The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1856-08-18
The six-Months Law The Rascality of its Oh.

The six-Months Law The Rascality of its OBJ
Iceland the magogue who Originated it.
There is now standing on the statute books
of our State law born in demagoguesm,
nursed in demagogueism, legalized by dema
gogueism, and only through demagogueism
permitted to remain law. We alIude to
what in known as the "Six months Lava
law which permits the citizen ola foreign coun-
try who has been in this country only one
year, and in this State only si1 months, to vote
at our general elections, and assist in establish
ing rulers and law makers and law executors
for people of whose language he perhaps can
not pronounce twenty distinct words, and of
whose institutions he may be and must be, as
a general thing most profoundly ignorant
Under this law, thousands of voters are manu-
featured previous to every election, whose
votes count as much as those of the foreign
born who are American citizens and as those
of American citizens who were born in this
country, and whose foreathers fought the bat
ties of our independence. Not only is this law
in apparent direct conhiction with the constitu-
ton Of the United States, but it is rank in
justice to every man who calls himself an
American citizen. Under this law men who
are not American citizens, and who cannot be
American citizens for years to come, are given
all the rights and privileges Of such citizens, so
far as choosing our rulers, electing our law
Makers &C. are concerned. They are placed
upon perfect equality with those who were
born in this country, or who have lived for
years in the Union and become American citi-
zens. No class of people feels the Injustice of
this law more than those of our citizens who
had to live in this country five years before
they could obtain the privilege given these
new corners after one years residence in this
land, and six months stoppage in this State.
There are none in favor of it but those miser-
able hacks of the Old Line party who use it
for the purpose Of manufacturing votes with
which to kill off the votes of so many Ameri-
can citizens. Such men alone are sustaining
this law, while good and intelligent citizens,
and OF all parties, are opposed to it, and wish
to see it stricken from the statute books.
Now are our citizens aware who or
iginated or a0r0te out this very BILL and was
foremost in securing its passage in the Consti-
tutional Convention? Are they aware tolclion
they are indebted more than to any other one
man in the State for this miserable fraud upon
their rights, this Infamous method of killing
off the votes of American citizens, this outrage
upon right, justice and the Constitution? Why
the very man who wrote out this bill, which
afterwards became law, the very originator
and prime mover of the measure, was JAMES
LOCK1ART, the present Old Line candidate
for Congress in this District! There is letter
now in this city in which he claims he was
the author OF this bill, evidently written to
secure In certain quarters the credit in pOpu-
larity which the author of so proper a plan to
make Democratic votes should receive. 1t
was this demagogue who conceived and pre-
pared a bill, every vote made by which in a
manner DISTINGUISHES an American citizen
Under this law even at the last local elections
over the State, in some counties the votes of
hundreds Of American citizens were killed by
the votes of men who cannot become Ameri-
can citizens for years to come although enjoy
ing the greatest privileges Of an American citi-
zen through Judge Lockhart's demagogueism
Yet in the face of this, and in the face of the
fact that the American party in this District
never had more INSCRIPTIONS, vndictiYe
and slanderous foe than this man, nor Fillmore
warmer opponent, there are Americans and
10 LII
duously to secure his election, are indirectly
doing more than his party friends can accom-
plish to achieve that ohject-and this at the
expense of a man who promises his hearty sup
port to the Fillmore Administration if Fillmore
be elected. Was there ever grosser inconsis-
tency? If Veatch be defeated the responsible
ity will come home bitter to the hearts of some.
There is no sophstry under Heaven which
can excuse Americans, Fillmore men, for lend
ing aid, directly or indirectly, to the election
Of this vile demagogue,J Judge Lockhart, to Con-
gress, under the present circumstances. The
author OF this infamous six months law, which
is every election making thousands Of votes
for the opponents of the American party out
of men utterly unqualified to understand the
issues involved, and killing off the votes of
just that many American tizens-the author
of this law to receive the votes or influence of
americans to place him in Congressl We can
not believe that Americans, that Fillmore men.
will thus betray their principles. We shall
see.