Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-08-28

- 49, iiiee'iiig IN r. .arleston, South
nd eloquent letter was reae, lohowing s'f,A'is
utler United States Sep noin .o q ,rn,r
outh Carolina ator IN congress rom
w (near Ngefeld g. HID
GEsr. sMEs ednesday, Aug ., 1919.
d 3ins !, ~ Your communication OF the
ho- u eli, -siting me to attend "a meeting oil
nj 9, .lzens Of South Carolina who believe
IA. ate rights, Southern rights, and the liber-
i of the people are endangered by the exls,
nee and progress Of the Know nothing Order, Il
and in the event of my inability to attend, re-
questing +" such expression of my views as may
think proper TO communicate" has been received.
While the state of my health will not allow me
to be with you on the occasions to which you !
have invited me, 1 fear, in the few remarks when
shall submit cannot do justice to the subjects
on which you want my opinion. In the tnresh
hold Of these remarks 1 give it as my behef that
the .tair-play spirit and unbigoted provisions OF
our Constitution cannot be assailed with success
by the dagger power Of secret and irresponsible
associations. aF
To illustrate what shall say hereafter, ! will
quote from memory sentence Of washington
Irving g Our ancestors not only proclaimed but
practiced hardy morality that feared no contact.
They trusted to the courage and power OF truth
in their anti-proscriptive constitutions and opin-
| ions. They were willing to trust their destlnies
on the arena of fair and open trial. Ihey
thought they co9d trust the cause OF religion, SO
far there should be political jurisdiction over
it, to the following clause of our Federal Constr
tuition sasst
! Congress shall make no law respecting an
| establishment of religion, or prohibiting the tree
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom OF
speech or Of the press or the right OF the people
i peaceably tn assemble and petition the govern
ment for redress Of grievances
| And, by the same Constitution, Congress was
4 ntrusted with the power of establishing uni-
| form rule Of naturalization. Now, as | under
stand it, the Know-nothing organization is TO
make war upon both these provisions in their
! true spirit. l suppose their aim will not be
avowed to establish religion or exclude foreign
immigration, but, under the assumption Of Pro-
testant purity and American patriotism, it is the
purpose Of the Order to take voluntary jursdic-
ton over these subjects-that is, to put into OF
| fee themselves under the names of Protestant
| piety and American devotion and, if they
should succeed in their designs by the influence
ofthese heterogeneous and irresponsible alliances,
they will have substituted their conventional OBJ
| legations for the Constitution Of the Confederacy
believe have left out another Of their avoW-
als--a common purpose to preserve the Union
as they understand it should be preserved.
acknowledge no piety that is proscriptive, l
recognize patriotism that is uncivilized and ex-
elusive, and want no Union that is not under
the control of an operative Constitution. The
Declaration Of Independence and the Federal and
State Constitutions of the United States were
made under auspices and influences TO rebuke the
bigoted and conceited spirit that would invade
them in the nineteenth century, when the differ
ent parts of the earth are as the different
provinces of the same empire were formerly.
regard the Declaration of Independence and
the Federal Constitution as the great and endur-
ing pillars Of an altar erected in this New World
to toleration-an altar that owes it's construction
not to Jews and Catholics, nor to Professionals only,
but to the united labors OF all who have sought
here a refuge from transatlantic domination.
While Protestants may hive borne the first and
largest share in the work of American Independ-
ence, others, of whatever religious education,
were scarcely behind then in zeal and activity fol-
the hallowed cause. Efen the Jew was no idle
spectator Of its Advancement remember to
have heard il stated-indeed, ample evidence oil
the fact was several occasions before me while
upon the bench--that young Salvador was the
, first person who publicly read the Declaration OF
Independence in our 96 district. He fell shortly
} afterward battling for American freedom And
who was this Salvador A gallant and dashing
, young Jew ,.aE 81 aal-su
But pertinent inquiry in the. consideration o
this question relates to the origin of Know moth
: ingism. When did il originate, and why' It'll
certainly not indigenous at the South. Their
I. were no such pre-existng virtues. 1t was and j
foreign to our necessities, whether social or Pc
than in its development The North was its birth
place. 1t arose, primarily, an antidote to evil
which were there brought about by an abuse o
the naturalization laws THE introduction Of for
, egners was pehpitted in Disregard Of the severa
constitutional rcaViremsnyas to three years no
q resulting from the practice. But il is their owr
fault They have mingled the waters Of thu
Orontes and the Tiber and it is theirs to drink o
= them. At the South these abuses hive not pre-
d vailed. A proper obsfvance of the law has had
IN the effect Of bringing among us different class
!. of breign populatioy from that at the North-one
= at any rate, of With we do not complain.
Another rehecyon here suggests itself. Where
is the necessity IL any such interference with the
elective franchse, as now proposed by the Know
ie nothnss, whje the State Governments have
h, alter all pleeary control of the whole matter
so Not Dry hive they this control in regard to III,
privilege of voting, but the power exists in then
u eyeno determine who shall enjoy the rights o
ne inhetance within their borders. If we were
e. reaE apprehensive that foreign immigration wa,
abot to endanger in either of these respects
or any other, the true course would surely be
o. to eek remedial action through the State Gov
y erments themselves. To demand il elsewhere
* void be to contemn the lights of the States
he shall regard Knew-ndhngsm, il introduced
at ,e South as but anothe Trojan horse, brought
az in " enemies, and to b accepted only by the
nd shaow and inconsiderate Like that horse, il
es | CONS heralded as an object to call forth our
re-. praes, and enlist our adherence, when il IL
lu reay but the daring straagem of those who care
no motor our welfare, and aspect not our rights.
10 NV conviction Is, that he doctrines and ten
he denies Of Know-nothingm are not only insult
70. mo o such foreigners asadopt our institutions
he from choice, and With tn honest resolution of
OF rendering implicit otetier 10 the laws have
he proclaimed but they az inyrossly bad faith with
sh The provisions of the Ctstiltion, and especially
led bncalled for by the Soh. That voluntary asso-
in tiations of individualsholld seek to supersede
ua- the Constitution OF oucointry is degree Of
ich arrogant assumption VIII cannot contemplate
a without aversion. Viewer may be the fate of
uid the Union, let not ouSouthern honor be tar
ing nishcd by the least viobn Of the sacred obga-
,ions of that reveredinhment
OK, After what haze d, gentlemen, you may
VIC 'n expect distinct snrnF of my opinions. have
'rH no hesitation in gingf am neither Jew nor
Catholic, but an tube, and trust a sincere,
e a supporter Of Protnt Christianity In politics.
AMI no Wing. n no Consolidationist am
Of Democratic Relican, believing In the rights
ap and dignity Of ST authority. Tam willing,
hope, with patrioeal, TO support the Federal
Government whilercsing its functions within
constitutional pretions. As a citizen, am
> in proud Of the deethich have been achieved
,pe- under the Star-spsd Banner; nor shall any
u A.