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• AiPTaaraKrsaiafr m^wa Htmi m^pyfcijpu
not as specifically characteristic of a party;
nor can I admit that any expression of it
shot!' be taken as alluding to any individu
al Neither let it bes.id tii.it 1 have cast
o :iy upon Charleston, or disparaged
aimth Carolina* Such has not been my in
tention, nor have 1 been so guilty. Vet, if 1
and) I think that either the city or the state de
served to be held forth as fallen from their
proper places, and that my duty required the
exhibition; 1 trust that I would fearlessly
rtake.it; the ugh with a weeping eye, a down
cast head, and an a (flic ted heart.
1 charge nothing upon mv fellow citizens
but the common frailties of our common na
ture; and from these they neither have re
ceived, itor do they plead an exemption.—
There is no nation under heaven, tin re is po
city on earth, in which the same result would
rot flow from the same causes that cxisi
•among us. We are pie.diarly circum
stanced, and the temptations against which I
tffculd caution you arise from that peculiari
ty. So far from being disposed to disparage
this state, I would be ungrateful if it had not
■my affections, and unjust if it had not mv es
teem, and should I cast obloquy on our city it
would be not only ungrateful, and unjust to
•our fellow citizens, but it would be insulting
to you, and injurious as regards inyself.
When I have tin refore endeavoured faint
ly to describe what are every where the con
sequences of party spirit under great excite
ment: and asserted the obligation of the pas
tors of the church to guard against their re
sults; I only desired to justify myself for
V’hut might othorwise appear to be an imper
tinent intrusion. And if I address myself
solely to you, and not to the citizens general
ly ; it. is not because 1 look upon you as more
liable to yield to their influence, but because
I am your pastor , and hold thus towards you,
a relation in which I do not stand towards
them. Let it not therefore be supposed that
beeau?e you are the particular objects of my
solicitude, I regard you as less worthy citi
zens, or more exposed to be corrupted or mis
led. They cannot lie betti rcitizensor mem
bers of society than I would desire; but f am
bound to use my best efforts to make you
better: you have expressed not only your
consent but your request to that effect, by
adhering to me as vo ir bishop. They disa
vow any such relation between us. It would
on my part, be an unwarrantable assumption
th.'Tujjpro, thus to address them : and were I
so arrogant, I must expect their rebuke.—
But you are identified with me an and I with you.
I advise you then, to guard against the temp
tations by which yon are surrounded, not be
cause I tliiuk you stand in more need of the
admonition, but because my duty demands it
and my affection acquiesces in the demand.
T!i< re is nothing in the present contest i
which directly or imbrcctlv all’ects, either our;
faith,.>ur discipline Or our ri iigious freedom:
mid therefore nothing winch could warrant
me, even by implication, in its present shape,
to enlist your religious feelings on either one
side ortheother. By vour religious obliga-
tion as Christians you are hound to adhere to,
and to uphold your regularly constituted gov
ernment, whatever might be its form, in the
full exercise of all its legitimate powers, and
by your resistance to its legitimate exercise
of authority, you would in the violation ofthc
first principles of society, violate one of the
fundamental nnxrn.s of morality, and bv re
sisting the ordinance of God, you would as
the apostle St. Paul savs, purchase damna
tion for yourself. This contest at present
wears lire aspect of a discussion to ascertain
whetnerour general government has act'd
unconstitutionally: and if so, whether either
our state government or the state itself b is
power to use a certain process to restrain us
urpation ; and to this is added another ques
tion, in which morality and religion are also
deeply concerned, which is, whether suppos
ing the usurpation of power by the general
governtnent, and the want of such a restrain
ing power iri our state or its government, tin 1
period Ins arrived when allegiance is no
longer due to the usurping power; and that
we are in the sight of heaven and before
God, in conscience, fully absolved from the
obligarion of that allegiance, which has been
imposed upon us by our biitn-or by our adop
tion, and sanctioned by our solemn oaths.—
Those are serious and important questions,
which require solemn deliberation, and whose
solution may involve terrific consequences, j
I put it to you, my friends and fellow citi- i
aens, and beloved children in ChrisC Do i
you think you can safely answer to God and '
to your consciences and to your country, to
your children, and to future generations, it
upon such questions as those you act from a
spirit of rash pride or human affection ! These
questions perplex the minds of the wisest
statesmen, they are to be decided not by the
clamour ol" popular assemblies, m*i in the
midst of carousals and excitement, not by
mere physical force or brute violence. Not
—this is not the spirit of civilized nations, of
organized societies; above all—surely, we
will not admit that.it is the American mode of
prtidetifly disposing of the deepest, the most
delicate question that can arise regarding the
nature of our own institutions. There must
be some constitutional mode for their decis
ion, or else our system is singula r k’ and fa-;
tally dofcctive, and ought to he amended.—
These ary not eccles.astical or religious qtu ?-
tions; but if the constitutional authority to
expound them wa3 clearly ascertained, reli
gion would repeat the divine precept, that till
should submit to its power, arid uphold its uu
tbofrty- i'be individual who a ldr ssi s you
lias formed for his own direction, an opinion ■
upon this sul j -c, to which he means to ad
here, until he shall s<'e very powerful reason!
to J part from it: he cannot he infallibly |
•certain (T its correctness; he admits, to eve- j
TV one of nis fellow citizens the same right to
form an I In not upon his own opinion ; but he
would intreat and beseech them and in tin
name of God; and by his authority he ad
monish; s them, not to dispute acrimoniously
with the ir lirethren who form opinions differ
ent from theirs, not to attribute to them im
proper motives, no* to charge them with cn
■te-ta’tnngdc£'gn3 which they disavow; and
above ail, not to use unkind, reproachful or
C uitiimeliouß expressions. Iftuey feel thcin
# dves excited or if they pt revive their breth
r a becoming, warm or irritated, though the
cfui'fer at ion had given no sufficient cause
■ f’iv- n their o' inioes let tbm- ••hny~'> t!m
topic of discourse or be silent; for even in
formution is too dearly purchased at the
price of charity. He wi/hlii be therefore un
derstood, as above all tilings, as inculcating
moderation and charity; and tin y are perfect
ly compatible with the most decided and
vigorous assertion of public and private righ ts.
I* too frequently happens that in the collis
ion of parties, the obligation of the citizen
is overlooked or forgotten, and the worst pas
sion usurps, the place of patriotic zeal. It
is therefore well to revert to those obliga
tions. I shall not refer specially to the ap
proved authors and admitted authorities by
whom 1 atn sustained in the condensed view
that 1 lay before you. Independently of
their authority, the reason ef the positions
themselves wdl, I trust, be manifest.
In entering into society every man parts
; with a large portion of lii.s natural rights, as
| the price lor social happiness and protection;
jit would be then equally absurd and unjust
J on his part, to build up claims for himself up
on what lie has thus given away for an equiv
alent. Jn the social state every individual,
impliedly, yet unquestionably, lias made two
contracts; the first with each of the oilier in
dividuals of whom that society is composed,
and from which tliejfi arises a reciprocal obli
gation upon all the members, to abstain from
what would be injurious to do that which
would he beneficial : A to reduce this to prac
tice that each will in their common concerns
be guided by the general will,sacrificing there
to their individual opinions. To express this
general will,agree upon a form of government,
and regulate tlie extent of its powers: this
agreement may he considered their constitu
tional decree This government must be car
ried on by individiiuLacting by the authority
and in the name of the whole body, and us
ing the powers with which it has been inves
ted, for the object rtf its creation, that is, for
the good of the body at largo. Each indi
vidual then makes anew contract with the
power thus created, that lie will sustain in
the due exercise of its powers, and submit to
I its lawful regulations, even though, as must
j frequently happen, his individual and private
interests or happiness should be seriously en
croached upon, to promote the good of the
community. This contract extends even
farther, ami will always require that in pub
lic concerns the individual shall honestly
prefe r the public good to his private emolu
ment. ft is upon this ground that he may be
required to present himself to almost certain
death for the protection of his country. —
The icady, cheerful and conscientious dis
chargeof his duty in fulfilling this part c r the
contract, is called patriotism, and it is a mor
al virtue, which society honors, and a reli
gious obligation, the fidelity to which, Cod
rewards; but the neglect of which must al
ways he criminal in the sight of Heaven.—
lie who has not patriotism is guilty of a vio
lation of his bargain with society; he offends
that < hid who is the author of the social com
pact, the upholder of order, the remote source
of the governmental authority, the witness of
the mutual obligations of contracting parties,
and the avenger of their violation. Ho who
would claim the benefits of the social com
pact, but would seek to withdraw himself
from its burthens, is guilty of meanness, and
injustice. He may amongst some, obtain
credit for his adroitness, his talent for intrigue, j
his keenness of observation, and the tact hv |
which he manages and moulds others to hisj
purposes. A man may possess all those and i
higher qualities, but if he uses them to at
tain for himself or his friends a monopoly,
or an undue share of the benefits, or to ex
empt himself of them from their proper por
tion of the inconveniences of the social or
civil compact, he is no more a patriot than is
any similar knave ; his appropriate appella
tion would be, a political swindler; and soci
ety should treat him as such. In nothing is
the divine maxim more obligatory than in ob
serving the social compact. And when the I
Saviour charged us to do to all men, as we
would, they should do unto us, clearly he did
not exempt from its operation that first and
most sacred covenant between the citizens
and the government. Patriotism is thus a
i duty of Chistian obligation, and its absence
| is a crime in the estimation of our church.
I acknowledge that the qualify is exceed
ingly rare; like all other Christian viitues
there are 1 fear, more hypocrites, who cloak j
themselves in its semblance, than there are j
sincere lovers of their country who feel its!
influence. You can test yourselves upon the J
subject by calmly examining your conscience i
in making the enquiry; whether in the dis
charge of your public duties you are led by
motives of your own private gain, your own
private affection, your own private hatred,
your attachment to a party or the love of your
country’s welfare, prosperity, and honour.—
Relieve me, my dear children in Christ, you
will have to account for your conduct upon
tliis head; before .the tribunal of God. —
Your onn calm deliberate, dispassionate view
of what, in tiie presence of heaven, you think
best for the public weal, is to be the rule of!
your action. You are upon this head, in<!e-|
pendent of me, independent of the church ; ]
but you are accountable to your country and
amenable to your Got!. You arc bound to
seek the promotion ofthc interests of the com
munity at large to which you belong, accor
ding to the principles of that constitution un
der which you live. If you do not, you sin:
and though you may escape the responsibili
ty to a human tribunal, which cannot search!
into the recesses of your heart; yet you will
not escape the vengeance of the living God,f
from whom nothing can he concealed. Do,
then beloved, I iutreat, I exhort, I command j
vou, by the affection which you bear to Jesus \
Christ, who gave his blood for your redemp- j
tion—to lay aside every mean, selfish feeling, |
to divest yourselves, of the acrimony of |>urty 1
spirit, to recollect the obligations which you 1
have contracted with' your fellow citizens,
and with your country, the, oaths which you
haves-,vorn in the face of heaven, the account
which voti shall render to your creator; and
laying aside all bitterness, envy and strife,
calmly and deliberately to seek for the pros
perity ar.d permanence of our excellent con
stitulions and the general benefit of the whole
community not only on the present, but on
every other occasion w hich requires your ex
ercise of civic rights.
1 *n M-—.(yrnnp (] IP obsrr’n.
tion which 1 know might truly be madjp* that
you are but a few in the midst of a lurjjp com
munity, xmd that if the great body r
ently from that mode which l have pointed
out, your taking up those principles would he
useless to the country and injurious to your
selves. V* by should you be called upon to
torego the private advantages which some
must reap, and which others would attain to
your exclusion ?
1 1 uncut that to a certain extent there is
much foundation for vvliat has been observed.
But, my friends, when I undertook to address
you, my object was net to assume the place
of the public reformer of the morals of the
community, but to discharge the dutv which
I owed to iny own flock. Though you
should stand alone, and he singular in the
strict fulfilment of your duty, that singulari
ty wou.d lie honourable, and though you
should reap no temporal benefit, you would
save your souls. Look to the miserable and
transient advantages which are procured on
such occasions, even by the most successful
of those, who prostitute their principles and
traffic, or their'conscieuce3. See by what a
precarious tenure they are held—with what
envy and hatred they are accompanied—
what a spirit of dissipation follows their ac
quirement—how they paralyze creditable
and industrious habits of exertion. Add
lo this, the humiliating feeling of depen
dence in the possessor, and the torturing re
collection of the mode by which they have
been obtained—and perhaps you will not con
sider it strange, that to me, who loves your
welfare, it has generally been rather a source
of consolation than of pain, that you have us
ually been overlooked in those distributions,
of place: which are at the same time necessa
ry to our government but dangerous to its
purity. But I cannot consent to the admis
sion that the great bulk of our community is
corrupt. No, thank God, we have amongst us
a large body of pure and honourable patriots,
of conscientious and sensible citizens, and
men of incorruptible integrity—men who
would not be tempted for any consideration,
to swerve from the pursuit of the general
good, and who are ready to make great sacri
fices for its attainment. Take such men for
your models ; when you stand upon the same
level with them, I am ready to declare that
you have done your duty as citizens. By
acting upon this principle, men whose’ souls
would sicken at the notion of corruption, will
he chosen to fill public stations, and the ve
nal and the sycophant will find that their de
basement and prostitution will only purchase
disgrace and disappointment.
J am free to acknowledge Chat it gives me
deep pain and some fear, that there lias been
commenced some years since in your city, a
system which l shall not describe: but
whose effects, whatever might have been its
sources, have indeed been to a certain extent,
contaminating and disastrous, and which if
persevered in,would destroy every semblance
of liberty in a vortex of corruption; but I
should hope that they who are suspected as
its authors, have the misfortune of innocent
ly bearing the imputation of the nefarious
and disgraceful conduct of criminals, who
sought to cover the practices which would
he most destructive to freedom, with the
sanction of the names of those who aspire to
lead in its utehiev menf. It is one of serious
inconveniences lo which prominent public
characters are exjxjsed, that as the price of
their station th y are too often obliged to
submit to public slander, without finding a
remedy for the evil.
Whilst therefore I deny that there exists a
general corruption in cur city, and cherish
the hope that the portion, which does exist,
has no connexion with our prominent and
leading fellow citizens, 1 would inculcate nit
on you the obligation of keeping altogether
aloof from the intrigues, the cabals, the al
lurements, the promises, the expectations,and
the other corrupting inducements which uu
doubti dly to a limited extent exist at present
among us. You cannot be in any way con
nected with such sources of evil without be
ing criminal.
On the part of the government there are
special obligations, exceedingly onerous and
of the utmost importance, and the violation
of which involve the guilty in deep moral re
sponsibility. One of the most serious of
this description is the "distributive justice, by
which places of honour, of trust or of emolu
ment are disposed of. This justice regards
aswell the public for whose benefit the places
are created as the individuals who claim to
fill them. It is a grievous mistake to ima
gine that they may be disposed of, merely ac
cording to the caprice, or. for the emolument
of the bestower. The power of making such
appointments is one of the highest trusts
that can be reposed in an individual or body:
the two ends to which public justice demands
attention are, first the efficient discharge of
the prescribed duty, and secondly, the due
regard to the merits and qualifications of the
candidates. The abuse of this power would
he not only a violation of the contract with
the people, that every effort should be made
to attain these ends, but moreover, a high of
fence of that God by whom society is sanc
tioned, and govt rninent upheld: it is farther
criminal in the injustice done to the injured
individuals, the depravity of the bad exam
ple, the discontent which it creates, the con
tempt into which it brings the ruling power,
and the tendency which it has to destroy so
ciety, by driving the peddle to the sad alter
native of a submission to tyranny, or having
recourse to the evils of revolution, as less
than those of a tatne and spiritless acquies
cence in the misgoverninent. When in a
monarchy places are thus improperly bestow
ed, it is called favoritism; when bribes are
taken for tlie appointments, it is galled cor
ruption; and nothing Can be more odious,
more criminal, or more ealculut* and to destroy
public and private morality, and to tcurawav
the foundations upon .which the social edi
fice rests, than such nefarious conduct, i
would ask you my friends, whether therrime
is diminished, or the danger to.societv is re
moved, by the corrupt influence being found
in a body instead of an individual. Suppose
iin a senate, instead*of a monarch? I would
say that the hitter is the more dangerous,
for in the first place there is a sole resporisi
bility, there is an exposure of singleness,
which inakes the individual feel, that in qaie
of public excitement, he alone is the marked
victim of public indignation, and prudence,
or cowardice will icstrain a depraved hut a
designated individual; whilst in the body,
each particular member becomes lost in the
multitude, and calculates upon the impunity
of his corruption, in the indistinctness' of his
exhibition. The most speculating trafficker
in that assembly, might be the loudest in de
nouncing corruption, and in declaiming
against the gross delinquency of the body
whilst he affects to lament the impossibility
of detecting the depraved individuals.
But if the distribution of offices be, for
greater caution, kept for the primary choice
of the people—the principle of distributive
justice is not altered; and though it is not now
iu the power of an individual or of a few, to
make the appointment, yet it is made by the
concurrence of individuals; and each has re
posed in him a trust, similar to that of the
monarch; thus, each individual elector is
subject to all the obligations which are found
to exist in the king,or in the senator and his
partial corrypt use of this pow er ; is clearly a
crime in morality and in religion, and pro
duces, as far as that individual is concerned,
all the had consequences which are found in
the corruption, the disorganization and the
distruction of the state. It is no excuse for
one, to know that others are corrupt; he who
to secure to himself a share of the booty join
ed a gang of highway men, whom he knew
he could not prevent from committing mur
der and robbery, might with equal propriety
allege their previous power and determina
tion to excuse his depravity.
Of all the spectacles which are humiliating
to the just pride of an honest republican, l
know of no one so galling, as to behold his
fellow-citizens debased by a paltry bribe to
procure the ruin of that distributive justice
which alone is the great conservative princi
ple of our free institutions : 1 know of no be
ing so degraded in the vilest slavery, as the
miserable wretch, who wearing the semblance
of a freeman, sells the invaluable inheritance
of the community entrusted to his guardian
ship, for such a paltry bribe as forms the wa
ges of such prostitution in our city. Let no
one speak to me of the existence of one prin
ciple of religion in such a traitor! lie lias no
love of God. It is an ennobling quality,
which decorating the soul, assimilates the in
habitants of earth to the bright and ardent
seraph that glows in affection before the eter
nal throne of the Creator : this love of God
is the spirit of religion : it lifts man above
the earth, brings him nearer to heaven, and
inspires him with the holy ambition of being
perfect as his heavenly father is perfect.—No.
—Speak not to me of the existence of reli
gion in that fallen and pitiable being, who for
such a despicable compensation, betrays his
conscience, if he have any, to remorse, his
country to the ambition of the criminal who
purchased him, and his soul to the power of
the ministers of divine vengeance.
Andean it he possible, that m.cn of high
minds, of honorable feelings, of republican
principles, of splendid talents, of extensive
information, men who would preserve liberty,
could stoop to such an abominable traffic as
this ? lam reluctant to believe it. It is not
only grossly criminal, but it involves, neces
sarily involves the rapid destruction of our lib
erties. It is not tor me to refer to the dread
ful catalogue of calamities which history ex
hibits as the inevitable consequences of such
ti ' ison. lam told that each party pleads the
necessity of doing what it abhors, upon the
principle of self-defence. And is it come to
this ! Are we now made familiar with the
open organization of what every one would
consider as the grossest insult to charge him
with personally proctuing ? Are our citizens
so fallen from their self-respect as to feel no
sense of shame in partaking of treats, and of
drinks, and of the profits of furnishing them
with a most liberal and exorbitant advan
tage, not to mention the expectations of offi
ces, the prices for proselytes, and the prices
for votes, and the seductive and debauching
allurements, to which the pnrtizans are said
to have recourse ? Cannot men he pointed
out in our city weil clad, well mounted, and
amply furnished with money, who are known
to be. notoriously, men of no personal proper
ty, hut are merely the crimps of either one
party or the other? And does any person
flatter himself that public or private virtue
can he preserved under such circumstances
as those ? Is not the industrious parent in
duced to leave his daily occupations, and to
forego the social circle of his little family in
the evening, leaving his wife deserted, and
his children neglected, and his employers dis
appointed : and is he not brought into the
society of the dissipated, the dissolute, the
brawlers, and the idle and discontented ? l)o
we not find our city, hitherto, and as yet,
thank God, one of the most peaceable and or
derly in the universe, beginning to exhibit
symptoms of an opposite character ? Are we
not now, sometimes disturbed by the party
yell,—and by the exclamation of the excited,
returning at a late hour from their places of
meeting ? And is all this calculated to up
hold the purity of our republican institutions,
and the deep and reverential sense of reli
gion ? Is this to he the bulwark of our pub
lic virtue ? My deal brethren, these symp
toms present to me any thing but the evi
dence of a love of liberty and an attachment
to virtue. And it is therefore, that in my
solicitude for your welfare, I have thus
thrust myself forward, can less of the conse
quences to me personally, to arrest your pro
gress, to entreat of you to reflect, to beseech
of you to go aside for a little from the crowd,
to place yourselves in the presence of your
God, and to ask your conscience—Has your
conduct been that of good Catholics of good
Republicans ?
Mv object then is to excite you to patriot
ism, to inculcate charity, to caution vou n
gainst permitting yourselves to be made the
mere passive instruments of any factious or
ambitious men, to intriat of you not to be the
mere appendages to any party, to induce vou
to seek for the information by which vou
should he guided in your civic conduct; te j(
in cabals, or night meetings, but from ~( )l] r
own reading and reflection, and the Advice of
sensible, dispassionate and prudent'men,' in
whom you tlnrtk you may pi„ee confidence
and from whom you may obtain information!
Alter having thus sought for light, act upon
your own honest convictions. This is the
independence wltieji I would recommend
Do pot? mistake ill manners obstinacy, turbu
lence, threats, violence, party spirit, nor any
of them, for this noble quality, which is gen
erally accompanied, by courtesy, the love of
information, meekness, forbearance, and a
pacific disposition. The braggart aiiil the
bully is gem rally devoid of moral courage.—
God forbid that you should bring disgrace up
on yourselves, obloquy u|k;i your church,
and pain to your friends by thus exhibiting
yourselves. Avoid intemperance ; it. is the
banc of every virtue, it is the degradation of
the likeness of God below the level of the
brute- It not only exposes all your follies,
hut it makes yourself the herald to publish all
your evil propensities ; it subjects you to tlie
mockery of cliildn n and to the scoffs of slaves;
it destroys your health, it robs you of your
respectability, it loaves you worthless to so
ciety ; a burthen to yourself, an atHiction to
your friends, qnd makes you an enemy of
God and an Outcast from his grace, thus de
priving you of heaven. The men who would
demoralize you with bribes, wtyild also, de
grade you Jay intoxication—and—must i write
it ? They, or their minions have recourse to
more disgusting profligates, that they may en
clave you to your vilest passions, and thus
debauch you into their service 1 And shall
it be tolerated that these things he done in the
name rtf liberty? You see wretched beings,
reeking from such preparation as this, brought
tip to commit perjury at the polls ; thus, after
having cast off the last relic of virtue upon
earth, driven to abandon the last expectation
of mercy from heaven ! And 1 his is to be the
foundation upon which our liberties are to
rest!! We thought that even in the midst
of such a wreck of morality, we had one pro
tection in the legal punishment of the miser
aide delinquent; but when an effort was
made to sustain ourselves upon it, that also
gave way. And whilst the mockery of religion
and of public justice inflicted upon the con
sciences of those w ho possessed them, the pen
alty of a solemrroath, before they would be
permitted the use of their undoubted right, at
the polls ; they wire compelled to witness
the profanation of God's holy book, and the
blasphemy of his more name, by the unfortu
nate men, who equally bereft of shame and of
conscience, and of virtue, and of franchise,
violated the rights of the citizens, and the
constitut ion of the state, and the law of the
eternal God, by the procuration of the min
ions of parties. And when the judge decid.
ed, that there was no law to punish such fla
grant delinquency ; is it presumptuous, is it
arrogant in a citizen, to intreat of his renre
sentatives to inform their constituents, lor
what cause did they permit this shocking
source of crime an 1 insecurity to continue ?
God forbid that I should insinuate that there
existed in any quarter, a disposition to facili
tate party support, by permitting such extra
ordinary impunity. If lam rightly informed,
the remedy is in the hands of our city dele
gation ; and no equal number of my individ
ual fellow-citizens possess my more sincere
respect ; yet they owe us an explanation.—
You will ask me, mv beloved fio.ck, whether
I implicate you in those charges. I make
the charges upon no individuals, —I only put
forward what i fear, are facts too notorious to
he called in question. And 1 warn you, 1
exhort you, 1 intreat, I command vou in th*
name of God, to keep aloof from the contam
ination. Be not partakers of these things.—
Can you not determine indiviually, without
exposing yourselves to such evil coiuinuni
■ cation ?
Your self-respect as men, —you patriotism
as citizens, —your religion asc’atholics, all—
all plead st rongly against such practices.—
The end which you propose, you will tell me
is good :—you say that you avoid these crimes :
yourselves, and that you can not be account- j
able for the misconduct of your associates.—
Suppose I allow the end to be the!
best possible. What are the means?— j
Need 1 repeat that which lias been incident- i
ed upon your minds from your childhood 1
That virtue consists in seeking to attain aj
good end by good means—that it is criminal!
to use good means for a bad purpose, to use !
bad means for a good purpose, or to use evil
means for an evil end. Have you nor always
been informed that the morality which we
are taught by our divine Redeemer, goes to
the extent of forbidding as criminal, the least i
evil, for instance the most trivial lie, even if I
it were possible, thereby to attain the great
est good, even the releasing from hell of eve
ry unfortunate being which it contains : Are
you not accountable if those abominations are
aided by your subscription, by your agency,
by your encouragement of the subscribers or I
agents ok by the countenance which your pre-!
sence affords ? Extensive and appalling as
the evil is, I am convinced that the vast” the
overwhelming portion of our constituency, is
not only patriotic and pure, hut that it holds
these practices in the utmost detestation, and
would gladly and zealously exert itself to ex
tirpate them. Rut they have been introduc-!
ed in an evil day for a party purpose, and they I
have insensibly grown upon us; even per
haps to the loathing and the cost and the bit
tt r mortification of their authors. Shall they
he permitted to acquire strength, and perman
ency ? God forbid—Do you—not as a body,
not ostentatiously, not as more pure or more }
perfect than your fellow citizens of other re
ligious denominations ; hut each individual
ly, conscientiously, but firmly and decidedly,!
perform your duty and though not one *a
mongst you should prove recreant, I am COII .
vinced you will quickly find yoiuvj vr
palpable minority in the midst of vn ,!_ a
ous fellow citizens. But let r in ' Vlrfu "
rich and delicious favour vou ’'‘ <S , most
on me, fed the conge’jr,., -an confer up
wind, ever side nw- * T" rarP ’
events, no one of .•J;"u 0te ’ 0t '‘ !l
corruptly,orv;ill’ *• ku 11 ave a(,, od
If I have hh, encouraged conuptiort.
if I have j', , 1 |" l " amojl b r *t you,
thee .. . “ 1 ,n y energies, such as
, : ' ,O rt> pcl your enemies, to pro,
your fame to promote your happiness, m
.■xtond your opportunities of information] to
sustain tour credit on earth, and tourge vou
to walk in the way to Heaven ; do no? deny
me, one reward, which will-enrich me and
til me with consolation, and will clothe your
sdv s with honour and fill your consciences
With peace Exhibit yourselves worthy of
haute of American catholic republican”
l'ir\ dignified, patriotic. If you differ • I
charity in yon difference* •
vote opposed tickets; vet shew ~„ '
to each other; K aving the record
fercnces in the ballot box, for them" "
ascertaining the public will, but
way that harmony of affection, which ?i '"’
mi!' from the love of vour comrnoafu h pr ‘‘ ; '
oiiflive the varieties of time in tin- w ! ,V ' '
of Heaven ! If I lay a few of the i *
oi our ecclesiastical law before VO i <
model which I would intreat vou to . J'
let not our f. tlow citizens imagine tW“,T
not believe them capable of attaint 1 k
iintion to which I would impel v <\ 1*
I desire to urge your obligations notonlu
the general topics which apply
,hpm * ml ,o y°"> h,,t alw *y those
special* to ourselves. aar?
Our church has uniformly held the /
of election, where it existed, as imposin'!
most serious obligations upon the votr
; considered every elector who preferred f
! private emolument or ailection to the Du tp
I good, to be a criminal. Such was the fo
I fine that she uniformly inculcated mJT
: citizens of those republics which exists
.lu r bosom, before the unfortunate rcT,'
jdiffi reue.es which separate our brethren
! u -, 1)3(1 oiigin. She considered \\
! proper use ol’the right of suffrage, a n lbrj™
duty, and th< refore, frequently, si,e
! that it should thako place upon the |„nf
! lla . v ’ al ' tcr tll( j electors had attended at a
ot the Holy Ghost, and gone to the holy to,
mini ion ; then, on their leaving tho chiucl’
frequently in its very sanctuary,"the y,u 0 -;'.
,ed their suffrages not under the
and the influences of unprincipled' cor™'
tionisfs, and where some had to force the'i
iway through the compact throng 0
opponents : but in a box placed at a distant
i foul a crowd, at the foot of the altar, y.hera
;thc electors felt their responsibility\ o God
wind their freedom from human interference
He who would directly nr indirectly imped,
i nn elector or use any undue influence ovc
| him was excommunicated bv the church an
| punished by the state. Gradually these’ for
j malities were neglected or abolished; the
j were only outworks it is true, but when the
were given up the citadel was more casil
i invested, and has long since been destroyed
j little St. Marengo under the pupal prr
j tcction continued y< t a sacred relic of th
I ancient catholic secular damocracics. Th
rest have been buried under the ruins wide
resulted from party strife overwhelm' and by ;t:
force and ambition of despots; or beendb
j solved in the rottenness of their
j My page is blotted by the tear which the!
late produces—O! pray with me—that ou
beloved state may profit by the lessen!
In our ecclesiastical institutions their spitj
was more diffusely spread and belt, r guard
ed ! Our fellow-citizens may perhaps,re
gard this assertion with an air of incredulity
I his is not tho place to disabusi them of lie;
mistake. Written constitutions closely con
strued.laws restrained within the exact boom!
arics of those constitutions, responsibility r
officers, checks upon their power, rotations
other, and the absence of any privileged!
der, from the grand characteristics of all*
monastic and religious communities; .i
all these, the votes of ihe community fame
the bulwark of their freedom, and instate
the permanence and tiie vigour of the iasti
tute. Our canon-law guarded this tireeu’oi
with the most jealous care and by the tbsc;
provisions. Beside* the regulations shith
enumerated before, generally, in tkschb
cases, the following wi re common-law mi
inis. Any elector who was c.onvietesf oil?:
voted for one whom he did not cossidcf i
best qualified, was disfranchised for the sx
election, and incurred three years susjjeas#
from his ecclesiastical offices, and w
mulcted of their entire income. Aav can®
j ate who by himself or by another, directly
indirectly influenced a voter, was disquali
jed for the oiiice. All promises of suppo
j given by electors, even if with tho sane®
of an oath, were declared null and void,®
the promises and oaths were considered itp 1
ly sinful: because there existed'a-poor in
a higher pledge which no promise, no t
could interfc re with ; the obligation to k
community, that the vote should he given i
the public good, and not for private atlva
Uge ; it was then a sacred trust in respect
which no bargain or promise could be hone'
ly or validly made. The trustee should n
tain his freedom and be able to exercise It
judgment, without pledge or bias can 1
the last moment. No voter could then bin
himself, for such a bond might desfroj t!i
very object for which tho trust was create
Any superior who directly or indirectly t
fluenced the vote of his subject; any pem
who having discovered how another vote
and did him any injury because of bis tok
any person using threats or violence to pr
cure or to prevent or to influence a vote,at
any person who by fraud or force kept a v
ter from the exercise of his or her right
suffrage,, were all excommunicated and su
jcci to other sevc re punishments. The nit
agers or scrutineers,who examined the lickt
were hound to solemn and per>r Void s- cr)
respecting the special votes P f individuf
should they recognise t 1 e Siting; t!ici; -
ets were all burned - „ M) ‘ on as the result"
ascertained and . and the
uul who vote w * entalonclo the ballot, b
l o *- " lp : a n all others but the scrutineers
, ‘ O P‘ at a considerable distance, It wW*
li arid regulations as the sc tttu>
(purity and permanence or these instUktl
have bet n secured. Ido not urge the a
j tion of these nor of any such provisions!*J
j state authorities. But 1 exhort you la 0
! fufly into their spirit, from the eouviettorf
j it is that best calculated to support anl
preserve cur republics,
j Surely, the persons who countenance^
! a system as tin,it which has. berg
fastening itself upon us, can not have n-ft'
ctl, that even though its encouragcm^ 1 * '
not criminal, it must lie destructive 10 li '!
ly ; for its necessary consequence i* “
a prepondt rating influence in every i r
to wealth and conniption, by placing 11111
j their joint control a '"numerous Land < • 1
principled, organized, nod mercenary u " r '
This evil, becomes more formidable ri "
proceed. The sustenance of to-day> j'k
cites the cravings of to-uiorrow; the nu rf j
of one spreads the contagion to mu fla
our. whole atmosphere become* tan?* '• ■
we shall be _ • '