The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1855-09-04
Correspondence Of the Camden Journal
Miss, Aug. 20.

correspondence u Wc CQUiu<b COuTHuG
Miss, Aug. 20.
Mr.. Editor Your issue Of the 7th list :,
containing Il former communication, and your
reply thereto, has just come to hand; and, us
the great distance that separates Us, will make
it necessarily long before the present article can
reach you, the hiatus, fear, will make it seem
"stale, if not fat and unprohtahle." BE this,
how ever, as il may, feel it incumbent upon
HE tu rep y TO certain portions Of your article {;
aud before commencing 10 do so, let me thank
you for the courteous manner aud kind spirit III
which You have treated both the article and the
author.
At the time of writing my first com'nunica-
ton had seen but the one editorial u yours,
touching the " American Party" aud from !our
antccedents thought that you had unwI.,i"gly
mad. Use OF expressions without fully appre.
ciallLg their bearing, and did not dream Of af
hlia, on Oh your part with the "sccret ORDER"
but . our article of the 18th ut. di$leltd all
doubt, and, to our mind, you stood openly con
ttsse, member Of the Know Nothing ar
American Party" Since when uid you refuse
to act with all parties, ard become so utterly
dlsgusted with politics Gopine only sine" YOU
became II member of the Know Nothing organi-
zati"n. 1t has had the same effect upon hun
drcd Of high minded anl honorable men. who
were cnsnared b! cunningly devised tricks into
its nrshcs, and remained i'll it SO long as their
oa,hs We're binding, doing hearty penarce t"r
their blind and senseIess act, in having to affiliate
with Party, for which they felt the supremrs1
contempt. They left it however, with their
moral vision and perception in healthy state,
as they were able to discern the fact that there
still existed party band upon principles, having
the Constitution for its Text Book, and the in
situlvns Of the South, the object of its peculiar
care; and this Sir, is the Democratic Party, the
patriots hope, the bulwark Of Southern Rights.
As in your remarks you seem to regard as
d., the KLow Nothing organization and the
American Patty as Of identical origin and being,
the one having merged into The other, am some
what ut loss, particularly when refer to your
course in ls50-5l, to know how You can COLI
slider me "previous," us you are pleased to term
it, in regarding Know Nothingism, as "n"n'
strous trick" You know as well as | d", that
it halls from Yankeedom, the land Of ismS; and
that it has only been successful in elec:lng its
candidates there and YOU know their p'tical
complexion as we'll as |. 10 tell an "utra' Of
81 who " Hnle and Wilson and Seward alr,
and host of others Of their kite and Kin"
would be work Of supererogation, and YOU
well know too that, although the Southern
Democracy may reasonably expect co-open'lion
from Il portion Of the Northern wing OF the
party, the hope would be falla'iouS to expect
anything from that quarter favourable To the
South and her institutions. Well, this Know
Nothing scheme concocted North, was received
privately in the South, and was CROPPING its way
steallhly throughout the land-its moduS ope-
randi unknown, yet shrewdly guessed at for
n while, and finally providenlially exposed. 1t
was an oath bound organization, and from the
published records of hundreds it gained its ac
cessions of strength BY the lowest and bastst
means ever before resorted to, and one OF its
most palpable fruits was to teach men to lie and
deceive. Il speak from the record.) That it is
here in the South Wing trick to break down
the Democratic Party, is too ovid mt to he dis
puted. The platform assumed that the "p'rty
rose upon the ruins Of the Wing and Democrat
ic parties" and this has been reiterated by their
orators again and again. Yet we see thai the
Democratic party is not only enjoying existelce,
but Phoenix like has arisen from its ashes more
vigorous than ever. But where is the Wing
party? Why having survived its principles it
rIanyrd its name to stars aud stripes, alias Know
Nothing, and then to the American Party, aud
in proof of this l will mention that here III
Mississippi the oath was modified to suit the
tastes Of Democrats and never administered to
Wings they were regarded as simon pure,
Its tencts were prescription OF the Foreigne' and
Catholic, and yet Catholics and Foreigncs III
certain places wcre found members. II this
may not we'll be called "polilical monstrcs''y'
there is no sense III terms.
AS to it's evil tendencies | can mention one
fact that speaks volumes, and in it meth nkS
see pandrring to abolition sentiment strong rs
treason, and rapaby seditious in a Southern
man, and the same sentiment has been publicly
proclaimed by several of their orators here. 1t
is this, that Congress has the right to abolish
slavery in the District Of Columbia and other
Territories" This, as you know, is at variance
with Il conditions upon which the District of
Columbia was ceded by Maryland; and was
made specified matter for resistance i, the
Union platform in 81 How does his s'dt you
as an q old line Democratic, ready to defend
the South and her institutions, Il need be, tothe
" bitter cnd!"'
In placing the Democratic platform Of 80, in