New-York daily tribune., 1856-08-27
u.. nr.c;n;tat,d into tbe Morris Canal, di 'Aoce
Of sixty feet. ODs Insn was -"i'' "-'
riously injured. Tue ctb,f' escap'''

osawho write rs letters nreiD@ h'' WI ~
mont ,honld write and publish denla IN ne
l.. o,or WAS Roman Catholic, send th7ir itTors
70 ,be wrong shop, dec dedly. we never auaie''9u
;;r, or made a suggestion to Col. Fiemoat
.,,, member Of his family, conc rn'rg his rclig-
;o to;,h considering it none OF our business. We
know that to oil friends who hare addressed him
on that subject, his uniform answer has been, Il
@ ,,.s bantized in the Protestant Episcopal Church
..aauo,,ad by nv mother in its faith, was con-
:. .e,med in its communion when sixteen years Of
"sge. ard to that church still adaere.' He has
made this statement, in substance, to all the friends
who have inquired Of him in the spirit Of friendly
interest: TO pryiDg cavilers and enemies who have
accosted him on the subject, we presume and trus!
he has returned o answer whatever.
"But why not silence all cavs by a written de-
Mil that be is q Catholic :" we are asked
We answer
/. Not one human being who now affects TO be-
leve Col. +. Ca,h,lic would believe or affect TO
believe it the lets because Of his written denial OF
il. Every one knows already that he has re )eatedy
sisted that he is Protestant EpiscOpaliaD, not
Roman Catholic Such letter as Is sought
would not make the matter any clearer to tn )se
disposed to believe him hypOcrite aud false pre-
tender
2 While csviers would not be silenced, true
friends would be alienated by any such publication
as is required. While We do lot know half dozen
Catholics in the whole country who now support
Col Fremont, we know very many earnest cham
pions of pc, feet Civil and Rel eOus Liberty who
do co. We profess to belong to this class. We
are ss far from Roman sm as d Christian well can
be, but we insist on the right OF every man to wor
ship God az he sees it free from all social or po
litcal iDquisitOn. We were never OF the sane
politics with our presen. Chief Justice aud Post
mas'er General; we expect to vote against them
while we all live; we have no fellow feeling with
either of them; but We consider them neither bet
ter nor worse fupctionares for being Roman Catho-
lics; and we protest against the application of any
theological test or tOuchstOne to cand date for
purely political Office. Mr.. Film res creed Uni
tariaD) is quite as obno1iou, TO the great majority
of Christians as is the Roman Catholic, bat it has
nothing whatever to do with biz fgness
for the Presidency John Quincy Adams
was also UDitarian, as was his father, old John
Adams; Thomas Jefferson was an extreme Socinan,
if not an outright Deist and if the American
People had been electng Pope or Professor of
Theology, they would have given all these very
wioe berth; but The great majority appreciated the
dstibction between Theology aud Politics, aud
vo'ed accordingly. So they will con'nae to do
whatever narIOw-wiuded bigots and partisan
tcbemeIs may cOntrive or imagine.
If our advice should ever be asked, We should
counsel Col. Fremont to write no letter whatever,
and make no publ in reply to the attacks of
bis enemies until after the Presidential Election.
If any body is 60 blind or SO besoted as to bsliese
him hypocrite, a s~ndler, peeulator, they will
not take his word for the contrary assumption.
And especially on this religious question, after
even the Kno oH-NOthiDgs have become ashamed of
the prescription of Catholics, and have e1plnged
the prOscriptIve plank from their National plat
form we should deeply regret to see a Republican
candidate lend it any sort of counteasnce or sane
ton. His statement might be strictly defensive,
but the implication therefrom would favor the
hateful idea of religious intolerance and proscrip
tion.