Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1856-11-03
The Gardnerite Candidate for District
Attorney,


ty itself.
The Gardnerite Candidate for District
Attorney.
We have seen ticket containing the name of
Nathaniel Wood of Fitchburg, for member af
Congress, Charles A. Mirick for Councillor, and
Elijah B. Stodd ,rd for District Attor7ae1i Messrs
Wood and Mirck are the regularly nominated
candidates of the Buchanan party, and Mr. Stod-
dardis the Gardner American candidate. An at.
tempt is to be made to elect Mr.. Stoddard by
Democratic votes That gentleman, in our opin-
ion, belongs already to as many political parties
as he can conveniently attend to, and his attempt
to make Democrat of himself, or the attempt
OF his friends to represent him in that capacity,
must be failure. We propose to examine Mr..
Stoddard's claims to the support of the Buchan-
an party. MI. S. member of the last Leg.
islature, professedly Republican, elected as
such by party opposed IN toto to Gardiner and
Gardnerism in all Its aspects For whatever NAV
be the degraded condition of Massachusetts Re-
publicanism, tout of Worcester county, to-day, it
was, last year, straight-out, reputable and eff
cient organization contesting the field with De.
mocraey and Gardnerism, and doing its best to
defeat both. 1t turned out, however, after the
election, that pretty large number of its repre-
sentatives were Republicans in nothing but the
name Mr.. Stoddard was one of this class. He
pretty early fell under the control of Gardner
ism. and for the greater part of the session was
an American in everything but the name, and
Republican in nothing but the name He is
now pnt forward by the Gardnerites upon
the "boeus" ticket-Heaven save the mark!- as
| Republican member of the firm We don't re.
cognize him as such. Gov. Gardeners estimate of
mans political relations is generally pretty
accurate one. Though elected to the House as
Republican, Governor Gardner recognized E.
B Stoddard as a good enough American for
his purposes, and SO he put him into Office
VIII the Democratic party allow itself to be in
strumental, under leadership however distin-
guished, in continuing in Office man who has
been appointed by such methods, and holding
opinions SO Numerically opposed to the Demo.
cratic notions what they consider vital points i?
The last Legislature had before it aproposition
that ''no person of foreign birth should be enti-
tied to vote in this Commonwealth, unless he
shall have been resident within the jurisdiction
of the United States 81 years, and legally natur-
Allied" &c. This proposition was passed in the
! Senate, and on the 18th of March failed in the
House, for want of two-third vote, So voting
against it; and 1873 for it. twas soon after laid
upon the table, where it remained every body
supposing it to be too dead for any resucitation.
until near the last of May, when it was taken up
again, and Mr.. Fletcher of Lowell proposed to
substitute for it the following proposition:
No person of foreign birth shall be entitled
| to vote or shall be eligible to Office under the
Constitution of this Commonwealth, unless he
| shall have been a resident within the iurisdic-
ton Of the United States twenty one years and
legally naturalized, unless at his birth he shall
have been the child of an American citizen; pro-
| 0tded that the adoption of this amendment shall
not affect the right to vote which any person of
foreign birth may possess at the time Of the adop-
ton hereof"
AT this juncture, Mr. Stoddard appeared as
pacifcator and compromiser. He moved to strike
out the words twenty -one" and insert fourteen
This was agreed to, and the proposition in that
shape was passed, Mr. Steddard voting for it.
The proposition was rejected in March it laid
on the table two months and was supposed by
everybody to be stone de&d, and was finally re-
| vived and passed, by means of Mr.. Stoddards
amendment. What consideration MIR. S. received
for thus perpetuating the reign of Know Nothing.
ism, we are unable TO say.
A word or two upon the position of the Repub
ican party, in relation to the constitutional
amendments, restricting the right Of Suffrage
| That party is organized for the sole purpose Of
resisting the spread of slavery, and the control of
the slave power 1t recognizes the right of its
members, to hold whatever opinions they please
upon the subject of nativism it imposes no test
and tolerates none. The Gardnerites have at.
tempted in many to impose such test, and in
few towns, we are sorry to say, have succeeded
they have done this, for the purpose either o.
getting up quarrels with the Republicans or
raising an issue, which shall next year. make
their own organization again dominant; perhaps
for both purposes With this explanation of the
position of the Republicans and of the right Of
every member oft to hold whatever opinions he
| pleases, upon it, we have right to comment up
on the fraudulent scheme, for it is nothing else,
of the pretended Democrats to obtain for Mr..
Stoddard, who is more than any other man, re.
sponsible for this proscriptiye amendment, the
votes Of the Democratic population of foreign
birth in this city and county Such an appeal
such ticket as we have described. is downright
treachery towards the foreign born democrats
and they must see it, and will rebuke il as il de.
serves to be rebuked. Why, here is candidate
for Office, who has been the head and chief in a
plan to dsiranchise the people Of foreign birth
for fourteen years after their arrival here and who
is now seeking the votes Of the very class he has
prescribed. Ii they vote for him, they will do
co considerable towards exhibiting themselves as
unworthy Of the exercise Of ireemans right
Honest Men Iook IN Your Tirke,s