Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-09-07

NATURALIzATIoN MEETING. - Mechanics
hall was somewhat more than half filled last
evening with an audience to hear Hon. P. A.
Collins, of Boston, on the duties of unnatural
lied residents of this country to become citizens.
The meeting was called to order by J. J.
OGorman, who read list of officers, including
Maj. NJ. j, McCalferty for president, with list Of
some fifty vice presidents, including Hon. Isaac
Davis, Edwin COnant, J. L. Murphy, NJ, Welsh,
NJ. J. Foley, George W. Gill, NJ. O'Driscoll,
Levi Barker, Andrew Athy, E. n Childs, j. Z.
Lstabrook, IL. W. Conklin, Walter Henry,
Salisbury Hyde, and others. Secretaries, L. I.
Murphy and James McDermott.
Major McCaAerty, on taking the chair, spoke
of the importance of those coming here from
the old world throwing off all foreign allegiance
and becoming citizens and voters in our glori-
Gus republic, at the earliest possible time, and
concluded by introducing the speaker of the
evening.
Mr.. Collins spoke for over an hour in an
earnest and eloquent manner. He explained
the object of his coming, to induce those who
had not done so to take the requisite steps for be-
coming citizens. He referred to the threatened
terrors of know-nothing rule in this state six
teen years ago, and TO the narrow escape from
the passage of a proscriptive amendment of the
naturalization laws by the 41st congress, also to
the alien and sediton laws under the admins
tration of the present John Quincy Adams
great grandfather, and to the Hartford cOnven-
ton of 1914, as showing the tendency ofpro-
scriptive ideas in former times, akin to what
had since bppn at IN bn IN Orpnd unOn
us, and against which we should ever
struggle, in order to make our government in
truth one of the people, and for the people. He
complained at some length of the want of pro-
portion between the number of inhabitants of
foreign parentage in this city (2l ,425 out of A.
1861 and the number OF offices and positions of
honor and profit held by them, respectively, as
illustrating a prejudice which could be removed
only by those who did not or could not now
vote, qualifying themselves to become voters
and so exercising the elective franchise as to
favor themselves and their friends with their
due share Of these offices and positions. OF the
1923 names upon the jury list of this city, he
complained that all but six were native born,
and one of the six was deceased lrishmau,
and another one Of the six was absent from the
state. He read long list of statistics of offices
of the various departments of the city and
county, and the salaries pas to the different
persons filling them, to show similar disparity
though he could not decide on which side Of the
water to place the nativity of one prominent of
fetal.
Mr. Collins said in conclusion, he did not come
here to talk of politics or Of political preferences
for governor, but TO impress upon the two or
three thousand unnaturalized persons in this
city, qualified by residence to take the necessary
steps for becoming voters, the Importance of
Immediately doing so, to enable them properly
to perform their duty to themselves and to the
country whose laws so many had aided in up
holding upon the field of battle, and under
whose protection theylhad voluntarily taken up
their residence. He said he had not yet so far
progressed as to be in favor of woman sui-
irage, but We should begin by first extending
the right impartially to every male properly en-
titled to it.