The Kanzas news., 1859-07-30
rha naaa Rlnndar

The 0ass BInnder.
Of sIl the blunders ever blundered into IN
i this blundering world, even by that veteran
of al bIunderers, Gen. Lewis Cass. Che posi-
ton taken in his recent letters on the sub
Iiect of the rights OF naturalized citizens,
is uaquestionably the most consummate, foE
It's ktupidity and moral cowardice In those
letters, one written to Mr.. lie Clare and
the other to Mr.. Hofer, both naturslized
American citizens. he takes the ground that
American citizens, if born in another coan-
TRY, when they return to their birth-plsee
have no rights that despots are bound to re-
spect. They may be compelled to serve as
soldiers in wars against human liberty and
against nations with which their own Is st
peace This is in direct contradiction to
all the teachings of the fathers. When the
British. during the war of 1919, threaten
ed to hang our Irish soldiers whom they
had taken in arms, an equal number OF
British officers we're put in close con6ne-
ment and reserved for hanging by way OF
reprisal. When Austria, IN 1s49, seized
Martin Kosta, the Hungarian, on the
ground that he was an Austrian subject,
Capt. Stringham, commanding one of our
ships of war in the Mediterranean, deman-
ded Kosta as an American citizen, although
he had simply fled his declaration of inten-
ton to become citizen, and upon the refu-
sal Of the Austrian vessel having him in
custody 10 surrender him, cleared decks for
action and compelled his delivery. The
whole American people applauded his con-
duct, and Austria, after due amount OF
diplomatic grumbling, to which Webster re.
sponded in his memorable letter to Hulse-
nan, acquiesced. In fact the war of 1919
was waged upon this very question. Yet
no sooner does the question arise for MIR.
Cass to act upon than he tamely abandons
the whole American doctrine and gives in
his adhesion to the doctrine which Europe
an despots have always maintained-"once
subject always a subject"
This doctrine is in perfect keeping with
that of the divine right of kings, but
utterly incompatible with the American
principle that governments derive their just
power from the consent of the governed,
from which it follows that if a man is dis
satisfied with the government of the coun-
try in which he was born he may choose
another for himself. Most people have
heard the story of Capt. Martin Scott and
the Coon-how quietly and politely the
Coon came down from the tree and yielded
up his pelt when he saw Scott's rifle brought
to bear upon him. 1t seems to US that Gen.
Cass must have taken that Coon for his
model. He makes no more bones of deliv-
ering up our whole foreign born population
to the mercies of their native tyrants than
he would in delivering up batch of runa-
way negroes to their masters. in Alabama
or Mississippi.
If our naturalized citizens are not enti-
tied to protection from the government of
their choice ID return for their allegiance,
they make but poor bargain of it. We
always have believed that the obligations of
the government to protect the citizen and
the citizen to support the government were
reciprocal. We think so yet, Gen. Cass
to the contrary Notwithstanding. The dec
laration .I AM ROMAN CITIZEN was safe
passport in any part of the civilized world
in ancient times. l AM AN AMERICAN c1TI-
ZEN should be equally as good in our days.
a little resolute pluck could make it so, as
was shown in the Kosta case, but the hero
Of the broken sword and the Nicholson Let
ter is doubtless as much nonplussed by the
noise and confusion in Europe as he once
was on an important occasion nearer home.