, economist and diplomatist of
the revolted colonies; the painter of Wash
ington the hero of New Orleans or the au-
thor of the Sketch Book
We do not believe that all the Governors in
the United States combined, are strong enough
pruscrIpe those great names IN America, be-
cause they are of ''foreign extraction" They
are amongst the brightest gems in the tiara
which graces and glorides the brow of the
American Republic. They are household
words from Maine to Florida.
We do not impugn the policy of the Gov
ernor in the position he assumed in his inau-
gural In his zeal to "Americanize' foreign
ers by prescription, he has, also, prescribed
native Americans of foreign extraction"
and has made them feel like aliens and stran-
gers in the land of their birth. This may
seem wise policy now, and may, possibly, lead
to the end which His Excellency ostensibly
proposes to himself, namely, to make foreign
born citizens forget that they were born
abroad, But we doubt whether Colonel
Boyd, and men in his position, will ever
think SO. Nature and reason are not to be
crushed out by the ukases OF either Cars or
Governors. We think that kindness is a
much more potent principle of craftsmanship
and government, than prescription. Weknow
that it is much more Christian.