Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1856-03-28
I,IeeaIitv q. Know-NotIningism..

IiIegaIity of Observation-Disclosures
Gov. Lyon in his late annual messags
Ito the Maryland Legislature. directed th'
attention Of that body to the existence o
Pertain secret political societies in tho
Estate as likely 10 prove subversiye of The
"w well established and dearly cherished
principles of our government" and re
commends some statutory provision dsf eff
ling an adequate punishment for mems
|bers Of societies formed for the purpose O
Restraining Of qualifying the right of suf,
5lffrage in sany mauuer unknown tossorsun
/ warranted Bys ahe4coassitutiona1
The question as to the illegality Of
Know-N othfngism has been mooted in
/ several States Of the Union s, There is an
offence known in sour slawpas conspiracy
and punishable by fine and imprisonment
A celebrated writer on criminal law. says
every confederacy to ipinre individuals
or to do acts which are unlawful or pre-
judicial 70 the, community, is a conspira,
cy."s This acommon lawbprinciple is re-
ceived and acted upon inathei Courts Of
Great Britain and the United States, and
has been expressly recognized se ! by the
Court OF Appeals. of our own State. Ii
is the combination or agreement that
makes the unlawful, "A combination
may be unlawful by agreeingdto do an
unla,Otul act, or by agreeing to do law
full act by illegal msaal1ss,i "a Known 9th
ing society compelsiits members to, do its
bidding by means of oaths. These oaths
are not 81, course, binding in law.
If man agrees, however solemnly, to
do wrong, he should not consider the
agreement rs binding. But this secret
order by means of these extra-judicial
osths, obtains a complete mastery over
its member, and the fear Of subjecting
themselves tO''he. charge of perjury. land
the penalty Of being considered as "unwor,
thy to be employed. countenanced. OF
SUPP orted in any business whatever aud
as persons totally unworthy the conf~
dencc Of their fellow citizens is sufficient
to deter most men from disobeying the
DEGREES OF the order. II member be.
coming convinced of The iniquity Of the
confederation. determines to withdraw,
he draws down upon his head the savage
malediclions of all the members. We
have seen the operation of this in our
own community. Indeed the practical
operation Of this secret order has been, in
the cities and in the country, to smother
popular sentiment to. .obstruct the ballot
box, and TO hinder and modest the citizen
in The enjoyment Of those franchises pc
culiar to Republicanism. The active
members Of the order in the cities, are nc
moreanor.less than an organized mob
The white triangular papers that were
| scattered about the streets was summons
to peaceful meeting. The red triangu.
lar papers were to- indicate that dan
ger ,oas aPpreAenatd, and the followers
OF Sam must come prepared to'fneet ii.
And the records, Of the disgraceful and
bloody riots that have taken place in our
eastern and western cities since the in
ception OF Know-Nothingism. show tina,
they dill go both TO political meetings
and to the polls, fully prepared to make
and repel attacks. Bands Of, excited
men, armed to the teeth, stood around
the ballot.box, and it is no wonder, il, at
such times, they were converted by Gun.
ming and designing political tricksters, in.
to mighty engines Of mischief. This is
called Americanisnl II may be Frsnc1
JaeObinism, but it is certainly opposed to
american IDEAS and sentiments. The
mind is carried back to the war Of the pc
li.ical factions in Paris during the bloody
reign Of terror in The French revolution.
The motives and catchwords Of the Anne.
rican party are not more inconsistent than
those of the Frenchmen. when in the
name of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
they deluged the streets of Paris with
civil blood, -
1t is to avoid repetition of these dis.
graceful sceneslthat. Gov. Lyon directed
the attention Of the Legislature 70 these
secret councils. He recommended that
thesoffence of obstructing the polls be
made aafcIonY5and punished asssuch. ~
The Governor seemed. also. be ofopin-
ion that the organization of Knov>Noth
ings is ofitself unlawful, that it is con
spiracy to deprive certaiuncitizens of rights
guaranteed them by the Federal Consti-
tuition. In this opinion he has conceded