Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-02-12
WHAT KNoW NOTHNGIsM Is INAUaURATED.

MHAH hNOM HOIhlNul5M HAS lNhUt9 URATELl
Know EothiDgsm, in its spssmodio efforts to
Pefpetuste The little power it has, by some means,
gained here and there, has insugurated en- era of
ruf5sn rule In New Orleans, for instance, it has
developed itself in the worst species Of Tuffisnsm,
tAkiEg fer its model it would seem, a secret clan
that Preyed upon the people of British India for
8 considerable time previous to the year 1910. Of
this clan, writer in Blaebigo0ds Magazine says:
Z" It was then that the startling fact flashed upon
the Government, that there was q regular class Of
Its subjects to whom murder was not only pro.
fession but also religion: and that great broth
erhood of crime having taken au oath with sll
possible solemnity went about the country MUIR
dering in cold and bloodless style, by srapgliug,
In remote places, unwary travellers, whom they
could seduce into their tolls. All this was done
with the most CoDsummste ErJ and profound Sc.
Cresy; the members assumed disguises, and play
ed parts with the greatest address; they had also
secret dialect of their own, and secret signs, by
which they communicated with each other. These
gangs had no permanent form, the members assem-
bled for a numbering expedition and dispersed,
vanished as soon as 1t was over, They outwsrdly
followed some pesceul calling. The Zsmindar or
head Thug was paid tribute, and he police officials
we're likewise brbed into silence.
"But in the East India Company the Thugs en-
GQuuk6IEu y I6QGubkhDl6 LyEs OhlLQE6U mugs were
got to turn spproveTs. The whole secrets Of the
craft were dIvulged; the laws were relaxed to
meet the difficulties Of the case; the gangs were
hunted down in al directions; our jails were filed
with Thugs: and a great and hOrrid institution
was broken up in s few years. An occasional
traveller msy still at intervals be stranged by the
Wsyside; bat the system is desToyei-the pro-
fesson ruined-tho guild scattered, never sgaiE to
be associated into great corporate body.
The New Orleans Courier, in republshing the
foregoing extract, says:
At this very moment in this very city, one or
more bodies Of men exist precisely similar in action
to these Est Indian artists They do not ssraDgle
with q rope-but they knock down with brass
knuckles and slung-shots, cut with knives, sud
sometimes shoot with pistols. They are organized
in some form or other, and bound together by some
secret oath. The commission Of q mul der raises
the Thug who commits It to q certain rank n the
Order, aud entities him 70 certain rights and piTi
leges beyond his fellows.
This Get Of meu-if men they can be called nov
controls our City Government, and distributes
the Offices in the gifts Of tie city TO Its principal
ssssssins The policy Of this body Of men is the
policy Of our city uthJrities. All crimes Of any
magnitude are covered up If possible, or slowly
and UnWillnPIy punished il the lightest possible
manner, if concesiment be out OF tbs question. All
persons who attempt TO bring criminals 10 Justice
are threatened until they are terrified from their
purpose, OF are themselves murdered or disabled
Whenever one Of the gang is put on his trial for
one Of the distsrdy crimes some Of them daily
commit, the court is throngsd with the vile faces
Of his fellow Thug who threaten court, Jury and
witnesses With being themselves "thuUged" at
some future time, if they dare 10 do their duty to
their country and convict the criminal We fear
that at the present moment some Of our Judges are
actually afraid to pass sentence IN the most Hagcant
H-Ea q ~
eminent was originally elected to Cfice contrary
TO the will Of majority Of the voters of the city by
means of the terror exercised by the Thugs Of
New Orleans in driving them from the polls. These
Thugs now hold him IN the hollow OF their hand
make him do whatever they please. He Is merely
their clerk for the purpose Of recording their de
crees. They openly parade the streets aud threat
the lives Of those who dare to raise their voice
against the present reign Of terror.
Here is one Of the practical results Of Know
Nothingism-the Inauguration o. mfisn rule The
Know Nothings triumphsd 10 New Orleans, by
some means, and to day, uRder the rule Of that
faction that city grosns under the worst STATE OF
affairs that ever cursed community in this repub-
lie. These things did not exist before the scces.
sion Of Know Nothingsm to powsr-tbey came
upon the city SIS Know Nothingism came, and with
aus cOAIlAu0IVu III FSmCA' lueH e4ssSLS7 i per
petuAted.
The history Of the rule Of Know NothiDgism,
wherever it has acquired power, shows that is
legitimate results are evil. Good men have been
Iured into its deceptive folds, tut they have rot
been sufficient to change its Inherent nature. The
instincts Of It's inception have marked Its course
from its organization to the present time, and show
beyond the possibility Of doubt, taat it is insult
ed to the genius Of our Institutions