The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-05-30
How is it?
From the y. Y. Tribune.

scent can by any possibility be a citizen of
the United States, rests entirely on the con-
tempt for and distrust of the men of that race
evinced by the laws of the States up to the
time of the Declaration of Independence and
since. ut is hardly consistent says Judge
fancy, speaking for these five Shareholders,
with the respect due to these States, to sup
pose that they regarded at that time as fellow
citizens and members of the sovereignty, a
class of beings whom they had thus stigma
tised; whom. as we are bound, out of respect
to the State sovcreignties, to assume they had
deemed it just and necessary thus to stigma
tise, and upon whom they had imposed such
deep and enduring marks of degradation or
that, when they met in convention to form
the Constitution, they looked upon them as a
portion of their constituents, and designed
to include them in the provisions so carefully
inserted for the security and protection of the
liberties and rights of their citizens
Such is the argument. and the whole argu-
ment, of these five Shareholders on this point
This argument we propose now to submit to
test which may serve. perhaps, to convince
even ChietJu>tice fancy himself, mat this
foundation is totally insufficient to sustain the
superstructure attempted to be built upon it.
1t so happens that persons of African orr
gin and descent have not been and are not
now by any means the sole objects of antip-
athv to the ruling class in these United States
If his Honor the Chief Justice, and his slave
holding brethren on the bench. will bcstow a
little attention on the history and the statutes
OF the Colonies and the States. and even up
on the existing condition of public sentiment.
they will discover another class which has
been and is an object of antipathv and sus-
picion not inferior in amount and intensity Ia
that exhibited toward tn" negroes. Wcmcan
the Catholics. Dow 70 ,hc Declaration of
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. : ct. ~ *. present
momcnt-C atholic> hayr brrr ,.rar,lcd a~ a
class Of citizens VIEW dan@'-4., to II" lhcr-
ties and w"i!-hci'- Of the ;,l;ng class. ayai.,>;
which tlcl mi.sh, al aay r.,n.. cn.cr into lal,
-vr"r> i'l"'> With foreign powers: and whom
therefore, II Va> and Ey portion of the com
n'nity still is, deemed Just and necessary e
To subject to many determinations. an. e. re
STRAIN by laws and regulations drawing :.
marked distinction between them and the
rest q. tie community. The fi,,. >layrboll
er> quote Kent, Commentaries : :u;lor;r,
for the statement that in 1878 Maine VAS tn.
only State Of III" Union in which negroes
and p .r>ons Of African descent stood 4, "a
civil .'-a'> On perfect level of equality with
the res; OF the cc'nmnnitv Now. littlc std,
Of Colonial IL. y, Viii show these learned
Judges that. dow 70 the Declaration Of Indie
pcnicacc. PcEr>, wanna Na> The ONLY one Of
.ir;ccn original safes in which the Catholic,
>>r>>cd .ha, most valuabl, Of I'll social priv.
llcgc>. the right of the pubic :: or>hip Of GOD
according 10 he dictates and with the c,.~c-
monies Of their own rcligion-an iuc>.ii.:a-
BE and transcrndcnt right never We. i ii,,.
to the nesroc>. bond or frcc.in any ofth, tc>
OF the mon. so far a> we are aware. ;ho!-l,
in some Of them !, has been subjected. bar
,lcularly of late & certain restrictions. >,lrl,
As the holding OF the meetings IN the d.,
time and i'll ~" presence of on, - n,..c whit,
men.
In The Chief Justices own State of MARY
land. though that province had been original
~ planted by 4 Catholic colony. and though
many of the wealihie>t inhabitants. including
his own ancestors. wee Of that faith. this an
'ipathy against Catholics, and prccau'ionar,
and restrictive legislation against them. ~.
carried 10 great lengths; doubtless f.. ~,
same reason which prompts II .rra,,, -
verify OF tn" laws of the Slave States agar.
iree ne"r"c>-hccau>c thr;r number. position
and lrhucnce were thought to make then,
more Formidable. Mass could rot h, mid
publicly: Catholics were forbidden 20 preach
or "a teach children were even tempted 70
change their religion hv the offer OF al, an
mc'ilat" share in the property of their Cath
one fathers. SO Eort;tlinS and ANNOYING
were thp disabilities to which the Catholics
of Maryland were subjected by the lcsiala
ton OF that State. that the father of Charles
Carroll though one of the wcathic>; men in
the province. actually formed in consequence
a scheme of cmigrating with his family to the
rew French province of Louisiana. just as
the Maryland colorcd men TO-DAY arc driven
ny similar enactments to contemplate cmigra-
ton to Liberia. In Massachusetts and New
York. Catholics were regarded as no better
than chronic plot,cr, if not at all times in fact.
at all events in inclination. with the French
OF Canada. for the subjugation of these Prot
c>tant provinces to Il hated and dreaded CATH
Ohio domination-a very similar light to that
IN which free colorcd men are now rcrarl,
IN several Southern States ANY Jesuit or
PoPlsh priest who presumed to come with,
IN their territories was, in the language of
their statutes, strongly resembling the phr;,-
seoogy OF laws now in force in some South
crn States as to free negroes coming into
them. Z" TO be deemed and accounted m in
crndlary and disturbcr Of the public peace
and safety, and more than all that. IN enc
my CT the true Christian religion "a charge,
and apretty serious one too. ncvcrv,t brouoLt
'n"t we are aware, against free grocs. The
punishment denounced by these acts against