Daily American organ., 1856-05-03
"southern Thought. .

ssSouthern Thought
Under this rather singular head, the Rich
mond Enquirer Of yesterday has an article,
which, in certain portions Oft smacks strongly
Of Americdnism, and leads us to hope that as
its editors repudate "squatter sovereignty" T"
and maintain opinions in relation to the Terri
tories, almost If not quite, identical with those
enumerated in the 7th section of the American
platform, they will finally come around and
adopt the American creed entirely. The En-
quirer, after stating that the Capitalization OF
trade, wealth, fashion, &C., is the monster
evil Of the day" and that the former is in Lon
don and the latter at Paris, declares, that
"neither the wealth nor the institutions Of any
country are safe, that come within the influ-
ence of these absorbing maclstrooms," and af-
ter declaring that the evils Of a Capitalization
of thought are greater than. those which re-
suit from the Capitalization of trade, proceeds
to say:
uTho South has strong and peculiar reasons for
resisting the influence Of this Capitalization Of
thought. She import from abroad only such
ideas as are at Uar Nth her institutions. Her
sons had better observe and study the social phe-
nomena that present themselves at home, or en-
gage In the critical pursuit Of Greek, Roman and
Hebrew literature than 60 to Paris to learn social
ssm and infdeity, or to the North to imbibe Abo
htionsm At least, before they travel abroad, they
should thoroughly understand the history, the
theory, and the practical working of their own in
stitutions"
There is good deal Of sound philosophy in
the article of the Enquirer, and a good deal of
truth in one Of the above expressions, to wit ::
"The S nth can import from abroad only
such ideas, as are at aodr soith our institu-
tions" This is true to the letter--every word
of it Is truth, and this truth deserves to be
perpetuated as q maxim, studied in all our
institutions Of learning, and practised upon in
all our halls Of legislation And now let us
make practical argument founded upon this
undeniable truth, that " the South can import
from abroad only such ideas as are at war with
her institutions" Foreign ideas are at war
with our institutions. That is the Enquirers
postulate, and it is admitted We should not
import foreign ideas, because, they are at war
with our institutions That is admitted For
eign ideas are entertained in foreign minds
foreign minds are imboded in foreign persons
ergo, the introduction of foreign persons with
foreign minds, entertaining foreign ideas should
be prohibited! This is the logical deduction
from the Enquircr's premises, and no American
can dispute either the premises or the conclu-
sions. The Enquirer then has become tho
rough-going American advocate, and goes even
bow-shot beyond the doctrines of the Ameri-
can party, for its arguments would exclude for
eigners from the country altogether, in order
to get rid of foreign ideas.
The American party do not deny admission
into the country to those foreigners who are
neither paupers nor criminals but they seek to
prevent the influence Of foreign ideas in our
government, by requiring residence of twen-
ty-one years in the country before the foreigner
shall exercise free suffrage, and they require
this in the belief that, before the expiration Of
this term, the foreigner would abandon his
foreign ideas and adopt American ideas Now,
the Enquirer would seem disposed to exclude
foreigners altogether, and we are not sure that
this Is not the beginning Of movement to
eclipse the American party by the adoption Of
amore intense Americansm than now prevails
Why, the Enquirer would not even allow the
sons of the South to visit Europe, for fear of
their imbibing foreign ideas, until, "at least,
they shall thoroughly understand the history,
the theory, and the practical working of their
own institutions"
If there be danger to our republican institu-
lions from the education of our sons abroad,
land we admit the force of the Enquirer's ar
gument on this point, and concur entirely with
his view on this subject) how much greater is
the danger to those institutions from the in
discriminate admission of millions upon mil
lions of foreigners Of every grade and class of
people? II there be danger that the sons of
the South will "learn socialism and infidelty''
by scjourn in Europe, and thus become dan
gerous citizens Of the Republic which gave
them birth, how much greater is the danger
from the immigration hither Of millions of
grown up, dissolute, abandoned hardened
sinners, who have been born, reared, and
thoroughly indochinated under the vicious
systems Of Europep
We rejoice with exceeding Joy that the pol
ished pen of the ex-diplomatist of the Rich
mond Enquirer is now at work in earnest to
inculcate American doctrines. We have a
firm belief that, with the aid Of that influential
press, the American party viii sweep Virgil
ma by fifty thousand majority
The Late Ogden Hoffman OF New York.
Ogden Hoffman, as announced yesterday, died
at his residence In New York on Thursday last
He was son OF the late Josiah Ogden Hoffman, a
distinguished lawyer Of New York. and Attorney