Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1856-03-22

lt is but just to large and respectable
Protestant denomination--I allude to the
regular old Baptists-to say that they
have never, at any time, under any cir
cumstances, either North or South, in
terfered in political affairs
Why should Protestants agitate this
subject? Why should they endeavor to
to build up a political party upon sub
ject on which they can have no political
action2 You are forbidden to act by
the constitution of the United States. =
The constitution says that Congress
shall make no law respecting the estab-
lishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof" Take this case:
Suppose President, having sworn in
Know-nothing councils that he will APP
point no Roman Catholic to Office, is e.
lected He takes an oath to support the
constitution Of the United States. That
constitution says that "no religious test
shall ever be required as qualification
to any Office or public trust under the
United States" Suppose, then, man
is presented for office: does he not have
to inquire, under his first oath, if the
man is Catholic? If he is, then he
must refuse him on that account. If he
does SO refuse him, he violates his last
oath, because he then swore he would
make no +" religious test" Is comment
necessary?
But have been asked if | would
VITO for man ryho ovunc fa,.,,,a,,,J o1ln
glance to a foreign power? | answer,
No. | would not vote for any man, of
any religion, for any Office, WHO'S bound
by such an allegiance.
As to spiritual allegiance, my under
standing is, that we all owe that allie
glance to a Power whose throne is out
side of the United States-to GoD IN
HEAVEN!
But in all these views, perhaps no
Catholic or Protestant dsagrees with me,
and will not elaborate them further.
stated to you that the great reason
for my having ever gone into a council
was, | was assured that the preservation
of the Union was the crock on which
they built their church, men who
joined it in the North, as well as the
South, made burnt offering" of their
prejudices, and joined, ,ciM hands iocL:ccl
IN hands, IN a H0iag chain aromd he
constitution, IN q common brotherhood,
and IN common defence. was told,
too, that / could withdraw if l was not
pleased.
ask every Know-nothing who reads
this, if such was not his understanding
of the objects of the American order p
Then, | ask them to lay aside their par
tialities and prejudices, and thinkinGly
as patriots, to look back at its history.
1t met in convention at Philadelphia
in June last; it laid down a platform
it put forth the celebrated twelfth Sec
ton. Here it is:
" Resolved, That the American party,
having risen upon the ruins, and in
spite of the opposition, of the wing and
democratic parties, cannot be held in
any manner responsible for the obnoxious
acts or violated pledges of either that
the systematic agitation of the slavery
question by those parties has elevated
sectional hostility into positive element
of political power, and brought our in
situations into peril it has, therefore,
become the imperative duty of the Amer
lean party to interpose for the purpose
of giving peace to the country and per-
petuity to the Union; that, as experience
has shown it impossible to reconcile opin-
ions so extreme as those that separate
the disputants, and as there can be no
dishonor in submitting to the laws, the ma
tional council has deemed it the best
guarantee of common justice and future
peace to abide by and maintain the ex-
isting laws upon the subject Of slavery
as final and conclusive settlement Of
that subject, in spirit and in substance.
"And regarding it the highest duty
to avow their opinions upon a subject 50
important, in distinct and uncquivocal
terms, it is hereby declared, as the sense
Of this national council, that Congress
possesses no power under the constitution
to legislate upon the subject of slavery
in the States where it does or may exist,
or to exclude any State from admission
into the Union because its constitution
does or does not recognise the institution
of slavery as a part of its social system
and expressly pretermitting any express
ion of opinion upon the power Of Con-
gress to establish or prohibit slavery
in any Territory, it is the sense Of the
national council that Congress ought not
to legislate upon the subject Of slavery
within the Territories Of the United
States, and that any interference by Con-
gress with slavery as it exists in the Dis
trict Of Columbia would be violation Of
the spirit and intention Of the compact by
which the State of Maryland coded the
District to the United States, and breach
Of the national faith"
There is a platform ON the subject Of
slavery with the exception Of little
pretermiaing) sound--one upon which the
South could stand They were conscr-
vative and just; but what did the north
crn, and the largest portion Of this 70
eminen,ty national party do? Weyrcpu-
diated this section; they spit upon il
they met together in their State councils,
and there these conservative Uhioa-sorers
were not satisfied with simple repudia-
ton of this twelfth section, but 90 on to
announce doctrines as the doctrines Of
the party which, il carried out, leads,
in the strong language Of Mr.. Clay,
(when speaking Of refusing to admit
State because Of a constitution tolcrating
slavcry,) ito a DISSOLUTION OF