Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-11-06
NUMBER 3l2.
Letter from Colonel Clemens 10 General
F8 ai Cass.--N0. 2.
IC0NcLUDED. /

Letter from Colonel Clemens 10 General
Cass.--NO. 2.
IcoScLUDEDl
The Popish Testament says Of Protestants;
To be present at their service, and all cont
munieation with them in spi itual things, great
and dannable sim" The translators Of the Eng
lish Bible ought to be abhorred to the depths tf
He'll" Heretcs ought by public authority,
either spiritual or temporal, to be chastised or er
ecutcd n5s
And these, General, are the mild and inofensiyc
followers Of Jesus, whom you charge me with
prescribing" have indeed said that would
not support them for Office. In this am only fol-
lowing the advice O'Connell gave to them. have
not said that all communion with them was dam
nabe." have not said that the transators Of their
Bible ought to be abhorred to the depths of
He'll" Ihave not even said that they were worse
than Pagans although | might have retorted the
accusation with more of truth than sanctions it's
application to us. Their system of saint and image
worship, and their superstitous veneration for
holy relics" if not worse than Paganism, is at
least as bad With customary recklessness, when
this charge was made, the antAmerican9 news
papers with one accord denied it. In turning to
the foreign news column ofone Of the very papers
which contained that denial, found the following
proof Of the practice so late as May, 1866:
NAPLES, May 49,
"Vesuyius il still, OH the Gath day of the erup-
ton, as active almost as il was on the first day
For many years it has not been known to continue
so long in activity. In the direction of st. Jovio
the stream has become hardened and flows no
longer In the direction Of st. Cercola, however,
it is still running over the old bed, and has passed
beyond Pizzilo. There was grand fete at St.
Georgeo di Cremona, near 81. Jovio, on Saturday
last in honor Of the saint to whose influence ID
attributed the stoppage Of the lava in that direc-
ton. His Majesty was present, and the Cardinal
preached, giving our patron saint due honors on
the occasion"
In reading the History Of Ireland presume the
"holy bell of Mcnamara" did not escape your at
tention; upon which the peasantry wero sworn in
preference to the Bible or the cross, when it was
deemed necessary to impress them with high re-
gard for the sanctity Of an OATH a
From an old religious magazine, published in
1882, extract a ist of extraordinary reiicks,
shown NTH great generation at the Church of Dob
beran, in he D4cAy Of Msckien6,rg, teo miles
from the Baltic.
i. A small quantity Of FAX which the Virgin
Mary had for spinning.
.. A bundle of hay which the wise men Of the
east left behind them at Jerusalem.
3. bone of Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the
Jesuits order.
4. piece of poor Lazarus's garment, found ut
8. bone Of st. Christopher, his shoulder blade,
and.the first joint of bis thumb.
8, piece OF linen cloth, wove by Marys own
hands.
4. A piece Of the head belonging to the ffil
mentioned in Tobit
8. The napkin which the bridegroom made use
of at the marriage in Canaa.
., part Of Joseph's garment which he left in
the hands of Mrs. Potiphar.
TO- Part Of Judas's bowels, which gushed out
rs he burst asunder.
H. The scissors with which Della cut of Sam.
sons hair.
H. piece of the apron which the butcher
wore when he killed the calf upon the return Of
the prodigal.
IS. One Of the five smooth stones with which
David met Goliath.
IA. A branch Of the tree on which Absalom was
hung by the hair.
is. The stone with which zipporah circumcised
hor child on the road.
16. The heads of st. Thomas, St. Paul and ST.
Peter, with piece Of Peters fishing net.
N. b. A quill from the Angel Gabriel's wing was
stolen few years since out Of the church.
At other places they succeeded in getting
"ogM arms Of st. Matthew, three Of 81. John, aud
an incredible number of st. Thomas Beckett; they
have the ark, and rod Of Moses the table on which
the Last Supper Of the Saviour was instituted; on
the altar OF the Lateran are the heads OF st. Paul
and ST. Peter, entire at st. Peters church il the
cross Of the penitent thief, the lantern OF Judas
the tail Of Balaams ass, &c, &c.
! That such revolving and disgusting supcrsttions
| are repudiated by many American Catholics Is un-
| deniable, but these exceptions do not exculpate
The church, and as have before said, they would
| not be recognised as Catholics in any land whore
the power Of the Pope is established. Viewed in
the light OF politics Alone these idoatnes need not
command very great attention. IL Is the intrigues
the interference In elections, and the unremit-
ting exertions Of the priesthood to obtain political
power against which II Is most necessary to guard
La Fayette warned us eff ever the liberties OF this
country were destroyed Il would be by Romish
Priests" The accuracy Of this statement having
been Of question, and La Fayettc himself claimed
as a Catholic Professor Morse sought for It's cor.
frination in other writings Of that lustrious man
Il win be seen that the declaration was precisely
10 accordance with his settled and matured conyic.
tions
In speech delivered in 1921 in the chambers,
animadvert ng on tho conduct Of the old govern
nient whose overthrow some members had affected
to regret, La Fayette says, In answering the sell.
proposed question. What have I'VE TO regretY
Then disappeared that clerical corporation which,
while u exercised every species Of influence, and
refused TO pay any share Of public contributions
was necessarily increased. = part of its immense
wealth was ever aenated, but al was distributed
in its own class, in an inverse ratio to labor. The
law was party in the exaction Of vows too often
compulsory, and France was covered with monas-
tic orders devoted to foreign chiefs The clergy
levied at once contributors from the rich and the
poor and in lis secular organization was so wholly
given over TO worldly Incidence that the laboring
ministers were but an insignificant portion Of what
was called the first order Of the State.
What, then, are we to re-
gretY Have We to regret the religious intolerance
which doomed great portion of the population
10 a state Of legal concubnsge to bastardism, and
dsinheritance or that violation Of all the lava Of
nature and morality, which Louis XIV established,
and which the ilustrous preate Bossuet styled the
work worthy Of his reign, the most assured sign
as well as the finest enactment Of his authority?
The Bishops, in 1851 and 1889 demanded its exc
cufion by the Judgment Of the Commspdant or