The Portland daily press., 1871-09-04
For Governor:
Sidney PER HANs,
OF PARIS.


The argus finds it costs SO mucn less eiloft
70 lie in capitals than to sustain an argument
in ordinary type that it clings to the former
method of meeting political emergencies with
singular pertidacity. 1t declares, Tor instance.
that we revived Know Nothingism IN our ar
tice of Wednesday, in which we showed that
the uniform Democratic proclivities of Cath
olics in this country are fully accounted for
by the entire harmony existing between the
political tendencies of the Romish church and
those OF our Conservative party. Both ale
ayowedly reactonary and both attack the nee
essary conditions of human freedom-s it
singular that they work in harmony ?-or that
Iopery finds in Catholicism its most efficient
allyn If it is reVlving Know-Nothingism
merely to state a notorious fact, we gladly as
sumo the responsibility of having done So
But all intelligent men remember that the
cardinal principle of Known othingism was
prosecution. 1t denied to the foreigner,
whether Protestant or Catholic, the right to
hold.otfice, and it would even have stopped the
stream of foreign immigration flowing to our
shores. To all this we are uncompromisingly
hostile. When the Democratic Catholic riots
occurred in New York. arousng in many
parts of the country desire to revive the
Native American party, we were among the
very first to dissent in the name of the gener-
GUS humanity our OF institutions, which recos-
nize all men as brothers and extend hearty
welcome TO fugitives from old world despo-
tisms. If, therefore, hostility 10 every char
acteristic feature of political Know-Nothing-
ism be not a revival of that heresy, we are
guiltless of the charge, while the Argus, by
its ignorance of the most common political
information and its incapactl for holding an,
further argument than is involved in the bald
est falsdhoods, is certainly open 10 the charge
OF startling" and eminently successful at
tempt TO revive literal Know Nothinasm.
The Pass platform in relation TO Catooli-
eism is simply this: The political aspect OF
the question is ali the one with which it has
anything 10 do, and it would as readily give
Its support Tor any Office TO Catholic of for
eign bIth, who is Ia full and hearty sympa-
thy with the liberal, progressive spirit of our
institutions, and who unhesitatingly comedies
the paramount authority of our civil rulers,
as 10 a native born Protestant, except i'm case
of the Presidency which our Constitution ex
pressly denies to citizens of foreign BIRTH
On the other hand, it would and does as Wig
orously oppose native American Protestants
who sympathze with the unprogressive Illib-
eral political dogmas OF Romanism and De
mocracy as it does those who yield ready
assent to :he doctrine of the Pope's infall-
bility. 1t is not as foreigners or as Catho-
lies that we OBJECT to political association with
any OF our adopted fellow-citizens, and the
only penalty that we propose for them as re-
actionists ard enimies of democracy is that
they shall not make a majority of The Amer
lean people their accomplces in dsorganizing
the Republic The argus is at liberty to
make the most of this it can in all the loud
lmpotency OF its largest display type. 1t is
only another case of ATTACKING" Percie or
MIR. Kimball." Or perhaps "Mr. Lynch did
"a