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Himts arib Ssnliwl^ COLUMBUS, GEORGIA. WEDNESDAY MORNING, MAY 16, Congressional Convention, 2J District* We fugge.'-t that the Democratic Congressional Conv< n tion tor the Second District be hdd at Americus, on Wed nesday, 11th July next. The Supreme Court will be in scs ioi at that time in Americus. What say our Demc eratic cotenq oraries to this suggestion? r i he time at.d p ace ought to be agreed upon at once. wtwtd. Democr -ti* Convention in Mu.-cogee. The Democratic Party ol Muscogee county will meet in Convention at the Court Hou-e at 12 o’clock M., on Wednesday, 23i May, for the purpose of selecting delegates to the Gubernato ial & Congressional t otiven tions. wtwtd. A. II Stephens a gain s>t the Know Nothings* To tl e exclusion of our usual variety wo publish to day the able, interesting and conclusive argum ntof A1 tx;ind*r 11. Stephens against the Know Nothings. The fact that a large majority of the political associates ol Mr. Su-pluns in his Congressional District and in Georgia are members of the O dt-r, and that in taking position against them, he foifeits their confidence and voluntarily put an end ttnipoiarily, at leas*, to a most brilliant political career, wi.l commend his leiter to the favorable consideration of all h s fellow citizens of all parties, and tei and, we hope, to amst the spread of this most disrcpuialle of all the isms in Georgia. We igrot Mr. Stephens’ determination to retire to private life. During the last session of Congress he tendered invaluable service to ihe South not only by his triumphant vindication of our institutions, but by his th -rough mastery of law. There m vei was a time whin such men were mote ne-ded than now in the National Legislature. The S >uth is jusi entering upon a struggle in which her existence is a; stake. Upon all the issu-s involvid in this struggle, we b. li.-ve Mr. St< phens t bo entirely trustworthy ; and, were we in li s distrier, should counsel a union ol the sound men of all parties to secure his re lection, nolens vole ns lie is a champion that ought not to be absent from the walls when the xso nee of Troy is in peril. By all means, read his letter and ponder well the argument. Itfs worthy of the occasion. Return ol’ the City Light Guard*. After an absence of near a week, the City Light Guards, Lieutenant DeWitt commanding, returned to the city on Tuesday last overflowing with admiration for the soldieily qualities and generous hospitality of their hosts, the Montgomery II lies, Capt. Thom They represent their excursion as one of unalloyed pleasure from beginning to end, and lack language to convey their sense of obligation to the generous and whole smiled citiz ns of Montgomery, who opened to them their hearts and homes and did every thing that imagination could conceive and hospitality could sug gest to o mtribute to their entertainment. We hope it uili not fie long before they wdl have an opportunity of reciprocating tlie generous conduct of their fellows in arms. We welcome them back to home and friends. Southern Baptist t onvent : n. First Day—May 11th. This body assembled in Montgomery, Ala , on the 1 ltli inrt , and was oigan'z and by culling Dr. Ilowell, of K ehmond, V r.. to the chair. The first business in order was the report of the Bible Society. Tne report showed the amount of re ceipts to have been $lO,llOO and the and sbursement* about $S 6t>o. Much the heaviest contribution to this cause was from South Carolina. The next bus Hess in order was the report of the Home Missionary Society. The roeipts of the pas. year wore, in round nurn'ers, $21,000 —a gieater amount than was ever b'fore contributed to this ofcj-ct. Georgia co it ribut and the largest share. The board have in their empl *y 0 agents, and 00 Mi ssionaries who min ister to 2 0 churches, to which are attached lU9 Sun day Schools with 3,400 scfn 1 us. Io the evtnining, A. I) Scars, of Kentucky, t reach* and the Convention Sermon at the B *ptist Church to a large audit nee. Reappearance of Mr. Cusp in Columbus. We are p’eased to learn from Mr. Crisp that he will re-open Concert Hall and give two theatrical en tertainments on Friday and Saturday nights next. — Since his last visit to Columbus he has appeared in Charleston to large and admit ing audiences, and his company was pronounced the wry best that had been seen in that city during the eta son. Fabens Removed —The President has removed Mr. John W. F teens, the associate of Col. K nnev in the Nicaragua Expedition. from the post of Commercial Agmi at San Juan dl Norte —Grey town. o Fire. —On Sunday morning, I3*h inst, about 1 oYl**ek, our city was amus'd by ihe cry if fire, which was found to procetd fr m the dwilling house owned by Mrs. Ann Dillon, in th*- sih ward, Notwithstand ing the utmost txertions of our vig hint and tffeetive Fite Companies the building was entirely consumed. It is a matter of sincere congratulation that the disaster was not much more tx’ensixe. and n.th ng but the ut most prudence and the judicious application of the limit ed mpply of water prev* nted n wide sptead and disas trous conflagration. We have no estimate of the l*ss to Mrs. Dillon.— Enquirer. 15 th. The Sober Second ‘Thought —Some sixty gentle men of the Democratic party in the county of Lauder dale, M ssissippi, have published a card announcing their withdrawal from the know nothing organizttion. M. A. McKmnon, the president of the know nothing council at Oxford, Mississippi, also publishes a card an nouncing his withdrawal, and giving a history of the origin, progress, and plans of the otder in that county There seetns to be a general “cave in” of the order in all parts of the country. The Hiss Committee —The committee appoint* and by the lower house of the Massachusetts legislature to in vestigate the conduct of the now notorious Hiss, after furnishing some disgusting particulars of bis conduct * bile on his anti nunnery mission, conclude with these words: “We c*on6 : dcr his o *nduct upon the committee at Lowell highly improper and disgraceful, both to him self and this body, of which he is a member, and we deem it such as to render him unworthy longer to oc cupy a st at upon the fl air of the house.” Bishop Whitchouse, of I lmois, has resigned the of fice of Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese. Letter from the Hon. A- H- Stephen*. Elberton, Ga., sth May, 1855. i llon. Alexander 11. Stephens, — Dear Sir : A ru nor prevails in this seotion, to a considerable extent, that i pou willdecl net* serve udn the next Congress, and the .-liief reason assigned is, that it is supposed a large num ber of your political friends have gone into the secret or der culled Know Nothings. Many of your friends desire to know if this rum >r be true. It is eonsid* tvd an ini- j p.n taut pet i-id in <m- national ; flairs, and your retiring at | this time would be flit as a loss by those who have relied ! on you through so mmy trying scenes. What are your opiri ons and views of this new party, , called Know Nothings? Knowing your willingness to give your opinions on ali mailers of pujlie concern, 1 am induced to make the inquiry, and request p nnission to pub.i h your reply. Yours, truly, Thomas W. Thomas. Crawfordville, Ga , 9th May, 1855. Dear Sir Your letter of the sth iust., was received some days ago, and should have been answered earlier, but tor my absence from home. The rumor you mention, in relation to my candidacy tor re-election to Congre s, is i true. 1 have stated, and repeated on various occasions, ! that I w is not,and did not expect to be, a candidate—the -ame 1 now say to you. The reason ol tl is declaration ~n my part, was the fact, that large numbers of t*ur old j political friends seemed to be enter ng into n*-w combina tions with new objects, purposes and principles 1 Which l was not informed, ano never could b •, according to the rules of their action and the opinions I entertain. Ilcnce my conclusion that they h id no further use for me xs their Representative ; f*r l presumed th* y knew enough ol tne to be as urr-d if they had any secret aims or objects to accomplish that they never could get my consent, even if they dea red it, to become a dumb instrument to ex-cute su- h a purpose. I certainly never did, and never sh dl, go before the people as i candidate for their suffrages with my principles in my pocket. Ii has been the pride of my life, h rctofore, not only to make known tu ly and freely my sentiments upon all qmsrit.nsol public p >licy, but in vindieation of those sentiments thus avow* and, t<> meet any antagonists arrayed against them, in open and manly strfe—“face to tace and toe to toe.” From this rule of action, by which 1 have up to this time been gov * rued, I shall never dep art. But jou ;sk me what are my opinions and views of this new party call and Know Nothings, with a r* quest tint you be permitted to publi.-h them. My op nions and views thus solicited, shall be gi in most cheerlu ly, and as fully and dearly as my time, under the prrssute of bus ness, will allow. You can do with them as you please—-publish them or not, as y.*u like. Tn*y are the views of a private citizen. lam ti pie-cot. to all intents and ; u ,- p'Sea w hatsoever, literally one of the people. 1 hold n<> * IFice nor seek ail), and as me ol the people I shall speak to you and them on this, and on all occasion , with mat frankness and independence whi h it beta m s a fee* man t<> bear towards his fellows. Vud in giv ng tny views ot “Know Noth ngism,” 1 * ugh , peril ps. to premise by saying, and saying most truly , ;!ia 1 r* ally‘*kno v nulling” about the principles, anus r ohje t* of the patty 1 am about to speak of—they are ah k*pt secret —they are held in the dark—being com municated and made known only to the initiated, and not to ih*se until after being first duly pledged and sworn This, to me, is a very great objection to the whole organi zation. All political principles, which are sought to be carried out in Legislation by any body or set of men in a republic, in my opin o", ought to be op. nly avowed and publicly procla med. Truth ntv*r shuns the light or -brinks from mvestigat on—or at Uu*t it ought never to do it. Hiding p aces, or secret coverts, are na ural resorts for error. It is, theft fore, a circumstance quite sufficient to *xcite suspicion against the truth to see it pursuing such a o urse. And in republics, where free dscu-sion and full investigation by a virtu *us and intelligent people is allowtd, there never can bo any just grounds to tear any danger even from the greatest errors either in religion or politics. All questions therefore, it I .ting to die govern ment of a free people, ought to bo made known, clearly understood, fu ly dis usseii, and uud-rstandingly acted upon. Indeed, Ido not believe that aR> publican Gov ernment can last long, where this is not the ease. In my op nion, no man is fit to represent a tree people who lias any private or s -erect objects, or aims, that he does not penly avow, or who is not ready and willing, at ali times, when r* quirt dor asked, candidly and truthfully , to pro liim to the assembled multitude not only his principles, but tiia f-ens rtinl sentiments upon an questions iimi inay eprn before him in bis representative capacity. It was on his basis that Representative Government was founded, uid on this a!o >e can it be maintaied in purity and safety. And if any secret, party shall ever be so far successful in this country as to bring the Government in alt itsdep.*rt ments and functions under the bane'ul iiflienee of its control and power, political ruin will inevitably ensue. No iru til in p lilies can be more easily and firmly tstablishid, either by reason or f cm history, up <n principle or authori ty, than this. These are my opinions, candidly ex pressed. lam w that many good and true men’in Georgia differ with me in this particular—thousands of tin in, I doubt not, h .ye joined this secret order with good intentions. S*>me of them have told me so. and 1 do not ques ion th-ir mo tives. And tbou-ands more will, perhaps, do it with the same intentions and motives. Should it tea short lived iitFiir, no harm will, or may come of it. But let it suc ceed—let it carry a 1 the el* otions, S.ate and Federal— let the natural and iutvitable laws of i.s own organism be once fu ly dt veioptd—and the country will go by the board. It wdl go as France did. The first Jacob n Club was organized in Pal is on the 6th Nov., 1789. undtr the alluring name of ‘ the Friends of the Constitution,” quite as specious as that we now hear o “Americans shaft rule America.” Many of the best men and truest patriots in Paris joined it —and thousands of the same sort of men joined the affiliated clubs afterwards—little dreaming of the deadly fangs of that viper they were nurturing in their l hos ms. Many of these veiy men afterwards went to the Guido.ine, by orders passed seeretly in these very dubs All leg station was sett ed in the clubs —rot ntbeis of the Nation and Ass mbiy and Convention, all ol them, or most j of them, were members of the clubs, for they could not ! otherwise be elected. And after the question was settled in the clubs, the members next day went to the uotninal Hills of Legislation nothing bat trembling automatons, to register the edicts of the “Order,” though it were to be head a Monarch, or to cause the blood of the best of their own number to flow beneath the stroke of the axe. Is h story of no use ? Ordoour people vainlv imagine that Americans would not do as the French and and under like circumstances? “Is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing,’’ stud the haughty,self-confident Hazed. Yet, he did all th t he had been to’d he would do. “Let him that thiuketh lie standeth take heed lest he fall.”— Human nature is the same compound ot w*eak frailties and erring passions everywhere. Os these clubs in France, an elegant writer has said : “From all other scourges which had afflicted mankind, in every and in every nation, there had been some temporary refuge, some shelter until the storm might pass. During the heath nism *4 antiquity, and the bnbarism of the midd e ages, the timpl- ot a god or the shrine of a s tint. afford*-*! h r> fuge from despotic fury oi popular rage. But French J icobins, whether native or adopted, treated with tqual scorn, the sentiments ofre'igion and the set lings of humanity ; and a 1 that mm had gathered from his exper*euce upon earth, and the revel ti ns he hoped had beeu made hurt from the sky, to bless and adorn h s mor tal existence, and elevate his s*'ul w ith immoital aspntions. were spurned as imp >sture by these tell destroyeis. They would have depravtd man from his humani y, as they ai tempted to devree God out of his universe. Not con tented with France ms a subject for their ruthless experi ments— Europe itself being too narrow for their exploits, they send their propagandists to the new world, with designs about as charitable as those with which Satan en ter* and E*len ” This is but a faint picture of some of the scenes en • act* and by that self same p.rty. which was at fi'St formed by those who styled themselves “the friends of the Con stitu ion.” And where did ih-se “secret Councils “ we now hear of, come from ? Not from France, it is irue —but from that land of isms, where the people would have gone into anarchy long ago, if it had not been for he conservative influence of the more stable mi and men of the Son'll ! And what scenes have we lately witnessed in the Ma*s. shusetts L gislatnre, where th's new pol tied organism has more fully dt vel ped itself than anywhere else? What a’-eits fir-t fruits t iert? Under he name of “The American Party,” they have ermed themselves against the Constitution of our eornmou conn try, which they were sworn to support —with every mem tier of the Legislature, I believe, save eight belonging X ‘‘the order,” they have by an overwhelming majotiy vote deposed Judge L >ruig, tor nothing bu* the discharge of h s official duty, in issuing a warrant as United Stales Commissioner, to cause tiie arrest of the fugitive Stave Burns. In reviewing this most unh.ard ot outrage up on the Constitution, the “National Intelligencer, ‘ at Washington, says it “shudde r s for the Judiciary,” And if they go oil ns they have begun, well may the country “shudder,” not only for the Judiciary, but for everything else we hold nn st sa red. “If these things be done in the green tree, what may you expect in the dry.” But I h ive been anticipating somewhat, I was on the j preliminary question } that is, the secrecy which lies at j the foundation of the party —that atmosphere of darkuees j in which “it lives, and moves and has its being,” rnd ! without which probably it could not exist. I do not, how- j ever, intend to stop with that. I will go further, and i give, now, my opinions upon those qestions, which are; suid to be within the range of i's secret objects and aims. \ The principles as published (or those principles which ; are attributed o the Order, thou .h nobody, as au organ- j / and party avow them, have, ;<s 1 undeistand them, two j leading ideas, and two only. Th se are a proscription j by an exelt s: n from offi -eof all C ulndus as a class, and a i ; proscription of all ptr.-ons of foreign birth, as a class ; the ; ! latter to be accompl shed not only by an exclusion Irvin office of all foreigners who are now citiz*-ns by naturali za ion, bnt to be more * ffictuaiiy carried out by an abro ! gation of the natural ization law for the future, or such an amendment as Won and be virtually tantamount to it. These as we afe told, are tiie great oslcns.b e object tor all this machineiy—these oaths, p edges—secret signs—equivo cations, denials, and what not. And what 1 have to say to them, is, that if these indeed and in truth be the prin cip’es thus attempted to be carried out, then I am opposed to both of them, openly and unqualifiedly. ‘ 1 am op post and to them “in a double aspect,” both ns a basis of party organ Zition and Upon their merits ns questions (>f public p dicy. As the basis of party organi zation. they are founded upon the very erroneous pr.noi pie of looking, not to how the country sh.i 1 be governed, but who shall hold tin offices—not to whether we shall have wise and wholesome laws, but vvli > shall “rule ns,” though they may bring ‘ ruin” with their “lule. Upon this principle Trumbull, v\ ho defeated Gen. Shields for the Senate in Illino is, can be as good a Know Nothing as any man in the late Macon Council, though he may vo’e, as he doubtless will, to repeal the Fugitive Slave ‘ law, and against the admission of any slave State in the Union ; while Sim Ids, who has ever stood by the Cos; - stitution, must he !•■ jeettd by Southern men because he was not born in the country ? Upon this principle a Boston Atheist, who denies the inspiration of the Bible, because it sanctions slavery, is to be sustained by Geor gia Know* Nothings in preference to me, barely b* cause I will not “bow the knee to Baal,” th’s false political god they have set up- The only basis of party organ za ion is an agreement amongst those who enter into it upon the paramount question of the day. And no party can last long without bringing disaster an I ruin in its train, founded upon any < tlier principle. The Old National V\ hig par ty tried the experiment when there was rad cal differen ces of opinion on such questions, and went to pit ces.— The National Democratic party are now trying a similar experiment, and are experiencing a -intilur fate. This is what is the matter with it. Its vital functions are deran ged—hence that disease which now afflicts it w mse tiutn the dry rot. And what we of the Souih now should do is, n<*t to go into any Know Nothing mummery or mis chief, as it may be, but to stand firmly by those men at the N rth who are true to the Constitution and the Union without regard tith• rto their birth place or rdgion.— The question we should consider is not simply who “shall rule America” but who will vote for such mear-ures as will best promote the interests of America, aud with that the interests of mankind. But to pass to the other view of these principles—that is, the eonsid ration oi them as question* of public policy. With me, they both stand in no better light in th s aspect than they do in the other. The first assumes temporal jurisdiction in forum conscientios —to which I am quite as muc i oppi sed as 1 am to the spiritual powers con troll.ng the temporal. One is as bad as the other—both are bad. lam utterly opposed to mingling religion with poiitics in any way whatever ; and esp cialiv I am < ppo* sed to making it a test in qual fictitious for c.vtl offi *. — Religion is a matter between a man and his Creator, vvi h w hicli governments should have nothing to do. In this country the Constitution guarantees to i very citizen the ritrlit to entertain w hatever creed he pleases, or no oie>*d at ail if he is so inclined ; and no other man has a right to pry into his conscience to enquire w hat he believes, or what he do* s not believe. Asa c tiz n and as a mem* b* r of eoc.etv, lie is to be judged by h:s acts and not by lis creed. A Cath lie, then fore, in our country, and in all c /untries, ou Jit, as all o’her citizens, to be permit ted to sand or bill in pib.io favor end estimation upon his own individual merits. “Every tub should stand up on its own bottom.” Bnt 1 think of all the eliristian denominations in the United Stab 8, the CathtHies are the last that Siutlurn people should join in attempting to put under the btri of eiv 1 proscription.F*r as a church they have never warred ag. i .st mor our peculiar institutions No min can say as much of New England Baptists, Presbyterians or Meth odists ; the lo g roll of aboliti* n pit lions with which Congress has been so much tx< ited and agitated lot years past come not from Catholics ; their pulpits at the North are not disecrated every Sabbath with analhenv s against slavery. Andes the 3,000 New England chrgymen i who sent the anti-Nebraska memorial to the Senate last year not one was a Catholic as I have been informed and btlit ve. Why, then, should we Southern men join the Puritans of the North to proscribe from office the Catho des on act. ount of their religion? Let them and their religion be as bad as they can be, or as their accusers say they are, they tannot be wmse than these same Puritani cal accusers, who 8 arte*! this persecution against them say that we are. Tiny say that we are going to perdition for the enormous sin of h Iding slaves. The Pope with all his followers, cannot, 1 suppose, even in their judg ment. be going to a worse place for holding what they consider the monstrous absurdity of the “immaeu'ate conception.” And for my ow n part 1 would about as soon risk my chance for lieavtn with him, and his crowd too, as with these self righteous hypocrite who deal out fire and brimstone so liberal v upon our heads At any rate, 1 have no hesitancy in declaring that I should much soon er risk my civil rights with tie American Catholics, whom th* y are attempting to drive from office than with them. But, sir, lum opposed to this proscription upon principle. If it is once begun there is no teliing wheie it wnl end. When faction once tastes the blood of a victim it seldom ceases its ravages amongst the fold so I long as a single remaining one, be tie number at first ! ever so great, is left surviving. It was to guard ngainst any such consequences as would certain y ensue in th s country if this effort at pr< scription of this sect of rel g. ionists should be successful, that that wise provision o which I have allud'd was put in the fundamental law ot the Union. And to maintain it intact in letter and spi - it with steadfastness at this time, I hold to be a most sol emn public duty. And now, as to the other idea—tin proscription of for eigner-—and more particularly that v.ew oi it wtiich looks to the denial of citizenship to all tho e who may hereafter seek a home in this coun'ry and choote to cast their lots and destinies with us. This is a favori e idea with many who have not thought of its effects, or reflected much up on it* consequences. The abrogation ot the naturaliza tion laws would not stop immigration, nor would the ex tension of the term of probation, to the per iod of tvyenty one year*, do it. This current of migration from Ea-t to West, this Exodus of the excess of population bom the Old to the New world, which commenced with the settle ment of this continent by Europeans, would still go on And what would be the effect, even under the most modi fied form of the proposed inea-ure—that is ot an exten sion ot the period from five to twenty one years, before citizenship should be granted? At the end of the hr=-t 21 years from the commencement of the operation of ihe law we i-fiould have several millions ot people in our midst— men of our own race —occupying the unenviable position of being a “degraded caMe” id society, a species ot sert.- without the just tranehi-e of a Jreeman *>r the netdtul pro tection due to a slave This would be at war with ail my ideas of American Uepublicann-m as i have been taght them and gloried in them ftom youth up. If there be d inger now to our institutions, (as some seem to imag agine, but wh'ch 1 am far from feeling or believmg,) from toieignvrs as a class would not tae danger be greatly en hanced by the proposed remedy? Now, it is true they are made to bear their share of the burthens ot Government but a e also permitted, after a ret-idence of five y* ars, and taking an oath to support the Constitution, to enjoy thei: just participation in the privileges, honors and immumtie.- which it secures. Would th j y be less lik. *ly to be attach ,ed to the Government and its principles under the opera* iou ol the present ystem than they would be uode: the proposed one which w-ould treat them as not much better than outcasts and outlaws? All writers of note, from the earliest to the latest, who have tre.ted upon the elements and component pa ts, or members of communities and ! States, have pointed this out a* a source of teal dangei— ; that is, having a laige number of the same r. Cos not only I aliens by birth, but aliens in heart and feeling, in the by- j sotn of society. Such was, to a great extent, the condition of the Helots i in j Greece —men ot the same race placed in an inferior position, and forming within themselves a deg eded class j 1 wish to see no such state oi things in this country. — V* ith us at the South, it is true we have a degraded caste, 1 ! but it is of a race fitted by nature for l eir subordinate po j j sition. ‘The negro, with us. fill* that place in society and j j under oursyetent ot eivihzaton for whLh ho wasdetigned * ;by nature. No training can fit him tor either s-oeial or po- ; j litical equality with hi.-superiors; at least hi-tory furniJiee j I us with no instance of the kind; nor does the negio with ! us feel any degradation m his position, because it is his i j natural place. Buts ich would not be the case with men j ! ol th** ?ame race and coming from tho same fc'tate w ith i our.-elies. And what appear* not a little strange and .-in | guiar to me in cOnsideung this late movement, is, that it it ! j did not originate with, yet it is now so generally and zeal- ; I ot.sly fa voted by so many of those men at the Noitli who j i have expended so much of their misguided philanthropy j j m behalt of oi r slaves They have been endeavoring tor I years to eh vale the African to an equality socially and poi-ticaliy with the white man. And now, they are mov ing heaven and earth to degrade the white man to a con dition lower than that held by the- negro in the tooth The Massachusetts “Know No h ng” Legislature paa-ed a bill lately to amend their Constitution, so as to exclude from the polls in that St- te her* after all natura ! ized cit izens bom w hat ever natit.n they may come; at and yet they ; will a 1 low a runaiqny negro slave from the South the ! same rLht to vote mat they give their own native born : sons! They thus exhibit the strange paradox of wan ing against their own race—their ow n blood—tven their own j “kith and kin,” it may be, while they are vainly and fanat’ I ically endeavoring to reveise the order ot nature, by tna king the black man equal to the white. Shall we second i them in any such movement? Shall we ever, countenance ; them so tar as to bear the same name—to say nothing of I the same pledges, passwords, signs and symbols? Shall j we affiliate and unite ourselves under the same banner, ; j with men whose acts show them lobe governed by such . | principles, and to be bent upon sue h a purpose? Tni* is a 1 question for Southern men to consider. Others nmy do it j i if they choose; but, • tell you, I never shall, that )ou may j set flown as a “fixed fact” —one of the ti’ edestqt the fixed, i I am not all astonished at the rapid spread of thi* new sen- j timent at the Noith, or ra’her new way ot giving einbodi- ; ment and life to au old sentiment,long eheri.-hed by a large j ciassot the Northern people, notwithstanding the paradox. It is true. “Know Nothi gism” and and not rigmate as 1 un der-tand its origin, with the class 1 allude to. It common ctd with the laborers and men dependent upon capital tor ; w’oik and employment It sprang from the of th*-ir intere.-ls to foreigners steking like employments, who were under-bidd ng them in the an o'unt ot wages.— j But many capitalists of that section, the m* n who hold the land and p operiv in theii own hands, wishing to dispense with laborers and employees, whose votes at the polls aie equal t<> their own, seized upon thi* new way of effecting their* long-chtri hed dfsire. And the more eageily as they saw that many of the very men whom they have ever dreaded as the insuperable obstacle between them and their purpose, had bee* me the wi ling, though unconscious lit Btruments of carrying that purpose out, which, from the beginning, was a desire to have a voting ess population *o do their work, and perform all the labor, both in city town and country, which capital may require. And as certain ly, as such a law’ shall be passed, so tar born its checking immigration, there will be whole cargoes ol people troin ,} other countries brought over, and literallv bought tip in | foieign port- —to be brought over in American ships tosup ; ply the tnarkt t tor labor throughout all the free State* of i the Union. The African Slave I lade, i< re opened, would j notexhioit a worse spectacle in trafficing in human fle-h, j and those mo t t deluded men of the North who started ! th s thing, and who art- now’ aiding to accomplish the end. i may find they have but kindled a flame to consume them selves The whole sub stiatum of Northern tociety will soon be filling up with a class who can work, and who, though white, cannot vote This is what the would fa* i Lords ol that section have been wanting for a long time. it is a scheme w’ith many of them to get white slaves in - stead of black ones, No American laborer, or man seek- I irig employment there, who has a vote, need to expect to be retained long when his place can be more cheaply filled by a foreigner who has none This will be the practical working of the piopo .ed reformation ’I his is the philos 1 orhy of the thing. It is a blow’at the ballot box. It Dan i insidious attack upon geneial suffrage. In a line with this * policy, the “Know Nothing’’ Governor of Connecticut has already recomm* nded the pa*.-age of a law denying the i right of v iting to ail w’bo eannot tead and write And . hence, the g’ eat efforts which are now being made through ’ out tne North, to influence the elections, not only t l ere, but in spending their ’money in the publication ot books and trafts. Wriiit**n hy “nnl>A(ly Irnn' v.'H-ionH penttelfid I broad ca*t throughout the Southern’States, to influence eec • tion* here, by appealing to the worst passion- and strong > est prejudices of our nature, not onrvtting those even which bad and wicked men can evoke under the sacred but pros- I tituted name of religion. UnfortunaUly for the country,many evils which all good men regret and deplore, exist at this time which have a di -1 rect tendency,wonde.fully to aid and move forward this ill-omened crusade. The-e relate to the appointment of so many foreigners—wholly unfit, not only to minor off! , ce* at home, but to repiesent our country, a* Ministers abroad. And to the g rent frauds and gr> ss abuses which 1 at present attend the administradon cf our natm aliz *t on lawt—these are evils felt by the whole country, and they ought to be corrected. Not bv a prescript ion of all For eigners, without regard to individual merits. But in th*/ fir-r place, by so amending the natu alization laws, as et f’ectualiy to check and prevent these frauds and abuses. — And in the c econd piace by holding io stri’ t accountability at the poll* in our eUetions, all those public functionaries, who, either with pa lizan views or from whatever motive, thus improperly confer office, whether high or low, upon unde er v\nu foreigners, to the exclusion ot naive born cit izens, better qualified to fill them. Am-ther *vd now felt, and w’hich ought to be remedied, is the flooding, it is said, of some of the cities with paur ers and criminals from oth er countries. These ought all to be unconditionally exclu ded and prohibited from coming amongst us—there is no teason why we should be the feedersof other nations pau pers, or either the keepers or • xerutioners of their felons: these evils can aid ought to be remedied without resorting to an indiscriminate onslaught upon a 1 who by industry, entrrpri.-e aad merit may choose to better their condition in abandoning tho respective dynasties of the old woilit in which they may have chanced to have been born, and by uniting their energies with ours, may feel a pride in advan cing the prosperity, development and progress of a com mon countiy, not much less dear to them than to us.— Against those who thus worthily come, who quit the mis ruled Empires of their “father land,” whose hearts have been fired with the love of our ideas, and our institutions even in distant climes, I would not dose the door of ad mission. But to all such as our fathers did at brst, to I would continue most fieely and generously to extend a welcome hand. We have from such a class noihing to fear. When in battle or in the u’alks of civil life did any such ever prove tiaitor or recreant to the flag or cause of hie counDy? On what occasion have any such ever proven untiue or disloyal to the Constitution? I wil not sty that no foreigner hi* ever been untrue to the Constitution ; but as a class, they certainly have not proven them-e.ve* eo to be. Indeed, I know of but one class of people in the United States at this tin e that I look upon as dangerous to the countiy. That class ate neither tor* i. r ner.- or Catholics—they a e those najive born trui ors at the North who are disloyal to the Constitution of that country which gave them bnth.and under whose beneficent institutions they have been leared and nurtured Many of them are “Know Nothings” ‘1 his class of men at the North, of which ihe Massachusetts. New Hampshire and Connecticut “Know Nothing” Legislatures aie but samples, I consider as our worst enemies. And to put them down, 1 will join, a political a lies now and forev* r, all true pa triots at the North and South, whether native or adopted, Jews or Gentiles. What our Georgia friend--, whether v\ h gs or Democrat?, who have gone into thi* “ New Order,” are really after, or j what they intend to do, I cannot imagine. Tho.-e of them j w hotn I knowr have a<-su r ed me that their object is reform, both in our State and Federal Admini iratioi s;to put better and truer men in the places of those who now- wield au- ; tho ity ; that they have no-ympathie-as party men or o her wise with that class I speak of at lheNorth;that they are for .-ustaining the Union platform of our State of I*s hand that the mask of secrecy will soon be removed when all will be j made i übiic. If the-e he iheir object*, and also to cheek \hefr.iudß and correct the abuses in the existing naturali zation laws, which l have mentioned, without the indis crim nate proscription of any class of citizens on account ot iheir hir h pDce or religion, then th- y will have my co operation, as I have told them, in every proper and legiti mate way, to efUct -ueh a reformation. Not a* a secretly initiated co-worker in the daik for any purpose, but asr an • •pen,and bold advocate of trutn in the light of day ; but will they do as they say ? Will they throw off the ina-k?— j I’hat is the question. Is it possibl** that they will continue in political party fellow.-h p with their ‘.‘worhy brethren” of Massacha etts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and the entire North? Every one of whom elected to the next • ’ongress is our deadly foe! Do they intend to continue their alliance with thus* open enemies to our institutions and the Coosti utton of the country under the totally mis named association of the“American Party”—the very prin ciple upon which it is based being anti-American through out ? True Americanism, as I have learned it, it is like true Christianity-*dbeipleain neither are confined to any nation, clime, or soil whatsoever. Americanism is not the pr< duct ol tlie soil ;it springs not from the land or the gtom and • it * not of the earth, or earthy ; it emanates fiom tTic head’ the h art ;it looks upward, and onward art! outward • v Ide and soul aie those giand ideas oi government w’hi< characterize our institutions and di.-tingm.-h us from -P other people; and theie i* no two features in our - -ttnt wrieh so sig< ally distinguish u* from all other t aims ■,! free toleration of religion and tiie doctrine oi exputiiatio —the r ght ol a man to throw off hi.* allegiancf- to any a; and every otter State, Prince, or Potentate wliat-oever, at and hv naturalization to be incorporated as citizens iuio our boric politic. Both these principles are spec),-illy provided tor aid firmly established in out Comt tution. iGt thee** Aim ri can ideas which were proclaimed in 1789 by pur “.-ire* t 76, ’ are by thei’- “.-ons” at thi* day detidi and and scoffed at* We are now- told that “naturalization” j t - a humnug ’ ;o ij j that it is an “impossibility.” t’o did notour Thi* “humbug” an-.T“impossibility” they plat ltd in the ! Constitution ; end a vindication ot the same piinc pie was | one of lhe causes of our second war of ltidep* nta-we | England held that “naturalization” was an hm * - .?,].. i thing. Shu claimed the allegiance of sut j.vts born w i in'., | her realm, notwithstanding th* y had become citizens t j this Republic by our Constitution and laws. She mg only ! claimed their allegance, but she claimed the right to search j our r flips ui on the hgh s.as, and tak font them all h* it who might be found nt th. m. It was in pursuit ofthis ( j (H ., nine of hers—of the right of search f.*r our “ aturnhze ” eit.zen —that the t Iwsi eike was ti ed into, winch wu~ .hy immediate eau*e of the war of 1812. Let in* man then barely because he was horn in America, presume to I e mo bued withrar/and true “Ameiic iiini-m'’ whoeiiher ignoies the dirt ctaud po-*.t*ve obligations o! the Constitution, or ig nores This, one of its most &tr k ngcharacteri*ii. s. A? well might any unbelieving sinner claim to be one of ti e iahh -1 tul—one of the elect even— baiety becatse he was bom somew here within the limits of biistei doni. Andjintas well might the Jacobins, w ho’ deeiml God out of his Uni verse,” have dubbed iheir club a “Lliri*tiah As*o< ra ion,’ because they ware born on Christian soil. The gtnu ine di tuple.* of tiue Americanism like the genuine fid lowers of the Cro s, a e those whose heaits aro watnnd and fired—puufied, elevated and oripob'ed—by those p in ! ciples, doctiii es and precepts which charaetenze then r*;- i speetive syst.ms. It is for tiiis reason that a Kmn chatkan, j a Briton, a Jew. or a Hindoo, can he as good a Lbrntian a* ! any one born on “Calvary’s brow,” or where the “sseimou jon the Mount” was preached! And for the same r< aron i an Irishman, a Fienchman. a Gtrman, or Russian, can he ! as thoroughly “ ‘menean” a? it be had been born within | the w’alis of old Independence Hall itself. Which was tiie “true American,” Arnold <>r Hamilton ? The one wa* t ; native tho other was an ad pied son. But to return.— j What do our Georgia friends, intend to do ? Is it not imie that they had show n their hand ? Do they intend to aban j don the Georgia Platform, and go over ‘fior-e, foot and : dragoon.*’’ into a political all ance with Tr nibull, Dnik*e, j v\ ilson & Cos. i Is this the course marked out t>r thein : selves by any of the gallant old W hig.- oi tne 7tli aid 8, a j Congressional Districts?’ I trust not, 1 hope i ot. But it I th* y do not intend thu- to commit them elves, is it not time !to pau-e aid r fl**ct ? 1- it not time to take a reckoning | and see whither they are drifting? When “tho blind lead j the blind” wh.-re is the hope of safety ? 1 have been cited I to the resolution w hich, it is said, the late Know Nothing | Convention passed in Macon. This, it seems, i* thy inly thing that the 600 delegates could bring forth after a two i days’“iaboi”—and of it we may wed sa y , %i Montes partu rient et ridicules in vs nascitur ” —“l he mountains have been in laboi and a ndieuion* mouse is born.” It simp v atliiin*, most o eckly and submissively, what no man !Boutn of Ma*on and Dixon’s line for the )a-t tlnriy five years would have ventured to deny, without justly subjecting nim self to the charge ot inervism —that is, that “Congress has no constitutional power to inteivene by excluding a i ew State applying for admission info the Union, upon the ground that the constitution of such State recogu zc* .-lave jy.” This is the whole life and soul of it, unles* we except the secret blade of Joah w hich it bear* towards Ivan, as and Nebra-ka, coi.e. aled under a gaib. hi* well known to all who are informed., that m the organic law’ ol these tn ritwries the right of voting, while tiny temain tenitone*, w’a* given to ail who had filed a declaraiion of intention to become citizens. Thi- wa* in strict compliance wiih tiie usual practice of the Government in organizing’! ettiior es; I and under this provision that class of persons are now enti tled to vote. Kansas, in two elections under ttiis law, las shown thi.l an overwhelming majority of her people arc in favor of slavery, notwitii-tauding all the Executive influ ence oi the Freesoil Governor l Kceder) w’botn Mr. Pierce sent out there to prevent *t; but whotmihe people have late ly driven, as they ought to have done, from the com tty Now then, when Kansas applies for adtm* ion as a Slave Stale, as she doubtless will, a Southern “ Know Noth ng,” under thi3 Resolution,can unite w’lth h:s“\votihy bietLr- n” ’ at the North, in voting again;t it, upon the ground that j some have voted for a Constitution recognizing fclaveiy, I who had not been “t aturalized,” but had ** v” dt-eJa td ; tiieir intention. For this resolution in us vry hea tai and ! core, declares that the light to e-tal li*li Slave institution* j “in the organization of Slate Governments, belongs to the native and naturalized citizens.” excluding v.iio have on y declaied iheir intention. A mo e insidious at tack, wa* never made upon the princip.es oi the Kansas aud Nebraska Bill. And is this t. be the plank n wh* L h Northern and Southern ‘Know Nothings” are in stand m ihe i eject ion ol Kansas But to the other at and main of)-. - tion to the resolution, why did it stop with a simpie detiial of tiie power ot Congress to reject a State on account of lejection oi Kansas on other g.oundsby way ot prttixt ! Why did it not plant itself upon the principles ot the Geor gia Resolutions of 185 U, and say w hat ought to be done in case ot the rejection ot a S ale by Longress because es j slavery ? So far from thi* it doe* notven affirm that f ueh rejection by their“worty brethren” ot the Noith would be sufficient eau e for severing tl.err paity affiliation with thtm torit? Again 1 would say not only to the old Whigs of the 7th and Bth Congressional Di tnet*, bnt to all true Georgians, whether Whigs or D mociats, Unit n mm or Fire, Eaters, wmtherare you drifting ? Will you not pause and refl ct ? Are we about to witness in ri.is insane cry against Foreigners and Catholics a fulfilment of the ancient L ttinPioveib,“ Quern Veus vault perdue prius dement at “Whom the God* nit. nd to destroy lliev ties-1 make mad ’’ The t'tnes aie indeed portentious of evil ‘1 he political horizen is shrouded in daikness. No man knows whom he meet*, whether he be iriend or foe, except those who have the dim glare ot the coveied light which their secret signs impait. And how ioi g this will tea protection even to them, i* by no means teitain. ‘1 hoy have already made truth and veracity a!m< st a by w ord aud a r* p oaen. j When truth loses caste with any people—is no i< ii2*r considered as a viriu*-—and its daily and hourly vio anon* ! are lot ked upon vvi.h no concern but a eer >i ala gh, it j requires hut little for.cast t > see what will very soon ! the i t haracter of that people. Bui, sir. come what may, i -/mil pursue that course which a sense ol duty dtmai ds* l n .. W ; hile I hope for the best, 1 shall te prepa.ed fi r the won ; and it the “wo st come- to tli2 wt rs',” a* it may, 1 shail, in common with tny feliow citiz* n*. bear with | aiiet.ee my part of the common ills ‘I h*.y will affect me q : He as li t - as any oilier citiz* n, for I have but little atstuKe; aid m;> far a* my public position at.d character aie concern* and. 1 shall enjoy that consolation which is to be derived from a precept taught me lneariy Inc, aud w hich 1 shall ever cherish i and treasure, w-l atever foilune betide me: “But if, on life’s uncertain main, Mi-hap shah mar thy sail, Jf. faithful, firm and ttue in vain, Woe, want, and exile thou sustain, Spend nc a .-igh on fortune changed.” Youis, most respectfully, Alexander U. ctifbens. j Col. Thomas IF. Thomas, xlterton, (Ja. Camp Thom. — On yesterday was the fete d*y of the Rfi *, who had on v.sit the G'oiu-nbu* Liubt Guar< j conimaudrd ry Lit ut. DeWitt, a g;ti. ant and tnb'e.-oii f. 1 The ibtotig vviiich had as.-cmbit*;) ou our arrival, w. le ; busy in the fuil t t*j yriutit of lli* dance. Att* r the j morning parade hav.ng come i ff. ’.hoy vv. re intuit u; ..i ! rendering their fair visitors’ pres* lice agreeable. Jn a ’ woid nothhig was wanting on the port of the Rifles ‘■ make n'uil time pas* p!< as nriy < flf. Ail partook of a m urious dinner, of viands rich and fine, with delievchs ‘ I*-e Cream*, Strawberries, fi pat k ling Champagne, A whilst the y**l: Fount st nt fortii gushing str.&ms to ct and revive the inntr mn. \N e learn that the gallant coips of Columbus L : g''*- Guards will pay our city a vis i t;n tiie l.rakingup the Encampment o? the to and. v. We had thvifi vvi.h joy.— Ala. Jour. 12(A. The Suprem i Court. The .May Tern of thi S iprerno Cou't tiegm its k*:; *' 1 at Milledgevitle on yesterday; ail the J ulge* present A large number of cases aro on docket, which will oe “> tlje attention ol the Court for ten day * *r two week?. mong the distinguished rnembe** of the Bar prest*/: - Col. ) oom •, Ex Gov. Cobh. Judge Ni frei, Judge C > Col. Ward, Col Clark, Cel. Reuse, C’ul. iiili and- • —Fed. Union lith. The Peninsular 2ank Bobbery. Deiroit May 8. Tt-e ?ix thousand five hundred dollars stolen from tha Peninsular Rank, in thi* city, have beets recovered, with *? e .excepti >n of six hundred dollar*. The money whs toe in the yard of the cashier’s residence, where it ha.l . • 1 thrown by the robber.