Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1856-01-22
The Kensington Massacre. .
LcoNTINUED.l I

| LcoNTISUED
| Before the meeting Of the 3D. of May, two at
tempts had been made by the Americans to assem-
BILE 10 as many public houses, but the Irish Cath
| olcs IN each case, threatened the owners Of tho
/ houses with personal injury, &C., if they allowed
the meeting to take place on their premises and
thus they frustrated these measures In fact these
| lawess men had made up their minds and so ex-
pressed themselves that meeting whose object
| it was to memorialze Congress to alter the natu-
ralizaton laws, should not be holden in the Ward.
| From these facts, you viii perceive to what i
| degraded condition those persons would reduce
the Native American citizens of the city aud county
who would require them tamely to submit to be
browbeat and hectored out of their constitutional
rights to assemble by set of riotous foreigners!
But you, felow-citizens, are not going to con-
denim free-born Americans to this state of abieet
slavery? MA +.
Besides, where were these impositons to end
Ii the Americans had surrendered UP this right
what security would they have had that these same
foreigners would not have followed up exacticn
upon exaction until, eventually, American Meet
ing can be holden, for any purpose, without tho
previous license of these foreigners?
There remains no doubt in our minds that tho
Catholic Irish had determined that the Native
American Republicans should hold no such meet
ing as they had proposed to hold in the Ward, aud
that they (the rioters) would resist the holding Of
any such meeting, even unto DEATH t~..
respectable witness has said that he heard
some OF them call out, "Now the women and chiI-
dren to the houses, and every man TO his gun"
Upon which men ran into an alley, and each one
came out again well armed. A third has sworn
that he the first fire, and that it came from the
Irish at the Hiberna Hose House. He is support
ed in this by still another, who has sworn that tho
first gun was fired by the Irish rioters before any
attack was made by the Americans. One gentle
man saw an Irishman come from behind a brick
building, kneel down, and take deliberate aim at
an American, as one would at wild beast and
fire. Several other witnesses observed John Tag
gert another Irish Catholic, hiding behind an old
stable, and saw him aim and fire upon the Ameri-
cans One of the balls went through man named
Young. Another gentleman saw the meeting
pelted with brickbats and stones by the Irish be-
fore anything offensive done by the members
of the American meeting A general firing now
took place from the Irish in Harmony Court and
the Germantown road. A respectable cItIzeu
sworn that he saw more than fifty flashes from
blue frame in Harmony Court. Another saw men
on the Germantown road hiding and firing, like
savages. He saw one Irishman take u rest on
fence, and fire and kill man, A third has proved
that he saw the men in Harmony Court come into
Cadwallader street and fire, and then retreat to
load anew. Many witnesses have proved that port
holes had been previously deliberately cut in the
houses of the Irish in the vicinity, out OF which TO
fire upon the Americans. About this time, Rhine
dollar an American, was murdered by these Irish
men.
Under these mperious circumstances and thus
driven it were to the extremes of despair, il is
not wonderful las it is respectfully submitted to
you) that the Americans should have retaLiated
and endeavored to defend themselves
That all they did, at that time was in self-defence
and did not exceed the bounds OF the law under
the circumstances of the case, we contend is very
manifest. We respectfully submit that it is alike
due to our national character for peace and order,
to the hitherto unbemished reputation for sobrety
and submission to the laws of the inhabitants OF
| the city aud county of Philadelphia, and to the
individual feelings and standing of those who have
taken part in calling and holding these public
meetings, and have thus been matreated, that
| fair opportunity should be given to have the whole
matter deliberately and impartially examined, and
! the result published; that not only our own citi
zens, but the world, may know that il was not the
Native American citizens of these districts, but a
band oflawless Roman Catholic Irishmen, mostly
Aliens who are to blame for the disorders that have
disgraced our city and county.
THE SOUTHWARK RIOTS, PHILADELPHIA.
Before our citizens had recovered from the
shock OF this unprovoked and appalling massacre,
fearful repetition by the same class of foreigners
was attemptcd in Southwark. What the motive
could have been for this second astounding out.
rage We will not undertake toesay but win furnish
such evidence as will enable Americans to draw
their own conclusions. We point to the drilling
of soldiers in the church, the unlawful organiza.
ton Of company of foreigners by brother Of the
priest himself an unnaturalized foreigner; the
warlike array discovered ON searching the church
the placing Of the Irish Greens in the church with
Irish Catholic commander the prevarication and
falsehood manifested by the priest before his own
altar the important testimony ofthe Episcopal cler-
gyman, the Rev. NJ. Coleman, and, above all, the
childish, frivolous excuse assigned by the priest
to the High Sheriff for turning his church into an
armed fortress in the midst of quiet and peace
ful community When we look at the total absence
Of all cause or provocation for this murderous al
ray at the deadly loss being all on the American
side, but one foreigner having been killed Will,
so many Of our countrymen were msssacred, We
are at loss to conceive whether these massacre:
we're intended to show how far foreigners already
dare to t-ampie on Americans with impunity, o.
whether 70 create cry Of persecution in order tc
enlist sympat, and collect funds and ,other aid
from the Papits Of Europe, as they are now .
largely doing, ur whether it is part of some other
jesuit scheme against the people and institution:
Of this country, some fatal conspiracy yet unde
vcloped We shall not surnise, but leave the reader
to draw his own conclusions from the following
testimony ! -- ---,
.r'.,a. TIE sHERIFFs EyIDENCE.
7ssfiDaony v dfdGceg before the Court Of Quarter
. r Gsr-~ Sessions.
The Attorney General called Morton McMichael,
sworn. = e2Ec i.
am the High Sheriff OF the city and county oI