The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-09-09

nomination IN the pedc6dbLe ery0ynlent ot Us
0an mode Of public worship, and 10 encour-
age eSchools and the means Of instruction"
Now, this constitutional provision COM
pletey covers the Geghan law, for what
man will dare to assert that the inmates
Of our asylums, or even the Convicts In
our Penitentiary, are less entitled to the
rights of conscience Than other men, or
lOAs entitled to the ministry OF religion,
or that they can be compelled to attend
any place Of worship, or maintain any
form of worship against their conRentf
The Constitution embraces every man,
woman and child in the State, the guilty
as well as the innocent, the prisoner as
well as the freeman. The Legislature
can inhict penalties for the commission
Of crime, but there is one penalty It can
not inhict, one penalty that the Consti-
tuition imperatively forbids, and that is,
O deprivation of the rights Of conscience.
And now, what is the Geghan lawp Let
me read it, and you will see that every
word have said of il is strictly correct
and that the clamor against it has not
the slightest faundatiOnin in reason or truth
1t reads as follows:
"a Bill to secure liberty of conscience in
matters of religion to persons impris-
oned or detained by authority of law.
SECTION !. Be it enacted by the Cen
eral Assembly ofthe State of Ohio, That,
90 liberty of conscience is not forfeited
by reason of conviction Of crime, or by
reason of detention in any penal, refor-
matory or eleemosynary institution, or
any House of Refuge, Work. house, Jail or
public asylum of the State. no person IN
aRS SatCh inaitution shall be compelled 10 al
ted reHgt0us Worship OF institution Of "a form
agJsioh is against hC dictates ofhw or hen con-
SOience aud it shall be the duty of every
Director, Trustee, Superintendent or 9TH
er person having in charge any such in
stitution TO- tIrnish EQUAL FACILITIES
10 al Hich persorS for receiuin0 he mtnistrd-
k0ns ofthe authorized Clergyman Of their otcn
religious denomination or perSttasion, under
gIaCh reasonable rules and regulations as
tho Trustees, Directors, Managers or Su-
perintendents shall make; but no such
rules shall be 30 constructed as to pre-
vent the Clergyman of any denomination
from fully administering the rights Of his
denomination 10 such inmates provi-
ded such ministration entail no expense
ON the public treasury.
SRo. 2. This act shall take effect from
andafter its passage" -
GEO. l.. CONVERSE,
Speaker Of the House of Representatives.
ALPH0NS0 HART,
President of the Senate.
Passed March 80, 1875.
When this bill first passed the House
Of Representatives, there we're sixty
votes for and thirty two votes against it,
and among those who voted for it were
seven conspicuous Republican members,
one of whom, am told, is Protest
ant preacher of the Gospel. But imme.
diately afterward the idea entered the
heads of the party managers that some
party capital might be made out the bill,
that 1t might be made to assist the anti
Catholic and Know Nothing cry about to
be raised for party purposes; and hence
those seven Republicans were induced,
by party considerations, to forego their
Judgment, and to vote for reconsidera-
ton Of the bill, and only four days after
they had voted for it, four Of them voted
against it, and three Of them omitted to
vote at all. Now if the bill we're a bad
bill, why were seven Republicans found
voting for it, before the party lash was
applied to their bacKs9 And why did
three Of them stand out so far as to let it
pass without their dissentH If 1T lisa bad
law, why did not the Republican State
Convention condemn it and demand its
Hepeal2 They were ready enough to
condemn the legislature, but you will not
and oneword i'll their platform condemn
ing this law. Hitis bad law why did
The Republican Convention of Hamilton
county only last Wednesday, refuse to
pass resolution demanding its repeal2
Ifitis a bad law why has lot some Re-
publican orator, from General Hayes
down to the least of them, or some Re-
publican newspaper, great or small poin-
ted out wherein it is bad? But you hear
nothing of that kind from those speak
ere: you see nothing ofthat kind in those
papers; but you see and hear general
defamation without end, passionate ap-
peals without truth or decenCy, and mis-
representations without stint or limit
You hear it asserted that however unob-
iectionable the bill may be, it was passed
in obedience to priestly dictation, and
this assertion is madea text for crusade
against the Catholic church and whole
sale denunCiation of the Democratic par
ty. But what foundation is there for
this charger That some Catholic priest,
or priests, may have expressed them
selves in favor of the bill, is, for aught |
know true; that some Catholic newspa-
per may have advocated its passage may
also be true; but pray, tell me, when did
man lose his rights us an American cit
isen by being Catholic priest; when did
it come to pass that upon measure
touching the rights ofconscienc,a Catholic
newspaper was bound to be silent2 And
when, iii the forum of reason, patriotism
and common sense, did an indiscreet re-
mark of preacher or anewspaper, furn-
ish Just reason for assailing an entire
political party2 And when did they fur
nish just ground for charging the mem
bers Of General Assembly, chosen by
the people and knowing their RESPONSE
bility to the people, with succumbing to
priestly dictation 4?
Nine-t0nths at least of the members
who voted for the Geghan bill were Pro-
teatants, or sympathize with protestant
ism. Not few of them are ear
nest and active members of Protestant
churches. Some of them represented
constituencies in which the Catholics
are scarcely one in hundred of the peo-
pie. Did these men sucCumb to CathO-
he dictationr Were the seven Republi-
SAus, the Protestant preacher included.
who at first voted for the bill, servants
the Pope2 L. there any man not an idi-
oL or utterly blinded by prejudice, who
dOes not sec that the charge is absurd,
that 1t is mere trick of party managers,
who are willing toieopardize religion con
yulse society and SOW the seeds Of perpet-
nad discord in order TO achieve party sue.
Saas2 Can not any man in his senses
Ree that if party ascendsncy can be OBJ
MINED nna wear hx attnckinn q narticnlar