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fcHj tairta ftisftfti&J 8 fciiifc
BY JAMES GAKDNER.
Speech Os Uon. L. M Keitt, of South j
Carolina. ; 1
U the House ol Representatives, January 3,1555. I
The House being in the Committee ot the I
Whole on the state of the Union: , 1
; r
M r. Keitt said : )
Mr. Chairman: Strange things are
tag around us. A crcvasst seems to have bro- i
ken from the main stream of party excite- i ,
meuL waters are flowing in a new di rec- (
tied® The country has been recently amaze*! by ■
the successes oi a novel political organization, I
which, in my judgment, disparages the dignity
of the American character by threatening it with i
•abjection to a secret order. Upon thia phenonne- s
non in political life I propose to submit a tew re- |
flections.
Names, sir die; principles never. Ihe one is L
au accident, the other an essence. It is a shal
low philosophy which concludes that, in a Re- |
public, any party which is founded upon a speci- |
Uc system of construirg the fundamental com- i
pact will or can perish. True, the organization
«.»i the National Whig party is c/ft/e. but that par- '
ty s*dl survives in principle.
In a federative organization, founded upon a '
written charter, there will be different co struc- i
tn»ns, ot the grant ot power. Mental dissimi’ari- ;
lies, abetted by the absorbing nature oi power, i
whether in individuals or sections, and the en- ,
c t.achui nts ui material interests not identical, <
•ociety oiiginate systems of measures and thes*- I
systems correspond to types of thought. A part v. i
then, which is knhMeti upon a type of tho.’!*nt. .
ia as inextinguishable as thought itself, i hat
the W hig party is thus founded, that it is the
rpj .» ?en ave ot a specific tn ide ot coiisui’ii g ;
U»e lULdamcatid compact, no candid man wil- ’
deny, i- •» a shallow philosophy, then, which i
<u> e«udes iL-i' it will or c>-n perish.
Tb**re are. there will be. and there can be, in I
this RepvUde W ide it lasts, but two essentia! |
parties. i'ney may oat be called by the names i
of V. nu and Democratic parti* 1 ?, but thev mus- ;
be founded upon the same types oi ’thought. And ;
their elementary prmcip’es must be the t ent - , a I
atnc?ae..: uee const!action of the Constitu'ijn. I
States iights, and.consolidation. Each oi these
parties h%» c-..nmitted violent ub .r.iti'u s from
its evd ; .1 , in.cij>. but etch. by « lav .
rpeeddy*.eturued to its normal state. At:- <
and sudlea uphvxving ol society, era violc '
j . n.-j! ci ti.:- mac inery pi G.weH.nk!.t, may
produce new and strange ctnnbinaiio is; b- ■ •
they are the birth of the moment, they will I -v
oti’.v lor the moment. The agitniio. s if ih
political and sr c'al elements„at »ae North, n*. >
recently produce ! a nondescript th ;.g, wb ,
with a pretnurtaary illumination of its Lateen
history, has baptized itself "KnoA-No'hmg. 37
Sir, i s>id ‘ Kuo % -N'othing’sm" isa i.'?u
thing Is it not? Scarcely more ami ncie •a-
Tiuut elements were mingled togetbci by the
f*reat diamat’st m the w jtch< &’ canJou, t .in
b*-,e been lus-1 ,oge*;:er m ih.s "K o.v N
ing” organization. If it ever has consistency,
U will be the firry consistency of A boh Monism
A will not discuss its buta-place, but I will
ex-mine it in it® "early breathings;’ and aLu
when its stature was n? ;#n, and the baptismal ,
water Ltd been poured upon its b’ow.
I think. Mr. Chairman, it is an error to sup
pose that ■£. aw-Notbingism” is a mere erup-
Lton open the surface, it penetrates, sir, to the
very core of northern society. It i» united w ltd
the love o! power and the stroggh-s ol labor to
adjust end , ro'-ect its rtla; >r.s witn society.
The Alridgh'.y has jdar.ted the love of power
te every human oreast. The struggles of ambi
tion have shaken down the oldest institutions,
and often subverted the organic forms of eocia
•xiiter.es Anarchy hao bee: its otLprir g, n.<
t. -.i. du • • dtteiroy it. tor men pre
fir despotism to anarchy—gradation of ranks, o
difference of races, it wonid seem, are assential
to the peace ot society. Be this, however, as it
mav, the ambition to be masters, the resolve to
have interiors beside them, is an element of the
northern "Know-Nothing” organization, ibey
have nut the race whici Heaven has appointed
to occupy this position, and therefore they would
tiample those oi their ow n lace into the status ol
inferiors. Ttey are too pure, too philanthropic,
holy to deny citizenship Jo the black man;
but. they will disfranchi e the white man. The
Et dopean -.ball not be an alien c'f o' z t‘r e
drifts of the NoGb; but **e deseeiid.i: ; ci those
gallant n»en who leit home ar-d its fa; c . tes to
itiUtig ■’* string* i ■> as' range an-: w ~
suiviv»d c‘Vtred -vda wounds, or <•; upno J.e
field w ith your b'.n : y j; tg v !. 1; : hem
shall be made par«ahs. HlcCk blav-s you w-,.
oot ba e; white ones yc u would
i believe, then, tb~ Jove of power, the a n
bi!rr:i to be mas -' rs ’vnout the | ’ r«archal i ■ ‘a
ticn, wither* the h ■< tagorrism of r s.
Lave much to -•> wd : . tbie jecent ofi:an:za ? ".-n a - ,
the North. But there i- aL » c - 'iethn xs of a
srjcial character icnplica’ed in it. Ine
u'-.'.e s'r ,m Europe, the rupture ar .i
cbani of the relations, ar. l the arm j d
rol?« o*»e of Governments have swollen vastly
the current of e:nigration to this country. There,
war, famine, and. t; e pressure oi population
again-- *ne wall o! subsistence have pauperized
labor. From the Pennsylva liacoal miner comes
the cry, "Do not repeal the du‘y on coal; 77 from
the nav '.gation iuteres 4 :, ‘ Do not repeal the navi
fcu’iou laws;' 5 iro it the spinners and weavers,;
“*Do not reduce the tariff ” \Vhy this cry? Thev
•ay that Northern free labor must be saved from
competition with pauperized labor ot Europe, or
itself must be r <uperiZ-<!. One section has been
long and oppressively taxed to shield the other
from this comj etiHon; but even that shield t
about tn be pierced through Ibe labor market
in Europe is choked a 'r jst to strangulation, and
the ot the lab rer js the merest
The great’y increased emn'raHou to the United
StfJes is crowding ail the pursuits of industry in
(be cities.
The capital enterprise, and burners of the
cuun’ry have <mt expanded in the ratio oi im
caig. to? 4 and hence competition tnreafens
to pauper’ze labor here. It is against this pro
pb>-h'- du ger that labor is rising up, and gnash
.?»g hate and biindnes#. Aye, sir, a social prob
!of mighty-import is beginning to force it
k?’t tipo t ‘he nncthern mind arid gumly demands
Lalxir blind and staggering, io lilting
it* h»‘»d against capital, and demanding a re
rr..i!»ling ot the i<Eu-trial machinery, and re ad
i<i« meutof the relations between them. There
n,r-t! truth, s imetb i g of philosophy in
tbu ‘Knuw-Nothcrjg’’ organization. It is tn
ao«i€ 4*xtent, labor suing in the form of proscrip
tion and fanaticism to escape suing m forma
While 1 this, I am the friend nt
the laborer. I would protect his rights and aid
bi- boraiable enterprise and industry. But I
♦*anfiatvolutionize Government, ,and remode*
thw forms of xwLU-ty to establish an
Utopia
* S.», is com per.eatioa in the scheme o
Providence, and punishment wrong both in!
fDu'fve and d'-cd. Tne history of the knin
of the ConGi ution kitsch .•estms memorable f u
♦hat even then it w<<* b» !it-ved aod concede 1 tha'
t: r norihern Staffs wcm* to lx* cul’ivafed b
v-'nte labor, and tut southern :> a', by Af/irai.
o s ave Übor By 1808 it was thought n s.jffi
supply (jf white laltf>r would en'er Itn
Ur.rGd by u Hl’gra’iuh ,, to supply tb»
watts ol northern ru!?)w. !i<»n, and a MJficien
» <olA:»i'ar. .b<>r,b z * onpoilu ion” to h !
-th. ithe clftiiM
IhcCur stitution: I
* I be (.? or imporle’ion of such person!
, > n y !.»■ ' s, ro>w ♦ •xs>.tjn-_ # *t all Ihi; i<
fl tv 'I ,t >■>■. II I <>t I ■ ! l-y
<:. ■-, ; .to tb-} ar 1809.” ,
Migration has b-en uninterrupted, while im- t
portation has been*abolished. The northern sup- t
ply of labor has been constant; the southern sup- c
ply has been cut off. The North has not only s
used the labor of the emigrants to achieve her ;
miracles of enterprise—to throw bridges across ?
her mountains, hang roads over the clouds, and I
burst lakes into canals ; but she encoiraged emi- i
giation that she might possess herself of the s
Federal Government, and acquire political do (
minion over the South. Even now she will ♦
only disfranchise, nut prohibit immigrants. She (
i will disfranchise, because she cannot subsidize f
■ them to be hirelings of fanaticism; but she will t
! not prohibit them, because she wants their num- 4
: hers to swell the census of her population, and i
| strengthen her dominion over the South. Thus, I
1 sir, the social philosophy of this organization has
i been worked up. by- ambidexterous arts, into the i
purposes ot the politician.
I do not mean now to discuss the slavery’top-
I ics which have been thrust into this Ha l by
! various gentlemen. The camp fires lighted by
■my friend from Georgia, |Mr. Stephen?,! in his •
proud march along this subject, still flash upon 1
‘ us. But I will call the attention of the country |
to a remarkable spectacle. Scarce twelve months I
ago ts-is Ha'l rang with l> zannas to freedom -
; and tree labor. Its Free Soil champions told u« .
: ti.at fr*?e labor fertilized industry, and scattered ■
i all over the North the monuments of n
I greatness ; while slave labor bl’ghted the South, 1
' and dried up the well-splines of her prosperity <
i They avouched the superiority of their social
system, and prophesied its triumph over oui« 1
• when brought together. How lar< s the case ? ,
• Abolition emigrant societies
, al! ov-r Eu:ope to subsidize Ihe fore igner into a ;
{crus-de against slavery; cupidity and fanaticism j
| talked their last efforts to appropriate the r«-*w I
I feuitories—ard how far*>s it with them ? The I
j member from Indiana |Mr Mece] and his cum- ;
• oet r, [Mr. Campbell.] strangling their hosa.icas |
I to freedom and tree labor, and stifling the very (
j cg->ny of their Free Soil rapture, with rude*
| hands tear from her pedestal the goddess ot their !
j idolatry, and bring her into this Hall,all Vt-drag-
! T"d and bemired, and with disheveled locks, to j
whine out, u Pity the sorrows of a poor o'.d wo- j
man.” white her sobs are broken by th? shritks i
of the member from Vlas-achusetts . [Mr. Banks I ■
"norfhein white slaverv ‘Tree labor trampled
ii>t > rhe mire by banded capital.” What hr san- ;
•»as then, and what a palinode now ! Then ;
’ 5 «-v shook with the convulsions of the sibyl in
be bi th-paog of prophecy; row they Leaver
with th 1 broken sobbings ot the sibyl prostrate, j
nd with her Hispira'i th proved a juggle.
Sir, I rep'.-ai it. I w ill not discuss tne question I
o. shivery now with these gentlemen. 1 will I
iet toe O.d North State, as she has spoken through I
her Legislature, speak tor me upon it. That gal
lant old S'ate has never yet learned Low to re
treat. She has been called Rip Van Winkle;
hut if she is such, in her slumber all fanatical
B.ns j assed over her. and she now woke np
upon the principles ol the Revolution, and with
■bi* spirit o: old Mecklenburg in her bosom.
I will now proceed. .Mr. Chairman,to submit :
a few reflections : First, upon the causes cf the 1
astonishing success of this new order; secondly, ;
upon its supposed principle? ; thirdly, upon its)
organization ; and, fourthly, upon its application i
an ! bearing upon thp South.
The causes of the rapid progress of this new j
order 1 conceive to Le, mainly, the disbandment I
of the National Whig organ zation. and the le- i
tbargy and errors of the Democratic party. 1 he i
National Whig connection is broken off. and the ;
northern fragments of the wreck are floating on ;
the waters, with an invincible appetency to co '
alesce with any is.ns which can carry it into
power. They have suffered !?»»?<’• econwh ’
ish m-rtyidom, (exclusion from tue Treasury.) ;
and are ready to seize any elements which can j
secure success. The northern Whig ground lay :
tallow, and ready to receive any seed, however !
rank and poisonous. The lethargy and errors ol *
the Democratic party also contributed to it. It 1
• has not appreciated the present conjunction. It i
! sees not yet that its old opponent has retired ’
’ horn the fieid, and that most of the old issues .
; have been set*led. It is now a stricken Poly-
j phemns, dealing in blindness, powerful blows. •
■ j In this social and political crisis it must raise I
| new issues, corresponding o the exigency, and *
! j which are now locked up in our destinies, or it '
I must bend to the storm. Public opinion labors, !
’ | like the piies‘* ss upon her tripod, with the pro
‘ 1 phecy ol gre it events The world now stift ,
; .viin- tremendous charges, and the Democratic,
) ■ •,:? , must shake slumber from it, leave the
| u 'd< ad pa -’ to bury the dead,” and catching up
■ j the spuit oi a new period, chasten it. and move
,on in .ts fcmpiejing career, or it must be pros
[ riated. That there have been also eirors in for-
1 eign appointmeu'-i, which have s imulated the ;
j N.*.hve American feeling is not worth disputing.
I I Lus the di»ban«knent of the National Whig
1 j • urty, and the lethargy and error-, and even the 1
• j successes of the Democratic party, have aided i
1 j th-? progress of this new order, hi it there are !
j many men good and true, wise, honest and pa- 1
I”.!: 'ic; but is. nevertheless, an amalgam ot isms |
and discontents. Ps paramount puli'iral philoe- :
op'uy is, wiiiltvcr is is wroag. In ev» ;y party !
there are camp-loliowers, who hover about the
field to plunder the dead and rifle the baggags— ,
men c* ho fi t from party to party, in the spirit of )
those who shouted hosannas to Christ, and then :
poured vinegar upon h»s lipe. In times of trial; j
-uch men are flung from party like scoria for •
they follow it only wi h the motive of those I
Jews who followed Christ, not because he heal- 1
ed the sick, and gave sight to the bin d, but be- i
cause of his power to multiply the ‘’loaves and !
fishes.” Such men barnacle themselves around I
a new party which promise*- .success. Thus !
Knuw-Notbingism has become a sanctuary lor
maicontent«, and an hospital for changelings.
I proceed in the second place, to discuss the
supposed principles of this new order: First,the
extension of the naturalization laws; secondly,
the exclusion of foreigners horn ail places 01
r»u«* fciicl honor; thirdly, the proscription of th?
Catholic religion.
Now what is the object in extending the na
turalization law*? I* surely is not to cut off
immigration, which is the only way of relieving
the iabor market from threatened pauperism ; it
is only to affect the right of suff rage. In discus
sing the policy of extending the la ws of natural |
ization, I waive the question whether citizen
ship is necessary to suffrage. 1 will not discuss
whether inter-State comity—whether good faith
between the State?, contracting for certain pur
poses, as independent and sovereign parties, do
not imp se moral obligations in prescribing the
constituency. In this aspect, I reserve my opin
ion until tLe question arises. J propose now to
discuss it merely in the view of affecting a State
regulation through the agency of a national or
-uniza’ion, by binding the people ol a State to
adapt their regulations to the opinions of the
y»eop!e oi othri States. It may be useful, how
ever, to examine the power of Congress, under
■he Constitution, tu interfere with the elective
kanrhise within the limits of 2 Slate. To do
t .M Congress mud either possess some specific
itny-.t oj power, or it must I e incident to some ‘
such f rant. Is there any specific grant of pow
-r in the Cons itution'? It cannot be f bund. The
ConsiiiuX'on prescribes the qualifications of the
/'uwaenaroa of Government, but it nowhere {
rnriiibw Ihe qualified ; uns of the constituency. :
In sectiun two, article one: “And the electors ’
in r neb State >-Lal) ha’-e the qualifications requi- 1
»b* lurekctoFf of the most numerous branch ol
be S’afa* f.eg.'hlahin-the Constitution define i s
'••*- <->ußtituency. but does no* prescribe its qua- *
lificiuons. it p.entnbea the qu Milica Hons ot 1
< • -c9 ‘I G>. vrmmenr, ; "Neper
feci*, t-xn pt a riQturid citizen, or a citizen of *
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1855.
the United States at the time of the adoption of
this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office
of President.” &e., but it in no instance pre
scribes the qualification of the constituency, ex
pressio unius, excluiio alteriut. Is it incident to
any grant of power to Congress ? Clearly not;
for the Constitution, in its express grants of
power, conveys none whatever, as to the con
stituency, or the right to regulate suffrage; and
of course, as there is no grant of power upon
the subject at all, there can be no power inci
dent to it. Thus, I have examined, in connec
tion with the clauses in the Constitution, the
question which meets us at the threshold of this
subject, viz: Whether the Stat s yielded up or
retained the right to regulate suffrage within
their own limits.
Again, is there any difference between the
right of a State to regulate suffrage for State of
fices and Federal offices? Where ean it be
found? Dare this Government look above, be
low, or behind the forms of State authority ’—
Can it hold intercourse with the people of a
State as moleculae ? Can it pass by, supersede,
1 or trample down the forms' ot a State, and con
tract with its inhabitants ? In fact, can it, or
I dare it, look into the interior operations of a
I State ? If it can, it is a consolidated, not a ted
: erative Government. Wuat danger, too, in the
! power ol Congress to p'escribe the qualifications
;ot its electors? Could not the Federal Govern
! merit expand or contract the constituency to
! suit its own purposes? Could it not in this way
subsidize and enslave the States ? People is a
I term for an org.-.riized community, not for a
mass, or monster, to which garbage is to be
! thrown.
I it may be argued, however, that the power to
I '■ establish a uniform rule o; riatuiakza'ion ” en
l aides Congress to regulate the constituency. I-.
! this power deducible from the clause vesting of
I Cos grass the right to "establish a uniform rule
|in i atmal'zation.” For what dues Congress
I make a citizen cl the United States? This in
i quin, is expounded by the meaning of the second i
! section, tonrth article of the Constitution, which
says: ‘"The citizens of each ‘■•iiv’i- shall be enti >
I tied to all the privileges and immunities of citi- |
I zens in the several States.” Do "p. ivjleges : ■ '.
i immunities” tv ate totbc rlet.v” f. Jii-e '!
I Has not each S'a'e a right to affix a propeny
qualificati'm tosuffia’C ? iiave not many States
j cone so? Is not - certain period ot residence
j req’iited "* ail the States? It so. how can
■ .i vile®, and immuiiitii s” relate to the right
jto vote ? They ruler to the rights of p op-rty,
land not of suffrage; to personal, ascoutradis
; tingui-hed from political rights. Tne power to
I 'as ablish a uniform rule of n:i‘u>a!i.-ation,” is
I the power to make citizens <d the United S ate-
I —that is. citizens inv sted with personal rights
L’he right to regulate suffrage, to prescribe the
constituency, is a vital attribute of sovereignty,
and a federative Government, essential to the
States.
To remove this question from the field of di
alectics, as far as wi- rnay, let us consult the de
bates in the Convention which framed the Con-
I stitution. In the draft of the Constitution re
j ferted to the Convention for final action, we find
! the following clause :
I " The qualifications of ■ lectors—for members
i of the House of Representatives—shaii be the
I same, from time to time, as those of the electors
j in the several States of th? most numerous
branch of their ow n Legislatures.”
i Wi en this clause was under discussion, (Ma
j dison Papers, vol. iii., p. 1249,) Mr. uouverneur
Morris moved to strike out ail alter ’h- wordsj
I "qualifications of electors,’' that some other pro ‘
' vision might be substituted w hich would restrair
. rhe right ot suffrage to fre; ' ' ’ ..
1 Mr. \ iison said: ‘lt was difficult to form
i any uniform rule ol qualifications tor ad the
| States.”
i Mr. Morris said : "An objection against th"
’ clause, as it stands is, z4at it mnices the tfHaltflia
I linns of the National Legislature impend on Ike
I will of the States.”
j Mr. Ellsworth thought 11 the people will not
! readily subscribe to the National Constitution.
> if it should subject them to be disfranchised. —
' I'iie Stales are the best judges of the eir run
stances and temper ol the people.”
I Colonel Mason said: "Eight or nine States
I have extended the right of suffrage beyond the
| freeholders. What will the people there say, it
■ they should be disfranchised ? A power to alter
i the qualifications would l.e a dangerous power in
. the bands of the I-egislatiire ”
Thus, it will l>e seen, no ‘‘uniform rule oi
| qualifications ” ot ’i'<-electors was adopied hut
|as different qualifier 1 ions prevail.-I in different
I States, and the po .v- r was a dangerous one
■ in the hands o: IFederal L-'gulatrire. ‘to-
I wholesubject was turne'l over to the States. I>
| other woid?, it was • -ft to the Suites to regulate
j the right c.f sfiffrage ; <u as Mr. Morris expresses
| it, " tr<- ‘ Legislature
I depend online will if ike Stales.”
Let us examine, now, the second principle of
| this new order—the exclusion of foreigers from
j all places of honor, piofit,and trust. What has
lb enour poi’ey in this respect? - In 177-1, the
: Continental Cvngre. s while preparing resistance
I to Great Btitam, issued an address to the Catholic
I inhabitants ot Upper Canada. It desired to en
! list them in a common struggle against the
j mother country. In this address. Congress, adopt
j ing the words ol Montesquieu, says:
‘ln u free State, every man, who is supposed
a free agent ought to be concerned in his own
I government; therefore, the legislative should
j reside in the whole body of the people or their
I representatives.”
! It also invites them “to unite with us in one
i social compact,” and to “choose delegates to re
present them in the Continental Congress.
In 1778 Congress appointed a Commission to
repair to Canada, and strive to effect a union be
tween it and the United Colonies. It instruct
ed the Commissioners, in the strongest terms, to
assure them (the people of Canada) ‘that it is
our earnest desite to adopt them into onr Union
| as a sister colony and to secure the same general
system of mild and equal laws for them and for
ourselves.” The next development of policy, in
relation to foreigners is found in the Declaration
of Independence, which recites, among other
wrongs ol the King, that “he has endeavored to
| prevent the population of these States, for that
purpose obstructing the laws lor naturalization
ol foreigners,*’ &c. The Constitution next pro
vides for immigration to the United States. Thus
far the policy ot the country has been in favor of
immigration. The first departure from it was
the alien and sedition laws The alien law was
founded upon suspicion anil dislike to the immi
grant and imposed odious discriminations upon
him. These laws were soon trampled from the
statute-book, amid the fi-rce execrations of the
people. The next blow aimed at the immigrant
is years after, and under far different circum
stances. The country was engaged in a second
war; doubt, distress darkness hung over our arms,
and our existence as a country was upon a trem
bling equilibrium. The unsparing enemy, with
more than Cossack barbarism, had sacked and
burned our common Capitol, and in ashes had
scattered our archives to the wi ds. His crui
sers then darkened our coasts, and his legions
were tracked by pillage and conflagration. In
this hour of portent, peril, and dismay, a conven
tion met in an eastern State, and lor what? “To
withhold the resources of New England, and
make a separate peacel ’ Yes. in this tioublous
and tremendous moment, while the toe was
spreading devastation on every side, was march
ing on by the light of burning villages, end was
threatening to blot us from the very msp of mi
t.on», a convention met in an ea-l-ru State to
h: mble our power, and plot our overthrow. VV'hat; I
was one nt the resolutions of that convention? I
will read it to you:
“No person who shall hereafter be naturaliz
ed, shall be eligible as a member ot the Senate or
House ot Representatives of the United States;
nor capable cf holding ary civil office under the
authority of the United States.”
"Yes, this is a leading resolution of this con
vention. Need l tell you what convention this
is? Other, have met, but none other to paralyze
the »'m ; Government, when our soil was dis
honored by the tread of a foreign foe, and our
Common flag struck at both on the land and on
■Sue wMe r . This is Ihe Hartford Convention,
which is ■ incarnidined” by public scorn in the
..■ages of our history, like the “blood spot” upon
the “robe ” Well comes this warfare upon na
turalized citizens into this Hail, borne in by the
member f. -,n Massa.‘husetts, (Mr. Banks.| It
began with Adams, it festered in the counsels ol
the Hartford Convention, and it should not enter
heie, bori.e >n by ' imlineal hands.” Sir, this I
fact reads us an instructive lession. The finger ;
of history has moved louud the dial plate ana is j
resting where it rested forty years ago.
The'hiril principle i*. proscription of the Catho- I
lie Ifeligi . Is'iot ti e imposition of disability i
and d.'stiat. •■. i a proscripition* V>'!, dis I
franchise tin. C-tlbolic? Do you exiiect t., aiL-et I
his coiivictioi.'. mil change his religion? Can you i
dig uowir to the conscience, and lay bare its !
subtlest c!<u ’. arid re-mode! the spiiitu.il sub- j
stater? ‘I yon cannot do. Are Catholics!
under civ I ■ ■ ctiun to the Pope, as the mem- |
her fre-m .4h‘ >. •„ hu-eitr, (Mr. Binksl intimated?]
What ... tiiere n the Catholic Creed to warrant ]
this imputatio'i' In 1789, Mr. Pitt,then Prime i
Minister ol England, before he would relax th" |
.usabilities ■ . the Irish Cathojics, propounded to
the great < a.'w .ie Ui.i the following in
quiries:
*'l Has C..e pope, or C irdinals; or anybody
of tn. u. oi .. . individual ot ’Io-Church ol Rome,
any civil au. u-jrity, pow. r, jurisdiction or pre
I emii.e: ce w'.atrt.ever, within the realm of En-
I
. “•? <'«:• ”ope, < r Cardinal;?, or any body
|nf nr or t. <.• oi the Church <»!
L’ouie, ab. ive >r dispense with his Meiesty’g
-■J from : M.?ir oath o' allegiance upon any
pie;ext wha 4 t • vei?
“3. l a the; <niy principle in the teneleof the
C.ttbo’Jc faith by which Cal holies are justified
in not liPt - with heietics or other ; r
diffeir --?in them in leligiousopinion:-, in
any transac jud, either of a public or a private
nature?”
The (Jnive.titles g: Pari?, Louvain. Alcala,
Douay, Salatni. ica. and Vsladolid declare that
neither the Cardinals, nor aoy individuals
in the Ciitbul<.‘Lurch, have any civil authority;
nor ran they dispense with an oath; nor are
Catholics ju-.’ '■ d in not keeping faito in any
transaction. « "’.her of a public ora private nature.
Tn«; it wit b.' teen that ail the Universities
promptly an-’ itquivocably declared that Ca
rholies were de/ no civil er temporal sub) c
tion io thp Pope The Catholic Bishop* in
Great Biituiu in the year 1826, declared that
I a no power ir ■ r.y Pope, or Council, or in any
individual o» body cf men, invested witn au
thority in the Catholic Church, can dispense
with an}' uaL ; which a Catholic hasconfnm
cd Lis duty of <>. egiance tu his sovereign, or any
i obligation oi <’u',y or jis ’c * to a third person.”
he follow*: ” i*i cue of th i curses of the Ca
j till ic Chore* . ' Cu»s« übe Catholics who will
• ’ net obey the wful commands of all Protestant
J authorises, ( piri’uai matters exempted.) or who
’[..Aill md luljjo f .’.-duty, in t-- fv rooect to
I 'Vir L'fA.i < /1; ’
MrfiF ‘■hU ; i‘. c._ w«7fks oi Bishop Eng-
i lan<\ a mat) ot splendid intellect, stainless hon*
i or, and royal scbolaubip.
The Archbiwbop ar»d Bishops ot tbc United
States, : i provincial ctm cil assembled at Balti-
' r ”. May, 1843. thus, w rote to Pope Gregory
I XV I .
" It must not be concealed that most bitter en
> emies ot the name ot Christ, and alas I they are
many, endeavor, with all their ability, to over
. tmn the citadel of faith, raid destroy it entirely.
I o succeed in this, tney cast suspicions against
us among the people, * * * that we, their
, Catholic fellow.citizens, although our forelath
‘ T-i poured out their blood as water tu assert our
} hbeity against a non Catholic oppressor, in or
r der to make ’is suspected by the Government
j and obnoxious to it, lie under political and civil
subj' ctio-; to a tv tign prince, namely, the Ro-
• man Poo tiff, and ate, the; “fore, faithless to the
. Republic, became. they (our enemies) falsely
, asse;t. we are educed under this subjection.”
G: i.aryXVl. in reply, by letter’of Dec*2d
• I s wa; inly the pleasure the letter,
ol v. .Jclj the above i;'an extract, afforded him,
, and approves Ps contents.
How long is’tsuice we thought the Catho
„ lies unfit for cilizensbip? Surely the Conti
nental Congrtvs did not think so, when they in
struc ed the Commissioners to Upper Canada to
• declare to the inhabitants “’that we hold sae’ed
• the rights of conscience, ;;i d premise to the
whole people solemnly lhe free and u disturbed
fK-rcise of their rdiy. m?; and to *he the
' lull, perfect, m d peaceable posses.-mn and en-
- joyment o* ail their estates;’’ and eLo advised
‘ them to “ dehnerate concerning the establish
rnent ol a form of Government, and a union
United Colonies,” upon terms, too.
“similar to those upon which the other C< lonien
I unite.' 7 The Continental Congress surely did
i not think so, when, in an address to the Catho-
I lie inhabitants oi Upper Canada, they said:
" We
are too well acquainted with the liber
ality of sentiment di tioguishing your nation, to
■ imagine that difference of religion will preju-
- dice you against a hearty amity with us. Yon
know that the transcendent nature of fieedotn
, elevates those who unite in the cause, above all
such low-minded infirmities. The Swiss can
tons furnish a merncrabie proof ’fis truth.
, Their Union is composed of ( athoiic an t P-nt
i “stant States, living in'*.•■ -r. ■' concmd and
peace one with another, an i ihled ever
since they bravely vindicate tn .. n, rd.im, to
- defy and defeat er ary’ foe that has invaded
them ”
Has the nature of freedom become less tran
scendent, or are we more discerning than the
, grand old patriots of the Revolution?
But it is said (Mr- Banks] that the Pope has
not renounced his claim to temporal allegiance
from all Catholics? Am! pray, has England
done so? How many princes in Eu ope have
renounced the doctrine of perpetual citizenship?
Are we to select a class to war U; on, because of
a despotic and impotent claim, applicable to
most other classes? Have not Catholic soldiers
carried their monarchs into the very Vatican
and compelled the Pope to annoint and crown
them? Have not Catholic soldiers borne the
flags of Protestant rulers to victory ? Have
Irishmen done no deeds ot chivalry in the cause
of Protestant England ? Spread out the pares
ot English history, and show me a single battle
field where empire has been won, or her meleoi
icflag has floated in victoiy, and I will tell you
where hisb blood has flowed, and Irish valoi
triumphed.
i pioceed now to the organization of this se
cet order. My triced from Massachusetts |Mr.
Banks) says they ‘ have the right to secrecy’’
Chai associations of men for political purposes
neve the legal right to seciecy ia indisputable ;
hut the tnoial aspect ol the question is ar least
debatable. There are two kinds of light, lhe
I’gal and ethical. The former looks to the
fz*.*ce ol society . the la:ter to morals The
lumpen d capital -: Ims a legal rigi: to refuse a
■ r.riytothewr ' 'i sta l ving upon his iloor-sill;
>ut ,s there no < a m cf chnrr-y (mon him?
.lie there no d. • yoi;d the reach of law ? -
VOL. 33 -NEW SERIES -VOL. 9- NO 19
in a state ot isolation, each one possesses rights
unqualified by artificial restraints. Govern- ‘
rr.ent is established far great and indispensable
purposes, and neces-ary to it is the possession ol
certain power". Each one, therefore, divests
himself of certain portions of his natural rights
and power, and bestows them upon Govern
ment. The forms of Government are numer
ous, but each form has some gieat and vital re
quire < ent. The requirement of a Republic is
publicity. Suffrage is its life blood ; and to give
health to the body-politic, it should be not only
free, but intelligent and discriminating. How
can this be, when measures are planned in se
cret, and withheld from investigation. I ask,
again, is there no public duty beyond theempiie
ol mete law ? I have the legal right to cast my
vote for the most ignorant and corrupt, but have
I the moral right? We have established a poli
tical organization which affects us all, and have
1 the moral i ight to commit it to those who will
| use it toth j injury of the otheis? The interest
: .f all are affected by the measures of Govern
] meat, and does not good faith require that those
i measures should be subjected to public examin
jation' In society we cannot absolutelyindi-
Ividualize ourselves; we must look out beyond
self There is a difference between associated
and individual action.
j Hsvir.g premised thus much upon the moral
I right ot secrecy, i submit to the committee
I three objections to tne Know-Nothing organi
zation.
] Ist. It tends to break down the rights of the
I States.
| 2d It attacks the character of the American
I people.
j 3d It invades the sanctities of social life.
I Ist. It ’ends to break down the rights of the
i States. Does it not prefers to extend all ove.
| the Union? What are some of its objects?—
■ I'n regulate the right of suffrage, and exclude
I, reiguers from all offices. Does not the subject
of suffrage belong exclusively to the States? If
so, is not this interference in the interior affairs
of a State? Is not this attempt to control sutt
rage, digging a? ‘he very foundation of the State
structures, and claiming a power to recast their
- ricepest foundations ? Are not the Statesfor-
I-ign to each other, except so far as they have
| con * raffed together ? Are they not foreign as
'I to the right to regulate suffrage? It so. is no'
i Ibis an attempt t-> consolidate them together i"
| a vital matter, in which they are distinct and
foreign by their organic constitutions? Is not
: consolidation the breaking down of State right:-?
The so. ial condition of Massachusetts blends
, with that of South Carolina, and both simmer
ing and seething together a te.tiuni quid r
> evolved which is to be the rule of Government
; for both.
• Again, “no foreigner ehall hold an office ol
honor or trust.” Is not this intruding into the
domestic affiirsof a State? Proscr-ption must
- go in’o everything—into police institutions, into
private corporations, into municipal affairs, into
the charity ot the hospital, and into the garbage
i of the gutter. If this foreign interference with
t and control o', the purely domestic affairs of a
State does not break down State rights, I am at
a loss to conceive what will. What is consoli-
i ition ? Is it not a crushing of the States into
. one whole, so that the inhabitants of each por
■ tiou may interfere in the management of the
’ domestic affairs of the others ? is not this such
lan interference? What interior interests is free
I I from its grasp? It controls the municipal coun
‘ cil, arid clutches at the ermine and jury box.—
. i It proscribes the sexton, and lays its hand upon
iith ■ watchman’s rattle Other natior -I organ!
. izat’o.-js have eo uiectcii t'.i;ir:' Ivij obiy With
. national interests They professed to take cog
nizance only of such matters as were common
to all by the stipulations ol the Constitution; this
1 organization glides along beneath the very louu
. dations of the States, and mangles th-rri, inte
i rior, fe.leral, and foreign, into one totality. Its
i members arc secret, are silent, are Know-Noth
. ; mgs I Sir, their designation is aptly chosen, for
- if they succeed, they are mutes in the funerrd
. ! procession of the Republic.
. j Sir, I object sternly to this new order, because
t | its march is over the ruins of the States. State
r ■ sovereignty is the corner stone of our Federal
. I Temple, and upon it rest our destinies. Conso
r | lidate this Government, and no human pow er
. | can save you from despotism. Can we, dare
t ! we, trifle with this great principle? The cause
I !ol State sovereignty is a grand and sacred one.
. j Escorted by the memories ol the past and the
, • hopes ot the future, and crowned too, with all
! the royalties of intellect, comes it to us. It has
J been won through too much blood, and hallowed
I by sacrifices too nugu-r and too tremendous to be
: shattered by the hand ot tyranny. 1 will not
j give aught of encouragement to any associa'i -n
i which flings even a shadow over the integrity
. j ol tiiis principle.
. ! 1 object, in ths second place, to this secret or-
ganizaiion, because it attacks the character of
, the American people. Their character has ever
i been fiank, manly, and magnanimous. They
. have never paltered with principle upon flimsy
I subtleties, nor stided the voice of public faith
. upon p-ti fogging technicalities. They have
j not stooped to sophisms and sub erfuges to vm-
i j dicate an equivocal honesty, nor have they “hid
; den in misty generalties their violations of char-
, j tered ligh's.” No, they have been proud even
|in error, and brave even in wrong. Gori forbid
that the manhood of lhe Ameiican character
| should sicken and disappear under the poi-on of
. trickery and insincerity. Evasions and so
phisms are an ethical poisop, and corrode lhe
best character.
■ This order requires evasion as the sacrament
of admission into it, end under the sophism ot
i ii'dividuaiity, it cleaves down, in secret, the
i , rights of others. It avows not its principles in
I public, and courts not the light, but it plots at
- midnight, and strikes under a mask. The ele
■ I merits of manly character are not nursed in re-
' iT<'t. and matuied upon subterfuges. Against
I -is -ecret organization the common manhood ot
the country ii : ,es up, for it insidiously attacks the
> very foundations of magnanimity and frankness
I in the character of the Ameiican people Pri
vote worth is the foundation ol public greatness,
strike down the one and you destroy the other.
In the third place I object to it, because it in
vades the sanctity of society. Does it not in
vade the relations of lite, and corrupt the faith
between man and man? If it does not preach
does it not connive at a morality which permits
you to betray a friend and deceive an enemy ?
Will not political treachery even if it does not
lasten upon the character, at least produce chron
ic and incurable distrust, alienation, and selfish
ness? Have not men belonged to this secret or
der while they occupied high places under their
old parly organization, and thus betrayed their
old allegiance ? Have not associations ot men j
ucei pred the candidates ol their former party, and j
curried them with hosannas from hustings to J
hustings, while they were active members of
the new order, and working for its success?
Sir,it these things are true—and they areaffirm
ed— do they not poison all the relations ol men ?
What deadlier wrong cun von inflict upon socie
ty than to obliterate all confidence, and blast fi
delity between man and man? Do this, mid
how know yon that the hand you grasp in po
litical fellowship, is net the hand of a political
enemy? That the man you shelter is not a
spy? Infuse infidelity into your relations, an i
how know you that treason clings around yum
hearth-stone, and stoops not over the couch ol
fri-ndship? Ate great principles to be thm
achieved? Aid can tie car of party only be
rolled on over th" sos eat charities ol the heait. <
and th" .--cn-'l nidinaur- s of society.
i i ow crave the indulgence of the Co: miltee
while i examine,in the lomth .place, this appli-
cation and bearing of the new organization upon
the South. Why should the South Rncourai*e it’?
Is her system of labor threatened with pauper
ism, or does she want to build up castes among
the whites '? Have not her institutions been as
sailed, and by those who originated this new or
der ? Sir, what an awful spectacle did the mem
ber from Massachusetts (Mr. Banks) reveal, in
bis description of the social condi’ion of that
State? Two-thirds of the population of Mas
saebusetts pressed into the gutter by selfi-h cap
ital.disowning their manhood, and compelled,
in the dark hours of the night, to flit along sub
terranean paths, and conspire in secret against
their own Government. Sir. only insurgent
slaves hide from their masters, and conspire at
midnight. Are these men, who are the slaves
of capital, and who are compelled to plot in se
cret against their wealthy lords, the meu to re
form our institutions, and brand us with inferi
ority ? Eighty thousand freemen it, a Republic
conspiring, in under ground ways, to vindicate
their rights at the ballot-box agionst forty-thou
sand ! Is this freedom ' Is this free labor soc:e
*yj.
Sii. often nominal freeiMm is ptac'ical slaveiy ;
and noo liia! slavery practical freedom. There
are two modifications ol :oc:a! existence; thu
one a co relation of mutual obligation, i. e. in
separability between capita! and labor; the oth
er the dissolution of continuity, i. e. independence
between capital and labor. In the former the
I elective franchise is limited to a portimi of the
community; but there is no starvation. In the
other it is unqualified ; but in crowded civic
populations ten per cent, die of starvation, direct
ly or indirectly, through tylnis lever, insi fficietit
food, imperfect shelter, and all the accompaiii
meuts of pauperism. Take you, now, slavery
and safety, or free labor, with paper rights and
st-u vatl in. What remedy, let me ask, is pro
poseii fm these evils of your civic population’
Socialism! Yes. ocialism yon prescribe. Your
French ncialist teachers tell you the evils ot
society sprir g from the freedom of society La
bo‘ , tbr'urgh competition, enslav-s itself, they
say 1 oguard ag-.ir:st this labor must be organ
ize.l. What means tins organization of labor?
Why it means social slavery. Laborers shall
not eompe'e, they shall not dispose of their own
time iu.l strength—socialism is social j.lavery.
Will tlio South, then, go into this new oiganiza
tiou, because it is pauperism enlisted rg-io-st
we.-lth an I chart-rs, and the t.d.dishrnert of a
system of social slavery ’ Will she go i to it
neca use 1 1 i*s abolition tendencies? Dr they
not exist ? Has not the National Whig party
dismiited bi'cmise of tli« abolition tendencies of
ds Northem w ing ? Will this wing !.. ■■ less
abolition feeling tinder ane w organization i Will
those Northern Democrats, who abandon: d their
party because they said it was allied wi’h sla
very, be mote moderate abolitionists in the new
party? Do not such materials make up the
Northern “Know Nothing” party ? Is not its
object power and place ? Will it not, then seize
upon all elements of strength which can carry
it into power ? and are not the elements fl oating
about at the North, and eager for coalition, the
abolition and free sot! element? They have
been strong > nougb to shatter an old at.d power
lul organization, and will they lose their virus
and purpose in a new one ?
What, too, has be en fl e practical results of th is
new party ? In .Massac! usetts alone it has be- ri
victorious through its own strength; and w i.at
""e we there ’ Is not the Abolition and Free-
Soi I flag the only one flying? How staid it
members elect? I read an ex’rar.tfiornt!-r- co>-
rr“p--,<..!'m" of the National Era (ar, Abolition
paper) oi November 23, 1853. The writer »
stated to he John G. Whittier, c< -editor, 1 be
lieve, ot the Era, and a distiguished Abolitionist
of Massachusetts, who ns much as any man, is
booked up in reference to its politics, particular
ly Free-Soil:
’ “C. L. Knapp, of the eight district, is an old
■ liberty man, true as steel. DeWitt in the Wor
cester district, 'Crafton in the eleventh, Cornin':
I in the fourth. Damrell, in the third, and Buliu
game in the fifth district, are also Free-Soilere
‘ N P. Banks, jr., is triumphantly ie-elected from
' the seventh district, against the combined op
-1 position of the Pierce Democracy and the Whigs.
He goes back to Washington an Anti-Admims
tration Fusionist. Buffington, of the second dis
' trict, and Morris, of the t: nth, are reliable Anti-
■ Slavery Whigs. Os Davisoi the sixth, and Hall,
ot the first, we have no definite know!ed"e.
•' Gardner, lb" Governor elect, standi "ripenly
pledged against the Nebraska fraud and the tu
gitiveslave law. His past historv has been evi
dently that ot a Pro-Slavery Whig, I ■ we
speak now only of bis present positions Br.,wn,
Lieutenant Governor, is a Free Suit Democrat
and Fusionist. Ol the Senators and Rep.-’-enta
tives elected, enough is known to be tolerably
certain tl-ata reliable man will be chosen to the
United States Senate, and effectual provision
j made for protecting the inhabitants of the State
| against the fugitive slave hunt.”
Thus hav. acted the Know-Nothings of Mas
i sachusetts. How spoke they? I will read the
I resolutions cl a Know-Nothing convention in
I Norfolk, Mas'ac!iu;ett‘:
“Resolved, That we hail with hope and j >y the
recent brilliant successes of the Republican par
ty in the States of Maine, lowa. Indiana Penn
sylvania, and Ohio, and we trust those victories
are a foreshadow of others soon to come.by which
the free States shall present one solid phalanx,
ol oppo ition to the aggressions of lave: ■
“Resolved, That in the present cbaolic condi
tion of parties in Massachusetts, the only star
above the horizon is the love of human liberty
and abhorrence of slavery, and that it is the duty
ot anti-slavery men to rally around the T> pub
lican party as an organization which invites the
united action of the people on the one trancend
ing question of-lave dominion which now di
vides the Union.”
“Whereas, Roman Catholicism and slavery
being aline louiided and supported ou the basis
of ignoiance anil tyranny, and being, therefore,
allies in every warfare against liberty
and enlightenment: Therefore be it
“Resolved, That there can exist no real his
tory to Roman Catholicism which does not em
brace slavery, its natural co-worker in opposi
tion to freedom and republican institutions.”
How spake Gardner, their Governor elect, in
reply to the charge that he had aided in the ren
dition of Burns? He says, in a letter to Mr
Wilson, a Fiee Soil leader:
“Were the same charge made against youself
it could not be more groundless than it is against
me. The power of language does not permit
me to express the utter loathing 1 have tor the
conduct attributed to me. Far sooner would I
be the poor quivering wretch on the road again
to the agony of bondage, than a volunteer guard
jto aid in iris return. He who ir vented the
j charge grossly slandered me ; they who repeat
J it, or believe it do net know tne.
“it is not true that I am, or have ever been, in
favor of the fugitive slave bill. I never voted
tor a man who favored it, knowing such to be
his views, ai d 1 must very much change before
1 ever do. I never by word. act. or v< te, favor
ed its passage, and I am an advocate of its es
sential rr odilication, or in lieu thereof its uncon
ditional repeal Returning from Canada last
Jane, I read in the cars that th"re was a petition
<or its repeat at the Exchange news room, and
on my arrival, before even tr-iimr to my place of
business, 1 hastened to the Exchange, and signed
the petition.”
ia this unbroken testimony of deed and speech
nothing? Will the South unit " with this north
ern Know-Nothing movement ani-iated with
the rentime its ot Socialism and Ab it oni-m ’
Will the Soulll e lis’ in a crusade o' So ,'lisrn
(CONCI-UDSD on -ihs eiatiTH imoe)