Daily American organ., 1856-03-18
Who answered Freedoms call /;

Thou claim'st and giv'st TO all.
love thee for the stalwart arms
And brsyer hearts that stand,
stronger guard than castle wall
For tLee-1ay nativs landF
Ii is American Liberty and American lnstitu-
tions we seek 10 perpetuate. This can De done
only through the pnrihcaton OF the elective tan-
chise and baotboI which shall not be con-
trolled either by foreign influences the power OF
any church. Prolonged cheering We are
charged with making war upon the Catholic re-
igion-a war which is said to spring from preju-
dice That is untrue. / certainly have no preju-
dice, never having been member Of any church
Ny partiaities run with the Protestants, because
In youth was trained in that iaith, and in man
hood learned from the history Of the past that
the Protestant has always been the church ffree.,
dom Cheers. No, sir; we stand by the con-
stitutioR. The fathers who made il intended, as
we do, TO secure to all men the right to worship
Almighty God according to the dictates OF their
own consciences To do this effectually, we intend
there shall be no union Of Church and State
lCheers.]
We viii let the Catholic and the Protestant each
have unlimited freedom of religion, and the unre
stained right TO adopt and practice any form Of
Worship but we say to all, you must not bring the
combined power of your Church, especially if 1t be
governed by a head in foreign land, holding no
sympathy with our institutions to control the
American ballot box [Cheers
II there be any Catholic in this country, who il
not satisfied with this sort Of religious liberty, /
tell him the sooner he packs up his duds" and goes
back, the better for him because Sam is after all
such persons. Cheers. But our Catholic friends
complain that they are particularly marked in this
movement. If they are, who is to blame? If they
specially looked after by the Americans, it is
because In those countries where Papal power pre-
walls there IL genuine liberty either civil re-
ligioasi Applause.
In shaping our political action on this point, we
must be governed by the lights of the experience
Of the past five do not find in our own political
history, facts enough to justify the most vigilant
scrutiny into the movements of the Jesuits, we
need but cast the eye over the pages of history or
over old ocean into Southern Europe, for warnings
to us that the price Of liberty is eternal vigil
ance," and that it can do no harm to guard against
an abuse Of the political power Of the Pope of
Rome in America. Applause.
Intimately blended with this question Is the
question of freedom to the Bible How stands
that point? We find in many States, cities and
towns, an open war on the part of our Catholic fel
iowcitzens against the use of the Rible--that pro-
foundest teacher Of wisdom to all men--in our
schools OF learning. They fight these battles with
a zeal that can originate only in fanaticism that
strikes down the genius Of religious liberty
Again: You go to Italy. You take your pass
ports, under the great seal of the Government of
the United States of America. You take your
trunk containing your wearing apparel, and a
Protestant Bible--perhaps an old family relic, the
last present of dying mether. When you cross
the line to Papal power, your passport with the
broad s0l will admit your person, and your shirts
your old boots, &C.; but they will not pass that
good old Book you love, If not for its contents, on
account of the associations that entwine it with
your heart Of hearts oh, no the officer of gov
ernment under the power of the Pope will not toll
crate its introduction, and under circumstances
can you ever acquire political power there yet at
the same time, under tho iberality of American
law, we allow the Church of Rome to send here
and circulate without restraint its form of the Bible
by ship loads, accompanied by thousands and tens
of thousands Of members of that Church, with
whom we divide the sovereign powers of our gov
ernment!
Now, Mr. President, do not know that this
plank is In your late platform, flor have not ex-
amined it and am sick Of piatforms) but it is in
mine. would have (" Sam" when he gets strong
enough, land he will grow and strengthen daily, J
exact of all the nations Of the earth with whom
we are in friendly intercourse, equality in all
things cheers especially equality in all that
pertains to. religious liberty cheers land the
right Of Young America, or Old America, to take
with him, wherever he may rightfully go, any form
of the Word of God which suits his religion, whe-
ther 1t be Catholic or Protestant. Prolonged
cheering.
And again, sir All men must die" In this
great land OF ours, the spirit of Americans secures
to the wayfarer who is smitten by the fell destroy.
err without regard to the place Of his birth or the
pecuarites of his religion, the freedom of funeral
obsequies. How is it in Papal lands with the fallen
Protestant Americanp Sir, you are not allowed
to consign his mortal remains to their resting place
in mother earth, with as much decent respect as
foreign Catholic in America is allowed to bestow
on the burial of his Newfoundland dog TCheers |
Here, sir, is another plank which my Americanisrn
would stick into your platform. / would have our
government demand-aye, secure--the right of
respectful funeral ceremonies to the American
when he dies from every nation on the face of the
footstool of Almighty God with whom we have
anicable relations. Cheers.
Is there any Catholic or any foreigner in Amer
lea who viii dare cay this is an unjust demand ?--
Sir, our movement, enlarged as it is by internal
difficulties, must establish, and will establish soon
er or later, that which we have have never had
because we have never boldly asserted our right
TO it--an Independent nationality [Cheers |
Yes, to use the expression Of Kossuth we must
be recognised everywhere as one OF" "the Peoples"
of the earth-as an independent power acting upon
the principle of "equal and exact justice" in our
intercourse with other nations.-asking nothing
more than that which we give-accepting nothing
lessi [cheers.
We are charged with prescription Of foreigners
in proposing reform in our naturalization laws A
few words, briefly, on that point. With the right
Of suffrage which the foreigner who has immigra-
ted, or with his privilege to be naturalzed under
our present system we do not propose to inter-
fere. To those who yet in foreign lands we give
notice of a new rule Of law which is to be estab-
hsbed. That is all. Who can Justly complain of
thisf Certainly not the man of foreign birth now
with us. That there is necessity for a reform in
this regard no man can deny / will not 90 into
statistics on an occasion like this, but have au
thentic documents to prove that foreign govern