Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1875-10-01
1lulitiral,
SPEECH OF REVERDY JOHNSON,
AT THE
Democrats Conservative Mass Meeting, held
at Baltimore, September 18th, 1875.

/ reSOlublo1lS WHICH IL ID pTopoScu YOU SHdli
consider, or introducing to you the gen.
tlemen who are to address you, beg your
permission to trespass upon your time for
brief period with rsome remarks of my
own. The elections, municipal and State,
which arc the immediate subjects of your
attention, are intrinsically important, and,
are additionally SO by the bearing they
will have Ipon the next Presidential cleo
ton.
In relaI.,n to the municipal election, |
30 not ss~saad that any ojeStio.l has
been made or can be made to the Demo
cratic candidate for the Mayoralty, Ferdi-
nand c. Latrobe. His capacity, his per-
feet integrity, his interest in the city, are
ample guarantees that, if elected, he will
discharge the duties of the office ably and
faithfully. Nor do | understand that any
objection has been made or can be made
to your candidates for the offices of Gov
ernor, Attorney General, or Comptroller.
No one who knows them can doubt the
ability Of John Lee Carroll. Charles j. VI.
Gwinn. or Levin Woolford. What then
are the grounds of the opposition to these
candidates The first general ground, as
| am informed. is that they were nomlna-
ted by what is called the Ring, and that
the supposed Ring. was guilty of contri-
vance or fraud in the election of the two
conventions, by which the nominations
we're made But beside this, there is said
to he particular objection to Mr.. Carroll,
because of his religious faith, that is to
saw, because he is Roman Catholic.
! \ few words under both these heads:
LIST II. by Ring is meant an asSemblge
i,
purpose. then the objection is alike appt-
cable To all such associations. In the
practicable affairs oflife, whether concern
ing politics or business, combinations are
often indispensable to success. To refer
to no other. what are the national convcn-
;ions for the nomination of Presidentis!
candidates These conventions are in
one sense rings, and have often inner
rings. that is TO say, separate comhina-
tions desiTous To promote the interest OF
different candidates. What was the ma
iure OF the meeting at Masonic Temple,
on Tuesday, the eth inst. Was not that 4
Ring
The purpose. OF those calling the meet
ing. was - unite for a common end and
to make their union successful. they APP
pointed committee of twenty FIVE to Sc
lect among the persons nominated tor city
offices hy other bodies, such as they
might ini to be honest and capable. No
one can question the honesty with which
that meeting was held. or the good ends
which il intended to attain. This they
propose 10 do, hy pGrging the aufe..Aa1s
nominations If III! Improper personsSN
to present honest and capable men for the
support Of the people. That this vas =
i4udablc oac. 40 one car doubt
Finally, W hat WAS the character If the
combinations. by which the nomination
for Navor was determined upon and made,
At the late meeting at the Maryland lnsti-
tutc Ifthcge he anything obnoxious in
combinations for political object, 1t
must lie in the secrecy in which their pro-
cccdings are conducted. And these were
held in secret. watChwords we're said 10
be adopted, and scntincls placed at the
door, 10 prevent the entrance Of any who
could not give the Cuuntersign. The dan
ger attending such secret associations the
people Of the country know too well. Cit
izens oi foreign birth and those, whether
native or foreign, holding the Roman
Catholic faith, were politically ostracised
and the most inhuman violence rescrted
To. 10 enforce Know Nothing DEGREES, The
streets of Philadelphia, Louisville, New
Orleans and Baltimore were made to run
red with the blood of the ostracised. "A
merica 10 he ruled by Americans" was the
cry against naturalized citizens and the
sacred name OF religion, was invoked, un-
der which, 10 abuse and murder Catholics.
Without meaning 10 insinuate that such
outrages are contemplated by the party
who now meet in secret, yet there Is in the
history OF the past, enough To alarm all
whose desire is peace. and that every man
should be proptected in his rights, civil
and religious. That such party as this
last should object to the conventions by
whom your municipal and State nomina-
tions have been made. seems TO be abso-
lutelv ludicrous And vet it is from it
that the objection mainl, proceeds. Moth
ing is more true than that political parties
cannot be maintained except by resorting
to some mode 10 effect union. That this
can only be done 10y compromising opin-
ions so as to promote the general object,
is in the nature of things clear, and is de-
monstrated to be true by all experience.
Party triumphs depend as much upon
discipline. as triumphs on the battlefield.
An undisciplined political party can new
er succeed against one that is disciplined.
Discipline therefore is imperatively neces-
sary, if party is TO be sustained. There
may be and no doubt often are, bad men
in all political parties, and they may for
time obtain control. But to abandon
! the party on that account, would be as
foolish as te cut down Il tree. because one
of its limbs was unhealthy. To cut down
the limb and thereby preserve the tree is
the proper course Where the general
members of the party are honest and ca
pable, the control of bad or incapable
men can never be other than merely tenn
porary. There is an innate strength i'll Il
virtuous purpose that in the end proves
too much for the corrupt trickster.
I'd The particular objection to Mr.
Carroll is, that he is Roman Catholic.
His fitness for the office of Governor,
unless this makes him unfit, no one ques-
tions or can question. His blood, like
his faith, descends from one of the immor-
tai signers of the Declaration of lndepen-
dence, 10 was from the first to the last
universally respected and esteemed, and
who died revered and beloved by the good
ofevery religious denomination. No man
was so stupid or intolerant as to object to
him on account of his faith. If, when he
was attaching his name to the great char
ter of American liberty, any member OF
the body objected to his right to do so
becasue he was a Catholic, the objection
would have been treated with scorn and
detestation. No such objection was in
terposcd, and his union with the other OF
those great and pure men, was received
with joy and approval, as tending to
strengthen the great cause on which they
had embarked. Is it not marvellous, that
in this age of the world, and particularly
in this country, such an objection should
be countenanced by any sane man9 l say
especially in this country, because our an.