Riots have been renewed at Philadelphia, with little in their
nature to distinguish them from the riots of May last. In that month, the Catholics, for an alleged insult to the Native American party, (formed to discourage the naturalization of aliens, and espe- cially of Irish immigrants,) were violently assaulted, and a general riot ensued, in which some church was damaged. Now, the Ca- tholics, to be prepared against similar attacks, placed arms in their churches. The Native Americans, either fearing vengeance or tyrannically angered at the suspicions which their own conduct had provoked, demanded the cession of the arms. The contest as- sumed a truly revolutionary aspect. The arms had been regularly procured, with the countenance of the authorities, from the public arsenal; but a "committee" of the citizens was organized, the Sheriff was called out by the disturbers who bred the riot, and the arms were seized. The church, thus disarmed, was attacked. Among the Volunteers who defended it, was a company of Irish- men called the Hibernia Greens : the rioters demanded that those Irish should be obliged to leave the church : they were given up by the other protectors of order! Still the battle raged; artillery was used on both sides, and blood flowed. General CADWALLADER came out early in the conflict ; threatened copiously for a day or two; and when a quarter of the city was in a state of revolt, actively vindicated the law. Governor POTTER arrived when all was over, and was duly thanked for his promptitude ! Philadelphia is again pacified, and her citizens exult in the vigour and decorum with which they have maintained social order. The Americans sadly want some great popular pursuit, apart from mere demagogue politics and colony-like worldly activity, to exalt their ambition and reline their tastes—some poetry, some intellectual speculations, some arts which soften manners and forbid ferocity.
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