Year: 1863

Christianity to the present day, Of
Popes, Oonfessors and Doctors to sus-
tain our position, we cannot be driven
from our ground--or rather, we should
say, the ground maintained by the Cath.
olic Church in every age of her exist
ence. IF the question of American
Slavery was to be submitted tomorrow
to general council of the Church, the
institution would perish--sunk deeper
than ever plummet sounded. The voices
in its favor would be as few and small
as those which hesitated to speak out
boldly with Catholic faith, when the
doctrine of the Immaculate Conception
was discussed.


1t is monstrous that a cause so just as
human liberty should be assailed as it
IS at the present day, without o show Of
reason to defend the aggression. We
have never yet seen an argument which
could raise a doubt as to the propriety
ofsuppressing and abolishing America n
SIavery-much less of restoring the
thing to life. Notwithstand ndiug this, a
crowd of thoughtless men, filled to the
utmost capacity of the heart with pre-
judices the most insane, cry out day
and night against any one who dares
to say a word in favor of its suppression
The very men who would profit most
by the removal Of slavery--the white
working men, whom the slave pow er
has shut out from the cotton and sugar
fields of the South--are the loudest and
heroest in their support of slaveryl-
Who has ever seen laboring man with
bale of cotton or hogshead of sugar
of his own raising? Nc one. 1t is i'm
possible so long as slavery exists. He
may dig on levse, or drive mule team
or sweep the wharves Of Southern
town, but there his am mbition must stop.
The land belongs, or belonged to the
aristocracy, and however generous, ac
complishad, refined and hospitable that
aristocracy might have been, the poor
white laborer must contemplate from
afar the elegance in which he can new.
er participate. There is, then, no rea-
son on earth why he should clamor for
the restoration of slavery. We can read :
lily understand the strong sympathy
which binds tho nobility of England
and France to the Confsderacy. 1t is
natural--the result of the same ideas
the concord of hearts beating to the
same emotions-tho helping hand of the
throne stretched forth to bring back
the repentant children Of democracy to
the pride and pomp of Great Britain.--
We can understand all this, and can
fully appreciate the cordial regard with
which England has cherished the South
in their disastrous war; but why the
poor white man should hold up the
skirts of the aristocracy in cause which
helps to crush him to the earth, is one
of those mysteries Of life which battles
the wisdom of the philosopher.


We have carefully confined our re-
marks since the subject Of slavery en-.
gagged our attention, to the mere moral
question, avoiding at all times the po.
litical points. With the latter we have
nothing to do. Our object has been to
prove to the white working men of our
holy faith, that the Catholic Church is
the enemy to slavery, and that its total
Disappearance from the land will be
most beneficial to them. They NAV,
from unkind motives, call us Abolition.
ists--but they cnnnt prove that we de-
serve to be so called in the opprobrious
sense in which they mean it. As a
Priest, devoted most earnestly to the
cause of our holy Church and the tenn
poral welfare Of the great majority Of
her children, we have written hon
estly, truthfully, and successfully, and
as the subject is not exhausted We hope
to continue doing sOj in the meantime,
all we ask of our readers is to respect
our motives, and we are satisfied that
our words will not be in vain nor desti,
tute of the blessings which ever attends
the advococv of ;ret ooreo ....