The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-02-12
THE NATION |"

| very pretty little quarrel has recently
taken place among some Of our Alabama
| contemporaries with regard 10 the word ina
| ton" The Mobile Register, In speaking Of
| the public debt, had said.
| The debt of The nation is now held bv The ma
| tion, and not by Europe A few years ago nearly
all our bonds were there. Now. nearly al are
| held bv cur own people. This Is revolution
| Ia Itself.
On this the Greensboro Watchmm com
| mented "a follows
we suppose the REGISTER means The Unitnd
Etates when II speaks Of The nat on, We
know Of no authority for styling the United
states a nation" outside Of Radical platforms,
speeches and publications. The convention
that framed the constitution studiously ex-
cuded The word from that instrument, wberevar
Il could refer 10 this country or its people.
They use IL only In respect To foreign countries
or peoples,
The Huntsville Democrat also entered a
protest of like purpoft.
False terminology is one Of the most effect
I've means Of intoxicating or perpetuating false
doctrine. and In these days of indifference TO
first principles IL Is encouraging to soc the
press exhibiting any interest In such 1uas-
tlon. II shows that the long reign Of Radi-
callsm has not utterly destroyed all regard
for sound speech nor obliterated all inter
est In soundness OF principle.
The Repister, however with more pluck
than discretion refuses to be corrected by It's
country contemporaries. and makes an elab-
crate but very unsatisfactory defense II
says.
The lexicon nj our hand defines nation" to
mean ~ body Of people united under the same
and language II we are not united just now
under the government of The United states We
would like TO know why not. etc. etc.
In answer 10 which nm inauiflng reader
might naturally "lke to know" whether the
inhabitants of Massachusetts,, Florida. Lou
isiana, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Cali
fornia, including Anglo-Saxon. Gallo. Iberian.
Teutonlc. Scandinavian. African and Mongo.
Ian, are generally of the Same origin and
language"
A lexicon at our hand-one which purpefts.
withal, TO be an american Dictionary Of the
English Language little farther into
the subject than that quoted by our Mobile
contemporary 1t says. after defining the
word:
II often happens that many nations are cub.
inc' to one government. In which case the word
nation usually denotes a body Of people speak
ing the sHme LANGUAGE, or body that has
formerly been under y dist net government, but
has been conquered or Incorporated with n
larger nation Thus the Empire of Russia
eomprehends many nations. rs did formerly tho
Roman aud Persian empires.
This passage Ia, In several particulars. very
pertinent to the case under consideration
Our intelligent Mobile contemporary says
a great deal more than we have quoted upon
tho subject, baspg It's defense not only
upon tho lexicon, but upon the CON
of Alabama and the fourteenth
this being, perhaps, the first
time that either of these instruments has
been interpreted MS eifeotiug reduction of
tho white man. the negro and the Chinee to
the same origin and language"
There Is story told of tho celebrated DR..
PhiIpotts. Bishop Of Exeter, In England the
relevancy Of which to this present controversy
may he questionable, but OF that the reader
may Judge. A clergyman of his diocese had
n hobby about the words "damn" and dam
nation" lIe not only declared that they
simply meant condemn" and aeondemns |
tion"-in which we presume he was entirely
correct-but he insisted upon substituting |
TIT miidef fef the hate4er terri. If, reading
tho Scriptures and the Liturgy and Offices of
the church. On one occasion, when the bishop
was visiting this clergymans parish and
seated In the chancel. one of the lessons for the
day happened TO contain the word which the
rector. In reading 1t, rendered Condemns
tioD." according TO his own version. "Damna-
ton.' said the bishop, correcting him, In an
undertone. The same thing occurred again.
and was again corrected by the Bishop In |
louder voice. Presently the rector read ''eon-
for the third time. Examination, |
sir" Numbered the bishop In full hearing
of the astonished congregation.
Seeing and hearing so much, as one does
nowadays, OF the misuse and abuse OF this |
word nation" IL 1t were not that It might
seem profane, we should be tempted to quote
the good bishop, and say: "Dam-nation ~