BY GEO. AV. BOW.HA.Y
NEW SEKIES.
it)i)Ri:ss
OF Tin:
STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE, XO. 4.
To the People of Pennsylvania:
Fellow-Citizexs. —There have been antag
onistical principles and antagonistical parties in
governments, from their first institution to the
present time. The one, taking from the people
all power of self-government, and in effect de
nying their right as well as their capacity to
govern themselves. The other, claiming in the
language of our Declaration of Independence,
'•that all men are created equal: that tnev are
endowed by their creator with certain inalien
able rights: that amongst these are life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure
these rights governments are instituted among
men, deriving their just powers from the con
sent of the governed ; that whenevei any form
of government becomes destructive of these
ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new government,
laving its foundation on such principles, and
organizing its powers in such i-'-n as to them
shall seem most likely to effect the.r safety and
happiness."
It was these antagonistical principles that led
to our war of Independence. The great mass
of the American people then asserted, distinctly
and unequivocally, that all power was inherent
in the people. That they not only possessed the
ri"ht of self-government, hut the capacity also
to exercise the right. The British of that day,
and their adherents in this country, denied this
right as well as this capacity. Our fathers he
n.icallv maintained their positions, and estab
lished their governments upon the principles
fir which thev fought: and the right of man to
govern himself, and his capacity to do it. in this
country at least, are truisms which no irian dare
deny.
But although we conquered from reluctant
England, and obtained from all the governments
ol Europe tiie recognition of our government,
thus established, yet the despots of the old
world have evvr looked with a jealous eye upon
our republican institutions, and we had a paity
among us during the war of the revolution, and
we have never been without such a party since,
that practically have denied man's right and
ability to govern himself.
When the constitutions of the several Slates
r;f the Union were under consideration, this
parly, without an exception, were strenuous in
their eniUath >rs to clothe the government with
strong, if hot with arhitiary power; to keep, as
they said, the people in check. Thev took all
the power thev could from the people and vest
ed it i.o the government, thus reversing the dec
laration, that g ivernments derive their just
powers from the consent of the governed; and it
iias taken the friends of the people from that
time to the present to correct these arbitrary
provisions in their organic law. In some of the
states, the aristocracy has so intrenched itself be
hind the harriers of wealth and exclusive privi
leges, that, even in this age of progress, the peo
ple have not yet been able entirely to dislodge
them : and, if not in their organic law, in their
ordinary legislation the people of those states
have been subjected to a restriction of their
rights, and a tyranny in their government
scarcely exceeded in those countires where des
potisrii prevails.
In framing the constitution of the United
States, these opponents of the people's rightsen
deavored to establish a consolidated govern
ment, which should tend to centralize in the
general government all the powers and rights
of the several states, as well as of the people.—
Thev claimed to establish a strong and magnifi
cent government with numerous high offices,
and whenever they were in power, and had the
opportunity, they carried these views into ef
fect.
The (.flier partv, in the days of the revolu
tion, was composed of those who asserted and
maintained the rights of the people, who put
1 firth the Declaration of Independence, and ba
sed their government upon the principles con
tained in it. Ours was the fiist government
ever established upon those principles, and it
lias been a model for all subsequent goverments.
In the stormy davs of the revolution, the Union
of (he States was held together more by a sense
of mutual dependence, than any coercive au
thority existing in the government of the Union,
In the organization of the several state govern
ments, the friends of the people endeavored to
make them as democratic as they could. Stiil,
the influence of habit, an attachment to the or
dinary forms to which they had teen accustom
ed, a partial ignorance of the forms in which
their principles could he best carried out, arid a
disinclination to enter upon new and untried
theories, prevented as full and complete a
reform in their governments as experience has
since shown to lie necessary, and enabled those
of the other party to succeed in their views to
a greater extent than they ought to have done.
When the throes and the troubles ol the revo
lution were passed, and it was found necessary
to establish a better form of government for the
I ninn than the old articles of confederation af
forded, the convention of 1787-8 assembled to
accomplish this purpose. Here the same an
tagonistic elements were found at work, fhe
friends of the people, believing that the country
was best governed in which the government
was hast felt by the people, were in favor of
retaining to the people and to the slate govern
ments, all (lower not necessarily requisite to the
transaction of the business oflhe general gov
ernment. They wished to confer upon the
general government only certain specific and
enumerated powers, that were absolutely neces
sary for such a limited government or confeder
ation. Their opponents, as has been stated,
were for clothing the general government with
almost unlimited powers, which, if granted,
must have made it a consolidated government,
and in the end swallow up the state govern
ments entirely. The result of that convention
was to establish a government for the I nion,of
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unrivalled excellence, which combines the fed
erate and the Demociatic principle, and makes
it a government of compromise, in which the
| >owers of government are limited, restricted
and confined, to those expressly granted. This
government, when properly administered, has
all the powers necessary for its purposes, and
yet leaves to the people, and to the states all
tueir rights uninfringed.
The immortal Washington was, by unani
mous consent, placed at the head of the govern
ernment. He called around him the statesmen
and soldiers of the revolution—vet in bis cabi
net were found very discordant materials. Both
the antagonistic principles to which we have
before alluded were there represented, and it
required the whole weight of that eminent man's
character to prevent their opeiation to the pre
judice of the country.
Col. Hamilton, a ijiajrtindoubtedly of talents,
who had been conspidVbs for his services in
the revolutionary army, during which he had
enjoyed much of the confidence of Gen. Wash
ington, had been selected. for the situation of
secretary of the treasury. In the convention
ot 178<—8 lie has, however,shown his predilec
tions lbr a strong government, which, il adopted,
would have made us little better than an elec
tive monarchy, with a president and a senate
for life. He ol course lulled the part v who
coincided with his views, and distrusted, or uf
fecte(| to distrust, the power of the people to
govern themselves. They assumed to thetn
selves the name of federalists, falsely alleging
that they were the exclusive triends ol the form
of the general government then organized and
in practice.
The immortal Jefferson, the great apostle of
republicanism, the author ol the declaration of
Independence, was selected for secretary of
state. He espoused the cause of the people,
and of the states, and favored a strict construc
tion of the constitution. He was able, to a
very great extent, to counteract the influence of
Alexander Hamilton. He was not, however,
able to succeed in all things; and Hamilton, to
the great regret of all the republicans ot that
day,succeeded in establishing the old Bank of
the United Slates, which very soon prostituted
itself to political purposes. Before the close of
Gen. Washington's administration Mr. Jefferson
withdrew from it, 3s he was unable to affiliate
with Col. Hamilton and those who held his po
litical views.
In 1796 Gen. Washington having declined
a second re-election, John Adams, then vice
president, and Mr. Jefferson became competitors
for fhe presidential chair. As the Jaw then
stood, the candidate who received the highest
vote became President, and lie who received
the next highest vote the vice president. On
counting the votes it* was decided that Mr. I
Adams was elected president and Mr. Jefferson
vice president. .Many persons however were ;
even then strong I v impressed with the belief
that this result was unfairly produced. Mr.
Adams entered upon the Presidential duties on
the 4th of March, 1797, and affiliating to a
great extent with the views of Coi. Hamilton,:
selected Ins cabinet from those entertaining like ,
views, and disposed of the patronage ol the gen
eral government among those of like character, j
With the powers of the government and the loo
med influence of the hank combined, this ad
ministration soon began to show their disposi
tion lor arbitrary power. By the sedition law j
thev sought to prevent the freemen oi the coun- |
try from speaking their thoughts, and made it a J
criminal offence punishable by fine and impris- :
onment, to either verbally or in writing com
ment upon or investigate the improper act:-of ;
the government: thus effectually crushing the i
liberty of the press, the great palladium of the
people's rights. By the alien law limy gave
the President power to order any foreigner "out
of the country at his own discretion, and in j
case of refusal, to suffer imprisonment so long as j
the president might think the public safety re
quired. They raised a large standing army, un
necessarily expended millions in the increase of!
the naw, imposed direct and indirect faxes up
on everything which the citizens owned, ami
filhd the country with hosts of revenue officers:
that, like tiie locusts of Egypt, ate up their sub
stance and became the pliant tools of govern
ment in being spies upon the people and prose
cuting them for alleged sedition and treason, un
der the laws to which we have already refer-
The reign of this parlv, emphatically anil
trulv st vied "the reign of terror," happily was
ot'shoit duration, arid expired with the term for
which Mr. Allan,s had been declared to be
elected. Federal vituperation and abuse had
been resorted to without stint, to calumniate the
great republican portion of our citizens. The
horrors ot the French revolution were held up
as bugbears lo frighten the timid, and declared
to be the nec.e.-saiy result of the democratic
tendencies of the republican party. The terms
democrat and Jacobin were heaped upon them
as names of reproach. The republican party,
believing that the term democrat, which in its
signification meant an advocate of the govern
ment of the people, was correct, assumed the
name and gloriously carried out its meaning.
Pennsylvania, the keystone of the political arch,
in the election of 171)0, gloriously triumphed
in her democratic principle? and gave an ear
nest of what was to follow in the succeeding
year. In the fall of 1800, the people of the
Union elected Thomas Jefferson and Aaron
Burr, the two highest candidates for president
and vice president of fhe United Slates, each
receiving an equal number of votes, although it
was perfectly well understood that the former
was to he the president and the latter the vice
president. The election had to pass into the
house of representatives to select the president
and vice president from the two, and if we be
fore had specimens of federal arrogance arid
tyranny, we then had exhibited the fullest ev
idence of their utter profligacy as a party.
They whispered into the ear of Aaron Burr,
who was a bold, bad man. as the sequel show
ed, that if he would accede to their views, they
- would defeat the voice of the people—they
> would make him president. They were ena
i hied lbr a long time (the members voting by
1 States) to prevent the majority of the States go
• : ing for Mr. Jefferson. They never were able
; to obtain a majority for Burr. The democratic
i members proved trite to their trust, and the fed
-1 eral members of one state at length yielded,
j and Mr. Jefferson received the majority. He
■ was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1801.
- He surrounded himself with the ablest and best
i men of his party, and having obtained the ma- j
- jority in each house of Congress, he repealed
i the obnoxious laws passed during the ad mini- j
' j stration of his predecessor, simplified our go-:
vernment, reformed the abuses in its admini- j
> i st rat ion* lessened its expenses, and abolished all j
parade and ostentation—in fact, made it the
j model republican government it was originally j
, intended to be, and generally has been since.
I A Iter administering the government for eight
years, he voluntarily withdrew, and was suc
ceeded hv Mr. Madison. During the whole of",
the administration of these two statesmen, the :
j federal partv were rancorous and malignant in
their opposition to the government of the Union,
(verging nigh on to treason,) in the doings of the j
Essex Junto—the Hartford convention—there
i fusal to furnish nun and means to carry on the j
war in which we were engaged with Croat
Britain from 1812 to 1815, emphatically called j
the second war of independence, and their con
stant apologies for the acts ot Great Britain dur
ing that war, mourning over our victories and
j rejoicing at those of our enemies. Jackson,
how ever, ended that war in a blaze of glory at
New Orleans on the Hth o! January, 1815.
' Jackson fought many battles, martial and civil,
for his country,
j Up to the time of this war, federalism, al
! though foiled arid defeated, had held its crest
erect and displayed a portion of its former pride
and arrogance. During tins war, however, it
assumed the name of lhSiJ/ce party ," and
since then has been know mVv almost as many !
| names as there have been political conflicts in •
the country. About the conclusion of the war,
one of its leading editors in writing to another,
about equally pre-eminent in its ranks, advised
a change of tactics, urging that it would be bet
ter to waive the proud pretensions they had as
sumed, of possessing all the talents, all the d<^~ j
i cencv, and all the learning of the country,
seek success "bt/ fanning the embers of disc on-*
i tent in the democratic ranks." The hint was
; taken, the party name was dropped, and since
then they have been found, upon every occa- ■
sion, fomenting divisions in the democratic
ranks, by inflaming the passions and prejudices
of any portion of our citizens affected either ;
Ircitn the influence of circumstances anj trady f
j'.*CTTivjj*)J?*-pecunia r y affairs, from pwltt&wfr"
j jpeeSti'trat disappointments, front local prejudices
; or habits, from sectarianism or fanaticism in re
ligion or am other cause. Hut they have never
changed their principles. VVhiggerv of the
present day is the federalism of 1799, grown
1 more cunning. It has stooped from its high
perch, and is now a mere truckler for office, in
which, if once firmlv reinstated, it would show
! all its obnoxious traits of character over again.
! The attempt to elt-ct Burr in 1801. and tfi— at
tempt to defeat the election in Pennsylvania in
| 1838, by the acts connected with the Buck-i
j shot war, are but different efforts of the same
i partv "to treat elections of the people as though
jthey had not taken place."
The democratic party have ever been true
!to their professions. Recognizing to their ful
j lest extent tlie right and ability of the people
1 to govern themselves, they have deemed it the
! best policy to have the people governed as lit—
i tie as possible—to abstain from tiie passage of
j all arbitrary laws affecting their persons, pro
pert v or rights—to require the citizen to give
i up Hie fewest of his natural rights, that will be j
j consistent with the safety of society, and clothe '
! the public servants with only those powers that •
: ate absolutely necessary for these ends—to ro
j quire that all |ower, delegated to public set- I
j vants, should return at stated and short periods i
i to the people, to whom all power belongs, that i
the same may he conferred either on the former ,
incumbents, when found worthy, or upon oth- i
; ers more meritorious. For although power does I
j not alwavs corrupt, of which we have had ma
j ny admirable examples, vet its tendency is to
j corrupt, of which we regret to say we have
I had not a few.
The principles of these two antagonistical
parlies are involved in the coming' contest in:
Pennsylvania. The democratic party, ever
honest and candid, avow* their principles in
I open dav : they hear the same honest name they j
' have borne for more than half a century, j
i That name conferred upon them as a term of j
i reproach, has won its way to public confidence
and esteem, and so much is the power of that
; name felt, that ancient federalism, now modern
! whiggery, has often sought to steal it, to de- |
j ceive the people. Democracy advocates the 1
j rights of all our citizens, it abhors all exclusive
privileges to the few. it knows no distinction
between our native born and naturalized eiti
j zens, other than those which the constitution I
has created. One of its first acts when Mr.
: Jefferson came into power was to amend the j
laws and facilitate the means for the naturaliza- j
| tion of foreigners. It remembered among the j
j causes assigned for declaring our country inde
pendent, an inipoitant one, that the king of
England had obstructed the laws for the natur- I
alization of foreigners; and in this as in all
other acts they have carried out the principles
of 1776—n0t the principles of the miscalled
: "sons of the sires of '76."
Our adversaries are endeavoring to crawl in
to power at this time by a concentration of all
their own partizans proper, and an attempt to
excite among other prejudices, foreign and in
imical to the constitution of the United States,
in relation to two subjects calculated to excite
! the sympathies and prejudices of portions of our
citizens. The constitution of the United States
| left the institution of slavery, which hbd been i
1 imposed upon us by the merceparv cupidity of ■
Freedom of Thought and Opinion.
BEDFORD, PA. FRIDAY MORNING, SEPT. 15, 1854.
Great Britain, just where it found it—a mere
■ municipal regulation oflhe States in which it
existed. Pennsylvania, immediately upon th u
! close of the revolution, abolished this institution
! W'ithin her borders, and almost all the northern
i States have since followed her example. Be
fore the revolution it existed in all the States.
|fthe true motives of its abolition could be
| reached, we fear that the northern States would
|ot be entitled to as much credit as many claim
i |>r its abolition. It was found that slave labor
*;as unprofitable for mere farming purposes, and
Oiese, the motives of pecuniary interest, super
j added to what was deemed the principles of hu
fnanity, procured its abolition in all the origi
nal States north of Maryland and Delaware,
j The compromises of the constitution on this sub
ject, which prevented any action by the gener
j a! government on the subject of slavery, have
been faithfully carried out by the democratic
party, in ever}' portion of the Union. They
hold that no one State has a right to interfere
with what appropriately belongs to another.
The congress of the United States has the
power to admit new States into the Union, and
they have wisely determined that, in creating
i territories and admitting new States, the people
of such new States or territories shall have a
j right to make their own laws upon the subject
of slavery, or any other subject that belongs
rightfully to a municipal government. Our ad
versaries taking advantage of the agitation pro
duced on this subject of slavery by the erection
of the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska,
are charging the democratic party with favor
ing the cause of human slavery. They have
done no such tiling. They have merely deter
mined that congress, according to the constitu
tion, has no right to interfere with the subject,
and that to the people of tiie territories and the
States, respectively, this whole subject belongs,
and they have unquestionably decided rightly.
Pennsylvania, or any other State of the Union,
might to-morrow revive the institution if it
were thought light. Act our adversaries are
' endeavoring to excite your sympathies in the
cause of humanity, so as to induce you, practi
cally, to violate the constitution of our coun
try.
Thev are also endeavoring to foment difficul
ties he two 1 en different classes of our citizens and
ijß>firr< n*}ir native born and naturalized citizens
to each other, and to effect this
bring to their aid sectarian feelings
iflPigion. Our forefathers wisely inhibited
thl* when, in every state constitution we find ;
substantially declaring that every
fpn has a right to enjoy his liberty of con
science arid to worship Almighty God in the
manner he shall think to he most acceptable,
f and the constitution of the United States pro
- fa&WMhe general government from giving p, ['j
ference to any one denomination over another.
That constitution, too, confers upon naturalized
citizens all the rights conferred upon those who
are native born, with one exception. We,
therefore, protest, in the most distinct and sol
emn manner, against any indirect attempt to ac
complish that which the constitution and laws
of the United States and the several States so
pointedly and so properly prohibits. It would
j be sapping the foundations of our free institu
tions. It would he loosening the bonds which
hold us together. It would he a practical
wrong upon a portion of our citizens, who have
equal rights with ourselves, and making a dis
tinction which the constitution ol the i nited
States does not make or permit.
We should guard against all attempts to vie
late the piinciples of that constitution. It is
the ark of our political safety. It should never
be touched with unhallowed hands. Open and
i hold attempts to violate it are seen through, and
at once excite our resistance. It is from secret,
insidious and undetected attempts to undermine
j it, that we shall be exposed to the greatest
| danger.
Opposition to those nfforeign birth constitutes
much of the political capital of our adversaries
of the present dav. In this they are close imita
i tators of the federalists of'9B.
By the 3d section of the al'u n law, every mas
ter or commander of any ship or vessel, which
I shall enter anv port of the 1 nited States, shall
immediately make report in writing to the col
lector or oilier chief officer of the customs, ofall
aliens 011 hoard his vissels, specifying their
names, age, the place of nativity, the country
from which thev shall have come, the nation to
which they belong and owe allegiance, their oc
i cupation, and a description of their parents ;
: and on failure to do so, to forfeit the sum of three
hundred dollars; and in default of payment the
vessel was to be detained by such collector or
I other officer. The collector was also required
forthwith to transmit to the department of state
true copies of all such returns. This was vir
tually closing our harbors to foreign emigration,
at the most important cris'is of the Irish rebel
! lion, when many of the heroes and patriots of
that gallant rendered so much
: service to the cause of liberty in our own revo
; lutionarv struggle, were engaged in imitating
our example, and being unsuccessful, were
drivan from home and country, to seek an asy
j lum elsewhere.
j Many of that noble and generous, hut unfor
tunate people, alter thev had failed in their ex
ertions to emancipate their bleeding country, n -
I lying upon the assurance given by the congress
of 1775 to the Irish nation, that "the fertile re
j giins of America would afford them a safe asy
lum from oppresion," resolved upon making
this country their residence. Rufus King, a high
toned federalist, one of the party of "well
horn," and a faithful representative of their in
tolerance and bigotry, was, at that time, the A
merican minister in London, at the court of St.
James, nnd resisted the emigration of these Trish
patriots. A number of them who were confin
ed in dismal dungeons, and who had an offer of
their release on condition of their going to A
rnerica, applied to Mr. King to withdraw his
opposition to their so doing. In answer to a
I letter written him by one ot the Irish state pri
soners, Mr. Henrv Jackson, an avowed repub-
I licanand an enthusiastic friend of liberty, Mr.
King said :
"1 ought to inform you that. I really have no
authority to give or refuse permission to you or
any other foreigner to go to the United States;
the admission and residence of strangers in
that countiy being a ifiStter that by'a late
law, (the alien law ) exclusively belongs to the
President. It is true that the government of
this country, (England,) in the course of the
last year, in consequence of my interference,
gave me assurance that a particular description '
of persons in Ireland, who, it was understood,
were going to the I'nited States , should not be
allowed to proceed without our consent. This j
restraint would doubtless be withdrawn in favor
of persons against whose emigration 1 should
not object. lam sorry to make the remark, and"
shall stand in need of your candor in doing
that a large portion of the emigrants from Ire
land, and especially in the middle states, have \
arrayed themselves on the side of the malcoti- j
tents, (i. e., the democrats and adherents of Mr. |
Jefferson.) If the opinions of the emigrants are
likely to throw them into the class of malcon- j
tentr, (democrats, in plain English,) they might j
become a disadvantage instead of a benefit to
our country."
Of course thev would, in the opinion of Mr.
King. Here was a denial of hospitality as cruel
as it was anti-republican. The sufferings which ;
were caused to many of the patriot Irishmen, by ;
this conduct of the federalists, are incalculable.
"As to me," said Mr. Emmet in a letter to Mr.
King, "I should have (nought along with me
my father and his family, including a brother,
(the lamented Robert Emmet,) w hose name per- j
haps even vou will not read without emotions j
of .sympathy and respect —and others nearly con- >
nected with me would have become partners in |
my emigration. But all of them have been torn |
from me. I have been prevented from saving I
a brother, from receiving the dying blessing of a i
father, mother and sister, and from soothing their j
last agonies by my cares—and this, sir, by your j
unwarrantable and unfeeling interference." j
This is the leaven that has leavened the whole ;
lump. The democrats and their political o])- 1
ponents have ever been at issue upon this sub- :
ject ol foreign emigration and the laws of natur
alization. The one constituting as a fundamen- :
tal principle of their political faith the free and
full extension of the rights and blessings they en
joy to all the human family that desired to pai- I
take them, and who sought our shores as a re- i
luge fioin oppression in their native land. The j
other party dreading the expansion of that spirit j
of liberty, and that hatred to titled dignitaries i
and various forms of oppression in monarchical 1
governments, that urged continually the tide of j
emigration Irotn Europe, have always advoca- j
. ted such restrictions upon citizenship, and pur
sued such a hostile policy to foreigners, that had ;
they continued in power, and been enabled to ,
can v their views into effect, the now flourish- j
ing and populous western states of this L nion, :
would have still been ten dories,and our nation- j
al character degraded and disgraced, instead of
having a great name and power and glory a
mong the nations of the earth.
The lirst naturalization law, passeil in 3*90, only j
required a residence of two years to become a citi
zen. The act of 179" extended the time to live
years. But the federalists discovering that when
were naturalized they generally voted the
republican ticket, conceived the idea of punishing
them lor their contumacy, and accordingly the Tune
of probation was still further extended by the act of
.tune IS, 17. to fourteen years, and a declaration of •
intention Air years before the admission of the ap- ,
plicants to the rights of citizenship, it isa remarkable .
fact thuT this act was passed nn the 17th June, 17!'S
The alien law 0:1 t(ie 2.7 th of June, and the sedition j
law on the 14th July, of the same year. It would
seem as if the whole energies of federalism were
routed to one tremendous exertion to crush the spir- !
it ot t lie people, and destroy the liberties of the coun
try. All these acts were repealed on Mr. Jefferson's
accession To the presidency, and the time of resi- j
deuce neees-arv lor a foieigner To become a citizen .
brought back to live years, at which it has ever since ;
remained.
Nearly every civilized nation has adopted liberal :
naturalization laws, particularly where they have 1
been situated as we are with a sparse population, and
extensive regions, millions of acres of uncultivated
lands. It is our policy to draw the power and pro- .
ductive industry ol o;her nations to ourselves. France,
Holland, Russia, and even England, have all in turn
pursued this policy to great advantage, at different
periods of their history. In the time of the Ed
wards. the Henrys and in the reign of Elizabeth,
alien citizens and manufacturers were invited to ,
England and naturalized without any previous resi
dence, or even an oath of allegiance.
But the miserable Know-Nothings of the present
day, have refined upon the cruelty and tyranny of
the federalism of'9B—for they would repeal all na
turalization laws, and prevent foreigners from be
coming citizens at all. The would also add
ous to political intolerance. They would not only;
enact laws by which those not born on Ameri
can soil would be shorn ofall the attributes of free- ■
dom, but they would deprive native as well as for
eign born of the ble.-sed privilege of worshipping j
God according to the dictates of their own con- 1
sciences. The comparison is manifestly in favor of
the black cockade federalism of "the reign of terror," j
in the time of the elder Adams.
The democracy re.-pect all religions, and in the
spirit of our institutions tolerate al!. This was the,
spirit of our revolutionary fathers. They persecuted
neither protestant nor catholic, neither puritan nor
quaker, but extended the broad a'gis of tiie tunda
mental law of the land over them, for their protec- j
tion. In December, 1787, General Washington wrote
to the Roman Catholics, of the United States us
follows:
"As mankind becomes more liberal, they will be
more apt to allow that all those who conduct them
selves as worthy members of the community, are
equally entitled to the protection of civil govern- j
rnent. 1 hope eeer to see America avion? the fo -v- j
most vat ions in examples of justice and liberty. And
i presume that your I'ellow-citizens will not forget
the patriotic pari you took in the accomplishment of
their revolution, and the establishment of their gov
ernment, of the important assistance received from a
nation in which the catholic religion is professed."
Whpn, therefore, fellow-citizens, we find that a
consolidated government, a love for exclusive pri
vileges and monied corporations, a desire to draw
implied powers from the constitution, and exercise
them for their own selfi-h purposes, and to establish
a restriction to citizenship, constitute the favorite
dogmas of our political adversaries, it is reasonable ;
to believe that a change in our very system of gov- j
ernmerit would follow their ultimate success.
Thi historical view of the parties, their principles j
and their acts, has occupied more space than was ex- \
TERJfiS,..#* PER YEAR.
fOL. XXIII, NO. 0.
i peeled, and we must hasten to the conclusion of thi-
I our last adrcss. Remember, I'ellow-citizens that the
: rr.otto of our party is, "principles and "not men."' —
| Vet in popular elections men must be selected as tLe
standard bearers of parties and their principles.—
Test the coming contest by principles—let no false
; i-sues be introduced into it. Confine the Usnes to
| that lor which our fathers looght and bled—the rights
j ol the people. Every other element attempted to
be introdnced into it is a device of the enemy—a
stepping stone to get themselves info power, which,
whenever possessed, "hey have abused. Remember
| the cause Of the old democracy; its upright, straiglit
: forward course. Rear its banner on high, march *
' boldly in solid column to the fight—victory win
crown your efforts, and the cause of popular rights
] will be safe.
J. ELLIS BON HAM, Chairman.
i GEOKUE C. VVELKEK, Secretary.
James Pollock autJ the kuow-Ncthings.
TV fact that JAMES POLLOCK —the abolition,
lawyer candidate tor Governor, having jollied
the Know-Nothings, pointedly remarks the
Doylestown Democrat , is coming down and re
acting on him with.a crushing effect among the
steady farmers and working men all, over the
! country. In Berks county the Whigs who are
Germans, are deserting POLLOCK in flocks, and
j aue determined to vote for BIGLER, and the rest'
!of the Democtatic ticket. They are plain, hon
est men, and do not approve of a candidate lor
the responsible and dignified office of Governor,
truckling to sectarian prejudices and joining a
I midnight secret political conclave, bound to
j gether by the most horrible, profane, and dis
gusting oaths. It will be a small day for Penn
sylvania, when the people debase themselves
so much as to elect such a man their Governor.
We ask the people to refer back to the earlier
I Governors, and ascertain if they went down on
i their knees, into oath bound midnight political
j sectarian conclaves, for the sake of the persecu-
I tion of a portion of our people, and obtaining
the votes -of others ? Did the great and good
! WILLIAM PEX.V, the founder of the infant colo
ny, do so ? No ! He was driven from England
jby the same kind ola persecution, with which
'JAMES POLLOCK, has now connected himself!
' Did Titos. LLOYD, EDWARD SUIPPKN, WILLIAM
KF.ITII, JAMES LOGAN, ANTHONY PALMER, ROB
j EET H ENTER. MoRJIIS, . JoUX Pr.XN, ftICHARD
PENN, TJIOS. WHARTON, and BENJAMIN FRANK-
I LIN, all of whom were provincial Governors,
join any midnight, secret, political sectarian con
' claves to obtain votes for tire office ? No. Yot
one of them ever stooped so low as that ! Did
THOMAS MIFFLIN, THOMAS McKEAX, SIMON
SNYDER. WILLIAM FJXDLAY, JOHN ANDREW
; SHCLZE, or FRANCIS K. MHNK, ever tmt.
| midnight conclave, bound together by biaspbo
■ rnous oaths, for the purpose of obtaining votes !
j No, never! They would have considered it a
tiisgrace to have been seen in tin- oompany of
! such men ! JAMES POLLOCK will be ashamed of
it, too, in less than three days after the second
Tuesday in October. In fact, be sees already,
that he has been rather fast, in the matter, and
' keenly regrets his hasty action in the affair.—
He well knows that it is dragging him down
with a riiah that was not expected, while his
opponent, Col. BIGLER, occupies high ground,
arid is gaining strenght daily.
A CAT EXTRAORDINARY.—A gentleman liv
ing at Elk Run, in the lowei end of Fauquier
county, Va., has the good fortune to possess the
most remarkable grimalkin yet known, ol tin
cat kind. Its body is of unusual length, its
legs like those of a bench-leg'd vise. The fur
is of a reddish color, the whole beautified with
black spots and streaks of different figures; they
i are long in the back and round on the belly and
I jaws. Black stripes run across the ears, which
are very long and tipped at the ends with a blue
turf of hair. Its physiognomy is fierce and its
nature savage. Ordinarily it is perfectly do
cile, and, like Wormley's very sensible cat,
never says a word, though he answers readily
j (bv the wag of his tail) to the name of "Billy."'
His Master's house being infested with
! snakes, which bad been bred in a neighboring
stone fence, he took it into his head to eschew
such game as rats and mice and make war upon
the snakes, all of which he soon destroyed.—
Having acquired a taste for this kind of sport,
he extended the field of his operations, frequent
ly making excursions more than a mile distance
trom the house, and, returning each and every
dav with a snake, ranging from two to seven
feet in length. He has continued this practice
for eight weeks. Cn one occasion he returned
to the house much fatigued, perfectly wet and
covered with saliva. It was supposed he had
encountered one of those large but rare serpents'
known as the goobat. This turned out to be
true, for the dav thereafter Mr. Harvey B.
Ralls found the sn<\ke dead, and signs of a
(dreadful conflict on the sand. Most or nearly
all the wounds had been inflicted on the back of
the neck. The weight of the horrid serpent
! was fourteen pounds eleven ounces.
This class of serpents is a native of Eastern
\ irginia, with a very large head and great
jaws. The mouth is armed with cutting crook
ed teeth, among which are two longer than the
rest placed in the fore part of the upper jaw,—
All around the mouth there is a broad scaly
border, and the eyes so large that they give it a
terrible aspect. The forehead is covered with
large scales. Each side of the belly is marked
with large square spots of chvsnut color, in flu*
middle of which is a spot perfectly round, and
burnished as gold. Thpy have been kntftvn to
swallow small pigs, mask rats, opossums, bic.
They avoid the sight of man. and consequently
are rarelv seen. Indeed, the existence of the
goobat has been doubted by many.
The cat still continues his war upon the
snakes. These facts may not gain credence at.
a distance, but they are so well known and
attested, that no one in tbe neighborhood doubts
them for a moment.— lf arrenton /-Vug.
: An experiment has just been successfully
■ made in France of employing swallows to carry
j letters, as pigeons were used some years back.