Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-07-01


ssfal: arpradticabis, ississ. side issues, whether
| ton. - 80 -
NJ N said, that slthough the Oppoaitiod. Il their
aaaEsss and platform, had chosen No Hstinctive
saas under which to rally their forces it could
1i oe disguised that they are the same party which
toiiome1 the standard and the fortunes Of Mr. En-
"ohe IN tne late contest. They claim to be Ameri-
cans ana wings, and their candidate for Governor
- oe 'ne candidate double sho.ted ticket;
20. u was mere device to win back those patri-
JUG Hgs VINO refused TO array themselves aeainst
the Democracy when assaled nv the Amar;cs,,
mo" Nothing organization. There il inst "a n,ueh
antagonism between Wings and Know No,hir~s 90
there is between Democrats and Kno, No,lsn. -
ana the Wing who can be deceived by the ~
tne deignct question of distribution into
a coalition with Know Nothings, ought At oncs 10
dof the name of Wing, take the oath Of al ~
| and proclaim himselfa Know Nothing Our oDno0
nents are the same who formed secret
bound their members by solemn oaths formed tbsT1
selves into close corporation to exclude from ;t
benefits and privileges, ALL whether foreign ar NJ
tive born, who declined to take their oaths ard
waged a relentless warfare upon foreigners ana
cathOlcs-the same who afterwards echoed the anti
Southern declaration Of Mr. Fillmore that the rsN
peal of the Missouri restriction was the Pandors,s
box which had brought upon all the evils of sse
uonal agitation, and who labered to distract and
was signally overthrow in 1855, and disastrouslv
beaten In lS56-the Know Nothings of the former
year, Americans of the latter and the party with
out name in 1857. In 1856 their Language was ::
eve will oppose those who oppose us; we will sus-
tam those only who sustain us, be they Wings or
democrats We viii select from emonq ou,sslp.s
alone, gentlemen of worth and ability, who will
faithfully represent principles and policv for IN
Offices" In their superabu ndant zeal for American
ism they boldly proclaimed the purpose of disfran
ehising all naturalized citizens and 10 effect this
the great father OF their organization in Tennessee
the author of the Text Book, said: ssThe power 70
dehne the qualifications Of their own electors or Of
nee holders has ever resided in the several States
This is precisely the doctrine of the Supreme Cont
IN the late bred Scott case-it is the doctrine of or
candidate for Governor, Gen. Harris. But proceed
ed the author Of the Text Book, in as much as the
Constitution of Tennessee allows citizens whether
native or foreign born to vote and hold Offices there
fore, said he: '--0''
Thus, gentlemen of the Know Nethinq Marty If
we mean to reduce principles to practiealutlity
and assuredly we do) we must commence by chang
ing our STATE Constitution so as to preclude all future
naturallzed foreigners from either holding Office or
exercising the elective franchise within the urisdic
ton OF our State. We must vote for ana member
o. our next Legislature WhO fdpor of his change
iagly."
Although, said Mr.. N. we find none ofthese pro-
IN late address
and platform Of our opponents, yet we know that
they are the same men. We see them animated and
aetuated by the bitter hostility to foreigners
and catholics. The fact that they keep these dis
tinctive features of original Know Nothingsm in the
back ground, is no evidence that they have either
abandoned or repudiated any one of their odious
doctrines, or measures. Whoever now co-operates
with them, the pretext of advocating distribution
or any other side issue, do so with full pur
pose to become identified with KnoW-nothinpism
The prominence given to what they call alien
suffrage in the territories, fully indicates that the
leven of Know nothingsm is still working in their
present organization. From the beginning of the
government down to the rise of Know-nothingism.
foreigners, who came to our country and declared
on oath, their purpose to become citizens and To
repudiate all allegiance to any other government
allowed by the acts of Congress to vote in the
territories, and no question was raised as 10 the
soUudness Of the policy. Washington, Adams
Jefferson and Madison, all approved the policv
Even as late the days of Mr. Fillmore. fore0neys
were not only allowed, and with his approval IN
vote in the territories but actually invited to
come and settle public lands and become land
holders Know-nothingism has discovered bowever
that there is great danger in this policy under
which the country has grown in population in
strength and IN property. 1t is a policy which is
peculiar to no party, but which has met with it's
strongest opposition fron Southern Democrats When
the Kansas bill was passed the Democrats in thu
South confined the right of voting to citizens but
they yielded the policy, because they saw that if
they adhered to it, the bill would be lost in the
House. Upon their view of the importance of the
great principle involved in the Kansas bill. thew
were advised by Mr.. Bell, who was himself opposed
to the policy, to yield and save the bill When the
Minnesota bill came up at the last session. il was
first passed by the Democrats in the Senate confn-
ing the right of suffrage to citizens. 1t became
evident again that it would fail unless the old
established policy was allowed to prevail-the
policy inaugurated by Washington and followed by
Fillmore. Besides, Mr.. Bell had given a reason on
the Kansas bill for yielding, which Southern men
might well consider sufficient. Mr. Bell said
elf the South shows disposition to exclude
these aliens until they become naturalzed citizens
when we know that some half million are flowing
in upon US every year, and that these new Terri
tories and not only these every other Territory
in the northwest, is soon to be filled I'D with this
class of population, phy should the South impIqRt /
hostile feeling IN the bosom of uhoIe districts and
counties Of these German immigrants, sag nothing of
the Irish 0ho are likely to go these Territories'
MI. N. said there was unquestonably much force /
In Mr.. Bells suggestion II was not vital cues
ton, and Southern men might well prefer to yield it
rather than to implaat feeling of hostility in the
naturalized citizens of the new States Under the |
sovereign power of the States after admission they
could, and experience shows, would admit the for
eigners to vote. Nothing practical, therefore would
be gained by excluding them, whilst in territorial
condition. and thereby not only implanting hostile
feeling towards the South in their BOSOM but viola
ting the great American principle that taxation and
representation ought to 60 together But practical
~ said Mr. y. what does opposition to alien suffrage
amount to! foreigner has obeyed the invitation Of
your Government-has gone upon the public land and
paid his money for it-has improved his home and |
has been for four years demeaning himself as pea
,eable and orderly mamie comes to the polls and
pliers his vOte-he is objected to by Know nothing
he says that he has been resident of the Territory
Ind good man for four years. and that he has taken
IN oath preparatory to becoming citizen; out the
Know nothing says, all that may be true, but the
'rogue on your tongue shows you were born in the
wrong place. His vote, which would have been for
ound national Democratic candidates, is excluded |
mother inhabitant offers his ballot he is challen-
ed and replies that he has been six months resi-
lent in the territory and is therefore entitled to vote
but he is asked where he was born-he replies
promptly, in Massachusetts, and that he is a zeal
us liberty man, liege follower of Summer and
VilsOn-he happens to have been born in the right
lace, and his vote is admitted. 1t is readily seen
hat the practical result might be that new State is
orned fully imbued with Abolitionsm in the one {
ase and with sound nationalism in the other. In 9
act he had just seen it stated that under the poll
adopted in the Minnesota bill, so much condem- :
ed by our opponents, large majority of the dele
ates elected to form the constitution of the State
ere sound national Democrats. Mr. N. said that a
hist he admitted that his preference had been
favor OF limiting the right of SUFFRAGE in the Ter