Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-08-26
A Douglas Catholic on MIR. BrecKInrIdge's
CYnthiana Speech.


Demagogues Isays the Louisville Courier, who can
not successfully attack the principles upon which
Mr. BREcKNRIDGE stands in the canvass and can
find no weak points in his spotless record, have
seized upon meagre and eonfessedly imperfect re-
port of an impromptu speech on the hustings, and
torturing a sentence of the newspaper notice of
what he said to suit their purposes, they have
deavored to convict him by sympathizing with
principles he abhors and denounced. The effort has
resulted in a signal failure. Not one man in the
State or the Union believes the absurd and ground
less charge. The evidence adduced refutes what it
is intended to sustain.
We have referred to this subject frequently. We
do so againthat we may introduce an extract froma
leading article in the Guardian the organ of the Cath
Giles of Louisville. The editor of that paper oppos
ed to Mr.. BRECKTNRIDGE, he frankly admits but
he is candid enough and honorable enough to do
justice even to political opponent Mr.. BRECkN
RIDGE is not obnoxious to the charge of sympathiz
ting with the 'prOscriptve' principle laid at his
door and the Guardian, in the article below. admin
listers singing rebuke to those who have attempt
ed tomisrepresent his position the subject at the
period in question.
The Guardian says:
We have been panied to see in a certain, douglas
journal, and even in one of our most influential
Catholic papers, paragraph evidently intended to
ipiure John c. Breckenridge in his for the Pres
idency. by representing him as an enemy TO CathO-
lies In the paragraph TO which we refer, Mr. Brock
inridee is charged with having said in a public
speech few years ago. that he would prefer, all
things being equal, to vote for native born ci zen
and for one of his own religion His opponents de-
clare that this is frank Know Nottingham Now
we cannot agree to any such Interpretation. TIL.
Know Nothing creed was directly offensive to Cath
oics for the reason that it made them unworthy be-
cause of their religion to fill any Office of trust or
rro4t under the Government. IL declared them to
be traitors to the State secret enemies of the land
of their birth or adoption. 1t prescribed every
one of them without any reservation. The highest
qualities of craftsmanship added to the sternest in
tegrity and most exalted purity Of character,
condemned BY the faction as presenting no bar to
the exercise of its malice against those whom it
prescribed 1t was sufficient, that they were ofthe
hated faith to invoke upon their heads both public
odium and private vengeance.
There is a striking difference between the sent-
nent SAID TO have been expressed by MAJOR breck-
inridpe and that embodied IN the know Nothing
creed touching the subject of prescription on ac-
ont of ,-elqious faith The Major did at least re-
onirs in those to whom he preferred TO yield his
suffrage that they should possess equal merits wlth
tLa;, 0atboIic Spponents-that they should be
oaIl fitted for the positions to which they aspir
ed. If they possessed not the proper qualineauohs
he would vote for their opponents, even though ey
were Catholics. go
We are no friend to the party which has MADE
Major Breckenridge its leader in the present can
vass. but candor obliges us to rebuke the sttemp1
which is being made 10 concentrate against nun the
Cathohc vote Of the country, by Representing hiln
as the enemy of the Catholics. We do not believe
MN to be so. Many of those who are attempting to
pace him in false p sition in reference 70 Cath0-
tcs' are themselves the avowed enemies of all that
5e ee name and we do not think that their sud
ueh interest IN matter which concerns the honor
ol 'he catholic body is likely to deceive any one.
friend writing us from Georgia, says: ''You are
Mr.. BELL did Il himself