Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1855-07-19

Protestant Church Of Christ under
Tits various forms. We have no right
to complain of the ineffieiency of a
means until We have employed itand
fully tested all its capacities. Let
the people of the United State.
double their support of the great do
mestic missionary work, and they
may safely abandon all political ag-
litatious against the Catholic Church.
We object again to the American
party,that it iscondensing the Catho-
| lie and Foreign element in our popula-
ton into political body, distinct
from the mass of our citizens, armed
with all their power to do mischief,
and animated by all that hostility
which is natural to men suffering un-
der an ostracism of their religion
and birth,provoked by an attempt to
diminish their full equality with other
citizens. Now what does Know
Nothingism propose to do for the
remedy of this evil which it has Gre
ated? 1t only proposes to render
Catholic and Foreign citizens incl
igible to Office. 1t leaves them the
power to vote, and the right Of un,
limited emigration in the future
the two great means of mischief if
they are pleased to use them. There
can be no remedy for the Pope'1s con-
troll over the Catholic vote, except in
taking away the elective franchise
altogether Now it is, to say
the least of it. the most manly
and honest policy to prohibit the
entry of a Catholic and Foreigner
altogether into the country, and to
the rights of citizenship, rather than
invite them to come and then begin
to annoy them by a whole series ol
political disabilities, which are as
sumed to be essential to a defence
against them. Indeed, the inference
of the Know Nothing creed, on both
the issues it has raised, is logical
and practical bIunder from its own
premises. 1t assumes in the strong
est sense of an existing fact, not as
a logical inference from the Catholic
creed, the absolute incompatibility oi
the Catholic Church and the free liz
stitutions of this country. This is
its premise; inference is, to render
the individual Catholic ineligible to
Office; the true inference from the
premise as they construe it is, that
the Catholic Church ought not to be
tol Grated at ALL On the other issue,
the premise is, that, the foreign ele-
ment in our population is danger
GUS to the government; The inference
| is, the reduction of part of the
rights of citizenship-the ineligibl..
Iity to ofice,in the foreigners already
| here. and an extension of the term
Of naturalization. The true infer
ence is, the prohibition of all eml.
igration for the future, and the
avoidance of everything that would
exasperate the foreign element al
ready in the midst Of US; the carelu
observance of everything which wouit
tend to strengthen their attachment
to the institutions Of the country
These are the results which logicall,
issue from the premises of the Know
/ Nothing creed, ard which they arr
logically required to assume.
! But they dare not do it: th'
measures they propose to adopt--th'
exclusion from oflice-is ridiculously
, incomplete as practical expedient
it is a most impotent and lame con
clusion, as logical inference. 1t il
absolutely necessary, either to cease
this political crusade against large
masses of our people, or to make i
effectual to accomplish, not only th'
, ends it holds in view, but to preven
, the incident evils the effort at re
, form has created in its progress
, Nothing short of a far more efectlv
, diminution of the common right
! of citizenship than has yet dare
to assume the shape Of public pro
, position, will meet the ends whIc
f the American party are seeking t
: accomplish. Itis absurd to adm'
large classes Of men to all the CON
. mon rights of citizenship, excer
Q one, and that by no means the mos
D important one. If there is reaso
e why they should be deprived OF on
!. they should be deprived of all.
Q it is right to allow them to vote, it
; right to allow them to be voted 10
/, the one right is almost, if not alt
4 eether, the correlative OF the othe
elAny argument which would prove