Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1856-01-16
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ECr the S>ta0ONru
: INTOLERANCE AND PRESCRIPTION.

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~ INTOLERANCE AND PRESCRIPTION. 5
Civil ard religious freedom go hand in hand, and in
country much of the long exist without producing
corresponding portion Of the other. No despotsm there
FORE complete that which imposes ecclesiastical
we'll as political restriction. "-CoLToS's LAcoS.
On this day, banishing it does 1856, and usher
ing in upon the world New Year, We are induced
by the reflections it nstnctively suggests to retro
spect the past and to contemplate the immediate
and remote futures to know how we have been al
fscted by the former, and to judge how, probably,
We shall be affected by the latter, individuals and
% . component part of the body polite "hiio
Nature, from her bountcous cornucopia, has amply
repaid the toll Of the husbandnan and the artisan
and laborer have been active IN their enPioymehls
in adjoining the Republic with the rich monuments
Of their skill and her prosperity; and no war mas
entailed upon the direful effects OF bloodshed,
desolate fields, and pillaged cities; we have oeeh
contentcd with the victory of peace, and to view,
without envy, "rcd ruin " in the distant Crlmea /;
yet the patriot remembering eternal vigilance Is
the price of liberty scans the horizon OF his coun
try's hopes to see If auSht mars the azure cohcaVe
New resolves originating in n conviction OF a pre-
vous career Of folly, madness, and lnfatuatlon have
been inexibly formcd-recent political dosmas have
undergone the brief test OF experience and proved
valuless-incn's minds have radically chanSed--po-
Htical Gllacies have been thoroughly exposed, and
the WQcciS Oh SONeTullicLl HdNC eAN'' ''"
monious revolutions, notwithstanding the tactlouS
efforts of modern innovators. This, thcn is most
auspicious time to reprobate dangerous tcnets; to
proclaim these truths which clear conscience must
approve--illustrated in the mighty progress OF the
nation from the dawu of its existence to the present
period of its hcaity and vigorous age How to pre-
serve intact the Union, and to foster spirit OF abb
ding attachment to the sacred principles upon which
it was so grandly constructed, should ever be the
engrossins thought of the patriotic masses
Our political system was not the work OF mo-
ment, nor it the offspring of visionary ard Ill
informed men; but on the contrary, 1t required the
calm and alI-absorbng study Of long and patient
days. and to,lsomc nights, by the chosen sages OF
America, whose wisdom and fame are inseparably
and imperShably interviewer with Its very frame
work The widest freedom, compatible with the
rights of society was justly established, and guards
and sufficient guarantees were thrown around 1t, to
protect it from degene,ating into the violence OF nat
oral and unrestraned liberty, or merging into an
irresponsible and al-cOntrolng despotism. The
master minds who reared this symmetrical structure,
and gave it that touch of beauty, which aunring
world acknowledges the only model of a republic
can government eXtant, with prophetic ken, the
dangers to which it would doubtless be exposed,
and provided necessary safeguards to ward them
oil. So long this wise chart of civil and religious
liberty is piously observed and respected no COM
motion can disturb our harmony and concord; for
the remedy is happily provided for the evil or ILL.,
So long, too popular feeling peremptoriy rejects
the stealthy spirit of innovation that turks in the
demagogue's heart, no emergency can arise to over
throw and demolish its holy bulwalks. In this ill.,
strument enumerated with the philosophy Of self
evident truth, those fundamental doctrines which
must inevitably form the groundwork OF every
publican government; they are as essential to its
existence, food is necessary to preserve life and
to infuse proper energy and strength into the body
Destroy them, and the hood-gates Of anarchy and
civil CONFUSION are thrown wide open, and the des
osting tide, gathering force as it rolls on, will
gulf beneath its crimson waves the ghts OF man,
physical strength alone claims the mastery. Let the
principle Of religious exclusion be established, 0nd
cirit disabilities be imposed and the Constitution
under GhicA Lire aciU Ie out taccrGted bond OF
uniom md riOlated, broken corenGnt bet,eeen our
citizens Upon these points prSpose to argue.
The trainers Of the Constitution, with volumes Of
recorded experience before them, and behodng the
admonions lesibly written on the canvass Of the
past inserted in that instrument, emphatic provis-
ions, declaring
lst NE religious test shall ever be required asa
qualification to any office Or public trust under the
United States
Cd. That adopted citizen, after he sha! have
been naturalized seven years is eligible to seat in
the House of Representatives and after period of
nine years to a seat in the national Senate"
These provisions of the Constitution, except by
the Native Americans of 1914, whose paucity of
numbers made them contemplate, have been con-
Cured in by the Wing and Democratic parties un-
til very recently the former abandoning its old
measures of public policy, has ngloriously sold ITSELF
body and soul, to midnight conspiracy, made base
and ignobe by oaths and cabalistc signs and grips
and passwords, to plunge deep into the vtas OF lis
glorious principles, the "murdcrous stiletto" Issu
ing from its secluded councchambers the potent
decree OF its votares it seeks to accomplish through
the ballot box the scEdestructve object of its Or
ganization. The battle-shout Of its oath-bound
members they rush wildly and frantcay from
their cuiverts, is, "DowN WITH THE CoNsriru1IoN
WHICH GUARANTEES TO EVERY MAN RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
AND TO EVERY ADOPTED CITIZEN wELL-DEFINED RIGHTS"
Such doctrines are suicidal to our interests dam
gerous in their inception, and fearfuy destructive
in their execution. Carry them out, and the sceptre
will have departed forever from Judah Let us up-
hold the Constitution; for its beauty once marred
and defaced, never be restored to its pristine
grandeur, dorc strength.
The question then that presents itself for our con-
sideration is, Will any benefit be derived from the
proposed change of the organic law, or should it
stand as it is? Weghty indeed is the subect-ag-
itating matters OF alarming import, and threatening
consequences too fearful to lightly contemplate
Two pillars in the constitutional edificc are to be ia.
ken away mpairing its stability, and doubling the
Workmanship of its original builders. Will they
still leave it strong? and they superhuous in
its construction! There was no unnecessary work
lavshed upon this stately fabric, but every column
rose to the sublime proportion of glorious principle,
not to be omitted without vastly weakening its
strength and durability. Then, as patriots, let us
examine the evils complained Of and see if we can.
not devise some safe remedy for their correction:
see if the unjusti6able and unwarrantable means
now used, cannot be exchanged for better and
surer panacea than the violent poison you would in
fuse into the body polite. In regard to foreigners,
shall be very brief, and dwell first, and a. more
length upon the Catholic question, as conceive it
to be the most dangerous OF the two.
Various British monarchs imposed upon Catholics
civil disabilities of the most tyrannical character and
utterly repugnant to the jurisprudence of all good
aw:glvers; making their property unsafe; and pro.