Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-08-10
PURITAN INTOLERANCE.
Curious Speech Of Zen Butler at a
SBsgOnuelI Centenary in BOSTON.


Curious Speech Of Sen Butler at the
O'COnnelI Centenary in BOSTON
Much has been said of Plymouth
Rock. You viii allow me to say, IN
the words of another, without offense.
to Irishmen, that that Plymouth Rock
is the blarney stone Of America Great
applause and laughter. Your sweet
woman poet, Mrs. Hemans, Las said
that our fathers sought and there they
fOund freedom to worship God. Oh,
no! that is exactly what they didn't
seek. They sought for freedom to
worship God as they desired, and for
the right to prevent any one else from
worshiping God in any other way.
Laughter. And they whipped the
Quakers and drove out the Baptists,
and made the Episcopalians take back
seats, because they felt that they were
going straight to hell fire and eternal
damnation. Laughter. And in
that, my friends, they were log
ically correct, because believing
that they, the Puritans were
right and that everybody else was
wrong, and that everybody did not
worship God in precisely the manner
that they worshiped God was sure of
eternal fire and birthstone, why should
not they do all they could IN this world
to prevent others from suffering
through hell all eternityf Laughter.
They came here from Holland, not be-
cause they were there opposed, but be.
cause they had too much religious free
dom; and, in the language Of one Of
their chief leaders, they came here be-
cause the religious freedom Of Holland
allowed Their young men and maidens
TO stray into other churches where God
was not worshiped according to the
views they held. And we have had
some of that even up to this day. 1
remember, sir, long time ago-more
than, thank God, most of this assem-
bly, can remember, for they have before
them that long life Of useful
ness, and honor, and endeavor for
the country of their adoption which
Is fast passing from my grasp-I can
remember when on the neighbOring hill
l saw the flames Of the burning pile in
a religious community, because in Op-
position to the spirit Of our Puritan
fathers. / can remember, sir, that
while we claimed that here vas freedom
for ali men; that here every man coul
follow the dictates of, his own con-
science as he pleased; that still some
portions of our country, against the
spirit of our institutions, against the
spirit of our laws, against the spirit for
which our fathers contendedat Bunker
Hill and Lexington, at Concord and
on the bloody battlefelds of the Revo-
lution-men we're prosecuted for not
only religious opinions, but because of
their nationality and the land of their
birth. Applause. 1 remember, sir,
when on yonder common a band
of young men organized IN military
array, learning the art of war, IN
order that they might defend the in
terests Of the country which they had
made their own, and they were driven
from 1t; from the line of the military
command, with stones and jeers and
SCOTS and jibes, simply because they
were not born on American soil / re-
member again, sir, III 1855
and 1856, when the cry went
out, "Put none but Americans
in command" and when men were
ostracissd because they felt that these
men had fed from oppression IN
Europe, Who had come here searching
for liberty and freedom, were not fit to
be citizens of free republic. Ap.
plause. That day, thank God, has
passed away, and now on this soil there
Is no prosecution against men for the
place of their birth.
All prejudice Of nationality Is gone,
but one still remains. A certain reli-
gious prejudice, which Is always the
most difficult of eradication. We are
not quite willing that every man shall
worship GCd exactly In accord with his
own conscience. We insist upOn setting
up our conviction Of right, but that is
the last vestige of prejudice or OF
wrong that remains IN the United
States, and that, thank God, Is fast
passing away. Great applause. There
are now nearly as many lrIshmen and
women IN this country as in the Old
World. There is the largest Irish city
in the world In this Countrywide city
of New York. Laughter. And there
are more Irismen IN the good city Of
Boston than in any city of Ireland, save
Dublin. You and your fathers-stOp
a minute-we and our fathers laugh
ter have brought to this city that
ideal Irish opinion Of freedom and Of
equality Of right, of that power which
belongs to every man to carve out his
own fortune IN his own way, that EN-
nett dreamed Of, Wolf Tone sought
and Iabored for, Grafton Numbered
his elOquence for, and O'Connell laid
down his life fOr-f0r he died with a
broken heart because Of British op-
preston On his countryInen and. the
failure of his great effOit to redeem
them from oppression at home; and
that oppression drove them here. And
as a not very remote son of Ireland, /
look forward to the time when Ireland
shall govern New England, and New
England govern the United States.
[ Applause
Some men are opposed to their re-
hgion, but who would not prefer the
teachings Of a church which inculcates
the responsibility of man to man, the
responsibility Of man 70 God hereafter
for Sins committed III the body, t. that
infdel skepticism that acknowledges
no God, no hereafter, 60 future state
and no responsibility, and teaches that
we are like the beasts that perish and
90 to the ground? Applause. Give
me, sir, an educated, heightened, moral
Woodworking priesthood, who shall m
struct the people IN some faith, rather
than that no faith, and no instruction,
and no religion that comes to us from
some parts Of Europe. Applause.
O'COnnell attempted to do IN Ire
land what his countrymen have done IN
Am rica-estabEshed the right Of
every freshman TO be exactly that which
his endeaYor, bis temperance, his labor,
his knowledge, his ability viii make him;
established a country where all men
shall begin even, and start the race OF
life upward and onward precisely as they
viii have it, failing only when they fail,
and outstripped only by those that can
run faster and do better than they can.
That is fair race, aud he is a coward
who would interfere to trip up anybody
in that race. Great applause.
WHENEvER-as was not the case in
1S7S-a Legislature can be found