Weekly Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1853-1861, 1856-09-11

United States, or who having been born
within them, choose to worship God accord
ing to the form and rites of the Roman
Catholic Church. These are the distinctive
features of the so-called American party, and
no honest Know Nothing dares deny that they
are so. These principles, if elected, Mr.. Fill
more is bound by his oath to carry out; and
no Catholic, and no foreigner even though
he came TO this country an infant in the arms
OF his mother, has right to expect that he
will not do so. He is sworn to do so, and |.
for one, believe him to be an honest man.
They tell you this is no prescription; they
tell you that when hundreds of thousands of
men band themselves together, by secret
oaths, to prevent certain classes of their fell
low-citzens from having their just and legal
franchise, that they are not guilty of the
great sin of prescription! Fellow citizens
the Catholics on st. Bartholomew's day
might as well have told you that they did
not proScribe:-no, they only killed
Fellow-citizens, cannot subscribe to these
doctcines OF the American party; they are
repugnant to my nature; as | believe them
to be antagonistc to the designs of our gov
eminent, to christianity, and human liberty
Opposed to tho leading doctrines of the
party of which Mr. Fillmore stands the
avowed representative, there is one other
consideration which is entitled to the great
est weight; L mean his chance of success
his availability. He does not hold my prin-
ciples; he holds opinions to which | cannot
subscribe; surely it is just and fair that l
shall apply to him the same test-that of
availability-which was applied to Mr.. Clay
in 1848, by his own party, and upon which,
although his chances were far greater than
Mr.. Fillmore's now, he, the great leader OF
the Wings, the man tried for half century,
was thrust aside, all old friendships and all
old ties forgotten, and the services of a life
time permitted to pass without the just re-
ward to which they were entitled.
Now what chance has Mr.. Fillmore of sue
cess? Recollect, fellow Wings, that we are
making choice between three parties, to
neither of which do we belong, and are ma
king it for the good of the country. What
chance has Mr.. Fillmore of success? Why,
fellow citizens, even his own friends have
long ago given up the hope even of his elec-
tion by the people. They cannot name three
States that he can probably carry, and in
deed, don't believe they can even name
one, and their only aim seems now to be that
he shall obtain enough electoral votes to
throw the election into the House of Repre-
sentatives, and thus prevent the very design
of the Constitution, that the people them
selves, capable of self government, should
choose their own rulers. 1t is the scheme
of politicians to prevent the will of the peo-
pie from being carried into effect, and to
leave the choice of Chief Magistrate of this
great nation in the hands of small body of
men where and amongst whom experience
has proved that log rolling aud trickery,
bribery and corruption, are too often the po-
| tent influences that carry the day. Fellow
citizens, it is a scheme to be deprecated, +,
frowned upon by every patriot and by every
free elector in the land. Mr.. Fillmore has
not the least chance of success before the
people, and there cannot be sane rejecting
man before whom say it, that does not rec
ognize that am telling him only the truth.
State after State that his friends claimed fof
him has in the recent elections given its votes
to the Democratic party. Even my own
! Kentucky, which, of late years giving up the
| high place she once held among the States,
to become the very hot bed of Know Moth
ism, ut her recent election, has gone for tn e
Democrats by vast majority. Every South
ern State that has had an election, has gone
for the Democrats, until now, all other hope
being gone, the friends of Mr.. Fillmore base
all their calculation upon the miserable
scramble that would ensue upon the contin-
gency of an election by the House. To pro-
duce such scramble, will not lend my as.
sistance.
The candidate of the Know Nothing party
being out Of the question, if for no other rea
son, because he is not available, our choice i,
narrowed down to the Republican party or tn,
Democratic. Mr.. Fremont or Mr.. Buchanan
we must choose betwixt, for there is no longe
the least doubt that one of the two must b,
successful
Fellow citizens. what contest we are il
the midst of The country IS in danger, anC
it is my firm oonviction that upon the result o
the ne1t election depends the perpetuity of oil ou
institutions and the very existence Of the U,io'
itself. That state of things feared by tn
wisest statesman from the very commence
ment of the government, is upon us. 1
party-a sectional party-which has no ex
istence South of Mason and Dixon's line, ha
arrayed itself in the Moth upon single idea
hostility to the Southern institution of Slavery
and has determined, at the expense of right
guaranteed by the Constitution, and at tn
risk of destroying the Union itself, to carry on
r its designs, and to force the Southern States i
: very self-defense to withdraw from the confed
Grafton. Was it not believed in 1920, whe
, Missouri was admitted into the Union, ths
everything was in peril fiom the agitation {
, the question of Slavery? What else was tn
: contest about and what was the cause that
measure of pacfcation the so-called Mis-
5 souri, Compromise was produced Yet the,
; ,oas no party arrayed distfnctively upon tn
question. Why was it that in 1850 gloor
was upon the whole land, and the hearts {
| the bravest and best patriots quaked wit
} fear for the country? Was it that we wei
threatened with foreign war? Was it tn,
3 our shores were desolated by tho invasion
r foreign enemies No, thank God, all tn,
4 the world outside of us could do would hav
s brought no terror to the hearts of the glorior
{ men who then welded the destinies of th
Nation. They were terrified because a spir
i. of fanaticism had been raised in the Ian
r which threatened not only fratricidal but
Q suicidical war; the hand of Cain vas agai
v raised to strike down his brother Abel, an
he himself in consequence of his blow, to b
v come the accursed of God. Fellow citizen
e this is nofancy picture. What at that time d
@ Mr.. Clay tell you and how did he depi
O the consequences likely to ensue upon Il
continued agitation of this miserable questiC
N of slavery-the offspring Of tanaticism, an
: the tool of politicians.
o In his great speech upon the Compromis
d resolutions of 1850, he told you that If Il
Is Union was to be dissolved for any existin
e cause, it would be because slavery is inte
/ dicted or not allowed to be introduced in
a the ceded territories or because slavery
d threatened to be abolished in the District
& Columbia or because fugitive slaves are II
st restored, as in my opinion they ought to b
Y to their masters. These l believe would
e the causes, If there be any causes which CT
r. lead to the dreadful event TO which ha'
l. referred"
= He told us in the same speech upon Il
1t Compromise in 1850, that if the Uni'
l. uara dissolyad dissolution and war we