Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-04-10

possibly created such storm among considerable
portion of foreigners, or any other persons.
As to the religious question, gentlemen, ! am
afraid that cannot consider myself entirely ny -
consider such subject as that; ! am AFRAID uou
help me, have not much religion OF any sort
though / ace that somebody has made the wonder
full discovery that the Winchester ticket IS MADE
IN of Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, ana
FniseonaIian / believe / am myself nearer the
Eniscopalian than any other. l don't nye more
than a square and half from the church. NOW,
understand that nobody belonging this much ana
terribly abused party-for ! think 1t is, and has
been. the worst abused that has arisen In the
country not excepting the Aboltionsts, who de-
serve il most heartily do not understand that
any man belonging to this organization desires to
interfere with any civil or religious rights Of Cath
olics any more than with the civil and religious
rights Of Protestants. Nobody disputes the rights
or designs to interfere with the authority of the
members of that Church in worshipping God ac-
cording to their own consciences Nobody designs
to interfere with their right to believe that what
is proclaimed by the Pope as religious fath~is an
infable truth No person desires to Interfere with
the belief that they must take their conviction OF
duty from the Pope and not from the Bible. No
body denies their right to believe in transubstan-
tiation, or consubstantation, in the immaculate
conception OF the Virgin Mary, which has been re-
Gently declared by his holiness the Pope, or any
other article of faith 80 far as any person under
takes to say that he will not vote for Catholic,
he exercises his undeniable right. II is equally
competent for persons outside the order to take
that position nor do believe they would be guilty,
if they choose to take such position, OF any vio-
anti or religious.
How far the charges of temporal allegiance on
the part of Catholics to the Pope are justified, l
am not aware 1t is strange that while some Cath
ocs deny the temporal authority OF the Pope over
them, others Of their own church, some OF them in
high positions do maintain that they are thus
bound. Well, know not who 10 right and who 10
wrong about that but this do know, that II 1t Is
established that we have body of men here who
are under the temporal authority of foreign po-
tentate, or any other religious head, domestic or
foreign, in the exercise Of their civil rights, 1t
would be justifable ground upon which we
should abstain from comforting any office OF polti-
cal power or influence upon any such mani care
not whether he be Catholic, Presbyterian, Episco-
palan, Methodist, Baptist, or of any other religion
Just convince me that, as religious congregation
or body they are controlled by Pope abroad, or by
Bishop here, and would give none of them my
VOTE or any office Of political power or trust because
that to dangerous exercise ofthe right OF citi-
zenship dangerous to them, dangerous to civil lib
erty, dangerous because 1t is practical union oil
Church and State, under which, wherever it exists,
the tree of liberty withers and dies. With such
convictions cannot hesitate to adopt that portion
of the KnowNothing platform which refers to reli-
gious liberation. 1t is this:
"That the American doctrine of religious toler-
alton, and entire absence of all prescription for
opinions sake, should be cherished as one OF the
very fundamental principles Of our civil freedom,
and that any sect or party which believes and main
tains that any foreign power religious or political
has the right to control the conscience or direct the
conduct Of freeman, occupies position which is
totally at war with the principle Of freedom OF
opinion, and which is mischievous in its tendency,
and which principle, if carried into practice would
prove wholly destructive of our religious and civil
| liberty" To be continued