Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1856-04-25

as a QUALIFICATION to any oGTce or public trISl
stnder tie Unated States" Suppose. then. a
man is presented for office does he moi
have to inquire. under his FIRST oath, if the
man is a Catholic IL he is then he must
refuse him on that account. If he does SC
refuse him, he violates his last oath. because
he then swore he would make " no reli.
gious test" Is comment necessary
But have been asked if would vote
for man who owes temporal allegiance
to foreign Power? 1 answer, no. ]
would not vote for any man, of any reli.
gion, for any Office, who is bound by such
an allegiance.
As to spiritual allegiance. my under
standing is that We all owe that allegiance
to a Power whose throne is outside ofthe
NUnite6 States-to Gop, In HeavenA
1 But in all these views, perhaps M
Catholic or Protestant disagrees with me,
and will not elaborate them further.
| stated to you that the great reason
for having ever gone into council was.
was assured that the preservation Of the
Union was the rock on which they
built their church"-that men who join.
ed in the North, as we'll as the South,
made "burnt offering" of their prejudi
ces, and Joined with hands locked in
hands in living chain around the Con.
stitution, in common brotherhood, and
ia common defense. was told, too,
that could withdraw if was not pleased.
ask every Know.Nothing who reads
This ifssuch was not his understanding oi
the objects Of the American order Then
ask them to lay aside their partialities
and prejudices, and thinkingly as patriots,
to look back at its history.
It met in Convention at Philadelphia
in June last-it laid down a platform-it
put forth the celebrated 12th section,
Here it is:
"Resolved. That the American party.
having risen upon the ruins. and in spite
of the opposition of the Wing and DEM
cratic parties, cannot be held in any ma,
ner responsible for the obnoxious acts or
violating pledges Of either; that the sys.
tematic agitation Of the slavery question
by those parties has elevated sectional
hostility into positive element of politi-
cal power. aud brought our institutions
into peril it has. therefore. become the
imperative duty of the American party to
interpose for the purpose of giving peace
to the country, and perpetuity to the Un-
ion; that, as experience has shown it i'm
possible to reconcile opinions SO extreme
as those that separate the disputes. and
as there can be no dishonor in submitting
to laws. the National Council has deems
ed it the best guarantee of common JUS
tice and future peace to abide by and
maintain the existing laws upon the SUBJ
ject of slavery. as a final and conclusive
settlement Of that subject. in spirit and in
substance.
"And regarding it the highest duty to
avow their opinions upon subject SO i'm
portant in distinct and unequiyocal.terms,
it is hereby declared, as the sense OF this
National Council. that Congress possess
es no power under the Constitution, TO le-
gislate upon the subject OF slavery in the
States where it does OF may exist, to ex-
clude any State from admission into the
Union because it's constitution does or
does not recognize the institution OF sla.
very as part of its social system and
expressly pretermitting any expression ol
opinion upon the power of Congress to es.
tabIish or prohibit slavery in any Terri.
tory, it is the sense of the National Coun.
Gil that Congress ought not to legislate
upon the subject of slavery within the
Territrries of the United States. and that
any interference by Congress with slave.
ry as it exists in the District Of Columbia,
would be violation Of the spirit and in
tention of the compact by which the
State Of Maryland cedeG the District to
the United States, breach Of the Ma
tional faith"
Therei is a'platform on the subject ol
slavery with the exception of little pre-
termitting) sound-one upon which the
the South could stand. They were con-
servative and just; but what did the nor.
thern and the largest portion Of this SC
eminently national party do 4? They re-
pudiated this section they spit upon it
they met together in their State Councils,
were not satisfied with simple repudia-
ton of this twelfth section, but go on to
announce doctrines as the doctrines oI
the party. which. il carried out, leads, in
the strong language of Mr.. Clay, (wheu
speaking of refusing to admit a State be-
cause of constitution tolerating slavery.
" to dissolution Of the Union through q
bloody and perilous road"
give you q resolution passed by &
know nothing convention at Cincinnati
in November last, composed of delegates
from seven of the northern and north
western States. They declare
That the repeal of the Missouri com.
promise was an infraction of the plighted
faith OF the nation, and that il should be
restored and If efforts to that end should
should fail. Congress sould refuse to admit
into the Union sny State tolerating sla
very which shall be formed cut OF any
portion of territory from which that insii
tuition was excluded by that compromised
Yes, they will not admit Kansas If she